Albatron K8NF4 Series User manual

K8NF4 Series
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allowed without first obtaining the vendor’s approval in writing.
Disclaimer
We make no warranty of any kind with regard to the content of this user’s manual. The content is
subject to change without notice and we will not be responsible for any mistakes found in this user’s
manual. All the brand and product names are trademarks of their respective companies.
FCC Compliance Statement
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits of a Class B digital device,
pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection
against harmful interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses and can
radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may
cause harmful interference to radio communications. Operation of this equipment in a residential
area is likely to cause harmful interference in which case the user will be required to correct the
interference at his own expense. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a
particular installation.
Ver: EG102 120410151M2N

You have to know !!!
0The images and pictures in this manual are for reference only and may
vary slightly from actual product installation depending on specific
hardware models, third party components and software versions.
0Unplug your computer when installing components and configuring
switches and pins.
0This mainboard contains very delicate IC chips. Use a grounded wrist
strap when working with the system.
0Do not touch the IC chips, leads, connectors or other components.
0Unplug the AC power when you install or remove any device on the
mainboard.
Package Contents
K8NF4 Series mainboard
IDE Cable/ FDC Cable
SATA Power cord/ SATA Cable
USB Bracket (optional)
SPDIF & FRONT AUDIO Port Bracket (optional)
I/O Shield
Mainboard Setup Driver CD
Mainboard User Manual CD
Mainboard Quick Installation Guide
Symbols
Attention …
Following the procedures…
Troubleshooting…
Please refer to…

K8NF4 Series
nVIDIA® nForce4 Ultra/Standard/4X
Supports Socket 939 AMD® AthlonTM 64 Processor
AMD®AthlonTM 64 FX Processor
USER Manual
Dimensions (ATX form-factor):
z194mm x 295mm (WxL)
Operating System:
zSupports most popular operating systems: Windows®2000/XP etc.

Contents
CHAPTER 1. GETTING STARTED ............................................................1
INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................... 1
SPECIFICATION .......................................................................................................... 2
CONFIGURATION ....................................................................................................... 5
Layout of K8NF4 Series.................................................................................................... 5
HARDWARE INSTALLATION ...................................................................................... 6
CPU Processor Installation ................................................................................................ 6
Memory Installation .......................................................................................................... 7
Back Panel Configuration................................................................................................ 10
Front Panel Indicator: SW/LED、SPEAKER................................................................. 12
Connectors....................................................................................................................... 13
Headers & Jumpers.......................................................................................................... 14
Audio Connectors ............................................................................................................ 18
Slots ................................................................................................................................. 19
Power Supply Attachments.............................................................................................. 20
CHAPTER 2. BIOS SETUP..........................................................................21
INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................ 21
MAIN MENU ............................................................................................................ 23
ADVANCED BIOS FEATURES .................................................................................. 25
INTEGRATED PERIPHERALS..................................................................................... 31
POWER MANAGEMENT............................................................................................ 35
HARDWARE MONITOR ............................................................................................ 37
LOAD DEFAULTS ..................................................................................................... 38
EXIT MENU.............................................................................................................. 39
CHAPTER 3: SOFTWARE SETUP............................................................40
SOFTWARE LIST ...................................................................................................... 40
SOFTWARE INSTALLATION...................................................................................... 40
APPENDIX I: 5.1 CHANNEL SETUP .............................................................................. 42
APPENDIX II: RAID SETUP ......................................................................................... 43

K8NF4 Series
1
Chapter 1. Getting Started
Introduction
Congratulations on choosing the K8NF4 Series mainboard! It based on nVIDIA®nForce4
Ultra/Standard/4X chipset. It also supports AMD®AthlonTM 64 / AMD®AthlonTM 64 FX Processor.
The K8NF4 Series mainboard provides 4 sockets using 184 pin DDR SDRAM (Dual channel). You
can install DDR400/ 333/ 266 (PC3200/ 2700/ 2100) SDRAM. It supports install up to 4GB memory
size.
These mainboards provide one 16-lane (x16) PCI-Express slot for use with a PCI-Express graphics
card. This slot can provide 4 GB/s bandwidths in each direction. It also has three 1-lane (x1)
PCI-Express slots for additional cards. These slots provide 250 MB/s bandwidths in each direction.
The K8NF4 Series provides a BIOSCN1 header for an additional Card (ABS).This can provide a
second BIOS when the original one is damaged. You don’t have to be worried about what a damaged
BIOS may cause.
The K8NF4 Series mainboard includes built in IDE facilities that support Ultra ATA 66/ 100/ 133. It
also includes built in Serial ATA or Serial ATA2 facilities that support SATA RAID 0/ 1/ 0+1/
JBOD and support transfer rate to 150MB/sec or 300 MB/s per channel.
The K8NF4 Series comes with an AC’97 audio controller (ALC655) which supports high quality 6
channel audio (5.1 channel audio effect). It supports also Sony/ Philips Digital Interface.
The K8NF4 Series mainboard also comes with 10/100 or 1Gbits different LAN PHY Chip which
supports a back panel LAN port capable of 1 Gbit/s or 10/100 transmission speeds.
The K8NF4 Series mainboard comes with eight USB 2.0/1.1 ports.
All of the information in this manual only for reference. This specification is subject to change
without notice.

K8NF4 Series
2
Specification
CPU:
zSupports Socket 939 AMD®AthlonTM 64 / AMD®AthlonTM 64 FX Processor
zSupports system bus 800(1600MT/s)/ 1000+ (2000+MT/s)
zHyperTransportTM Link
zsupports 16-bit to be capable of operating up to 1GHz (2000 MT/s) with a bandwidth of
up to 2 Gbytes/s in each direction
Chipset:
zSingle Chip – nVIDIA®nForce4 Ultra (K8NF4U) / Standard (K8NF4S) / 4X (K8NF4X)
zI/O Controller – Winbond Super I/O W83627HF-AW
zAC’97 Codec – Realtek ALC655
zGB LAN PHY – Vitesse CIS8201 (Optional)
z10/100 LAN PHY – Broadcom AC131(Optional)
DRAM Memory:
zSupports DDR400 ( DDR333 (PC2700)/ DDR266 (PC2100) SDRAM
zSupports 64 MB/ 128 MB/ 256 MB/ 512 MB/ 1 GB unbuffered DIMM modules
zSupports up to four memory modules with a total capacity of 4 GB
zSupports Dual-Channel data bus
PCI-Express BUS Slots:
zProvides 1 x 16 PCI Express slot with 4 GB/s bandwidth (each direction)
zProvides 3x 1 PCI Express slots with 250 MB/s bandwidth (each direction)
zAll PCI Express slots are fully PCI Express 1.0a compliant
PCI BUS Slots:
zProvides 2 PCI slots
zContains 33MHz, 32bit PCI interface, PCI 2.3 is compliant
AC’97 Sound Codec Onboard:
zHigh performance CODEC with high S/N ratio (>90 dB)
zCompliant with AC’97 2.3 specification
zIntegrated S/ PDIF transmitter
z6-channel playback capability (5.1 Channel Audio Effect)
z3D Stereo enhancement

K8NF4 Series
3
LAN PHY Chip:
zBroadcom AC131 10/ 100 Mbps Ethernet support (Optional)
zVITESSE CIS8201 10/ 100/ 1000 Mbps Ethernet support (Optional)
Universal Serial Bus:
zSupports up to eight USB ports for USB interface devices
zSupports USB 2.0 Enhanced Host Controller Interface (EHCI) and dual USB 1.1 Open
Host Controller Interface (OHC1)
IDE Facilities:
zSupports Ultra ATA 66, Ultra ATA 100, Ultra ATA 133
zSupports IDE interface with CD-ROM
zSupports high capacity hard disk drives
zSupports installation of up to 4 drives, with separate IDE connections for Primary and
Secondary connectors
Serial ATA or Serial ATA2 facilities:
zCompatible with SATA 1.0
zCompatible with SATA 2.0 (K8NF4U only)
zSupports Serial ATA specification of 150 MB/sec transfers
zSupports Serial ATA specification of 300 MB/sec transfers (K8NF4U only)
zSupports SATA RAID 0/ 1/ 0+1/ JBOD mode
I/O facilities:
zOne multi-mode Parallel Port capable of supporting the following specifications:
1. Standard & Bi-direction Parallel Port
2. Enhanced Parallel Port (EPP)
3. Extended Capabilities Port (ECP)
zSupports one serial port 16550 UART in the back panel and one optional onboard serial
port header (COM2).
zSupports one SPDIF-OUT RCA port and an SPDIF IN/OUT onboard header
zSupports Infrared Data Transmissions using IrDA(optional)
zSupports PS/2 mouse and PS/2 keyboard
zSupports 360 KB, 720 KB, 1.2 MB, 1.44 MB, and 2.88 MB floppy disk drives
zGame port compatible (optional)

K8NF4 Series
4
BIOS:
zPhoenix-Award™ BIOS
zSupports APM1.2
zSupports ACPI power management
ABS (Albatron BIOS Security):
zSupports ABS (Albatron BIOS Security) card (optional)
zProvides BIOS backup function
Green Functionality:
zSupports Phoenix-Award BIOS ™ power management functionality
zContains an inactivity power down timer that can be set from 1 to 15 minutes
zWakes from power saving sleep mode with any keyboard or mouse activity
Shadow RAM:
zThis mainboard is equipped with a memory controller providing shadow RAM and
support for ROM BIOS
Flash Memory:
zSupports flash memory functionality
zSupports ESCD functionality
Hardware Monitor Function:
zMonitors CPU/Chassis Fan Speed
zMonitors CPU & system Temperature
zMonitors System Voltage
Watch Dog Timer:
zThe mainboard contains a special feature called the “Watch Dog Timer” which is used to
detect when the system is unable to handle over-clocking configurations during POST
stage. Once detected the system will reset the configurations and reboot the system after
five seconds
Firewall:
zSupports hardware Firewall (K8NF4U)
zSupports software Firewall (K8NF4S)

K8NF4 Series
5
Configuration
Layout of K8NF4 Series

K8NF4 Series
6
Hardware Installation
This section will assist you in quickly installing your system hardware. Wear a wrist ground strap
before handling components. Electrostatic discharge may damage your system components.
CPU Processor Installation
This mainboard supports AMD®AthlonTM 64/ 64FX processor using a Socket 939. Before building
your system, we suggest you visit the AMD website and review the processor installation procedures.
http://www.amd.com
CPU Socket 939 Configuration Steps:
1. Locate the CPU socket on your mainboard and nudge the locking lever away from the socket.
Then lift the lever to a 90-degree angle.
2. On the socket, locate the corner which has the “diagonally cut-corner” on the rectangular shaped
pattern of pinholes (see diagram below-left). Match that corner with the “gold triangle” on the
CPU (see diagram below-right) and lower the CPU onto the socket. The bottom of the CPU
should be flush with the face of the socket.
3. Lower the lever until it snaps back into position. This will lock down the CPU.
4. Smear thermal grease on top of the CPU. Lower the CPU fan onto the CPU and use the clasps
on the fan to attach it to the socket. Finally, extend the power cable from the fan and insert it
onto the “CPUFAN” adapter.
Attention
Overheating may damage the CPU and other sensitive components.
Please check the installation completely before starting the system.
Make sure the heatsink and the CPU fan are
p
ro
p
erl
y
installe
d
.

K8NF4 Series
7
FAN Headers
Three power headers are available for cooling fans, which play an important role in maintaining the
ambient temperature in your system.
Memory Installation
The K8NF4 Series mainboard contain 4 sockets, which use 184- pin DDR SDRAM with a total
memory capacity of up to 4 GB. You can install unbuffered DDR400/ 333/ 266(PC3200/ 2700/ 2100)
SDRAM.
Attention
We strongly recommend that you use a CPU fan sink with your CPU.
You can attach the CPU fan to the CPUFAN header.

K8NF4 Series
8
To Enable Dual-Channel DDR, the following conditions must be met:
1.You must use either DIMM1 & DIMM2 together or DIMM3 & DIMM4 together or all four DIMM
slots together. If you want to use only one DIMM, you must use DIMM1 or DIMM3.
2.You must use matching DIMM configurations between DIMM1 & DIMM2. You must use
matching DIMM configurations between DIMM3 & DIMM4.
zSame Density (128MB, 256MB, 512MB, etc.)
zSame DRAM technology (128Mb, 256Mb, or 512Mb)
zSame DRAM bus width (x8 or x16)
zBoth either single-sided or dual-sided
zSame brand
zSame timing specifications
zSame DDR speed
Please refer the table below to install the memory DIMMs.
NOTE：1T & 2T(default) can be switched in Bios setting.
Maximum DRAM
SPEED
Data Bus DIMM 1 DIMM 2 DIMM 3 DIMM 4
1T 2T(default)
single side X --- X DDR400 DDR400
Double side X --- X DDR400 DDR400
--- X single side X DDR400 DDR400
--- X Double side X DDR400 DDR400
single side X single side X DDR333 DDR400
single side X Double side X DDR200 DDR400
Double side X single side X DDR200 DDR400
64-bits
Single
channel
Double side X Double side X DDR200 DDR333
single side single side --- --- DDR400 DDR400
Double side Double side --- --- DDR400 DDR400
--- --- single side single side DDR400 DDR400
--- --- Double side Double side DDR400 DDR400
single side single side single side single side DDR333 DDR400
single side single side Double side Double side DDR200 DDR400
Double side Double side single side single side DDR200 DDR400
128-bits
Dual
channel
Double side Double side Double side Double side DDR200 DDR333

K8NF4 Series
9
RAM Module Installation:
The following instructions explains memory module installation for these mainboards:
1. Before install your RAM module, please make sure that the power supply is UNPLUGGED.
Pull the white plastic tabs at both ends of the slot away from the slot.
2. Match the notch on the RAM module with the corresponding pattern in the DIMM slot. This
will ensure that the module will be inserted with the proper orientation.
3. Lower the RAM module into the DIMM Slot and press firmly using both thumbs until the
module snaps into place.
4. Repeat steps 1, 2 & 3 for the remaining RAM modules.
＊The pictures above are for reference only. Your actual
installation may vary slightly from the pictures.
Attention: There’s a little red led beside the DIMM slots. If
it’s on, that means the AC power is connected. DO NOT
install the RAM module when the led is on.

K8NF4 Series
10
Back Panel Configuration
PS/2 Mouse & PS/2 Keyboard Connectors: KB/MS
This mainboard provides a standard PS/2 mouse connector and PS/2 Keyboard connector. The pin
assignments are described below:
Serial and Parallel Interface Ports
This mainboard comes equipped with one serial port, one
parallel port and one SPDIF out RCA port. There is also one
optional onboard serial port header (COM2).
Parallel Interface Port: PRT
The parallel port on your system has a 25-pin, DB25 connector that is used to interface with parallel
printers and other devices using a parallel interface.
The Serial Interface: COM1
The serial interface port is sometimes referred to as an RS-232 port or an asynchronous
communication port. Mice, modems and other peripheral serial devices can be connected to this port.
SPDIF out connectors
S/PDIF (Sony/Philips Digital Interface) is an audio transfer file format which provides high quality
audio using optical fiber and digital signals. This mainboard is capable of a delivering audio output
through this SPDIF connector.
Pin Assignment Pin Assignment
1 Data 4 +5 V (fused)
2 No connect 5 Clock
3 Ground 6 No connect
PS/2 Mouse
PS/2 Keyboard

K8NF4 Series
11
USB & LAN Connectors: USB/ LAN
There are four USB connectors on the back panel. These USB connectors are used to attach to USB
devices such as: keyboards, mice and other USB devices. You can plug the USB devices directly into
this connector. The K8NF4 Series mainboard also provides a LAN port. You can plug LAN devices
directly into this connector.
Audio Port Connectors: Sound
The K8NF4 Series comes equipped with three Audio Ports. The three ports, Mic-in, Line-in and
Front Speaker-out are standard audio ports that provide basic audio functionality. After you install
the 5.1 Channel drivers for K8NF4 Series and setup 5.1 channel Audio effect, the three audio ports
are enabled for 5.1 channel and supporting two speakers each.
Line In Connects to an external audio device such as a CD player, tape player or other audio devices
that provide audio out. For K8NF4 Series, this port becomes the rear speakers when 5.1 Channel
Audio Effects driver is installed and enabled.
Front Speaker-Out Connects to standard audio speakers. This port becomes the front speakers
when 5.1 Channel Audio Effects driver is installed and enabled. Also note that this port provides the
most amperage of all the ports making it suitable for headphones and speakers without power cables.
Mic In Connects to a microphone. For K8NF4 Series, this port becomes the subwoofer/center out
when 5.1 Channel Audio Effects driver is installed and enabled.
Pin Assignment Pin Assignment
1 TX+ 5 TRD2-
2 TX- 6 RX-
3 RX+ 7 TRD3+
4 TRD2+ 8 TRD3-
Pin Assignment Pin Assignment
1/5 +5 V (fused) 3/7 USBP0+/P1+
2/6 USBP0-/P1- 4/8 Ground
The K8NF4 Series supports 5.1 Channel Audio effects.
See appendix Ifor more information.

K8NF4 Series
12
Front Panel Indicator: SW/LED、SPEAKER
HD LED (Hard Drive LED Connector)
This connector can be attached to an LED on the front panel of a computer case. The LED will
flicker during disk activity. This disk activity only applies to those IDE drives directly attached to the
system board.
RST SW (Reset Switch Connector)
This connector can be attached to a momentary SPST switch. This switch is normally left open.
When closed it will cause the mainboard to reset and run the POST (Power On Self Test).
PWR SW (Power on Switch Connector)
This connector can be attached to a front panel power switch. The switch must pull the Power Button
pin to ground for at least 50 ms to signal the power supply to switch on or off (the time required is
due to internal debouch circuitry on the system board). At least two seconds must pass before the
power supply will recognize another on/off signal.
SPEAKER (Speaker Header)
A front panel speaker can be connected to this connector. When you boot your computer, the speaker
sounds a short “beep”. If there is something wrong during the Power On Self-Test, the speaker
sounds “irregular beep” to warning you.

K8NF4 Series
13
Connectors
Floppy Disk Connector: FDC
The mainboard provides a standard floppy disk connector (FDC) that supports 360K, 720K, 1.2M,
1.44M and 2.88M floppy diskettes. This connector supports the floppy drive ribbon cables provided
in the packaging.
Hard Disk Connectors: IDE1/ IDE2、SATA1/ 2/ 3/ 4
The mainboard has two 32-bit Enhanced PCI IDE Controllers that support Ultra ATA 66, Ultra ATA
100 and Ultra ATA 133. It has two HDD connectors, IDE1 and IDE2. The mainboard also has four
Serial ATA (150MB/sec) connectors or Serial ATA2 (300MB/sec) connectors that both support
SATA RAID 0/ 1/ 0+1/ JBOD.
IDE1 (Primary IDE Connector)
You can connect up to two hard drives to IDE1. If you attach two drives, you must use a ribbon cable
with three connectors. You must also configure one drive as the master and one drive as the slave,
using the jumpers located on each drive.
IDE2 (Secondary IDE Connector)
The IDE2 controller can also support a Master and a Slave drive. The configuration is similar to
IDE1.
SATA1/ SATA2/ SATA3/ SATA4
The SATA or SATA2 connectors support transfer rate up to 150MB/sec or 300 MB/sec, and
support SATA RAID 0/ 1/ 0+1/ JBOD mode for both. The connectors only can connect one serial
ATA hard disk device of each.
This mainboard supports SATA RAID 0/ 1 / 0+1 / JBOD.
See appendix Ⅱfor more information.

K8NF4 Series
14
Headers & Jumpers
Front USB Headers (Yellow): USB1/ USB2
This mainboard provides 2 USB headers on the board allowing for 4 additional USB ports.
To make use of these headers, you must attach a USB bracket/cable with USB ports (some
models will come packaged with a USB 4-port bracket-cable). The optionally packaged
bracket will have two connectors that you can connect to the headers (USB1, USB2). The
other end (bracket containing the USB ports) is attached to the computer casing. The
onboard USB headers do not support the USB wake up function like those on the back
panel do.
Front Serial Port Header: COM2 (Optional)
This mainboard supports an optional front serial header. To use this header, you can install a COM
port & Game Port bracket (optional) with a wire extending to this header. You can then attach your
serial device to the serial port on the bracket.
.
If you are using a USB 2.0 device with Windows® 2000/XP, you will need
to install the USB 2.0 driver from the Microsoft® website. If you are
using Service pack 1 (or later) for Windows® XP, and using Service
pack4 (or later) for Windows® 2000, you will not have to install the
driver.

K8NF4 Series
15
Infrared Header: IrDA (Optional)
This IrDA connector can be configured to support wireless infrared and is used to attach to an
infrared sensing device. After the IrDA interface is configured, you can use this connector for
connectionless data transfer to and from portable devices such as laptops and PDAs.
Game Port Header: GAME PORT(Optional)
There is a game port header on these mainboards. To use this header, you must attach a game port
bracket-cable so that you can interface to gaming devices (game port bracket is optional).

K8NF4 Series
16
Clear CMOS Jumper: JP1
The “Clear CMOS” jumper is used when you cannot boot your system due to some CMOS
configuration such as a password that is forgotten. This jumper allows you to reset the CMOS
configurations, and then reconfigure.
The following steps explain how to reset your CMOS configurations
when you have forgotten your system password.
1. Turn off your system and disconnect the AC power cable.
2. Set JP1 to OFF (2-3 Closed).
3. Wait several seconds.
4. Set JP1 to ON (1-2 closed).
5. Connect the AC power cable and turn on your system.
6. Reset your new password.