ECS A790GXM-AD3 (V1.0/V1.0A) manual

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Preface 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 1.0 Disclaimer The information in this documen[...]

ii Preface Declaration of Conformity This device complies with part 15 of the FCC rules. Operation is subject to the following conditions: • This device may not cause harmful interference, and • This device must accept any interference received, including interfer- ence that may cause undesired operation Canadian Department of Communications Th[...]

iii T T T T T ABLE OF CONTENTS ABLE OF CONTENTS ABLE OF CONTENTS ABLE OF CONTENTS ABLE OF CONTENTS Preface i Chapter 1 1 Introducing the Motherboard 1 Introduction............................................................................................1 Feature......................................................................................[...]

iv Integrated Peripherals..................................................................32 Power Management Setup.............................................................33 PCI/PnP Setup...............................................................................34 PC Health Status...........................................................[...]

1 Introducing the Motherboard Chapter 1 Introducing the Motherboard Introduction Curr ently , the memory maximum size we have tested is 8 GB (2 GB per dimm) . * Thank you for choosing the A790GXM-AD3 motherboard. This motherboard is a high performance, enhanced function motherboard that supports socket for AMD Phenom TM II processor (socket AM3) fo[...]

2 Introducing the Motherboard Feature Processor HyperT ransport TM T echnology is a point-to-point link between two devices, it enables integrated circuits to exchange information at much higher speeds than currently available interconnect technologies. • Accommodates AMD Phenom TM II processor (socket AM3) • Supports HyperTransport TM (HT) 3.0[...]

3 Introducing the Motherboard Onboard LAN This motherboard supports Ultra DMA bus mastering with transfer rates of 133/100/66/33 MB/s. Expansion Options The motherboard comes with the following expansion options: • T wo PCI Express x16 slots for Graphics Interface • T wo PCI Express x1 slots • T wo 32-bit PCI v2.3 compliant slots • One IDE [...]

4 Introducing the Motherboard Motherboard Components The above image is for reference only; please take the actual motherboard for detailed parts.[...]

5 Introducing the Motherboard T able of Motherboard Components LABE L COM PONENT S 1. CP U Socket Socket for A M D Phenom TM II processor (s ocket A M 3) 2. CPU _F AN C PU cooling fan connector 3 . D I MM1 ~ 4 240-pin DD R3 S DR A M slots 4. AT X_ PO WER Standard 24- p in A T X p ower connector 5. PWR_FAN Power cool ing fan connector 6. SYS_FAN Sys[...]

6 Introducing the Motherboard Memo[...]

7 Installing the Motherboard Chapter 2 Installing the Motherboard Safety Precautions • Follow these safety precautions when installing the motherboard • Wear a grounding strap attached to a grounded device to avoid dam- age from static electricity • Discharge static electricity by touching the metal case of a safely grounded object before wor[...]

8 Installing the Motherboard Do not over-tighten the screws as this can stress the motherboard.[...]

9 Installing the Motherboard Installing Hardware Installing the Processor Caution: When installing a CPU heatsink and cooling fan, make sure that you DO NOT scratch the motherboard or any of the surface- mount resistors with the clip of the cooling fan. If the clip of the cooling fan scrapes across the motherboard, you may cause serious damage to t[...]

10 Installing the Motherboard 1 Install your CPU. Pull up the lever away from the socket and lift up to 90-degree angle. 2 Locate the CPU cut edge (the corner with the pin hold noticeably missing). Align and insert the CPU correctly . 3 Press the lever down and apply thermal grease on top of the CPU. 4 Put the CPU Fan down on the retention mod- ule[...]

11 Installing the Motherboard Installation Procedure Refer to the following to install the memory modules. 1 This motherboard supports unbuffered DDR3 SDRAM only . 2 Push the latches on each side of the DIMM slot down. 3 Align the memory module with the slot. The DIMM slots are keyed with notches and the DIMMs are keyed with cutouts so that they ca[...]

12 Installing the Motherboard T able A: DDR3 (memory module) QVL (Qualified V endor List) The following DDR3 1333/1066 / 800 memory modules have been tested and quali- fied for use with this motherboard. Typ e S ize Ve ndor M odule N am e 1 G B HY NIX HY MT1 1 2 U6 4 NF8 - S 6 5 A A 2 G B HY NIX HY MT1 2 5 U6 4 Z NF8 - S 6 A A E LP I D A P C 3-8500[...]

13 Installing the Motherboard 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 by adding hardware that performs tas[...]

14 Installing the Motherboard Follow these instructions to install an add-on card: 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 metal bracket of the c[...]

15 Installing the Motherboard Connecting Optional Devices Refer to the following for information on connecting the motherboard’s optional devices: SA T A1~6: Serial A T A connectors These connectors are used to support the new Serial A T A devices for the highest data transfer rates (3.0 Gb/s), simpler disk drive cabling and easier PC assembly . [...]

16 Installing the Motherboard F_USB1~3: Front Panel USB headers The motherboard has six USB ports installed on the rear edge I/O port array . Addi- tionally , some computer cases have USB ports at the front of the case. If you have this kind of case, use auxiliary USB connector to connect the front-mounted ports to the motherboard. Please make sure[...]

17 Installing the Motherboard Installing a Hard Disk Drive/CD-ROM/SA T A Hard Drive This section describes how to install IDE devices such as a hard disk drive and a CD- ROM drive. About IDE Devices Y our motherboard has one IDE interface . An IDE ribbon cable supporting two IDE devices is bundled with the motherboard. Y ou must orient the cable co[...]

18 Installing the Motherboard Refer to the illustration below for proper installation: This motherboard supports the “Hot-Plug” function. 1 Attach either cable end to the connector on the motherboard. 2 Attach the other cable end to the SA T A hard drive. 3 Attach the SA T A power cable to the SA T A hard drive and connect the other end to the [...]

19 Installing the Motherboard Connecting I/O Devices The backplane of the motherboard has the following I/O ports: PS2 Mouse Use the upper PS/2 port to connect a PS/2 pointing device. PS2 Keyboard Use the lower PS/2 port to connect a PS/2 keyboard. CLRCOMS_BTN Use the CLR_CMOS button to clear CMOS. VGA Port Connect your monitor to the VGA port. USB[...]

20 Installing the Motherboard Connecting Case Components After you have installed the motherboard into a case, you can begin connecting the motherboard components. Refer to the following: 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_POWER match perfectly . Connectin[...]

21 Installing the Motherboard When installing 8-pin power cable, the latches of power cable and the A TX12V match per- fectly . 8-pin power cable Connecting 8-pin power cable PWR_F AN/SYS_F AN/NB_F AN: F AN Power Connectors Pi n Signal Name Function 1 GND System Ground 2 +12V Power +12V 3 Sense Sensor The A TX12V power connector is used to provide [...]

22 Installing the Motherboard Front Panel Header The front panel header (P ANEL) provides a standard set of switch and LED headers commonly found on FULL A TX, A TX or Micro A TX cases. Refer to the table below for information: A TX4P: Auxiliary Power Connector for Graphics Interface Pi n Signal Name 4 +12V 3 GND 2 GND 1 NC Make sure to connect a 4[...]

23 Installing the Motherboard Power Switch Supporting the power on/off function requires connecting pins 6 and 8 to a momen- tary-contact switch that is normally open. The switch should maintain contact for at least 50 ms to signal the power supply to switch on or off. The time requirement is due to internal de-bounce circuitry . After receiving a [...]

24 Installing the Motherboard Memo[...]

25 Using BIOS Chapter 3 Using BIOS 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 contains the ROM setup instructions for configuring the motherboard BIOS. The BIOS (Basic Input and Output System) Setup Utility displays the system’[...]

26 Using BIOS Press the delete key to access the BIOS Setup Utility . CMOS Setup Utility - Copyright (C) 1985-2005, American Megatrends, Inc.     v02.62 (C)Copyright 1985-2008, American Megatrends, Inc.  : Move F10: Save ESC: Exit +/-/: V alue Enter : Select F9: Optimized Defaults F1:General Help    Standard CMOS Setup Advan[...]

27 Using BIOS Standard CMOS Setup This option displays basic information about your system. Help Item CMOS Setup Utility - Copyright (C) 1985-2005, American Megatrends, Inc. Use [ENTER], [T AB] or [SHIFT -T AB] to select a field. Use [+] or [-] to configure system Date. Standard CMOS Setup Date & Time The Date and T ime items show the current d[...]

28 Using BIOS IDE BusMaster (Enabled) This item enables or disables the DMA under DOS mode. W e recommend you to leave this item at the default value. Press <Esc> to return to the main menu setting page. Block (Multi-Sector Transfer) (Auto) If the feature is enabled, it will enhance hard disk performance by reading or writing more data during[...]

29 Using BIOS Boot Up Numlock Status (ON) This item defines if the keyboard Num Lock key is active when your system is started. Quick Power on Self T est (Enabled) Enable this item to shorten the power on testing (POST) and have your system start up faster . Y ou might like to enable this item after you are confident that your system hardware is op[...]

30 Using BIOS  Hard Disk Drives (Press Enter) Scroll to this item and press <Enter> to view the following screen: Hard Disk Drives 1st Drive TOSHIBA TransMemory Help Item Specifies the boot sequence from the available devices. CMOS Setup Utility - Copyright (C) 1985-2005, American Megatrends, Inc. Hard Disk Drives Press <Esc> to retu[...]

31 Using BIOS Advanced Chipset Setup This page sets up more advanced information about your system. Handle this page with caution. Any changes can affect the operation of your computer . GFX Clock Override (Disabled) Use this item to enable or disable GFX Clock Override. Press <Esc> to return to the main menu setting page. W arning: If Disabl[...]

32 Using BIOS Integrated Peripherals This page sets up some parameters for peripheral devices connected to the system. Onboard IDE Controller (Enabled) Use this item to enable or disable the onboard IDE interface. SA T A Configuration (Native IDE) Use this item to show the Serial A T A Configuration options: Disabled, Compatible, Enhanced. Onboard [...]

33 Using BIOS Power Management Setup This page sets up some parameters for system power management operation. Select the ACPI state used for System Suspend. Help Item CMOS Setup Utility - Copyright (C) 1985-2005, American Megatrends, Inc. Power Management Setup ACPI Suspend T ype (S3) Use this item to define how your system suspends. In the default[...]

34 Using BIOS Press <Esc> to return to the main menu setting page. Resume on RTC Alarm (Disabled) The system can be turned off with a software command. If you enable this item, the system can automatically resume at a fixed time based on the system’s R TC (realtime clock). Use the items below this one to set the date and time of the wake-up[...]

35 Using BIOS PC Health Status On motherboards support hardware monitoring, this item lets you monitor the parameters for critical voltages, temperatures and fan speeds. -=- System Hardware Monitor-=- Smart Fan Function Press Enter Shutdown T emperature Disabled CPU T emperature : 40°C/104°F System T emperature : 31°C/87°F CPU Fan Speed : N/ A [...]

36 Using BIOS System Component Characteristics These items display the monitoring of the overall inboard hardware health events, such as System & CPU temperature, CPU & DIMM voltage, CPU & system fan speed,...etc. • CPU T emperature • System T emperature • CPU Fan Speed • System F AN Speed • PWR Fan Speed • CPU Vcore • VDI[...]

37 Using BIOS M.I.B. (MB Intelligent Bios) This page enables you to set the clock speed and system bus for your system. The clock speed and system bus are determined by the kind of processor you have in- stalled in your system. CMOS Setup Utility - Copyright (C) 1985-2005, American Megatrends, Inc. M.I.B. (MB Intelligent Bios) Help Item  F10: Sa[...]

38 Using BIOS Spread Spectrum (Disabled) If you enable spread spectrum, it can significantly reduce the EMI (Electro-Magnetic Interference) generated by the system. Auto Detect DIMM/PCI Clk (Enabled) When this item is enabled, BIOS will disable the clock signal of free DIMM/PCI slots. CAS Latency (Tcl) (6 CLK, N/A) Memory CLK (400 MHz, N/A) This it[...]

39 Using BIOS Press <Esc> to return to the main menu setting page. V oltage Function (Disabled) Use this item to enable or disable the V oltage Function. If enable, users can increase the hardware voltage through BIOS settings. AMD Phenom (tm) II X3 720 Processor Speed (2800MHz) This is display-only field and displays the information of the C[...]

40 Using BIOS Save & Exit Setup Highlight this item and press <Enter> to save the changes that you have made in the Setup Utility and exit the Setup Utility . When the Save and Exit dialog box appears, select [OK] to save and exit, or select [Cancel] to return to the main menu. Exit Without Saving Highlight this item and press <Enter&g[...]

41 Using BIOS Updating the BIOS Y ou can download and install updated BIOS for this motherboard from the manufacturer’s W eb site. New BIOS provides support for new peripherals, improve- ments in performance, or fixes for known bugs. Install new BIOS as follows: 1 If your motherboard has a BIOS protection jumper , change the setting to allow BIOS[...]

42 Using BIOS Memo[...]

43 Using the Motherboard Software Chapter 4 Using the Motherboard Software The Auto-install CD-ROM makes it easy for you to install the drivers and software for your motherboard. If the Auto-install CD-ROM does not work on your system, you can still install drivers thr ough the file manager for your OS (for example, W in- dows Explorer). Refer to t[...]

44 Using the Motherboard Software Setup T ab Setup Click the Setup button to run the software installation program. Select from the menu which software you want to install. Browse CD The Browse CD button is the standard Windows command that allows you to open Windows Explorer and show the contents of the support CD. Before installing the software f[...]

45 Using the Motherboard Software 2. Click Next. The following screen appears: 3. Check the box next to the items you want to install. The default options are recom - mended. 4. Click Next run the Installation Wizard. An item installation screen appears: 5. Follow the instructions on the screen to install the items. 1. Drivers and software are auto[...]

46 Using the Motherboard Software Follow these instructions to Disable V ista UAC function: 1. Go to Control Panel . Method 1. Run Reboot Setup Windows V ista will block startup programs by default when installing drivers after the system restart. Y ou must select taskbar icon Run Blocked Program and run Reboot Setup to install the next driver, unt[...]

47 Using the Motherboard Software 2. Select Classic View . 3. Set User Account . 4. Select Turn User Account Control on or off and press Continue .[...]

48 Using the Motherboard Software Manual Installation Insert the CD in the CD-ROM drive and locate the P A TH.DOC file in the root directory . This file contains the information needed to locate the drivers for your motherboard. Look for the chipset and motherboard model; then browse to the directory and path to begin installing the drivers. Most d[...]

49 Using the Motherboard Software HDMI Audio setting SOP OS: XP system 1. Control Panel-->Sound and Audio Device Properties 2 . b. Audio--> Sound playback--> Default device--> HDMI Aud i o Output a. Audio--> Sound playback--> Default device--> HD Aud i o Output 3 . b. User Playback HDMI speaker function working a. User Playback[...]

50 Using the Motherboard Software OS: Vista system Control Panel--> Soundback--> Sound--> Digital Output Device (HDMI) --> Set Default 1. Volume --> Playback 2. Digital Output Device (HDMI) --> Set Default --> OK User HDMI Playback function working[...]

51 Using the Motherboard Software 3. Speaker --> Set Default --> OK User Speaker Palyback function working 4. SPDIF-Out --> Set Default --> OK User SPDIF-Out Playback function working This concludes chapter 4.[...]

52 Using the Motherboard Software Memo[...]

53 A TI CrossFireX TM T echnology & Hybrid Graphics ® T echnology Suppor t Chapter 5 A TI CrossFireX TM T echnology & Hybrid Graphics ® T echnology Suppor t This motherboard supports A TI CrossFireX TM T echnology that allows you to install multi-graphics processing units (GPU) graphics cards. Follow the installation proce- dures in this [...]

54 A TI CrossFireX TM T echnology & Hybrid Graphics ® T echnology Suppor t 4. Connect the external cable to the corresponding port on your monitor . 3. Connect the two CrossFireX TM Edition graphics cards installed on PCIE16X_1 and PCIE16X_2 slots with the CrossFire Bridge. 6. Restart the computer, then press Delete to enter the BIOS setup; us[...]

55 A TI CrossFireX TM T echnology & Hybrid Graphics ® T echnology Suppor t 7. Enable the CrossFireX TM function in Catalyst Control Center . V iew The Catalyst TM Control Center provides two views; one is Standard view for begin- ners, the other is Advance view for advanced users to access and configure the complete features of the software. S[...]

56 A TI CrossFireX TM T echnology & Hybrid Graphics ® T echnology Suppor t Hybrid Graphics ® T echnology The Hybrid Graphics ® technology provides significant display performance boost to AMD-based systems by inserting the external PCI Express graphics card and enabling both the discrete GPU and the 790GX graphics core to render simultaneous[...]

57 A TI CrossFireX TM T echnology & Hybrid Graphics ® T echnology Suppor t 3. Click with your right mouse button on My Computer , then click the option Manage and choose the Device Manager , finally , click the Display Adapters. The following screen appears. Be sure that the external A TI graphics (A TI Radeon HD 3300 Grapics) and Onboard grap[...]

58 A TI CrossFireX TM T echnology & Hybrid Graphics ® T echnology Suppor t Note: 4. Enter Catalyst Control Center, you can see the option of CrossFire TM , click it and select Enable CrossFire TM , then Hybrid Graphics ® starts. Y ou can only use either the CrossFireX™ technology or the Hybrid Graphics ® technology since AMD does not suppo[...]

59 AMD RAID Configuration Setting Up a bootable RAID Array This section explains how to configure a bootable AMD RAID array . Setting Up the BIOS Use the arrow keys to select Integrated Peripherals (see Figure 1.1), then press Enter . The Integrated Peripherals screen (or a screen similar to it) appears. Figure 1.2 Integrated Peripherals Screen Use[...]

60 AMD RAID Configuration 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. The PC reboots. Press F10 to save the configuration and exit. Configuring the AMD RAID BIOS The AMD RAID BIOS set up lets you choose the RAID type and which hard drives you want to make pa[...]

61 AMD RAID Configuration Select [2], then select LD 1 in the following page. 3 The Define LD Menu screen appears (Figure 1.4). Figure 1.4 Define LD Menu Using the Define a New Array Screen If necessary , press the tab key to move from field to field until the appropriate field is highlighted. • Selecting the RAID Mode By default, this is set to [...]

62 AMD RAID Configuration 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 1. Select the Assignment to Y to designate a free disk to be used as a RAID array disk. 2. Press Ctrl-Y to save the configuration and exit. T[...]

63 AMD RAID Configuration Figure 1.7 Main Menu Press ESC to exit. 4 Press Y to reboot. 3. The Main Menu screen appears (Figure 1.7). Figure 1.8 The following screen appears (Figure 1.8).[...]

64 AMD RAID Configuration 1 Copy all files in " ...RAIDA TISB750FloppyW in3264" to a floppy disk. After you complete the RAID BIOS setup, boot from the Windows CD. Figure 1.10 Windows Setup—Specify Devices Installing the RAID Drivers Y our system may come with a Windows install CD that already includes AMD RAID drivers. If so, then[...]

65 AMD RAID Configuration b Select “A TI AHCI Compatible RAID Controller -x86 platform” and press Enter for 32-bit OS or Select “A TI AHCI Compatible RAID Controller-x64 platform” and press Enter for 64-bit OS. The following Windows Setup screen appears listing both drivers:. Figure 1.12 Windows Setup—AMD drives listed Press Enter to cont[...]

66 AMD RAID Configuration Memo[...]