Asus Crosshair II Formula manual

Motherboard Crosshair II Formula[...]

ii E3769 Third Edition V3 March 2008 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 purch[...]

iii Contents Contents ...................................................................................................... iii Notices ....................................................................................................... viii Safety information .....................................................................................[...]

iv Contents 2.5.5 PCI Express x1 slots ..................................................... 2-21 2.5.6 PCI Express x16 slots ................................................... 2-21 2.6 Slide switch ................................................................................ 2-23 2.7 Audio card, I/O shield, and LCD Poster installation ........[...]

v Contents 4.4.1 System T ime ................................................................. 4-22 4.4.2 System Date ................................................................. 4-22 4.4.3 Language ...................................................................... 4-22 4.4.4 Legacy Diskette A .............................................[...]

vi Contents Chapter 5: Software support 5.1 Installing an operating system ................................................... 5-1 5.2 Support DVD information ............................................................ 5-1 5.2.1 Running the support DVD ............................................... 5-1 5.2.2 Drivers menu .........................[...]

vii Contents 6.2 NVIDIA ® Hybrid SLI ® T echnology ............................................... 6-9 6.2.1 System requirements ..................................................... 6-9 6.2.2 Enabling GeForce ® Boost and HybridPower™ ............. 6-10 Appendix: Debug code table A.1 Debug code table ...........................................[...]

viii 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[...]

ix Safety information Electrical safety •   electrical outlet before relocating the system. • When adding or removing devices to o[...]

x About this guide  the motherboard. How this guide is organized This guide contains the following parts: ?[...]

xi Conventions used in this guide T o make sure that you perform certain tasks properly , take note of the following symbols used throughout this manual. T ypography Bold text Indicates a menu or an item to select. Italics   <Key>[...]

xii Crosshair II Formula specications summary CPU AMD ® Socket AM2+ for AMD Phenom™ FX / Phenom / Athlon™ / Sempron™ processors AMD Socket AM2 for Athlon 64 X2 / Athlon 64 FX / Athlon 64 / Sempron processors AMD Cool ‘n’ Quiet™ T echnology Chipset NVIDIA ® nForce ® 780a SLI™ System Bus ?[...]

xiii USB 12 x USB 2.0 ports (6 ports at midboard, 6 ports at back panel) ASUS ROG Overclocking Features Extreme T weaker New 8+2 phase power design Intelligent overclocking tools: - CPU Level Up - AI Overclocking (intelligent CPU frequency tuner) - AI Booster Utility    Overclocking protection: - COP EX (Co[...]

xiv BIOS Features 8 MB AW ARD BIOS, PnP , DMI2.0, WfM2.0, SM BIOS 2.4, ACPI 2.0a Multi-Language BIOS SM BIOS 2.4, ACPI 2.0a Multi-Language BIOS Manageability WOL by PME, WOR by PME, Chassis Intrusion, PXE Accessories 3-W ay SLI bridge ASUS SLI bridge LCD Poster ASUS Optional Fan SupremeFX II Audio Card HDMI/DVI adapter 3 in 1 ASUS Q-connector kit U[...]

1 Chapter 1: Product introduction This chapter describes the motherboard features and the new technologies it supports.[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula Chapter summary 1 1.1 Welcome! ...................................................................................... 1-1 1.2 Package contents ......................................................................... 1-1 1.3 Special features ............................................................................ 1-2[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 1-1 1.1 Welcome! Thank you for buying an ASUS ® Crosshair II Formula 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 yo[...]

1-2 Chapter 1: Product Introduction 1.3 Special features 1.3.1 ROG Intelligent Performance & Overclocking features CPU Level Up Ever wish that you could have a more expansive CPU? Upgrade your CPU at no additional cost with ROG’s CPU Level Up! Simply choose a processor you want to OC to, and the motherboard will do the rest for you. See the n[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 1-3 ASUS O.C. Prole  [...]

1-4 Chapter 1: Product Introduction Onboard Switches With an easy press during overclocking, this exclusive onboard switch allows ?[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 1-5 AI Audio 2 AI Audio 2 allows you to experience crisp, clear sounds by restoring and compensating for clarity and quality of compressed audio in all movies, music and ?[...]

1-6 Chapter 1: Product Introduction 1.3.3 Product highlights Republic of Gamers The Republic of Gamers consists only the best of the best. We of fer the best hardware engineering, the fastest performance, the most innovating ideas, and we welcome the best gamers to join in. In the Republic of Gamers, mercy rules are only for the weak, and bragging [...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 1-7 Native DDR2 1066 memory support This motherboard is the AMD ® platform with native DDR2 1066 support. It provides faster data transfer rate and more bandwidth to increase memory computing  ?[...]

1-8 Chapter 1: Product Introduction Serial A T A 3.0 Gb/s technology This motherboard supports the next-generation hard drives based on the Serial      [...]

2 Chapter 2: Hardware information This chapter lists the hardware setup procedures that you have to perform when installing system components. It includes description of the jumpers and connectors on the motherboard.[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula Chapter summary 2 2.1 Before you proceed ..................................................................... 2-1 2.2 Motherboard overview ................................................................. 2-4 2.3 Central Processing Unit (CPU) ................................................... 2-8 2.4 System memory ......[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 2-1 2.1 Before you proceed T ake note of the following precautions before you install motherboard components or change any motherboard settings. • Unplug the power cord from the wall socket before touching any component. • Use a grounded wrist strap or touch a safely grounded object or a metal object, such as the power[...]

2-2 Chapter 2: Hardware information 2. Memory LED Refer to the illustration below for the LED location and the table below for  3. Southbridge / Bridge (PCIe) LEDs The Southbridge LED has two different voltage displays: SB V oltage or  [...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 2-3 4. Hard Disk LED The hard disk LED is designed to indicate the hard disk activity . It blinks when data is being written into or read from the hard disk drive. The LED does not light up when there is no hard disk drive connected to the motherboard or when the hard disk drive does not function. 5. Power LED The motherbo[...]

2-4 Chapter 2: Hardware information CROSSHAIR II FORMULA ® RES ET 2.2 Motherboard overview  ?[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 2-5 2.2.3 Motherboard layout CROSSHAIR II FORMULA ® 24.5cm (9.6in) 24.5cm (9.6in) RE SE T DDR DIMM_A1 (64bit, 240-pin module) DDR DIMM_A2 (64bit, 240-pin module) DDR DIMM_B1 (64bit, 240-pin module) DDR DIMM_B2 (64bit, 240-pin module) PCIEX16_ 1 PCIEX16_ 2 PCI1 PCI2 PCIEX16_ 3 FLOPPY Super I/O SPDIF_OUT EATX12V CHA_FAN1 CH[...]

2-6 Chapter 2: Hardware information 2.2.5 Layout contents Slots Page 1. DDR2 DIMM slots 2-14 2. PCI slots 2-21 3. PCI Express x 1 slots 2-21 4. PCI Express x 16 slots 2-21 Slide switch Page 1. Clear RTC RAM (3-pin CLR TC_SW) 2-23 Rear panel connectors Page 1. PS/2 keyboard port (purple) 2-26 2. Coaxial S/PDIF Out port 2-26 3. VGA port 2-26 4. LAN 1[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 2-7 Internal connectors Page 1. IDE connector (40-1 pin PRI_IDE) 2- 29 2. NVIDIA ® nForce 780a SLI Serial A T A connectors       2- 30 3. Floppy disk drive connector (34-1 pin FLOPPY) 2[...]

2-8 Chapter 2: Hardware information 2.3.1 Installing the CPU T o install a CPU: 1. Locate the CPU socket on the motherboard. [...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 2-9 3. Position the CPU above the socket such that the CPU corner with the gold triangle matches the socket corner with a small triangle. 4. Carefully insert the CPU into the  5. When the CPU is in place, push down the socket lever to se[...]

2-10 Chapter 2: Hardware information 2.3.2 Installing the heatsink and fan The AMD ® Phenom™ FX / Phenom / Athlon™ 64 X2 / Athlon 64 FX / Athlon 64 / Phenom™ FX / Phenom / Athlon™ 64 X2 / Athlon 64 FX / Athlon 64 / Sempron™ processor requires a specially designed heatsink and fan assembly to processor requires a specially designed heatsi[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 2-1 1 2. Attach one end of the retention bracket to the retention module base. 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. 4. Push down the retention bracket lock on the retention mechanism t[...]

2-12 Chapter 2: Hardware information 5. When the fan and heatsink assembly is in place, connect the CPU fan cable to the connector on the motherboard labeled CPU_F AN. • Do not forget to connect the CPU fan connector! Hardware monitoring errors can occur if you fail to plug this connector . • This connector is backward compatiable with old 3-pi[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 2-13 2.3.3 Installing the optional fans Install the optional fan only if you are using a passive cooler or a water cooler . ?[...]

2-14 Chapter 2: Hardware information Channel Sockets Channel A DIMM_A1 and DIMM_A2 Channel B DIMM_B1 and DIMM_B2 2.4 System memory 2.4.1 Overview The motherboard comes with four Double Data Rate 2 (DDR2) Dual Inline Memory Modules (DIMM) sockets. ?[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 2-15 2.4.2 Memory congurations Y ou may install 256 MB, 512 MB, 1 GB, and 2 GB unbuffered ECC/non-ECC DDR2 DIMMs into the DIMM sockets. Recommended Memory Congurations   ?[...]

2-16 Chapter 2: Hardware information Crosshair II Formula Motherboard Qualied V endors Lists (QVL) DDR2-800MHz capability for AM2 CPU SS - Single-sided / DS - Double-sided DIMM support: • A*: Supports one module inserted in any slot as Single-channel    • B*: Supports one pair[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 2-17 Crosshair II Formula Motherboard Qualied V endors Lists (QVL) DDR2-667MHz capability for AM2 CPU Size V endor Chip No. CL SS/ DS Part No. DIMM socket A* B* C* 512MB KINGSTON D6408TEBGGL3U 5 SS KVR667D2N5/512 • • • 1024MB KINGSTON E5108AGBG-6E-E N/A DS KVR667D2N5/1G • • • 2048MB KINGSTON E1 108AB-6E-E N/[...]

2-18 Chapter 2: Hardware information 2.4.3 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. T o install a DIMM: 1. Unlo ck a DIM M so cket by pres sing the retaining clips outward. 2. Align a DIMM on the socket s[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 2-19 2.5 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. 2.5.1 Installing an expansion card T o install an expansion card: 1. Before installing the expansion card, read the documentation that came with it and ma[...]

2-20 Chapter 2: Hardware information 2.5.3 Interrupt assignments IRQ Priority Standard function 0 1 System Timer 1 2 Keyboard Controller 2 – Redirect to IRQ#9 4 12 Reserved 5 13 IRQ Holder for PCI Steering* 6 14 Floppy Disk Controller 7 15 NVIDIA nForce 780a SLI 8 3 System CMOS/Real Time Clock 9 4 IRQ Holder for PCI Steering* 10 5 IRQ Holder for [...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 2-21 2.5.4 PCI slots The PCI slots support cards such as a LAN card, SCSI card, USB card, and other ?[...]

2-22 Chapter 2: Hardware information • We recommend that you install a VGA card to the primary (blue) PCI Express x16 slots, and install any other PCI Express device to the universal (white) PCI Express x16 slot. • Currently , only NVIDIA ® SLI™-Ready GeForce ® 8800 Ultra and GeForce ® 8800 GTX graphics cards support 3-W ay SLI™ mode. ?[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 2-23 2.6 Slide switch 1. Clear RTC RAM (3-pin CLRTC_SW) This jumper allows you to enable the clr CMOS switch. Y ou can clear the CMOS memory of date, time, and system setup parameters by erasing the CMOS RTC RAM data. The clr CMOS switch on the back I/O helps you easily to clear the system setup information such as system [...]

2-24 Chapter 2: Hardware information 2.7 Audio card, I/O shield, and LCD Poster installation 2.7.1 Audio card Installation 1. T ake out the Audio card from the package. 2. Locate the audio slot on the motherboard. 3. Align the card connector with the [...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 2-25 3. Thread the LCD Poster cable through the opening until its stopper snaps into place. 4. Plug the LCD Poster cable into the onboard connector labeled LCD_CON . 2.7.2 I/O shield and LCD Poster Installation 1. Install the I/O shield to the chassis by snapping it in place from inside. 2. Orient the motherboard and insta[...]

2-26 Chapter 2: Hardware information 2.8 Connectors 2.8.1 Rear panel connectors 1. PS/2 keyboard port (purple). This port is for a PS/2 keyboard. 2. Coaxial S/PDIF Out port. This port connects an external audio output device via a coaxial S/PDIF cable. 3. VGA por VGA por t. This port is for a VGA monitor or other VGA-compatible devices. 4. LAN 1/2 [...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 2-27 5. Line In port (light blue). This port connects the tape, CD, DVD player , or other audio sources. 6. Line Out port (lime). This port connects a headphone or a speaker . In ?[...]

2-28 Chapter 2: Hardware information 14. HDMI port. This port is for a high-  connector . • This motherboard comes with dual-VGA outputs through the onboard VGA and HDMI ports. Y ou can simultaneously connect two displays to these por[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 2-29 • Pin 20 on the IDE connector is removed to match the covered hole on the Ultra DMA cable connector . This prevents incorrect insertion when you connect the IDE cable. • Use the 80-conductor IDE cable for Ultra DMA 133/100/66 IDE devices. If any device jumper is set as “Cable-Select,” make sure all other devic[...]

2-30 Chapter 2: Hardware information 2. NVIDIA NVIDIA ® nForce 780a SLI Serial A T A connectors (7-pin SA T A1–4 [blue]; 7-pin SA T A5–6 [black]) These connectors are for the Serial A T A signal cables for Serial A T A hard disk and optical disk drives. If you install Serial A T A hard disk drives, you can create a RAID 0, RAID 1, [...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 2-31 4. USB connectors (10-1 pin USB 78; USB 910; USB1 1 12) These connectors are for USB 2.0 ports. Connect the USB module cable to any of these connectors, then install the module to a slot opening at the back of the system chassis. These USB connectors comply with USB 2.0 [...]

2-32 Chapter 2: Hardware information 5. IEE E 1394 a port connector (10-1 pin IE1394_2) This connector is for a IEEE 1394a port. Connect the IEEE 1394a module cable to this connector , then install the module to a slot opening at the back of the system chassis. Never connect a USB cable to the IEEE 1394a connector . Doing so will damage the motherb[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 2-33 7. CPU, chassis, and optional fan connectors (4-pin CPU_F AN, 3-pin CHA_F AN1–3, 3-pin PWR_F AN, 3-pin OPT_F AN1–3) The fan c onnect ors su pport co oling fans o f 350 mA–1000 mA (24 W max.) or a total of 1 A–3.48 A (41.76 W max.) at +12V . Connect the fan cables to the fan connectors on the motherboard, makin[...]

2-34 Chapter 2: Hardware information 8. Chassis intrusion connector (4-1 pin CHASSIS) This connector is for a chassis-mounted intrusion detection sensor or switch. Connect one end of the chassis intrusion sensor or switch cable to this connector . The chassis intrusion sensor or switch sends a high-level signal to this connector when a chassis comp[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 2-35 •     ?[...]

2-36 Chapter 2: Hardware information Power supply requirements Heavy Loading CPU Phenom 9600 Memory 1 GB*4 VGA 8800 Ultra*3 SA T A-HDD 6 IDE-CDROM 1 IDE-HDD 1 USB 4 +12V_8Pin +12V_24pin +5V_24pin +3V_24pin +12V_VGA1 +12V_VGA2 +12V_VGA3 V oltage (V) 12.14 12.21 5.22 3.456 12.2 12.2 12.2 Current (A) 1 1.32 13.71 6.41 6.98 6.51 6.59 6.6 Power (W) 137.[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 2-37 1 1. ROG connector (2-pin ROG) This connector is for the box labeled as Republic of Gamers on the heatpipe assembly . Connect the cable of the box to this connector , and the box lights up when the system is on. CROSSHAIR II FORMULA ® RESE T CROSSHAIR II FORMULA ROG connector Light Loading CPU Sempron 1 100+ Memory 1[...]

2-38 Chapter 2: Hardware information • System power LED (2-pin PLED) 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 the system is in sleep mode. • Hard disk drive activity LED (2-pin IDE_LED) This 2-pin c[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 2-39 ASUS Q-Connector (system panel) Y ou can use the ASUS Q-Connector to connect/disconnect chassis front panel cables in a few steps. Refer to the instructions below to install the ASUS Q- Connector . 1. Connect the front panel cables to the ASUS Q-Connector . Refer to the labels on the Q-Connector ?[...]

2-40 Chapter 2: Hardware information 2.8.3 Onboard switches  or open-case system. This is ideal for overclockers and gamers who [...]

3 Chapter 3: Powering up This chapter describes the power up sequence, the vocal POST messages, and ways of shutting down the system.[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula Chapter summary 3 3.1 Starting up for the rst time ........................................................ 3-1 3.2 T urning off the computer ............................................................. 3-2[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 3-1 3.1 Starting up for the rst time 1. After making all the connections, replace the system case cover . 2. Be sure that all switches are off. 3. Connect the power cord to the power connector at the back of the system chassis. 4. Connect the power cord to a power outlet that is equipped with a surge protector . 5. T ur[...]

3-2 Chapter 3: Powering up 3.2 Turning off the computer 3.2.1 Using the OS shut down function If you are using Windows ® Vista™: 1. Click the Start button then select Shut Down . 2. The power supply should turn off after Windows ® shuts down. If you are using Windows ® XP: 1. Click the Start button then select T urn Off Computer . 2. Click the[...]

4 Chapter 4: BIOS setup This chapter tells how to change the system settings through the BIOS Setup menus. Detailed descriptions of the BIOS parameters are also provided.[...]

Chapter summary 4 ASUS Crosshair II Formula 4.1 Managing and updating your BIOS ............................................ 4-1 4.2 BIOS setup program .................................................................... 4-9 4.3 Extreme T weaker menu ............................................................. 4-13 4.4 Main menu ..................[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 4-1 4.1 Managing and updating your BIOS The following utilities allow you to manage and update the motherboard Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) setup. 1. ASUS Update (Updates the BIOS in Windows ® environment.) 2. ASUS EZ Flash 2 [...]

4-2 Chapter 4: BIOS setup Quit all Windows ® applications before you update the BIOS using this utility . 3. Select the ASUS FTP site nearest  click Auto Select. Click Next . Updating the BIOS through the Internet T o update the BIOS through the Interne[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 4-3 Updating the BIOS through a BIOS le   1. Launch the ASUS Update utility from the Windows ® desktop by clicking Start > Programs > ASUS > ASUSUpdate > ASUSUpdate . The ASUS Update main window[...]

4-4 Chapter 4: BIOS setup T o update the BIOS using EZ Flash 2:     the motherboard.  [...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 4-5 4.1.3 Updating the BIOS The Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) can be updated using the AwardBIOS Flash Utility . Follow these instructions to update the BIOS using this utility .   ?[...]

4-6 Chapter 4: BIOS setup   following screen appears.  ?[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 4-7 4. The utility saves the  disk, then returns to the     [...]

4-8 Chapter 4: BIOS setup 4.1.5 ASUS CrashFree BIOS 2 utility The ASUS CrashFree BIOS 2 is an auto recovery tool that allows you to restore [...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 4-9 4.2 BIOS setup program This motherboard supports a programmable Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) chip that you can update using the provided utility described in section “4.1 Managing and updating your BIOS.” ?[...]

4-10 Chapter 4: BIOS setup 4.2.1 BIOS menu screen Legend bar General help Menu bar Sub-menu items Conguration elds Menu items Select Menu Item Specic Help Change the internal time. Phoenix-AwardBIOS CMOS Setup Utility Extreme Tweaker Main Advanced Power Boot Tools Exit F1:Help ↑↓ : Select Item -/+: Change Value F5: Setup Defaults ESC: [...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 4-1 1 4.2.4 Menu items  For example, selecting Main shows the Main menu items. The o[...]

4-12 Chapter 4: BIOS setup 4.2.7 Pop-up window Select a menu item then press <Enter> to display a pop-up window with the  4.2.8 General help At the top right corner of the menu screen is a brief description of the selected item. Pop-up men[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 4-13 Select Menu Item Specic Help Warning: this function belongs to overclocking, and it may cause instability. Select a CPU level, and the rest will be auto- adjusted. If you want to adjust more, set Ai Overclock Tuner to Manual after you select a CPU level. F1:Help ↑↓ : Select Item -/+: Change Value F5: Setup Defa[...]

4-14 Chapter 4: BIOS setup  AI T uning to � AI Overclock ]. Overclock Options [Disabled] Allows you to set the overclocking options. ?[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 4-15 K8<->NB HT Width [Auto]  ↓ 8 ↑ 8] � ↓ 16 ↑ 16] �Auto] PCIE Clock [100] Allows you to set the PCIEX16_1/2/3 overclocking frequency . Use the <+> and <-> keys or the numeric keypad to enter the desired value. The values ra[...]

4-16 Chapter 4: BIOS setup Memory DCT Mode �Unganged Mode] This item appears only when you use an AM2+ CPU.  Memory Hole Remapping �Enabled] Allows you to enable or disable the remapping of the[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 4-17 T ref [Auto]  T rfc [Auto]  Dynamic I[...]

4-18 Chapter 4: BIOS setup SLI-Ready Memory [Disabled]  [...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 4-19 Refer to the CPU documentation before setting the CPU voltage. Setting a high voltage may damage the CPU permanently , and setting a low voltage may make the system unstable. VDDNB V oltage [Auto] Allows you to select the VDDNB voltage. ?[...]

4-20 Chapter 4: BIOS setup DDR2 Controller Ref V oltage [Auto] Allows you to manually set the memory voltage, or you can set to �Auto] for the safe mode. ?[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 4-21 Spread Spectrum Control CPU Spread Spectrum �Disabled]  PCIE Spread Spectrum �Disabled] ?[...]

4-22 Chapter 4: BIOS setup 4.4 Main menu When you enter the BIOS Setup program, the Main menu screen appears, giving you an overview of the basic system information. Refer to section 4.2.1 BIOS menu screen for information on the menu screen items and how to navigate through them. 4.4.1 System Time [xx:xx:xx] Allows you to set the system time. 4.4.2[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 4-23 4.4.5 Primary IDE Master/Slave While entering Setup, the BIOS automatically detects the presence of IDE devices. There is a separate sub-menu for each IDE device. Select a device item then press <Enter> to display the device information. The BIOS automatically detects the values opposite the dimmed items (Capaci[...]

4-24 Chapter 4: BIOS setup Capacity   Cylinder [...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 4-25 4.4.6 S A T A 1 – 4 While entering Setup, the BIOS automatically detects the presence of Serial A T A devices. There is a separate sub-menu for each SA T A device. Select a device item then press <Enter> to display the SA T A device information. The BIOS automatically detects the values opposite the dimmed ite[...]

4-26 Chapter 4: BIOS setup Sector  After entering the IDE hard disk drive information into BIOS, use a disk utility , such as FDISK, to partition [...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 4-27 4.5 Advanced menu The Advanced menu items allow you to change the settings for the CPU and other system devices. 4.5.1 AI NET2 POST Check LAN Cable [Disabled] Enables or disables checking of the LAN cable during the Power-On Self-T est ?[...]

4-28 Chapter 4: BIOS setup 4.5.2 PCIPnP Plug & Play O/S [No]  �Y es] and if you install a Plug and Play [...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 4-29 4.5.3 Onboard Device Conguration Select Menu Item Specic Help Phoenix-AwardBIOS CMOS Setup Utility Advanced F1:Help ↑↓ : Select Item -/+: Change Value F5: Setup Defaults ESC: Exit →← : Select Menu Enter: Select SubMenu F10: Save and Exit Onboard Device Conguration Hybrid Support Disable iGPU Frame Buf[...]

4-30 Chapter 4: BIOS setup HDMI Audio [Auto] Allows you to enable or disable the HDMI audio function.  Intergade HDA Codec [HDMI] ?[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 4-31 4.5.5 IDE Function Setup This sub-menu contains IDE function-related items. Select an item then press <Enter> to edit. OnChip IDE Channel0 [Enabled] Allows you to enable or disable the onchip IDE channel 0 controller . ?[...]

4-32 Chapter 4: BIOS setup ROG Logo [Enabled] If this item is set to �Enabled], the box labeled as Republic of Gamers on the heatpipe assembly lights up when the system is on.  V oltiminder LED [ON] Allows you to turn on/o[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 4-33 LCD Poster Backlight [Disabled] Allows you to enable or disable the LCD Poster backlight after POST .  LCD Poster Mode [Current Time] Allows you to select the LCD Poster mode. ?[...]

4-34 Chapter 4: BIOS setup 4.6 Power menu The Power menu items allow you to change the settings for the Advanced   ?[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 4-35 4.6.3 APM Conguration Restore on AC Power Loss [Power-Off] Allows you to enable or disable the Restore on AC Power Loss function.  PWR Button <[...]

4-36 Chapter 4: BIOS setup Alarm Time (hh:mm) [ X: X: X] T o set the time of alarm: 1. Highlight this item and press <Enter> to display a pop-up menu for the hour  2. Key-in a value (Min=0, Max=23), then press <Enter>.   [...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 4-37 Vcore, VDDNB, DDR2, SB, HT , VDDA, BR, DDR T erm, 3.3V , 5V , 12V V oltage The onboard hardware monitor automatically detects the voltage output through the onboard voltage regulators. T emperature Monitor CPU, SB, BR, M/B, OPT1/2/3 T emperature The onboard hardware monitor automatically detects and displays the CPU, [...]

4-38 Chapter 4: BIOS setup CPU F AN, CHA _F AN1/2/3, PWR F AN, OPT1/2/3 F AN Speed PWR F AN, OPT1/2/3 F AN Speed OPT1/2/3 F AN Speed The onboard hardware monitor automatically detects and displays the CPU fan, chassis fan, power fan, and optional fan speed in rotations per minute power fan, and optional fan speed in rotations per minute optional fa[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 4-39 CPU F AN Duty Cycle �100%]  you set the CPU F AN Control item to �Duty Cycle Mode]. [...]

[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 4-41 4.7.2 Removable Drives 1. Floppy Disks Allows you to assign a removable drive attached to the system. 4.7.3 Hard Disk Drives 1. SA T A 1: XXXXXXXXX Allows you to assign hard disk drives attached to the system. 4.7.4 CDROM Drives 1. SA T A 2: XXXXXXXXX Allows you to assign optical drives attached to the system. Select [...]

4-42 Chapter 4: BIOS setup 4.7.5 Boot Settings Conguration Case Open W arning [Enabled] Enables or disables the chassis open status feature. Setting to Enabled, clears the chassis open status. Refer to section “2.8.2 Internal connectors” for setting details. [...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 4-43 T ypematic Delay (Msec) [250] Allows you to set the delay before keystrokes begin to repeat.  OS Select for DRAM > 64MB [Non-OS2] Set this item to OS2 only when you are running o[...]

4-44 Chapter 4: BIOS setup Supervisor Password User Password  T o set a password: 1. Select an item then press <Enter>. 2. T ype in a password using a combination of a maximum of eight (8) alpha-numeric characters, then press &[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 4-45 4.8 Tools menu   an item then press <Enter> to display the sub-menu. 4[...]

4-46 Chapter 4: BIOS setup Load from File    ?[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 4-47 4.8.3 ASUS EZ Flash 2   message appears. Use the left/right arrow key to select between �Y es] or [...]

4-48 Chapter 4: BIOS setup 4.9 Exit menu The Exit menu items allow you to load the optimal or failsafe default values for the BIOS items, and save or discard your changes to the BIOS items. Pressing <Esc> does not immediately exit this menu. Select one of the options from this menu or <F10> from the legend bar to exit. Exit & Save C[...]

5 Chapter 5: Software support This chapter describes the contents of the support DVD that comes with the motherboard package.[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula Chapter summary 5 5.1 Installing an operating system ................................................... 5-1 5.2 Support DVD information ............................................................ 5-1 5.3 Software information ................................................................... 5-9 5.4 RAID congurations [...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 5-1 If Autorun is NOT enabled in your computer , browse the contents of the support     ASSETUP .EXE to run [...]

5-2 Chapter 5: Software support 5.2.2 Drivers menu The drivers menu shows the available device drivers if the system detects installed devices. Install the necessary drivers to activate the devices. ASUS InstAll - Installation Wizard for Drivers  ?[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 5-3 5.2.3 Utilities menu The Utilities menu shows the applications and other software that the motherboard supports. Click to display the next screen Click to display the previous screen ASUS InstAll-Installation Wizard for Utilities [...]

5-4 Chapter 5: Software support ASUS AI Suite Installs the ASUS AI Suite. ASUS Update The ASUS Update utility allows you to update the motherboard BIOS in Windows ® environment. This utility requires an Internet connection either through a network or an Internet Service Provider (ISP). ASUS Cool ‘n’ Quiet Utility Installs the ASUS Cool ‘n’[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 5-5 5.2.4 Make Disk menu The Make Disk menu contains items to create the NVIDIA ® nForce ® 780a SLI™ SA T A/RAID/AHCI driver disk. NVIDIA 32/64 bit XP/Vista SA T A/RAID/AHCI Driver Allows you to create a NVIDIA ® 32/64 bit XP/Vista™ SA T A/RAID/AHCI driver disk. Click to display the next screen Click to display the [...]

5-6 Chapter 5: Software support 5.2.5 Manuals menu The Manuals menu contains a list of supplementary user manuals. Click an item to open the folder of the user manual. ?[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 5-7 5.2.8 Other information The icons on the top right corner of the screen give additional information on the motherboard and the contents of the support DVD. Click an icon to display the  Motherboard Info [...]

5-8 Chapter 5: Software support Filelist Displays the contents of the support DVD and a brief description of each in text format. T echnical support form   ?[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 5-9 5.3 Software information  [...]

5-10 Chapter 5: Software support     load the new boot logo.  [...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 5-1 1 3. Click the Run button to perform a cable test. 5.3.2 AI NET 2 The AI NET 2 features the Marvell ® Virtual Cable T ester™ (VCT). VCT is a cable diagnostic utility that reports LAN cable faults and shorts using the T ime Domain [...]

5-12 Chapter 5: Software support 5.3.3 AI Audio 2 (SoundMAX ® High Denition Audio utility)     capability through the SoundMAX ® audio utility w[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 5-13 A. SoundMAX BlackHawk (AI Audio 2) If you are using Windows Vista™ operating system, from the taskbar , double-click on the SoundMAX ® BlackHawk icon to display the SoundMAX ® control panel. Enabling AI Audio 2 Click the power button to activate digital signal processing. AI Audio 2, with the new SoundMAX ® Black[...]

5-14 Chapter 5: Software support Playback Settings   Playback button on the control panel. Y ou can adjust the volume of the Speakers and SPDIF Interface or mute the audio. Preset settings Click and expand the drop-[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 5-15 More Settings Click  Equalizer Allows you to   the DSP presets frequencies. Recording Settings T o change the recording settings, click the Recor[...]

5-16 Chapter 5: Software support Speakers Allows you to adjust the Speaker T rim and Speaker Delay . Bass Allows you to do the Bass management. Preferences Displays the preference options for this utility , version information, AudioESP , etc.[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 5-17 B. SoundMAX If you are using Windows XP operating system, from the taskbar , double-click on the SoundMAX ® icon to display the SoundMAX ® Control Panel.  By clicking the icon from the SoundMAX ® control panel, you can ?[...]

5-18 Chapter 5: Software support Jack configuration  your computer’s audio ports, depending on the audio devices you have installed. Adjust speaker volume This screen helps you adjust speaker volume. Click the T est button to hear the changes you have mad[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 5-19 Audio preferences Click the icon to go to the Preferences page. This page allows you to change various audio settings. General options Click the General tab to choose your playback and recording devices, enable/ disable the AudioESP™ feature, and enable/disable digital output. Listening Environment options Click the[...]

5-20 Chapter 5: Software support Microphone options  settings.[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 5-21 5.3.4 ASUS PC Probe II PC Probe II is a utility that monitors the computer’s vital components, and detects and alerts you of any problem with these components. PC Probe II senses fan rotations, CPU temperature, and system voltages, among others. Because PC Probe II is software-based, you can start monitoring your co[...]

5-22 Chapter 5: Software support Button Function  Opens the Report window Opens the Desktop Management Interface window Opens the Peripheral Component Interconnect window Opens the Windows Management Instrumentation window Opens the hard disk drive, memory , CPU [...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 5-23 Changing the monitor panels position T o change the position of the monitor panels in the desktop, click the arrow down button of the Scheme options, then select ?[...]

5-24 Chapter 5: Software support Monitoring sensor alert The monitor panel turns red when a component value exceeds or is lower than the threshold value. Refer to the illustrations below . Large display Small display WMI browser Click to display the WMI (Windows Management Instrumentation) browser . This browser displays various Windows® managemen[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 5-25 PCI browser Click to display the PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) browser . This browser provides information on the PCI devices installed on your system. Click the plus sign (+) before the PCI Information item to display available information. Usage The Usage browser displays real-time information on the CPU, [...]

5-26 Chapter 5: Software support Memory usage The Memory tab shows both used and available physical memory . The pie chart at the bottom of the window represents the used (blue) and the available physical memory . Conguring PC Probe II Click to view and adjust the sensor threshold values. [...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 5-27 5.3.5 ASUS AI Suite ASUS AI Suite allows you to launch AI Gear 2, AI Booster 2, CPU Level Up, Q-Fan Plus, AI N.O.S., and AI Nap utilities easily . Installing AI Suite T o install AI Suite on your computer: 1. Place the support DVD to the optical drive. The Drivers installation tab appears if your computer has an enabl[...]

5-28 Chapter 5: Software support Other feature buttons Click on right corner of the main window to open the monitor window . Click on right corner of the expanded window to switch the temperature from degrees Centigrade to degrees Fahrenheit. Displays the CPU/ system temperature, CPU/memory/PCIE voltage, and CPU/ chassis fan speed Displays the FSB/[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 5-29 5.3.6 ASUS AI Gear 2 ASUS AI Gear 2 provides four system performance options that allows you to select the best performance setting for your computing needs. This easy-to-use [...]

5-30 Chapter 5: Software support 5.3.7 ASUS AI Nap  whenever you are away . Enable this feature for minimum power consumption[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 5-31 5.3.8 ASUS Q-Fan Plus The ASUS Q-Fan Plus feature allows you to set the appropriate performance level ?[...]

5-32 Chapter 5: Software support 5.3.9 ASUS AI Booster 2 The ASUS AI Booster 2 application allows you to overclock the CPU speed in WIndows ® environment without the hassle of booting the BIOS. After installing AI Suite from the bundled Support DVD, launch the utility by double- clicking the AI Suite icon on the Windows ® taskbar and click the AI[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 5-33 5.3.10 CPU Level Up The CPU Level Up application allows you to overclock immediately with OC  ® environment without the hassle of entering BIOS. This application provides comprehensive and detailed tuning to frequencies, voltagies, ?[...]

5-34 Chapter 5: Software support 5.4 RAID congurations The motherboard comes with the NVIDIA ® nForce ® 780a SLI™ Southbridge RAID         [...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 5-35 Setting the BIOS RAID items After installing the hard disk drives, make sure to set the necessary RAID items in  T o set the BIOS RAID items: 1. Boot the system and press <Del[...]

5-36 Chapter 5: Software support For detailed descriptions on the NVIDIA ®  NVIDIA RAID User Guide found in your motherboard support DVD. ?[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 5-37 Creating a RAID V olume T o create a RAID volume: 1. From the NVIDIA ®   then press <Enter>. The following submenu appears. Use the up or down arro[...]

5-38 Chapter 5: Software support Rebuilding a RAID array T o rebuild a RAID array: 1. From the Array List menu, use the up or down arrow keys to select a RAID array then press <Enter>. The RAID Array details appear . [Ctrl-X]Exit [ ↑↓ ]Select [B]Set Boot [N]New Array [ENTER]Detail NVIDIA RAID Utility Oct 5 2004 - Array List - Boot Id Stat[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 5-39 A new set of navigation keys is displayed on the bottom of the screen. 2. Press <R> to rebuild a RAID array . The following screen appears. 3. Use the up or down arrow keys to select a RAID array to rebuild, then press ?[...]

5-40 Chapter 5: Software support Deleting a RAID array T o delete a RAID array: 1. From the Array List menu, use the up or down arrow keys to select a RAID array then press <Enter>. The RAID Array details appear . [R] Rebuild [D] Delete [C] Clear Disk [ENTER] Return Array 1 : NVIDIA MIRROR XXX.XXG - Array Detail - RAID Mode: Mirroring Stripin[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 5-41 Clearing a disk data T o clear disk data: 1. From the Array List menu, use the up or down arrow keys to select a RAID array then press <Enter>. The RAID Array details appear . [R] Rebuild [D] Delete [C] Clear Disk [ENTER] Return Array 1 : NVIDIA MIRROR XXX.XXG - Array Detail - RAID Mode: Mirroring Striping Width[...]

5-42 Chapter 5: Software support 5.5 Creating a RAID driver disk   ® XP operating system on a hard disk drive that is included in a RAID set. [...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 5-43 T o install the RAID driver in Windows ® Vista™:                [...]

5-44 Chapter 5: Software support[...]

6 This chapter tells how to install SLI-ready PCI Expr ess graphi cs card s and how to use the SLI™ and Hybrid SLI ® features. Chapter 6: NVIDIA ® technology support[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula Chapter summary 6.1 NVIDIA ® SLI ™ technology............................................................. 6-1 6.2 NVIDIA ® Hybrid SLI ® technology ................................................. 6-9[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 6-1 6.1 NVIDIA ® SLI™ technology The motherboard supports the NVIDIA ® SLI™ (Scalable Link Interface) technology that allows you to install up to three identical PCI Express™ x16 graphics cards. Follow the installation procedures in this section. 6.1.1 Requirements • In Dual SLI mode, you should have two identica[...]

6-2 Chapter 6: NVIDIA ® SLI™ technology support 6.1.2 Graphics card setup Installing three SLI-ready graphics cards • Install only identical SLI-ready graphics cards that are NVIDIA ®  Different types of graphics cards will not work together properly . • The following pictures are for reference only . The gr[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 6-3   the second into the PCIEX16_2 slot (white), and the third into the PCIEX16_3 slot (blue). Make sure that the cards are p[...]

6-4 Chapter 6: NVIDIA ® SLI™ technology support 4. Connect auxiliary power source from the power supply to the three graphics cards separately . 5. Connect a VGA or a DVI cable to the graphics card/s. We recommend that you install an additional chassis fan for better thermal environment.[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 6-5 Installing two SLI-ready graphics cards 1. Insert one graphics card into the PCIEX16_1 slot (blue) and the other into the PCIEX16_3 slot (blue). Make sure that the cards are properly seated on the slots.  ?[...]

6-6 Chapter 6: NVIDIA ® SLI™ technology support • Make sure that your PCI Express graphics card driver supports the NVIDIA ® SLI™ technology . Download the latest driver from the NVIDIA website (www .nvidia.com).  ?[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 6-7 B2. From the Personalization window , select Display Settings . B3. From the Display Settings dialog box, click Advanced Settings. B4. Select the NVIDIA GeForce tab, and then click Start the NVIDIA Control Panel .[...]

6-8 Chapter 6: NVIDIA ® SLI™ technology support B5. The NVIDIA Control Panel window appears. Enabling SLI conguration When installing two graphics gards: From the NVIDIA Control Panel window , select Set SLI Conguration . Click Enable SLI and set the display for viewing SLI rendered content. When done, click Apply . When installing three g[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 6-9 6.2 NVIDIA ® Hybrid SLI ® Technology The motherboard supports the NVIDIA ® Hybrid SLI ® technology that includes two includes two primary features: GeForce ® Boost and HybridPower™. GeForce ® Boost enhances the performance of NVIDIA discrete Graphics Process Units (dGPU) when they work with the onboard motherbo[...]

6-10 Chapter 6: NVIDIA ® SLI™ technology support 6.2.2 Enabling GeForce ® Boost and HybridPower™ • Before enabling GeForce Boost and HybridPower, make sure that you have installed a dGPU recommended for GeForce Boost on your motherboard. • Make sure that you have connected your display to the dGPU. Otherwise, the motherboard cannot detect[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 6-1 1 T o enable HybridPower 1. Follow Step 1 to 7 on the previous page to complete the hardware and driver installation.   Hybrid SLI icon on the tas[...]

6-12 Chapter 6: NVIDIA ® SLI™ technology support[...]

A Appendix: Debug code table The Appendix includes the debug code table for the LCD Poster .[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula Chapter summary A A.1 Debug Code T able ........................................................................A-1[...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula A-1 Code Description CPU INIT CPU Initiation DET CPU T est CMOS R/W functionality . CHIPINIT  -Disable shadow RAM -Disable L2 cache -Program basic chipset registers DET DRAM Detect memory ?[...]

A-2 Appendix: Debug Code T able 8254TEST T est 8254 8259MSK1 T est 8259 interrupt mask bits for channel 1. 8259MSK2 T est 8259 interrupt mask bits for channel 2. 8259TEST T est 8259 functionality . COUNTMEM Calculate total memory by testing the last double word of each 64K page. MP INIT 1. Program MTRR of M1 CPU [...]

ASUS Crosshair II Formula A-3 USB FINAL   2. NET PC: Build SYSID structure 3. Switch screen back to text mode 4. Set up ACPI table at top of memory . 5. Invoke ISA adapter ROMs 6. Assign IRQs[...]