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Asrock 960GC-GS FX manual

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Table of contents for the manual

  • Page 1

    1 960GC-GS FX User Manual V ersion 1.0 Published June 2013 Copyright©2013 ASRock INC. All rights reserved.[...]

  • Page 2

    2 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 regis- tered trade[...]

  • Page 3

    3 Contents 1. Introduction ................................................................ 5 1.1 Package Contents ......................................................... ............ 5 1.2 Specications ............................................................................. 6 1.3 Unique Features ..........................................[...]

  • Page 4

    4 3. BIOS SETUP UTILITY ................................................. 32 3.1 Introduction ................................................................................ 32 3.1.1 BIOS Menu Bar ......................................................... ...... 32 3.1.2 Navigation Keys ..............................................................[...]

  • Page 5

    5 1. Introduction Than k yo u f or p urchas ing AS Rock 96 0GC-G S FX m other board, a reli able mo th- erboard produced under ASRock’s consistently stringent quality control. It delivers excellent performance with robust design conforming to ASRock’s commitm ent to quality and endurance. In this manual, chapter 1 and 2 contain introduction of [...]

  • Page 6

    6 1.2 Specications Platform - Micro A TX Form Factor CPU - Support for Socket AM3+ processors (see CAUTION 1 ) - Support for Socket AM3 processors: AMD Phenom TM II X6 / X4 / X3 / X2 (except 920 / 940) / Athlon II X4 / X3 / X2 / Sempron processors - Support for So cket AM2+ / AM2 processors: AMD Phenom TM FX / Phenom / Athlon 64 FX / Athlon 64 X[...]

  • Page 7

    7 - Supports LAN Cable Detection - Supports Energy Efcient Ethernet 802.3az - Supports PXE Rear Panel I/O I/O Panel - 1 x PS/2 Mouse Port - 1 x PS/2 Keyboard Port - 1 x Serial Port: COM1 - 1 x D-Sub Port - 4 x USB 2.0 Ports - 1 x RJ-45 LAN Port with LED (ACT/LINK LED and SPEED LED) - HD Audio Jack: Line in / Front Speaker / Microphone Storage - [...]

  • Page 8

    8 CAUTION! 1. This motherboard supports CPU up to 95W . Please refer to our website for CPU support list. ASRock webs ite: http://www .asrock.com 2. Whether 1866/1600MHz memory speed is supported depends on the AM3/AM3+ CPU you adopt. If you want to adopt DDR3 1866/16 00 mem ory mo dule on this motherbo ard, p lease refer to th e m emory s uppor t [...]

  • Page 9

    9 1.3 Unique Features ASRock OC T uner ASRock OC T uner is a user-friendly overclocking tool which al- lows you to surveil your s ystem by hardware monitor function and ove rclo ck y our h ardw are de vice s to get the b est s ystem pe rf or ma nc e u nd er W in do ws ® e nv iro nm en t. P le as e v is it ou r website for the operation procedures [...]

  • Page 10

    10 c omp lic ate d f lash ut ilit y . Ple ase be n ote d th at t he US B f lash drive or hard drive must use F A T32/16/12 le system. ASRock OC DNA The software name itself – OC DNA literally tells you what it is capable of. OC DNA, an exclusive utility developed by ASRock, provides a c onvenient wa y for the user to recor d the OC set- tings [...]

  • Page 11

    1 1 simultaneously . Real-Time Analysis of Y our Data: With the sta- tus window, you can easily recognize which data streams you are transferring currently . ASRock XFast RAM ASRock XFast RAM fully utilizes the memory space that cannot be used under Windows ® OS 32-bit CPU. ASRock XFast RAM shortens th e loading time of pr eviously visited web sit[...]

  • Page 12

    12 1.4 Motherboard Layout 1 A TX 12V Power Connector (A TX12V1) 14 SA T A2 Connector (SA T AII_1 (PORT 0)) 2 2 x 240-pin DDR2 DIMM Slots 15 SA T A2 Connector (SA T AII_2 (PORT 1)) (Dual Channel: DDRII_1, DDRII_2) 16 USB 2.0 Header (USB8_9) 3 2 x 240-pin DDR3 DIMM Slots 17 USB 2.0 Header (USB6_7) (Dual Channel: DDR3_A1, DDR3_B1) 18 USB 2.0 Header (U[...]

  • Page 13

    13 1.5 I/O Panel LAN Port ACT/LINK LED SPEED LED * 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 Off No Link Of f 10Mbps connection Blinking Data Activity Orange 100Mbps connection On Link Green 1Gbp[...]

  • Page 14

    14 2. Installation This is a Micro A TX form factor motherboard. Before you install the motherboard, study the conguration of your chassis to ensure that the motherboard ts into it. Pre-installation Precautions T ake no te o f t he fo llo wing pre cau tion s b efo re yo u in sta ll mo ther boa rd components or change any motherboard settings.[...]

  • Page 15

    15 STEP 1: Lift Up The Socket Lever STEP 2 / STEP 3: Match The CPU Golden T riangle T o The Socket Corner Small T riangle STEP 4: Push Down And Lock The Socket Lever Lever 90° Up CPU Golden T riangle Socker Corner Small T riangle 2.1 CPU Installation Step 1. Unlock the socket by lifting the lever up to a 90 o angle. Step 2. Position the CPU direct[...]

  • Page 16

    16 1. If you want to install two memory modules, for optimal compatibility and reliability , it is recommended to install them in the slots of the sam e col or . In oth er wo rds, in stall th em in th e set of b lack slo ts (DDR3_A1 and DDR3_B1), or in the set of yellow slots (DDRII_1 and DDRII_2). 2. If o nly o ne me mory mo dule is in stal led i [...]

  • Page 17

    17 DDR3_A1 DDR3_B1 (Black Slot) (Black Slot) 2 memory modules SS SS 2 memory modules DS DS DDRII_1 DDRII_2 (Y ellow Slot) (Y ellow Slot) 2 memory modules SS SS 2 memory modules DS DS n ot ch b re ak 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 p[...]

  • Page 18

    18 2.4 Expansion Slots (PCI and PCI Express Slots) There are 2 PCI slots and 2 PCI Express slots on this motherboard. PCI Slots: PCI slots are used to install expansion cards that have the 32-bit PCI interface. PCIE Slots: PCIE1 (PCIE x1 slot) is used for PCI Express x1 lane width graphics cards. PCIE2 (PCIE x16 slot) is used for PCI Express x16 la[...]

  • Page 19

    19 2.5 Multi Monitor Feature This motherboard supports multi monitor feature. With the internal VGA output support and the external add-on PCI Express VGA card, you can easily enjoy the benets of multi monitor feature. Please refer to the following steps to set up a surround display environment: 1. Install the PCI Express VGA cards on PCIE2 slot[...]

  • Page 20

    20 D. Click “Extend my Windows desktop onto this monitor”. E. Right-click the display icon and select “Attached”, if necessary . F . Set the “Screen R esolution ” and “Col or Qualit y” as app ropriate for the second monitor . Click “Apply” or “OK” to apply these new values. G. Repeat steps C through E for the diaplay icon id[...]

  • Page 21

    21 2.6 Jumpers Setup T h e i l l u s t r a t io n s h o w s h o w j u m p e r s a r e 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 i l lu s t r at i o n s h ow s a 3 - pi n j u m p er w ho s e pin1 and pin2 are “Short” when jumper cap is placed on thes[...]

  • Page 22

    22 2.7 Onboard Headers and Connectors Onboar d headers and con nectors a re NOT jum pers. 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 A T A2 Connectors These six Serial A T A2 (SA T A2) (SA T AII_1 (PORT 0): connectors support [...]

  • Page 23

    23 Serial A T A (SA T A) Ei th er en d of t he S A T A da ta Data Cable cable can be connected to the (Optional) SA T A2 hard disk or the SA T A2 connector on this motherboard. 1 U S B _P WR P-8 G ND D UM MY U S B _P WR P + 8 G ND P-9 P + 9 USB 2.0 Headers Besides four default USB 2.0 (9-pin USB4_5) ports on the I/O panel, there (see p.12 No. 18) a[...]

  • Page 24

    24 System Panel Header This header accommodates (9-pin P ANEL1) several system front panel (see p.12 No. 19) functions. Connect the po wer switch , reset switch an d system statu s indicato r 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)[...]

  • Page 25

    25 Infrared Module Header This header supports an (5-pin IR1) optional wireless transmitting (see p.12, No. 21) and receiving infrared module. Print Port Header This is an interface for print (25-pin LPT1) port cable that allows (see p.12 No. 23) convenient connection of printer devices. 1 AF D# ER RO R# PI NI T# GN D SL IN # ST B# SP D0 SP D1 SP D[...]

  • Page 26

    26 CPU Fan Connector Please connect the CPU fan (4-pin CPU_F AN1) cable to the connector and (see p.12 No. 4) 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 [...]

  • Page 27

    27 2.8 Serial A T A2 (SA T A2) Hard Disks Installation This motherboard adopts AMD SB710 chipset that supports Serial A T A2 (SA T A2) hard disks and RAID (RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 10 and JBOD) functions. Y ou may in - stall SA T A2 hard disks on this motherboard for internal storage devices. This section will guide you to install the SA T A2 hard disk[...]

  • Page 28

    28 2.10 Driver Installation Guide T o install the drivers to your system, please insert the support CD to your optical drive rst. 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 i[...]

  • Page 29

    29 2.1 1.2 Installing Windows ® 8 / 8 64-bit / 7 / 7 64-bit / Vista TM / Vista TM 64-bit With RAID Functions If you want to install Windows ® 8 / 8 64-bit / 7 / 7 64-bit / Vista TM / V ista TM 64-bit on a RAID disk composed of 2 or more SA T A / SA T A2 HDDs with RAID functions, please follow below steps. STEP 1: Set up BIOS. A. Enter BIOS SETUP [...]

  • Page 30

    30 Using SA T A / SA T A2 HDDs without NCQ and Hot Plug functions (IDE mode) STEP 1: Set up BIOS. A. Enter BIOS SETUP UTILITY Advanced screen Storage Conguration. B. Set the “SA T A Operation Mode” option to [IDE]. STEP 2: Install Windows ® XP / XP 64-bit OS on your system. 2.12 Installing Windows ® 8 / 8 64-bit / 7 / 7 64-bit / Vista TM /[...]

  • Page 31

    31 2.12.2 Installing Windows ® 8 / 8 64-bit / 7 / 7 64-bit / Vista TM / Vista TM 64-bit Without RAID Functions If you want to install Windows ® 8 / 8 64-bit / 7 / 7 64-bit / Vista TM / Vista TM 64-bit on your SA T A / SA T A2 HDDs without RAID functions, please follow below steps. 2.13 Untied Overclocking T echnology This mot herboard suppor ts U[...]

  • Page 32

    32 3. BIOS SETUP UTILITY 3.1 Introduction This section explains how to use the BIOS SETUP UTILITY to congure your sys - tem. The SPI Memory on the motherboard stores the BIOS SETUP UTILITY . Y ou may run the BIOS SETUP UTILITY when you start up the computer . Please press <F2> or <Del> du ring t he Pow er-On-Self-T est (POST) to ente[...]

  • Page 33

    33 3.1.2 Navigation Keys Please check the following table for the function description of each navigation key . Navigation Key(s) Function Description / Moves cursor left or right to select Screens / Moves cursor up or down to select items + / - T o change option for the selected items <Enter> T o bring up the selected screen <F1> T o d[...]

  • Page 34

    34 3.3 OC T weaker Screen In the OC T weaker screen, you can set up overclocking features. CPU Conguration Overclock Mode Use this to select Overclock Mode. The default value is [Auto]. Congura - tion options: [Auto], [CPU, PCIE, Sync.], [CPU, PCIE, Async.] and [Opti- mized]. CPU Frequency (MHz) Use this option to adjust CPU frequency . PCIE [...]

  • Page 35

    35 North Bridge Maximum Frequency It will display North Bridge Maximum Frequency for reference. Processor Maximum V oltage It will display Processor Maximum Voltage for reference. Multiplier/V oltage Change This item is set to [Auto] by default. If it is set to [Manual], you may adjust the value of Processor Frequency and Processor V oltage. Howeve[...]

  • Page 36

    36 B IO S S E TU P U TI L IT Y M em or y T im in g Se l ec t S cr ee n Se l ec t I te m +- C ha ng e O pt io n F1 Ge ne ra l H el p F9 Lo ad De f au lt s F1 0 Sa ve a nd E xi t ES C Ex i t v 02 .5 4 ( C ) C op y ri gh t 1 98 5- 20 0 3, A me r i c an M eg a tr en ds , I nc . O C Twe ak e r Se l ec t S cr ee n Se l ec t I te m +- C ha ng e O pt io n [...]

  • Page 37

    37 TRC Use this to adjust TRC values. The default value is [Auto]. TWR Use this to adjust TWR values. The default value is [Auto]. TRFC Use this to adjust TRFC values. The default value is [Auto]. TRRD Use this to adjust TRRD values. The default value is [Auto]. TWTR Use this to adjust TWTR values. The default value is [Auto]. TRTP Use this to adju[...]

  • Page 38

    38 Instant Flash Instant Flash is a BIOS ash utility embedded in Flash ROM. This con - ve ni en t B IO S u pd ate to ol a ll ow s y ou t o u pd at e s ys te m B IO S w it hou t entering operating systems rst like MS-DOS or Windows ® . Just launch this tool and save the new BIOS le to your USB ash drive, oppy disk or hard drive, then[...]

  • Page 39

    39 Cool ‘n’ Quiet Use this item to enable or disable AMD’s Cool ‘n’ Quiet TM technology . The default value is [Enabled]. Conguration options: [Enabled] and [Disabled]. If you install Window s ® 8 / 7 / Vista TM and w ant t o enab le th is fu nction, please set this item to [Enabled]. Please note that enabling this function may reduce[...]

  • Page 40

    40 3.4.2 Chipset Conguration 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. Onboard Lan This allows you to enable or disable the onboa[...]

  • Page 41

    41 B IO S S E TU P U T I L IT Y A CP I S e tt in gs Se l ec t a ut o- d et ec t o r di s ab le t he S TR fe a tu re. Se l ec t S cr ee n Se l ec t I te m +- C ha ng e O pt io n F1 Ge ne ra l H el p F9 Lo ad D ef au lt s F1 0 Sa ve a nd E xi t ES C E xi t v 02 .5 4 ( C ) C op y ri gh t 1 98 5- 20 0 3, A me r ic an M e ga tr en ds , I nc . A dv an ce[...]

  • Page 42

    42 ACPI HPET table Use this item to enable or disable ACPI HPET T able. The default value is [Enabled]. Please set this option to [Enabled] if you plan to use this moth- erboard to submit Windows ® certication.[...]

  • Page 43

    43 3.4.4 Storage Conguration Onboard SA T A Controller Use this item to enable or disable the “Onboard SA T A Controller” feature. SA T A Operation Mode Use this item to adjust Onboard SA T A Operation Mode. The default value of this option is [AHCI]. Conguration options: [AHCI], [IDE] and [RAID]. If you set this item to RAID mode, it is [...]

  • Page 44

    44 B IO S S E TU P U TI L IT Y A dv an ce d P CI / P nP S e tt in gs Val ue i n u ni ts o f P CI cl o ck s f or P C I d ev ic e la t en cy t im er re gi st er. Se l ec t S cr ee n Se l ec t I te m +- C ha ng e O pt io n F1 Ge ne ra l H el p F9 Lo ad De f au lt s F1 0 Sa ve a nd E xi t ES C Ex i t v 02 .5 4 ( C ) C op y ri gh t 1 98 5- 20 0 3, A me [...]

  • Page 45

    45 B IO S S E TU P U TI L IT Y F lo pp y C on fi gu r at io n Se l ec t t he t yp e o f fl o pp y d ri ve co n ne ct ed t o t he sy s te m. Se l ec t S cr ee n Se l ec t I te m +- C ha ng e O pt io n F1 Ge ne ra l H el p F9 Lo ad D e f au lt s F1 0 Sa ve a nd E xi t ES C E x i t v 02 .5 4 ( C ) C op y ri gh t 1 98 5- 20 0 3, A me r ic an M e ga tr [...]

  • Page 46

    46 3.4.7 Super IO Conguration OnBoard Floppy Controller Use this item to enable or disable oppy drive controller . Serial Port Address Use this item to set the address for the onboard serial port. Conguration options: [3F8 / IRQ4] and [3E8 / IRQ4]. Infrared Port Use this item to enable or disable the onboard infrared port. Infrared Port Ad[...]

  • Page 47

    47 3.4.8 USB Conguration USB 2.0 Controller Use this item to enable or disable the use of USB 2.0 controller . USB 2.0 Support Use this option to enable or disable support for USB 2.0 devices. The de- fault value is [Enabled]. Legacy USB Support Use this option to select legacy support for USB devices. There are four co n fi g ur at io n o pt io[...]

  • Page 48

    48 CPU Fan Setting This allows you to set the CPU fan speed. Con guration options: [Full On] and [Automatic Mode]. The default is value [Full On]. Chassis Fan 1 Setting This allows you t o set the chassis fan 1 speed. Con guration options: [Full On], [Manual Mode] and [Automatic Mode]. The default is value [Full On]. Case Open Feature This al[...]

  • Page 49

    49 3.6 Boot Screen In this section, it will display the available devices on your system for you to cong - ure the boot settings and the boot priority . B IO S S E TU P U T I L IT Y M ai n O C Tw ea ke r A d va nc ed H /W M on i to r S ec ur it y Ex i t B oo t S e tt in gs Co n fi gu re S et ti ng s du r in g S ys t e m B oo t. Se l ec t S cr ee[...]

  • Page 50

    50 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. B IO S S E TU P U TI L IT Y M ai n O C Tw e a ke r A dv a nc ed H /W M on it o r Bo o t E xi t In s ta ll o r C h an ge t he pa s sw or d. Se l ec t S cr ee n Se l ec t I te m En t er Ch an ge F1 G[...]

  • Page 51

    51 3.8 Exit Screen Save Changes and Exit When you select this option, it will pop-out the following message, “Save conguration changes and exit setup?” Select [OK] to save the changes and exit the BIOS SETUP UTILITY . Discard Changes and Exit When y ou select this op tion, it will pop- out the f ollowing message, “Discard changes and exit [...]

  • Page 52

    52 4. Software Support 4.1 Install Operating System Th is m oth erbo ard s uppo rts v ario us Mi cros oft ® Wi ndow s ® op erat ing s yste ms: 8 / 8 64-bit / 7 / 7 64-bit / Vista TM / Vista TM 64-bit / XP / XP Media Center / XP 64-bit. Because motherb oard settings and hardwar e options vary , use the setup pr ocedures in this chapter for general[...]