ECS A55F2-M3 manual

A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL Preface Copyright This publication, including all photographs, illustrations and software, is protected under international copyright laws, with all rights reserved. Neither this manual, nor any of the material contained herein, may be reproduced without written consent of the author . V ersion 2.0 Disclaimer The information in[...]

ii A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL Declaration of Conformity This device complies with part 15 of the FCC rules. Operation is subject to the follow- ing conditions: • This device may not cause harmful interference. • This device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation. Canadian Department of Communi[...]

iii A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL Chapter 2 7 Installing the Motherboard 7 Safety Precautions..............................................................................7 Installing the Motherboard in a Chassis.......................................7 Checking Jumper Settings..................................................................8 Installing Har[...]

iv A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL Chapter 4 51 Using the Motherboard Software 51 Auto-installing under Window s XP /7/8...........................................51 Running Setup.............................................. . .........................51 Manual Installation..........................................................................53 ECS Utili[...]

1 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL Chapter 1 Chapter 1 Introducing the Motherboard Introduction Thank you for choosing the A55F2-M3 motherboard. This motherboard is a high per- formance, enhanced function motherboard that supports socket FM2 for AMD A series processor for high-end business or personal desktop markets. The motherboard is based on AMD A55 (Hudso[...]

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3 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL Chapter 1 • AMI BIOS with 32Mb SPI Flash ROM - Supports ECS MIB III Utility - Supports Plug and Play , STR (S3)/STD (S4) - Supports Hardware Monitor - Supports ACPI 3.0 version & DMI - Supports Audio, LAN, can be disabled in BIOS - Supports ECS GUI UEFI BIOS - Supports Dual Display - F7 hot key for boot up devices optio[...]

Chapter 1 4 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL Motherboard Components[...]

5 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL Chapter 1 T able of Motherboard Components LA BEL COM PON EN TS 1. C PU So ck et FM 2 fo r A M D A se ri es p r o ce sso rs 2. SYS_FAN System cool i n g f a n con necto r 3. CP U _FAN CPU c o ol ing fan conn ect or 4. DD R3_1~2 240-pi n D DR3 SD RAM slo ts 5. ATX _P OWER St anda r d 24 - pin ATX power c onnect or 6. CL R_CM O[...]

Chapter 1 6 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL I/O Ports 1. PS/ 2 Mouse (green) Use the upper PS/ 2 port t o connect a PS/ 2 mouse. 2. PS/ 2 K eyboard (purple) Use the lower PS/ 2 port t o connect a PS/ 2 k eyboard. 3. VGA Port Y ou can connect the display device to the V GA port. 4. HDMI Port Y ou can connect the display device to the HDMI port. 5. USB 2.0 Port[...]

Chapter 2 7 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL Chapter 2 Installing the Motherboard 2-1. Safety Precautions 2-2. Installing the motherboard in a Chassis This motherboard carries a Micr o A TX form f actor of 230 x 180 mm. Choose a chassis that accommodat es this form facto r . Make sur e that the I/O template in the chassis matches the I/O ports installed on the[...]

Chapter 2 8 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL The following illustration shows the location of the motherboard jumpers. Pin 1 is labeled. 1. T o avoid the syst em instability after clearing CMOS, we recommend users t o enter the main BIOS setting page to “Load Default Settings” and then “Save and Exit Setup”. 2. Make sure the power supply provides enoug[...]

Chapter 2 9 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL 2-4. Installing Hardware 2-4-1. Installing the Processor • This motherboard has an FM2 socket. • When choosing a processor , consider the perf ormance requirement s of the system. Performance is based on the processor design, the clock speed and sys tem bus frequency of the processor , and the quantity of int er[...]

Chapter 2 10 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL A. Apply some thermal grease onto the contacted area between the heatsink and the CPU, and mak e it to be a thin lay er . B. Put the CPU Fan down on the retention module and flip the levers over the heat sink in place. C. Connect the CPU cooler power connect or to the CPU_F AN connector . 2-4-2. Installing the CPU [...]

Chapter 2 11 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL 2-4-3. Installing Memory Modules • This motherboard accommodates two memory modules. It can support two 240-pin DDR3 1866 * / 1600/ 1333. • Do not remove any memory module from its antistatic packaging until you are ready to install it on the motherboard. Handle the modules only by their edges. Do not touch the[...]

Chapter 2 12 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL 2-4-4. Installing Add-on Cards The slots on this motherboard are designed to hold expansion cards and connect them to the system bus. Expansion slots are a means of adding or enhancing the motherboard’s features and capabilities. With these efficient facilities, you can increase the motherboard’s capabilities b[...]

Chapter 2 13 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL 1 Remove a blanking plate from the system case corresponding to the slot you are going to use. 2 Install the edge connector of the add-on card into the expansion slot. Ensure that the edge connector is correctly seated in the slot. 3 Secure the met al bracke t of the card to the s ystem case with a scr ew . 1. For [...]

Chapter 2 14 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL 2-4-5. Connecting Optional Devices Refer to the following for information on connecting the motherboard’s optional devices: No . Components No . Components 1 SATA1 ~4 5 SP D I F O 2F _ U S B 1 ~ 2 6 C A S E 3L P T 7 F _ A U D I O 4 COM —— —— SA T A1~4 connector s are used to support the Serial A T A 3.0Gb[...]

Chapter 2 15 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL The motherboard has two USB 2.0 headers supporting four USB 2.0 ports. Addition- ally , some comput er cases have USB ports at the fr ont of the case. If you ha ve this kind of case, use auxiliary USB connector to connect the front-mounted ports to the motherboard. 2. F_USB1~2: Front Panel USB 2.0 headers Please ma[...]

Chapter 2 16 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL 4. COM: Onboard serial port header Connect a serial port extension bracket to this header to add a serial port to your system. This is an optional header that provides an SPDIFO (Sony/Philips Digital Interface) output to digital multimedia device thr ough optical fiber or coaxial connect or . 5. SPDIFO: SPDIF out h[...]

Chapter 2 17 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL 6. CASE: Chassis Intrusion Detect Header This detects if the chassis cover has been removed. This function needs a chassis equipped with instrusion detection switch and needs to be enabled in BIOS. The front panel audio header allows the user to install auxiliary front-oriented mi- crophone and line-out ports for e[...]

Chapter 2 18 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL If you use AC ’ 97 Front Panel, please t ick off the option of “ Disabled Front Panel Detect ” . If you use HD Audio Front Panel, please don ’ t t ick off “ Disabled Front Panel Detect ” . * For reference only AC ’ 97 Audio Configuration: T o enable the front panel audio connector to sup- port AC97 Au[...]

Chapter 2 19 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL 2-4-6. Installing a S A T A Hard Drive About SA T A Connectors Y our motherboard featur es four SA T A connectors supporting a t otal of four drives. SA T A ref ers to Serial A T A (Advanced T echnology Attachment) is the st andard interf ace for the IDE hard drives which are currently used in most PCs. These conne[...]

Chapter 2 20 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL 1 & 2. SY S_F AN(Sys tem Cooling F AN Po wer Connector) & CPU_F AN(CPU cooling F AN Power Connect or) After you have installed the motherboard into a case, you can begin connecting the motherboard components. Refer to the following: Connect the CPU cooling fan cable t o CPU_F AN . Connect the sys tem coolin[...]

Chapter 2 21 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL 3 & 6. A TX_POWER (A TX 24-pin Power Connector) & A TX12V (A TX 12V Power Connector) The A TX 24-pin connector allows you t o connect to A TX v2.x power supply . With A TX v2.x power supply , users please note that when installing 24-pin power cable, the latches of power cable and the A TX match perfectly .[...]

Chapter 2 22 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL Connect the case speaker cable to SPK . 4. SPK: Speaker[...]

Chapter 2 23 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL This concludes Chapter 2. The next chapter covers the BIOS. Hard Drive Activity LED Connecting pins 1 and 3 to a front panel mounted LED provides visual indication that data is being read fr om or written to the har d drive. For the LED to function pr operly , an IDE drive should be connected to the onboard IDE int[...]

Chapter 2 24 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL Memo[...]

Chapter 3 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL 25 About the Setup Utility The computer uses the latest “American Megatrends Inc. ” BIOS with support for Windows Plug and Play . The CMOS chip on the motherboard con tains the ROM setup instructions for configuring the motherboard BIOS. The BIOS (Basic Input and Output System) Setup Utility displays the system’[...]

Chapter 3 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL 26 Press the delet e key t o access BIOS Setup Utility . Using BIOS When you st art the Setup Utility , the main menu appears. The main menu of the Setup Utility displays a list of the options that are available. A highlight indicates which option is currently selected. Use the cursor arrow keys to move the highlight [...]

Chapter 3 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL 27 The default BIOS setting for this motherboard apply for most conditions with optimum performance. We do not suggest users change the default values in the BIOS setup and take no responsibility to any damage caused by changing the BIOS settings. BIOS Navigation Keys The BIOS navigation keys are listed below: K E Y F[...]

Chapter 3 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL 28 Main Menu Date & Time The Date and Time items show the curr ent date and time on the comput er . If you are running a Windows OS, these items are automatically updated whenever you make changes to the Windows Dat e and Time Properties utility . System Language (English) This item is used to set system language.[...]

Chapter 3 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL 29 The Advanced menu items allow you to change the settings for the CPU and other system. Advanced Menu LAN Configuration Param- eters Main Advanced Chipset M.I.B III Boot Security Exit +/- : Change Opt. Enter/Dbl Click : Select   : Select Screen /Click: Select Item F1: General Help F2: Previous V alues F3[...]

Chapter 3 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL 30 LAN Configuration The item in the menu shows the LAN-related information that the BIOS automatically detects. Press <Esc> to return to the Advanced Menu page. Onboard LAN Controller (Enabled) Use this item to enable or disable Onboar d LAN 1 controller . Network stack (Enabled) Use this item to enable or disa[...]

Chapter 3 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL 31 PC Health Status On motherboards support hardware monitoring, this item lets you monitor the parameters for critical voltages, temperatures and fan speeds. Scroll to this item and press <Enter> to view the following screen: Smart Fan Function Main Advanced Chipset M.I.B III Boot Security Exit +/- : Change Opt[...]

Chapter 3 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL 32 Smart Fan Mode (Normal) This item allows you to select the fan mode (Normal, Quiet, Silent, or Manual) for a better operation environment. If you choose Normal mode, the fan speed will be auto adjusted depending on the CPU temperature. If you choose Quite mode, the fan speed will be auto minimized for quiet environ[...]

Chapter 3 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL 33 Power Management Setup This page sets up some parameters for system power management operation. Resume By PME (Disabled) The system can be turned off with a software command. If you enable this item, the system can automatically resume if there is an incoming call on the PCI Modem or PCI LAN c ard. Y ou must use an[...]

Chapter 3 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL 34 ACPI Configuration The item in the menu shows the highest ACPI sleep state when the system enters suspend. ACPI Sleep State [S3(Suspend to RAM)] This item allows user to enter the ACPI S3 (Suspend to RAM) Sleep State(default). Main Advanced Chipset M.I.B III Boot Security Exit +/- : Change Opt. Enter/Dbl Click : Se[...]

Chapter 3 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL 35 CPU Configuration The item in the menu shows the CPU. Main Advanced Chipset M.I.B III Boot Security Exit Enabled/disabled C6 CPU Configuration Socket0: AMD A8-5600K APU with Radeon(tm) HD Graphics Max Speed: 3600 MHZ Intended Speed: 3600 MHZ Microcode Patch Level: 6001 10f --------- Cache per Core --------- L1 Inst[...]

Chapter 3 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL 36 SA T A Configur ation Use this item to show the mode of serial SA T A configuration options. SA T A Mode (IDE Mode) Use this it em to select SA T A mode. SA T A Port1~4 (INTEL SSDSC2CW(60.0GB/Not Present) This motherboard supports f our SA T A channels, each channel allows one SA T A device to be installed. Use the[...]

Chapter 3 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL 37 All USB Devices (Enabled) Use this item to enable or disable all USB devices. USB Configuration Use this item to show the information of USB configuration. Legacy USB Support (Enabled) Use this item to enable or disable support for legacy USB devices. Setting to Audio allows the system to detect the presence of the[...]

Chapter 3 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL 38  Serial Port 0 Configuration Scroll to this item and press <Enter> to view the following screen: Serial Port (Enabled) This item allows you to enable or disable serial port. Device Settings (IO=3F8h; IRQ=4) This item shows the information of the device settings. Change Settings (Auto) Use this item to chan[...]

Chapter 3 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL 39 Press <Esc> to return to the Advanced Menu page. Scroll to this item and press <Enter> to view the following screen: Main Advanced Chipset M.I.B III Boot Security Exit Parallel Port Configuration Parallel Port Configuration Parallel Port Enabled Device Settings I0=378h; IRQ=5; Change Settings Auto Devic[...]

Chapter 3 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL 40 The chipset menu items allow you to change the settings for the North chipset, South chipset and other system. Chipset Menu /Click: Select Item Scroll to this item and press <Enter> and view the following screen: North Bridge Parameters Main Advanced Chipset M.I.B III Boot Security Exit +/- : Change Opt. Ente[...]

Chapter 3 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL 41 South Bridge Scroll to this item and press <Enter> to view the following screen: Restore AC Power Loss (Power Off) This item enables your computer to automatically restart or return to its operating status. Audio Configuration This item shows the information of the audio configuration. Azalia HD Audio (Enable[...]

Chapter 3 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL 42 Core Clock Multiplier (Auto) Use this item to set the c ore clock multiplier . Memory Clock (Auto) This item is used to set the memory clock. Memory Timing Configuration (Auto) This item shows the information of Memory Timing Configuration. Memory Clock DCT0/ 1 is (None/DDR-1333 /667 Mhz) These items show current m[...]

Chapter 3 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL 43 Press <Esc> to return to the M.I.B III Menu page. When end-users encounter failure after attempting over-clocking, please take the following steps to recover from it. 1. Shut down the computer . 2. Press and hold the “Page Up Key (PgUp)” of the keyboard, and then boot the PC up. 3. Two seconds after the P[...]

Chapter 3 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL 44 This page enables you to set the keyboard NumLock state. Boot Menu Main Advanced Chipset M.I.B III Boot Security Exit Windows 7 or other OS: Boot policy for Legacy OS Windows 8: Boot policy for UEFI OS without Compatibility Support Module(CSM) Manual: User customized CSM parameters & boot policy Boot Configurat[...]

Chapter 3 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL 45  CSM parameters Scroll to this item and press <Enter> to view the following screen. Main Advanced Chipset M.I.B III Boot Security Exit +/- : Change Opt. Enter/Dbl Click : Select   : Select Screen /Click: Select Item F1: General Help F2: Previous V alues F3: Optimized Defaults F4: Save & Exi[...]

Chapter 3 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL 46 This page enables you to set setup administrator password and user password. Security Menu Administrator Password Status (Not Install) This item shows administrator password installed or not. User Password Status (Not Install) This item shows user password installed or not. System Mode state (Setup) This item shows[...]

Chapter 3 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL 47 Internal FV /Option ROM/Removable Media/Fix ed Media (Always Ex ecute/Deny Ex- ecute) These items allow you to select image execution policy per device path on security violation. Only users logged with administrative password can exercise query user policy setting.  Image Execution Policy Scroll to this item to[...]

Chapter 3 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL 48  Key Management Scroll to this item to view the following screen: Main Advanced Chipset M.I.B III Boot Security Exit +/- : Change Opt. Enter/Dbl Click : Select   : Select Screen /Click: Select Item F1: General Help F2: Previous V alues Force OEM default Secure Boot Keys if System is in Setup Mode. F3[...]

Chapter 3 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL 49 This page enables you to exit system setup after saving or without saving the changes. Exit Menu Main Advanced Chipset M.I.B III Boot Security Exit +/- : Change Opt. Enter/Dbl Click : Select   : Select Screen /Click: Select Item F1: General Help F2: Previous V alues Go back to EZ Mode F3: Optimized Defa[...]

Chapter 3 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL 50 Updating the BIOS Y ou can download and install updated BIOS f or this motherboard from the manufacturer’s Website. New BIOS provides support for new peripherals, improve- ments in performance, or fixes for known bugs. Install new BIOS as follows: This concludes Chapter 3. Refer to the next chapter for informatio[...]

51 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL Chapter 4 Chapter 4 Using the Motherboard Software The auto-inst all DVD-ROM mak es it easy for y ou to install the driv ers and softwar e. The support softwar e DVD-ROM disc loads automatic ally under Windows XP /7/8. When you insert the DVD-ROM disc in the DVD-ROM drive, the auto-run feature will auto- matically bring up t[...]

52 A55F2-M32 USER MANUAL Chapter 4 2. Click Next. The follo wing screen appears: 3. Check the box ne xt to the items you w ant to install. The de fault options are r ecommended. 5. Follow the ins tructions on the screen to install the it ems. 4. Click Next to run the Inst allation Wizard. An it em installation scr een appears: Drivers and software [...]

53 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL Chapter 4 If the auto-install DVD-R OM does not work on your syst em, you can still install driv ers through the file manager f or your OS (for e xample, Windows Explorer). Look f or the chipset and motherboard model, and then br owse to the dir ectory and path to begin in- stalling the driver s. Most driver s have a setup p[...]

54 A55F2-M32 USER MANUAL Chapter 4 eBLU ECS eBL U utility makes BIOS updat e faster and easier . eBL U will list the latest BIOS with a default check-mark. Click”install” button to install. eSF eSF(Smart Fan) utility provides easy and safe way to adjust fan speed in accordance with your PC’s system loading and temperature. eDLU ECS eDL U util[...]

55 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL Chapter 5 Chapter 5 Setting Up AMD A55 RAID Configuration Setting Up a bootable RAID Array This section explains how to con figure a bootable AMD RAID array . 1 . St art your computer , then press Delete t o enter the BIOS setup. The BIOS CMOS Setup Utility screen appears. Setting Up the BIOS 2 . Use the arrow keys to select[...]

56 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL Chapter 5 4 . Press F4 to save the configuration and exit. The PC reboots. 5 . Enter the RAID BIOS Setup by pressing Ctrl-F when prompted, and proceed to set up the AMD RAID BIOS as described in the next section. Configuring the AMD RAID BIOS (Windows XP Installation) The AMD RAID BIOS set up lets you choose the RAID type an[...]

57 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL Chapter 5 Figure 1.4 Define LD Menu Using the Define a New Array Screen If necessary , press the tab k ey to move fr om field to field until the appropria te field is highlighted. • Selecting the RAID Mode By def ault, this is set to Mirr oring. T o change to a diff erent RAID mode, press the spacebar until the mode that y[...]

58 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL Chapter 5 Figure 1.5 illustrates the Define a New Array screen after two disks have been assigned as RAID 0 array disks. Figure 1.5 FastBuild Utility—Array Disks Assigned Assigning the Disks Figure 1.6 Define LD Menu [      ] Up [      ] Down [ESC] Exit [Space] Change Option [Ctrl-Y] Save [ De[...]

59 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL Chapter 5 View Drive Assignments..................[ 1 ] Define LD..........................................[ 2 ] Define LD..........................................[ 3 ] Controller Configuration...................[ 4 ] Press 1..4 to Select Option [ESC] Exit [ Main Menu ] [ Keys Available ] FastBuild (tm) Utility (c) 2006 A T[...]

60 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL Chapter 5 Figure 1.10 Windows Setup—Specify Devices Installing the RAID Drivers Y our system ma y come with a Windows install CD tha t already includes AMD RAID drivers. If so, then this section is not relevant. If that is not the case (or you are trying to install a new version of Windows), then you will need an AMD RAID [...]

61 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL Chapter 5 The following Windows Setup screen appears listing both drivers:. Figure 1.12 Windows Setup—AMD drives listed Note: Each time you add a ne w hard drive to a RAID array , the RAID driver will have to be installed under Windows once for that hard drive. After that, the driver will not have to be installed. Figure 1[...]

62 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL Chapter 5 Memo[...]

63 Chapter 6 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL Chapter 6 T rouble Shooting Start up problems during assembly After assembling the PC for the first time you may experience some start up problems. Bef ore calling for t echnical support or returning for w arranty , this chapter may help to address some of the common questions using some basic troubleshooting tips.[...]

64 Chapter 6 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL Y our computer , like any electrical appliance, r equires proper car e and maintenance. Here are some basic PC care tips to help prolong the life of the motherboard and keep it running as best as it can. 1. Keep your computer in a well ventilated area. Leave some space between the PC and the wall f or sufficient ai[...]

u B r e w o P d e s s e r p s i n o . t r a t s o t s l i a f C P t u b s e Y y l p p u S r e w o P f i k c e h C t i n U g n i k r o w s i ) U S P ( No No d n u o s p e e B y n A No k c e h c d n a S O M C R L C r e w o p V 2 1 U P C f i d e t c e n n o c s i C P e h t t r a t s e R ? d r a o b r o U S P h t i w m e l b o r P A M R t c a t n o c &[...]

66 Chapter 6 A55F2-M3 USER MANUAL Memo[...]