Gigabyte GA-946GMX-S2 User Manual Download Page 1

GA-946GMX-S2

LGA775 socket motherboard for Intel

®

 Core

TM

 

processor family/

Intel

®

 Pentium

®

 processor family/Intel

®

 Celeron

®

 processor family

User's Manual

Rev. 1001
12ME-946GMX2R-1001R

* The WEEE marking on the product indicates this product must not be disposed of with user's other household waste

and must be handed over to a designated collection point for the recycling of waste electrical and electronic equipment!!

* The WEEE marking applies only in European Union's member states.

Summary of Contents for GA-946GMX-S2

Page 1: ...er s Manual Rev 1001 12ME 946GMX2R 1001R The WEEE marking on the product indicates this product must not be disposed of with user s other household waste and must be handed over to a designated collec...

Page 2: ...Motherboard GA 946GMX S2 Apr 13 2007 Motherboard GA 946GMX S2 Apr 13 2007...

Page 3: ...d translated transmitted or published in any form or by any means without GIGABYTE s prior written permission Documentation Classifications Inordertoassistintheuseofthisproduct GIGABYTEprovidesthefoll...

Page 4: ...onfiguration 15 1 4 2 Installing a Memory 16 1 5 Installing an Expansion Card 17 1 6 Back Panel Connectors 18 1 7 InternalConnectors 20 Chapter 2 BIOS Setup 31 2 1 StartupScreen 32 2 2 The Main Menu 3...

Page 5: ...4 2 1 Updating the BIOS with the Q Flash Utility 62 4 2 2 Updating the BIOS with the BIOS Utility 65 4 3 EasyTune 5 67 Chapter 5 Appendix 69 5 1 ConfiguringAudioInputandOutput 69 5 1 1 Configuring 2...

Page 6: ...nts above are for reference only and the actual items shall depend on product package you obtain The box contents are subject to change without notice Optional Items 2 port USB 2 0 bracket Part No 12C...

Page 7: ...6GMX S2 F_AUDIO SYS_FAN PCIE_16 IDE BATTERY IT8718 ATX_12V Intel 946GZ Intel ICH7 USB LAN AUDIO LPT R_USB COMA CLR_CMOS FDD SATAII0 F_PANEL PWR_LED SATAII1 CI CD_IN F_USB1 CODEC SPDIF_IO DDRII1 DDRII2...

Page 8: ...CLK 100 MHz PCI Express x16 8 USB Ports IT8718 Floppy PS 2 KB Mouse LPT Port CPU CLK 266 200 133 MHz VGA 1 PCI Express x4 PCIe CLK 100 MHz x 4 Center Subwoofer Speaker Out Line Out MIC Line In SPDIF...

Page 9: ...ur hands dry and first touch a metal object to eliminate static electricity Prior to installing the motherboard please have it on top of an antistatic pad or within a electrostaticshieldingcontainer B...

Page 10: ...raphics Integrated in the North Bridge Audio Realtek ALC888 codec High Definition Audio 2 4 5 1 7 1 channel Support for S PDIF In Out Support for CD In LAN RTL 8110SC chip 10 100 1000 Mbit Expansion S...

Page 11: ...eed control BIOS 1 x 4 Mbit flash Use of licensed AWARD BIOS PnP 1 0a DMI 2 0 SM BIOS 2 3 ACPI 1 0b Unique Features Support for BIOS Support for Download Center Support for Q Flash Support for EasyTun...

Page 12: ...s It is not recom mended that the system bus frequency be set beyond hardware specifications since it does not meet the standard requirements for the peripherals If you wish to set the fre quency beyo...

Page 13: ...U socket or you may align the CPU notches with the socket alignment keys and gently insert the CPU into position Step 3 Lift the metal load plate on the CPU socket Step 5 Once the CPU is properly inse...

Page 14: ...lation check the back of the motherboard If the push pin is inserted as the picture above the installation is complete Step 6 Finally attach the power connector of the CPU cooler to the CPU fan header...

Page 15: ...ion DDRII1 DDRII2 1 4 1 Dual Channel Memory Configuration This motherboard provides two DDR2 memory sockets and supports Dual Channel Technology After the memory is installed the BIOS will automatical...

Page 16: ...to the memory socket Notch DDR2 DIMM Step 2 The clips at both ends of the socket will snap into place when the memory module is securely inserted A DDR2 memory module has a notch so it can only fit in...

Page 17: ...fully seated in the slot 3 Make sure the metal contacts on the card are completely inserted into the slot 4 Secure the card s metal bracket to the chassis back panel with a screw 5 After installing al...

Page 18: ...h as an USB keyboard mouse USB printer USB flash drive and etc RJ 45 LAN Port The Gigabit Ethernet LAN port provides Internet connection at up to 1 Gbps data rate The following describes the states of...

Page 19: ...s in a 5 1 7 1 channel audio configuration Rear Speaker Out Jack Black Use this audio jack to connect rear speakers in a 4 5 1 7 1 channel audio configuration Side Speaker Out Jack Gray Use this audio...

Page 20: ...es before connecting external devices First make sure your devices are compliant with the connectors you wish to connect Before installing the devices be sure to turn off the devices and your computer...

Page 21: ...ter will not start To meet expansion requirements it is recommended that a power supply that can withstand high power consumption be used 400W or greater If a power supply is used that does not provid...

Page 22: ...esigned with color coded power connector wires A red power connector wire indicates a positive connection and requires a 12V voltage The black connector wire is the ground wire The motherboard support...

Page 23: ...to the role of the IDE devices for example master or slave For information about configuring master slave settings for the IDE devices read the instructions from the device manufacturers 1 2 39 40 7...

Page 24: ...re replacing the battery Replace the battery with an equivalent one Danger of explosion if the battery is replaced with an incorrect model Contact the place of purchase or local dealer if you are not...

Page 25: ...LED Connects to the hard drive activity LED on the chassis front panel The LED is on when the hard drive is reading or writing data RES Reset Switch Connects to the reset switch on the chassis front p...

Page 26: ...MIC2_L 2 GND 3 MIC2_R 4 ACZ_DET 5 LINE2_R 6 FSENSE1 7 FAUDIO_JD 8 No Pin 9 LINE2_L 10 FSENSE2 For HD Front Panel Audio 1 The front panel audio header supports HD audio by default If your chassis provi...

Page 27: ...2x5 pin cable into the USB header Prior to installing the USB bracket be sure to turn off your computer and unplug the power cord from the power outlet to prevent damage to the USB bracket 13 SPDIF_IO...

Page 28: ...outlet before clearing the CMOS values After clearing the CMOS values and before turning on your computer be sure to remove the jumper cap from the jumper Failure to do so may cause damage to the moth...

Page 29: ...Chassis Intrusion Header This motherboard provides a chassis detection feature that detects if the chassis cover has been removed This function requires a chassis with chassis intrusion detection des...

Page 30: ...GA 946GMX S2 Motherboard 30 English...

Page 31: ...asily upgrade or back up BIOS without entering the operating system BIOS is a Windows based utility that searches and downloads the latest version of BIOS from the Internet and updates the BIOS For in...

Page 32: ...the driver CD ROM the F9 key can be used for subsequent access to XpressRecovery2 during the POST For more information refer to Chapter 4 Xpress Recovery2 F12 Boot Menu Boot Menu allows you to set th...

Page 33: ...ubmenus only F5 Restore the previous BIOS settings for the current submenus F6 Load the Fail Safe BIOS default settings for the current submenus F7 Load the Optimized BIOS default settings for the cur...

Page 34: ...N etc Power Management Setup Use this menu to configure all the power saving functions PnP PCI Configurations Use this menu to configure the system s PCI PnP resources PC Health Status Use this menu t...

Page 35: ...rd drive access mode Options are Auto default CHS LBA Large IDE Channel 2 3 Master Slave IDE Auto Detection Press Enter to autodetect the parameters of the IDE SATA device on this channel Extended IDE...

Page 36: ...Japanese standard floppy disk drive Options are Disabled default Drive A Halt on Allows you to determine whether the system will stop for an error during the POST No Errors The system boot will not st...

Page 37: ...DD S M A R T Capability Enables or disables the S M A R T Self Monitoring and Reporting Technology capability of your hard drive This feature allows your system to report read write errors of the hard...

Page 38: ...ng protection function When enabled the CPU core frequency and voltage will be reduced when the CPU is overheated Default Enabled CPU EIST Function Note Enables or disables Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Te...

Page 39: ...s Enable Always activates the onboard VGA whether or not a PCI Express card is installed If you wish to set up a dual view configuration set this item to Always Enable On Chip Frame Buffer Size Frame...

Page 40: ...h 0 Master Slave Default Ch 1 Master Slave Sets the IDE channels to Ch 1 Master Slave Disabled Disables the integrated IDE controller when Non Combined is selected SATA Port 0 2 Set to This value is d...

Page 41: ...the onboard audio set this item to Disabled Onboard H W LAN Enables or disables the onboard LAN function Default Enabled If you wish to install a 3rd party add in network card instead of using the onb...

Page 42: ...s its base I O address and corresponding interrupt Options are 378 IRQ7 default 278 IRQ5 3BC IRQ7 Disabled Parallel Port Mode Selects an operating mode for the onboard parallel LPT port Options are SP...

Page 43: ...n is pressed for less than 4 seconds the system will enter suspend mode PME Event Wake Up Allows the system to be awakened from an ACPI sleep state by a wake up signal from a PCI or PCIe device Note T...

Page 44: ...Disables this function Default Double Click Double click on left button on the PS 2 mouse to turn on the system Power On By Keyboard Allows the system to be turned on by a PS 2 keyboard wake up event...

Page 45: ...nt Auto BIOS auto assigns IRQ to the second PCI slot Default 3 4 5 7 9 10 11 12 14 15 Assigns IRQ 3 4 5 7 9 10 11 12 14 15 to the second PCI slot CMOS Setup Utility Copyright C 1984 2007 Award Softwar...

Page 46: ...nt CPU system fan speed CPU Warning Temperature Sets the warning threshold for CPU temperature When CPU temperature exceeds the threshold BIOS will emit warning sound Options are Disabled default 60o...

Page 47: ...Mode Specifies how to control CPU fan speed This item is configurable only if CPU Smart FAN Control is set to Enabled Auto Lets BIOS autodetect the type of CPU fan installed and sets the optimal CPU f...

Page 48: ...in accordance with the CPU specifications CMOS Setup Utility Copyright C 1984 2007 Award Software Frequency Voltage Control CPU Clock Ratio Note 25X CPU Host Clock Control Disabled x CPU Host Frequenc...

Page 49: ...ry timing configurations If your system becomes unstable after you overclock the DDR2 memory select Option 1 or Option 2 to help make your system more stable Option 1 Memory Timing Configuration 1 Def...

Page 50: ...lts Load Optimized Defaults Set Supervisor Password Set User Password Save Exit Setup Exit Without Saving Load Optimized Defaults Y N N Press Enter on this item and then press the Y key to load the op...

Page 51: ...gram allows you to specify two separate passwords Supervisor Password When a system password is set and the Password Check item in Advanced BIOS Features is set to Setup you must enter the supervisor...

Page 52: ...1984 2007 Award Software Standard CMOS Features Advanced BIOS Features Integrated Peripherals Power Management Setup PnP PCI Configurations PC Health Status Frequency Voltage Control ESC Quit KLJI Sel...

Page 53: ...hat shown in the screen shot below If the CD Autorun screen does not appear automatically go to My Computer double click the optical drive and execute the Run exe program Some device drivers will rest...

Page 54: ...page displays all the tools and applications that GIGABYTE develops and some free software You may press the Install button following an item to install it 3 3 Driver CD Information This page provides...

Page 55: ...are Information This page provides information about the hardware devices on this motherboard 3 5 Contact Us Check the contacts information of the GIGABYTE headquarter in Taiwan and the overseas branc...

Page 56: ...GA 946GMX S2 Motherboard 56 English...

Page 57: ...hard drive for the operating system Xpress Recovery2 can only back up restore the first physical hard drive that has the operating system installed As Xpress Recovery2 will save the backup file at th...

Page 58: ...as the example operating system A Installing Windows XP and Partitioning the Hard Drive 1 Set CD ROM drive as the first boot device under Advanced BIOS Features in the BIOS Setup program Save the cha...

Page 59: ...stall the operating system and re partition your hard drive Figure 7 4 After the operating system is installed right click the My Computer icon on your desktop and select Manage Figure 4 Go to Compute...

Page 60: ...sh to enter Xpress Recovery2 later simply press F9 during the POST Figure 9 Figure 8 Figure 9 B Accessing Xpress Recovery2 1 Boot from the motherboard driver CD ROM to access Xpress Recovery2 for the...

Page 61: ...Management and hard drive space will be freed up Figure 16 Figure 15 Figure 16 D Using the Restore Function in Xpress Recovery2 Select RESTORE to restore the backup to your hard drive in case the syst...

Page 62: ...esult in system malfunction Award Modular BIOS v6 00PG An Energy Star Ally Copyright C 1984 2007 Award Software Inc Intel 946GZ BIOS for 946GMX S2 F1b DEL BIOS Setup Q Flash F9 XpressRecovery2 F12 Boo...

Page 63: ...e Q Flash only supports USB flash drive or hard drives using FAT32 16 12 file system If the BIOS update file is saved to a hard drive in RAID AHCI mode or a hard drive attached to an independent IDE S...

Page 64: ...Defaults and press Enter to load BIOS defaults System will re detect all peripherals devices after a BIOS update so we recommend that you reload BIOS defaults CMOS Setup Utility Copyright C 1984 2007...

Page 65: ...s option Click Update New BIOS 4 2 2 Updating the BIOS with the BIOS Utility A Before You Begin 1 If your system supports Intel Hyper Threading technology disable this function in BIOS Setup 2 In Wind...

Page 66: ...rboard model Updating the BIOS with an incorrect BIOS file could result in an unbootable system If the BIOS update file for your motherboard is not present on the BIOS server site please manually down...

Page 67: ...cing the performance of these components Button Display Description 1 OVERCLOCKING Enters the Overclocking setting page 2 C I A M I B Enters the C I A and M I B setting page 3 SMART FAN Enters the Sma...

Page 68: ...68 GA 946GMX S2 Motherboard English...

Page 69: ...verters DACs that support 44 1KHz 48KHz 96KHz 192KHz sampling rate HD Audio features multistreaming capabilities that allow multiple audio streams in and out to be simultaneously processed For example...

Page 70: ...pe of device you connect Then click OK to complete the configuration A Configuring Speakers The following instructions use Windows XP as the example operating system Step 1 After installing the audio...

Page 71: ...nt panel audio module click the tool icon on the Audio I O tab On the Global Connector Settings box select the Disable front panel jack detection check box Click OK to activiate the AC 97 functionalit...

Page 72: ...to the chassis back panel with a screw S PDIF in The S PDIF in jacks allow you to input digital audio signals to the computer for audio processing S PDIF out The S PDIF out jacks can transmit audio s...

Page 73: ...tical cable either one to an external decoder for transmitting the S PDIF digital audio signals B Configuring S PDIF out Click the tool icon in the DIGITAL section In the S PDIF In Out Settings dialog...

Page 74: ...tionality Note The microphone functions on the front panel and back panel cannot be used at the same time Step 3 Locate the Volume icon in your system tray and click it to open the volume control pane...

Page 75: ...heck box under Front Pink In or Front Green In in Master Volume It is recommended that you set the volume at a middle level To hear the sound being recorded during the recording process when using the...

Page 76: ...begin the sound recording 5 1 4 Using the Sound Recorder Recording the Sound 1 Make sure you have connected the audio input device e g microphone to the computer 2 On the File menu choose New 3 To re...

Page 77: ...out one minute Refer to the steps below Steps 1 Turn off your computer and unplug the power cord 2 Gently remove the battery from the battery holder and wait for one minute Or use a metal object like...

Page 78: ...emory is installed properly on the memory slot Yes Yes START Make sure the motherboard does not short circuit with the chassis or other metal objects Insertthegraphicscard ConnecttheATXmainpowercablea...

Page 79: ...ight fail The keyboard or mouse might fail A Turn off the computer and connect the IDE SATA devices Check if the system can boot successfully Press Delete to enter BIOS Setup Select Load Fail Safe Def...

Page 80: ...80 GA 946GMX S2 Motherboard English...

Page 81: ...81 Appendix English...

Page 82: ...igabyte com mx Japan NIPPON GIGA BYTE CORPORATION WEB address http www gigabyte co jp Singapore GIGA BYTE SINGAPORE PTE LTD WEB address http www gigabyte com sg Thailand WEB address http th giga byte...

Page 83: ...abyte com tr To submit a technical or non technical Sales Marketing question please link to http ggts gigabyte com tw Then select your language to enter the system Russia Moscow Representative Office...

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