Asus Motherboard A8N-SLI Premium User Manual Download Page 123

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ASUS A8N-SLI Premium

5-5

5.2.4 Manuals menu

The Manuals menu contains a list of supplementary user manuals. Click an

item to open the folder of the user manual.

• Most user manual ﬁles are in Portable Document Format (PDF).

Install the Adobe

Acrobat

Reader from the Utilities menu before

opening a user manual ﬁle.

• Some user manuals listed in this menu may not be applicable for this

motherboard model.

NVIDIA Firewall Administratorʼs Guide

Allows you to open the NVIDIA

ForceWare Networking and Firewall

Administratorʼs Guide.

NVIDIA RAID Userʼs Guide

Allows you to open the NVIDIA

RAID Userʼs Guide.

Sil3114 Userʼs Manual

Allows you to open the Silicon Image SATARaid™ Serial ATA RAID

Management Software userʼs manual.

NVIDIA nTune Manual

Allows you to open the NVIDIA

nTune™ userʼs manual.

NVRAID Disk Alert Userʼs Guide

Allows you to open the NVIDIA

RAID Disk Alert userʼs manual.

Summary of Contents for Motherboard A8N-SLI Premium

Page 1: ...Motherboard A8N SLI Premium ...

Page 2: ...CULAR PURPOSE IN NO EVENT SHALL ASUS ITS DIRECTORS OFFICERS EMPLOYEES OR AGENTS BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT SPECIAL INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES INCLUDING DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS LOSS OF BUSINESS LOSS OF USE OR DATA INTERRUPTION OF BUSINESS AND THE LIKE EVEN IF ASUS HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES ARISING FROM ANY DEFECT OR ERROR IN THIS MANUAL OR PRODUCT SPECIFICATIO...

Page 3: ... Innovative ASUS features 1 6 Chapter 2 Hardware information 2 1 Before you proceed 2 1 2 2 Motherboard overview 2 2 2 2 1 Placement direction 2 2 2 2 2 Screw holes 2 2 2 2 3 Motherboard layout 2 3 2 2 4 Layout Contents 2 4 2 3 Central Processing Unit CPU 2 6 2 3 1 Overview 2 6 2 3 2 Installling the CPU 2 6 2 3 3 Installing the heatsink and fan 2 8 2 4 System memory 2 11 2 4 1 Overview 2 11 2 4 2 ...

Page 4: ... 2 Using the dual function power switch 3 2 3 3 ASUS POST Reporter 3 3 3 3 1 Vocal POST messages 3 3 3 3 2 Winbond Voice Editor 3 5 Chapter 4 BIOS setup 4 1 Managing and updating your BIOS 4 1 4 1 1 Creating a bootable ﬂoppy disk 4 1 4 1 2 Updating the BIOS 4 2 4 1 3 Saving the current BIOS ﬁle 4 4 4 1 4 ASUS CrashFree BIOS 2 utility 4 5 4 1 5 ASUS EZ Flash utility 4 7 4 1 6 ASUS Update utility 4 ...

Page 5: ...on 4 24 4 4 4 SLI Conﬁguration 4 29 4 4 5 JumperFree Conﬁguration 4 30 4 4 6 LAN Cable Status 4 32 4 4 7 PEG Link Mode 4 33 4 4 8 Speech Conﬁguration 4 34 4 4 9 Instant Music 4 34 4 5 Power menu 4 35 4 5 1 ACPI Suspend Type 4 35 4 5 2 ACPI APIC Support 4 35 4 5 3 APM Conﬁguration 4 36 4 5 4 Hardware Monitor 4 38 4 6 Boot menu 4 40 4 6 1 Boot Device Priority 4 40 4 6 3 Hard Disk Drives 4 41 4 6 2 R...

Page 6: ...D conﬁgurations 5 23 5 5 3 Silicon Image RAID conﬁgurations 5 30 5 6 Creating a RAID driver disk 5 40 5 7 Cool ʻnʼ Quiet Technology 5 41 5 7 1 Enabling Cool ʻnʼ Quiet Technology 5 41 5 7 2 Launching the Cool ʻnʼ Quiet software 5 42 5 8 Using the NVIDIA nTune utility 5 43 5 8 1 Managing your nForce system 5 43 5 8 2 Clock control 5 44 5 8 3 Voltage Fan control 5 44 5 8 4 Information 5 45 5 8 5 Othe...

Page 7: ...ds 6 3 6 2 2 Setting the SLI mode in BIOS 6 7 6 2 3 Installing the device drivers 6 7 6 2 4 Enabling the multi GPU feature in Windows 6 7 Appendix A 1 Using the SATA extension module A 1 A 1 1 Installing the 2 port SATA extension module A 1 A 1 1 Installing SATA hard drives A 2 ...

Page 8: ...cause harmful interference to radio or television reception which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver Connect the equipment to an outlet on a circuit different from that to which th...

Page 9: ...uld interrupt the grounding circuit Make sure that your power supply is set to the correct voltage in your area If you are not sure about the voltage of the electrical outlet you are using contact your local power company If the power supply is broken do not try to fix it by yourself Contact a qualified service technician or your retailer Operation safety Before installing the motherboard and addi...

Page 10: ...itches jumpers and connectors on the motherboard Chapter 3 Powering up This chapter describes the power up sequence the vocal POST messages and ways of shutting down the system Chapter 4 BIOS setup This chapter tells how to change system settings through the BIOS Setup menus Detailed descriptions of the BIOS parameters are also provided Chapter 5 Software support This chapter describes the content...

Page 11: ...osed key Example Enter means that you must press the Enter or Return key Key1 Key2 Key3 If you must press two or more keys simultaneously the key names are linked with a plus sign Example Ctrl Alt D Command Means that you must type the command exactly as shown then supply the required item or value enclosed in brackets Example At the DOS prompt type the command line awdﬂash A8NSLI ROM Where to fin...

Page 12: ...16 slots with Scalable Link Interface SLI support 1 x PCI Express x1 slot 1 x PCI Express x4 slot running at 1 GB s bandwidth 3 x PCI slots SLI mode supports 2 x identical SLI ready PCI Express x16 graphics cards Note In SLI mode the PCI Express x16 slots work at the bandwidth of PCI Express x8 The combined bandwidth of these maintain the bandwidth of PCI Express x16 Single card mode supports defa...

Page 13: ...o 400 MHz ASUS AI Cool Pipe ASUS AI Selector ASUS Post Reporter ASUS EZFlash ASUS Q Fan ASUS CrashFree BIOS 2 ASUS Multi language BIOS ASUS MyLogo2 ASUS Instant Music ASUS SLI Warning LED ASUS EZ Plug 1 x Floppy disk drive connector 2 x IDE connectors 8 x Serial ATA connectors 1 x CPU fan connector 1 x Power fan connector 2 x Chassis fan connector 1 x Chipset fan connector 1 x Serial port connecto...

Page 14: ...s Audio Sensing and Enumeration Technology T1 1394a controller supports 2 x IEEE 1394 connector Supports up to 10 USB 2 0 ports 1 x Parallel port 1 x IEEE 1394 port 2 x LAN RJ 45 port 4 x USB 2 0 ports 1 x Optical S PDIF out port 1 x Coaxial S PDIF out port 1 x PS 2 keyboard port 1 x PS 2 mouse port 8 channel audio ports 4 Mb Flash ROM Phoenix Award BIOS PnP DMI2 0 WfM2 0 SM BIOS 2 3 ATX power sup...

Page 15: ...1 Product introduction This chapter describes the motherboard features and the new technologies it supports ...

Page 16: ...ASUS A8N SLI Premium Chapter summary 1 1 Welcome 1 1 1 2 Package contents 1 1 1 3 Special features 1 2 ...

Page 17: ...ms is damaged or missing contact your retailer 1 2 Package contents Check your motherboard package for the following items Motherboard ASUS A8N SLI Premium motherboard I O modules Serial ATA 2 port extension module IEEE1394 1 port module USB 2 0 2 port module USB 2 0 GAME port module Cables 8 x Serial ATA signal cables Serial ATA power cable with dual plugs Ultra DMA 133 cable 40 conductor IDE cab...

Page 18: ...rmance See Chapter 6 for details Built in NVFirewall and NVActiveArmor The NVIDIA Firewall NVFirewall is an easy to use high performance desktop ﬁrewall application that protects your system from intruders Integrated into the NVIDIA nForce4 SLI chipset with the NVIDIA Gigabit Ethernet it provides advanced anti computer hacking technologies remote management capabilities and a user friendly setup w...

Page 19: ...mand Queuing NCQ Power Management PM Implementation Algorithm and Hot Swap Additionally Serial ATA allows thinner more ﬂexible cables with lower pin count and reduced voltage requirement See pages 2 22 and 2 23 Dual RAID solution Onboard RAID controllers provide the motherboard with dual RAID functionality that allows you to select the best RAID solution using IDE or Serial ATA devices The NVIDIA ...

Page 20: ...interfacing between computers peripherals and consumer electronic devices such as camcorders VCRs printers TVs and digital cameras See pages 2 19 and 2 28 for details USB 2 0 technology The motherboard implements the Universal Serial Bus USB 2 0 speciﬁcation dramatically increasing the connection speed from the 12 Mbps bandwidth on USB 1 1 to a fast 480 Mbps on USB 2 0 USB 2 0 is backward compatib...

Page 21: ...requency to achieve maximum system performance AI NET 2 AI NET 2 is a BIOS based diagnostic tool that detects and reports Ethernet cable faults and shorts With this utility you can easily monitor the condition of the Ethernet cable s connected to the LAN RJ 45 port s During the bootup process AI NET 2 immediately diagnoses the LAN cable s and reports shorts and faults up to 100 meters at 1 meter a...

Page 22: ...x16 graphics cards This special design permits more room for ventilation thus lowering the overall system temperature CrashFree BIOS 2 This feature allows you to restore the original BIOS data from the support CD in case when the BIOS codes and data are corrupted This protection eliminates the need to buy a replacement ROM chip See details on page 4 5 ASUS Q Fan technology The ASUS Q Fan technolog...

Page 23: ...d faster See page 4 15 for details ASUS MyLogo2 This new feature present in the motherboard allows you to personalize and add style to your system with customizable boot logos See page 5 9 for details ASUS Instant Music This unique feature allows you to playback audio ﬁles even without booting the system to Windows Just press the ASUS Instant Music special function keys and enjoy the music See pag...

Page 24: ...1 8 Chapter 1 Product introduction ...

Page 25: ... Hardware information This chapter lists the hardware setup procedures that you have to perform when installing system components It includes description of the jumpers and connectors on the motherboard ...

Page 26: ...8N SLI Premium Chapter summary 2 1 Before you proceed 2 1 2 2 Motherboard overview 2 2 2 3 Central Processing Unit CPU 2 6 2 4 System memory 2 11 2 5 Expansion slots 2 15 2 6 Jumpers 2 18 2 7 Connectors 2 19 ...

Page 27: ...m power required by your system See 8 ATX power connectors on page 2 26 for details Unplug the power cord from the wall socket before touching any component Use a grounded wrist strap or touch a safely grounded object or to a metal object such as the power supply case before handling components to avoid damaging them due to static electricity Hold components by the edges to avoid touching the ICs ...

Page 28: ...physical injury and damage motherboard components Do not overtighten the screws Doing so can damage the motherboard 2 2 1 Placement direction When installing the motherboard make sure that you place it into the chassis in the correct orientation The edge with external ports goes to the rear part of the chassis as indicated in the image below 2 2 2 Screw holes Place nine 9 screws into the holes ind...

Page 29: ...84 pin module DDR DIMM_A1 64 bit 184 pin module DDR DIMM_A2 64 bit 184 pin module DDR DIMM_B2 64 bit 184 pin module CHA2_FAN LAN2_USB12 IE_1394_2 SATA_RAID3 PWR_FAN FLOPPY Super I O 1394 Controller 4Mb BIOS Silicon Image Sil3114 PS 2KBMS T Mouse B Keyboard PARALLEL PORT SPDIF_O SPDIF_O2 LAN1_USB34 CD WARN_LED EZ_PLUG Speech Controller ACL850 PCIEX16_1 PCIEX1_1 PCIEX16_2 PCI1 PCI2 PCI3 Marvell 88E1...

Page 30: ... mouse port green 2 19 2 Parallel port 2 19 3 LAN 2 RJ 45 port 2 19 4 LAN 1 RJ 45 port 2 19 5 Rear Speaker Out port gray 2 19 6 Side Speaker Out port black 2 19 7 Line In port light blue 2 19 8 Line Out port lime 2 19 9 Microphone port pink 2 20 10 Center Subwoofer port yellow orange 2 20 11 USB 2 0 ports 3 and 4 2 20 12 USB 2 0 ports 1 and 2 2 20 13 IEEE 1394a port 2 20 14 Optical S PDIF out port...

Page 31: ...r 3 pin CHIP_FAN 2 24 11 Serial port connector 10 1 pin COM1 2 25 12 USB headers 10 1 USB56 USB78 USB910 2 25 13 ATX power connector 24 pin EATXPWR1 2 26 14 ATX 12V power connector 4 pin ATX12V1 2 26 15 ATX 12V power connector 4 pin EZ_PLUG 2 26 16 Optical audio connector 4 pin CD 2 27 17 Auxiliary audio connector 4 pin AUX 2 27 18 GAME MIDI connector 16 1 pin GAME 2 27 19 Chassis intrusion connec...

Page 32: ...X or AMD Athlon 64 processor The 128 bit wide data paths of these processors can run applications faster than processors with only 32 bit or 64 bit wide data paths Before installing the CPU make sure that the socket box is facing towards you and the load lever is on your left Take note of the marked corner with gold triangle on the CPU This mark should match a speciﬁc corner on the socket to ensur...

Page 33: ...lever sideways then lift it up to a 90 100 angle Make sure that the socket lever is lifted up to 90 100 angle otherwise the CPU does not ﬁt in completely 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 5 When the CPU is in place push down the socket lever to secure the CPU The lever clicks on the side tab to indicate...

Page 34: ...ket Make sure that you use only qualiﬁed heatsink and fan assembly The retention module base is already installed on the motherboard upon purchase You do not have to remove the retention module base when installing the CPU or installing other motherboard components If you purchased a separate CPU heatsink and fan assembly make sure that a Thermal Interface Material is properly applied to the CPU h...

Page 35: ...et lock to the retention module base A clicking sound denotes that the retention bracket is in place 4 Push down the retention bracket lock on the retention mechanism to secure the heatsink and fan to the module base Make sure that the fan and heatsink assembly perfectly ﬁts the retention mechanism module base otherwise you cannot snap the retention bracket in place ...

Page 36: ...n place connect the CPU fan cable to 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 A8N SLI PREMIUM A8N SLI PREMIUM CPU fan connector CPU_FAN GND Rotation 12V ...

Page 37: ...DR DIMM module install into DIMM_B1 slot only When using two DDR DIMM modules install into DIMM_A1 and DIMM_B1 slots only Always install DIMMs with the same CAS latency For optimum compatibility it is recommended that you obtain memory modules from the same vendor Refer to the DDR400 Qualiﬁed Vendors List on the next page for details Due to chipset resource allocation the system may detect less th...

Page 38: ...2PT Winbond SS W942508BH 5 512MB CORSAIR VS512MB400 VALUE seLecT DS VS32M8 5 512MB CORSAIR CMX512 3200C2 N A DS N A 1024MB CORSAIR TWINX2048 3200C2 N A DS N A 256MB Hynix HYMD232645D8J D43 Hynix SS HY5DU56822DT D43 512MB Hynix HYMD264646D8J D43 Hynix DS HY5DU56822DT D43 256MB GEIL GE2563200B GEIL SS GL3LC32G88TG 5A 512MB GEIL GE5123200B GEIL DS GL3LC32G88TG 5A 256MB GEIL GD3200 256V GEIL SS GLIL D...

Page 39: ...0 SAMSUNG SS K4H560838D TCC4 512MB BRAIN POWER B6U808 512M SAM 400 SAMSUNG DS K4H560838D TCC4 256MB CENTURY DXV6S8EL5BM3T27C SAMSUNG SS K4H560838E TCCC 512MB CENTURY DXV2S8EL5BM3T27C SAMSUNG DS K4H560838E TCCC 256MB CENTURY DXV6S8EL5BM3T27C N A SS DD2508AMTA 512MB CENTURY DXV2S8EL5BM3T27C N A DS DD2508AMTA 256MB elixir M2U25664DS88C3G 5T N A SS N2DS25680CT 5T 512MB elixir M2U51264DS8HC1G 5T N A DS...

Page 40: ...ning clips snap back in place and the DIMM is properly seated 1 Unlock a DIMM socket by pressing the retaining clips outward 2 Align a DIMM on the socket such that the notch on the DIMM matches the break on the socket Locked Retaining Clip Make sure to unplug the power supply before adding or removing DIMMs or other system components Failure to do so may cause severe damage to both the motherboard...

Page 41: ...ep the screw for later use 4 Align the card connector with the slot and press ﬁrmly until the card is completely seated on the slot 5 Secure the card to the chassis with the screw you removed earlier 6 Replace the system cover 2 5 2 Configuring an expansion card After installing the expansion card conﬁgure the it by adjusting the software settings 1 Turn on the system and change the necessary BIOS...

Page 42: ...teering 10 5 IRQ holder for PCI steering 11 6 IRQ holder for PCI steering 12 7 PS 2 Compatible Mouse Port 13 8 Numeric Data Processor 14 9 Primary IDE Channel 15 10 Secondary IDE Channel These IRQs are usually available for ISA or PCI devices IRQ assignments for this motherboard A B C D E F G H PCI slot 1 shared PCI slot 2 shared PCI slot 3 shared Onboard USB 1 0 controller shared Onboard USB 2 0 ...

Page 43: ...I Express x1 network cards SCSI cards and other cards that comply with the PCI Express speciﬁcations The ﬁgure shows a network card installed on the PCI Express x1 slot In Single Video Card mode only the PCI Express blue slot can be used for PCI Express x16 graphics cards 2 5 7 PCI Express x4 slot This motherboard provides a PCI Express x4 slot that can support PCI Express x1 x4 x8 or x16 cards Th...

Page 44: ...Keep the cap on pins 2 3 for about 5 10 seconds then move the cap back to pins 1 2 4 Re install the battery 5 Plug the power cord and turn ON the computer 6 Hold down the Del key during the boot process and enter BIOS setup to re enter data Except when clearing the RTC RAM never remove the cap on CLRTC jumper default position Removing the cap will cause system boot failure You do not need to clear...

Page 45: ...AN port LED indications SPEED LED ACT LINK LED LAN port LAN port LED indications 5 Rear Speaker Out port gray This port connects the rear speakers on a 4 channel 6 channel or 8 channel audio conﬁguration 6 Side Speaker Out port black This port connects the side speakers in an 8 channel audio conﬁguration 7 Line In port light blue This port connects the tape CD DVD player or other audio sources 8 L...

Page 46: ...port connects an external audio output device via a coaxial S PDIF cable 16 PS 2 keyboard port purple This port is for a PS 2 keyboard 9 Microphone port pink This port connects a microphone 10 Center Subwoofer port yellow orange This port connects the center subwoofer speakers Audio 2 4 6 or 8 channel configuration Light Blue Line In Line In Line In Line In Lime Line Out Front Speaker Out Front Sp...

Page 47: ...nnector 34 1 pin FLOPPY This connector is for the provided ﬂoppy disk drive FDD signal cable Insert one end of the cable to this connector then connect the other end to the signal connector at the back of the ﬂoppy disk drive The Pin 5 on the connector is removed to prevent incorrect cable connection when using an FDD cable with a covered Pin 5 The Pin 20 on the IDE connector is removed to match t...

Page 48: ...onnectors are set to SATA by default In SATA mode you can connect Serial ATA boot or data hard disk drives to these connectors If you intent to create a Serial ATA RAID set using these connectors enable the RAID function of each port from the NVRAID Conﬁguration sub menu item in the BIOS See section 4 4 3 Onboard Devices Conﬁguration on pages 4 24 and 4 26 for details A8N SLI PREMIUM A8N SLI PREMI...

Page 49: ...nstalled the Serial ATA hard disks drives otherwise you cannot enter the Silicon Image RAID utility and Serial ATA BIOS setup during POST See Appendix for instructions on how to install the Serial ATA extension module By default the RAID function of these connectors are enabled Disable the Silicon SATA controller item in the BIOS if you are not conﬁguring a set with these connectors See section 4 ...

Page 50: ... the connector Do not forget to connect the fan cables to the fan connectors Lack of sufﬁcient air ﬂow inside the system may damage the motherboard components These are not jumpers DO NOT place jumper caps on the fan connectors The ASUS Q Fan function is supported using the CPU Fan CPU_FAN and Chassis Fan 1 CHA1_FAN connectors only The chipset fan is synchronized with the CPU fan A8N SLI PREMIUM A...

Page 51: ...se connectors are for USB 2 0 ports Connect the USB GAME module cable to any of these connectors 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 480 Mbps connection speed A8N SLI PREMIUM A8N SLI PREMIUM COM port connector PIN 1 COM1 A8N SLI PREMIUM A8N SLI PREMIUM USB 2 0 connectors USB56 USB 5V U...

Page 52: ...ecome unstable or may not boot up if the power is inadequate Make sure that your power supply unit PSU can provide at least the minimum power required by your system See the table below for details Power supply requirements Loading Components Peripherals Heavy Normal Light AMD K8 939 pin CPU type Athlon 64 FX 55 Athlon 64 3800 Athlon 64 3400 PCIe x16 graphics cards 6800 Ultra x2 6800GT x2 6600GT x...

Page 53: ...a slot opening at the back of the system chassis The GAME MIDI port connects a joystick or game pad for playing games and MIDI devices for playing or editing audio ﬁles The function of these connectors are disabled under 8 channel mode A8N SLI PREMIUM A8N SLI PREMIUM Internal audio connectors AUX white CD black Right Audio Channel Left Audio Channel Ground Ground Right Audio Channel Left Audio Cha...

Page 54: ... Chassis Signal and Ground are shorted with a jumper cap Remove the jumper caps only when you intend to use the chassis intrusion detection feature Never connect a USB cable to the IEEE 1394 connectors Doing so will damage the motherboard 12 IEEE 1394 connector 10 1 pin IE1394_2 This connector is for the IEEE 1394a module Connect the IEEE 1394 module cable to this connector then install the module...

Page 55: ...e system power LED Connect the chassis power LED cable to this connector The system power LED lights up when you turn on the system power and blinks when the system is in sleep mode Hard disk drive activity Red 2 pin IDE_LED This 2 pin connector 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 ...

Page 56: ... Yellow 2 pin PWRSW This connector is for the system power button Pressing the power button turns the system ON or puts the system in SLEEP or SOFT OFF mode depending on the BIOS settings Pressing the power switch for more than four seconds while the system is ON turns the system OFF Reset button Blue 2 pin RESET This 2 pin connector is for the chassis mounted reset button for system reboot withou...

Page 57: ...3 Powering up This chapter describes the power up sequence the vocal POST messages and ways of shutting down the system ...

Page 58: ...ASUS A8N SLI Premium Chapter summary 3 1 Starting up for the ﬁrst time 3 1 3 2 Powering off the computer 3 2 3 3 ASUS POST Reporter 3 3 ...

Page 59: ...or systems with ATX power supplies the system LED lights up when you press the ATX power button If your monitor complies with green standards or if it has a power standby feature the monitor LED may light up or switch between orange and green after the system LED turns on The system then runs the power on self tests or POST While the tests are running the BIOS beeps see BIOS beep codes table below...

Page 60: ...indows XP 1 Click the Start button then select Turn Off Computer 2 Click the Turn Off button to shut down the computer 3 The power supply should turn off after Windows shuts down 3 2 2 Using the dual function power switch While the system is ON pressing the power switch for less than four seconds puts the system to sleep mode or to soft off mode depending on the BIOS setting Pressing the power swi...

Page 61: ...roperly installed Call ASUS technical support for assistance See the ASUS contact information on the inside front cover of this user guide System failed memory test Install supported DDR DIMMs into the memory sockets Check if the DIMMs on the DIMM sockets are properly installed Make sure that your DIMMs are not defective Refer to section 2 4 System memory for instructions on installing a DIMM Syst...

Page 62: ...upports the fan speed detection function CPU voltage out of range Check your power supply and make sure it is not defective Call ASUS technical support for assistance See the ASUS contact information on the inside front cover of this user guide Computer now booting from operating No action required system You can enable or disable the ASUS POST Reporter in the Speech Conﬁguration option in the BIO...

Page 63: ...rom the Windows desktop by clicking Start All Programs Winbond Voice Editor Voice Editor The Winbond Voice Editor screen appears Playing the default wave files To play the default wave ﬁles simply click on a POST event on the left side of the screen then click the Play button Default Messages POST Events To avoid conﬂicts do not run the Winbond Voice Editor while running the ASUS PC Probe applicat...

Page 64: ... from the Voice Editor main window A window with the available languages appears 2 Select your desired language then click Open The event messages for the language you selected appear on the Voice Editor main window Not all events on some languages have a corresponding message due to ﬁle size constraints The next time you boot your computer the ASUS Post Reporter announces the messages in the sele...

Page 65: ...event 3 Use a recording software e g Windows Recorder to record your messages then save the messages as wave ﬁles WAV 4 From the Voice Editor screen click the Add button to display the Add Wave File window 5 Copy the wave ﬁles that you recorded to the database then close the window when done The total compressed size for all the wave ﬁles must not exceed 1Mbit so keep your messages as short as pos...

Page 66: ...ck the Edit button The Event Sound Editor window appears 7 Locate and select your wave ﬁle for the event then click on the arrow opposite Voice1 The ﬁle you select appears on the space next to it 8 Click OK to return to the Voice Editor main window 9 Do steps 6 to 8 for the other events 10 When done click Save A window appears prompting you to save your conﬁguration 11 Type a ﬁle name with an ﬂh e...

Page 67: ...4 BIOS setup This chapter tells how to change the system settings through the BIOS Setup menus Detailed descriptions of the BIOS parameters are also provided ...

Page 68: ...SUS A8N SLI Premium Chapter summary 4 1 Managing and updating your BIOS 4 1 4 2 BIOS setup program 4 11 4 3 Main menu 4 15 4 4 Advanced menu 4 20 4 5 Power menu 4 35 4 6 Boot menu 4 40 4 7 Exit menu 4 46 ...

Page 69: ... a bootable ﬂoppy disk DOS environment a Insert a 1 44MB ﬂoppy disk into the drive b At the DOS prompt type format A S then press Enter Windows XP environment a Insert a 1 44 MB ﬂoppy disk to the ﬂoppy disk drive b Click Start from the Windows desktop then select My Computer c Select the 3 1 2 Floppy Drive icon d Click File from the menu then select Format A Format 3 1 2 Floppy Disk window appears...

Page 70: ...it to a ﬂoppy disk Save only the updated BIOS ﬁle in the ﬂoppy disk to avoid loading the wrong BIOS ﬁle 2 Copy the AwardBIOS Flash Utility awdﬂash exe from the Software folder of the support CD to the ﬂoppy disk with the latest BIOS ﬁle 3 Boot the system in DOS mode using the bootable ﬂoppy disk you created earlier 4 When the A appears replace the bootable ﬂoppy disk with the ﬂoppy disk containing...

Page 71: ...Turn Off Power Or Reset System For NF KC804 A8N SLI 00 DATE 11 18 2004 Flash Type SST 49LF004A B 3 3V File Name to Program 1001 bin Program Flashing Memory OFE00 OK Write OK No Update Write Fail Message Do You Want To Save Bios Y N 9 The utility displays a Flashing Complete message indicating that you have successfully ﬂashed the BIOS ﬁle Remove the ﬂoppy disk then press F1 to restart the system A...

Page 72: ...gram 1001 bin Save current BIOS as AwardBIOS Flash Utility for ASUS V1 01 C Phoenix Technologies Ltd All Rights Reserved Message Please Wait For NF KC804 A8N SLI 00 DATE 11 18 2004 Flash Type SST 49LF004A B 3 3V File Name to Program 1001 bin Checksum DAD6H Save current BIOS as old bin AwardBIOS Flash Utility for ASUS V1 01 C Phoenix Technologies Ltd All Rights Reserved Message Please Wait For NF K...

Page 73: ...OS from the support CD 1 Turn on the system 2 Insert the motherboard support CD to the optical drive 3 The utility displays the following message and automatically checks the CD for the BIOS ﬁle 4 Restart the system after the utility completes the updating process DO NOT shut down or reset the system while updating the BIOS Doing so can cause system boot failure Award BootBlock BIOS v1 0 Copyright...

Page 74: ...he ﬂoppy disk for the original or updated BIOS ﬁle 4 Restart the system after the utility completes the updating process DO NOT shut down or reset the system while updating the BIOS Doing so can cause system boot failure When no CD is found the utility automatically checks the optical drive for the original or updated BIOS ﬁle The utility then updates the corrupted BIOS ﬁle Award BootBlock BIOS v1...

Page 75: ... to a ﬂoppy disk then restart the system 3 Press Alt F2 during POST to display the following Insert Disk then press Enter or ESC to continue POST 4 Insert the ﬂoppy disk that contains the BIOS ﬁle to the ﬂoppy disk drive then press Enter The following screen appears Do not shutdown or reset the system while updating the BIOS to prevent system boot failure AwardBIOS Flash Utility for ASUS V1 01 C P...

Page 76: ... to manage save and update the motherboard BIOS in Windows environment The ASUS Update utility allows you to Save the current BIOS file Download the latest BIOS file from the Internet Update the BIOS from an updated BIOS file Update the BIOS directly from the Internet and View the BIOS version information This utility is available in the support CD that comes with the motherboard package ASUS Upda...

Page 77: ...Next Updating the BIOS through the Internet To update the BIOS through the Internet 1 Launch the ASUS Update utility from the Windows desktop by clicking Start Programs ASUS ASUSUpdate ASUSUpdate The ASUS Update main window appears 2 Select Update BIOS from the Internet option from the drop down menu then click Next ...

Page 78: ...date BIOS from a ﬁle option from the drop down menu then click Next 4 From the FTP site select the BIOS version that you wish to download Click Next 5 Follow the screen instructions to complete the update process The ASUS Update utility is capable of updating itself through the Internet Always update the utility to avail all its features 3 Locate the BIOS ﬁle from the Open window then click Open 4...

Page 79: ...m Press Del during the Power On Self Test POST to enter the Setup utility otherwise POST continues with its test routines If you wish to enter Setup after POST restart the system by pressing Ctrl Alt Delete or by pressing the reset button on the system chassis You can also restart by turning the system off and then back on Do this last option only if the ﬁrst two failed The Setup program is design...

Page 80: ...stalled Memory 256MB 4 2 2 Menu bar The menu bar on top of the screen has the following main items Main For changing the basic system conﬁguration Advanced For changing the advanced system settings Power For changing the advanced power management APM conﬁguration Boot For changing the system boot conﬁguration Exit For selecting the exit options and loading default settings To select an item on the...

Page 81: ...hlighted when selected To change the value of a ﬁeld select it then press Enter to display a list of options Refer to 4 2 7 Pop up window 4 2 3 Legend bar At the bottom of the Setup screen is a legend bar The keys in the legend bar allow you to navigate through the various setup menus The following table lists the keys found in the legend bar with their corresponding functions Navigation Key Funct...

Page 82: ... diskette drive A 4 2 8 General help At the top right corner of the menu screen is a brief description of the selected item Pop up menu System Tim 15 30 36 System Date Wed Nov 5 2004 Language English Legacy Diskette A 1 44M 3 5 in Primary IDE Master ST321122A Primary IDE Slave ASUS CDS520 A Secondary IDE Master None Secondary IDE Slave None First SATA Master None Second SATA Slave None Third SATA ...

Page 83: ...Allows you to set the system time 4 3 2 System Date Day xx xx xxxx Allows you to set the system date 4 3 3 Language English Allows you to choose the BIOS language version from the options Conﬁguration options Français German English 4 3 4 Legacy Diskette A 1 44M 3 5 in Sets the type of ﬂoppy drive installed Conﬁguration options Disabled 360K 5 25 in 1 2M 5 25 in 720K 3 5 in 1 44M 3 5 in 2 88M 3 5 ...

Page 84: ...to automatically detect an IDE hard disk drive If automatic detection is successful the BIOS automatically ﬁlls in the correct values for the remaining ﬁelds on this sub menu If the hard disk was already formatted on a previous system the setup BIOS may detect incorrect parameters Select Manual to manually enter the IDE hard disk drive parameters If no drive is installed select None Conﬁguration o...

Page 85: ...rable PIO Mode Sets the PIO mode for the IDE device Conﬁguration options Auto Mode 0 Mode 1 Mode 2 Mode 3 Mode 4 UDMA Mode Disables or sets the UDMA mode Conﬁguration options Disabled Auto Transfer Mode Shows the Transfer mode This item is not conﬁgurable After entering the IDE hard disk drive information into BIOS use a disk utility such as FDISK to partition and format new IDE hard disk drives T...

Page 86: ...Access Mode Sets the sector addressing mode Conﬁguration options Large Auto F1 Help Select Item Change Value F5 Setup Defaults ESC Exit Select Menu Enter Select Sub menu F10 Save and Exit Phoenix Award BIOS CMOS Setup Utility Main Select Menu Item Speciﬁc Help Press Enter to select Primary IDE Master Extended IDE Drive Auto Access Mode Auto Capacity xxxxx MB Cylinder xxxxx Head xx Precomp xx Landi...

Page 87: ...t conﬁgurable After entering the IDE hard disk drive information into BIOS use a disk utility such as FDISK to partition and format new IDE hard disk drives This is necessary so that you can write or read data from the hard disk Make sure to set the partition of the Primary IDE hard disk drives to active 4 3 7 HDD SMART Monitoring Allows you to enable or disable the HDD Self Monitoring Analysis an...

Page 88: ...nd Exit Select Menu Item Speciﬁc Help DRAM timing and control CPU Conﬁguration CPU Type AMD Athlon tm 64 FX 55 Processor CPU Speed 3400MHz Cache RAM 512K DRAM Conﬁguration Hyper Transport Frequency Auto AMD K8 Cool n Quiet control Auto Phoenix Award BIOS CMOS Setup Utility Advanced 4 4 Advanced menu The Advanced menu items allow you to change the settings for the CPU and other system devices Take ...

Page 89: ...charge Time Trp Auto Row Cycle Time Trc Auto Row Refresh Cycle Time Trfc Auto Write Recovery Time Twr Auto Read to Write Delay Trwt Auto Phoenix Award BIOS CMOS Setup Utility Advanced DRAM Over 4G Remapping Disabled Enables or disables DRAM remapping when using 4G of system memory Conﬁguration options Disabled Enabled Max Memclock MHz Auto Sets the maximum operating memory clock Conﬁguration optio...

Page 90: ... 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Write Recovery Time Twr Auto Sets the write recovery time Conﬁguration options Auto 2 3 Read to Write Delay Trwt Auto Sets the read to write delay Conﬁguration options Auto 1 2 3 4 5 6 Master ECC Enable Disabled Enables or disables the master ECC function Conﬁguration options Disabled Enabled Hyper Transport Frequency Auto Sets the Hyper Transport frequency Conﬁguration option...

Page 91: ...he devices in the system When 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 Resources Controlled By Auto When set to Auto the BIOS automatically conﬁgures all the boot and Plug and Play compatible devices Set to Manual if you want to assign the IRQ DMA and memory base address...

Page 92: ... speciﬁc IRQ is free for use of PCI PnP devices When set to Reserved the IRQ is reserved for legacy ISA devices Conﬁguration options PCI Device Reserved PCI VGA Palette Snoop Disabled When set to Enabled the pallete snooping feature informs the PCI devices that an ISA graphics device is installed in the system so that the latter can function correctly Conﬁguration options Disabled Enabled F1 Help ...

Page 93: ...abled OnChip IDE Channel0 Enabled Allows you to enable or disable the onchip IDE channel 0 controller Conﬁguration options Disabled Enabled OnChip IDE Channel1 Enabled Allows you to enable or disable the onchip IDE channel 1 controller Conﬁguration options Disabled Enabled IDE DMA transfer access Enabled Allows you to enable or disable the IDE DMA transfer access Conﬁguration options Disabled Enab...

Page 94: ...Disabled x IDE Primary Master RAID Disabled x IDE Primary Slave RAID Disabled x IDE Secondary Master RAID Disabled x IDE Secondary Slave RAID Disabled x First SATA Master RAID Disabled x Second SATA Master RAID Disabled x Third SATA Master RAID Disabled x Fourth SATA Master RAID Disabled RAID Enabled Disabled Enables or disables the onboard RAID controller When Enabled the succeeding items becomes...

Page 95: ...le the onchip USB controller Conﬁguration options Disabled Enabled USB 2 0 Controller Enabled Allows you to enable or disable the USB 2 0 controller Conﬁguration options Disabled Enabled USB Legacy Support Enabled Allows you to enable or disable support for USB devices on legacy operating systems OS Conﬁguration options Disabled Enabled Onboard NV LAN Enabled Enables or disables the onboard NVIDIA...

Page 96: ...bled Serial Port1 Address 3F8 IRQ4 Allows you to select the Serial Port1 base address Conﬁguration options Disabled 3F8 IRQ4 3E8 IRQ4 2E8 IRQ3 Parallel Port Address 378 IRQ7 Allows you to select the Parallel Port base addresses Conﬁguration options Disabled 378 IRQ7 278 IRQ5 3BC IRQ7 Parallel Port Mode ECP EPP Allows you to select the Parallel Port mode Conﬁguration options Normal Bi directional E...

Page 97: ...t to Dual Video Cards when using two SLI ready graphics cards Conﬁguration options Auto Single Video Card Dual Video Card F1 Help Select Item Change Value F5 Setup Defaults ESC Exit Select Menu Enter Select Sub menu F10 Save and Exit Select Menu Item Speciﬁc Help SLI Conﬁguration EZ Plug Warning Enabled SLI Broadcast Aperture Disabled AI Selector Auto Phoenix Award BIOS CMOS Setup Utility Advanced...

Page 98: ... options Manual Allows you to individually set overclocking parameters Auto Loads the optimal settings for the system Standard Loads the standard settings for the system AI Overclock Loads overclocking proﬁles with optimal parameters for stability when overclocking AI N O S he ASUS AI Non delay Overclocking System feature intelligently determines the system load and automatically boost the perform...

Page 99: ...U installed Conﬁguration options Auto x4 x4 5 x5 x5 5 x6 x6 5 x7 x7 5 x7 5 x8 x8 5 x9 x9 5 x10 x10 5 x11 x11 5 x12 x12 5 x13 x13 5 x14 x14 5 x15 x15 5 x16 x16 5 x17 x17 5 x18 x18 5 x19 x19 5 x20 CPU Voltage Auto Sets the operating CPU voltage Conﬁguration options Auto 1 650V 1 6375V 1 625V 1 6125V 1 600V 1 5875V 1 575V 1 5625V 1 550V 1 5375V 1 525V 1 5125V 1 500V 1 4875V 1 475V 1 4625V 1 450V 1 43...

Page 100: ... 5 Overclock 8 Overclock 10 POST Check LAN cable Disabled Enables or disables checking of the LAN cable during the Power On Self Test POST Conﬁguration options Disabled Enabled 4 4 6 LAN Cable Status The items in this menu displays the status of the Local Area Network LAN cable F1 Help Select Item Change Value F5 Setup Defaults ESC Exit Select Menu Enter Select Sub menu F10 Save and Exit Select Me...

Page 101: ...Setup Utility Advanced PEG Link Mode Disabled Allows you to enhance the performance of your PCI Express graphics card Conﬁguration options Auto Slow Normal Fast Faster PEG Root Control Auto Allows you to enable or disable the PCI Express graphics root control Conﬁguration options Auto Enabled Disabled PEG Buffer Length Auto Allows you to set the PCI Express graphics buffer length For optimum perfo...

Page 102: ...usic automatically disables the PS 2 keyboard power up feature Speech IC Reporter Enabled Allows you to enable or disable the ASUS Speech POST Reporter feature Conﬁguration options Disabled Enabled The following items appear only when Speech IC Reporter is set to Enabled Report IDE Error Disabled Enables or disables the report feature in the event of an IDE error Conﬁguration options Disabled Enab...

Page 103: ...upport Enabled APM Conﬁguration Hardware Monitor F1 Help Select Item Change Value F5 Setup Defaults ESC Exit Select Menu Enter Select Sub menu F10 Save and Exit 4 5 1 ACPI Suspend Type S1 S3 Allows you to select the Advanced Conﬁguration and Power Interface ACPI state to be used for system suspend Conﬁguration options S1 POS S3 STR S1 S3 4 5 2 ACPI APIC Support Enabled Allows you to enable or disa...

Page 104: ...bled Enabled PWR Button 4 secs Instant Off Allows you to set the event after the power button is pressed for more than 4 seconds Conﬁguration options Suspend Instant Off Power On By PCI Devices Disabled When set to Enabled this parameter allows you to turn on the system through a PCI LAN or modem card This feature requires an ATX power supply that provides at least 1A on the 5VSB lead Conﬁguration...

Page 105: ...enu for the hour ﬁeld 2 Key in a value Min 0 Max 23 then press Enter 3 Press TAB to move to the minutes ﬁeld then press Enter 4 Key in a minute value Min 0 Max 59 then press Enter 5 Press TAB to move to the seconds ﬁeld then press Enter 6 Key in a value Min 0 Max 59 then press Enter Power Up By PS 2 Mouse Disabled When set to Enabled this parameter allows you to use the PS 2 mouse to turn on the s...

Page 106: ...ature 20ºC CPU Fan Speed warning 1600 RPM CPU Fan Speed warning 1200 RPM CHIP Fan Speed warning Enabled Phoenix Award BIOS CMOS Setup Utility Power Q Fan Controller Disabled Allows you to enable or disable the Q Fan controller Conﬁguration options Disabled Enabled VCORE Voltage 12V Voltage 3 3V Voltage 5VCC Voltage The onboard hardware monitor automatically detects the voltage output through the o...

Page 107: ...ºC CPU Fan Speed warning 1200 RPM Allows you to set the CPU fan warning speed Conﬁguration options Disabled 800 RPM 1200 RPM 1600 RPM CHA1 Fan Speed warning Disabled Allows you to set the chassis fan warning speed Conﬁguration options Disabled 500 RPM 800 RPM 1200 RPM CHIP Fan Speed warning Enabled Enables or disables the chip fan speed warning feature Conﬁguration options Disabled Enabled ...

Page 108: ... and Exit 4 6 1 Boot Device Priority 1st xxth Boot Device Removable These items specify the boot device priority sequence from the available devices The number of device items that appears on the screen depends on the number of devices installed in the system Conﬁguration options Removable Hard Disk CDROM Legacy LAN Disabled F1 Help Select Item Change Value F5 Setup Defaults ESC Exit Select Menu E...

Page 109: ... Disks Phoenix Award BIOS CMOS Setup Utility Boot 4 6 3 Hard Disk Drives 1 1st Master XXXXXXXXX Allows you to assign hard disk drives attached to the system 2 Bootable Add in Cards Allows you to select an add in disk drive attached to the system F1 Help Select Item Change Value F5 Setup Defaults ESC Exit Select Menu Enter Select Sub menu F10 Save and Exit Select Menu Item Speciﬁc Help Use or to se...

Page 110: ...xit Select Menu Item Speciﬁc Help Press Enter to enable or disable Boot Settings Conﬁguration Case Open Warning Enabled Quick Boot Enabled Boot Up Floppy Seek Enabled Bootup Num Lock On Typematic Rate Setting Disabled x Typematic Rate Chars Sec 6 x Typematic Delay Msec 250 OS Select For DRAM 64MB Non OS2 Full Screen LOGO Enabled Halt On All Errors Phoenix Award BIOS CMOS Setup Utility Boot Case Op...

Page 111: ... select the rate at which a character repeats when you hold a key Conﬁguration options 6 8 10 12 15 20 24 30 Typematic Delay Msec 250 Allows you to set the delay before keystrokes begin to repeat Conﬁguration options 250 500 750 1000 OS Select for DRAM 64MB Non OS2 Set this item to OS2 only when you are running on an OS 2 operating system with an installed RAM of greater than 64 KB Conﬁguration op...

Page 112: ...t Supervisor Password User Password These ﬁelds allow you to set passwords To set a password 1 Select an item then press Enter 2 Type in a password using a combination of a maximum of eight 8 alpha numeric characters then press Enter 3 When prompted conﬁrm the password by typing the exact characters again then press Enter The password ﬁeld setting is changed to Set To clear the password 1 Select t...

Page 113: ... by erasing the CMOS Real Time Clock RTC RAM The RAM data containing the password information is powered by the onboard button cell battery If you need to erase the CMOS RAM refer to section 2 6 Jumpers for instructions Password Check This ﬁeld requires you to enter the password before entering the BIOS setup or the system Select Setup to require the password before entering the BIOS Setup Select ...

Page 114: ...nu to ensure the values you selected are saved to the CMOS RAM An onboard backup battery sustains the CMOS RAM so it stays on even when the PC is turned off When you select this option a conﬁrmation window appears Select Yes to save changes and exit Pressing Esc does not immediately exit this menu Select one of the options from this menu or F10 from the legend bar to exit Exit Discard Changes Sele...

Page 115: ... conﬁrmation window appears Select Yes to load default values Select Exit Save Changes or make other changes before saving the values to the non volatile RAM Discard Changes This option allows you to discard the selections you made and restore the previously saved values After selecting this option a conﬁrmation appears Select Yes to discard any changes and load the previously saved values ...

Page 116: ...4 48 Chapter 4 BIOS setup ...

Page 117: ...5 Software support This chapter describes the contents of the support CD that comes with the motherboard package ...

Page 118: ...ating system 5 1 5 2 Support CD information 5 1 5 4 Software information 5 9 5 5 RAID conﬁgurations 5 21 5 6 Creating a RAID driver disk 5 40 5 7 Cool ʻnʼ Quiet Technology 5 41 5 8 Using the NVIDIA nTune utility 5 43 5 9 Using the ASUS AI Selector utility 5 46 ...

Page 119: ...lities that you can install to avail all motherboard features 5 2 1 Running the support CD Place the support CD to the optical drive The CD automatically displays the Drivers menu if Autorun is enabled in your computer Motherboard settings and hardware options vary Use the setup procedures presented in this chapter for reference only Refer to your OS documentation for detailed information Make sur...

Page 120: ...et Make NVIDIA RAID Driver Disk Creates the NVIDIA driver disk for Serial ATA and RAID features Marvell Yukon Gigabit Ethernet Driver Installs the Marvell Yukon Gigabit Ethernet driver Realtek ALC850 Driver Installs the Realtek ALC850 audio controller and application Silicon Image RAID Driver Displays the README ﬁle of the Silicon Image SATA Link Sil 3114 driver driver installation Make Silicon SA...

Page 121: ...nTune Utility Installs the NVIDIA nTune utility that allows easy and safe system tuning for optimum performance ASUS PC Probe This smart utility monitors the fan speed CPU temperature and system voltages and alerts you of any detected problems This utility helps you keep your computer in healthy operating condition ASUS Update Allows you to download the latest version of the BIOS from the ASUS web...

Page 122: ...mes in your computer Visit the Microsoft website www microsoft com for updates Anti virus Utility The anti virus application detects and protects your computer from viruses that destroys data ADOBE Acrobat Reader Installs the Adobe Acrobat Reader that allows you to open view and print documents in Portable Document Format PDF Winbond Voice Editor This program is for recording and customizing wave ...

Page 123: ... this menu may not be applicable for this motherboard model NVIDIA Firewall Administratorʼs Guide Allows you to open the NVIDIA ForceWare Networking and Firewall Administratorʼs Guide NVIDIA RAID Userʼs Guide Allows you to open the NVIDIA RAID Userʼs Guide Sil3114 Userʼs Manual Allows you to open the Silicon Image SATARaid Serial ATA RAID Management Software userʼs manual NVIDIA nTune Manual Allow...

Page 124: ...nd this information on the inside front cover of this user guide 5 2 6 Other information The icons on the top right corner of the screen give additional information on the motherboard and the contents of the support CD Click an icon to display the speciﬁed information Motherboard Info Displays the general speciﬁcations of the motherboard ...

Page 125: ...I Premium 5 7 Browse this CD Displays the support CD contents in graphical format Technical support Form Displays the ASUS Technical Support Request Form that you have to ﬁll out when requesting technical support ...

Page 126: ...5 8 Chapter 5 Software support Filelist Displays the contents of the support CD and a brief description of each in text format ...

Page 127: ...ASUS Update utility for details 2 Select Options from the drop down menu then click Next 3 Check the option Launch MyLogo to replace system boot logo before ﬂashing BIOS then click Next 4 Select Update BIOS from a ﬁle from the drop down menu then click Next 5 When prompted locate the new BIOS ﬁle then click Next The ASUS MyLogo2 window appears 6 From the left window pane select the folder that con...

Page 128: ...l BIOS to load the new boot logo 10 After ﬂashing the BIOS restart the computer to display the new boot logo during POST 8 Adjust the boot image to your desired size by selecting a value on the Ratio box 7 When the logo images appear on the right window pane select an image to enlarge by clicking on it ...

Page 129: ... incorporated in the network systems sofware for ideal ﬁeld support as well as development diagnostics Using the Virtual Cable Tester To use the the Marvell Virtual Cable Tester utility 1 Launch the VCT utility from the Windows desktop by clicking Start All Programs Marvell Virtual Cable Tester 2 Click Virtual Cable Tester from the menu to display the screen below The VCT only runs on systems with...

Page 130: ... convenience Follow the installation wizard to install the Realtek ALC850 Audio Driver and Application from the support CD that came with the motherboard package If the Realtek audio software is correctly installed you will ﬁnd the SoundEffect icon on the taskbar From the taskbar double click on the SoundEffect icon to display the Realtek Audio Control Panel Sound Effect options The Realtek ALC850...

Page 131: ... out settings 3 Click the Exit X button on the upper right hand corner of the window to exit To set the sound effect options 1 From the Realtek Audio Control Panel click the Sound Effect button 2 Click the shortcut buttons to change the acoustic environment adjust the equalizer or set the karaoke to your desired settings 3 The audio settings take effect immediately after you click on the buttons 4...

Page 132: ...he Realtek Audio Control Panel click the Speaker Conﬁguration button 2 Select from the combo list box your current speaker setup then click Auto Test to test your settings 3 Click the UAJ Automatic button to enable or disable the Universal Audio Jack UAJ technology feature 4 Click the Exit X button on the upper right hand corner of the window to exit ...

Page 133: ...gh the connector sensing option that allows you to check if your audio devices are connected properly To start the connector sensing 1 From the Realtek Audio Control Panel click the Connector Sensing button 2 Click the Bracket button to display connected audio devices 3 Click the Option button to change sensing options 4 Click the Start button to start connection sensing A progress bar displays cu...

Page 134: ...the upper right hand corner of the window to exit audio control panel HRTF Demo This option shows a demo of the Head Related Transfer Functions HRTF To start the HRTF demo 1 From the Realtek Audio Control Panel click the HRTF Demo button 2 Click the option buttons to change the sound moving path or EAX settings 3 Click the Play button to start or the Stop button to stop 4 Click the Exit X button o...

Page 135: ... the 8 6 4 or 2 channel speaker conﬁguration on page 2 20 General settings This option shows the audio settings and allows you to change the language setting or toggle the SoundEffect icon display on the Windows taskbar To display the general settings 1 From the Realtek Audio Control Panel click the General button 2 Click the option button to enable or disable the icon display on the Windows taskb...

Page 136: ... intrusions The following sections describe how to use the NVIDIA Firewall Launching the NVFirewall summary After you install the NVFirewall application from the motherboard support CD it is automatically activated with a Medium security proﬁle The setup summary of NVFirewall is displayed in the summary menu To launch the NVFirewall summary menu 1 Click the NVIDIA Firewall icon from the Windows ta...

Page 137: ...t trafﬁc through Only outbound connections are allowed This proﬁle also includes the stealth modeʼ feature that makes your system invisible to intruders This also enables some anti hacking features Lockdown blocks all incoming and outgoing connections Anti hacking only this proﬁle enables all anti hacking features but disables the ﬁrewall This security proﬁle is useful if you want to use a third p...

Page 138: ...on your computer becomes vulnerable to viruses hackers or intruders after you turn off the ﬁrewall To turn off the NVFirewall 1 From the NVIDIA Firewall summary menu click the Current Firewall Proﬁle combo list box then select Off The following conﬁrmation box appears 2 Click Turn Firewall OFF ...

Page 139: ...y redundancy data having to be calculated and written With the RAID 0 1 conﬁguration you get all the beneﬁts of both RAID 0 and RAID 1 conﬁgurations Use four new hard disk drives or use an existing drive and three new drives for this setup RAID 5 stripes both data and parity information across three or more hard disk drives Among the advantages of RAID 5 conﬁguration include better HDD performance...

Page 140: ...able to the power connector on each drive Installing Serial ATA SATA hard disks To install the SATA hard disks for a RAID conﬁguration 1 Install the SATA hard disks into the drive bays 2 Connect the SATA signal cables 3 Connect a SATA power cable to the power connector on each drive If you want to boot the system from a hard disk drive included in a RAID set copy ﬁrst the RAID driver from the supp...

Page 141: ...ration To set the BIOS RAID items 1 Boot the system and press Del during the Power On Self Test POST to enter the BIOS Setup Utility 2 From the Advanced Onboard Devices Conﬁguration NVRAID Conﬁguration menu item in the BIOS set the RAID Enabled item to Enabled The succeeding items become user conﬁgurable 3 Select and enable the IDE or SATA drive s that you want to conﬁgure as RAID See section 4 4 ...

Page 142: ... keys These keys allow you to move through and select menu options NVIDIA RAID Utility Oct 5 2004 Deﬁne a New Array RAID Mode Striping Striping Block Optimal Free Disks Array Disks Loc Disk Model Name Loc Disk Model Name 1 0 M XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 1 1 M XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Add 2 0 M XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 2 1 M XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Del Creating a RAID Volume To create a RAID volume 1 From the NVIDIA RAID u...

Page 143: ...he up or down arrow keys to select the stripe size for your RAID 0 array then press Enter The available values range from 8 KB to 128 KB The default selection is 128 KB The strip value should be chosen based on the planned drive usage 8 16 KB low disk usage 64 KB typical disk usage 128 KB performance disk usage 3 Press TAB to select the Free Disks area Use the left or right arrow keys to assign th...

Page 144: ...y Oct 5 2004 Array List Boot Id Status Vendor Array Model Name No 4 Healthy NVIDIA MIRROR XXX XXG A new set of navigation keys is displayed on the bottom of the screen 6 Press Ctrl X to save settings and exit R Rebuild D Delete C Clear Disk ENTER Return Array 1 NVIDIA MIRROR XXX XXG Array Detail RAID Mode Mirroring Striping Width 1 Striping Block 64K Adapt Channel M S Index Disk Model Name Capacit...

Page 145: ...wing conﬁrmation message appears Select F6 Back F7 Finish Array 1 NVIDIA MIRROR XXX XXG Select Disk Inside Array RAID Mode Mirroring Striping Width 1 Striping Block 64K Adapt Channel M S Index Disk Model Name Capacity 2 1 Master 0 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXX XXGB 1 0 Master 1 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXX XXGB Rebuild array ENTER OK ESC Cancel 4 Press Enter to start rebuilding array or press Esc to cancel 5 Aft...

Page 146: ...riping Width 1 Striping Block 64K Adapt Channel M S Index Disk Model Name Capacity 2 1 Master 0 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXX XXGB 1 0 Master 1 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXX XXGB A new set of navigation keys is displayed on the bottom of the screen 2 Press D to delete a RAID array The following conﬁrmation message appears Delete this array Y YES N No 4 If you selected Yes the Deﬁne a New Array menu appears Take c...

Page 147: ...tail RAID Mode Mirroring Striping Width 1 Striping Block 64K Adapt Channel M S Index Disk Model Name Capacity 2 1 Master 0 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXX XXGB 1 0 Master 1 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXX XXGB A new set of navigation keys is displayed on the bottom of the screen 2 Press C to clear disk The following conﬁrmation message appears Take caution in using this option All data on the RAID drives will be lost...

Page 148: ...nu item in the BIOS set the Silicon Image Controller item to RAID Mode See section 4 4 6 Onboard Devices Conﬁguration for details 3 Save your changes and Exit Setup Launching the Silicon Image Array Management Software Launch the Silicon Image Array Management software from Windows XP by clicking the Start button and selecting All Programs Silicon Image Sam For details on the Silicon Image SATARai...

Page 149: ...es all data previously stored in the drive Logical Drive Info shows the current conﬁguration of each RAID set On the upper right corner of the screen is the Help message box The message describes the function of each menu item At the bottom of the screen is the legend box The keys on the legend box allow you to navigate through the setup menu options The following lists the keys found in the legen...

Page 150: ...tion menu 2 Select RAID 0 then press Enter to display the following 3 Select your desired method of conﬁguration Auto conﬁguration a Select Auto Conﬁguration the press Enter b The utility prompts a message to input the RAID size use the up or down arrow keys to set the RAID size then press Enter c Press Y to conﬁrm or N to return to the Main Menu MAIN MENU Auto conﬁguration Manual conﬁguration By ...

Page 151: ...en press Enter f Press Y to conﬁrm or N to return to the Main Menu TIP For server systems we recommend using a lower array block size For multimedia computer systems used mainly for audio and video editing we recommend a higher array block size for optimum performance PHYSICAL DRIVE 0 XXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXMB 1 XXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXMB 2 XXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXMB 3 XXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXMB Creating a RAID 1 set Mi...

Page 152: ...w keys to set the RAID size then press Enter c Press Y to conﬁrm or N to return to the Main Menu Auto conﬁguration creates a RAID 1 set without a backup copy of the current source disk data When migrating a single hard disk drive to a RAID 1 set use of the Manual conﬁguration is recommended MAIN MENU Auto conﬁguration Manual conﬁguration Create with data copy Create without data copy The Create wi...

Page 153: ...pts a message to input the RAID size use the up or down arrow keys to set the RAID size then press Enter h Press Y to conﬁrm or N to return to the Main Menu A copy progress appears if you previously selected ofﬂine copy 2 Select RAID 5 then press Enter to display the following MAIN MENU Auto conﬁguration Manual conﬁguration Creating a RAID 5 set Parity To create a RAID 5 set 1 From the Silicon Ima...

Page 154: ...ystems we recommend using a lower array block size For multimedia computer systems used mainly for audio and video editing we recommend a higher array block size for optimum performance PHYSICAL DRIVE 0 XXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXMB 1 XXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXMB 2 XXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXMB 3 XXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXMB c The selection bar moves to the Physical Drive menu Using the up or down arrow keys select a drive then pr...

Page 155: ... up or down arrow keys to select achunk size appropriate to your drive usage then press Enter 2 Select RAID 0 1 then press Enter to display the following MAIN MENU Auto conﬁguration Manual conﬁguration Creating a RAID 0 1 set Mirrored Striped To create a RAID 0 1 set 1 From the Silicon Image conﬁguration utility main menu select Create RAID set then press Enter The following sub menu appears MAIN ...

Page 156: ...able drives depend on the installed and enabled physical drives in the system The Create with data copy option allows you to copy the current data from the source drive to the mirror drive The Create without data copy option disables the disk copy function of the Mirrored set If you selected Create without data copy the RAID 1 set must be repartitioned and reformatted to guarantee the consistency ...

Page 157: ...create a RAID set using the SATARAID5 GUI utility under a Windows environment Creating a JBOD set Spanning To create a JBOD set 1 From the Silicon Image conﬁguration utility main menu select Create RAID set then press Enter 2 From the sub menu Select JBOD then press Enter MAIN MENU Create RAID set Delete RAID set Rebuild Raid1 set Resolve Conﬂicts Low Level Format Logical Drive Info RAID0 RAID1 RA...

Page 158: ...lity Go to Drivers Chipset WINXP_2K Driver_Disk for the NVIDIA RAID driver disk utility Go to Drivers Sil3114 for the Silicon Image RAID driver disk utility 4 Insert ﬂoppy disk to ﬂoppy disk drive 5 Follow succeeding screen information to complete process 6 Write protect the ﬂoppy disk to avoid computer virus infection To install the RAID driver 1 During the OS installation the system prompts you ...

Page 159: ...e user guide 3 In the Power menu select the item ACPI 2 0 Support and set it to Yes See section 4 5 Power Menu in the user guide 4 Save your changes and exit BIOS Setup 5 Reboot your computer and set your Power Option Properties depending on your operating system Windows 2000 XP 1 From the Windows 2000 XP operating system click the Start button Select Settings then Control Panel 2 Make sure the Co...

Page 160: ...program 1 If you are using Windows 98SE ME 2000 click the Start button Select Programs ASUS Cool Quiet Cool Quiet 2 If you are using Windows XP click the Start button Select All Programs ASUS Cool Quiet Cool Quiet 3 The Cool ʻnʼ Quiet technology screen appears and displays the current CPU Frequency and CPU Voltage Make sure to install the Cool ʻnʼ Quiet software from the motherboard support CD Ref...

Page 161: ...ne utility from the motherboard support CD After you have successfully installed the utility in your computer launch the nTune utility from the Windows desktop by clicking Start All Programs NVIDIA Corporation nTune nTune from the Windows taskbar 5 8 1 Managing your nForce system The Manage my nForce system menu allows you to benchmark and automatically tune your system manage your nTune proﬁles m...

Page 162: ...oller timing The system bus speed includes the front side bus FSB and AGP bus Click to launch the Clock control menu 5 8 3 Voltage Fan control The Voltage Fan control menu allows tweaking options for the CPU and memory voltage This menu also allows dynamic modiﬁcations for the CPU and auxiliary fan speeds Click to launch the Voltage Fan menu ...

Page 163: ...ation and the calculated system performance results 5 8 5 Other options Other option buttons allow you to easily save or revert your settings and save or load nTune proﬁles Click to launch the Information page Click to save settings and exit Click to save settings only Click to revert changes Click to load saved nTune profile Click to save settings in a profile ...

Page 164: ...elector After you have successfully installed the utility in your computer launch the AI Selector utility from the Windows desktop by clicking Start All Programs ASUS AI Selector AI Selector from the Windows taskbar Click for help Click to minimize Click to exit Click to select SLI mode Rotate knob to select SLI mode Single Video Card mode the primary blue PCI Express x16 slot works at the bandwid...

Page 165: ...SLI mode 1 Set the SLI Multi GPU feature in Display Properties See section 6 2 4 Enabling the multi GPU feature in Windows on page 6 7 for details 2 Select Dual video card 3 When prompted click Yes to restart your system When the SLI mode is disabled the multi monitor feature is automatically enabled Use the NVIDIA nView utility to conﬁgure your multi monitor setup Refer to section 4 4 4 SLI Conﬁg...

Page 166: ...5 48 Chapter 5 Software support ...

Page 167: ...6 This chapter tells how to install SLI ready PCI Express graphics cards NVIDIA SLI technology support ...

Page 168: ...ASUS A8N SLI Premium Chapter summary 6 1 Overview 6 1 6 2 Dual graphics cards setup 6 3 ...

Page 169: ...dia com Make sure that your power supply unit PSU can provide at least the minimum power required by your system See 8 ATX power connectors on page 2 26 for details The NVIDIA SLI technology supports Windows XP operating system only Visit the NVIDIA website for the supported 3D applications Visit the NVIDIA zone website http www nzone com for the latest certiﬁed graphics card list 6 1 2 ASUS Certi...

Page 170: ...T PCI E PV T45G UD GeForce 6800 GT models Vendor Model Number Albatron GF6600GT AOpen Aeolus 6600GT DV128 Asus Extreme N6600GT BFG BFGR6600GTOCX Chaintech SE6600G eVGA 128 P2 N368 AX BX Gigabyte NX66T128D Leadtek WinFast PX6600GT MSI MS 8983 NX6600GT VTD128E NX6600GT TD128E Palit GeForce 6600GT Prolink PV NV43E 128LD Sparkle SPPX43 XFX Pine XFX GeForce 6600GT PCI E PV T43G ND GeForce 6600 GT model...

Page 171: ...s that are ASUS and NVIDIA certiﬁed Different types of graphics cards will not work together properly To install the graphics cards 1 Prepare two graphics cards Each graphics card should have goldﬁngers for the SLI connector 2 Remove the metal bracket covers opposite the two PCI Express x16 slots 6 2 Dual graphics card setup ...

Page 172: ...he black slot labeled PCIEX16_2 Make sure that the card is properly seated on the slot If required connect an auxiliary power source to the PCI Express graphics cards 3 Insert one graphics card into the blue slot labeled PCIEX16_1 Make sure that the card is properly seated on the slot ...

Page 173: ...card Make sure that the connector is ﬁrmly in place 6 If using a 20 pin ATX power connector connect a 4 pin ATX power cable to the EZ Plug labeled EZ_PLUG on your motherboard The onboard red warning LED lights up if you do not plug a 4 pin ATX power cable to the EZ Plug SLI flexible cable connector ASUS EZ Plug ...

Page 174: ...ice drivers Refer to the documentation that came with your graphics card package to install the device drivers 7 Connect a VGA cable or a DVI I cable to the graphics card installed on the blue PCI Express slot 6 2 3 Installing the ASUS AI Selector utility Install the ASUS AI Selector utility using the motherboard support CD Follow the steps described in section 5 2 3 Utilities menu to install the ...

Page 175: ...esktop Manager then click nView Properties 6 2 4 Enabling the multi GPU feature in Windows After installing your graphics cards and the device drivers enable the Multi Graphics Processing Unit GPU feature in the NVIDIA nView properties 3 From the nView Desktop Manager window select the Desktop Management tab 4 Click Properties to display the Display Properties dialog box ...

Page 176: ...echnology support 7 Click the slider to display the following screen then select the SLI multi GPU item Slider 5 From the Display Properties dialog box select the Settings tab then click Advanced 6 Select the NVIDIA GeForce tab ...

Page 177: ... PCIEX16_2 black slot Card Type Speed Card Type Speed Single Video Card Qualiﬁed PCIe x16 x16 graphics card SLI mode Qualiﬁed SLI ready x8 Qualiﬁed SLI ready x8 Dual Video graphics cards graphics card Card Multi monitor Qualiﬁed PCIe x16 x8 Qualiﬁed PCIe x8 x4 RAID or LAN graphics card graphics card x2 x1 setup RAID or LAN card When the SLI mode is disabled the multi monitor mode is automatically ...

Page 178: ...6 10 Chapter 6 NVIDIA SLI technology support ...

Page 179: ...Appendix This chapter describes the contents of the support CD that comes with the motherboard package ...

Page 180: ...ASUS A8N SLI Premium Chapter summary A 1 Using the SATA extension module A 1 ...

Page 181: ...secure it with a screw 3 Select any two 2 SATA connectors on your motherboard 4 Connect one end of the ﬁrst SATA signal cable to one of the selected SATA connectors 5 Connect the other end of the SATA signal cable to the SATA connector on the extension module labeled SATA_CON3 6 Connect one end of the second Serial ATA signal cable to another SATA connector 7 Connect the other end of the second SA...

Page 182: ...he second SATA signal cable to the other SATA connector labeled SATA 2 4 Connect the other end of the second SATA signal cable to the SATA connector on the second drive 5 Connect the 4 pin ATX SATA power plug to the SATA extension module Your Serial ATA power plug comes with one 1 4 pin ATX power connector and two 2 Serial ATA power connectors 6 Connect one SATA power connector to the ﬁrst drive 7...

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