MSI AMD ATHLON-64 939 PIN MOTHER BOARD (MBK8TNEO2939) Motherboard

K8T Neo

MS-6702 (v1.X) ATX Mainboard

Version 1.1

G52-M6702X7

i

Manual Rev: 1.0

Release Date: September 2003

FCC-B Radio Frequency Interference Statement

This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a class

B digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference when the equipment is operated in a commercial environment. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instruction manual, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. Operation of this equipment in a residential area is likely to cause harmful interference, in which case the user will be required to correct the interference at his own expense.

Notice 1

The changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance could void the user’s authority to operate the equipment.

Notice 2

Shielded interface cables and A.C. power cord, if any, must be used in order to comply with the emission limits.

VOIR LA NOTICE D’INSTALLATION AVANT DE RACCORDER AU

RESEAU.

Micro-Star International MS-6702

Tested to comply

with FCC Standard

For Home or Office Use

ii

Copyright Notice

The material in this document is the intellectual property of

MICRO-STAR

INTERNATIONAL

. We take every care in the preparation of this document, but no guarantee is given as to the correctness of its contents. Our products are under continual improvement and we reserve the right to make changes without notice.

Trademarks

All trademarks are the properties of their respective owners.

Intel

®

and Pentium

®

are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation.

AMD, Athlon™, Athlon™ XP, Thoroughbred™, and Duron™ are registered trademarks of AMD Corporation.

PS/2 and OS

®

/2 are registered trademarks of International Business Machines

Corporation.

Windows

®

95/98/2000/NT/XP are registered trademarks of Microsoft

Corporation.

Netware

®

is a registered trademark of Novell, Inc.

Award

®

is a registered trademark of Phoenix Technologies Ltd.

AMI

®

is a registered trademark of American Megatrends Inc.

Revision History

Revision

V1.0

V1.1

Revision History

First release

Add appendix A/B

Ch2 add front panel LED signal description

Date

August 2003

September 2003

Technical Support

If a problem arises with your system and no solution can be obtained from the user’s manual, please contact your place of purchase or local distributor.

Alternatively, please try the following help resources for further guidance.

Visit the MSI website for FAQ, technical guide, BIOS updates, driver updates, and other information:

http://www.msi.com.tw/

Contact our technical staff at:

[email protected]

iii

Safety Instructions

1.

Always read the safety instructions carefully.

2.

Keep this User’s Manual for future reference.

3.

Keep this equipment away from humidity.

4.

Lay this equipment on a reliable flat surface before setting it up.

5.

The openings on the enclosure are for air convection hence protects the equipment from overheating. DO NOT COVER THE OPENINGS.

6.

Make sure the voltage of the power source and adjust properly 110/220V before connecting the equipment to the power inlet.

7.

Place the power cord such a way that people can not step on it. Do not place anything over the power cord.

8.

Always Unplug the Power Cord before inserting any add-on card or module.

9.

All cautions and warnings on the equipment should be noted.

10. Never pour any liquid into the opening that could damage or cause electrical shock.

11. If any of the following situations arises, get the equipment checked by a service personnel: z

The power cord or plug is damaged.

z

Liquid has penetrated into the equipment.

z

The equipment has been exposed to moisture.

z

The equipment has not work well or you can not get it work according to User’s Manual.

z

The equipment has dropped and damaged.

z

The equipment has obvious sign of breakage.

12. DO NOT LEAVE THIS EQUIPMENT IN AN ENVIRONMENT

UNCONDITIONED, STORAGE TEMPERATURE ABOVE 60

0

C (140

0

F), IT

MAY DAMAGE THE EQUIPMENT.

CAUTION:

Danger of explosion if battery is incorrectly replaced.

Replace only with the same or equivalent type recommended by the manufacturer.

iv

CONTENTS

FCC-B Radio Frequency Interference Statement .......................................... iii

Copyright Notice .......................................................................................... iii

Revision History ........................................................................................... iii

Technical Support ......................................................................................... iii

Safety Instructions ....................................................................................... v

Chapter 1. Getting Started ........................................................................ 1-1

Mainboard Specifications .................................................................... 1-2

Mainboard Layout ............................................................................... 1-4

MSI Special Features ........................................................................... 1-5

Color Management ........................................................................ 1-5

Core Center .................................................................................... 1-6

Core Cell™ Chip ............................................................................ 1-9

Dynamic Overclocking Technology ............................................ 1-10

Live BIOS™/Live Driver™ .......................................................... 1-11

Live Monitor™ ............................................................................ 1-12

D-Bracket™ 2 (Optional) ............................................................. 1-13

Chapter 2. Hardware Setup ....................................................................... 2-1

Quick Components Guide .................................................................... 2-2

Central Processing Unit: CPU .............................................................. 2-3

CPU Installation Procedures for Socket 754 .................................. 2-4

Installing AMD Athlon64 CPU Cooler Set .................................... 2-5

Memory ................................................................................................ 2-9

Introduction to DDR SDRAM ....................................................... 2-9

DDR DIMM Module Combination .............................................. 2-10

Installing DDR Modules ............................................................. 2-10

Recommended Memory Combination List .................................. 2-11

Power Supply ..................................................................................... 2-12

ATX 20-Pin Power Connector: ATX ............................................ 2-12

ATX 12V Power Connector: JPW1 .............................................. 2-12 v

Back Panel .......................................................................................... 2-13

Mouse Connector ....................................................................... 2-13

Keyboard Connector ................................................................... 2-13

USB 2.0 Connectors .................................................................... 2-14

IEEE1394 Ports (Optional) ........................................................... 2-14

Serial Port Connector: COM A .................................................... 2-15

RJ-45 LAN Jack (Optional) .......................................................... 2-15

Audio Port Connectors ............................................................... 2-16

Parallel Port Connector: LPT1 ...................................................... 2-17

Connectors ......................................................................................... 2-18

Floppy Disk Drive Connector: FDD1 ........................................... 2-18

IrDA Infrared Module Header: JIR1 ............................................ 2-18

Chassis Intrusion Switch Connector: JCASE1 ............................ 2-18

Fan Power Connectors: CFAN1/SFAN1/PWFAN1/PWFAN2 ..... 2-19

Front USB Connectors: JUSB1/JUSB2 ........................................ 2-19

Front Panel Connectors: JFP1 & JFP2 ......................................... 2-20

CD-In Connector: J4 .................................................................... 2-20

Hard Disk Connectors: IDE1 & IDE2 ........................................... 2-21

Power Saving Switch Connector: JGS1 ........................................ 2-21

Serial ATA/Serial ATA RAID Connectors controlled by VT 8273: IDE3,

SER1, SER2 .................................................................................. 2-22

Serial ATA/Serial ATA RAID Connectors controlled by Promise 20378:

SATA1, SATA2 ........................................................................... 2-22

Front Panel Audio Connectors: JAUD1 ...................................... 2-24

D-Bracket™ 2 Connector: JLED (Optional) ................................. 2-25

Jumper ................................................................................................ 2-26

Clear CMOS Jumper: JBAT1 ........................................................ 2-26

Slots ................................................................................................... 2-27

AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) Slot ......................................... 2-27

PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) Slots .......................... 2-27

PCI Interrupt Request Routing .................................................... 2-28 vi

Chapter 3. BIOS Setup .............................................................................. 3-1

Entering Setup ...................................................................................... 3-2

Selecting the First Boot Device ..................................................... 3-2

Control Keys ................................................................................. 3-3

Getting Help .................................................................................. 3-3

The Main Menu ................................................................................... 3-4

Standard CMOS Features .................................................................... 3-6

Advanced BIOS Features .................................................................... 3-8

Advanced Chipset Features ............................................................... 3-12

Power Management Features ............................................................. 3-15

PNP/PCI Configurations ..................................................................... 3-19

Integrated Peripherals ........................................................................ 3-21

PC Health Status ................................................................................ 3-24

Frequency/Voltage Control ................................................................ 3-25

Set Supervisor/User Password ........................................................... 3-27

Load High Performance/BIOS Setup Defaults .................................... 3-28

AppendixA. Using 4- or 6-Channel Audio Function ................................. A-1

AppendixB. VIA VT8237 Serial ATA RAID Introduction ........................ B-1

vii

Getting Started

Chapter 1. Getting

Started


Thank you for purchasing K8T Neo (MS-6702 v1.X) ATX mainboard. The K8T Neo is based on

VIA ® K8T800 North Bridge

&

VT8237 South Bridge

chipsets and provides eight USB 2.0

ports for high-speed data transmission, RealTek ALC655 chip for

6-channel audio output, and a SPDIF interface for digital audio transmission. Designed to fit the advanced

AMD ® Athlon64

processors, the K8T Neo delivers a high performance and professional desktop platform solution.

1-1

MS-6702 ATX Mainboard

Mainboard Specifications

CPU

h Supports 64-bit AMD

®

Athlon64 processor (Socket 754) h Supports up to 3200+, 3400+, or higher CPU

Chipset

h

VIA

®

K8T800 chipset

- HyperTransport

TM

connection to AMD Athlon64 processor

- 8 or 16 bit control/address/data transfer both directions

- 800/600/400/200 MHz “Double Data Rate” operation both direction

- AGP v3.0 compliant with 8x transfer mode h

VIA

®

VT8237 chipset (487 BGA)

- Integrated Faster Ethernet LPC

- Integrated Hardware Sound Blaster/Direct Sound AC97 audio

- Ultra DMA 66/100/133 master mode PCI EIDE controller

- ACPI

- Supports 2 Serial ATA ports

- Supports 8 USB2.0 ports

Main Memory

h

Supports DDR266/333/400 DDR SDRAM for three 184-pin DDR DIMMs h

Supports a maximum memory size of 2GB

Slots

h One (Accelerated Graphics Port) AGP slot.

- AGP 3.0 specification compliant h Five 32-bit Master 3.3v / 5v PCI Bus slots

On-Board IDE

h An IDE controller on the VIA® VT8237 chipset provides IDE HDD/CD-

ROM with PIO, Bus Master and Ultra DMA 66/100/133 operation modes h Can connect up to 4 IDE devices h Serial ATA/150 controller integrated by VT8237

- Up ot 150MB/s transfer rate

- Can connect up to 2 serial ATA devices

IEEE 1394 (Optional)

h

Supports up to 2 * 1394 ports. Transfer rate is up to 400Mbps h

Controlled by VIA 6307 chipset

1-2


Promise 20378 On-Board (Optional)

h

Supports 2 serial ATA plus 1 ATA133

- RAID 0, RAID 1 or RAID 0+1 is supported

- RAID function work w/ATA133+SATA H/D or 2SATA H/D h

Connect up to 2 SATA device and 2 ATA133 devices

On-Board Peripherals

h

On-Board Peripherals include:

- 1 floppy port supports 2 FDDs with 360K, 720K, 1.2M, 1.44M and

2.88Mbytes

- 1 serial port (COMA)

- 1 parallel port supports SPP/EPP/ECP mode

- 1 IrDA connector for SIR/ASKIR/HPSIR

- 1 audio port

- 1 D-Bracket2 pinheader

Audio

h 6 channels software audio codec RealTek ALC655.

- Compliance with AC97 v2.3 Spec.

- Meet PC2001 audio performance requirement.

LAN 10/100/1000Mbps

h

Realtek

BIOS

h

The mainboard BIOS provides “Plug & Play” BIOS which detects the peripheral devices and expansion cards of the board automatically.

h

The mainboard provides a Desktop Management Interface (DMI) function which records your mainboard specifications.

h

ACPI, 1.0a, APM1.2, PnP 1.0a, SMBIOS 2.3, USB 2.0, WFM 2.0, Overclock,

Boot from USB device.

Dimension

h

ATX Form Factor: 30.5 cm (L) x 24.5 cm (W).

Mounting

h 9 mounting holes.

1-3


Mainboard Layout

Top : mouse

Bottom: keyboard

Top : Parallel Port

Bottom:

1394 port

Mini 1394 port

CFAN1

Winbond

W83697HF

BIOS

JP1

T: SPDIF Out

B: USB ports

Top: LAN jack

Bottom: USB ports

T:

M:

Line-In

Line-Out

B:Mic

T:

M:

Line-Out

Line-Out

B:SPDIF Out

JPW1

VIA

K8T800

SFAN1

RealTek

8110S

J4

Codec

JAUD1

VIA

VT6307

PCI Slot 1

PCI Slot 2

PCI Slot 3

PCI Slot 4

PCI Slot 5

AGP Slot

VIA

VT8237

SATA1

SATA2

JUSB1 JUSB2

BATT

+

SER1

JLED JIR1

PWFAN2

JGS1

PWFAN1

IDE 3

PROMISE

PDC20378 SER2

JFP2 JFP1

MS-6702 v1.X ATX Mainboard

1-4


MSI Special Features

Color Management

MSI has a unified color management rule for some connectors on the mainboards, which helps you to install the memory modules, expansion cards and other peripherals devices more easily and conveniently.

h

Memory DDR DIMMs: Light Green h

Intel spec IDE ATA66/100/133 connector: Yellow h

IDE ATA133 connector: Yellow h

Serial ATA connectors: Orange h

AGP 8X slot: Red h

USB 2.0 connector: Blue h

Front panel connector JFP1 : HDD LED in Red, Reset Switch in Blue,

Power Switch in Black, Power LED in Light Green.

h

Front panel connector JFP2: Power LED in Light Green.

Memory DDR DIMMs

USB 2.0 connector

Intel spec IDE ATA66/100/133 connectors

AGP 8X Slot

Serial ATA connectors

IDE ATA133 connector

Serial ATA connectors

Front Panel connector JFP1

Front Panel connector JFP2

1-5


Core Center

The Core Center is a new utility you can find in the CD-ROM disk. The utility is just like your PC doctor that can detect, view and adjust the PC hardware and system status during real time operation.

Cool’n’Quiet

This utility provides a CPU temperature detecting function called

Cool’n’Quiet. Cool’n’Quiet is a special feature designed only for AMD

®

Athlon64 processor, and with Cool’n’Quiet, the system will be capable of detecting the temperature of the CPU according to the CPU’s working loading.

When the CPU temperature climbs up to a certain degree, the speed of the system cooling fan will be risen automatically, and on the other hand, the speed of the system cooling fan will dorp instantly when the CPU temperature descends to its normal degree.

To activate Cool’n’Quiet function, please click the Core Center

Cool’n’Quiet icon, and then select Cool’n’Quiet mode. If User mode is selected, you will be able to adjust the CPU fan speed by sliding the adjusting bar.

1-6


In addition to Cool’n’Quiet setting, the current system status (including

Vcore, 3.3V, +5V and 12V) and the current PC hardware status (such as the CPU

& system temperatures and all fans speeds) are also shown on the left and right sides.

When you click the red triangles in the left and right sides, two submenus will open for users to overclock, overspec or to adjust the thresholds of system to send out the warning messages.

Left-side: Current system status

In the left sub-menu, you can configure the settings of FSB, Vcore,

Memory Voltage and AGP Voltage by clicking the radio button in front of each item and make it available (the radio button will be lighted as yellow when selected), use the “

+

” and “

-

” buttons to adjust, then click

OK

to apply the changes. Then you can click

Save

to save the desired FSB you just configured.

Also you may click

Auto

to start testing the maximal CPU overclocking value, The CPU FSB will automatically increase the testing value until the PC reboots. Or you may click

Default

to restore the default values.

Right-side: PC hardware status during real time operation

In the right sub-menu, here you can configure the PC hardware status such as CPU & system temperatures and fan speeds. You may use the scroll bars to adjust each item, then click

“

OK

”

to apply the changes. The values you set for the temperatures are the maximum thresholds for the system for warnings, and the values for fan speeds are the minimum thresholds.

1-7


MSI Reminds You...

To ensure that Cool’n’Quiet function is activated and will be working properly, it is required to double confirm that:

1. Check the serial number printed on the top of CPU. On the top of CPU, there are three lines listed under AMD Athlon

TM

.

Find the 13 characters of the first line, and locate the last one from those 13 characters. If the last character is “O” or after

“O” (such as P, Q, R, and so on), that means this CPU supports

Cool’n’Quiet function. On the contrary, if the last character is before “O”, that means this CPU does not support

Cool’n’Quiet function.

2. Run BIOS Setup, and select

Frequency/Voltage Control

.

Under

Frequency/Voltage Control

, find

Cool’n’Quiet

Support

, and set this item to “Enable.”

3. Enter Windows, and select [Start/Settings/Control Pannel/

Power Options.] Enter

Power Options Properties

tag, and select

Minimal Power Management

under

Power schemes

.

1-8

Core Cell

TM

Chip

By diagnosing the current system utilization, the

CoreCell™ Chip automatically tunes your motherboard to the optimal state, leading to less noise, longer duration, more powersaving and higher performance.

Features of CoreCell™

Speedster

-- Advanced O.C. design.

-- Superior O.C. capability.

-- Greater O.C. method.


PowerPro

-- Saves up to 65% power.

-- Assures motherboard stability.

-- Empowers O.C Capability.

BuzzFree

-- Diagnoses current syst e m u t i l i z a t i o n & temperature.

-- Controls both CPU and

NorthBridge fans.

-- Cuts up to 50% of system noise.

LifePro

-- Prolongs motherboard, CPU and fan life.

-- Maintains motherboard & CPU in constant temperature.

-- Prevents components from operating beyond specifications.

1-9

1-10


Dynamic Overclocking Technology

Dynamic Overclocking Technology is the automatic overclocking function. It is designed to detect the load balance of CPU while running programs, and to adjust the best CPU frequency automatically. When the motherboard detects CPU is running programs, it will speed up CPU automatically to make the program run smoothly and faster. When the CPU is temporarily suspending or staying in the low load balance, it will restore the default settings instead. Usually the Dynamic Overclocking Technology will be powered only when users' PC need to run huge amount of data like 3D games or the video process, and the CPU frequency need to be boosted up to enhance the overall performance.

D.O.T

Dynamic Overclocking Technology


Even though the Dynamic Overclocking Technology is more stable than manual overclocking, basically, it is still risky. We suggest user to make sure that your CPU can afford to overclocking regularly first. If you find the PC appears to be unstable or reboot incidentally, it's better to disable the Dynamic Overclocking or to lower the level of overclocking options.

By the way, if you need to conduct overclocking manually, you also need to disable the Dynamic OverClocking first.


Live BIOS™/Live Driver™

The Live BIOS™/Live Driver™ is a tool used to detect and update your BIOS/drivers online so that you don’t need to search for the correct BIOS/driver version throughout the whole

Web site. To use the function, you need to install the “MSI

Live Update 3” application. After the installation, the “MSI

Live Update 3” icon (as shown on the right) will appear on the screen.

Double click the “MSI Live Update 3” icon, and the following screen will appear:

Five buttons are placed on the left column of the screen. Click the desired button to start the update process.

Ø

Live BIOS

– Updates the BIOS online.

Ø

Live Driver

– Updates the drivers online.

Ø

Live VGA BIOS

– Updates the VGA BIOS online.

Ø

Live VGA Driver

– Updates the VGA driver online.

Ø

Live OSD

– Updates the firmware of the OSD products online.

Ø

Live Utility

– Updates the utilities online.

If the product you purchased does not support any of the functions listed above, a “sorry” message is displayed. For more information on the update instructions, insert the companion CD and refer to the “Live Update Guide” under the “Manual” Tab.

1-11


Live Monitor™

The Live Monitor™ is a tool used to schedule the search for the latest BIOS/drivers version on the MSI Web site. To use the function, you need to install the “MSI Live Update 3” application. After installation, the “MSI Live Monitor” icon (as shown on the right) will appear on the screen. Double click this icon to run the application.

Double click the “MSI Live Monitor” icon at the lower-right corner of the taskbar, and the following dialog box will appear. You can specify how often the system will automatically search for the BIOS/drivers version, or change the LAN settings right from the dialog box.

You can right-click the MSI Live Monitor icon to perform the functions listed below: z

Auto Search

– Searches for the BIOS/drivers version you need immediately.

z

View Last Result

– Allows you to view the last search result if there is any.

z

Preference

– Configures the Search function, including the Search schedule.

z

Exit

– Exits the Live Monitor™ application.

z

FAQ

– Provides a link to a database which contains various possible questions about MSI's products for users to inquire.

1-12


D-Bracket™ 2 (Optional)

D-Bracket™ 2 is an external USB bracket integrating four Diagnostic

LEDs, which use graphic signal display to help users understand their system.

The LEDs provide up to 16 combinations of signals to debug the system. The

4 LEDs can debug all problems that fail the system, such as VGA, RAM or other failures. This special feature is very useful for the overclocking users.

These users can use the feature to detect if there are any problems or failures.

D-Bracket™ 2 supports both USB 1.1 & 2.0 specification.

D-Bracket™ 2

1 2

3 4

Red

Green

D-Bracket™ 2

1 2

3 4

Description

System Power ON

- The D-LED will hang here if the processor is damaged or not installed properly.

Early Chipset Initialization

Memory Detection Test

- Testing onboard memory size. The D-LED will hang if the memory module is damaged or not installed properly.

Decompressing BIOS image to RAM for fast booting.

Initializing Keyboard Controller.

Testing VGA BIOS

- This will start writing VGA sign-on message to the screen.

1-13


D-Bracket™ 2

1 2

3 4

Description

Processor Initialization

- This will show information regarding the processor

(like brand name, system bus, etc...)

Testing RTC (Real Time Clock)

Initializing Video Interface

- This will start detecting CPU clock, checking type of video onboard. Then, detect and initialize the video adapter.

BIOS Sign On

- This will start showing information about logo, processor brand name, etc...

Testing Base and Extended Memory

- Teting base memory from 240K to 640K and extended memory above 1MB using various patterns.

Assign Resources to all ISA.

Initializing Hard Drive Controller

- This will initialize IDE drive and controller.

Initializing Floppy Drive Controller

- This will initialize Floppy Drive and controller.

Boot Attempt

- Thi will set low stack and boot via INT 19h.

Operating System Booting

1-14

Hardware Setup

Chapter 2. Hardware

Setup


This chapter tells you how to install the CPU, memory modules, and expansion cards, as well as how to setup the jumpers on the mainboard. Also, it provides the instructions on connecting the peripheral devices, such as the mouse, keyboard, etc.

While doing the installation, be careful in holding the components and follow the installation procedures.

2-1

JPW1

,

p.2-12

AGP Slot

,

p.2-27

PCI Slots

,

p.2-27

J4

,

p.2-20

JAUD1

,

p.2-24


Quick Components Guide

CPU

,

p.2-3

CFAN1

,

p.2-19

SFAN1

,

p.2-19

DDR DIMMs

,

p.2-9

Back Panel

I/O

,

p.2-13

JUSB1

,

p.2-20

JIR1

,

p.2-18

JUSB2

,

p.2-20

JLED

,

p.2-25

JCASE1

,

p.2-18

ATX

,

p.2-12

FDD1

,

p.2-18

IDE1

,

IDE2

,

p.2-21

SATA1

,

SATA2

,

p.2-22

JGS1

,

p.2-21

JBAT1

,

p.2-26

PFAN2

,

PFAN1

,

2-19

SER1

,

SER2

,

p.2-22

IDE3

,

p.2-22

JFP2, JFP1

p.2-20

2-2


Central Processing Unit: CPU

The mainboard supports AMD ® Athlon64 processor. The mainboard uses a CPU socket called Socket-754 for easy CPU installation. When you are installing the CPU,

make sure the CPU has a heat sink and a cooling fan attached on the top to prevent overheating.

If you do not have the heat sink and cooling fan, contact your dealer to purchase and install them before turning on the computer.


Overheating

Overheating will seriously damage the CPU and system, always make sure the cooling fan can work properly to protect the CPU from overheating.

Replacing the CPU

While replacing the CPU, always turn off the ATX power supply or unplug the power supply’s power cord from grounded outlet first to ensure the safety of CPU.

Overclocking

This motherboard is designed to support overclocking. However, please make sure your components are able to tolerate such abnormal setting, while doing overclocking. Any attempt to operate beyond product specifications is not recommended.

We do not guarantee the damages or risks caused by inadequate operation or beyond product specifications.

2-3


CPU Installation Procedures for Socket 754

1.

Please turn off the power and unplug the power cord before installing the CPU.

2.

Pull the lever sideways away from the socket. Make sure to raise the lever up to a 90degree angle.

3. Look for the gold arrow. The gold arrow should point towards the lever pivot. The

CPU can only fit in the correct orientation.

4. If the CPU is correctly installed, the pins should be completely embedded into the socket and can not be seen.

Please note that any violation of the correct installation procedures may cause permanent damages to your mainboard.

5.

Press the CPU down firmly into the socket and close the lever. As the CPU is likely to move while the lever is being closed, always close the lever with your fingers pressing tightly on top of the CPU to make sure the CPU is properly and completely embedded into the socket.

Sliding

Plate

G old arrow

G old arrow

G old arrow

Press dow n the C PU

O pen Lever

90 degree

C orrect C PU placem ent

O

Incorrect C PU placem ent

X

C lose

Lever

2-4


Installing AMD Athlon64 CPU Cooler Set

When you are installing the CPU,

make sure the CPU has a heat sink and a cooling fan attached on the top to prevent overheating.

If you do not have the heat sink and cooling fan, contact your dealer to purchase and install them before turning on the computer.

1. D e t a c h t h e s h i e l d o f t h e backplate’s paster.

2. Turn over the mainboard, and install the backplate to the proper position.

2-5


3. Turn over the mainboard again, and place the mainboard on the flat surface.

Locate the two screw holes of the mainboard.

4. Align the retention mechanism and the backplate.

Fix the retention mechanism and the backplate with two screws.

5. Position the cooling set onto the retention mechanism.

Hook one end of the clip to hook first.

retention mechanism

2-6


6. Press down the other end of the clip to fasten the cooling set on the top of the retention mechanism.

7. Locate the Fix Lever, Saftey

Hook and the Fixed Bolt.

Lift up the intensive fixed lever.

Safety Hook

Fixed Lever Fixed Bolt

2-7


8. Fastened down the lever.

9. Make sure the safety hook completely clasps the fixed bolt of the retention mechanism.

2-8


While disconnecting the Safety Hook from the fixed bolt, it is necessary to keep an eye on your fingers, because once the

Safety Hook is disconnected from the fixed bolt, the fixed lever will spring back instantly.


Memory

The mainboard provides 3 slots for 184-pin DDR SDRAM DIMM

(Double In-Line Memory Module) modules and supports the memory size up to 2GB. You can install PC3200/DDR400, PC2700/DDR333, PC2100/

DDR266 or PC1600/DDR200 unbuffered DIMM modules on the DDR DIMM slots (DDR 1~3).

Plugging memories in DIMM1 and DIMM2 makes the system reach the optimum system performance.

*Please Refer to

<www.msi.com.tw> for

the

qualified memory to

DDR DIMM Slots

(DDR 1~3)

Introduction to DDR SDRAM

DDR (Double Data Rate) SDRAM is similar to conventional SDRAM, but doubles the rate by transferring data twice per cycle. It uses 2.5 volts as opposed to 3.3 volts used in SDR SDRAM, and requires 184-pin DIMM modules rather than 168-pin DIMM modules used by SDR SDRAM. High memory bandwidth makes DDR an ideal solution for high performance PC, workstations and servers.

2-9


DDR DIMM Module Combination

Install at least one DIMM module on the slots. Memory modules can be installed on the slots in any order. You can install either single- or doublesided modules to meet your own needs.

Memory modules can be installed in any combination as follows:

Slot

DIMM 1 (Bank 0 & 1)

DIMM 2 (Bank 2 & 3)

DIMM 3 (Bank 4 & 5)

Memory Module

S/D

S/D

S/D

Maximum System Memory Supported 64MB~2GB

S: Single Side D: Double Side

Installing DDR Modules

1.

The DDR DIMM has only one notch on the center of module. The module will only fit in the right orientation.

2.

Insert the DIMM memory module vertically into the DIMM slot. Then push it in until the golden finger of the memory module is deeply inserted in the socket.


You can barely see the golden finger if the module is properly

inserted in the socket.

3.

The plastic clip at each side of the DIMM slot will automatically close.

Volt

Notch

2-10

Recommended Memory Combination List

S

D

D

S

S

D

D

-

D

S

-

-

-

D

D

D

S

S

S

S

-

DIMM Slot

DIMM1 DIMM2 DIMM3

S -

S -

-

-

-

D -

-

D

-

S

-

-

D

-

S

-

-

D

-

S

-

S

S

-

D

S

-

D

-

S

S

S

D

D

S

D

D

D

S

D

S

S

D

S

D

S

D

S

D

D

S

D

D

Max Speed

DDR 400

DDR 400

DDR 400

DDR 400

DDR 400

DDR 400

DDR 400

DDR 333

DDR 333

DDR 333

DDR 333

DDR 333

DDR 333

DDR 333

DDR 333

DDR 333

DDR 400

DDR 400

DDR 400

DDR 400

DDR 400

DDR 400

DDR 400

DDR 400

DDR 400

DDR 400

S: Single Side D: Double Side


2-11


Power Supply

The mainboard supports ATX power supply for the power system. Before inserting the power supply connector, always make sure that all components are installed properly to ensure that no damage will be caused.

ATX 20-Pin Power Connector: ATX

This connector allows you to connect to an ATX power supply. To connect to the ATX power supply, make sure the plug of the power supply is inserted in the proper orientation and the pins are aligned. Then push down the power supply firmly into the connector.

11 1

20

ATX

10

PIN

7

8

5

6

3

4

1

2

9

10

ATX Pin Definition

SIGNAL

3.3V

3.3V

GND

5V

GND

5V

GND

PW_OK

5V_SB

12V

PIN

15

16

17

18

11

12

13

14

19

20

SIGNAL

3.3V

-12V

GND

PS_ON

GND

GND

GND

-5V

5V

5V

ATX 12V Power Connector: JPW1

This 12V power connector is used to provide power to the CPU.

2

4

JPW1

1

3

JPW1 Pin Definition

PIN

1

2

3

4

SIGNAL

GND

GND

12V

12V


Power supply of 300 (and up) watt is highly recommended for system stability.

2-12


Back Panel

The back panel provides the following connectors:

Mouse

Parallel

SPDIF

Out

LAN

(Optional)

Line-In

Line-Out

MIC

Keyboard

COM A

Mini

1394 Port

(Optional)

1394 Port

(Optional)

USB Ports

Rear Speaker-Out

Center/Subwoofer Speaker-Out

SPDIF-Out

Mouse Connector

The mainboard provides a standard PS/2

®

mouse mini DIN connector for attaching a PS/2

®

mouse. You can plug a PS/2

®

mouse directly into this connector.

Keyboard Connector

The mainboard provides a standard PS/2

®

keyboard mini DIN connector for attaching a PS/2

®

keyboard. You can plug a PS/2

®

keyboard directly into this connector.

Pin Definition

4

6

5

3

2

1

PS/2 Mouse (6-pin Female)

PS/2 Keyboard (6-pin Female)

PIN

1

2

3

4

5

6

SIGNAL

Mouse DATA

(or Keyboard DATA)

NC

GND

VCC

Mouse Clock

(or Keyboard Clock)

NC

DESCRIPTION

Mouse DATA

(or Keyboard DATA)

No connection

Ground

+5V

Mouse clock

(or Keyboard Clock)

No connection

2-13


USB 2.0 Connectors

The mainboard provides a UHCI (Universal Host Controller Interface)

Universal Serial Bus root for attaching USB devices such as keyboard, mouse or other USB-compatible devices. You can plug the USB device directly into the connector.

1 2 3 4

5 6 7 8

USB Ports

PIN

7

8

5

6

3

4

1

2

USB Port Description

SIGNAL

VCC

-Data 0

+Data0

GND

VCC

-Data 1

+Data 1

GND

DESCRIPTION

+5V

Negative Data Channel 0

Positive Data Channel 0

Ground

+5V

Negative Data Channel 1

Positive Data Channel 1

Ground

IEEE1394 Ports (Optional)

The mainboard provides two IEEE 1394 ports. The mini IEEE1394 port is designed for you to connect the IEEE1394 device with external power.

The standard IEEE1394 port connects to IEEE1394 devices without external power. The IEEE1394 high-speed serial bus components provide the enhanced

PC connectivity for a wide range of devices, including consumer electronics audio/video (A/V) appliances, storage peripherals, other PCs, and portable devices.

IEEE1394 Port

(Standard)

IEEE1394 Port

(Mini)

2-14


Serial Port Connector: COM A

The mainboard offers one 9-pin male DIN connector as a serial port

COM A. The ports are 16550A high speed communication ports that send/ receive 16 bytes FIFOs. You can attach a serial mouse or another serial device directly to the connector.

1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9

9-Pin Male DIN Connector

PIN

7

8

5

6

9

3

4

1

2

Pin Definition

SIGNAL

DCD

SIN

SOUT

DTR

GND

DSR

RTS

CTS

RI

DESCRIPTION

Data Carry Detect

Serial In or Receive Data

Serial Out or Transmit Data

Data Terminal Ready)

Ground

Data Set Ready

Request To Send

Clear To Send

Ring Indicate

RJ-45 LAN Jack (Optional)

The mainboard provides one standard RJ-45 jack for connection to Local Area Network (LAN). You can connect a network cable to the LAN jack.

RJ-45 LAN Jack

Activity

Indicators

6

7

8

2

3

4

5

PIN

1

Pin Definition

SIGNAL

TDP

TDN

RDP

NC

NC

RDN

NC

NC

DESCRIPTION

Transmit Differential Pair

Transmit Differential Pair

Receive Differential Pair

Not Used

Not Used

Receive Differential Pair

Not Used

Not Used

2-15


Audio Port Connectors

The left 3 audio jacks are for 2-channel mode for stereo speaker output:

Line Out

is a connector for Speakers or Headphones.

Line In

is used for external CD player, Tape player, or other audio devices.

Mic

is a connector for microphones.

However, there is an advanced audio application provided by Realtek

ALC655 to offer support for

6-channel audio operation

and can turn rear audio connectors from 2-channel to 4-/6-channel audio. For more information on

6-channel audio operation

, please refer to

Appendix A: Using 4- or 6-

Channel Audio Function.

Line In

Line Out

MIC

Rear Speaker Out

(in 6CH+S/PDIF)

Center/Subwoofer

Speaker Out

( in 6CH+S/PDIF)

S/PDIF Out-Optical

(in 6CH+S/PDIF)

S/PDIF Out-Coaxial


For advanced audio application, Realtek ALC655 audio chip is provided to offer support for

6-channel audio operation

and can turn rear audio connectors from 2-channel to 4-/6-channel audio.

2-16


Parallel Port Connector: LPT1

The mainboard provides a 25-pin female centronic connector as LPT.

A parallel port is a standard printer port that supports Enhanced Parallel Port

(EPP) and Extended Capabilities Parallel Port (ECP) mode.

13 1

PIN

12

13

14

15

8

9

10

11

6

7

4

5

1

2

3

20

21

22

23

16

17

18

19

24

25

25 14

Pin Definition

SIGNAL

INIT#

SLIN#

GND

GND

GND

GND

GND

GND

GND

GND

STROBE

DATA0

DATA1

DATA2

DATA3

DATA4

DATA5

DATA6

DATA7

ACK#

BUSY

PE

SELECT

AUTO FEED#

ERR#

DESCRIPTION

Strobe

Data0

Data1

Data2

Data3

Data4

Data5

Data6

Data7

Acknowledge

Busy

Paper End

Select

Automatic Feed

Error

Initialize Printer

Select In

Ground

Ground

Ground

Ground

Ground

Ground

Ground

Ground

2-17


Connectors

The mainboard provides connectors to connect to FDD, IDE HDD, case, modem, LAN, USB Ports, IR module and CPU/System/Power Supply FAN.

Floppy Disk Drive Connector: FDD1

The mainboard provides a standard floppy disk drive connector that supports 360K, 720K, 1.2M, 1.44M and 2.88M floppy disk types.

FDD1

IrDA Infrared Module Header: JIR1

The connector allows you to connect to IrDA Infrared module. You must configure the setting through the BIOS setup to use the IR function.

JIR1 is compliant with Intel

®

Front Panel I/O Connectivity Design Guide.

Pin

3

4

1

2

5

6

Signal

NC

NC

VCC5

GND

IRTX

IRRX

2

1

JIR1

6

5

Chassis Intrusion Switch Connector: JCASE1

This connector is connected to a 2-pin chassis switch. If the chassis is opened, the switch will be short. The system will record this status and show a warning message on the screen. To clear the warning, you must enter the BIOS utility and clear the record.

GND

CINTRU

2

1

JCASE1

2-18


Fan Power Connectors: CFAN1/SFAN1/PWFAN1/PWFAN2

The CFAN1 (processor fan), SFAN1 (system fan), PWFAN1 (Power

Supply fan) and PWFAN2 (Power Supply fan) support system cooling fan with +12V. It supports three-pin head connector. When connecting the wire to the connectors, always take note that the red wire is the positive and should be connected to the +12V, the black wire is Ground and should be connected to

GND. This mainboard has a System Hardware Monitor chipset on-board, so that you must use a specially designed fan with speed sensor to take advantage of the CPU fan control.

GND

+12V

SENSOR

CFAN1

GND

+12V

SENSOR

SFAN1

GND

+12V

SENSOR

PWFAN1

GND

+12V

SENSOR

PWFAN2


1. Always consult the vendors for proper CPU cooling fan.

2. CFAN1 supports the fan control.

You can install Core Center utility that will automatically control the CPU fan speed according to the actual CPU temperature.

Front USB Connectors: JUSB1 / JUSB2

The mainboard provides two USB 2.0 pin headers

JUSB1

&

JUSB2

that are compliant with Intel ® I/O Connectivity Design Guide. USB 2.0 technology increases data transfer rate up to a maximum throughput of 480Mbps, which is 40 times faster than USB 1.1, and is ideal for connecting high-speed USB interface peripherals such as

USB HDD

,

digital cameras

,

MP3 players

,

printers

,

modems and the like

.

2

1

JUSB1

10

9

2

1

JUSB2

10

9

Pin Definition

7

9

3

5

PIN SIGNAL

1 VCC

USB0-

USB0+

GND

Key

4

6

PIN SIGNAL

2 VCC

USB1-

USB1+

8

10

GND

USBOC

2-19


Front Panel Connectors: JFP1 & JFP2

The mainboard provides two front panel connectors for electrical connection to the front panel switches and LEDs. JFP1 and JFP2 are compliant with Intel

®

Front Panel I/O Connectivity Design Guide.

Reset

Switch

HDD

LED

9

10

Power

Switch

Power

LED

JFP1

1

2

JFP2

7

8

Power

LED

1

2

Speaker

PIN

7

8

5

6

9

3

4

1

2

JFP1 Pin Definition

SIGNAL

HD_LED_P

FP PWR/SLP

HD_LED_N

FP PWR/SLP

RST_SW_N

PWR_SW_P

RST_SW_P

PWR_SW_N

RSVD_DNU

DESCRIPTION

Hard disk LED pull-up

MSG LED pull-up

Hard disk active LED

MSG LED pull-up

Reset Switch low reference pull-down to GND

Power Switch high reference pull-up

Reset Switch high reference pull-up

Power Switch low reference pull-down to GND

Reserved. Do not use.

JFP2 Pin Definition

PIN SIGNAL

1

3

5

7

GND

SLED

PLED

NC

PIN SIGNAL

2

4

6

8

SPK-

BUZ+

BUZ-

SPK+


If the Power LED on the front panel flashes every two seconds, this signal tells you that one of the power connection has been protected; if the Power LED flashes every one second, it tells that the CUP has been protected due to overheating. To refresh the system, please disconnect the power cable from the computer, and then reconnect the power cable to the computer again in at least five senconds.

CD-In Connector: J4

The connector is for CD-ROM audio connector.

J4

R

GND

L

2-20


Hard Disk Connectors: IDE1 & IDE2

The mainboard has a 32-bit Enhanced PCI IDE and Ultra DMA 66/100/

133 controller that provides PIO mode 0~5, Bus Master, and Ultra DMA 66/

100/133 function. You can connect up to four hard disk drives, CD-ROM,

120MB Floppy (reserved for future BIOS) and other devices.

IDE1 IDE2

IDE1

(Primary IDE Connector)

The first hard drive should always be connected to IDE1. IDE1 can connect a Master and a Slave drive. You must configure second hard drive to Slave mode by setting the jumper accordingly.

IDE2

(Secondary IDE Connector)

IDE2 can also connect a Master and a Slave drive.


If you install two hard disks on cable, you must configure the second drive to Slave mode by setting its jumper. Refer to the hard disk documentation supplied by hard disk vendors for jumper setting instructions.

Power Saving Switch Connector: JGS1

Attach a power saving switch to this connector. Press the switch once to have the system entered the Sleep/Suspend state. Press any key to wake up the system.

1

2

JGS1

2-21


Serial ATA/Serial ATA RAID Connectors controlled by

VT8237: SATA1, SATA2

The Southbridge of this mainboard is VT8237 which supports two serial connectors SATA1 & SATA2.

SATA1 & SATA2 are dual high-speed Serial ATA interface ports. Each supports 1 st generation serial ATA data rates of 150 MB/s. Both connectors are fully compliant with Serial ATA 1.0 specifications. Each Serial ATA connector can connect to 1 hard disk device. Please refer to

Serial ATA/Serial ATA Raid

manual for detail software installation procedure.

7 1

SATA1

SATA2

Serial ATA/Serial ATA RAID Connectors controlled by Promise 20378: IDE3, SER1 & SER2

The brand new Promise 20378 chipset supports one IDE connector IDE3 and two serial connectors SER1& SER2.

IDE3 is a 32-bit Enhanced PCI IDE and Ultra DMA 66/100/133 controller that provides PIO mode 0~6, Bus Master, and Ultra DMA 66/100/133 function.

You can connect up to 2 hard disk drives---one IDE master and one IDE slave.

SER1 & SER2 are dual high-speed Serial ATA interface ports. Each supports 1 st

generation serial ATA data rates of 150 MB/s. Both connectors are fully compliant with Serial ATA 1.0 specifications. Each Serial ATA connector can connect to 1 hard disk device. Please refer to

Serial ATA/Serial ATA Raid

manual for detail software installation procedure.

IDE3

1

SER1

SER2

7

Pin

5

7

1

3

SER1 & SER2 Pin Definition

Signal Pin Signal

GND

TXN

RXN 6

GND

2 TXP

4 GND

RXP

2-22


Optional Serial ATA cable

Take out the dust cover and connect to the hard disk devices

Connect to SER1 / SER2 or SATA1 / SATA2


Please do not fold the serial ATA cable in a 90-degree angle, since this will cause the loss of data during the transmission.

Optional Power Cable

Connect to your hard disk which do not have any power connector on it.

Connect to the Power Supply

2-23


Front Panel Audio Connector: JAUD1

The JAUD1 front panel audio connector allows you to connect to the front panel audio and is compliant with Intel

®

Front Panel I/O Connectivity

Design Guide.

2

1

10

9

JAUD1

PIN

7

8

5

6

3

4

1

2

9

10

JAUD1 Pin Definition

SIGNAL

AUD_MIC

AUD_GND

AUD_MIC_BIAS

AUD_VCC

AUD_FPOUT_R

AUD_RET_R

HP_ON

KEY

AUD_FPOUT_L

AUD_RET_L

DESCRIPTION

Front panel microphone input signal

Ground used by analog audio circuits

Microphone power

Filtered +5V used by analog audio circuits

Right channel audio signal to front panel

Right channel audio signal return from front panel

Reserved for future use to control headphone amplifier

No pin

Left channel audio signal to front panel

Left channel audio signal return from front panel


If you don’t want to connect to the front audio header, pins 5 & 6, 9 & 10 have to be jumpered in order to have signal output directed to the rear audio ports. Otherwise, the Line-Out connector on the back panel will not function.

6

10

5

9

2-24


D-Bracket™ 2 Connector: JLED (Optional)

The mainboard comes with a JLED connector for you to connect to D-

Bracket™ 2. D-Bracket™ 2 is a USB Bracket that supports both USB1.1 & 2.

0 spec. It integrates four LEDs and allows users to identify system problem through 16 various combinations of LED signals. For definitions of 16 signal combinations, please refer to

D-Bracket™ 2

in

Chapter 1

.

2

1

JLED

10

9

Pin

JLED Pin Definition

Signal

1 DBG1 (high for green color)

2 DBR1 (high for red color)







9 Key

10 NC

Connected to JLED

D-Bracket™ 2

Connected to JUSB2 (the USB pinheader in

YELLOW

color)

LEDs

2-25


Jumper

The motherboard provides the following jumper for you to set the computer’s function. This section will explain how to change your motherboard’s function through the use of jumper.

Clear CMOS Jumper: JBAT1

There is a CMOS RAM on board that has a power supply from external battery to keep the data of system configuration. With the CMOS RAM, the system can automatically boot OS every time it is turned on. If you want to clear the system configuration, use the JBAT1 (Clear CMOS Jumper ) to clear data. Follow the instructions below to clear the data:

1

JBAT1

1 1

3

Keep Data

3

Clear Data


You can clear CMOS by shorting 2-3 pin while the system is off.

Then return to 1-2 pin position. Avoid clearing the CMOS while the system is on; it will damage the mainboard.

2-26


Slots

The motherboard provides one AGP slot, and five 32-bit PCI bus slots.

AGP Slot

PCI Slots

AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) Slot

The AGP slot allows you to insert the AGP graphics card. AGP is an interface specification designed for the throughput demands of 3D graphics.

It introduces a 66MHz, 32-bit channel for the graphics controller to directly access main memory. The slot supports 8x/4x/2x/1x AGP card.

PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) Slots

The PCI slots allow you to insert the expansion cards to meet your needs.

When adding or removing expansion cards, make sure that you unplug the power supply first. Meanwhile, read the documentation for the expansion card to make any necessary hardware or software settings for the expansion card, such as jumpers, switches or BIOS configuration.

2-27


PCI Interrupt Request Routing

The IRQ, acronym of interrupt request line and pronounced I-R-Q, are hardware lines over which devices can send interrupt signals to the microprocessor. The PCI IRQ pins are typically connected to the PCI bus INT

A# ~ INT D# pins as follows:

PCI Slot 1

PCI Slot 2

PCI Slot 3

PCI Slot 4

PCI Slot 5

Order 1

INT A#

INT B#

INT C#

INT D#

INT B#

Order 2

INT B#

INT C#

INT D#

INT A#

INT C#

Order 3

INT C#

INT D#

INT A#

INT B#

INT D#

Order 4

INT D#

INT A#

INT B#

INT C#

INT A#

2-28

BIOS Setup

Chapter 3. BIOS Setup

BIOS Setup

This chapter provides information on the BIOS Setup program and allows you to configure the system for optimum use.

You may need to run the Setup program when:

An error message appears on the screen during the system booting up, and requests you to run SETUP.

You want to change the default settings for customized features.

3-1


Entering Setup

Power on the computer and the system will start POST (Power On Self

Test) process. When the message below appears on the screen, press <DEL> key to enter Setup.

DEL:Setup F11:Boot Menu F12:Network boot TAB:Logo

If the message disappears before you respond and you still wish to enter

Setup, restart the system by turning it OFF and On or pressing the RESET button. You may also restart the system by simultaneously pressing <Ctrl>,

<Alt>, and <Delete> keys.

Selecting the First Boot Device

You are allowed to select the 1st boot device without entering the BIOS setup utility by pressing <F11>. When the same message as listed above appears on the screen, press <F11> to trigger the boot menu.

The POST messages might pass by too quickly for you to respond in time. If so, restart the system and press <F11> after around 2 or 3 seconds to activate the boot menu similar to the following.

Floppy

IDE-0

CDROM

[Up/Dn] Select

Select First Boot Device

: 1st Floppy

: IBM-DTLA-307038

: ATAPI CD-ROM DRIVE 40X M

[RETURN] Boot [ESC] cancel

The boot menu will list all the bootable devices. Select the one you want to boot from by using arrow keys and then pressing <Enter>. The system will boot from the selected device. The selection will not make changes to the settings in the BIOS setup utility, so next time when you power on the system, it will still use the original first boot device to boot up.

3-2

BIOS Setup

Control Keys

<

↑

>

<

↓

>

<

←

>

<

→

>

<Enter>

<Esc>

<+/PU>

<-/PD>

<F7>

<F9>

<F10>

Move to the previous item

Move to the next item

Move to the item in the left hand

Move to the item in the right hand

Select the item

Jumps to the Exit menu or returns to the main menu from a submenu

Increase the numeric value or make changes

Decrease the numeric value or make changes

Load BIOS Setup Defaults

Load High Performance Defaults

Save all the CMOS changes and exit

Getting Help

After entering the Setup utility, the first screen you see is the Main Menu.

Main Menu

The main menu displays the setup categories the BIOS supplies. You can use the arrow keys (

↑↓ ) to select the item. The on-line description for the selected setup category is displayed at the bottom of the screen.

Default Settings

The BIOS setup program contains two kinds of default settings: the BIOS

Setup and High Performance defaults. BIOS Setup defaults provide stable performance settings for all devices and the system, while High Performance defaults provide the best system performance but may affect the system stability.

3-3


The Main Menu

Once you enter AMIBIOS NEW SETUP UTILITY, the Main Menu will appear on the screen. The Main Menu displays twelve configurable functions and two exit choices. Use arrow keys to move among the items and press <Enter> to enter the sub-menu.

Standard CMOS Features

Use this menu for basic system configurations, such as time, date etc.

Advanced BIOS Features

Use this menu to setup the items of AMI

®

special enhanced features.

Advanced Chipset Features

Use this menu to change the values in the chipset registers and optimize your system’s performance.

Power Management Features

Use this menu to specify your settings for power management.

PNP/PCI Configurations

This entry appears if your system supports PnP/PCI.

Integrated Peripherals

Use this menu to specify your settings for integrated peripherals.

3-4

BIOS Setup

PC Health Status

This entry shows your PC health status.

Frequency/Voltage Control

Use this menu to specify your settings for frequency/voltage control.

Set Supervisor Password

Use this menu to set Supervisor Password.

Set User Password

Use this menu to set User Password.

Load High Performance Defaults

Use this menu to load the BIOS values for the best system performance, but the system stability may be affected.

Load BIOS Setup Defaults

Use this menu to load factory default settings into the BIOS for stable system performance operations.

Save & Exit Setup

Save changes to CMOS and exit setup.

Exit Without Saving

Abandon all changes and exit setup.

3-5


Standard CMOS Features

The items inside STANDARD CMOS SETUP menu are divided into 9 categories. Each category includes none, one or more setup items. Use the arrow keys to highlight the item you want to modify and use the <PgUp> or

<PgDn> keys to switch to the value you prefer.

System Time

This allows you to set the system time that you want (usually the current time). The time format is <hour> <minute> <second>.

System Date

This allows you to set the system to the date that you want (usually the current date). The format is <day><month> <date> <year>.

month

The month from Jan. through Dec.

date

The date from 1 to 31 can be keyed by numeric function keys.

year day

The year can be adjusted by users.

Day of the week, from Sun to Sat, determined by

BIOS. Read-only.

3-6

BIOS Setup

Primary/Secondary IDE Master/Slave

Press PgUp/<+> or PgDn/<-> to select the hard disk drive type. The specification of hard disk drive will show up on the right hand according to your selection.

Type Select how to define the HDD parameters

Cylinders

Heads

Enter cylinder number

Enter head number

Write Precompensation Enter write precomp cylinder

Sectors Enter sector number

Maximum Capacity

LBA Mode

Read the maximal HDD capacity

Select

Auto

for a hard disk > 512 MB under Windows and DOS, or

Disabled

under Netware and UNIX

Block Mode Select

Auto

to enhance the hard disk

performance

Fast Programmed I/O

Modes

Select Auto to enhance hard disk performance by optimizing the hard disk timing

32 Bit Transfer Mode Enable 32 bit to maximize the IDE hard

disk data transfer rate

Floppy Drive A:/B:

This item allows you to set the type of floppy drives installed. Available options:

Not Installed

,

1.2 MB 5¼

,

720 KB 3½

,

1.44 MB 3½

and

2.88 MB 3½

.

Boot Sector Virus Protection

The item is to set the Virus Warning feature for IDE Hard Disk boot sector protection. When

Enabled

, BIOS will issue a virus warning message and beep if a write to the boot sector or the partition table of the HDD is attempted.

Setting options:

Disabled

and

Enabled

.


This feature only protects the boot sector, not the whole hard disk.

3-7


Advanced BIOS Features

Quick Boot

Setting the item to

Enabled

allows the system to boot within 5 seconds since it will skip some check items. Available options:

Enabled

,

Disabled

.

Full Screen LOGO Show

This item enables you to show the company logo on the bootup screen. Settings are:

Enabled

Disabled

Shows a still image (logo) on the full screen at boot.

Shows the POST messages at boot.

Boot Sequence

Press <Enter> to enter the sub-menu screen.

1st/2nd/3rd Boot Device

The items allow you to set the sequence of boot devices where AMIBIOS attempts to load the operating system.

S.M.A.R.T. for Hard Disks

This allows you to activate the S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring Analysis & Re-

3-8

BIOS Setup

porting Technology) capability for the hard disks. S.M.A.R.T is a utility that monitors your disk status to predict hard disk failure. This gives you an opportunity to move data from a hard disk that is going to fail to a safe place before the hard disk becomes offline. Settings:

Enabled

,

Disabled

.

BootUp Num-Lock

This item is to set the Num Lock status when the system is powered on. Setting to

On

will turn on the Num Lock key when the system is powered on.

Setting to

Off

will allow end users to use the arrow keys on the numeric keypad.

Setting options:

On

,

Off

.

Floppy Drive Swap

Setting to

Enabled

will swap floppy drives A: and B:.

Floppy Drive Seek

This setting causes the BIOS to search for floppy disk drives at boot time.

When enabled, the BIOS will activate the floppy disk drives during the boot process: the drive activity light will come on and the head will move back and forth once. First A: will be done and then B: if it exists. Setting options:

Disabled

,

Enabled

.

Primary Display

This configures the primary subsystem in the computer. Available options:

Mono (monochrome)

,

CGA40x25

,

CGA80x25

,

VGA/EGA

,

Absent

.

Password Check

This specifies the type of AMIBIOS password protection that is implemented.

Setting options are described below.

Option

Setup

Always

Description

The password prompt appears only when end users try to run Setup.

A password prompt appears every time when the computer is powered on or when end users try to run Setup.

Boot To OS/2

This allows you to run the OS/2

®

operating system with DRAM larger than

64MB. When you choose

No

, you cannot run the OS/2

®

operating system with DRAM larger than 64MB. But it is possible if you choose

Yes

.

3-9


Internal Cache

Cache memory is additional memory that is much faster than conventional

DRAM (system memory). When the CPU requests data, the system transfers the requested data from the main DRAM into cache memory, for even faster access by the CPU. The setting controls the internal cache (also known as L1 or level 1 cache). Setting to

Enabled

will speed up the system performance.

External Cache

Cache memory is additional memory that is much faster than conventional

DRAM (system memory). Most, but not all, modern PCs have additional

(external) cache memory. When the CPU requests data, the system transfers the requested data from the main DRAM into cache memory, for even faster access by the CPU.

System BIOS Cacheable

Selecting

Enabled

allows caching of the system BIOS ROM at F0000h-

FFFFFh, resulting in better system performance. However, if any program writes to this memory area, a system error may result. Setting options:

Enabled,

Disabled

.

C000, 32k Shadow

This item specifies how the contents of the adapter ROM named in the item are handled. Settings are described below:

Option

Disabled

Enabled

Cached

Description

The specified ROM is not copied to RAM.

The contents of specified ROM are copied to RAM for faster system performance.

The contents of specified ROM are not only copied to RAM, the contents of the ROM area can be written to and read from cache memory.

MPS Table Version

This field allows you to select which MPS (Multi-Processor Specification) version to be used for the operating system. You need to select the MPS version supported by your operating system. To find out which version to use, consult the vendor of your operating system. Settings:

1.4

,

1.1

.

3-10

Advanced Chipset Features

BIOS Setup


Change these settings only if you are familiar with the chipset.

System Performance

This item specifies the system performance status. Set to

Turbo

to enhance the system performance, or set to

Fast

for regular system performance. Setting options:

Fast, Turbo

.

LDT to AGP Lokar (Upstream) / LDT to AGP Width (Downstream)

These two item control the utilized widths of the HyperTransport link. Setting options:

8 bit, 16 bit.

LDT to AGP Lokar Frequency

This item specifies the maximum operating frequency of the link's transmitter clock. Setting options:

Auto, 800 MHz, 600 MHz, 400 MHz, 200 MHz.

Memclock Mode / Memclock Value

When it is set to

Manual

in “Memclock Mode”, user can place an artificial memory clock limit on the system. Please note that memory is prevented from running faster than this frequency. Setting options:

DDR200, DDR266,

DDR300, DDR333, DDR400.

3-11


Bank Interleaving

This field selects 2-bank or 4-bank interleave for the installed SDRAM. Disable the function if 16MB SDRAM is installed. Settings:

Disabled

,

2-Way

and

4-Way

.

Burst Length

This setting allows you to set the size of Burst-Length for DRAM. Bursting feature is a technique that DRAM itself predicts the address of the next memory location to be accessed after the first address is accessed. To use the feature, you need to define the burst length, which is the actual length of burst plus the starting address and allows internal address counter to properly generate the next memory location. The bigger the size, the faster the DRAM performance.

Settings:

4 QW

and

8 QW

.

CAS Latency (CL)

This controls the timing delay (in clock cycles) before SDRAM starts a read command after receiving it. Settings:

2

,

2.5

,

3

(clocks).

2

(clocks) increases the system performance the most while

3

(clocks) provides the most stable performance.

TRCD

When DRAM is refreshed, both rows and columns are addressed separately.

This setup item allows you to determine the timing of the transition from RAS

(row address strobe) to CAS (column address strobe). The less the clock cycles, the faster the DRAM performance. Settings:

2T

to

5T

.

TRAS

cell. Setting 4T 9T .

TRP

This setting controls the number of cycles for Row Address Strobe (RAS) to be allowed to precharge. If insufficient time is allowed for the RAS to accumulate its charge before DRAM refresh, refresh may be incomplete and DRAM may fail to retain data. This item applies only when synchronous DRAM is installed in the system. Setting options:

2T

to

5T

.

3-12

BIOS Setup

AGP Mode

The item sets an appropriate mode for the installed AGP card. Setting options:

1x

,

2x

,

4x

,

Auto

. Select

4x

only if your AGP card supports it.

AGP Fast Write

This option enables or disables the AGP Fast Write feature. The Fast Write technology allows the CPU to write directly to the graphics card without passing anything through the system memory and improves the AGP 4X speed.

Select

Enabled

only when the installed AGP card supports this function.

Settings:

Enabled, Disabled

.

AGP Aperture Size

This setting controls just how much system RAM can be allocated to AGP for video purposes. The aperture is a portion of the PCI memory address range dedicated to graphics memory address space. Host cycles that hit the aperture range are forwarded to the AGP without any translation. The option allows the selection of an aperture size of

4MB, 8MB, 16MB, 32MB, 64MB, 128MB, and 256 MB.

3-13


Power Management Features


S3-related functions described in this section are available only when your BIOS supports S3 sleep mode.

ACPI Standby State

This item specifies the power saving modes for ACPI function. If your operating system supports ACPI, such as Windows 98SE, Windows ME and Windows 2000, you can choose to enter the Standby mode in S1(POS) or S3

(STR) fashion through the setting of this field. Options are:

S1/POS

The S1 sleep mode is a low power state. In this state, no system context is lost (CPU or chipset) and hardware maintains all system context.

S3/STR

The S3 sleep mode is a lower power state where the in formation of system configuration and open applications/ files is saved to main memory that remains powered while most other hardware components turn off to save energy.

Auto

The information stored in memory will be used to restore the system when a “wake up” event occurs.

BIOS determines the best ode automatically.

3-14

BIOS Setup

Call VGA BIOS at S3 Resuming

Selecting

Enabled

allows BIOS to call VGA BIOS to initialize the VGA card when system wakes up (resumes) from S3 sleep state. The system resume time is shortened when you disable the function, but system will need an AGP driver to initialize the VGA card. Therefore, if the AGP driver of the card does not support the initialization feature, the display may work abnormally or not function after resuming from S3.

USB Device Wakeup From S3

This item allows the activity of the USB device to wake up the system from

S3 (Suspend to RAM) sleep state. Settings:

Enabled

,

Disabled

.

Power Management/APM

Setting to

Enabled

will activate an Advanced Power Management (APM) device to enhance Max Saving mode and stop CPU internal clock. Settings:

Disabled

,

Enabled

.

Suspend Time Out (Minute)

After the selected period of system inactivity, all devices except the CPU shut off. Settings:

Disabled, 1, 2, 4, 8, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60.

Display Activity

These items specify if the BIOS will monitor the activity of the specified hardware peripheral or component. If set to

Monitor

, any activity detected on the specified hardware peripheral or component will wake up the system or prevent the system from entering the power saving modes. Settings:

Monitor

,

Ignore.

Thermal Active Temperature

If the CPU temperature reaches the upper limit preset in this setting, the warning mechanism will be activated. This helps you to prevent the CPU overheating problem.

Power Button Function

This feature sets the function of the power button. Settings are:

On/Off

Suspend

The power button functions as normal power off button.

When you press the power button, the computer enters the suspend/sleep mode, but if the button is pressed for more than four seconds, the computer is turned off.

3-15


After AC Power Loss

This setting specifies whether your system will reboot after a power failure or interrupt occurs. Available settings are:

Power Off

Leaves the computer in the power off state.

Power On

Leaves the computer in the power on state.

Last State

Restores the system to the previous status before power failure or interrupt occurred.

Set WakeUp Events

Press <Enter> and the following sub-menu appears.

3-16

Wake Up On PME, Resume On KBC (with “Wake-Up Key” and

“Wake-Up Password”), Resume On PS/2 Mouse

These fields specify whether the system will be awakened from power saving modes when activity or input signal of the specified hardware peripheral or component is detected. Settings:

Enabled

,

Disabled

.


For “Wake-Up Key” function, the option “Specific Key” refers to the password you specify in the “Wake-Up Password” field. Once you set up a password, it will disable “Resume on PS/2 Mouse”.

Resume By Alarm

This is used to enable or disable the feature of booting up the system on a scheduled time/date from the soft off (S5) state. Settings:

Enabled

,

Disabled

.

BIOS Setup

Alarm Date/Hour/Minute/Second

If

Resume By Alarm

is set to

Enabled

, the system will automatically resume (boot up) on a specific date/hour/minute/second specified in these fields. Available settings for each item are:

Alarm Date

Alarm Hour

Alarm Minute

Alarm Second

01 ~ 31

00 ~ 23

00 ~ 59

00 ~ 59

,

Every Day


If you have changed this setting, you must let the system boot up until it enters the operating system, before this function will work.

3-17


PNP/PCI Configurations

This section describes configuring the PCI bus system and PnP (Plug &

Play) feature. PCI, or

P

eripheral

C

omponent

I

nterconnect, is a system which allows I/O devices to operate at speeds nearing the speed the CPU itself uses when communicating with its special components. This section covers some very technical items and it is strongly recommended that only experienced users should make any changes to the default settings.

Plug and Play Aware O/S

When set to

Yes

, BIOS will only initialize the PnP cards used for booting

(VGA, IDE, SCSI). The rest of the cards will be initialized by the PnP operating system like Windows ® 98, 2000 or ME. When set to

No

, BIOS will initialize all the PnP cards. Select

Yes

if the operating system is Plug & Play.

Clear NVRAM

The ESCD (Extended System Configuration Data) NVRAM (Non-volatile

Random Access Memory) is where the BIOS stores resource information for both PNP and non-PNP devices in a bit string format. When the item is set to

Yes

, the system will reset ESCD NVRAM right after the system is booted up and then set the setting of the item back to

No

automatically.

3-18

BIOS Setup

PCI Latency Timer

This item controls how long each PCI device can hold the bus before another takes over. When set to higher values, every PCI device can conduct transactions for a longer time and thus improve the effective PCI bandwidth. For better PCI performance, you should set the item to higher values. Settings range from

32

to

248

at a 32 increment.

Primary Graphics Adaptor

This setting specifies which VGA card is your primary graphics adapter. Setting options:

PCI, AGP

.

Primary IDE BusMaster

Set this option to

Enabled

to specify that the IDE controller on the PCI local bus has bus mastering capability. Settings options:

Disabled

,

Enabled

.

PCI Slot1 IRQ, PCI Slot2/5 IRQ, PCI Slot3 IRQ, PCI Slot4 IRQ

These items specify the IRQ line for each PCI slot. Setting options:

3

,

4

,

5

,

7

,

9

,

10

,

11

,

Auto

. Selecting

Auto

allows BIOS to automatically determine the

IRQ line for each PCI slot.

3-19


Integrated Peripherals

OnBoard PCI Controller

Press <Enter> to enter the sub-menu screen.

LAN Controller, P20378 S.ATA Controller, 1394 Controller,

Audio Controller

Set these options to

Enabled

(SATA or RAID for P20378 S.ATA

Controller) to enable the controllers of these four PCI devices.

VT8237 PATA-IDE Controller

This setting is used to enable/disabled the VT8237 PATA-IDE controller. Setting options:

Enabled, Disabled.

VT8237 SATA-IDE Controller

This setting is used to enable/disabled the VT8237 SATA-IDE controller.

Setting options:

Disabled, Enabled.

3-20

BIOS Setup

V-Link Data 2X Support

This setting controls the onboard V-Link Data 2X Support. Setting options:

Enabled, Disabled.

Floopy Disk Controller

This is used to enable or disable the onboard Floppy controller.

Option

Auto

Enabled

Disabled

Description

BIOS will automatically determine whether to enable the onboard Floppy controller or not.

Enables the onboard Floppy controller.

Disables the onboard Floppy controller.

Serial Port 1

These items specify the base I/O port addresses of the onboard Serial Port 1

(COM A). Selecting

Auto

allows AMIBIOS to automatically determine the correct base I/O port address. Settings:

Auto, 3F8/COM1

,

2F8/COM2

,

3E8/

COM3

,

2E8/COM4

and

Disabled

.

Port2 Mode

This item sets the operation mode for Serial Port 2. Settings:

Normal

,

1.6 uS

,

3/16 Baud

and

ASKIR

(the last three operation modes are setting options for IR function).

IR Pin Select

Set to

IRRX/IRTX

when using an internal IR module connected to the IR header. Set to

SINB/SOUTB.

when connecting an IR adapter to COM B.

Parallel Port

This field specifies the base I/O port address of the onboard parallel port.

Selecting

Auto

allows AMIBIOS to automatically determine the correct base

I/O port address. Settings:

Auto, 378

,

278

,

Disabled

.

Port Mode

This item selects the operation mode for the parallel port:

ECP

,

Normal

,

Bi-Dir

or

EPP

.

3-21


EPP Version

The item selects the EPP version used by the parallel port if the port is set to

EPP

mode. Settings:

1.7

,

1.9

.

Port IRQ

When

Parallel Port

is set to

Auto

, the item shows

Auto

indicating that

BIOS determines the IRQ for the parallel port automatically.

Port DMA

This feature needs to be configured only when

Port Mode

is set to the

ECP

mode. When

Parallel Port

is set to

Auto

, the field will show

Auto

indicating that BIOS automatically determines the DMA channel for the parallel port.

USB Controller

This setting is used to enable/disable the onboard USB ports. Setting options:

Disabled, 2 USB Ports, 4 USB Ports, 6 USB Ports

USB Device Legacy Support

Set to

All Device

if you need to use any USB device in the operating system that does not support or have any USB driver installed, such as DOS and SCO

Unix. Set to

No Mice

only if you want to use any USB device other than the

USB mouse.

USB 1.1 Port 64/60 Emulation

This field controls the USB Port 64/60 Emulation function. When the function is enabled, the USB keyboard is allowed to type some special combination keys. Setting options:


3-22

BIOS Setup

PC Health Status

This section shows the status of your CPU, fan, overall system status, etc. Monitor function is available only if there is hardware monitoring mechanism onboard.

Chassis Intrusion

The field enables or disables the feature of recording the chassis intrusion status and issuing a warning message if the chassis is once opened. To clear the warning message, set the field to

Reset

. The setting of the field will automatically return to

Enabled

later. Settings:

Enabled

,

Reset

,

Disabled

.

CPU/System Temperature, CPU/System Fan Speed, Vcore, +5.0V,

+12.0V, -12.0V, -5.0V, Battery, +5V SB

These items display the current status of all of the monitored hardware devices/components such as CPU voltages, temperatures and all fans’ speeds.

3-23


Frequency/Voltage Control

Use this menu to specify your settings for frequency/voltage control.

Unused PCI Slot Clock

This item enables or disables the PCI slot clock. Setting options:

Disabled,

Enabled.

Cool’n’Quiet Support

This item enables or disables the Cool’n’ Quiet Function. Setting options:



For the purpose of ensuring the stability of Cool’n’Quiet function, it is always recommended to have the memories plugged in DIMM1.

For more information about Cool’n’Quiet, please refer the MSI

Special Features at Chapter 1, or visit MSI’s website at www.msi.

com.tw.

Spread Spectrum

When the motherboard’s clock generator pulses, the extreme values (spikes) of the pulses creates EMI (Electromagnetic Interference). The Spread Spectrum function reduces the EMI generated by modulating the pulses so that the spikes of the pulses are reduced to flatter curves. If you do not have any EMI problem, leave the setting at

Disabled

for optimal system stability and performance. But if you are plagued by EMI, setting to

Enabled

for EMI

3-24

BIOS Setup

reduction. Remember to disable Spread Spectrum if you are overclocking because even a slight jitter can introduce a temporary boost in clockspeed which may just cause your overclocked processor to lock up.

Dynamic OverClocking

Dynamic Overclocking Technology is the automatic overclocking function, included in the MSI

TM

’s newly developed CoreCell

TM

Technology. It is designed to detect the load balance of CPU while running programs, and to adjust the best CPU frequency automatically. When the motherboard detects CPU is running programs, it will speed up CPU automatically to make the program run smoothly and faster. When the CPU is temporarily suspending or staying in the low load balance, it will restore the default settings instead. Usually the

Dynamic Overclocking Technology will be powered only when users' PC need to run huge amount of data like 3D games or the video process, and the CPU frequency need to be boosted up to enhance the overall performance. Setting options:

Disabled

Private

Sergeant

Captain

Disable Dynamic Overclocking.

1st level of overclocking.

2nd level of overclocking.

3rd level of overclocking, also the default value of "Load

Colonel

General

High Performance Defaults".

4th level of overclocking.

5th level of overclocking.


Even though the Dynamic Overclocking Technology is more stable than manual overclocking, basically, it is still risky. We suggest user to make sure that your CPU can afford to overclocking regularly first. If you find the PC appears to be unstable or reboot incidentally, it's better to disable the Dynamic Overclocking or to lower the level of overclocking options. By the way, if you need to conduct overclocking manually, you also need to disable the Dynamic OverClocking first.

3-25


CPU FSB Clock

This item allows you to select the CPU Front Side Bus clock frequency (in

MHz) and overclock the processor by adjusting the FSB clock to a higher frequency. Select the number between

100~280

for needed frequency.

DDR Voltage (V)

Adjusting the DDR voltage can increase the DDR speed. Any changes made to this setting may cause a stability issue, so

changing the DDR voltage for long-term purpose is NOT recommended

.

CPU Vcore (V)

The settings are used to adjust the CPU clock multiplier (ratio) and CPU corevoltage (Vcore). These settings offer users a tool to overclock the system.


Changing CPU Vcore could result in the instability of the system; therefore, it is NOT recommended to change the default setting for long-term usage

.

AGP Voltage (V)

AGP voltage is adjustable in the field, allowing you to increase the performance of your AGP display card when overclocking, but the stability may be affected. Setting options:

Auto, 1.6, 1.7, 1.8.

3-26

BIOS Setup

Set Supervisor/User Password

When you select this function, a message as below will appear on the screen:

Type the password, up to six characters in length, and press <Enter>.

The password typed now will replace any previously set password from CMOS memory. You will be prompted to confirm the password. Retype the password and press <Enter>. You may also press <Esc> to abort the selection and not enter a password.

To clear a set password, just press <Enter> when you are prompted to enter the password. A message will show up confirming the password will be disabled. Once the password is disabled, the system will boot and you can enter Setup without entering any password.

When a password has been set, you will be prompted to enter it every time you try to enter Setup. This prevents an unauthorized person from changing any part of your system configuration.

Additionally, when a password is enabled, you can also have AMIBIOS to request a password each time the system is booted. This would prevent unauthorized use of your computer. The setting to determine when the password prompt is required is the PASSWORD CHECK option of the AD-

VANCED BIOS FEATURES menu. If the PASSWORD CHECK option is set to

Always

, the password is required both at boot and at entry to Setup. If set to

Setup

, password prompt only occurs when you try to enter Setup.


About Supervisor Password & User Password:

Supervisor password: Can enter and change the settings of the setup menu.

User password: Can only enter but do not have the right to change the settings of the setup menu.

3-27


Load High Performance/BIOS Setup Defaults

The two options on the main menu allow users to restore all of the BIOS settings to High Performance defaults or BIOS Setup defaults. The High Performance Defaults are the values set by the mainboard manufacturer for the best system performance but probably will cause a stability issue. The BIOS

Setup Defaults are the default values also set by the mainboard manufacturer for stable performance of the mainboard.

When you select Load High Performance Defaults, a message as below appears:

Pressing ‘Enter’ loads the default BIOS values that enable the best system performance but may lead to a stability issue.


The option is for power or overclocking users only

. Use of high performance defaults will tighten most timings to increase the system performance. Therefore, a high-end system configuration is a must, which means you need high-quality VGA adapter,

RAM and so on.

We don’t recommend that users should apply the high performance defaults in their regular systems.

Otherwise, the system may become unstable or even crash. If the system crashes or hangs after enabling the feature, please CLEAR

CMOS DATA to resolve the problem. For more information, refer to “Clear CMOS Jumper:JBAT1” in Chapter 2.

When you select Load BIOS Setup Defaults, a message as below appears:

Pressing ‘Enter’ loads the default values that are factory settings for stable system performance.

3-28

Using 4- or 6-Channel Audio Function

Appendix A:Using 4- or 6-Channel Audio

Function

The mainboard is equipped with Realtek ALC655 chip, which provides support for 6-channel audio output, including 2 Front, 2 Rear, 1 Center and 1

Subwoofer channel. ALC655 allows the board to attach 4 or 6 speakers for better surround sound effect. The section will tell you how to install and use

4-/6-channel audio function on the board.

A-1


Installing the Audio Driver

You need to install the driver for Realtek ALC655 chip to function properly before you can get access to 4-/6-channel audio operations. Follow the procedures described below to install the drivers for different operating systems.

Installation for Windows 98SE/ME/2000/XP

For Windows ® 2000, you must install Windows ® 2000 Service Pack2 or later before installing the driver.

The following illustrations are based on Windows ® XP environment and could look slightly different if you install the drivers in different operating systems.

1.

Insert the companion CD into the CD-ROM drive. The setup screen will automatically appear.

2.

Click

Realtek AC97 Audio Driver

.

Click here

A-2


The

AC97 Audio Configuration

software utility is under continuous update to enhance audio applications. Hence, the program screens shown here in this appendix may be slightly different from the latest software utility and shall be held for reference only.


3 .

Click

Next

to install the AC’97 Audio software.

4 .

Click

Finish to restart

Click here

Select this option

Click here

A-3


Software Configuration

After installing the audio driver, you are able to use the 4-/6-channel audio feature now. Click the audio icon from the window tray at the lowerright corner of the screen to activate the

AC97 Audio Configuration

.

Sound Effect

Here you can select a sound effect you like from the

Environment

list.

You may also edit the properties for an environment as you wish by clicking the

Edit

button, then just scroll the bar in the bottom for each property to adjust.

A-4


Here it provides the Karaoke function which will automatically remove human voice (lyrics) and leave melody for you to sing the song. Note that this function applies only for 2-channel audio operation.

Just check the

Voice Cancellation

box and then click

OK

to activate the

Karaoke function.

A-5


Equalizer

Here you regulate each equalizer for current playing digital sound sources.

You may choose the provided sound effects, and the equalizer will adjust automatically. If you like, you may also load an equalizer setting or make an new equalizer setting to save as an new one by using the buttons

Load

and

Save

. Or you may click

Reset

to use the default value.

A-6


Speaker Configuration

In this tab, you can easily configure your multi-channel audio function and speakers.

1. This mainboard provide two different kinds of audio jacks combination. According to the mainboard to select the proper audio configuration below which is identical to the audio jack in your mainboard. For this K8T Neo mainboard, you will have to choose

6CH + S/PDIF (Optical & Coaxial)

or

6CH + S/PDIF (Coaxial)

.

2

1

3

2

1

3

A-7


2. Select a desired multi-channel operation from

Number of Speaker

.

a. Headphone for the common headphone b. 2-Channel Mode for Stereo-Speaker Output c. 4-Channel Mode for 4-Speaker Output d. 6-Channel Mode for 5.1-Speaker Output

3. Here it shows the multi-channel setting for the audio jack. Please connect your speakers to the correct phone jack in accordance with the setting displayed here.

4. Then click

OK

to apply the configuration.

Speaker Test

You can use this tab to test each connected speaker to ensure if 4- or 6channel audio operation works properly. If any speaker fails to make sound, then check whether the cable is inserted firmly to the connector or replace the bad speakers with good ones.

Center

Front Left Front Right

Rear Right

Rear Left

Subwoofer

Select this function

A-8


Select the speaker by clicking it to test its functionality. The one you select will light up and make testing sound.


1. 6 speakers appear on the “Speaker Test” tab only when you select “

6-Channel Mode

” in the “Number of Speakers” column in “Speaker Configuration” tab. If you select “4-Channel Mode”, only 4 speakers appear on the window.

2. While you are testing the speakers in 6-Channel Mode, if the sound coming from the center speaker and subwoofer is swapped, you should select

Swap Center/Subwoofer Output

to readjust these two channels

.

A-9


HRTF Demo

In this tab you may adjust your HRTF (Head Related Transfer Functions)

3D positional audio before playing 3D audio applications like gaming. You may also select different environment to choose the most suitable environment you like.

A-10


General

In this tab it provides some information about this AC97 Audio Configuration utility, including Audio Driver Version, DirectX Version, Audio Controller & AC97 Codec. You may also select the language of this utility by choosing from the

Language

list.

A-11


Using 2-, 4- & 6- Channel Audio Function


This mainboard provide two different kinds of audio jacks combination. According to the mainboard to select the proper audio configuration below.

6CH + S/PDIF (Optical & Coaxial)

Connecting the Speakers

When you have set the Multi-Channel Audio Function mode properly in the software utility, connect your speakers to the correct phone jacks in accordance with the setting in software utility.

2-Channel Mode for Stereo-Speaker Output

Refer to the following diagram and caption for the function of each phone jack on the back panel when 2-Channel Mode is selected.

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Back Panel

4

7

2

1

5

3

6

1 Line In

2 Line Out

(Front channels)

3 MIC

4 Line Out

(Rear channels, but no functioning in this mode)

5 Line Out

(Center and Subwoofer channel, but no functioning in this mode)

6 SPDIF Out Optical jack

7 SPDIF Out Coaxial jack


4-Channel Mode for 4-Speaker Output


7

2

1

Back Panel

4

5

3

6

1 Line In

2 Line Out

(Front channels)

3 MIC

4 Line Out

(Rear channels)

5 Line Out

(Center and Subwoofer channel, but no functioning in this mode)

6 SPDIF Out Optical jack

7 SPDIF Out Coaxial jack

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Back Panel

4

7

2

1

5

3

6

1 Line In

2 Line Out

(Front channels)

3 MIC

4 Line Out

(Rear channels)

5 Line Out

(Center and Subwoofer channel)

6 SPDIF-Out Optical jack

7 SPDIF-Out Coaxial jack

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6CH + S/PDIF (Coaxial)

Connecting the Speakers

When you have set the Multi-Channel Audio Function mode properly in the software utility, connect your speakers to the correct phone jacks in accordance with the setting in software utility.

2-Channel Mode for Stereo-Speaker Output


Back Panel

1

1 Line In

2 Line Out

(Front channels)

3 MIC

4 SPDIF Coaxial jack

2

4

3


The audio jacks on the back panel always provide 2-channel analog audio output function, however these audio jacks can be transformed to 4- or 6channel analog audio jacks by selecting the corresponding multi-channel operation from

No. of Speakers

.

Refer to the following diagram and caption for the function of each jack on the back panel when 4-Channel Mode is selected.

Back Panel

1 *Line Out

(Rear channels)

2 Line Out

(Front channels)

3 MIC


1

2

* Line In function is converted to Line Out function when 4-

Channel Mode for 4-Speaker

Output is selected.

4

3

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Refer to the following diagram and caption for the function of each jack on the back panel when 6-Channel Mode is selected.

1 * Line Out

(Rear channels)

2 Line Out

(Front channels)

3 * Line Out

(Center and Subwoofer channel)


Back Panel

1

4

2

* Both Line In and MIC function are converted to

Line Out function when 6-Channel Mode for 6-

Speaker Output is selected.

3

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If the audio signals coming from the Center and Subwoofer speaker are swapped when you play video or music on the computer, a converter may be required to exchange center and subwoofer audio signals. The converter can be purchased from a speaker store.

VIA VT8237 Serial ATA RAID Introduction

Appendix. Using 4- or 6-Channel

Appendix B: VIA VT8237 Serial ATA

Audio Function

The Southbridge VT8237 provides a hybrid solution that combines two independent SATA ports for support of up to two Serial ATA (Serial ATA

RAID) drives.

Serial ATA (SATA) is the latest generation of the ATA interface. SATA hard drives deliver blistering transfer speeds of up to 150MB/sec. Serial ATA uses long, thin cables, making it easier to connect your drive and improving the airflow inside your PC.

The key features of VT8237 SATA RAID are:

1.

Support two SATA + two PATA hard disk drives.

2.

Only SATA supports RAID.

3.

Supports ATA 133 high performance hard disk drive.

4.

Dual independent ATA channels and maximum connection of four hard disk drives allowed.

5.

Supports Ultra DMA mode 6/5/4/3/2/1/0, DMA mode 2/1/0, and PIO mode 4/3/2/1/0.

6.

Supports RAID 0 and RAID 1.

7.

4 KB to 64 KB striping block size support.

8.

Bootable disk or disk array support.

9.

Windows-based RAID configure and management software tool.

(Compatible with BIOS)

10. Supports hot-swap failed disk drive in RAID 1 array.

11. ATA SMART function support.

12. Microsoft Windows 98, Me, NT4.0, 2000, XP operating systems support.

13. Event log for easy troubleshooting.

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Introduction

This section gives a brief introduction on the RAID-related background knowledge and a brief introduction on VIA SATA RAID Host Controller. For users wishing to install their VIA SATA RAID driver and RAID software, proceed to

Driver and RAID Software Installation

section.

RAID Basics

RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) is a method of combining two or more hard disk drives into one logical unit. The advantage of an Array is to provide better performance or data fault tolerance. Fault tolerance is achieved through data redundant operation, where if one drives fails, a mirrored copy of the data can be found on another drive. This can prevent data loss if the operating system fails or hangs. The individual disk drives in an array are called “members”. The configuration information of each member is recorded in the “reserved sector” that identifies the drive as a member. All disk members in a formed disk array are recognized as a single physical drive to the operating system.

Hard disk drives can be combined together through a few different methods. The different methods are referred to as different RAID levels.

Different RAID levels represent different performance levels, security levels and implementation costs. The RAID levels which the VIA VT8237 SATA

RAID Host Controller supports are RAID 0 and RAID 1. The table below briefly introduced these RAID levels.

RAID Level No. of Drives

2 RAID 0

(Striping)

Capacity Benefits

Number drives * 2 Highest performance without data protection

RAID 1

(Mirroring)

2 Smallest size Data protection

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RAID 0 (Striping)

RAID 0 reads and writes sectors of data interleaved between multiple drives. If any disk member fails, it affects the entire array. The disk array data capacity is equal to the number of drive members times the capacity of the smallest member. The striping block size can be set from 4KB to 64KB. RAID

0 does not support fault tolerance.

RAID 1 (Mirroring)

RAID 1 writes duplicate data onto a pair of drives and reads both sets of data in parallel. If one of the mirrored drives suffers a mechanical failure or does not respond, the remaining drive will continue to function. Due to redundancy, the drive capacity of the array is the capacity of the smallest drive. Under a RAID 1 setup, an extra drive called the .spare drive. can be attached. Such a drive will be activated to replace a failed drive that is part of a mirrored array. Due to the fault tolerance, if any RAID 1 drive fails, data access will not be affected as long as there are other working drives in the array.

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BIOS Configuration

When the system powers on during the POST (Power-On Self Test) process, press <Tab> key to enter the BIOS configuration.

The Serial ATA RAID volume may be configured using the VIA Tech.

RAID BIOS. Always use the arrow keys to navigate the main menu, use up and down arrow key to select the each item and press <Enter> to call out the list of creation steps. The main interface of BIOS configuration utility is as below:

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Create Disk Array

Use the up and down arrow keys to select the

Create Array

command and press <Enter>.


The “Channel”, “Drive Name”, “Mode” and “Size (GB)” in the following example might be different from your system.

Select

Array Mode

and press <Enter>, a list of array modes will appear.

Highlight the target array mode that you want to create, and press <Enter> to confirm the selection. If RAID 1 or RAID 0/1 is selected, an option list will popup and enable the users to select

Create only

or

Create and duplicate

.

Create only

will allow BIOS to only create an array. The data on the mirroring drive may be different from the source drive.


lets BIOS copy the data from the source to the mirroring drive.

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After array mode is selected, there are two methods to create a disk array. One method is “

Auto Setup”

and the other one is “

Select Disk Drives”

.

Auto Setup

allows BIOS to select the disk drives and create arrays automatically, but it does not duplicate the mirroring drives even if the user selected


for RAID 1. It is recommended all disk drives are new ones when wanting to create an array.

Select Disk Drives

lets the user select the array drives by their requirements. When using

Select Disk Drives

, the channel column will be activated. Highlight the target drives that you want to use and press <Enter> to select them. After all drives have been selected, press <Esc> to go back to the creation steps menu.

If user selects a RAID 0 array in step 2, the block size of the array can also be selected. Use the arrow key to highlight

Block Size

and press <Enter>, then select a block size from the popup menu. The block size can be 4KB to

64KB.

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Even though 64KB is the recommended setting for most users, you should choose the block size value which is best suited to your specific RAID usage model.

4KB

: For specialized usage models requiring 4KB blocks

8KB

: For specialized usage models requiring 8KB blocks

16KB

: Best for sequential transfers

32KB

: Good for sequential transfers

64KB

: Optimal setting

Use the arrow key to highlight

Start Create Process

and press <Enter>.

A warning message will appear, Press

Y

to finish the creation, or press

N

to cancel the creation.

Important note: All existing content in the hard drive will be destroyed after array creation.

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Delete Disk Array

A RAID can be deleted after it has been created. To delete a RAID, use the following steps:

1. Select

Delete Array

in the main menu and press <Enter>. The channel column will be activated.

2. Select the member of an array that is to be deleted and press <Enter>. A warning message will show up, press Y to delete or press N to cancel.

Deleting a disk array will destroy all the data on the disk array except

RAID 1 arrays. When a RAID is deleted, the data on these two hard disk drives will be reserved and become two normal disk drives.

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Create and Delete Spare Hard Drive

If a RAID 1 array is created and there are drives that do not belong to other arrays, the one that has a capacity which is equal to or greater than the array capacity can be selected as a spare drive for the RAID 1 array. Select

Create/Delete Spare

and press <Enter>, the channel column will then be activated. Select the drive that you want to use as a spare drive and press

<Enter>, the selected drive will be marked as

Spare

. The spare drive cannot be accessed in an OS.

To delete a spare drive, highlight

Create/Delete Spare

and press <Enter>.

The spare drive will be highlighted, press <Enter> to delete the spare drive.

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View Serial Number of Hard Drive

Highlight

Serial Number View

and press <Enter>. Use arrow key to select a drive, the selected drive’s serial number can be viewed in the last column. The serial number is assigned by the disk drive manufacturer.

Press the

F1

key to show the array status on the lower screen. If there are no disk arrays then nothing will be displayed on the screen.

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Duplicate Critical RAID 1 Array

When booting up the system, BIOS will detect if the RAID 1 array has any inconsistencies between user data and backup data. If BIOS detects any inconsistencies, the status of the disk array will be marked as critical, and BIOS will prompt the user to duplicate the RAID 1 in order to ensure the backup data consistency with the user data.

If user selects

Continue to boot,

it will enable duplicating the array after booting into OS.

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Rebuild Broken RAID 1 Array

When booting up the system, BIOS will detect if any member disk drives of RAID has failed or is absent. If BIOS detects any disk drive failures or missing disk drives, the status of the array will be marked as broken.

If BIOS detects a broken RAID 1 array but there is a spare hard drive available for rebuilding the broken array, the spare hard drive will automatically become the mirroring drive. BIOS will show a main interface just like a duplicated

RAID 1. Selecting

Continue to boot

enables the user to duplicate the array after booting into operating system.

If BIOS detects a broken RAID 1 array but there is no spare hard drive available for rebuilding the array, BIOS will provide several operations to solve such problem.

1. Power off and Check the Failed Drive:

This item turns off the computer and replaces the failed hard drive with a good one. If your computer does not support APM, you must turn off your computer manually. After replacing the hard drive, boot into BIOS and select

Choose replacement drive and rebuild

to rebuild the broken array.

2. Destroy the Mirroring Relationship:

This item cancels the data mirroring relationship of the broken array. For broken RAID 1 arrays, the data on the surviving disk will remain after the destroy operation. However,

Destroy the Mirroring Relationship

is not recommend because the data on the remaining disk will be lost when the hard drive is used to create another RAID 1 array.

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3. Choose Replacement Drive and Rebuild:

This item enables users to select an already-connected hard drive to rebuild the broken array. After choosing a hard drive, the channel column will be activated.

Highlight the target hard drive and press <Enter>, a warning message will appear. Press

Y

to use that hard drive to rebuild, or press

N

to cancel.

Please note selecting option

Y

will destroy all the data on the selected hard drive.

4. Continue to boot:

This item enables BIOS to skip the problem and continue booting into

OS.

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Installing RAID Software & Drivers

Install Driver in Windows OS

h

New Windows OS (2000/XP/NT4) Installation

The following details the installation of the drivers while installing Windows

XP.

1. Start the installation:

Boot from the CD-ROM. Press

F6

when the message "Press F6 if you need to install third party SCSI or RAID driver" appears.

2. When the Windows Setup window is generated, press

S

to specify an Additional Device(s).

3. Insert the driver diskette

VIA VT6420/VT8237 Disk Driver

into drive A: and press <Enter>.

4. Depending on your operation system, choose

VIA Serial ATA RAID

Controller(Windows XP)

,

VIA Serial ATA RAID Controller(Windows 2000)

or

VIA Serial ATA RAID Controller(Windows NT4)

from the list that appears on Windows XP Setup screen, press the <Enter> key.

5. Press <Enter> to continue with installation or if you need to specify any additional devices to be installed, do so at this time. Once all devices are specified, press <Enter> to continue with installation.

6. From the Windows XP Setup screen, press the <Enter> key. Setup will now load all device files and then continue the Windows XP installation h

Existing Windows XP Driver Installation

1. Insert the MSI CD into the CD-ROM drive.

2. The CD will auto-run and the setup screen will appear.

3. Under the Driver tab, click on

VIA SATA RAID Utility

.

4. The drivers will be automatically installed.

h

Confirming Windows XP Driver Installation

1. From Windows XP, open the

Control Panel

from

My Computer

followed by the System icon.

2. Choose the

Hardware

tab, then click the

Device Manager

tab.

3. Click the "

+

" in front of the

SCSI and RAID Controllers

hardware type. The driver

VIA IDE RAID Host Controller

should appear.

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Installation of VIA SATA RAID Utility

The VIA SATA RAID Utility is the software package that enables highperformance RAID 0 arrays in the Windows* XP operating system. This version of VIA SATA RAID Utility contains the following key features: h

Serial ATA RAID driver for Windows XP h

VIA SATA RAID utility h

RAID0 and RAID1 functions

Insert the MSI CD and click on the

VIA SATA RAID Utility

to install the software.

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The

InstallShield Wizard

will begin automatically for installation. Click on the

Next

button to proceed the installation in the welcoming window.

Put a check mark in the check box to install the feature you want. Then click

Next

button to proceed the installation.

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Using VIA RAID Tool

Once the installation is complete, go to

Start

--->

Programs

--->

VIA

--

->

raid_tool.exe

to enable

VIA RAID Tool

.

After the software is finished installation, it will automatically started every time Windows is initiated. You may double-click on the icon shown in the system tray of the tool bar to launch the

VIA

RAID Tool

utility.

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The main interface is divided into two windows and the toolbar above contain the main functions. Click on these toolbar buttons to execute their specific functions. The left windowpane displays the controller and disk drives and the right windowpane displays the details of the controller or disk drives.

In KT6 Delta, the available features are as following:

View by Controller

View by Devices

View Event log

Help Topics

It means that VT8237 SATA RAID in KT6 Delta only has the feature of monitoring the statuses of RAID 0 and RAID 1.

Click on o r button to determine the viewing type of left window pane. There are two viewing types: By controllers and by device. Click on the object in the left window pane to display the status of the object in the right windowpane. The following screen shows the status of Array 0---RAID 0.

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Click on the plus (+) symbol next to Array 0---RAID 0 to see the details of each disk.

You may also use the same

Array 0---RAID 1.

o r button to view the statuses of

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Click on the plus (+) symbol next to Array 0---RAID 1 to see the details of each disk.

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