X79 Extreme9

User Manual

Version 1.1

Published July 2013

Copyright©2013 ASRock INC. All rights reserved.

1

Copyright Notice:

No part of this manual may be reproduced, transcribed, transmitted, or translated in any language, in any form or by any means, except duplication of documentation by the purchaser for backup purpose, without written consent of ASRock Inc.

Products and corporate names appearing in this manual may or may not be registered trademarks or copyrights of their respective companies, and are used only for identification or explanation and to the owners’ benefit, without intent to infringe.

Disclaimer:

Specifications and information contained in this manual are furnished for informational use only and subject to change without notice, and should not be constructed as a commitment by ASRock. ASRock assumes no responsibility for any errors or omissions that may appear in this manual.

With respect to the contents of this manual, ASRock does not provide warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties or conditions of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

In no event shall ASRock, its directors, officers, employees, or agents be liable for any indirect, special, incidental, or consequential damages (including damages for loss of profits, loss of business, loss of data, interruption of business and the like), even if ASRock has been advised of the possibility of such damages arising from any defect or error in the manual or product.

This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions:

(1) this device may not cause harmful interference, and

(2) this device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation.

CALIFORNIA, USA ONLY

The Lithium battery adopted on this motherboard contains Perchlorate, a toxic substance controlled in Perchlorate Best Management Practices (BMP) regulations passed by the California Legislature. When you discard the Lithium battery in California, USA, please follow the related regulations in advance.

“Perchlorate Material-special handling may apply, see www.dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/perchlorate”

ASRock Website: http://www.asrock.com

2

Contents

1 Introduction ......................................................... 5

1.1 Package Contents ......................................................... 5

1.2 Specifications ................................................................. 6

1.3 Motherboard Layout ....................................................... 12

1.4 I/O Panel ...................................................................... 13

1.5 ASRock Game Blaster ................................................. 14

2 Installation ........................................................... 17

2.1 Screw Holes ................................................................... 17

2.2 Pre-installation Precautions ......................................... 17

2.3 CPU Installation ............................................................. 18

2.4 Installation of Heatsink and CPU fan ............................. 20

2.5 Installation of Memory Modules (DIMM) ........................ 21

2.6 Expansion Slots (PCI Express Slots) ................................. 23

2.7 ASRock Game Blaster Installation Guide ...................... 25

2.8 SLI TM , 3-Way SLI TM and Quad SLI TM Operation Guide ... 34

2.9 CrossFireX TM , 3-Way CrossFireX TM and Quad

CrossFireX TM Operation Guide ...................................... 40

2.10 Surround Display Features ............................................ 44

2.11 ASRock Smart Remote Installation Guide ..................... 45

2.12 ASRock XFast Charger Operation Guide....................... 46

2.13 Jumpers Setup .......................................................... 47

2.14 Onboard Headers and Connectors ............................ 48

2.15 Smart Switches .......................................................... 54

2.16 Dr. Debug ................................................................... 55

2.17 Serial ATA (SATA) / Serial ATAII (SATAII) Hard Disks

Installation ................................................................. 59

2.18 Serial ATA3 (SATA3) Hard Disks Installation ............. 59

2.19 Hot Plug and Hot Swap Functions for SATA / SATAII

HDDs ............................................................................ 60

2.20 Hot Plug and Hot Swap Functions for SATA3 HDDs .... 60

2.21 SATA / SATAII / SATA3 HDD Hot Plug Feature and

Operation Guide ........................................................ 61

2.22 Driver Installation Guide ............................................ 63

2.23 Installing Windows ® 7 / 7 64-bit / Vista TM / Vista TM

64-bit With RAID Functions ....................................... 63

2.24 Installing Windows ® 7 / 7 64-bit / Vista TM / Vista TM 64-bit

/ XP / XP 64-bit Without RAID Functions ................... 64

2.24.1 Installing Windows ® XP / XP 64-bit Without RAID

Functions............................................................ 64

3

2.24.2 Installing Windows ® 7 / 7 64-bit / Vista TM /

Vista TM 64-bit Without RAID Functions ............... 65

2.25 Teaming Function Operation Guide ............................... 66

2.26 Untied Overclocking Technology ................................... 69

3 UEFI SETUP UTILITY ................................................. 70

3.1 Introduction .................................................................... 70

3.1.1 UEFI Menu Bar .................................................... 70

3.1.2 Navigation Keys ................................................... 71

3.2 Main Screen ................................................................... 71

3.3 OC Tweaker Screen ...................................................... 72

3.4 Advanced Screen ........................................................... 77

3.4.1 CPU Configuration ............................................... 78

3.4.2 North Bridge Configuration................................... 80

3.4.3 South Bridge Configuration .................................. 81

3.4.4 Storage Configuration .......................................... 83

3.4.5 Super IO Configuration ........................................ 84

3.4.6 ACPI Configuration............................................... 85

3.4.7 USB Configuration ............................................... 86

3.4.8 ME Subsystem ..................................................... 87

3.5 Hardware Health Event Monitoring Screen ................... 88

3.6 Boot Screen ................................................................... 89

3.7 Security Screen ............................................................. 90

3.8 Exit Screen .................................................................... 91

4 Software Support ................................................. 92

4.1 Install Operating System ................................................ 92

4.2 Support CD Information ................................................. 92

4.2.1 Running Support CD ............................................ 92

4.2.2 Drivers Menu ........................................................ 92

4.2.3 Utilities Menu........................................................ 92

4.2.4 Contact Information .............................................. 92

4

Chapter 1: Introduction

Thank you for purchasing ASRock X79 Extreme9 motherboard, a reliable motherboard produced under ASRock’s consistently stringent quality control. It delivers excellent performance with robust design conforming to ASRock’s commitment to quality and endurance.

In this manual, chapter 1 and 2 contains introduction of the motherboard and stepby-step guide to the hardware installation. Chapter 3 and 4 contains the configuration guide to BIOS setup and information of the Support CD.

Because the motherboard specifications and the BIOS software might be updated, the content of this manual will be subject to change without notice. In case any modifications of this manual occur, the updated version will be available on ASRock website without further notice. You may find the latest VGA cards and CPU support lists on ASRock website as well. ASRock website http://www.asrock.com

If you require technical support related to this motherboard, please visit our website for specific information about the model you are using.

www.asrock.com/support/index.asp

1.1 Package Contents

ASRock X79 Extreme9 Motherboard

(ATX Form Factor: 12.0-in x 9.6-in, 30.5 cm x 24.4 cm)

ASRock X79 Extreme9 Quick Installation Guide

ASRock X79 Extreme9 Support CD

6 x Serial ATA (SATA) Data Cables (Optional)

2 x Serial ATA (SATA) HDD Power Cables (Optional)

1 x 3.5mm Audio Cable (Optional)

1 x I/O Panel Shield

1 x Front USB 3.0 Panel

4 x HDD Screws

6 x Chassis Screws

1 x Rear USB 3.0 Bracket

1 x ASRock SLI_Bridge_2S Card

1 x ASRock 3-Way SLI-2S1S Bridge Card

1 x ASRock Game Blaster

ASRock Reminds You...

To get better performance in Windows ® 7 / 7 64-bit / Vista TM / Vista TM 64bit, it is recommended to set the BIOS option in Storage Configuration to

AHCI mode. For the BIOS setup, please refer to the “User Manual” in our support CD for details.

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1.2 Specifications

Audio

LAN

Platform

CPU

Chipset

Memory

Expansion Slot

- ATX Form Factor: 12.0-in x 9.6-in, 30.5 cm x 24.4 cm

- Premium Gold Capacitor design (100% Japan-made high-

quality Conductive Polymer Capacitors)

- Supports Intel ® Core TM i7 processor family for the LGA 2011

Socket

- Digi Power Design

- Advanced V16 + 2 Power Phase Design

- Supports Intel ® Turbo Boost 2.0 Technology

- Supports Hyper-Threading Technology (see CAUTION 1)

- Supports Untied Overclocking Technology

- Intel ® X79

- Quad Channel DDR3 Memory Technology (see CAUTION 2)

- 8 x DDR3 DIMM slots (see CAUTION 3)

- Supports DDR3 2400+(OC)/2133(OC)/1866(OC)/1600/1333/

1066 non-ECC, un-buffered memory

- Supports DDR3 ECC, un-buffered memory with Intel ®

Workstation 1S Xeon ® processors E5 16xx/26xx/46xx series

in socket LGA 2011

- Max. capacity of system memory: 64GB (see CAUTION 4)

- Supports Intel ® Extreme Memory Profile (XMP)1.3/1.2

- 5 x PCI Express 3.0 x16 slots (PCIE1/PCIE2/PCIE4/PCIE5:

x8/8/8/8 mode or x16/0/16/0 mode; PCIE6: x8 mode)

(see CAUTION 5)

- 1 x PCI Express 2.0 x1 slot

- Supports AMD TM Quad CrossFireX TM , 3-Way CrossFireX TM

and CrossFireX TM

- Supports NVIDIA ® Quad SLI TM , 3-Way SLI TM and SLI TM

- Supported by the bundled ASRock Game Blaster

- Creative Sound Core3D quad-core sound and voice

processor

- Supports CrystalVoice

- Supports EAX1.0 to EAX5.0

- PCIE x1 Gigabit LAN 10/100/1000 Mb/s

- Broadcom BCM57781

- Supports Wake-On-LAN

- Supports Energy Efficient Ethernet 802.3az

- Supports Dual LAN with Teaming function with the bundled

ASRock Game Blaster

6

Rear Panel I/O

SATA3

USB3.0

Connector

Smart Switch

- Supports PXE

I/O Panel

- 1 x PS/2 Keyboard Port

- 6 x Ready-to-Use USB 2.0 Ports

- 2 x eSATA3 Connectors

- 4 x Ready-to-Use USB 3.0 Ports

- 1 x RJ-45 LAN Port with LED (ACT/LINK LED and SPEED

LED)

- 1 x IEEE 1394 Port

- 1 x Clear CMOS Switch with LED

- 2 x SATA3 6.0 Gb/s connectors by Intel ® X79, support RAID

(RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 10 and Intel Rapid

Storage 3.0), NCQ, AHCI and "Hot Plug" functions

- 2 x SATA3 6.0 Gb/s connectors by Marvell SE9220, support

RAID (RAID 0 and RAID 1), NCQ, AHCI and “Hot Plug”

functions

- 4 x SATA3 6.0 Gb/s connectors by 2 x Marvell SE9172

separately, support RAID (RAID 0 and RAID 1), NCQ, AHCI

and “Hot Plug” functions

- 4 x Rear USB 3.0 ports by TI ® , support USB 1.0/2.0/3.0 up

to 5Gb/s

- 2 x Front USB 3.0 headers (support 4 USB 3.0 ports) by TI ® ,

supports USB 1.0/2.0/3.0 up to 5Gb/s

- 4 x SATA2 3.0 Gb/s connectors, support RAID (RAID 0,

RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 10 and Intel Rapid Storage 3.0),

NCQ, AHCI and Hot Plug functions

- 8 x SATA3 6.0Gb/s connectors

- 1 x IR header

- 1 x CIR header

- 1 x COM port header

- 1 x IEEE 1394 header

- 1 x Power LED header

- CPU/Chassis/Power/SB FAN connector

- 24 pin ATX power connector

- 2 x 8 pin 12V power connectors

- SLI/XFire power connector

- 3 x USB 2.0 headers (support 6 USB 2.0 ports)

- 2 x USB 3.0 headers (support 4 USB 3.0 ports)

- 1 x Dr. Debug with LED

- 1 x Clear CMOS Switch with LED

- 1 x Power Switch with LED

7

BIOS Feature

Support CD

Unique Feature

- 1 x Reset Switch with LED

- 64Mb AMI UEFI Legal BIOS with GUI support

- Supports “Plug and Play”

- ACPI 1.1 Compliance Wake Up Events

- Supports jumperfree

- SMBIOS 2.3.1 Support

- CPU, VCCSA, DRAM, VTT, CPU PLL, PCH1.1V, PCH1.5V

Voltage Multi-adjustment

- Drivers, Utilities, AntiVirus Software (Trial Version),

CyberLink MediaEspresso 6.5 Trial

- ASRock Extreme Tuning Utility (AXTU) (see CAUTION 6)

- ASRock Instant Boot

- ASRock Instant Flash (see CAUTION 7)

- ASRock APP Charger (see CAUTION 8)

- ASRock XFast USB (see CAUTION 9)

- ASRock XFast LAN (see CAUTION 10)

- ASRock XFast Charger (see CAUTION 11)

- ASRock XFast RAM (see CAUTION 12)

- ASRock X-FAN (see CAUTION 13)

- ASRock Crashless BIOS (see CAUTION 14)

- Hybrid Booster:

- CPU Frequency Stepless Control (see CAUTION 15)

- ASRock U-COP (see CAUTION 16)

- Boot Failure Guard (B.F.G.)

Hardware

Monitor

- Good Night LED

- CPU Temperature Sensing

- Chassis Temperature Sensing

- CPU/Chassis/Power/SB Fan Tachometer

- CPU/Chassis Quiet Fan (Allows Chassis Fan Speed Auto-

Adjust by CPU Temperature)

- CPU/Chassis/SB Fan Multi-Speed Control

- Voltage Monitoring: +12V, +5V, +3.3V, CPU Vcore

OS

Certifications

- Microsoft ® Windows ® 7 / 7 64-bit / Vista TM / Vista TM 64-bit

/ XP / XP 64-bit compliant (see CAUTION 17)

- FCC, CE, WHQL

- ErP/EuP Ready (ErP/EuP ready power supply is required)

(see CAUTION 18)

* For detailed product information, please visit our website: http://www.asrock.com

8

WARNING

Please realize that there is a certain risk involved with overclocking, including adjusting the setting in the BIOS, applying Untied Overclocking Technology, or using the third-party overclocking tools. Overclocking may affect your system stability, or even cause damage to the components and devices of your system.

It should be done at your own risk and expense. We are not responsible for possible damage caused by overclocking.

CAUTION!

1. About the setting of “Hyper Threading Technology”, please check page

69.

2. This motherboard supports Quad Channel Memory Technology. Before you implement Quad Channel Memory Technology, make sure to read the installation guide of memory modules on page 21 for proper installation.

3. Due to Intel ® CPU spec definition, please install the memory modules on DDR3_A1, DDR3_B1, DDR3_C1 and DDR3_D1 for the first priority.

If above four DDR3 DIMM slots are fully installed, and you want to use more than four memory modules, please install the other memory modules from left to right (from DDR3_A2, DDR3_B2, DDR3_D2 to DDR3_

C2.)

4. Due to the operating system limitation, the actual memory size may be less than 4GB for the reservation for system usage under Windows ® 7 /

Vista TM / XP. For Windows ® OS with 64-bit CPU, there is no such limitation. You can use ASRock XFast RAM to utilize the memory that Windows ® cannot use.

5. Currently Intel ® Socket 2011 Sandy Bridge-E Processor doesn’t support

PCIE 3.0, but this motherboard is already PCIE 3.0 hardware ready. It depends on Intel’s CPU to enable PCIE 3.0. Please check Intel’s website for information on future CPU updates and releases.

6. ASRock Extreme Tuning Utility (AXTU) is an all-in-one tool to ne-tune different system functions in a user-friendly interface, which includes Hardware Monitor, Fan Control, Overclocking, OC DNA and IES. In Hardware

Monitor, it shows the major readings of your system. In Fan Control, it shows the fan speed and temperature for you to adjust. In Overclocking, you are allowed to overclock CPU frequency for optimal system performance. In OC DNA, you can save your OC settings as a profile and share it with your friends. Your friends then can load the OC profile to their own system to get the same OC settings. In IES (Intelligent Energy

Saver), the voltage regulator can reduce the number of output phases to improve efficiency when the CPU cores are idle without sacrificing computing performance. Please visit our website for the operation procedures of ASRock Extreme Tuning Utility (AXTU).

ASRock website: http://www.asrock.com

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7. ASRock Instant Flash is a BIOS flash utility embedded in Flash ROM.

This convenient BIOS update tool allows you to update system BIOS without entering operating systems first like MS-DOS or Windows ® . With this utility, you can press the <F6> key during the POST or the <F2> key to enter into the BIOS setup menu to access ASRock Instant Flash.

Just launch this tool and save the new BIOS file to your USB flash drive, floppy disk or hard drive, then you can update your BIOS only in a few clicks without preparing an additional floppy diskette or other complicated flash utility. Please be noted that the USB flash drive or hard drive must use FAT32/16/12 file system.

8. If you desire a faster, less restricted way of charging your Apple devices, such as iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch, ASRock has prepared a wonderful solution for you - ASRock APP Charger. Simply install the APP Charger driver, it makes your iPhone charge much quickly from your computer and up to 40% faster than before. ASRock APP Charger allows you to quickly charge many Apple devices simultaneously and even supports continuous charging when your PC enters into Standby mode (S1), Suspend to

RAM (S3), hibernation mode (S4) or power off (S5). With APP Charger driver installed, you can easily enjoy the marvelous charging experience.

ASRock website: http://www.asrock.com/Feature/AppCharger/index.asp

9. ASRock XFast USB can boost USB storage device performance. The performance may depend on the properties of the device.

10. ASRock XFast LAN provides a faster internet access, which includes the benefits listed below. LAN Application Prioritization: You can configure your application’s priority ideally and/or add new programs. Lower

Latency in Game: After setting online game’s priority higher, it can lower the latency in games. Traffic Shaping: You can watch Youtube HD videos and download simultaneously. Real-Time Analysis of Your Data: With the status window, you can easily recognize which data streams you are transferring currently.

11. ASRock XFast Charger is the best and fastest technology to charge your mobile devices via PC. With the superb XFast Charger USB port, users are assured to enjoy the quick charging experience anytime. In addition to Apple devices, it is also capable of Charging the BC 1.1 standard smart devices. Please refer to page 46 for details.

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12. ASRock XFast RAM is a new function that is included into ASRock Extreme Tuning Utility (AXTU). It fully utilizes the memory space that cannot be used under Windows ® OS 32-bit CPU. ASRock XFast RAM also shortens the loading time of previously visited websites, making web surfing faster than ever. And it also boosts the speed of Adobe Photoshop 5 times faster. Another advantage of ASRock XFast RAM is that it reduces the frequency of accessing your SSDs or HDDs in order to extend their lifespan.

13. ASRock X-FAN will be automatically activated only when the system rises to a certain temperature under heavy-loading or overclocking. Normally, ASRock X-FAN will remain deactivated to give users the quietest computing experience. The target temperature and fan speed settings can be configured in the UEFI setup utility.

14. ASRock Crashless BIOS allows users to update their BIOS without fear of failing. If power loss occurs during the BIOS update process, ASRock

Crashless BIOS will automatically finish the BIOS update procedure after regaining power. Please note that BIOS files need to be placed in the root directory of your USB disk. Only USB2.0 ports support this feature.

15. Although this motherboard offers stepless control, it is not recommended to perform over-clocking. Frequencies other than the recommended CPU bus frequencies may cause instability of the system or damage the CPU.

16. While CPU overheat is detected, the system will automatically shutdown.

Before you resume the system, please check if the CPU fan on the motherboard functions properly and unplug the power cord, then plug it back again. To improve heat dissipation, remember to spray thermal grease between the CPU and the heatsink when you install the PC system.

17. Intel Rapid Storage Technology enterprise 3.0, ASRock XFast RAM and

ASRock Game Blaster are not supported by Microsoft ® Windows ® XP /

XP 64-bit.

18. EuP stands for Energy Using Product, was a provision regulated by the

European Union to define the power consumption for the completed system. According to EuP, the total AC power of the completed system should be under 1.00W in off mode condition. To meet EuP standards, an EuP ready motherboard and an EuP ready power supply are required.

According to Intel’s suggestion, the EuP ready power supply must meet the standard of 5v, and the standby power efficiency should be higher than 50% under 100 mA current consumption. For EuP ready power supply selection, we recommend you to check with the power supply manufacturer for more details.

11

1.3 Motherboard Layout

20

21

22

23

16

17

18

19

24

25

26

4

5

6

7

1

2

3

Power Fan Connector (PWR_FAN1) 27

240-pin DDR3 DIMM Slot (DDR3_A1, Black) 28

240-pin DDR3 DIMM Slot (DDR3_A2, Black) 29

240-pin DDR3 DIMM Slot (DDR3_B1, Black) 30

240-pin DDR3 DIMM Slot (DDR3_B2, Black) 31

ATX 12V Power Connector (ATX12V2)

ATX 12V Power Connector (ATX12V1)

32

33

12

13

14

15

8

9

2011-Pin CPU Socket

CPU Fan Connector (CPU_FAN1)

34

35

10 240-pin DDR3 DIMM Slot (DDR3_D2, Black) 36

11 240-pin DDR3 DIMM Slot (DDR3_D1, Black) 37

CPU Fan Connector (CPU_FAN2)

240-pin DDR3 DIMM Slot (DDR3_C2, Black)

38

240-pin DDR3 DIMM Slot (DDR3_C1, Black) 39

ATX Power Connector (ATXPWR1) 40

SB Fan Connector (SB_FAN1)

USB 3.0 Header (USB3_6_7, Black)

USB 3.0 Header (USB3_4_5, Black)

SATA2 Connectors (SATA2_2_3, Black)

SATA2 Connectors (SATA2_0_1, Black)

SATA3 Connectors (SATA3_0_1, Gray)

SATA3 Connectors (SATA3_M4_M5, Gray)

SATA3 Connectors (SATA3_M2_M3, Gray)

SATA3 Connectors (SATA3_M0_M1, Gray)

Dr. Debug

Chassis Fan Connector (CHA_FAN1)

44

45

46

47

41

42

43

48

49

50

Chassis Fan Connector (CHA_FAN2)

Reset Switch (RSTBTN)

Chassis Fan Connector (CHA_FAN3)

Power Switch (PWRBTN)

Power LED Header (PLED1)

System Panel Header (PANEL1, Black)

Chassis Speaker Header (SPEAKER1, Black)

USB 2.0 Header (USB_12_13, Black)

SPI Flash Memory (64Mb)

USB 2.0 Header (USB_10_11, Black)

Intel X79 Chipset

Consumer Infrared Module Header

(CIR1, Gray)

USB 2.0 Header (USB_8_9, Black)

Infrared Module Header (IR1)

Clear CMOS Jumper (CLRCMOS1)

COM Port Header (COM1)

Front Panel IEEE 1394 Header

(FRONT_1394, Black)

PCI Express 3.0 x16 Slot (PCIE6, Black)

PCI Express 3.0 x16 Slot (PCIE5, Black)

PCI Express 3.0 x16 Slot (PCIE4, Black)

PCI Express 2.0 x1 Slot (PCIE3, Black)

PCI Express 3.0 x16 Slot (PCIE2, Black)

PCI Express 3.0 x16 Slot (PCIE1, Black)

SLI / XFIRE Power Connector

12

1.4 I/O Panel

1 USB 2.0 Ports (USB01)

2 IEEE 1394 Port (IEEE 1394)

* 3 LAN RJ-45 Port

6 USB 3.0 Ports (USB3_01)

7 USB 2.0 Ports (USB45)

8 USB 2.0 Ports (USB23)

4 USB 3.0 Ports (USB23) 9 Clear CMOS Switch (CLRCBTN)

** 5 eSATA3 Connectors 10 PS/2 Keyboard Port (Purple)

* There are two LED next to the LAN port. Please refer to the table below for the LAN port LED

indications.

LAN Port LED Indications

Activity/Link LED SPEED LED

Status Description Status Description

ACT/LINK

LED

SPEED

LED

Off No Link Off 10Mbps connection

Blinking Data Activity Orange 100Mbps connection

On Link Green 1Gbps connection

LAN Port

** eSATA3 connector supports SATA Gen3 in cable 1M.

13

1.5 ASRock Game Blaster

ASRock Game Blaster is packed with the new earthshattering Creative Sound

Core3D quad-core sound and voice processor. It is designed to deliver sound and voice with unbeatable quality and accurate 3D positional audio. It also boosts gaming performance, enables dual LAN with teaming function, and allows users to morph their voice into miscellaneous characters which is amusingly funny.

4 x 1/8” Mini Jacks

** Front Panel Audio Header

*** HDMI_SPDIF Header

* LAN RJ-45 Port

Optical SPDIF Out Port

PCIE Gold Fingers

Coaxial SPDIF Out Port

14

* There are two LEDs next to the LAN port. Please refer to the table below for the LAN port LED

indications.

LAN Port LED Indications

Activity/Link LED SPEED LED

Status Description Status Description

Off No Link Off 10Mbps connection

ACT/LINK

LED

SPEED

LED

Blinking Data Activity Green 100Mbps connection

On Link Green 1Gbps connection

LAN Port

** Front Panel Audio Header

(9-pin F_AUDIO1)

GND

PRESENCE#

MIC_RET

OUT_RET

1

OUT2_L

J_SENSE

OUT2_R

MIC2_R

MIC2_L

*** HDMI_SPDIF Header

(3-pin HDMI_SPDIF1)

1

DUMMY GND

SPDIF OUT

15

Specifications

Platform - Size: 4.3-in x 3.0-in, 11.0 cm x 7.5 cm

- Premium Gold Capacitor design (100% Japan-made high-

quality Conductive Polymer Capacitors)

- Creative Sound Core3D quad-core sound and voice Chipset

processor

- Powerful 32-bit 200Mhz QUAD-Processor SIMD DSP

- 102dB 24-bit DAC

- 101dB 24-bit ADC

Output Features - Supports Stereo / 2.1 Speakers / 5.1 Surround / 7.1

Surround-EX / Headphones

- Front Panel Headphone Out with built-in amplifier (shared

with jack 4)

- Coaxial SPDIF Out Port

- Optical SPDIF Out Port

Input Features

Audio

- Line in / Microphone in shared with 1/8" mini jack (jack 3)

- Front Panel Microphone In

- Supports CrystalVoice

- Supports EAX1.0 to EAX5.0

- Supports Full Blu-ray Profile 2.0 Audio Decoder

- Supports Blu-ray Audio

- Supports AES-128 Encryption/Decryption Engine

- Broadcom BCM57781 LAN

Rear Panel I/O

- PCIE x1 Gigabit LAN 10/100/1000 Mb/s

- Supports Wake-On-LAN

- Supports Energy Efficient Ethernet 802.3az

- Supports Dual LAN with Teaming function (for motherboards

with Broadcom LAN)

- Supports PXE

I/O Panel

- 1 x Coaxial SPDIF Out Port

Connector

OS

- 1 x Optical SPDIF Out Port

- 1 x RJ-45 LAN Port with LED (ACT/LINK LED and SPEED

LED)

- 4 x 1/8" mini jacks

- 1 x HDMI_SPDIF header

- 1 x Front panel audio connector

- Microsoft ® Windows ® 7 / 7 64-bit / Vista TM / Vista TM 64-bit

compliant

16

Chapter 2: Installation

This is an ATX form factor (12.0" x 9.6", 30.5 x 24.4 cm) motherboard. Before you install the motherboard, study the configuration of your chassis to ensure that the motherboard fits into it.

Make sure to unplug the power cord before installing or removing the motherboard. Failure to do so may cause physical injuries to you and damages to motherboard components.

2.1 Screw Holes

Place screws into the holes indicated by circles to secure the motherboard to the chassis.

Do not over-tighten the screws! Doing so may damage the motherboard.

2.2 Pre-installation Precautions

Take note of the following precautions before you install motherboard components or change any motherboard settings.

1. Unplug the power cord from the wall socket before touching any components.

2. To avoid damaging the motherboard’s components due to static electricity, NEVER place your motherboard directly on the carpet or the like. Also remember to use a grounded wrist strap or touch a safety grounded object before you handle the components.

3. Hold components by the edges and do not touch the ICs.

4. Whenever you uninstall any component, place it on a grounded antistatic pad or in the bag that comes with the component.

5. When placing screws into the screw holes to secure the motherboard to the chassis, please do not over-tighten the screws! Doing so may damage the motherboard.

Before you install or remove any component, ensure that the power is

switched off or the power cord is detached from the power supply.

Failure to do so may cause severe damage to the motherboard, peripherals,

and/or components.

17

2.3 CPU Installation

For the installation of Intel 2011-Pin CPU, please follow the steps below.

Load Lever

Load Lever

Contact Array

Socket Body

Load Plate

2011-Pin Socket Overview

Before you insert the 2011-Pin CPU into the socket, please check if the

CPU surface is unclean or if there are any bent pins in the socket. Do not force to insert the CPU into the socket if above situation is found.

Otherwise, the CPU will be seriously damaged.

Step 1. Open the socket:

Step 1-1. Disengage the left lever by pressing it down and sliding it out of the hook.

Step 1-2. Disengage the right lever by pressing it down and sliding it out of the hook.

Step 1-3. Keep the right lever positioned at about 90 degrees in order to flip up the load plate.

Step 2. Insert the 2011-Pin CPU:

Step 2-1. Hold the CPU by the edge with the triangle mark(Pin 1) on your upper right corner.

Pin1

18

Step 2-2. Locate Pin1 and the two orientation key notches.

orientation key notch alignment key

Pin1 orientation key notch

2011-Pin CPU alignment key

2011-Pin Socket

For proper inserting, please ensure to match the four orientation key notches of the CPU with the four alignment keys of the socket.

Step 2-3. Carefully place the CPU into the socket by using a purely vertical motion.

Step 2-4. Verify that the CPU is within the socket and properly mated to the orient keys.

Step 3. Close the socket:

Step 3-1. Flip the load plate onto the IHS, then the cover will automatically come off by itself.

The cover must be placed if returning the motherboard for after service.

Step 3-2. Press down the right load lever, and secure it with the load plate tab under the retention tab.

Step 3-3. Press down the left load lever, and secure it with the load plate tab under the retention tab.

19

2.4 Installation of CPU Fan and Heatsink

This motherboard is equipped with 2011-Pin socket that supports Intel 2011-Pin

CPU. Please adopt the type of heatsink and cooling fan compliant with Intel 2011-

Pin CPU to dissipate heat. Before you installed the heatsink, you need to spray thermal interface material between the CPU and the heatsink to improve heat dissipation. Ensure that the CPU and the heatsink are securely fastened and in good contact with each other. Then connect the CPU fan to the CPU_FAN connector

(CPU_FAN1, see page 12, No. 9 or CPU_FAN2, see page 12, No. 12).

For proper installation, please kindly refer to the instruction manuals of your

CPU fan and heatsink.

Below is an example to illustrate the installation of the heatsink for 2011-Pin CPU.

Step 1. Apply thermal interface material onto center of

IHS on the socket surface.

Apply Thermal

Interface Material

Step 2. Place the heatsink onto the socket. Ensure fan cables are oriented on side closest to the

CPU fan connector on the motherboard (CPU_

FAN1, see page 12, No. 9 or CPU_FAN2, see page 12, No. 12).

Step 3. Align screws with the motherboard’s holes.

Step 4. Use a screw driver to install the screws.

Screws

(4 corners)

If you don’t fasten the screws, the heatsink cannot be secured on the motherboard.

Step 5. Connect fan header with the CPU fan connector on the motherboard.

Step 6. Secure excess cable with tie-wrap to ensure the cable does not interfere with fan operation or contact other components.

20

2.5 Installation of Memory Modules (DIMM)

This motherboard provides eight 240-pin DDR3 (Double Data Rate 3) DIMM slots, and supports Quad Channel Memory Technology. For quad channel configuration, you always need to install identical (the same brand, speed, size and chip-type) DDR3 DIMM in the slots, so that Quad Channel Memory Technology can be activated.

1. Due to Intel ® CPU spec definition, please install the memory modules on DDR3_A1, DDR3_B1, DDR3_C1 and DDR3_D1 for the first priority. If above four DDR3 DIMM slots are fully installed, and you want to use more than four memory modules, please install the other memory modules from left to right (from DDR3_A2, DDR3_

B2, DDR3_D2 to DDR3_C2.)

2. If only two memory modules are installed in the DDR3 DIMM slots, then Dual Channel Memory Technology is activated. If three memory modules are installed, then Triple Channel Memory Technology is activated. If more than four memory modules are installed in the

DDR3 DIMM slots, then Quad Channel Memory Technology is activated.

3. It is not allowed to install a DDR or DDR2 memory module into

DDR3 slot; otherwise, this motherboard and DIMM may be damaged.

21

Installing a DIMM

Please make sure to disconnect power supply before adding or removing DIMMs or the system components.

Step 1. Unlock a DIMM slot by pressing the retaining clips outward.

Step 2. Align a DIMM on the slot such that the notch on the DIMM matches the break on the slot. notch break notch break

The DIMM only fits in one correct orientation. It will cause permanent damage to the motherboard and the DIMM if you force the DIMM into the slot at incorrect orientation.

Step 3. Firmly insert the DIMM into the slot until the retaining clips at both ends fully snap back in place and the DIMM is properly seated.

22

2.6 Expansion Slots (PCI Express Slots)

There are 6 PCI Express slots on this motherboard.

PCIE slots: PCIE1 / PCIE2 / PCIE4 / PCIE5 / PCIE6 (PCIE 3.0 x16 slots) are used for PCI Express graphics cards.

PCIE3 (PCIE 2.0 x1 slot) is used for PCI Express cards with x1 lane width cards, such as ASRock Game Blaster, Gigabit LAN card, SATA2 card, etc.

Dual Graphics Cards in

CrossFireX TM or SLI TM Mode

Triple Graphics Cards in

3-Way CrossFireX TM or

3-Way SLI TM Mode

Five Graphics Cards

PCIE Slot Configurations

PCIE1 PCIE2 PCIE4 PCIE5 PCIE6 x16 x0 x16 x0 N/A x16 x0 x16 x0 x8 x8 x8 x8 x8 x8

1. In single VGA card mode, it is recommended to install a PCI Express

x16 graphics card on PCIE1 slot.

2. In CrossFireX TM mode or SLI TM mode, please install PCI Express x16

graphics cards on PCIE1 and PCIE4 slots. Therefore, both these two

slots will work at x16 bandwidth.

3. In 3-Way CrossFireX TM or 3-Way SLI TM mode, please install PCI

Express x16 graphics cards on PCIE1, PCIE4 and PCIE6 slots.

Therefore, PCIE1 and PCIE4 will work at x16 bandwidth, while PCIE6

works at x8 bandwidth.

4. If you install five PCI Express x16 graphics cards on PCIE1, PCIE2,

PCIE4, PCIE5 and PCIE6 slots, these five slots will work at x8

bandwidth.

5. Please connect a chassis fan to motherboard chassis fan connector

(CHA_FAN1, CHA_FAN2 or CHA_FAN3) when using multiple

graphics cards for better thermal environment.

6. Currently Intel ® Socket 2011 Sandy Bridge-E Processor doesn’t

support PCIE 3.0, but this motherboard is already PCIE 3.0 hardware

ready. It depends on Intel’s CPU to enable PCIE 3.0. Please check

Intel’s website for information on future CPU updates and releases.

23

Installing an expansion card

Step 1.

Step 2.

Step 3.

Before installing the expansion card, please make sure that the power supply is switched off or the power cord is unplugged. Please read the documentation of the expansion card and make necessary hardware settings for the card before you start the installation.

Remove the system unit cover (if your motherboard is already installed in a chassis).

Remove the bracket facing the slot that you intend to use. Keep the screws for later use.

Step 4. Align the card connector with the slot and press firmly until the card is completely seated on the slot.

Step 5. Fasten the card to the chassis with screws.

Step 6. Replace the system cover.

24

2.7 ASRock Game Blaster Installation Guide

2.7.1 ASRock Game Blaster and Driver Installation

Step 1. Please refer to the “Expansion Slots” section then insert ASRock Game

Blaster into PCIE3 slot.

Step2. Follow the step by step driver setup directions. Please make sure to use

Windows ® Vista TM 32-bit / 64-bit or Windows ® 7 32-bit / 64-bit.

ASRock Game Blaster is not supported under Windows ® XP / XP 64-bit.

Step3. Restart your computer for ASRock Game Blaster to take effect.

25

2.7.2 ASRock Game Blaster Configuration

This section explains how to configure your ASRock Game Blaster.

2.7.2.1 THX TRUSTUDIO PRO

Surround

Control the level of audio immersion in music, movies and games.

Crystalizer

Enhance music and movies to make them sound livelier.

Bass

Control the desired level of bass.

Crossover Frequency

Redirect all frequencies below this value to the optimal speaker for

better bass response.

Smart Volume

Adjust the loudness of your audio playback automatically to minimize sudden volume changes.

Dialog Plus

Enhance the voices in movies for clearer dialog.

26

2.7.2.2 CRYSTALVOICE

Select a recording device

Mic Volume

Control the level of mic volume.

Mic Boost

Control the level of mic boost.

CrystalVoice

Click the power button on the left to activate or deactivate.

FX

Morph your voice into different characters and accents.

Smart Volume

Be heard clearly without having to shout or whisper.

Noise Reduction

Eliminate unwanted background noise in your conversation.

Acoustic Echo Cancellation

Eliminate echoes that interfere with your conversation.

27

2.7.2.3 SPEAKERS/HEADPHONES

Speakers / Headphones Configuration

Select the device connected.

Optional Speakers:

Center

Enable or disable center speaker.

Subwoofer

Enable or disable subwoofer.

Rear pair

Enable or disable rear pair speakers.

If there are both speakers and front headphones connected, please select the device you desire to use as audio output.

Full-Range Speakers:

Select full-range speakers.

Front left and right

Surround speakers

Bass Management

Bass Redirection

Enable or disable bass redirection.

Subwoofer Gain

Enable or disable subwoofer gain.

Crossover Frequency

Redirect all frequencies below this value to the optimal speaker for better bass response.

28

2.7.2.4 MIXER

Playback

Speakers

Control the level of speakers playback.

SPDIF-Out

Control the level of SPDIF-Out playback.

Balance

Control the level of various speaker’s balance.

REC

Input Device

Select input device.

What U Hear

Control the level of playback redirect.

29

2.7.2.5 EQUALIZER

EQ

Choose from Flat, Acoustic, Classical, Country, Dance, Jazz, New Age, Pop,

Rock and Vocal.

2.7.2.6 JACK SETUP

30

Device Connected:

Select the device connected.

5.1 Surround

7.1 EX Surround

Front Speakers

Center/Subwoofer

Rear Speakers

Front Speakers

Center/Subwoofer

Rear Speakers

Side Speakers

Front panel headphones is shared with side speakers.

Stereo and Microphone

Speakers

Microphone

Stereo and Line-In

Speakers

Line-In

Show Jack Setup dialog when an audio jack is inserted

Enable or disable Jack Setup dialog.

31

2.7.2.7 ADVANCED FEATURES

Play stereo mix to digital output

Enable or disable play stereo mix to digital output.

32

2.7.2.8 PROFILE

User Profiles

You can save, load or delete your user profiles. The default is <Custom>.

33

2.8 SLI

TM

, 3-Way SLI

TM

and Quad SLI

TM

Operation Guide

This motherboard supports NVIDIA ® SLI TM , 3-Way SLI TM and Quad SLI TM (Scalable

Link Interface) technology that allows you to install up to three identical PCI Express x16 graphics cards. Currently, NVIDIA ® SLI TM technology supports Windows ® XP /

XP 64-bit / Vista TM / Vista TM 64-bit / 7 / 7 64-bit OS. NVIDIA ® 3-Way SLI TM and Quad

SLI TM technology support Windows ® Vista TM / Vista TM 64-bit / 7 / 7 64-bit OS only.

Please follow the installation procedures in this section.

Requirements

1. For SLI TM technology, you should have two identical SLI TM -ready graphics

cards that are NVIDIA ® certified. For 3-Way SLI TM technology, you should

have three identical 3-Way SLI TM -ready graphics cards that are NVIDIA ®

certified. For Quad SLI TM technology, you should have two identical Quad

SLI TM -ready graphics cards that are NVIDIA ® certified.

2. Make sure that your graphics card driver supports NVIDIA ® SLI TM technology

(driver version 280.41 and later). Download the driver from NVIDIA website

(www.nvidia.com).

3. Make sure that your power supply unit (PSU) can provide at least the

minimum power required by your system. It is recommended to use

NVIDIA ® certified PSU. Please refer to NVIDIA ® website for details.

2.8.1 Graphics Card Setup

2.8.1.1 Installing Two SLI

TM

-Ready Graphics Cards

Step 1. Install the identical SLI TM -ready graphics cards that are NVIDIA ® certified because different types of graphics cards will not work together properly.

(Even the GPU chips version shall be the same.) Insert one graphics card into PCIE1 slot and the other graphics card to PCIE4 slot. Make sure that the cards are properly seated on the slots.

Step2. If required, connect the auxiliary power source to the PCI Express graphics cards.

34

Step3. Align and insert the ASRock SLI_Bridge_2S Card to the goldfingers on each graphics card. Make sure the ASRock SLI_Bridge_2S Card is firmly in place.

ASRock SLI_Bridge_2S Card

Step4. Connect a VGA cable or a DVI cable to the monitor connector or the DVI connector of the graphics card that is inserted to PCIE1 slot.

35

2.8.1.2 Installing Three SLI

TM

-Ready Graphics Cards

Step 1. Install the identical 3-Way SLI TM -ready graphics cards that are NVIDIA ® certified because different types of graphics cards will not work together properly. (Even the GPU chips version shall be the same.) Each graphics card should have two goldfingers for ASRock 3-Way SLI-2S1S Bridge

Card connector. Insert one graphics card into PCIE1 slot, another graphics card to PCIE4 slot, and the other graphics card to PCIE6 slot. Make sure that the cards are properly seated on the slots.

Two Goldfingers

Step2. Connect the auxiliary power source to the PCI Express graphics card.

Please make sure that both power connectors on the PCI Express graphics card are connected. Repeat this step on the three graphics cards.

Step3. Align and insert ASRock 3-Way SLI-2S1S Bridge Card to the goldfingers on each graphics card. Make sure ASRock 3-Way SLI-2S1S Bridge Card is firmly in place.

ASRock 3-Way SLI-2S1S Bridge Card

Step4. Connect a VGA cable or a DVI cable to the monitor connector or the DVI connector of the graphics card that is inserted to PCIE1 slot.

36

2.8.2 Driver Installation and Setup

Install the graphics card drivers to your system. After that, you can enable the Multi-

Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) feature in the NVIDIA ® nView system tray utility.

Please follow the below procedures to enable the multi-GPU feature.

For Windows ® XP / XP 64-bit OS:

(For SLI TM mode only)

A. Double-click NVIDIA Settings icon on your Windows ® taskbar.

B. From the pop-up menu, select Set SLI and PhysX configuration. In

Set PhysX GPU acceleration item, please select Enabled. In Select

an SLI configuration item, please select Enable SLI. And click Apply.

C. Reboot your system.

D. You can freely enjoy the benefit of SLI TM feature.

37

For Windows ®

(For SLI TM

Vista TM / Vista

and Quad SLI TM

TM 64-bit / 7 / 7 64-bit OS:

mode)

A. Click the Start icon on your Windows taskbar.

B. From the pop-up menu, select All Programs, and then click NVIDIA

Corporation.

C. Select NVIDIA Control Panel tab.

D. Select Control Panel tab.

E. From the pop-up menu, select Set SLI and PhysX configuration. In

Set PhysX GPU acceleration item, please select Enabled. In Select

an SLI configuration item, please select Enable SLI. And click Apply.

F. Reboot your system.

G. You can freely enjoy the benefit of SLI TM or Quad SLI TM feature.

38

For Windows ® Vista TM / Vista TM

(For 3-Way SLI TM mode)

64-bit / 7 / 7 64-bit OS:

A. Follow steps A to D on page 38.

B. From the pop-up menu, select Set SLI and PhysX configuration. In

Select a hardware acceleration setting for PhysX item, please

select Enabled. In Select an SLI configuration item, please select

Enable 3-way SLI. And click Apply.

C. Reboot your system.

D. You can freely enjoy the benefit of 3-Way SLI TM feature.

* SLI TM appearing here is a registered trademark of NVIDIA ® Technologies Inc., and is used

only for identification or explanation and to the owners’ benefit, without intent to infringe.

39

2.9 CrossFireX

TM

, 3-Way CrossFireX

TM

and Quad CrossFireX

TM

Operation Guide

This motherboard supports CrossFireX TM , 3-way CrossFireX TM and Quad

CrossFireX TM feature. CrossFireX TM technology offers the most advantageous means available of combining multiple high performance Graphics Processing

Units (GPU) in a single PC. Combining a range of different operating modes with intelligent software design and an innovative interconnect mechanism, CrossFireX TM enables the highest possible level of performance and image quality in any 3D application. Currently CrossFireX TM feature is supported with Windows ® XP with

Service Pack 2 / Vista TM / 7 OS. 3-way CrossFireX TM and Quad CrossFireX TM feature are supported with Windows ® Vista TM / 7 OS only. Please check AMD website for

ATI TM CrossFireX TM driver updates.

1. If a customer incorrectly configures their system they will not see the

performance benefits of CrossFireX TM . All three CrossFireX TM components, a

CrossFireX TM Ready graphics card, a CrossFireX TM Ready motherboard and a

CrossFireX TM Edition co-processor graphics card, must be installed correctly to

benefit from the CrossFireX TM multi-GPU platform.

2. If you pair a 12-pipe CrossFireX TM Edition card with a 16-pipe card, both cards

will operate as 12-pipe cards while in CrossFireX TM mode.

2.9.1 Graphics Card Setup

2.9.1.1 Installing Two CrossFireX

TM

-Ready Graphics Cards

Different CrossFireX TM cards may require different methods to enable CrossFireX TM feature. In below procedures, we use Radeon HD 5770 as the example graphics card. For other CrossFireX TM cards that AMD has released or will release in the future, please refer to AMD graphics card manuals for detailed installation guide.

Step 1. Insert one Radeon graphics card into PCIE1 slot and the other Radeon graphics card to PCIE4 slot. Make sure that the cards are properly seated on the slots.

40

Step 2. Connect two Radeon graphics cards by installing CrossFire Bridge on

CrossFire Bridge Interconnects on the top of Radeon graphics cards.

(CrossFire Bridge is provided with the graphics card you purchase, not bundled with this motherboard. Please refer to your graphics card vendor for details.)

CrossFire Bridge or

Step 3. Connect the DVI monitor cable to the DVI connector on the Radeon graphics card on PCIE1 slot. (You may use the DVI to D-Sub adapter to convert the DVI connector to D-Sub interface, and then connect the D-Sub monitor cable to the DVI to D-Sub adapter.)

41

2.9.1.2 Installing Three CrossFireX

TM

-Ready Graphics Cards

Step 1. Install the identical 3-Way CrossFireX TM -ready graphics cards that are

AMD ® certified because different types of graphics cards will not work together properly. (Even the GPU chips version shall be the same.) Insert one graphics card into PCIE1 slot, another graphics card to PCIE4 slot, and the other graphics card to PCIE6 slot. Make sure that the cards are properly seated on the slots.

Step 4. Use one CrossFire TM Bridge to connect Radeon graphics cards on PCIE1 and PCIE4 slots, and use the other CrossFire TM Bridge to connect Radeon graphics cards on PCIE4 and PCIE6 slots. (CrossFire TM Bridge is provided with the graphics card you purchase, not bundled with this motherboard.

Please refer to your graphics card vendor for details.)

CrossFire TM Bridge

Step 5. Connect the DVI monitor cable to the DVI connector on the Radeon graphics card on PCIE1 slot. (You may use the DVI to D-Sub adapter to convert the DVI connector to D-Sub interface, and then connect the D-Sub monitor cable to the DVI to D-Sub adapter.)

42

2.9.2 Driver Installation and Setup

Step 1. Power on your computer and boot into OS.

Step 2. Remove the AMD driver if you have any VGA driver installed in your system.

The Catalyst Uninstaller is an optional download. We recommend using this

utility to uninstall any previously installed Catalyst drivers prior to installation.

Please check AMD website for ATI TM driver updates.

Step 3. Install the required drivers to your system.

For Windows ® XP OS:

A. AMD recommends Windows ® XP Service Pack 2 or higher to be

installed (If you have Windows ® XP Service Pack 2 or higher installed

in your system, there is no need to download it again):

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/sp2/default.mspx

B. You must have Microsoft .NET Framework installed prior to

downloading and installing the CATALYST Control Center. Please

check Microsoft website for details.

For Windows ® 7 / Vista TM OS:

Install the CATALYST Control Center. Please check AMD website for details.

Step 4. Restart your computer.

Step 5. Install the VGA card drivers to your system, and restart your computer.

Then you will find “ATI Catalyst Control Center” on your Windows ® taskbar.

ATI Catalyst Control Center

Step 6. Double-click “ATI Catalyst Control Center”. Click “View”, select “CrossFireX TM ”, and then check the item “Enable CrossFireX TM ”. Select “2 GPUs” and click “Apply” (if you install two Radeon graphics cards). Select “3

GPUs” and click “OK” (if you install three Radeon graphics cards).

43

Although you have selected the option “Enable CrossFire TM ”, the CrossFireX TM function may not work actually. Your computer will automatically reboot. After restarting your computer, please confirm whether the option “Enable

CrossFire TM ” in “ATI Catalyst Control Center” is selected or not; if not, please select it again, and then you are able to enjoy the benefit of CrossFireX TM feature.

Step 7. You can freely enjoy the benefit of CrossFireX TM , 3-Way CrossFireX TM or

Quad CrossFireX TM feature.

* CrossFireX TM appearing here is a registered trademark of AMD Technologies Inc., and is

used only for identification or explanation and to the owners’ benefit, without intent to infringe.

* For further information of AMD CrossFireX TM technology, please check AMD website for

updates and details.

2.10 Surround Display Feature

This motherboard supports Surround Display upgrade. With the external add-on PCI

Express VGA cards, you can easily enjoy the benefits of Surround Display feature.

For detailed instructions, please refer to the document at the following path in the

Support CD:

..\ Surround Display Information

44

2.11 ASRock Smart Remote Installation Guide

ASRock Smart Remote is only used for ASRock motherboard with CIR header.

Please refer to below procedures for the quick installation and usage of ASRock

Smart Remote.

Step1. Find the CIR header located next to the USB 2.0 header on ASRock motherboard.

USB 2.0 header (9-pin, black)

CIR header (4-pin, gray)

Step2. Connect the front USB cable to the

USB 2.0 header (as below, pin 1-5) and the CIR header. Please make sure the wire assignments and the pin assignments are matched correctly.

USB_PWR

P-

1 2

P+

GND

DUMMY

3 4 5

Step3. Install Multi-Angle CIR Receiver to the front USB port. If Multi-Angle

CIR Receiver cannot successfully receive the infrared signals from

MCE Remote Controller, please try to install it to the other front USB port.

GND

IRTX

IRRX

ATX+5VSB

3 CIR sensors in different angles

1.

2.

3.

Only one of the front USB port can support CIR function. When the CIR function is enabled, the other port will remain USB function.

Multi-Angle CIR Receiver is used for front USB only. Please do not use the rear USB bracket to connect it on the rear panel.

Multi-Angle CIR Receiver can receive the multi-direction infrared signals (top, down and front), which is compatible with most of the chassis on the market.

The Multi-Angle CIR Receiver does not support Hot-Plug function. Please install it before you boot the system.

* ASRock Smart Remote is only supported by some of ASRock motherboards. Please refer to

ASRock website for the motherboard support list: http://www.asrock.com

45

2.12 ASRock XFast Charger Operation Guide

ASRock XFast Charger is the best and fastest technology to charge your mobile devices via PC. With the superb XFast

Charger USB port, users are assured to enjoy the quick charging experience anytime. In addition to Apple devices, it is also capable of Charging the BC 1.1 standard smart devices. Please refer to below instruction for proper operation.

This motherboard provides five USB ports for ASRock XFast Charger:

USB 2.0 port (USB0) on the I/O panel see p.13 No. 1

USB 3.0 ports (USB3_6_7 and USB3_4_5) headers see p.12 No. 17 see p.12 No. 18

With ASRock XFast Charger feature, you can freely enjoy the quick charging convenience by installing the USB cable on these five ports.

46

2.13 Jumpers Setup

The illustration shows how jumpers are setup. When the jumper cap is placed on pins, the jumper is “Short”. If no jumper cap is placed on pins, the jumper is “Open”. The illustration shows a 3-pin jumper whose pin1 and pin2 are “Short” when jumper cap is placed on these 2 pins.

Jumper

Clear CMOS Jumper

(CLRCMOS1)

Setting Description

(see p.12, No. 41)

Default Clear CMOS

Note: CLRCMOS1 allows you to clear the data in CMOS. To clear and reset the system parameters to default setup, please turn off the computer and unplug the power cord from the power supply. After waiting for 15 seconds, use a jumper cap to short pin2 and pin3 on CLRCMOS1 for 5 seconds. However, please do not clear the CMOS right after you update the BIOS. If you need to clear the CMOS when you just finish updating the BIOS, you must boot up the system first, and then shut it down before you do the clear-CMOS action. Please be noted that the password, date, time, user default profile, 1394

GUID and MAC address will be cleared only if the CMOS battery is removed.

The Clear CMOS Switch has the same function as the Clear CMOS jumper.

47

2.14 Onboard Headers and Connectors

Onboard headers and connectors are NOT jumpers. Do NOT place jumper caps over these headers and connectors. Placing jumper caps over the headers and connectors will cause permanent damage of the motherboard!

Serial ATA2 Connectors

(SATA2_0_1: see p.12, No. 20)

(SATA2_2_3: see p.12, No. 19)

Serial ATA3 Connectors

(SATA3_0_1: see p.12, No. 21)

(SATA3_M0_M1: see p.12, No. 24)

(SATA3_M2_M3: see p.12, No. 23)

(SATA3_M4_M5: see p.12, No. 22)

These four Serial ATA2

(SATA2) connectors support

SATA data cables for internal storage devices. The current

SATA2 interface allows up to

3.0 Gb/s data transfer rate.

These eight Serial ATA3

(SATA3) connectors support

SATA data cables for internal storage devices. The current

SATA3 interface allows up to

6.0 Gb/s data transfer rate.

Serial ATA (SATA)

Data Cable

(Optional)

Serial ATA (SATA)

Power Cable

(Optional) connect to the SATA

HDD power connector connect to the power supply

Either end of the SATA data cable can be connected to the

SATA / SATA2 / SATA3 hard disk or the SATA2 / SATA3 connector on this motherboard.

Please connect the black end of SATA power cable to the power connector on each drive.

Then connect the white end of

SATA power cable to the power connector of the power supply.

48

USB 2.0 Headers

(9-pin USB_8_9)

(see p.12 No. 39)

(9-pin USB_10_11)

(see p.12 No. 36)

USB_PWR

P-9

P+9

GND

DUMMY

1

P-8

P+8

USB_PWR

GND

USB_PWR

P-11

P+11

GND

DUMMY

1

P+10

P-10

GND

USB_PWR

(9-pin USB_12_13)

(see p.12 No. 34)

Besides six default USB 2.0

ports on the I/O panel, there are three USB 2.0 headers on this motherboard. Each USB 2.0

header can support two USB

2.0 ports.

USB 3.0 Header

(19-pin USB3_4_5)

(see p.12 No. 18)

Besides two default USB 3.0 ports on the I/O panel, there are two USB 3.0 headers on this motherboard. Each USB 3.0 header can support two USB

3.0 ports.

(19-pin USB3_6_7)

(see p.12 No. 17)

49

Infrared Module Header

(5-pin IR1)

(see p.12 No. 40)

Consumer Infrared Module Header

(4-pin CIR1)

(see p.12 No. 38)

System Panel Header

(9-pin PANEL1)

(see p.12 No. 32)

This header supports an optional wireless transmitting and receiving infrared module.

This header can be used to connect the remote controller receiver.

This header accommodates several system front panel functions.

Connect the power switch, reset switch and system status indicator on the chassis to this header according to the pin assignments below. Note the positive and negative pins before connecting the cables.

PWRBTN (Power Switch):

Connect to the power switch on the chassis front panel. You may configure the way to turn off your system using the power switch.

RESET (Reset Switch):

Connect to the reset switch on the chassis front panel. Press the reset switch to restart the computer if the computer freezes and fails to perform a normal restart.

PLED (System Power LED):

Connect to the power status indicator on the chassis front panel. The LED is on when the system is operating. The LED keeps blinking when the system is in S1 sleep state. The LED is off when the system is in S3/S4 sleep state or powered off (S5).

HDLED (Hard Drive Activity LED):

Connect to the hard drive activity LED on the chassis front panel. The LED is on when the hard drive is reading or writing data.

The front panel design may differ by chassis. A front panel module mainly consists of power switch, reset switch, power LED, hard drive activity LED, speaker and etc. When connecting your chassis front panel module to this header, make sure the wire assignments and the pin assign-ments are matched correctly.

Chassis Speaker Header

(4-pin SPEAKER 1)

(see p.12 No. 33)

Please connect the chassis speaker to this header.

50

Power LED Header

(3-pin PLED1)

(see p.12 No. 31)

1

PLED-

PLED+

PLED+

Chassis, Power and SB Fan Connectors

(4-pin CHA_FAN1)

(see p.12 No. 26)

(3-pin CHA_FAN2)

(see p.12 No. 27)

(3-pin CHA_FAN3)

(see p.12 No. 29)

(3-pin PWR_FAN1)

(see p.12 No. 1)

Please connect the chassis power LED to this header to indicate system power status.

The LED is on when the system is operating. The LED keeps blinking in S1 state. The LED is off in S3/S4 state or S5 state

(power off).

Please connect the fan cables to the fan connectors and match the black wire to the ground pin. CHA_FAN1,

CHA_FAN2 and CHA_FAN3 support FAN control. SB_FAN1 supports Quiet FAN.

(3-pin SB_FAN1)

(see p.12 No. 16)

GND

+12V

SB_FAN_SPEED

CPU Fan Connectors

(4-pin CPU_FAN1)

(see p.12 No. 9)

FAN_SPEED_CONTROL

CPU_FAN_SPEED

+12V

GND

1 2 3 4

Please connect the CPU fan cable to the connector and match the black wire to the ground pin.

Though this motherboard provides 4-Pin CPU fan (Quiet Fan) support, the 3-Pin

CPU fan still can work successfully even without the fan speed control function.

If you plan to connect the 3-Pin CPU fan to the CPU fan connector on this

motherboard, please connect it to Pin 1-3.

Pin 1-3 Connected

3-Pin Fan Installation

(3-pin CPU_FAN2)

(see p.12 No. 12)

GND

+12V

CPU_FAN_SPEED

51

ATX Power Connector

(24-pin ATXPWR1)

(see p.12 No. 15)

12 24 Please connect an ATX power supply to this connector.

1 13

Though this motherboard provides 24-pin ATX power connector, it can still work if you adopt a traditional 20-pin ATX power supply.

To use the 20-pin ATX power supply, please plug your power supply along with Pin 1 and Pin 13.

12 24

20-Pin ATX Power Supply Installation 1 13

ATX 12V Power Connector

(8-pin ATX12V1)

(see p.12 No. 6 and 7)

8 5

4 1

Please connect an ATX 12V power supply to this connector.

Though this motherboard provides 8-pin ATX 12V power connector, it can still work if you adopt a traditional 4-pin ATX 12V power supply. To use the 4-pin ATX power supply, please plug your power supply along with Pin 1 and Pin 5.

8 5

4-Pin ATX 12V Power Supply Installation 4 1

SLI/XFIRE Power Connector

(4-pin SLI/XFIRE_PWR1)

(see p.12 No. 50)

SLI/XFIRE_POWER1

IEEE 1394 Header

(9-pin FRONT_1394)

(see p.12 No. 43)

RXTPAM_0

GND

RXTPBM_0

+12V

GND

1

+12V

RXTPBP_0

GND

RXTPAP_0

Serial port Header

(9-pin COM1)

(see p.12 No. 42)

It is not necessary to use this connector, but please connect it with a hard disk power connecor when two graphics cards are plugged to this motherboard.

Besides one default IEEE 1394 port on the I/O panel, there is one IEEE 1394 header

(FRONT_1394) on this motherboard. This IEEE 1394 header can support one IEEE

1394 port.

This COM1 header supports a serial port module.

52

The Installation Guide of Front USB 3.0 Panel

Step 1 Prepare the bundled Front USB 3.0 Panel, four

HDD screws, and six chassis screws.

Step 2 Screw the 2.5” HDD/SSD to the Front

USB 3.0 Panel with four HDD screws.

Step 3 Intall the Front USB 3.0 Panel into the 2.5” drive bay of the chassis.

Step 4 Screw the Front USB 3.0 Panel to the drive bay with six chassis screws.

Step 5 Plug the Front USB 3.0 cable into the USB

3.0 header (USB3_4_5 or USB3_6_7) on the motherboard.

Step 6 The Front USB 3.0 Panel is ready to use.

The Installation Guide of Rear USB 3.0 Bracket

Step 1 Unscrew the two screws from the Front USB 3.0

Panel.

Step 2 Put the USB 3.0 cable and the rear

USB 3.0 bracket together.

Step 3 Screw the two screws into the rear USB 3.0 bracket.

Step 4 Put the rear USB 3.0 bracket into the chassis.

53

2.15 Smart Switches

The motherboard has three smart switches: power switch, reset switch and clear

CMOS switch, allowing users to quickly turn on/off or reset the sytem clear the

CMOS values.

Power Switch

(PWRBTN)

(see p.12 No. 30)

Reset Switch

(RSTBTN)

(see p.12 No. 28)

Clear CMOS Switch

(CLRCBTN)

(see p.13 No. 9)

Power Switch is a smart switch, allowing users to quickly turn on/off the system.

Reset Switch is a smart switch, allowing users to quickly reset the system.

Clear CMOS Switch is a smart switch, allowing users to quickly clear the CMOS values.

54

2.16 Dr. Debug

Dr. Debug is used to provide code information, which makes troubleshooting even easier. Please see the diagrams below for reading the Dr. Debug codes.

0x2F

0x30

0x31

0x32

0x33

0x34

0x35

0x36

0x12

0x13

0x14

0x15

0x16

0x17

0x18

0x19

0x1A

0x1B

0x1C

0x1D – 0x2A

0x2B

0x2C

0x2D

0x2E

Status Code

0x00

0x01

0x02

0x03

0x04

0x05

0x06

0x07

0x08

0x09

0x0A

0x0B

0x0C – 0x0D

0x0E

0x0F

0x10

0x11

Description

Not used

Power on. Reset type detection (soft/hard)

AP initialization before microcode loading

North Bridge initialization before microcode loading

South Bridge initialization before microcode loading

OEM initialization before microcode loading

Microcode loading

AP initialization after microcode loading

North Bridge initialization after microcode loading

South Bridge initialization after microcode loading

OEM initialization after microcode loading

Cache initialization

Reserved for future AMI SEC error codes

Microcode not found

Microcode not loaded

PEI Core is started

Pre-memory CPU initialization is started

Pre-memory CPU initialization (CPU module specific)

Pre-memory CPU initialization (CPU module specific)

Pre-memory CPU initialization (CPU module specific)

Pre-memory North Bridge initialization is started

Pre-Memory North Bridge initialization (North Bridge module specific)

Pre-Memory North Bridge initialization (North Bridge module specific)

Pre-Memory North Bridge initialization (North Bridge module specific)

Pre-memory South Bridge initialization is started

Pre-memory South Bridge initialization (South Bridge module specific)

Pre-memory South Bridge initialization (South Bridge module specific)

Pre-memory South Bridge initialization (South Bridge module specific)

OEM pre-memory initialization codes

Memory initialization. Serial Presence Detect (SPD) data reading

Memory initialization. Memory presence detection

Memory initialization. Programming memory timing information

Memory initialization. Configuring memory

Memory initialization (other)

Reserved for ASL

Memory Installed

CPU post-memory initialization is started

CPU post-memory initialization. Cache initialization

CPU post-memory initialization. Application Processor(s) (AP) initialization

CPU post-memory initialization. Boot Strap Processor (BSP) selection

CPU post-memory initialization. System Management Mode (SMM) initialization

55

0x52

0x53

0x54

0x55

0x56

0x57

0x58

0x59

0x5A

0x5B

0x5C-0x5F

0xE0

0xE1

0xE2

0xE3

0x37

0x38

0x39

0x3A

0x3B

0x3C

0x3D

0x3E

0x3F-0x4E

0x4F

0x50

0x51

0xE4-0xE7

0xE8

0xE9

0xEA

0xEB

0xEC-0xEF

0xF0

0xF1

0xF2

0xF3

0xF4

0xF5-0xF7

0xF8

0xF9

0xFA

0xFB – 0xFF

0x60

0x61

Post-Memory North Bridge initialization is started

Post-Memory North Bridge initialization (North Bridge module specific)

Post-Memory North Bridge initialization (North Bridge module specific)

Post-Memory North Bridge initialization (North Bridge module specific)

Post-Memory South Bridge initialization is started

Post-Memory South Bridge initialization (South Bridge module specific)

Post-Memory South Bridge initialization (South Bridge module specific)

Post-Memory South Bridge initialization (South Bridge module specific)

OEM post memory initialization codes

DXE IPL is started

Memory initialization error. Invalid memory type or incompatible memory speed

Memory initialization error. SPD reading has failed

Memory initialization error. Invalid memory size or memory modules do not match

Memory initialization error. No usable memory detected

Unspecified memory initialization error

Memory not installed

Invalid CPU type or Speed

CPU mismatch

CPU self test failed or possible CPU cache error

CPU micro-code is not found or micro-code update is failed

Internal CPU error reset PPI is not available

Reserved for future AMI error codes

S3 Resume is stared (S3 Resume PPI is called by the DXE IPL)

S3 Boot Script execution

Video repost

OS S3 wake vector call

Reserved for future AMI progress codes

S3 Resume Failed

S3 Resume PPI not Found

S3 Resume Boot Script Error

S3 OS Wake Error

Reserved for future AMI error codes

Recovery condition triggered by firmware (Auto recovery)

Recovery condition triggered by user (Forced recovery)

Recovery process started

Recovery firmware image is found

Recovery firmware image is loaded

Reserved for future AMI progress codes

Recovery PPI is not available

Recovery capsule is not found

Invalid recovery capsule

Reserved for future AMI error codes

DXE Core is started

NVRAM initialization

56

0x90

0x91

0x92

0x93

0x94

0x95

0x96

0x97

0x74

0x75

0x76

0x77

0x78

0x79

0x7A – 0x7F

0x80 – 0x8F

0x6C

0x6D

0x6E

0x6F

0x70

0x71

0x72

0x73

0x62

0x63

0x64

0x65

0x66

0x67

0x68

0x69

0x6A

0x6B

0x98

0x99

0x9A

0x9B

0x9C

0x9D

0x9E – 0x9F

0xA0

0xA1

0xA2

0xA3

0xA4

0xA5

Installation of the South Bridge Runtime Services

CPU DXE initialization is started

CPU DXE initialization (CPU module specific)

CPU DXE initialization (CPU module specific)

CPU DXE initialization (CPU module specific)

CPU DXE initialization (CPU module specific)

PCI host bridge initialization

North Bridge DXE initialization is started

North Bridge DXE SMM initialization is started

North Bridge DXE initialization (North Bridge module specific)

North Bridge DXE initialization (North Bridge module specific)

North Bridge DXE initialization (North Bridge module specific)

North Bridge DXE initialization (North Bridge module specific)

North Bridge DXE initialization (North Bridge module specific)

South Bridge DXE initialization is started

South Bridge DXE SMM initialization is started

South Bridge devices initialization

South Bridge DXE Initialization (South Bridge module specific)

South Bridge DXE Initialization (South Bridge module specific)

South Bridge DXE Initialization (South Bridge module specific)

South Bridge DXE Initialization (South Bridge module specific)

South Bridge DXE Initialization (South Bridge module specific)

ACPI module initialization

CSM initialization

Reserved for future AMI DXE codes

OEM DXE initialization codes

Boot Device Selection (BDS) phase is started

Driver connecting is started

PCI Bus initialization is started

PCI Bus Hot Plug Controller Initialization

PCI Bus Enumeration

PCI Bus Request Resources

PCI Bus Assign Resources

Console Output devices connect

Console input devices connect

Super IO Initialization

USB initialization is started

USB Reset

USB Detect

USB Enable

Reserved for future AMI codes

IDE initialization is started

IDE Reset

IDE Detect

IDE Enable

SCSI initialization is started

SCSI Reset

57

0xB8 – 0xBF

0xC0 – 0xCF

0xD0

0xD1

0xD2

0xD3

0xD4

0xD5

0xD6

0xD7

0xD8

0xD9

0xDA

0xDB

0xDC

0xB0

0xB1

0xB2

0xB3

0xB4

0xB5

0xB6

0xB7

0xA6

0xA7

0xA8

0xA9

0xAA

0xAB

0xAC

0xAD

0xAE

0xAF

SCSI Detect

SCSI Enable

Setup Verifying Password

Start of Setup

Reserved for ASL (see ASL Status Codes section below)

Setup Input Wait

Reserved for ASL (see ASL Status Codes section below)

Ready To Boot event

Legacy Boot event

Exit Boot Services event

Runtime Set Virtual Address MAP Begin

Runtime Set Virtual Address MAP End

Legacy Option ROM Initialization

System Reset

USB hot plug

PCI bus hot plug

Clean-up of NVRAM

Configuration Reset (reset of NVRAM settings)

Reserved for future AMI codes

OEM BDS initialization codes

CPU initialization error

North Bridge initialization error

South Bridge initialization error

Some of the Architectural Protocols are not available

PCI resource allocation error. Out of Resources

No Space for Legacy Option ROM

No Console Output Devices are found

No Console Input Devices are found

Invalid password

Error loading Boot Option (LoadImage returned error)

Boot Option is failed (StartImage returned error)

Flash update is failed

Reset protocol is not available

58

2.17 Serial ATA (SATA) / Serial ATA2 (SATA2) Hard Disks Installation

This motherboard adopts Intel ® X79 chipset that supports Serial ATA (SATA) / Serial

ATA2 (SATA2) hard disks and RAID (RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 10 and Intel

Rapid Storage 3.0) functions. You may install SATA / SATA2 hard disks on this motherboard for internal storage devices. This section will guide you to install the

SATA / SATA2 hard disks.

STEP 1: Install the SATA / SATA2 hard disks into the drive bays of your chassis.

STEP 2: Connect the SATA power cable to the SATA / SATA2 hard disk.

STEP 3: Connect one end of the SATA data cable to the motherboard’s SATA2 connector.

STEP 4: Connect the other end of the SATA data cable to the SATA / SATA2 hard disk.

2.18 Serial ATA3 (SATA3) Hard Disks Installation

This motherboard adopts Intel ® X79 chipset that supports Serial ATA3 (SATA3) hard disks and RAID (RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 10 and Intel Rapid Storage 3.0) functions for SATA3_0 and SATA3_1 connectors. Marvell SE9220 chipset supports Serial ATA3 (SATA3) hard disks and RAID (RAID 0 and RAID 1) functions for

SATA3_M0 and SATA3_M1 connectors. And 2 x Marvell SE9172 chipsets support

Serial ATA3 (SATA3) hard disks and RAID (RAID 0 and RAID 1) for SATA3_M2,

SATA3_M3, SATA3_M4 and SATA3_M5 connectors. You may install SATA3 hard disks on this motherboard for internal storage devices. This section will guide you to install the SATA3 hard disks.

STEP 1: Install the SATA3 hard disks into the drive bays of your chassis.

STEP 2: Connect the SATA power cable to the SATA3 hard disk.

STEP 3: Connect one end of the SATA data cable to the motherboard’s SATA3 connector.

STEP 4: Connect the other end of the SATA data cable to the SATA3 hard disk.

1. RAID functions cannot be used on the SATA3 ports with

different chipsets.

2. If you want to use RAID functions on Marvell SE9172 SATA3

ports, please configure RAID on either SATA3_M2+M3 ports or

SATA3_M4+M5 ports.

59

2.19 Hot Plug and Hot Swap Functions for SATA / SATA2 HDDs

This motherboard supports Hot Plug and Hot Swap functions for SATA / SATA2 in

RAID / AHCI mode. Intel ® X79 chipset provides hardware support for Advanced Host controller Interface (AHCI), a new programming interface for SATA host controllers developed through a joint industry effort.

NOTE

What is Hot Plug Function?

If the SATA / SATA2 HDDs are NOT set for RAID configuration, it is called “Hot

Plug” for the action to insert and remove the SATA / SATA2 HDDs while the system is still power-on and in working condition.

However, please note that it cannot perform Hot Plug if the OS has been installed into the SATA / SATA2 HDD.

What is Hot Swap Function?

If SATA / SATA2 HDDs are built as RAID 1 or RAID 5 then it is called “Hot

Swap” for the action to insert and remove the SATA / SATA2 HDDs while the system is still power-on and in working condition.

2.20 Hot Plug and Hot Swap Functions for SATA3 HDDs

This motherboard supports Hot Plug and Hot Swap functions for SATA3 in

RAID / AHCI mode. Intel ® X79, Marvell SE9220 and Marvell SE9172 chipsets provide hardware support for Advanced Host controller Interface (AHCI), a new programming interface for SATA host controllers developed through a joint industry effort.

NOTE

What is Hot Plug Function?

If the SATA3 HDDs are NOT set for RAID configuration, it is called “Hot

Plug” for the action to insert and remove the SATA3 HDDs while the system is still power-on and in working condition.

However, please note that it cannot perform Hot Plug if the OS has been installed into the SATA3 HDD.

What is Hot Swap Function?

If SATA3 HDDs are built as RAID 1 or RAID 5 then it is called “Hot Swap” for the action to insert and remove the SATA3 HDDs while the system is still power-on and in working condition.

60

2.21 SATA / SATA2 / SATA3 HDD Hot Plug Feature and Operation

Guide

This motherboard supports Hot Plug feature for SATA / SATA2 / SATA3 HDD in

RAID / AHCI mode. Please read below operation guide of Hot Plug feature carefully.

Before you process the SATA / SATA2 / SATA3 HDD Hot Plug, please check below cable accessories from the motherboard gift box pack.

A. 7-pin SATA data cable

B. SATA power cable with SATA 15-pin power connector interface

A. SATA data cable (Red) B. SATA power cable

SATA 7-pin connector

The SATA 15-pin power connector (Black) connect to SATA / SATA2 / SATA3 HDD

1x4-pin conventional power connector (White) connect to power supply

Caution

1. Without SATA 15-pin power connector interface, the SATA / SATA2 / SATA3 Hot

Plug cannot be processed.

2. Even some SATA / SATA2 / SATA3 HDDs provide both SATA 15-pin power

connector and IDE 1x4-pin conventional power connector interfaces, the IDE

1x4-pin conventional power connector interface is definitely not able to support

Hot Plug and will cause the HDD damage and data loss.

Points of attention, before you process the Hot Plug:

1. Below operation procedure is designed only for our motherboard, which

supports SATA / SATA2 / SATA3 HDD Hot Plug.

* The SATA / SATA2 / SATA3 Hot Plug feature might not be supported by the

chipset because of its limitation, the SATA / SATA2 / SATA3 Hot Plug support

information of our motherboard is indicated in the product spec on our

website: www.asrock.com

2. Make sure your SATA / SATA2 / SATA3 HDD can support Hot Plug function from

your dealer or HDD user manual. The SATA / SATA2 / SATA3 HDD, which cannot

support Hot Plug function, will be damaged under the Hot Plug operation.

3. Please make sure the SATA / SATA2 / SATA3 driver is installed into system

properly. The latest SATA / SATA2 / SATA3 driver is available on our support

website: www.asrock.com

4. Make sure to use the SATA power cable & data cable, which are from our

motherboard package.

5. Please follow below instructions step by step to reduce the risk of HDD crash

or data loss.

61

How to Hot Plug a SATA / SATA2 / SATA3 HDD:

Points of attention, before you process the Hot Plug:

Please do follow below instruction sequence to process the Hot Plug, improper procedure will cause the SATA / SATA2 / SATA3 HDD damage and data loss.

Step 1 Please connect SATA power cable 1x4pin end (White) to the power supply

1x4-pin cable.

Step 2 Connect SATA data cable to the motherboard’s SATA2 / SATA3 connector.

SATA power cable 1x4-pin power connector (White)

Step 3 Connect SATA 15-pin power cable connector (Black) end to SATA / SATA2

/ SATA3 HDD.

Step 4 Connect SATA data cable to the SATA / SATA2 / SATA3 HDD.

How to Hot Unplug a SATA / SATA2 / SATA3 HDD:

Points of attention, before you process the Hot Unplug:

Please do follow below instruction sequence to process the Hot Unplug, improper procedure will cause the SATA / SATA2 / SATA3 HDD damage and data loss.

Step 1 Unplug SATA data cable from SATA / SATA2 / SATA3 HDD side.

Step 2 Unplug SATA 15-pin power cable connector (Black) from SATA / SATA2 / SATA3 HDD side.

62

2.22 Driver Installation Guide

To install the drivers to your system, please insert the support CD to your optical drive first. Then, the drivers compatible to your system can be auto-detected and listed on the support CD driver page. Please follow the order from up to bottom side to install those required drivers. Therefore, the drivers you install can work properly.

2.23 Installing Windows

®

7 / 7 64-bit / Vista

TM

/ Vista

TM

64-bit With

RAID Functions

RAID mode is not supported under Windows ® XP / XP 64-bit.

If you want to install Windows ® 7 / 7 64-bit / Vista TM / Vista TM 64-bit OS on Intel ®

SATA2 / SATA3 ports with RAID functions, please follow below steps.

STEP 1: Set up UEFI.

A. Enter UEFI SETUP UTILITY Advanced screen Storage Configuration.

B. Set the option “SATA Mode” to [RAID] for Intel ® SATA2 / SATA3 ports.

Set the option “Marvell SATA3 Bootable“ to [Yes] for Marvell SATA3 ports.

STEP 2: Use “RAID Installation Guide” to set RAID configuration.

Before you start to configure the RAID function, you need to check the installation guide in the Support CD for proper configuration. Please refer to the document in the Support CD, “Guide to SATA Hard Disks Installation and RAID Configuration”, which is located in the folder at the following path:

.. \ RAID Installation Guide

STEP 3: Install Windows ® 7 / 7 64-bit / Vista TM / Vista TM 64-bit OS on your system. The optical drive should be installed on an non Intel ® SATA2

/ SATA3 port.

Insert the Windows ® 7 / 7 64-bit / Vista TM / Vista TM 64-bit optical disk into the optical drive to boot your system, and follow the instruction to install OS on your system.

When you see “Where do you want to install Windows?” page, please insert our

Support CD to your system, and click the “Load Driver” button to load Intel ® RAID drivers. Intel ® RAID drivers are located in the following path of our Support CD:

32 bit: ..\i386\Win7_Vista_Intel_v3.0.0.1112

64-bit: ..\AMD64\Win7-64_Vista64_Intel_v3.0.0.1112

After that, please insert Windows ® 7 / 7 64-bit / Vista TM / Vista TM 64-bit optical disk into the optical drive again to continue the OS installation.

63

After the installation of Windows ® 7 / 7 64-bit / Vista TM / Vista TM 64-bit OS, if you want to manage RAID functions, you are allowed to use both “RAID Installation Guide” and “Intel

Rapid Storage Information” for RAID configuration. Please refer to the document in the

Support CD, “Guide to SATA Hard Disks Installation and RAID Configuration”, which is located in the folder at the following path: .. \ RAID Installation Guide and the document in the support CD, “Guide to Intel Rapid Storage”, which is located in the folder at the following path: .. \ Intel Rapid Storage Information

If you want to make the USB flash driver disk, please copy above

Intel ® RAID drivers from our Support CD to your USB flash, and then load drivers from the USB flash disk.

2.24 Installing Windows

®

7 / 7 64-bit / Vista

TM

/ Vista

TM

64-bit / XP /

XP 64-bit Without RAID Functions

If you want to install Windows ® 7 / 7 64-bit / Vista TM / Vista TM 64-bit / XP / XP 64bit OS on your SATA / SATA2 / SATA3 HDDs without RAID functions, please follow below procedures according to the OS you install.

2.24.1 Installing Windows

®

XP / XP 64-bit Without RAID Functions

If you want to install Windows ® XP / XP 64-bit OS on your SATA / SATA2 / SATA3

HDDs without RAID functions, please follow below steps.

AHCI mode is not supported under Windows ® XP / XP 64-bit.

Using SATA / SATA2 / SATA3 HDDs without NCQ function

STEP 1: Set Up UEFI.

A. Enter UEFI SETUP UTILITY Advanced screen Storage Configuration.

B. Set the option “SATA Mode” to [IDE] for SATA3_0 and SATA3_1 ports.

Set the option “Marvell SATA3 Operation Mode” to [IDE] for SATA3_M0 to

SATA3_M5 ports.

STEP 2: Install Windows ® XP / XP 64-bit OS on your system.

64

2.24.2 Installing Windows

®

7 / 7 64-bit / Vista

TM

/ Vista

TM

64-bit

Without RAID Functions

If you want to install Windows ® 7 / 7 64-bit / Vista TM / Vista TM 64-bit OS on your SATA

/ SATA2 / SATA3 HDDs without RAID functions, please follow below steps.

Using SATA / SATA2 / SATA3 HDDs with NCQ function

STEP 1: Set Up UEFI.

A. Enter UEFI SETUP UTILITY Advanced screen Storage Configuration.

B. Set the option “SATA Mode” to [AHCI] for SATA3_0 and SATA3_1 ports.

Set the option “Marvell SATA3 Operation Mode” to [AHCI] for SATA3_M0 to

SATA3_M5 ports.

STEP 2: Install Windows ® 7 / 7 64-bit / Vista TM system.

/ Vista TM 64-bit OS on your

Using SATA / SATA2 / SATA3 HDDs without NCQ function

STEP 1: Set Up UEFI.

A. Enter UEFI SETUP UTILITY Advanced screen Storage Configuration.

B. Set the option “SATA Mode” to [IDE] for SATA3_0 and SATA3_1 ports.

Set the option “Marvell SATA3 Operation Mode” to [IDE] for SATA3_M0 to

SATA3_M5 ports.

STEP 2: Install Windows ® 7 / 7 64-bit / Vista TM system.

/ Vista TM 64-bit OS on your

65

2.25 Teaming Function Operation Guide

Dual LAN with Teaming function enabled on this motherboard allows two single connections to act as one single connection for twice the transmission bandwidth, making data transmission more effective and improving the quality of transmission of distant images. Fault tolerance on the dual LAN network prevents network downtime by transferring the workload from a failed port to a working port.

The speed of transmission is subject to the actual network environment or status even with Teaming enabled.

Before setting up Teaming function, please make sure if your Switch (or Router) could support Teaming (IEEE 802.3ad Link Aggregation) function. Then, please refer to following steps to set up Teaming function.

1. Install Teaming driver from the following path of motherboard Support CD:

32-bit: .. \Drivers\LAN\Broadcom\Win7-64_Win7_Vista64_Vista_XP64_

XP(v14.8.4.1)\BACS\IA32

64-bit: .. \Drivers\LAN\Broadcom\Win7-64_Win7_Vista64_Vista_XP64_

XP(v14.8.4.1)\BACS\x64

(This is a special driver for Teaming function only. If you don't want to use

Teaming, please install the LAN driver provided by our support CD link.)

2. From the Teams menu, select Create Team, or right-click one of the devices in

the “Unassigned Adapters” section and select Create a Team. This option is not

available if there are no devices listed in the “Unassigned Adapters” sections,

which means all adapters are already assigned to teams.

3. Click Expert Mode.

* If you want to always use Expert Mode to create a team, click Default to Expert

Mode on next start.

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4. Click the Create Team tab.

* The Create Team tab appears only if there are teamable adapters available.

5. Click the Team Name field to enter a team name.

6. Click the Team Type field to select a team type.

7. Assign any available adapter or adapters to the team by selecting the adapter

from the Load Balance Members list. There must be at least one adapter

selected in the Load Balance Members list.

8. You can assign any other available adapter to be a standby member by selecting

it from the Standby Member list.

* There must be at least one Broadcom network adapter assigned to the team.

The Large Send Offload (LSO), Checksum Offload (CO), and RSS indicate if

the LSO, CO, and/or RSS properties are supported for the team. The LSO, CO,

and RSS properties are enabled for a team only when all of the members

support and are configured for the feature.

* Adding a network adapter to a team where its driver is disabled may negatively

affect the offloading capabilities of the team. This may have an impact on the

team’s performance. Therefore, it is recommended that only driver-enabled

network adapters be added as members to a team.

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9. Type the value for Team MTU.

10. Click Create to save the team information.

11. Repeat steps 5. through 10. to define additional teams. As teams are defined,

they can be selected from the team list, but they have not yet been created.

Click the Preview tab to view the team structure before applying the changes.

12. Click Apply/Exit to create all the teams you have defined and exit the Manage

Teams window.

13. Click Yes when the message is displayed indicating that the network connection

will be temporarily interrupted.

* The team name cannot exceed 39 characters, cannot begin with spaces, and

cannot contain any of the following characters: & \ / : * ? < > |

* Team names must be unique. If you attempt to use a team name more than

once, an error message is displayed indicating that the name already exists.

* The maximum number of team members is 8.

* When team configuration has been correctly performed, a virtual team adapter

driver is created for each configured team.

* If you disable a virtual team and later want to reenable it, you must first disable

and reenable all team members before you reenable the virtual team.

* When you create Generic Trunking and Link Aggregation teams, you cannot

designate a standby member. Standby members work only with Smart Load

Balancing and Failover and SLB (Auto-Fallback Disable) types of teams.

* For an SLB (Auto-Fallback Disable) team, to restore traffic to the load

balance members from the standby member, click the Fallback button on the

Team Properties tab.

* When configuring an SLB team, although connecting team members to a hub

is supported for testing, it is recommended to connect team members to a

switch.

* Not all network adapters made by others are supported or fully certified for

teaming.

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14. Configure the team IP address.

a. From Control Panel, double-click Network Connections.

b. Right-click the name of the team to be configured, and then click Properties.

c. On the General tab, click Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), and then click

Properties.

d. Configure the IP address and any other necessary TCP/IP configuration for

the team, and then click OK when finished.

2.26 Untied Overclocking Technology

This motherboard supports Untied Overclocking Technology, which means during overclocking, BCLK enjoys better margin due to fixed PCIE buses. Before you enable Untied Overclocking function, please enter “Overclock Mode” option of UEFI setup to set the selection from [Auto] to [Manual]. Therefore, BCLK is untied during overclocking, but PCIE buses are in the fixed mode so that BCLK can operate under a more stable overclocking environment.

Please refer to the warning on page 9 for the possible overclocking risk before you apply Untied Overclocking Technology.

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Chapter 3: UEFI SETUP UTILITY

3.1 Introduction

This section explains how to use the UEFI SETUP UTILITY to configure your system. The UEFI chip on the motherboard stores the UEFI SETUP UTILITY. You may run the UEFI SETUP UTILITY when you start up the computer. Please press

<F2> or <Del> during the Power-On-Self-Test (POST) to enter the UEFI SETUP

UTILITY, otherwise, POST will continue with its test routines.

If you wish to enter the UEFI SETUP UTILITY after POST, restart the system by pressing <Ctl> + <Alt> + <Delete>, or by pressing the reset button on the system chassis. You may also restart by turning the system off and then back on.

Because the UEFI software is constantly being updated, the following UEFI setup screens and descriptions are for reference purpose only, and they may not exactly match what you see on your screen.

3.1.1 UEFI Menu Bar

The top of the screen has a menu bar with the following selections:

Main To set up the system time/date information

OC Tweaker To set up overclocking features

Advanced To set up the advanced UEFI features

H/W Monitor To display current hardware status

Boot To set up the default system device to locate and load the

Operating System

Security

Exit

To set up the security features

To exit the current screen or the UEFI SETUP UTILITY

Use < > key or < > key to choose among the selections on the menu bar, and then press <Enter> to get into the sub screen. You can also use the mouse to click your required item.

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3.1.2 Navigation Keys

Please check the following table for the function description of each navigation key.

Navigation Key(s)

/

/

+ / -

<Enter>

<F1>

<F9>

<F10>

<ESC>

Function Description

Moves cursor left or right to select Screens

Moves cursor up or down to select items

To change option for the selected items

To bring up the selected screen

To display the General Help Screen

To load optimal default values for all the settings

To save changes and exit the UEFI SETUP UTILITY

To jump to the Exit Screen or exit the current screen

3.2 Main Screen

When you enter the UEFI SETUP UTILITY, the Main screen will appear and display the system overview.

System Browser

System Browser can let you easily check your current system configuration in UEFI setup.

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3.3 OC Tweaker Screen

In the OC Tweaker screen, you can set up overclocking features.

Load CPU EZ OC Setting

You can use this option to load CPU EZ overclocking settings. Please note that overclocking may cause damage to your CPU and motherboard. It should be done at your own risk and expense.

CPU Control

CPU Ratio Setting

Use this item to change the ratio value of this motherboard.

Internal PLL Overvoltage

Use this item to enable/disable CPU Internal PLL Overvoltage Function.

OS Real-Time Adjust CPU Ratio

Use this item to enable/disable Real-Time Adjust CPU Ratio in OS level.

Intel SpeedStep Technology

Intel SpeedStep technology is Intel’s new power saving technology. Processor can switch between multiple frequency and voltage points to enable power savings. The default value is [Enabled]. Configuration options:

[Enabled] and [Disabled]. If you install Windows ® Vista TM / 7 and want to enable this function, please set this item to [Enabled]. This item will be hidden if the current CPU does not support Intel SpeedStep technology.

Please note that enabling this function may reduce CPU voltage and lead to system stability or compatibility issue with some power supplies. Please set this item to

[Disable] if above issue occurs.

Intel Turbo Mode Technology

Use this item to enable or disable Intel Turbo Boost Mode Technology.

Turbo Boost Mode allows processor cores to run faster than marked frequency in specific conditions. The default value is [Enabled].

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Turbo Boost Power Limit

Use this item to adjust Turbo Boost power limit. Configuration options: [Auto] and [Manual]. The default value is [Auto].

Core Current Limit

Use this item to add voltage when CPU is in Turbo mode.

Additional Turbo Voltage

Use this item to add voltage when CPU is in Turbo mode.

Active Processor Cores

Use this item to select the number of cores to enable in each processor package. The default value is [All].

Host Clock Override (BCLK)

Use this to adjust the host clock (BCLK) frequency. Min: 90MHz, Max:

300MHz.

DRAM Timing Control

Load XMP Setting

Use this to load XMP setting. Configuration options: [Auto], [Default], [Profile

1] and [Profile 2]. The default value is [Auto].

DRAM Frequency

If [Auto] is selected, the motherboard will detect the memory module(s) inserted and assigns appropriate frequency automatically.

DRAM Timing Control

DRAM tCL

Use this item to change CAS# Latency (tCL) Auto/Manual setting. The default is [Auto].

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DRAM tRCD

Use this item to change RAS# to CAS# Delay (tRCD) Auto/Manual setting.

The default is [Auto].

DRAM tRP

Use this item to change Row Precharge Time (tRP) Auto/Manual setting.

The default is [Auto].

DRAM tRAS

Use this item to change RAS# Active Time (tRAS) Auto/Manual setting.

The default is [Auto].

DRAM tRFC

Use this item to change Refresh Cyle Time (tRFC) Auto/Manual setting.

The default is [Auto].

DRAM tWR

Use this item to change Write Recovery Time (tWR) Auto/Manual setting.

The default is [Auto].

DRAM tWTR

Use this item to change Write to Read Delay (tWTR) Auto/Manual setting.

The default is [Auto].

DRAM tRRD

Use this item to change RAS to RAS Delay (tRRD) Auto/Manual setting.

The default is [Auto].

DRAM tRTP

Use this item to change Read to Precharge (tRTP) Auto/Manual setting.

The default is [Auto].

DRAM tFAW

Use this item to change Four Activate Window (tFAW) Auto/Manual setting. The default is [Auto].

DRAM tCWL

Use this item to change CAS# Write Latency (tCWL) Auto/Manual setting.

The default is [Auto].

Command Rate (CR)

Use this item to change Command Rate (CR) Auto/Manual setting. Min:

1N. Max: 3N. The default is [Auto].

DRAM Power Down Mode

Use this item to adjust DDR power down mode. Configuration options:

[Auto], [Slow] and [Fast]. The default value is [Fast].

ODT WR (CH A)

Use this item to change ODT WR (CH A) Auto/60/120 setting. The default is [Auto].

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ODT NOM (CH A)

Use this item to change ODT NOM (CH A) Auto/20/30/40/60/120 setting.

The default is [Auto].

ODT WR (CH B)

Use this item to change ODT WR (CH B) Auto/60/120 setting. The default is [Auto].

ODT NOM (CH B)

Use this item to change ODT NOM (CH B) Auto/20/30/40/60/120 setting.

The default is [Auto].

ODT WR (CH C)

Use this item to change ODT WR (CH C) Auto/60/120 setting. The default is [Auto].

ODT NOM (CH C)

Use this item to change ODT NOM (CH C) Auto/20/30/40/60/120 setting.

The default is [Auto].

ODT WR (CH D)

Use this item to change ODT WR (CH D) Auto/60/120 setting. The default is [Auto].

ODT NOM (CH D)

Use this item to change ODT NOM (CH D) Auto/20/30/40/60/120 setting.

The default is [Auto].

Memory Power Savings Mode

Use this item to configure Memory Power Savings Mode. The default value is [Auto].

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Voltage Control

Voltage Configuration

CPU Core Voltage

Use this to select CPU Core Voltage. The default value is [Auto].

CPU Load-Line Calibration

CPU Load-Line Calibration helps prevent CPU voltage droop when the system is under heavy load.

VCCSA Voltage

Use this to select VCCSA Voltage. The default value is [Auto].

DRAM Voltage

Use this to select DRAM Voltage. The default value is [Auto].

VTT Voltage

Use this to select VTT Voltage. The default value is [Auto].

CPU PLL Voltage

Use this to select CPU PLL Voltage. The default value is [Auto].

PCH 1.1V Voltage

Use this to select PCH 1.1V Voltage. The default value is [Auto].

PCH 1.5V Voltage

Use this to select PCH 1.5V Voltage. The default value is [Auto].

Load Power Saving Mode

Use this option to load Power Saving Mode settings.

User Default

In this option, you are allowed to load and save three user defaults according to your own requirements.

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3.4 Advanced Screen

In this section, you may set the configurations for the following items: CPU Configuration, North Bridge Configuration, South Bridge Configuration, Storage Configuration, Super IO Configuration, ACPI Configuration, USB Configuration and ME Subsystem.

Setting wrong values in this section may cause the system to malfunction.

Instant Flash

Instant Flash is a UEFI flash utility embedded in Flash ROM. This convenient UEFI update tool allows you to update system UEFI without entering operating systems first like MS-DOS or Windows ® . Just launch this tool and save the new UEFI file to your USB flash drive, floppy disk or hard drive, then you can update your UEFI only in a few clicks without preparing an additional floppy diskette or other complicated flash utility. Please be noted that the USB flash drive or hard drive must use FAT32/16/12 file system. If you execute Instant Flash utility, the utility will show the UEFI files and their respective information. Select the proper UEFI file to update your UEFI, and reboot your system after UEFI update process com-

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3.4.1 CPU Configuration

CPU Ratio Setting

Use this item to change the ratio value of this motherboard.

Intel Hyper Threading Technology

To enable this feature, it requires a computer system with an Intel processor that supports Hyper-Threading technology and an operating system that includes optimization for this technology, such as Microsoft ®

Windows ® XP / Vista TM / 7. Set to [Enabled] if using Microsoft ® Windows ®

XP, Vista TM , 7, or Linux kernel version 2.4.18 or higher. This option will be hidden if the installed CPU does not support Hyper-Threading technology.

Active Processor Cores

Use this item to select the number of cores to enable in each processor package. The default value is [All].

No-Excute Memory Protection

No-Execution (NX) Memory Protection Technology is an enhancement to the IA-32 Intel Architecture. An IA-32 processor with “No Execute (NX)

Memory Protection” can prevent data pages from being used by malicious software to execute code. This option will be hidden if the current CPU does not support No-Excute Memory Protection.

Hardware Prefetcher

Use this item to turn on/off the MLC streamer prefetcher.

Adjacent Cache Line Prefetch

Use this item to turn on/off prefetching of adjacent cache lines.

Intel Virtualization Technology

When this option is set to [Enabled], a VMM (Virtual Machine Architecture) can utilize the additional hardware capabilities provided by Vanderpool

Technology. This option will be hidden if the installed CPU does not support Intel Virtualization Technology.

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CPU Power Management Configuration

Intel SpeedStep Technology

Intel SpeedStep technology is Intel’s new power saving technology. Processor can switch between multiple frequency and voltage points to enable power savings. The default value is [Enabled]. Configuration options:

[Enabled] and [Disabled]. If you install Windows ® Vista TM / 7 and want to enable this function, please set this item to [Enabled]. This item will be hidden if the current CPU does not support Intel SpeedStep technology.

Please note that enabling this function may reduce CPU voltage and lead to system stability or compatibility issue with some power supplies. Please set this item to

[Disable] if above issue occurs.

Intel Turbo Mode Technology

Use this item to enable or disable Intel Turbo Boost Mode Technology.

Turbo Boost Mode allows processor cores to run faster than marked frequency in specific conditions. The default value is [Enabled].

CPU Thermal Throttling

You may select [Enabled] to enable CPU internal thermal control mechanism to keep the CPU from overheated.

Enhance Halt State (C1E)

All processors support the Halt State (C1). The C1 state is supported through the native processor instructions HLT and MWAIT and requires no hardware support from the chipset. In the C1 power state, the processor maintains the context of the system caches.

CPU C3 State Support

Use this to enable or disable CPU C3 (ACPI C2) report to OS.

CPU C6 State Support

Use this to enable or disable CPU C6 (ACPI C3) report to OS.

Package C State Support

Selected option will program into C State package limit register. The default value is [Disabled].

Internal PLL Overvoltage

Use this item to enable/disable CPU Internal PLL Overvoltage Function.

OS Real-Time Adjust CPU Ratio

Use this item to enable/disable Real-Time Adjust CPU Ratio in OS level.

Turbo Boost Power Limit

Use this item to adjust Turbo Boost power limit. Configuration options: [Auto] and [Manual]. The default value is [Auto].

Core Current Limit

Use this item to add voltage when CPU is in Turbo mode.

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3.4.2 North Bridge Configuration

Primary Graphics Adapter

This allows you to select the boot graphic adapter priority. The default value is [PCI Express].

PCIE 1 & PCIE 2 Link Speed

This allows you to select PCIE 1 & PCIE 2 Link Speed. The default value is [GEN2].

PCIE 4 & PCIE 6 Link Speed

This allows you to select PCIE 4 & PCIE 6 Link Speed. The default value is [GEN2].

PCIE 5 Link Speed

This allows you to select PCIE 5 Link Speed. The default value is [GEN2].

PCIE 5 Link Width

This allows you to select PCIE 5 Link Width. The default value is [x8].

Intel(R) VT for Directed I/O Configuration

Intel(R) VT-d

Use this item to enable/disable Intel(R) Virtualization Technology for

Directed I/O.

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3.4.3 South Bridge Configuration

Restore on AC/Power Loss

This allows you to set the power state after an unexpected AC/power loss.

If [Power Off] is selected, the AC/power remains off when the power recovers. If [Power On] is selected, the AC/power resumes and the system starts to boot up when the power recovers.

Deep Sx

Mobile platforms support Deep S4/S5 in DC only and desktop platforms support Deep S4/S5 in AC only. Configuration options: [Disabled], [Enabled in S5] and [Enabled in S4 and S5]. The default value is [Disabled].

Onboard LAN 1

This allows you to enable or disable the “Onboard LAN 1” feature.

Onboard LAN 2

This allows you to enable or disable the “Onboard LAN 2” feature.

Onboard HD Audio

Select [Auto], [Enabled] or [Disabled] for the onboard HD Audio feature. If you select [Auto], the onboard HD Audio will be disabled when PCI Sound

Card is plugged.

Front Panel

Select [Auto] or [Disabled] for the onboard HD Audio Front Panel.

Game Blaster LED

Use this item to enable or disable Game Blaster LED.

ACPI HPET Table

Use this item to enable or disable ACPI HPET Table. The default value is

[Enabled]. Please set this option to [Enabled] if you plan to use this

motherboard to submit Windows ® Vista TM certification.

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Good Night LED

Use this item to enable or disable Power LED and Lan LED.

Onboard Debug Port LED

Use this item to enable or disable Onboard Debug Port LED.

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3.4.4 Storage Configuration

SATA Mode

This item is for SATA2_0 to SATA2_3, SATA3_0 and SATA3_1 ports.

Use this to select SATA mode. Configuration options: [IDE Mode], [AHCI

Mode], [RAID Mode] and [Disabled]. The default value is [AHCI Mode].

AHCI (Advanced Host Controller Interface) supports NCQ and other new features that will improve SATA disk performance but IDE mode does not have these advantages.

Aggressive Link Power Management

Use this item to configure Aggressive Link Power Management.

Marvell SATA3 Operation Mode

This item is for SATA3_M0 to SATA3_M5 ports. Use this to select Marvell

SATA3 operation mode. Configuration options: [IDE Mode], [AHCI Mode],

[RAID Mode] and [Disabled]. The default value is [AHCI Mode].

Marvell SATA3 Bootable

Use this to enable or disable Onboard Marvell SATA3 Option ROM. If

Option ROM is disabled, UEFI cannot use the SATA device to connect to

Marvell SATA3 controller as Boot Device.

Hard Disk S.M.A.R.T.

Use this item to enable or disable the S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology) feature. Configuration options: [Disabled] and

[Enabled].

We recommend to use Intel ® X79 SATA ports (SATA2_0 to SATA2_3,

SATA3_0 and SATA3_1) for your bootable devices. This will minimum your boot time and get the best performance. But if you still want to boot from Marvell SATA3 controller, you can still enable this in UEFI.

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3.4.5 Super IO Configuration

Serial Port

Use this item to enable or disable the onboard serial port.

Serial Port Address

Use this item to set the address for the onboard serial port. Configuration options: [3F8h / IRQ4] and [3E8h / IRQ4].

Infrared Port

Use this item to enable or disable the onboard infrared port.

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3.4.6 ACPI Configuration

Suspend to RAM

Use this item to select whether to auto-detect or disable the Suspend-to-

RAM feature. Select [Auto] will enable this feature if the OS supports it.

Check Ready Bit

Use this item to enable or disable the feature Check Ready Bit.

PS/2 Keyboard Power On

Use this item to enable or disable PS/2 keyboard to turn on the system from the power-soft-off mode.

PCI Devices Power On

Use this item to enable or disable PCI devices to turn on the system from the power-soft-off mode.

Ring-In Power On

Use this item to enable or disable Ring-In signals to turn on the system from the power-soft-off mode.

RTC Alarm Power On

Use this item to enable or disable RTC (Real Time Clock) to power on the system.

USB Keyboard/Remote Power On

Use this item to enable or disable USB Keyboard/Remote to turn on the system from the power-soft-off mode.

USB Mouse Power On

Use this item to enable or disable USB Mouse to turn on the system from the power-soft-off mode.

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3.4.7 USB Configuration

USB 2.0 Controller

Use this item to enable or disable the use of USB 2.0 controller.

USB 3.0 Controller

Use this item to enable or disable the use of USB 3.0 controller.

Legacy USB Support

Use this option to select legacy support for USB devices. There are four configuration options: [Enabled], [Auto], [Disabled] and [UEFI Setup Only].

The default value is [Enabled]. Please refer to below descriptions for the details of these four options:

[Enabled] - Enables support for legacy USB.

[Auto] - Enables legacy support if USB devices are connected.

[Disabled] - USB devices are not allowed to use under legacy OS and

UEFI setup when [Disabled] is selected. If you have USB compatibility issue, it is recommended to select [Disabled] to enter OS.

[UEFI Setup Only] - USB devices are allowed to use only under UEFI setup and Windows / Linux OS.

Legacy USB 3.0 Support

Use this option to enable or disable legacy support for USB 3.0 devices.

The default value is [Enabled].

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3.4.8 ME Subsystem

Intel ME Subsystem Configuration

ME Version

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3.5 Hardware Health Event Monitoring Screen

In this section, it allows you to monitor the status of the hardware on your system, including the parameters of the CPU temperature, motherboard temperature, CPU fan speed, chassis fan speed, and the critical voltage.

CPU Fan 1 & 2 Setting

This allows you to set the CPU fan 1 & 2 speed. Configuration options: [Full

On] and [Automatic Mode]. The default is value [Full On].

Chassis Fan 1 Setting

This allows you to set the chassis fan 1 speed. Configuration options:

[Full On], [Automatic Mode] and [Manual]. The default is value [Full On].

Chassis Fan 2 Setting

This allows you to set the chassis fan 2 speed. Configuration options:

[Level 1] to [Level 4]. The default is value [Level 4].

Chassis Fan 3 Setting

This allows you to set the chassis fan 3 speed. Configuration options:

[Level 1] to [Level 4]. The default is value [Level 4].

SB Fan 1 Setting

This allows you to set the SB fan 1 speed. Configuration options: [Full On] and [Automatic mode]. The default value is [Automatic mode].

Target SB Temperature

This allows you to set the target temperature to activate ASRock X-FAN.

The default value is [50 o C/122 o F].

Target Fan Speed

This allows you to set the target fan speed. The default value is [Level 1]

(ASRock X-FAN deactivated).

Over Temperature Protection

Use this to enable or disable Over Temperature Protection. The default value is [Enabled].

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3.6 Boot Screen

In this section, it will display the available devices on your system for you to configure the boot settings and the boot priority.

Setup Prompt Timeout

This shows the number of seconds to wait for setup activation key.

65535(0XFFFF) means indefinite waiting.

Bootup Num-Lock

If this item is set to [On], it will automatically activate the Numeric Lock function after boot-up.

PCI ROM Priority

Use this item to adjust PCI ROM Priority. The default value is [Legacy

ROM].

Full Screen Logo

Use this item to enable or disable OEM Logo. The default value is

[Enabled].

AddOn ROM Display

Use this option to adjust AddOn ROM Display. If you enable the option

“Full Screen Logo” but you want to see the AddOn ROM information when the system boots, please select [Enabled]. Configuration options:

[Enabled] and [Disabled]. The default value is [Enabled].

Boot From Onboard LAN

Use this item to enable or disable the Boot From Onboard LAN feature.

Boot Failure Guard

Enable or disable the feature of Boot Failure Guard.

Boot Failure Guard Count

Enable or disable the feature of Boot Failure Guard Count.

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3.7 Security Screen

In this section, you may set or change the supervisor/user password for the system.

For the user password, you may also clear it.

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3.8 Exit Screen

Save Changes and Exit

When you select this option, it will pop-out the following message, “Save configuration changes and exit setup?” Select [Yes] to save the changes and exit the UEFI SETUP UTILITY.

Discard Changes and Exit

When you select this option, it will pop-out the following message, “Discard changes and exit setup?” Select [Yes] to exit the UEFI SETUP UTILITY without saving any changes.

Discard Changes

When you select this option, it will pop-out the following message, “Discard changes?” Select [Yes] to discard all changes.

Load UEFI Defaults

Load UEFI default values for all the setup questions. F9 key can be used for this operation.

Launch EFI Shell from filesystem device

Attempts to Launch EFI Shell application (Shell64.efi) from one of the available filesystem devices.

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Chapter 4: Software Support

4.1 Install Operating System

This motherboard supports various Microsoft ® Windows ® operating systems: 7 / 7

64-bit / Vista TM / Vista TM 64-bit / XP / XP 64-bit. Because motherboard settings and hardware options vary, use the setup procedures in this chapter for general reference only. Refer to your OS documentation for more information.

4.2 Support CD Information

The Support CD that came with the motherboard contains necessary drivers and useful utilities that enhance the motherboard features.

4.2.1 Running The Support CD

To begin using the support CD, insert the CD into your CD-ROM drive. The

CD automatically displays the Main Menu if “AUTORUN” is enabled in your computer. If the Main Menu did not appear automatically, locate and double click on the file “ASSETUP.EXE” from the BIN folder in the Support CD to display the menus.

4.2.2 Drivers Menu

The Drivers Menu shows the available devices drivers if the system detects installed devices. Please install the necessary drivers to activate the devices.

4.2.3 Utilities Menu

The Utilities Menu shows the applications software that the motherboard supports. Click on a specific item then follow the installation wizard to install it.

4.2.4 Contact Information

If you need to contact ASRock or want to know more about ASRock, welcome to visit ASRock’s website at http://www.asrock.com; or you may contact your dealer for further information.

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Installing OS on a HDD Larger Than 2TB in AHCI Mode

This motherboard adopts UEFI BIOS that allows Windows ® OS to be installed on a large size HDD (>2TB). Please follow the procedures below to install the operating system.

1. Please make sure to use Windows ® Vista TM 64-bit (with SP1 or above) or

Windows ® 7 64-bit.

2. Press <F2> or <Delete> at system POST. Set AHCI Mode in UEFI Setup Utility >

Advanced > Storage Configuration > SATA Mode.

3. Choose the item “UEFI:xxx“ to boot in UEFI Setup Utility > Boot > Boot Option #1.

(“xxx” is the device which contains your Windows ® installation files. Normally it is

an optical drive.) You can also press <F11> to launch boot menu at system POST

and choose the item “UEFI:xxx“ to boot.

4. Start Windows ® installation.

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Installing OS on a HDD Larger Than 2TB in RAID Mode

This motherboard adopts UEFI BIOS that allows Windows ® OS to be installed on a large size HDD (>2TB). Please follow the procedures below to install the operating system.

1. Please make sure to use Windows ® Vista TM 64-bit (with SP1 or above) or

Windows ® 7 64-bit.

2. Copy Intel ® RAID drivers into a USB fl ash disk. You can download the driver from

ASRock's website and unzip the file into a USB flash disk OR copy the file from

ASRock motherboard support CD. (please copy the files under following

directory:

32 bit: ..\i386\Win7_Vista_Intel_v3.0.0.1112

64-bit: ..\AMD64\Win7-64_Vista64_Intel_v3.0.0.1112

3. Create RAID array for you system. Please refer to "Intel RAID Installation Guide"

file for details.

4. Install Windows ® Vista TM 64-bit / 7 64-bit:

A. Insert your Windows ® Vista TM 64-bit / 7 64-bit installation disc to the optical

drive.

B. Press <F11> to launch boot menu at system POST and choose the item

“UEFI:xxx“ to boot.

C. Start Windows ® Installation. When you see “Where do you want to install

Windows?” page, please click “Load Driver”.

D. Plug the USB flash disk into your USB port; select “Browse” to find the RAID

driver. Then choose the directory (xx\AMD64\) you have copied in the first

step.

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E. Please keep the USB flash disk installed until the system first reboot.

F. Continue to install OS by following the Windows ® instructions.

5. Follow Windows ® Installation Guide to install OS.

If you install Windows ® 7 64-bit / Vista TM 64-bit in a large hard disk (ex. Disk volume > 2TB), it may take more time to boot into Windows ® or install driver/ utilities. If you encounter this problem, you will need to following instructions to fix this problem.

Windows ® Vista TM 64-bit:

Microsoft ® does not provide hotfix for this problem. The steps listed below are Microsoft ® 's suggested solution:

A. Disable System Restore.

a. Type “systempropertiesprotection” in the Start Menu. Then press

"Enter".

b. De-select Local Disks for System Restore. Then Click “Turn System

Restore Off” to confirm. Then Press “Ok”.

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B. Disable “Volume Shadow Copy” service.

a. Type “computer management” in the Start Menu, then press “Enter”.

b. Go to “Services and Applications>Services”; Then double click “Volume

Shadow Copy”.

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c. Set “Startup type” to “Disable” then Click “OK”.

C. Reboot your system.

D. After reboot, please start to install motherboard drivers and utilities.

Windows ® 7 64-bit:

A. Please request the hotfix KB2505454 through this link:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2505454/

B. After installing Windows ® 7 64-bit, install the hotfix kb2505454.

(This may take a long time; >30 mins.)

C. Reboot your system. (It may take about 5 minutes to reboot.)

D. Windows ® will install this hotfix then reboot by itself.

E. Please start to install motherboard drivers and utilities.

6. Finish.

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