ECS X58B-A2 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 Chapter 2 7 7 7 7 7 Installing the Motherboard 7 Safety Precautions............................................................................7 Choosing a Computer Case.............................................................7 Installing the Motherboard in a Case............................................7 Checking Jumper Settings........[...]

iv PC Health Status...................................................................37 M.I.B (MB Intelligent BIOS).................................................39 Load Default Settings............................................................42 Supervisor Password............................................................42 User Password...[...]

1 Introducing the Motherboard Chapter 1 Introducing the Motherboard Introduction Thank you for choosing the X58B-A2 motherboard. This motherboard is a high performance, enhanced function motherboard designed to support the LGA1366 socket Intel ® Core TM i7 processor for high-end business or personal desktop markets. The motherboard incorporates th[...]

2 Introducing the Motherboard Feature • Accommodates Intel ® Core TM i7 processor • Intel ® QuickPath Interconnect (Intel ® QPI) of 4.8 GT/s to 6.4 GT/s support- ing different routing lengths The motherboard uses an LGA1366 type of Intel ® Core TM i7 processor that carries the following features: Processor The X58 Northbridge (NB) and ICH10[...]

3 Introducing the Motherboard The motherboard comes with the following expansion options: • T wo PCI Express x16 slots for Graphic Interface • One PCI Express x4 slot • T wo PCI Express x1 slots • One 32-bit PCI v2.3 compliant slot • Six 7-pin SA T A connectors Expansion Options The motherboard has a full set of I/O ports and connectors: [...]

4 Introducing the Motherboard • Intel X58 & ICH10R • North Bridge: Intel X58 • South Bridge: Intel ICH10R • LGA1366 socket for latest Intel ® Core TM i7 processor • Intel ® QuickPath Interconnect (Intel ® QPI) of 4.8 GT/s to 6.4 GT/s supporting different routing lengths • Triple-channel DDR3 memory architecture • 6 x 240-pin DD[...]

5 Introducing the Motherboard Motherboard Components T able of Motherboard Components This concludes Chapter 1. The next chapter explains how to install the motherboard. LABE L COMP ONENT S 1. C PU S ocket LG A1366 socket for Intel ® Core TM i7 p rocesso r 2. CPU _F AN CP U cooli ng fa n connector 3. DD R3 _1~6 240- pi n DD R3 S D RAM sl ots 4. AT[...]

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 Checking Jumper Settings This section explains how to set jumpers for correct configuration of the motherboard. Setting Jumpers Use the motherboard jumpers to set system configuration options. Jumpers with more than one pin are numbered. When setting the jumpers, ensure that the jumper caps are placed on the correct pin[...]

9 Installing the Motherboard Checking Jumper Settings The following illustration shows the location of the motherboard jumpers. Pin 1 is labeled. Jumper Settings Jumper T ype Description Setting (default) CLR_CMOS 3-pin Clear CMOS 1-2: NORMAL 2-3: CLEAR CMOS Before clearing the CMOS, make sure to turn off the system. 1 CLR_CMOS T o avoid the system[...]

10 Installing the Motherboard Installing Hardware Installing the Processor Caution: When installing a CPU heatsink and cooling fan make sur e that you DO NOT scratch the motherboar d or any of the surface-mount r esis- tors with the clip of the cooling fan. If the clip of the cooling fan scrapes across the motherboar d, you may cause serious damage[...]

11 Installing the Motherboard A. Opening of the Load Plate · Put your thumb on the tail of the load plate and press the tail down. · Rotate the load plate to fully open position. B. Disengaging of the Load Lever · Hold the hook of lever and pull it to the left side to clear retention tab. · Rotate the load lever to fully open position. C. Remov[...]

12 Installing the Motherboard Installing Memory Modules This motherboard accommodates four memory modules. It can support six 240-pin DDR3 1333/1066/800. The total memory capacity is 24 GB. Y ou must install at least one module in any of the six slots. Each module can be installed with 4 GB of memory; total memory capacity is 24 GB. DDR3 SDRAM memo[...]

13 Installing the Motherboard Do not remove any memory module fr om its antistatic packaging until you are ready to install it on the motherboard. Handle the modules only by their edges. Do not touch the components or metal parts. Always wear a grounding strap when you handle the modules. Installation Procedure Refer to the following to install the[...]

14 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 qualified for use with this motherboard. Ty pe S i z e V e ndor M odule N am e D D R 3 800 1 G B H Y N I X P C 3-6400U - 6- 00 A - data M 3OS S3H 3I 3120B5Z/Box ed A ene on A E H 760U D 00- 1[...]

15 Installing the Motherboard Installing Add-on Cards The slots on this motherboard are designed to hold expansion cards and connect them to the system bus. Expansion slots are a means of adding or enhancing the motherboard’ s features and capabilities. With these ef ficient facilities, you can in- crease the motherboard’ s capabilities by addi[...]

16 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[...]

17 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 use to support the Serial A T A devices for the highest data transfer rates (3.0 Gb/s), simpler disk drive cabling and easier PC assembly . It e[...]

18 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[...]

19 Installing the Motherboard COM: Onboard serial port header Connect a serial port extension bracket to this header to add a second serial port to your system. 1 DCDB Data carry detect 2 NSINB S er ial Data In 3 NSOUTB Serial Data Out 4 DTRB Data terminal ready 5 GN D Ground 6 DSRB Date set ready 7 RTSB Request to send 8 CTSB Clear to send 9 R I R[...]

20 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. SA T A cable (optional) SA T A power cable (optional) About SA T A Connectors Y our motherboard features six SA T A connectors supporting a total of six drives. SA T A r[...]

21 Installing the Motherboard Connecting I/O Devices The backplane of the motherboard has the following I/O ports: Use the upper PS/2 port to connect a PS/2 pointing device. Use the lower PS/2 port to connect a PS/2 keyboard. Use the USB port to connect USB device. eSA T A Ports Use these ports to connect to external SA T A boxes or Serial A T A po[...]

22 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: 1 Connect the CPU cooling fan cable to CPU_F AN . 2 Connect the system cooling fan connector to SYS_F AN . 3 Connect the northbridge cooling fan connector to NB_F[...]

23 Installing the Motherboard Users please note that the fan connector supports the CPU cooling fan of 1.1A ~ 2.2A (26.4W max) at +12V . A TX_ POWER: A TX 24-pin Power Connector CPU_F AN/SYS_F AN: F AN Power Connector 1 GND System Ground 3 Sense Sensor 4 PWM PWM Pi n Signal Name Function 2 +12V Power +12V A TX12V : A TX 12V Power Connector When ins[...]

24 Installing the Motherboard Hard Drive Activity LED Connecting pins 1 and 3 to a front panel mounted LED provides visual indication that data is being read from or written to the hard drive. For the LED to function properly , an IDE drive should be connected to the onboard IDE interface. The LED will also show activity for devices connected to th[...]

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. f f f f v02.63 (C)Copyright 1985-2008, American Mega trends, Inc. f : Move F10: Save ESC: Exit +/-/: V alue Enter : Select F9: Optimized Defaults F1:General Help f f f Standard CMOS Setup Advanced Setup Adva[...]

27 Using BIOS Using BIOS When you start the Setup Utility , the main menu appears. The main menu of the Setup Utility displays a list of the options that are available. A highlight indicates which option is currently selected. Use the cursor arrow keys to move the highlight to other options. When an option is highlighted, execute the option by pres[...]

28 Using BIOS For the purpose of better product maintenance, we reserve the right to change the BIOS items presented in the manual. The BIOS setup screens shown in this chapter are for r eference only . Please visit our website for updated manual. Standard CMOS Setup This option displays basic information about your system. Help Item CMOS Setup Uti[...]

29 Using BIOS Type (Auto) Use this item to configure the type of the IDE device that you specify . If the feature is enabled, it will enhance hard disk performance by reading or writing more data during each transfer . LBA/Large Mode (Auto) Use this item to set the LAB/Large mode to enhance hard disk performance by optimizing the area the hard disk[...]

30 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. Advanced Setup This page sets up more advanced information about your system. Handle this page with caution. Any changes can affect the oper[...]

31 Using BIOS Thermal Management (Enabled) Use this item to enable or disable the Max CPU ID value limit. TM Status (TM1/TM2) This item displays CPU Monitor status. Limit CPUID MaxV al (Disabled) Use this item to enable or disable the Max CPU ID value limit. When suppports Prescott and LGA775 CPUs, enables this to prevent the system from “rebooti[...]

32 Using BIOS f Hard Disk Drives (Press Enter) Scroll to this item and press <Enter> to view the following screen: Hard Disk Drives 1st Drive Hard Drive Help Item Specifies the boot sequence from the available devices. F10: Save ESC: Exit +/-/: V alue Enter : Select F9: Load Default Settings F1:General Help : Move mnlk CMOS Setup Utility - Co[...]

33 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 . HPET (Enabled) This item enables or disables HPET (High Precision Event Timer) support. CMOS Setup Utility - Copyright (C) 1985-2005, American Megatrends, Inc. Adv[...]

34 Using BIOS Integrated Peripherals This page sets up some parameters for peripheral devices connected to the system. SA T A Configuration (IDE) Use this item to show the Serial A T A Configuration options: Disabled, Compatible, Enhanced. Onboard SA T A Mode (Enhanced) Use this item to select the mode of the Serial A T A . On Chip SA T A2 Controll[...]

35 Using BIOS ACPI Suspend T ype (S3) Use this item to define how your system suspends. In the default, S3, the suspend mode is a suspend to RAM, i.e, the system shuts down with the exception of a refresh current to the system memory . PWRON After PWR-Fail (Power Off) This item enables your computer to automatically restart or return to its operati[...]

36 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-u[...]

37 Using BIOS CMOS Setup Utility - Copyright (C) 1985-2005, American Megatrends, Inc. Sm a rt F an F un ct i on Help Item CPU SMART Fan Control Disabled Smart Fan Function f Scroll to this item and press <Enter> to view the following screen: Disabled Enabled F10: Save ESC: Exit +/-/: Value Enter : Select F9: Optimized Defaults F1:General Help[...]

38 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. • System T emperature • CPU/System Fan Speed • CPU Vcore • CPU VTT • VDIMM • NB Vcore • SB VCC • SB Vcore Pr[...]

39 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 Options Standa[...]

40 Using BIOS Manufacturer (Intel) This item displays the information of current manufacturer of the CPU installed in your computer . Ratio St atus/Ratio Actual V alue These items show the Locked ratio status and the actual ratio of the CPU installed in your system. BCLK Speed (133MHz) This item shows the speed of BCLK. Performance Level (Standard)[...]

41 Using BIOS * When users disable the item Configur e DRAM T iming by SPD, the following picture will show . CMOS Setup Utility - Copyright (C) 1985-2005 American Megatrends, Inc. M.I.B. (MB Intelligent BIOS) Help Item CPU Current Voltage 1.21250V CPU Voltage Disabled NB Vcore 1.120 V IOH Voltage Disabled CPU VTT 1.184 V CPU VTT Voltage Disabled V[...]

42 Using BIOS Load Default Settings This option opens a dialog box that lets you install stability-oriented defaults for all appropriate items in the Setup Utility . Select [OK] and then press <Enter> to install the defaults. Select [Cancel] and then press <Enter> to not install the defaults. Supervisor Password (Not Installed) This ite[...]

43 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[...]

44 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 BI[...]

45 Using the Motherboard Software Chapter 4 Using the Motherboard Software Auto-installing under Windows XP/V ista The support software CD-ROM disc loads automatically under W indows XP/V ista. When you insert the CD-ROM disc in the CD-ROM drive, the autorun feature will automatically bring up the install screen. The screen has three buttons on it,[...]

46 Using the Motherboard Software Application T ab Lists the software utilities that are available on the CD. Read Me T ab Displays the path for all software and drivers available on the CD. Running Setup Follow these instructions to install device drivers and software for the motherboard: 1. Click Setup. The installation program begins: The follow[...]

47 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 autom[...]

48 Using the Motherboard Software 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, until you finish all drivers installation. Method 2. Disable UAC (User Account Control[...]

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

50 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[...]

51 A TI CrossFire TM T echnology Suppor t Chapter 5 A TI CrossFire TM T echnology Suppor t This motherboard supports the A TI CrossFire TM T echnology that allows you to install multi-graphics processing units (GPU) graphics cards. Follow the installation procedures in this section. Requirements 1 Y ou should have a CrossFire TM Ready motherboard, [...]

52 A TI CrossFire TM T echnology Suppor t 4. Connect an auxiliary power source from the power supply to the graphics cards. T able A: Supported PCI Express VGA Card List for CrossFire TM Func- tion Ve n d er M S I RX 1300 T D256E (256M ) R adeon X 1300Pr o AT I X1600XT ( 256M ) R adeon X 1600XT P ower Col or X1900X TX (51 2M ) Ra deon X1900 XT X AS[...]

53 A TI CrossFire TM T echnology Suppor t The Catalyst TM Control Center Dialog Box 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. Set to Advanced V iew to enable the CrossFir e TM function. T o[...]

54 A TI CrossFire TM T echnology Suppor t Memo[...]

55 Intel ® Matrix Storage Manager RAID Configurations The Intel ® Matrix Storage Manager allows you to configure RAID 0, and 1 sets on the external Serial A T A hard disk drives. Complete the following steps before you create a RAID set: 1 . Install the external Serial A T A hard disk drive (HDD) on your system. 2 . Set the Onboard SA T A Mode it[...]

56 Intel ® Matrix Storage Manager RAID Configurations 2 . The main Intel ® Matrix Storage Manager RAID BIOS menu appears. Entering Intel ® Matrix S torage Manager RAID BIOS util- ity 1 . During POST , press <Ctrl-I> to enter the Intel ® Matrix Storage Manager RAID BIOS menu. 3 . Use the arrow keys to move the color bar and navigate throug[...]

57 Intel ® Matrix Storage Manager RAID Configurations 2 . When the RAID Level item is highlighted, use the up/down arrow key to select the RAID set that you want to create. Creating a RAID set 1 . In the main Intel ® Matrix Storage Manager RAID BIOS menu, highlight Cr eate RAID V olume using the up/down arrow key then press <Enter>. 3 . Key[...]

58 Intel ® Matrix Storage Manager RAID Configurations Pressing <Y> deletes all the data in the HDDs. 5 . The following screen appears, displaying the relevant information about the RAID set you created. Users please be noted that RAID 0 (Stripe) is set to accelerate the data access, and RAID 1 (Mirror) is set to provide the data backup. If y[...]

59 Intel ® Matrix Storage Manager RAID Configurations Deleting a RAID set 1 . In the main Intel ® Matrix Storage Manager RAID BIOS menu, highlight Delete RAID Volume using the up/down arrow key then press <Enter>. 2 . Use the space bar to select the RAID set you want to delete. Press the <Del> key to delete the set. 3 . A dialogue box[...]

60 Intel ® Matrix Storage Manager RAID Configurations Resetting disks to Non-RAID An HDD that has been previously configured as part of another RAID set in another platform is called a broken RAID HDD. When you install a broken RAID HDD, you cannot select this disk when configuring a RAID set through the Intel ® Matrix Storage Manager option. If [...]

Bootblock Initialization Code Checkpoints The Bootblock initialization code sets up the chipset, memory and other components before system memory is available. The following table describes the type of checkpoints that may occur during the boot block initialization portion of the BIOS : Checkpoint Description Before D1 Early chipset initialization [...]

POST Code Checkpoints The POST code checkpoints are the largest set of checkpoints during the BIOS pre- boot process. The following table describes the type of checkpoints that may occur during the POST portion of the BIOS : Checkpoint Description 03 Disable NMI, Parity, video for E GA, and DMA controllers. Initialize BIOS, POST, Runtime data area.[...]

module for initialization. Initial ize language and font modules for ADM. Activate ADM module. 33 Initializes the silent boot module. Set the window for displaying text information. 37 Displaying sign-on message , CPU information, setup key message, and any OEM specific inform ation. 38 Initializes different devices through DIM. See DIM Code Checkp[...]

64 Memo[...]