Asus M3N78/SE manual

Motherboard M3N78 SE[...]

ii Copyright © 2008 ASUST eK Computer Inc. All Rights Reserved. No part of this manual, including the products and software described in it, may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any language in any form or by any means, except documentation kept by the purchaser for backup purposes, without [...]

iii Contents Notices ......................................................................................................... vi Safety information ..................................................................................... vii About this guide ........................................................................................ vii M[...]

iv Contents 1.1 1 Software support ........................................................................ 1-24 1.1 1.1 Installing an operating system ...................................... 1-2 4 1.1 1.2 Support DVD information .............................................. 1-2 4 1.1 1.3 Creating a RAID driver disk ................................[...]

v Contents 2.4.6 USB Conguration ........................................................ 2-1 7 2.5 Power menu ................................................................................ 2-18 2.5.1 Suspend Mode ............................................................. 2-18 2.5.2 ACPI 2.0 Support .........................................[...]

vi Notices Federal Communications Commission Statement This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions: • This device may not cause harmful interference, and • This device must accept any interference received including interference that may cause undesired operation. This equipment has b[...]

vii Safety information Electrical safety • T o prevent electrical shock hazard, disconnect the power cable from the electrical outlet before relocating the system. • When adding or removing devices to or from the system, ensure that the power cables for the devices are unplugged before the signal cables are connected. If possible, disconnect al[...]

viii Where to nd more information Refer to the following sources for additional information and for product and software updates. 1. ASUS websites The ASUS website provides updated information on ASUS hardware and software products. Refer to the ASUS contact information. 2. Optional documentation Y our product package may include optional docume[...]

ix M3N78 SE specications summary (continued on the next page) CPU AMD ® Socket AM2+ / AM2 for AMD Phenom™FX / Phenom / Athlon™ / Sempron™ processor AMD Cool ‘n’ Quiet™ T echnology AMD Live!™ Ready Supports CPU up to 125W Chipset Nvidia ® nForce™ 720D System bus Up to 5200 MT/s HyperT ransport™ 3.0 interface for AM2+ CPU 2000 [...]

x M3N78 SE specications summary ASUS special features ASUS Quiet Thermal Solution - ASUS Q-Fan ASUS EZ DIY - ASUS CrashFree BIOS3 - ASUS EZ Flash2 ASUS AI NET 2 ASUS MyLogo2 Back panel I/O ports 1 x PS/2 Keyboard/Mouse Combo port 1 x RJ45 port 6 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports 6-channel Audio I/O ports 1 x LPT port 1 x COM port Internal I/O connectors 3 x U[...]

ASUS M3N78 SE 1-1 1.1 Welcome! Thank you for buying an ASUS ® M3N78 SE motherboard! The motherboard delivers a host of new features and latest technologies, making it another standout in the long line of ASUS quality motherboards! Before you start installing the motherboard, and hardware devices on it, check the items in your package with the list[...]

1-2 Chapter 1: Product introduction NVIDIA ® nForce™ 720D chipset The NVIDIA ® nForce 720D supports HyperT ransport™3.0 interface, PCI Express™ 2.0 bus architecture, and Serial A T A 3 GB/s devices. It is optimized with AMD’s latest AM2+ and multi-core CPUs to provide excellent system performance. MT /s 52 00 HyperT ransport 3.0 support H[...]

ASUS M3N78 SE 1-3 High Denition Audio The onboard 6-channel HD audio (High Denition Audio, previously codenamed Azalia) CODEC enables high-quality 192KHz/24-bit audio output, jack-detect feature, and multi-streaming technology . This enables you do multiple tasks, such as talking to your partners on the headphone while playing a multi-channel[...]

1-4 Chapter 1: Product introduction Onboard LED The motherboard comes with a standby power LED that lights up to indicate that the system is ON, in sleep mode, or in soft-off mode. This is a reminder that you should shut down the system and unplug the power cable before removing or plugging in any motherboard component. The illustration below shows[...]

ASUS M3N78 SE 1-5 M3N78 SE Do not overtighten the screws! Doing so can damage the motherboard. 1.5.1 Placement direction When installing the motherboard, ensure that you place it into the chassis in the correct orientation. The edge with external ports goes to the rear part of the chassis as indicated in the image below . Place this side towards th[...]

1-6 Chapter 1: Product introduction 1.5.3 Motherboard layout M3N78 SE PCIEX16 PCIEX1_1 PCIEX1_2 PCI2 PCI3 PCI1 FLOPPY USB910 USB78 USB1112 F_PANEL SPDIF_OUT AAFP CD ATX12V EATXPWR CPU_FAN Lithium Cell CMOS Power Super I/O ALC 662 Realtek 8211CL KB_USB56 8Mb BIOS SB_PWR CLRTC SPEAKER 21.8cm(8.6in) NVIDIA ® MCP78D DDR2 DIMM_A1 (64bit, 240-pin module[...]

ASUS M3N78 SE 1-7 1.6 Central Processing Unit (CPU) The motherboard comes with an AM2+ / AM2 socket designed for AMD ® AM2+ / AM2 Phenom™ FX / Phenom / Athlon™ / Sempron™ processor The AM2/AM2+ socket has a different pinout from the 940-pin socket designed for the AMD Opteron™ processor . Ensure that you use a CPU that is designed for the [...]

1-8 Chapter 1: Product introduction 7. Connect the CPU fan cable to the CPU_F AN connector on the motherboard. Do not forget to connect the CPU fan connector! Hardware monitoring errors can occur if you fail to plug this connector . 5. When the CPU is in place, push down the socket lever to secure the CPU. The lever clicks on the side tab to indica[...]

ASUS M3N78 SE 1-9 1.6.2 Installing the heatsink and fan The AMD Phenom™ FX / Phenom / Athlon™ / Sempron™ processor requires a specially designed heatsink and fan assembly to ensure optimum thermal condition and performance T o install the CPU heatsink and fan: 1. Place the heatsink on top of the installed CPU, making sure that the heatsink ?[...]

1-10 Chapter 1: Product introduction 3. Align the other end of the retention bracket (near the retention bracket lock ) to the retention module base. A clicking sound denotes that the retention bracket is in place. Ensure that the fan and heatsink assembly perfectly ts the retention mechanism module base. Otherwise, you cannot snap the retention[...]

ASUS M3N78 SE 1-1 1 • Y ou may install varying memory sizes in Channel A and Channel B. The system maps the total size of the lower-sized channel for the dual-channel conguration. Any excess memory from the higher-sized channel is then mapped for single-channel operation. • Always install DIMMs with the same CAS latency . For optimum compati[...]

1-12 Chapter 1: Product introduction DDR2-800MHz capability V endor Part No. Size SS/ DS CL Chip No. Chip Brand DIMM support A* B* Kingston KHX6400D2LLK2/1GN 512MB SS N/A Heat-Sink Package Kingston • • Kingston KVR800D2N5/1G 1G DS N/A E5108AJBG-8E-E Elpida • • Sam sung M378T2863QZS-CF7 1G SS 6 K4T1G084QQ-HCF7 Samsung • • Sam sung M391T2[...]

ASUS M3N78 SE 1-13 1.7.3 Installing a DIMM Unplug the power supply before adding or removing DIMMs or other system components. Failure to do so can cause severe damage to both the motherboard and the components. 1.7.4 Removing a DIMM T o remove a DIMM: 1. Simultaneously press the retaining clips outward to unlock the DIMM. 2. Remove the DIMM from t[...]

1-14 Chapter 1: Product introduction 1.8 Expansion slots In the future, you may need to install expansion cards. The following sub-sections describe the slots and the expansion cards that they support. 1.8.1 Installing an expansion card T o install an expansion card: 1. Before installing the expansion card, read the documentation that came with it [...]

ASUS M3N78 SE 1-15 1.9 Jumpers 1. Clear RTC RAM (CLRTC) This jumper allows you to clear the Real T ime Clock (RTC) RAM in CMOS. Y ou can clear the CMOS memory of date, time, and system setup parameters by erasing the CMOS RTC RAM data. The onboard button cell battery powers the RAM data in CMOS, which include system setup information such as system[...]

1-16 Chapter 1: Product introduction 1.10 Connectors 1.10.1 Rear panel connectors 1. PS/2 keyboard/Mouse Combo port (purple). This port is for a PS/2 keyboard or mouse. 2. Parallel port. This 25-pin port connects a parallel printer , a scanner , or other devices. 3. LAN (RJ-45) port. This port allows Gigabit connection to a Local Area Network (LAN)[...]

ASUS M3N78 SE 1-17 7. USB 2.0 ports 1 and 2. These two 4-pin Universal Serial Bus (USB) ports are available for connecting USB 2.0 devices. 8. USB 2.0 ports 3 and 4. These two 4-pin Universal Serial Bus (USB) ports are available for connecting USB 2.0 devices. 9. COM port. This 9-pin COM1 port is for pointing devices or other serial devices. 10. US[...]

1-18 Chapter 1: Product introduction 2. Speaker connector (4- pin SPEAKER) This 4-pin connector is for the chassis-mounted system warning speaker . The speaker allows you to hear system beeps and warnings. 3. IDE connector (40-1 pin PRI_IDE) The onboard IDE connector is for Ultra DMA 133/100/66 signal cable. There are three connectors on each Ultra[...]

ASUS M3N78 SE 1-19 4. Serial A T A connectors (7-pin SA T A1, SA T A2, SA T A3, SA T A4) These connectors are for the Serial A T A signal cables for Serial A T A 3Gb/s hard disk and optical disk drives. The Serial A T A 3Gb/s is backward compatible with Serial A T A 1.5Gb/s specication. The data transfer rate of the Serial A T A 3Gb/s is faster [...]

1-20 Chapter 1: Product introduction 5. Optical drive audio in connector (4-pin CD) This connector allows you to receive stereo audio input from sound sources such as a CD-ROM, TV tuner , or MPEG card. Never connect a 1394 cable to the USB connectors. Doing so will damage the motherboard! 6. USB connectors (10-1 pin USB78, USB 910, USB1 1 12) These[...]

ASUS M3N78 SE 1-21 7. Front panel audio connector (10-1 pin AAFP) This connector is for a chassis-mounted front panel audio I/O module that supports either High Denition Audio or AC`97 audio standard. Connect one end of the front panel audio I/O module cable to this connector . • We recommend that you connect a high-denition front panel aud[...]

1-22 Chapter 1: Product introduction 9. A TX power connectors (24-pin EA TXPWR, 4-pin A TX12V) These connectors are for an A TX power supply . The plugs from the power supply are designed to t these connectors in only one orientation. Find the proper orientation and push down rmly until the connectors completely t. • We recommend that yo[...]

ASUS M3N78 SE 1-23 10. System panel connector (10-1 pin F_P ANEL) This connector supports several chassis-mounted functions. • System power LED (2-pin PWRLED) This 2-pin connector is for the system power LED. Connect the chassis power LED cable to this connector . The system power LED lights up when you turn on the system power , and blinks when [...]

1-24 Chapter 1: Product introduction If Autorun is NOT enabled in your computer , browse the contents of the Support DVD to locate the le ASSETUP .EXE from the BIN folder . Double-click the ASSETUP .EXE to run the DVD. Click an item to install 1.1 1.1 Installing an operating system This motherboard supports Windows ® XP/Vista Operating Systems [...]

ASUS M3N78 SE 1-25 1.1 1.3 Creating a RAID driver disk A oppy disk with the RAID driver is required when installing Windows ® XP OS on a hard disk drive that is included in a RAID set. T o create a RAID driver disk: 1. Place the motherboard Support DVD into the DVD-ROM drive. 2. Select Make Disk tab. 3. From the Make Disk menu, select the RAID [...]

1-26 Chapter 1: Product introduction[...]

ASUS M3N78 SE 2-1 2.1 Managing and updating your BIOS Save a copy of the original motherboard BIOS le to a bootable oppy disk or a USB ash disk in case you need to restore the BIOS in the future. Copy the original motherboard BIOS using the ASUS Update or AFUDOS utilities. 2.1.1 Creating a bootable oppy disk 1. Do either one of the foll[...]

2-2 Chapter 2: BIOS information 2.1.2 ASUS Update utility The ASUS Update is a utility that allows you to manage, save, and update the motherboard BIOS in Windows ® environment. Installing ASUS Update T o install ASUS Update: 1. Place the Support DVD in the optical drive. The Drivers menu appears. 2. Click the Utilities tab, then click Install ASU[...]

ASUS M3N78 SE 2-3 T o update the BIOS using EZ Flash 2: 1. Insert the oppy disk / USB ash disk that contains the BIOS le to the oppy disk drive or the USB port, then launch EZ Flash 2. Y ou can launch EZ Flash 2 in two ways: • Press <Alt> + <F2> during POST to display the following. 2.1.3 ASUS EZ Flash 2 utility The ASUS E[...]

2-4 Chapter 2: BIOS information • Obtain the AFUDOS utility (afudos.exe) from the bundled support DVD and the latest BIOS le from the ASUS website at www.asus.com. • We recommend that you write the BIOS lename on a piece of paper . Y ou will need to key in the exact BIOS lename at the DOS prompt later . 2.1.4 AFUDOS utility The AFUDOS [...]

ASUS M3N78 SE 2-5 2.1.5 ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3 utility The ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3 is an auto recovery tool that allows you to restore the BIOS le when it fails or gets corrupted during the updating process. Y ou can update a corrupted BIOS le using the motherboard Support DVD, a oppy disk or a USB ash disk that contains the updated BIOS ?[...]

2-6 Chapter 2: BIOS information • The default BIOS settings for this motherboard apply for most conditions to ensure optimum performance. If the system becomes unstable after changing any BIOS settings, load the default settings to ensure system compatibility and stability . Select the Load Setup Defaults item under the Exit menu. See section “[...]

ASUS M3N78 SE 2-7 2.2.1 BIOS menu screen 2.2.2 Menu bar The menu bar on top of the screen has the following main items: Main For changing the basic system conguration Advanced For changing the advanced system settings Power For changing the advanced power management (APM) conguration Boot For changing the system boot conguration T ools For[...]

2-8 Chapter 2: BIOS information 2.2.4 Menu items The highlighted item on the menu bar displays the specic items for that menu. For example, selecting Main shows the Main menu items. The other items (Advanced, Power , Boot, T ools, and Exit) on the menu bar have their respective menu items. 2.2.5 Sub-menu items A solid triangle before each item o[...]

ASUS M3N78 SE 2-9 2.3 Main menu When you enter the BIOS Setup program, the Main menu screen appears, giving you an overview of the basic system information. 2.3.1 System Time [xx:xx:xx] Allows you to set the system time. 2.3.2 System Date [Day xx/xx/xxxx] Allows you to set the system date. 2.3.3 Legacy Diskette A [1.44M, 3.5 in.] Sets the type of ?[...]

2-10 Chapter 2: BIOS information LBA/Large Mode [Auto] Enables or disables the LBA mode. Setting to [Auto] enables the LBA mode if the device supports this mode, and if the device was not previously formatted with LBA mode disabled. Conguration options: [Disabled] [Auto] Block (Multi-Sector T ransfer) M [Auto] Enables or disables data multi-sect[...]

ASUS M3N78 SE 2-1 1 PIO Mode [Auto] Selects the PIO mode. Conguration options: [Auto] [0] [1] [2] [3] [4] DMA Mode [Auto] Selects the DMA mode. Conguration options: [Auto] SMART Monitoring [Auto] Sets the Smart Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting T echnology . Conguration options: [Auto] [Disabled] [Enabled] 32Bit Data T ransfer [Enabled] [...]

2-12 Chapter 2: BIOS information 2.3.7 System Information This menu gives you an overview of the general system specications. The BIOS automatically detects the items in this menu. AMI BIOS Displays the auto-detected BIOS information Processor Displays the auto-detected CPU specication System Memory Displays the auto-detected system memory 2.[...]

ASUS M3N78 SE 2-13 Processor Frequency Multiplier [Auto] Allows you to set the processor frequency multiplier . Conguration options: [Auto] [x4.0 800MHz] [x5.0 1000MHz] [x6.0 1200MHz] [x7.0 1400MHz] [x8.0 1600MHz] [x9.0 1800MHz] Processor V oltage [Standard] Allows you to set the processor voltage. Conguration options: [Power Saving Mode] [St[...]

2-14 Chapter 2: BIOS information TRAS [Auto] Conguration options: [Auto] [5 CLK] [6 CLK] ~ [17 CLK] [18 CLK] TRC [Auto] Conguration options: [Auto] tWR [Auto] Conguration options: [Auto] [3 CLK] [4 CLK] [5 CLK] [6 CLK] TRRD [Auto] Conguration options: [Auto] [3 CLK] [4 CLK] [5 CLK] tRWTTO [Auto] Conguration options: [Auto] [2 CLK] [3[...]

ASUS M3N78 SE 2-15 2.4.3 Chipset The Chipset menu allows you to change the advanced chipset settings. Select an item then press <Enter> to display the sub-menu. NorthBridge Conguration Memory Conguration Bank Interleaving [Auto] Allows you to enable the bank memory interleaving. Conguration options: [Disabled] [Auto] Channel Interlea[...]

2-16 Chapter 2: BIOS information SouthBridge Conguration Primary Graphics Adapter [PCI VGA Card First] Display Device Priority , from high to low. Conguration options: [PCI VGA Card First] [PCIE VGA Card First] PCIE 2.0 Support [Auto] Allows you to enable or disable the PCIE 2.0 feature. Conguration options: [Disabled] [Auto] AZALIA AUDIO [...]

ASUS M3N78 SE 2-17 Plug and Play O/S [No] When set to [No] , BIOS congures all the devices in the system. When set to [Y es] and if you install a Plug and Play operating system, the operating system congures the Plug and Play devices not required for boot. Conguration options: [No] [Y es] PCI Latency Timer [64] Allows you to select the val[...]

2-18 Chapter 2: BIOS information 2.5 Power menu The Power menu items allow you to change the settings for the Advanced Conguration and Power Interface (ACPI) and the Advanced Power Management (APM). Select an item then press <Enter> to display the conguration options. 2.5.1 Suspend Mode [Auto] Allows you to select the Advanced Congur[...]

ASUS M3N78 SE 2-19 Power On By Ring [Disabled] Enable or disable RI to generate a wake event. Conguration options: [Disabled] [Enabled] Power On By PS/2 KB/MS [Disabled] Enable or disable PS/2 Keyboard/Mouse to generate a wake event. Conguration options: [Disabled] [Enabled] Power On By RTC Alarm [Disabled] Allows you to enable or disable RTC[...]

2-20 Chapter 2: BIOS information 2.6 Boot menu The Boot menu items allow you to change the system boot options. Select an item then press <Enter> to display the sub-menu. 2.6.1 Boot Device Priority 1st ~ xxth Boot Device These items specify the boot device priority sequence from the available devices. The number of device items that appears o[...]

ASUS M3N78 SE 2-21 If you forget your BIOS password, you can clear it by erasing the CMOS Real T ime Clock (RTC) RAM. See section “1.9 Jumpers” for information on how to erase the RTC RAM. After you have set a supervisor password, the other items appear to allow you to change other security settings. PS/2 Mouse Support [Auto] Allows you to enab[...]

2-22 Chapter 2: BIOS information Limited allows changes only to selected elds, such as Date and T ime. Full Access allows viewing and changing all the elds in the Setup utility . Change User Password Select this item to set or change the user password. The User Password item on top of the screen shows the default Not Installed. After you set [...]

ASUS M3N78 SE 2-23 2.7.2 AI NET 2 Check Realtek Phy LAN cable [Disabled] Enables or disables checking of the Realtek Phy LAN cable during the Power-On Self-T est (POST). Conguration options: [Disabled] [Enabled] Exit & Discard Changes Select this option only if you do not want to save the changes that you made to the Setup program. If you ma[...]

2-24 Chapter 2: BIOS information[...]