Asus M4A77T, Manual

Page 1: ...Motherboard M4A77T ...

Page 2: ...planation and to the owners benefit without intent to infringe Offer to Provide Source Code of Certain Software This product may contain copyrighted software that is licensed under the General Public License GPL and under the Lesser General Public License Version LGPL The GPL and LGPL licensed code in this product is distributed without any warranty Copies of these licenses are included in this pr...

Page 3: ... layout 1 6 1 5 4 Layout contents 1 6 1 6 Central Processing Unit CPU 1 7 1 6 1 Installing the CPU 1 7 1 6 2 Installing the heatsink and fan 1 9 1 7 System memory 1 10 1 7 1 Overview 1 10 1 7 2 Memory configurations 1 11 1 7 3 Installing a DIMM 1 15 1 7 4 Removing a DIMM 1 15 1 8 Expansion slots 1 16 1 8 1 Installing an expansion card 1 16 1 8 2 Configuring an expansion card 1 16 1 8 3 PCI slots 1...

Page 4: ...s 2 6 2 2 5 Submenu items 2 6 2 2 6 Configuration fields 2 6 2 2 7 Pop up window 2 6 2 2 8 Scroll bar 2 6 2 2 9 General help 2 6 2 3 Main menu 2 7 2 3 1 System Time 2 7 2 3 2 System Date 2 7 2 3 3 Primary IDE Master Slave SATA 1 6 2 7 2 3 4 SATA Configuration 2 8 2 3 5 System Information 2 9 2 4 Advanced menu 2 9 2 4 1 JumperFree Configuration 2 9 2 4 2 CPU Configuration 2 12 2 4 3 Chipset 2 13 2 ...

Page 5: ...W Monitor Configuration 2 17 2 6 Boot menu 2 18 2 6 1 Boot Device Priority 2 18 2 6 2 Boot Settings Configuration 2 18 2 6 3 Security 2 19 2 7 Tools menu 2 20 2 7 1 ASUS EZ Flash 2 2 20 2 7 2 Express Gate 2 21 2 7 3 AI NET 2 2 21 2 8 Exit menu 2 22 ...

Page 6: ...t from that to which the receiver is connected Consult the dealer or an experienced radio TV technician for help Canadian Department of Communications Statement This digital apparatus does not exceed the Class B limits for radio noise emissions from digital apparatus set out in the Radio Interference Regulations of the Canadian Department of Communications This class B digital apparatus complies w...

Page 7: ...peration safety Before installing the motherboard and adding devices on it carefully read all the manuals that came with the package Before using the product ensure that all cables are correctly connected and the power cables are not damaged If you detect any damage contact your dealer immediately To avoid short circuits keep paper clips screws and staples away from connectors slots sockets and ci...

Page 8: ...uct and software updates 1 ASUS websites The ASUS website provides updated information on ASUS hardware and software products Refer to the ASUS contact information 2 Optional documentation Your product package may include optional documentation such as warranty flyers that may have been added by your dealer These documents are not part of the standard package Typography Bold text Indicates a menu ...

Page 9: ...an 3GB We recommend a maximum of 3GB system memory if you are using a Windows 32 bit operating system Expansion slots 1 x PCIe x16 slot 2 x PCIe x1 slots 3 x PCI slots Storage RAID 1 x Ultra DMA 133 100 66 connector 6 x Serial ATA 3Gb s connectors support RAID 0 RAID 1 RAID 0 1 and JBOD configurations Audio VIA VT1708S High Definition Audio 8 channel CODEC Use the chassis with HD audio module in t...

Page 10: ... 1 ports 3 x audio jacks Internal connectors 3 x USB 2 0 1 1 connectors support additional 6 USB 2 0 1 1 ports 1 x IDE connector 6 x Serial ATA connectors 1 x Front panel audio connector 1 x System panel connector 1 x S PDIF out connector 1 x CPU fan connector 1 x Chassis fan connector 1 x MemOK button 1 x 24 pin EATX power connector 1 x 4 pin ATX 12V power connector BIOS 8Mb Flash ROM AMI BIOS Pn...

Page 11: ...elivers a host of new features and latest technologies making it another standout in the long line of ASUS quality motherboards Before you start installing the motherboard and hardware devices on it check the items in your package with the list below AMD Phenom II Athlon II Sempron 100 series CPU support This motherboard supports AMD Socket AM3 multi core processors with unique L3 cache and delive...

Page 12: ...rements of the latest operating system 3D graphics multimedia and Internet applications Serial ATA 3Gb s technology and RAID support This motherboard supports hard drives based on the Serial ATA SATA 3Gb s storage specification delivering enhanced scalability and doubling the bus bandwidth for high speed data retrieval and save It also supports RAID 0 RAID 1 and RAID 0 1 configurations for Serial ...

Page 13: ...rives to the motherboard USB port before turning on the computer The actual boot time depends on the system configuration ASUS Express Gate supports file uploading from SATA HDDs ODDs and USB drives It supports file downloading to USB drives only ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3 ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3 is an auto recovery tool that allows you to restore a corrupted BIOS file using the bundled support DVD or a ...

Page 14: ... with a standby power LED that lights up to indicate that the system is ON in sleep mode or in soft off mode This is a reminder that you should shut down the system and unplug the power cable before removing or plugging in any motherboard component The illustration below shows the location of the onboard LED C P R CPU Parameter Recall The BIOS C P R feature automatically restores the CPU default s...

Page 15: ...tation The edge with external ports goes to the rear part of the chassis as indicated in the image below DO NOT overtighten the screws Doing so can damage the motherboard Place this side towards the rear of the chassis 1 5 2 Screw holes Place six screws into the holes indicated by circles to secure the motherboard to the chassis ASUS M4A77T 1 5 ...

Page 16: ...wer connectors 24 pin EATXPWR 4 pin ATX12V 1 21 9 USB connectors 10 1 pin USB78 USB910 USB1112 1 26 3 CPU Socket AM3 1 7 10 Clear RTC RAM 3 pin CLRTC 1 17 4 DDR3 DIMM slots 1 10 11 Onboard power LED SB_PWR 1 4 5 MemOK switch 1 18 12 Digital audio connector 4 1 pin SPDIF_OUT 1 25 6 IDE connector 40 1 pin PRI_IDE 1 22 13 Front panel audio connector 10 1 pin AAFP 1 25 7 SATA connectors 7 pin SATA1 6 ...

Page 17: ...3 Position the CPU above the socket such that the CPU corner with the gold triangle matches the socket corner with a small triangle 4 Carefully insert the CPU into the socket until it fits in place The CPU fits only in one correct orientation DO NOT force the CPU into the socket to prevent bending the pins and damaging the CPU Gold triangle Small triangle The AM3 socket has a different pinout from...

Page 18: ...following the instructions that comes with the heatsink package You can also refer to section 1 6 2 Installing heatsink and fan for instructions 7 Connect the CPU fan cable to the CPU_FAN connector on the motherboard DO NOT forget to connect the CPU fan connector Hardware monitoring errors can occur if you fail to plug this connector Chapter 1 Product introduction 1 8 ...

Page 19: ...g other motherboard components If you purchased a separate CPU heatsink and fan assembly ensure that a Thermal Interface Material is properly applied to the CPU heatsink or CPU before you install the heatsink and fan assembly CPU Fan CPU Heatsink Retention bracket Retention bracket lock Retention Module Base Your boxed CPU heatsink and fan assembly should come with installation instructions for th...

Page 20: ... the connector on the motherboard labeled CPU_FAN DO NOT forget to connect the CPU fan connector Hardware monitoring errors can occur if you fail to plug this connector 1 7 System memory 1 7 1 Overview This motherboard comes with four Double Data Rate 3 DDR3 Dual Inline Memory Modules DIMM sockets A DDR3 module has the same physical dimensions as a DDR2 DIMM but is notched differently to prevent i...

Page 21: ...we recommend that you do any of the following Install a maximum of 3GB system memory if you are using a 32 bit Windows OS Use a 64 bit Windows OS if you want to install 4GB or more memory on the motherboard This motherboard does not support DIMMs made up of 256 megabits Mb chips or less M4A77T Motherboard Qualified Vendors Lists QVL DDR3 1866 O C MHz capability DDR3 1800 O C MHz capability Vendor ...

Page 22: ...k Package 8 8 8 24 Kingston KHX12800D3K2 4G 4096MB kit of 2 DS N A Heat Sink Package 9 9 9 27 Kingston KHX12800D3LLK3 6GX XMP 6144MB Kit of 3 DS N A Heat Sink Package 8 8 8 24 Vendor Part No Size SS DS Chip Brand Chip NO CL DIMM support A B C A Data AD31333001GOU 1024MB SS A Data AD30908C8D 151C E0906 N A A Data AD31333002GOU 2048MB DS A Data AD30908C8D 151C E0903 N A Apacer 78 01GC6 9L0 1024MB SS...

Page 23: ...g M378B2873EH1 CH9 1024MB SS Samsung SEC 913 HCH9 K4B1G0846E N A Samsung M391B2873DZ1 CH9 1024MB SS Samsung K4B1G0846D HCH9 N A Samsung M378B5673DZ1 CH9 2048MB DS Samsung K4B1G0846D HCH9 N A Samsung M378B5673EH1 CH9 2048MB DS Samsung SEC 913 HCH9 K4B1G0846E N A Samsung M391B5673DZ1 CH9 2048MB DS Samsung K4B1G0846D HCH9 N A Super Talent W1333X2GB8 1024MB SS N A Heat Sink Package N A Transcend SEC 8...

Page 24: ...E E 512MB SS elpida J5308BASE AC E N A G SKILL F3 8500CL6D 2GBHK 1024MB SS G SKILL Heat Sink Package N A Kingston KVR1066D3N7 1G 1024MB SS elpida J1108BABG DJ E 7 Kingston KVR1066D3N7 1G 1024MB SS elpida J5308BASE AE E S 7 Kingston KVR1066D3N7 2G 2048MB DS elpida J1108BABG DJ E 7 Micron MT8JTF12864AY 1G1D1 1024MB SS Micron 8ED22D9JNL N A Micron MT16JTF25664AY 1G1D1 2048MB DS Micron 8LD22D9JNL N A ...

Page 25: ...d with a notch so that it fits in only one direction DO NOT force a DIMM into a socket in the wrong direction to avoid damaging the DIMM 3 Firmly insert the DIMM into the socket until the retaining clips snap back in place and the DIMM is properly seated Locked Retaining Clip 3 1 7 4 Removing a DIMM To remove a DIMM 1 Simultaneously press the retaining clips outward to unlock the DIMM 2 Remove the...

Page 26: ...ed earlier 6 Replace the system cover When using PCI cards on shared slots ensure that the drivers support Share IRQ or that the cards do not need IRQ assignments Otherwise conflicts will arise between the two PCI groups making the system unstable and the card inoperable 1 8 3 PCI slots The PCI slots support cards such as a LAN card SCSI card USB card and other cards that comply with PCI specifica...

Page 27: ...he power cord 2 Move the jumper cap from pins 1 2 default to pins 2 3 Keep the cap on pins 2 3 for about 5 10 seconds then move the cap back to pins 1 2 3 Plug the power cord and turn ON the computer 4 Hold down the Del key during the boot process and enter BIOS setup to reenter data If the steps above do not help remove the onboard battery and move the jumper again to clear the CMOS RTC RAM data ...

Page 28: ... process the system continues memory tuning after turning on the computer To stop memory tuning turn off the computer and unplug the power cord for about 5 10 seconds If your system fail to boot due to BIOS overclocking press the MemOK switch to boot and load BIOS default settings A messgae will appear during POST reminding you that the BIOS has been restored to its default settings We recommend t...

Page 29: ...OFF No link OFF 10Mbps connection ORANGE Linked ORANGE 100Mbps connection BLINKING Data activity GREEN 1Gbps connection LAN port SPEED LED ACT LINK LED 4 Line In port light blue This port connects to the tape CD DVD player or other audio sources 5 Line Out port lime This port connects to a headphone or a speaker In the 4 6 and 8 channel configurations the function of this port becomes Front Speake...

Page 30: ...ker Out Front Speaker Out Front Speaker Out Pink Rear panel Mic In Mic In Bass Center Bass Center Lime Front panel Side Speaker Out To configure an 8 channel audio output Use the chassis with HD audio module in the front panel to support 8 channel audio output 1 11 2 Internal connectors 1 CPU and chassis fan connectors 4 pin CPU_FAN and 3 pin CHA_FAN Connect the fan cables to the fan connectors on...

Page 31: ...n provide at least 15 A on 12 V and that the PSU has a minimum power rating of 300W The system may become unstable or may not boot up if the power is inadequate DO NOT forget to connect the 4 pin ATX 12V power plug Otherwise the system will not boot up We recommend that you use a PSU with higher power output when configuring a system with more power consuming devices or when you intend to install ...

Page 32: ...g Mode of device s Cable connector Single device Cable Select or Master Black Two devices Cable Select Master Black Slave Gray Master Master Black or gray Slave Slave Pin 20 on the IDE connector is removed to match the covered hole on the Ultra DMA cable connector This prevents incorrect insertion when you connect the IDE cable Use the 80 conductor IDE cable for Ultra DMA 133 100 66 IDE devices If...

Page 33: ... Install the Windows XP Service Pack 2 or later versions before using Serial ATA If you intend to create a Serial ATA RAID set using these connectors set the type of the SATA connectors in the BIOS to RAID See section 2 3 4 SATA Configuration for details The motherboard does not provide a floppy disk drive connector You could use a USB floppy disk drive when installing Windows XP operating system ...

Page 34: ...ector is for the HDD Activity LED Connect the HDD Activity LED cable to this connector The IDE LED lights up or flashes when data is read from or written to the HDD System warning speaker 4 pin SPEAKER This 4 pin connector is for the chassis mounted system warning speaker The speaker allows you to hear system beeps and warnings ATX power button soft off button 2 pin PWRSW This connector is for the...

Page 35: ... panel audio module to this connector to avail of the motherboard high definition audio capability If you want to connect a high definition front panel audio module to this connector set the Front Panel Select item in the BIOS to HD Audio See section 2 4 4 Onboard Devices Configuration for details The front panel audio I O module is purchased separately 7 Front panel audio connector 10 1 pin AAFP ...

Page 36: ...s then install the module to a slot opening at the back of the system chassis These USB connectors comply with USB 2 0 specification that supports up to 480Mbps connection speed Never connect a 1394 cable to the USB connectors Doing so will damage the motherboard The USB 2 0 module is purchased separately Chapter 1 Product introduction 1 26 ...

Page 37: ...t DVD that comes with the motherboard package contains the drivers software applications and utilities that you can install to avail all motherboard features The contents of the Support DVD are subject to change at any time without notice Visit the ASUS website at www asus com for updates To run the Support DVD Place the Support DVD into the optical drive The DVD automatically displays the Drivers...

Page 38: ...Chapter 1 Product introduction 1 28 ...

Page 39: ...ment Installing ASUS Update To install ASUS Update 1 Place the support DVD into the optical drive The Drivers menu appears 2 Click the Utilities tab then click ASUS Update 3 Follow the onscreen instructions to complete the installation Quit all Windows applications before you update the BIOS using this utility Updating the BIOS To update the BIOS 1 From the Windows desktop click Start Programs ASU...

Page 40: ... program Go to the Tools menu to select EZ Flash 2 and press Enter to enable it Press Tab to switch between drives until the correct BIOS file is found 2 1 2 ASUS EZ Flash 2 The ASUS EZ Flash 2 feature allows you to update the BIOS without using an OS based utility Before you start using this utility download the latest BIOS file from the ASUS website at www asus com 2 When the correct BIOS file i...

Page 41: ...he removable devices that ASUS CrashFree BIOS support vary with motherboard models For motherboards without the floppy connector prepare a USB flash disk before using this utility Recovering the BIOS To recover the BIOS 1 Turn on the system 2 Insert the support DVD to the optical drive or the removable device that contains the BIOS file to the USB port or to the floppy disk drive if supported 3 Th...

Page 42: ...y if you failed to enter BIOS Setup using the first two options Using the power button reset button or the Ctrl Alt Del keys to force reset from a running operating system can cause damage to your data or system We recommend that you always shut down the system properly from the operating system The default BIOS settings for this motherboard apply to most conditions to ensure optimum performance I...

Page 43: ...een are the navigation keys for that particular menu Use the navigation keys to select items in the menu and change the settings Menu items Select Screen Select Item Change Field Tab Select Field F1 General Help F10 Save and Exit ESC Exit v02 61 C Copyright 1985 2009 American Megatrends Inc BIOS SETUP UTILITY Main Advanced Power Boot Tools Exit Use ENTER TAB or SHIFT TAB to select a field Use or t...

Page 44: ...r to display a pop up window with the configuration options for that item 2 2 8 Scroll bar A scroll bar appears on the right side of a menu screen when there are items that do not fit on the screen Press the Up Down arrow keys or Page Up Page Down keys to display the other items on the screen 2 2 9 General help At the top right corner of the menu screen is a brief description of the selected item ...

Page 45: ...se items show Not Detected if no IDE SATA device is installed in the system Type Auto Selects the type of IDE SATA drive Setting this item to Auto allows automatic selection of the appropriate IDE SATA device type Select CDROM if you are specifically configuring a CD ROM drive Select ARMD ATAPI Removable Media Device if your device is either a ZIP LS 120 or MO drive Configuration options Not Insta...

Page 46: ...g Technology Configuration options Auto Disabled Enabled 32Bit Data Transfer Enabled Enables or disables 32 bit data transfer Configuration options Disabled Enabled 2 3 4 SATA Configuration The SATA Configuration menu allows you to configure your storage devices Select an item then press Enter to display the submenu OnChip SATA Channel Enabled Enables or disables OnChip SATA Channel Configuration ...

Page 47: ...al Help F10 Save and Exit ESC Exit Adjust System Frequency Voltage Advanced Settings The items and configuration options in this menu may vary depending on the AMD CPU type 2 4 1 JumperFree Configuration CPU Level Up Auto Selects the desired CPU level and other relevant parameters will be adjusted automatically based on the selected CPU level Configuration options Auto Phenom II 955 Phenom II 3 4G...

Page 48: ... the ratio Configuration options Auto VDDNB Over Voltage Auto Sets the VDDNB over voltage The valid value ranges vary depending on your CPU model Use keys to adjust the ratio Configuration options Auto LoadLine Calibration Auto Sets LoadLine The values range from 0 to 100 with a 3 225 increment Use the keys to adjust the value Configuration options Auto Max 100 Min 0 HT Link Speed Auto Sets the Hy...

Page 49: ... CLK 10 CLK The configuration options for some of the following items vary depending on the DIMMs you install on the motherboard HT Over Voltage Auto Sets the HT over voltage The values range from 1 20000V to 1 38000V with a 0 01000V increment Use the keys to adjust the value Configuration options Auto Max 1 38000V Min 1 20000V DRAM Frequency Auto Selects the DRAM frequency programming method If t...

Page 50: ...guration options Auto 0 75x 1x 1 25x 1 5x DCT0 DQS drive strength Auto DCT1 DQS drive strength Auto Configuration options Auto 0 75x 1x 1 25x 1 5x DCT0 Processor ODT Auto DCT1 Processor on die terminat Auto Configuration options Auto 240 ohms 20 120 ohms 20 60 ohms 20 Chipset Over Voltage Auto Sets the chipset over voltage The values range from 1 10000V to 1 60000V with a 0 01000V increment Use th...

Page 51: ...ble Disabled Allows you to enable or disable DDR power down mode Configuration options Disabled Enabled Cool n Quiet Enabled Enables or disables the AMD Cool n Quiet technology Configuration options Enabled Disabled ACPI SRAT Table Enabled Enables or disables the building of ACPI SRAT table Configuration options Enabled Disabled Advanced Clock Calibration Disabled Adjusts the processor s overclock...

Page 52: ... Enabled Front Panel Select HD Audio Selects the front panel type Configuration options AC97 HD Audio OnBoard LAN Controller Enabled Enables or disables the onboard LAN controller Configuration options Disabled Enabled OnBoard LAN Boot ROM Disabled Enables or disables the Onboard LAN Boot ROM Configuration options Disabled Enabled GFX primary display adapter on the PCIe x16_1 slot GPP primary disp...

Page 53: ...s all the devices in the system When this item is set to Yes and if you install a Plug and Play operating system the operating system configures the Plug and Play devices not required for boot Configuration options No Yes Take caution when changing the settings of the PCI PnP menu items Incorrect field values can cause the system to malfunction 2 4 5 PCIPnP The PCI PnP menu items allow you to chan...

Page 54: ...onfiguration and Power Interface ACPI support in the Advanced Programmable Interrupt Controller APIC When this item is set to Enabled the ACPI APIC table pointer is included in the RSDT pointer list Configuration options Disabled Enabled 2 5 4 APM Configuration Restore on AC Power Loss Always Off When this item set to Always Off the system goes into off state after an AC power loss When this item ...

Page 55: ...d to the motherboard the field shows N A Select Ignored if you do not wish to display the detected speed VCORE Voltage 3 3V Voltage 5V Voltage 12V Voltage xx xxxV or Ignored The onboard hardware monitor automatically detects the voltage output through the onboard voltage regulators Select Ignored if you do not want the detected voltage to be displayed Smart Q Fan Function Enabled Allows you to ena...

Page 56: ... device items that appears on the screen depends on the number of devices installed in the system Configuration options Removable Dev Hard Drive ATAPI CD ROM Disabled To select the boot device during system startup press F8 when ASUS Logo appears To access Windows OS in Safe Mode do any of the following Press F5 when ASUS Logo appears Press F8 after POST 2 6 2 Boot Settings Configuration Quick Boo...

Page 57: ...box key in a password containing up to six letters or numbers or both then press Enter 3 Confirm the password when prompted The message Password Installed appears after you successfully set your password To change the supervisor password follow the same steps as in setting a supervisor password To clear the supervisor password select the Change Supervisor Password then press Enter twice The messag...

Page 58: ...en accessing the Setup utility When this item is set to Always BIOS checks for user password both when accessing Setup and booting the system Configuration options Setup Always 2 7 Tools menu The Tools menu items allow you to configure options for special functions Select an item then press Enter to display the submenu 2 7 1 ASUS EZ Flash 2 Allows you to run ASUS EZ Flash 2 When you press Enter a ...

Page 59: ...User Data No Allows you to clear Express Gate s user data Configuration options No Reset When setting this item to Reset ensure to save the setting to the BIOS so that the user data will be cleared the next time you enter the Express Gate User data includes the Express Gate s settings as well as any personal information stored by the web browser bookmarks cookies browsing history etc This is usefu...

Page 60: ...aults This option allows you to load the default values for each of the parameters on the Setup menus When you select this option or if you press F5 a confirmation window appears Select OK to load default values Select Exit Save Changes or make other changes before saving the values to the non volatile RAM 2 8 Exit menu The Exit menu items allow you to load the optimal or failsafe default values f...