AMD 790GX User manual

USER'S MANUAL
Of
AMD 790GX & AMD SB750
Based
M/B For Socket AM2+/ AM3 Quad Core
AMD Processor
NO. G03-HA08CB-F
Rev
： 1.0
Release date: March, 2009
Trademark:
* Specifications and information contained in this documentation are furnished for information use only, and are
subject to change at any time without notice, and should not be construed as a commitment by manufacturer.

ii
Environmental Protection Announcement
Do not dispose this electronic device into the trash while discarding. To minimize pollution
and ensure environment protection of mother earth, please recycle.

USER’S NOTICE......................................................................................................... iv
MANUAL REVISION INFORMATION......................................................................... iv
COOLING SOLUTIONS .............................................................................................. iv
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION OF AMD 790GX MOTHERBOARDS
1-1 FEATURES OF MOTHERBOARD..............................................................................1
1-1.1 SPECIAL FEATURES OF MOTHERBOARD ...............................................2
1-2 SPECIFICATION .........................................................................................................3
1-3 PERFORMANCE LIST ................................................................................................5
1-4 LAYOUT DIAGRAM ....................................................................................................7
CHAPTER 2 HARDWARE INSTALLATION
2-1 HARDWARE INSTALLATION STEPS .......................................................................9
2-2 CHECKING MOTHERBOARD'S JUMPER SETTING................................................9
2-3 INSTALL CPU .............................................................................................................10
2-3-1 GLOSSARY ...................................................................................................10
2-3-2 ABOUT AMD ATHLON64 Socket AM2 CPU SOCKET...............................11
2-4 INSTALL MEMORY.....................................................................................................12
2-5 EXPANSION CARDS ..................................................................................................13
2-5-1 PROCEDURE FOR EXPANSION CARD INSTALLATION ..........................13
2-5-2 ASSIGNING IRQS FOR EXPANSION CARD...............................................13
2-5-3 PCI-EXPRESS SLOT ....................................................................................14
2-6 CONNECTORS, HEADERS ......................................................................................14
2-6-1 CONNECTORS..............................................................................................14
2-6-2 HEADERS......................................................................................................18
2-7 STARTING UP YOUR COMPUTER ...........................................................................21
CHAPTER 3 INTRODUCING BIOS
3-1 ENTERING SETUP .....................................................................................................22
3-2 GETTING HELP ..........................................................................................................22
3-3 THE MAIN MENU ........................................................................................................23
3-4 STANDARD BIOS FEATURES ..................................................................................24
3-5 ADVANCED BIOS FEATURES ..................................................................................25
3-5-1 CPU CONFIGURATION……………………………………………………………..26
3-6 ADVANCED CHIPSET FEATURES ...........................................................................27
3-6-1 MEMORY CONFIGURATION ....................................................................27
3-6-2 INTERNAL GRAPHICS CONFIGURATION ..............................................29
3-6-3 PCI EXPRESS CONFIGURATION ............................................................29
3-7 INTEGRATED PERIPHERALS...................................................................................30
3-7-1 SUPER IO DEVICE ......................................................................................30
3-7-2 ONCHIP IDE FUNTION................................................................................31
3-7-3 ONCHIP PCI DEVICE ..................................................................................31
3-8 POWER MANAGEMENT SETUP ...............................................................................32
3-9 MISCELLANEOUS CONTROL..................................................................................32
3-10 PC HEALTH STATUS ...............................................................................................33
3-10-1 SMART FAN CONFIGURATION...................................................................34
3-11 THERMAL THROTTLING OPTIONS ........................................................................35
3-12 POWER USER OVERCLOCK SETTING ..................................................................35
3-13 PASSWORD SETTINGS .........................................................................................36
3-13 LOAD OPTIMISED/ FAIL-SAFE DEFAULTS ...........................................................37
3-15 SAVE CHANGES ANS EXIT/DISCARD CHANGES AND EXIT...............................37
CHAPTER 4 DRIVER & FREE PROGRAM INSTALLATION
MAGIC INSTALL SUPPORTS WINDOWS 9X/ME/NT4.0/2000/XP/VISTA.........................38
4-1 ATI INSTALL ATI DRIVER PACK .....................................................................38
4-2 SOUND INSTALL AL888 HD AUDIO CODEC DRIVER........................................40
4-3 LAN INSTALL LAN………………………………………………………………………41
4-4 RAID INSTALL ATI SATA DRIVER AND UTILITY ..............................................41
4-5 NORTON INSTALL NORTON 2009 ANTI-VIRUS PROGRAM.........................42
4-6 PC-HEALTH INSTALL MYGUARD HARDWARE MONITOR UTILITY .................42
4-7 FUSION DOWNLOAD FUSION DRIVERS AND TOOLS………………………………42
4-8 HDMI INSTALL HDMI AUDIO DRIVERS…………………………………………………..42
4-9 OVERCLOCK INSTALL OVERVLOK DRIVE UTILITY ............................................43
4-10 HOW TO UPDATE BIOS.............................................................................................44
4-11 AMD PLATFORM RAID FUNCTION INSTALLATION...............................................45
4-12 PRO MAGIC PLUS FUNCTION INTRODUCTION………………………………………48
APPENDIX I .............. ...........................................................................................................51
APPENDIX II POST BIOS BEEP CODE………………………………………………………...54
TABLE OF CONTENT

ii
Safety Environmental Instruction
zAvoid the dusty, humidity and temperature extremes. Do not place the product in any
area where it may become wet.
z0 to 40 centigrade is the suitable temperature. (The figure comes from the request of
the main chipset)
zGenerally speaking, dramatic changes in temperature may lead to contact malfunction
and crackles due to constant thermal expansion and contraction from the welding
spots’ that connect components and PCB. Computer should go through an adaptive
phase before it boots when it is moved from a cold environment to a warmer one to
avoid condensation phenomenon. These water drops attached on PCB or the surface
of the components can bring about phenomena as minor as computer instability
resulted from corrosion and oxidation from components and PCB or as major as short
circuit that can burn the components. Suggest starting the computer until the
temperature goes up.
zThe increasing temperature of the capacitor may decrease the life of computer. Using
the close case may decrease the life of other device because the higher temperature in
the inner of the case.
zAttention to the heat sink when you over-clocking. The higher temperature may
decrease the life of the device and burned the capacitor.

iii
USER’S NOTICE
COPYRIGHT OF THIS MANUAL BELONGS TO THE MANUFACTURER. NO PART OF THIS MANUAL,
INCLUDING THE PRODUCTS AND SOFTWARE DESCRIBED IN IT MAY BE REPRODUCED,
TRANSMITTED OR TRANSLATED INTO ANY LANGUAGE IN ANY FORM OR BY ANY MEANS
WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION OF THE MANUFACTURER.
THIS MANUAL CONTAINS ALL INFORMATION REQUIRED TO USE AMD 790GX MOTHERBOARD AND
WE DO ASSURE THIS MANUAL MEETS USER’S REQUIREMENT BUT WILL CHANGE, CORRECT ANY
TIME WITHOUT NOTICE. MANUFACTURER PROVIDES THIS MANUAL “AS IS” WITHOUT WARRANTY
OF ANY KIND, AND WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTIAL OR
CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING DAMANGES FOR LOSS OF PROFIT, LOSS OF BUSINESS,
LOSS OF USE OF DATA, INTERRUPTION OF BUSINESS AND THE LIKE).
PRODUCTS AND CORPORATE NAMES APPEARING IN THIS MANUAL MAY OR MAY NOT BE
REGISTERED TRADEMARKS OR COPYRIGHTS OF THEIR RESPECTIVE COMPANIES, AND THEY
ARE USED ONLY FOR IDENTIFICATION OR EXPLANATION AND TO THE OWNER’S BENEFIT,
WITHOUT INTENT TO INFRINGE.
Manual Revision Information
Reversion Revision History Date
1.0 First Edition March, 2009
Item Checklist
5AMD790GX Platform Processor Chipset based motherboard
5CD for Motherboard Utilities
5User’s Manual
58 in 1 Cable Package
5I/O Back Panel Shield
5Switch Card
AMD K10 Processor Family
Cooling Solutions
As processor technology pushes to faster speeds and higher performance with increasing operation
clock, thermal management becomes increasingly crucial while building computer systems.
Maintaining the proper computing environment without thermal increasing is the key to reliable, stable,
and 24 hours system operation. The overall goal is keeping the processor below its specified
maximum case temperature. Heatsinks induce improved processor heat dissipation through
increasing surface area and concentrated airflow from attached active cooling fans. In addition,
interface materials allow effective transfers of heat from the processor to the heatsink. For optimum
heat transfer, AMD recommends the use of thermal grease and mounting clips to attach the
heatsink to the processor.
Please refer to the website for collection of heatsinks evaluated and recommended for Socket
AM2+ processors by AMD. In addition, this collection is not intended to be a comprehensive listing
of all heatsinks that support Socket-AM2+ processors.

1
Chapter 1
Introduction of AMD790GX Motherboards
1-1 Features of motherboard
The AMD790GX chipset motherboard series are based on the latest AMD790GX
Chipset and the SB750 chipset which supports the innovative AMD Phenom™ II X3
processor and AMD Phenom™ II X 4 processors. With an integrated low-latency
high-bandwidth DDRIII memory controller and a highly-scalable Hyper Transport
technology-based system bus up to HT 3.0. AMD790GX Platform Processor Chipset
motherboard series deliver the outstanding system performance and professional
desktop platform solution.
The AMD790GX Series motherboards support new generation Socket AM3
processors with an integrated DDRII memory controller for dual channel DDRII400/
DDRII533 /DDRII667 /DDRII800/DDRII 1066 DDRII modules up to 4GB, and DDRIII
memory controller for dual channel DDRIII 1066/DDRIII 1333 modules up to 8GB; also
provide DDRIII 128Mb GPU Memory. The motherboard is embedded with SB750
chipset of providing 1 ULTRA ATA 133 connector and Serial ATA2 with RAID 0, 1,
10,5, JBOD functions which support up to one IDE hard disk drive devices and six
Serial ATA2 devices to accelerate hard disk drives and guarantee the data security
without failure in advanced computing performance.
The AMD790GX motherboards provide 10/100/1000 LAN function with RTL8111CVC
PCI-E Gigabit LAN which supports 10/100/1000Mbps data transfer rate. And the
embedded 8-channel HD Audio CODEC is fully compatible with Sound Blaster Pro
standards that offer you with the home cinema quality and satisfying software
compatibility.
The AMD790GX Series motherboards deliver outstanding value and performance for
gamers, with a true bandwidth design for Multi-GPU configurations. This high
bandwidth architecture in the AMD 790GX chipset is with the flexibility for single or
dual card or three cards configurations. The AMD 790GX chipset provide 2 x16 by 8-
lane PCI Express 2.0 slots to support simultaneous operation of graphics cards for
astonishing performance with brilliant and intense 3D graphics.
AMD790GX Series motherboard series offer two PCI-Express2.0x16 by 8-lane
graphics slots that deliver up to 4Gbyte/sec data transfer rate at each relative direction.
When PE4 installed switch card, the PE1 will doubled its bandwidth. Two PCI Express
x1 I/O slot offers 1024 Mbyte/sec concurrently, over 7 times more bandwidth than PCI
at 133Mbye/sec, tackling the most demanding multimedia tasks nowadays. The
AMD790GX motherboards also carry two 32-bit PCI slot guarantee the rich
connectivity for the I/O peripheral devices. This motherboard support Hybrid
CrossFire function, the VGA Card on PE1 or PE4 will activate a Hybrid CrossFire with
the onboard VGA Card when select sideport function in BIOS, the performance will be
increased 15% to 75%.
Embedded USB controllers as well as capability of expanding to 12 of USB2.0
functional ports delivering 480Mb/s bandwidth of rich connectivity, these

2
motherboards meet the future USB demands which are also equipped with hardware
monitor function on system to monitor and protect your system and maintain your
non-stop business computing.
Some special features--- CPU Thermal Throttling/ CPU Vcore 7-shift / CPU Smart Fan
/OC-CON / Debug Port/DIY Clear / Power On Button/ Reset Button in this motherboard
are designed for power user to use the over-clocking function in more flexible ways.
But please be caution that the over-clocking maybe causes the fails in system
reliabilities. This motherboard provides the guaranteed performance and meets the
demands of the next generation computing. But if you insist to gain more system
performance with variety possibilities of the components you choose, please be
careful and make sure to read the detailed descriptions of these value added product
features, please get them in the coming section.
1-1.1 Special Features of Motherboard
CPU Thermal Throttling Technology---(The CPU Overheat Protection Technology)
To prevent the increasing heat from damage of CPU or accidental shutdown while at
high workload, the CPU Thermal Throttling Technology will force CPU to enter
partially idle mode from 87.5% to 12.5% according to preset CPU operating
temperature in BIOS (from 40 to 90 ). When the system senses the CPU℃℃
operating temperature reaching the preset value, the CPU operating bandwidth will be
decreased to the preset idle percentage to cool down the processor. When at
throttling mode the beeper sound can be optionally selected to indicate it is in working.
(For detail operating please read Section 3-11 Bi-turbo Configuration)
CPU Smart Fan---( The Noise Management System )
It’s never been a good idea to gain the performance of your system by sacrificing its
acoustics. CPU Smart Fan Noise Management System is the answer to control the
noise level needed for now-a-day’s high performance computing system. The system
will automatically increase the fan speed when CPU operating loading is high, after
the CPU is in normal operating condition, the system will low down the fan speed for
the silent operating environment. The system can provide the much longer life cycle
for both CPU and the system fans for game use and business requirements.
CPU Vcore 7-Shift--- (Shift to Higher Performance)
The CPU voltage can be adjusted up by 31 steps for the precisely over-clocking of
extra demanding computing performance.
OC-CON ---（High-polymer Solid Electrolysis Aluminum Capacitors）
The working temperature is from 55 degrees Centigrade below zero to 125 degrees
Centigrade, OC-CON capacitors possess superior physical characteristics that can be
while reducing the working temperature between 20 degrees Centigrade each time,
intact extension 10 times of effective product operation lives, at not rising degrees
Centigrade of working temperatures each time a relative one, life of product decline
10% only too.
DIY Clear…
The CMOS button is to facilitate the clear CMOS process for power user overclocking
function. The user can easily clear or restore CMOS setting by pressing the button
without tacking trouble to remove the case and locate the jumper for clear CMOS.

3
Power On Button…
You can easily start the computer by pressing down this button for a few seconds,
without troubling yourself to locate the front panel jumpers to find the Power on
jumper.
Reset Button..:
You can easily restart the computer by pressing down this button for a few seconds,
without troubling yourself to locate the front panel jumpers to find the reset jumper.
Debug Port --- ( The Professional Hardware Diagnosis System )
Being bugged of abnormal system failure through the tossed and turned nights no
more, the embedded Hardware Debug Port offers you the real-time visual system
healthy for the demanding usage of computing. No more bugging by unknown system
failure and no more time wasted in the first moment of 24-hour nonstop ping business
computing, the embedded Debug Port will turn you into a well training hardware
professional with the seeing system situation. (The Post Code please refer to
appendix)

4
1-2 Specification
Spec Description
Design zATX form factor 4 layers PCB size:30.5cm x24.5cm
Chipset zAMD790GX North Bridge Chipset
zAMD SB750 South Bridge Chipset
CPU Socket AM3
zSupport 64bit AMD Athlon64 940-Pin package utilizes Flip-Chip Pin
Grid Array package processor
zSupport for future AMD Athlon64 940-pin Dual –Core Athlon 64x2
processor, Athlon 64 & Sempron Processors with HTT Frequency
1GHz and the latest AMD Phenom™ FX, quad core AMD Phenom™
processors with HT 3.0.
zReady for AM3 CPU
Memory Socket
z240-pin DDRII Module socket x 2
z240-pin DDRIII Module socket x4
zSupport 2pcs DDRII533/DDRII667/DDRII800/DDRII1066 Modules
Expandable to 4GB
zSupport 4pcs DDRIII 1066/DDRIII 1333 Modules Expandable to 8GB
zDual channel supported
GPU Memory zDDRIII 128Mb GPU Memory
Expansion Slot
z2pcs PCI-Express x16 by 8-lane
z2pcs PCI-Express x1 slot
z32-bit PCI slot x 2pcs
Integrate IDE and
Serial ATA2 RAID
zOne IDE controllers support PCI Bus Mastering, ATA PIO/DMA and
the ULTRA DMA 33/66/100/133 functions that deliver the data
transfer rate up to 133 MB/s for 2 IDE Devices.
z6 Serial ATA2 ports providing 300 MB/sec data transfer rate with
RAID 0, 1, 10, 5 functions
Gigabit LAN
zIntegrated RTL8111CVC PCI-E 10 / 100 / 1000 LAN.
zSupport Fast Ethernet LAN function of providing 10Mb/100Mb/1000
Mb/s data transfer rate
8 CH-Audio
zRealtek ALC888 8-channel HD Audio Codec integrated
zSupport 8-channel 3D surround & Positioning Audio
zAudio driver and utility included
BIOS zAMI 8MB DIP Flash ROM BIOS
Multi I/O
zPS/2 keyboard and PS/2 mouse connectors
zCoaxial and Optical SPDIF_OUT connector
zHDMI Connector / DVI Connector / VGA Connector
zUSB2.0 port x 4 and headers x 4
zESATA Connector x1
zRJ-45 Connector x1
zAudio connector x1 (8CH Audio)
zFloppy disk drive connector x1 /Hard Disk Drive Connector x1
zSerial port header x1
zHDMI-SPDIF header x1
zIR header x1

5
1-3 Performance List
The following performance data list is the testing result of some popular benchmark
testing programs. These data are just referred by users, and there is no responsibility
for different testing data values gotten by users (the different Hardware & Software
configuration will result in different benchmark testing results.)
Performance Test Report
CPU: 4600+
DRAM: DDR2 667 2G
VGA Card: onboard
Hard Disk Driver: Maxtor 60G IDE
BIOS: T02
OS: winxp+sp3 (en)
AMD 790GX
3D Mark 2001SE 10945
3D Mark 2003 3879
3D Mark 2005 2335
AQUAMRK3 35694
PCMark2005
System / CPU / Memory 4359/5518/3684
Graph / HDD 2723/2921
Content Creation Winstone 2004 35
Winbench 99 V2.0:
Business /Hi-end Disk Winmark99 16500
SYSMark 2004: SISMark Rating(Internet Content Creation / Office Productivity )
SYSMark 2004 215
3D Creation/2D Creation 256/316
Web publication 269
Communication/Document Creation 132/207
DATA Analysis 167
SISOFT Sandra 2009 : 1.CPU Arithmetic Benchmark 2.CPU Multi-Media Benchmark 3.Memory bandwidth
Benchmark
DHRYSTON ALU MIPS 17286
WHETSTONE ISSE3 FLOPS 14699
Multi-Media int x8 asse2 Mpixel/s 4229/4188
Multi-Media float x4 isse2 Mpixel/s 44959/49026
UT2003 Benchmark (flyby/botmatch) 161.024597/69.832047
Quake3 DEMO1 /DEMO2 FPS 79.7
Super Pi (1M) Second 38.500S
CPUZ System / CPU Clock 4600+ 2400/112/200/1000

6
Performance Test Report
CPU: Athlon 5000+
DRAM: SamSun 667MHz 1*2
VGA Card: onboard
Hard Disk Driver: Seagate160GB SATA
BIOS: T01
OS: Windows XP Professional (SERVICE PACK 2)
AMD 790GX
3D Mark 2001SE 10814
3D Mark 2003 3589
3D Mark 2005 2797
AQUAMRK3 4146
PCMark2004
System / CPU / Memory 4283/5232/3281
Graph / HDD 2029/4977
Content Creation Winstone 2004 37.4
Business Winstone 2004 28.3
Winbench 99 V2.0:
Business/Hi-end Disk Winmark99 20070023
Business/Hi-end Graphic Winmark N/A
SYSMark 2004: SISMark Rating(Internet Content Creation / Office Productivity )
SYSMark 2004 332/194
3D Creation/2D Creation 297/399
Web publication 309
Communication/Document Creation 167/233
DATA Analysis 188
SISOFT Sandra 2007 : 1.CPU Arithmetic Benchmark 2.Memory bandwidth Benchmark 3.CPU
Multi-Media Benchmar
k
ver:1140
1. Dhrystone ALU MIPS 18856
Whetstone FPU iSSE3 FLOPS 15937
2.Int/Float Buffered iSSE2 MB/S 6738/6691
3.Integer/Floating-Point IT/S 48962/53968
UT2003 Benchmark (flyby/botmatch) 158.51/84.602921
Quake3 DEMO1 /DEMO2 FPS 334.4/332.8
DOOM 3 FPS N/A
Super Pi (1M) Second 36.2611
CPUZ System / CPU Clock 26GHz

7
1-4 Layout Diagram
Rear I / O for AMD790GX based Motherboard
ESATA
USB USB
PS/2 Mouse
PS/2 Keyboard
RS-OUT
Line-OUT
CS-OUT
SS-OUT
MIC-IN
VGA Connector
DVI Connector
Line-IN
HDMI
RJ-45 Connector
Coaxial SPDIF_OUT
Optical SPDIF_OUT
Floppy Connector
Front Panel Header
ATA 133 IDE
Conn.(IDE1)
CPU Socket AM3
ATX Power Conn.
PCI Slot
PS2 KB/Mouse Port
Audio Connector
(
J1
)
RJ45 Ove
r
USB Connector
(UL1)
ATX 12V Power Connecto
r
Realtek ALC888
Audio Decode
RTL8111CVC
Gi
g
abit LAN
Speaker
USB Headers
(USB1, 2, 3, 4)
Power Led
AMD 790GX Chipset
AMD SB750 Chipset
Audio Header
KBMB/USB Power On(JP1)
IR Heade
r
SYSFAN2
E-SATA Ove
r
USB Connector
(CN1)
HDMI-SPDIF Header
PCI Express 2.0 x16
By 8-lane
HDMI Connector
VGA Connector over
DVI Connecto
r
SYSFAN1
DDR3 128Mb Sideport Memory
E-SATA1
SPDIF_Out Connectors
CPUFAN
DDR2 Socket x 1(yellow)
PCI Express x1
COM HeaderCDIN Header
Serial-ATAII Connecto
r
s
SATA1, 2,3,
Serial-ATAII Connecto
r
s
SATA4,5,6
DDR3 Socket x 2
DDR3 Socket x 2
DDR2 Socket x 1(yellow)

8
Jumpers
Jumper Name Description Page
JP1 Keyboard/USB Power On Enabled/Disabled 3-pin Block P.8
JBAT Clear CMOS Header 3-pin Block P.9
Connectors
Connector Name Description Page
ATXPWR1 ATX Power Connector 24-pin Block P.14
ATX12V1 ATX 12V Power Connector 8-pin Block P.15
KB PS/2 Mouse & PS/2 Keyboard
Connector
6-pin Female P.15
UL1/CN1 for USB USB2.0 Port Connector 4-pin Connector P.15
UL1 for RJ-45LAN Gigabit LAN Port Connector RJ-45 Connector P.15
J1 8-CH HD Audio Connector 6- phone jack Conn. P.15
FDD Floppy Driver Connector 34-pin Block P.16
IDE1 Primary IDE Connector 40-pin Block P.16
SATA1~SATA6,
E-SATA1
Serial ATAII Hard Disk Driver
Connectors
7-pin Connector P.17
CN1
for ESATA
External Serial ATAII Connector 7-pin Connector P.17
VGA D-Sub Connector 15-pin Connector P.17
DVI1 Digital Visual Interface 29-pin Connector P.17
HDMI High-Definition Multimedia 19-pin Connector P.17
SPDIF_OUT1/
SPDIF_ Out 2
SPDIF Out Connector 1-phone connector P.17
Headers
Header Name Description Page
AUDIO1 Front Panel SPEAKER, MIC header 9-pin Block P.18
USB1,USB2,USB3,USB4 USB Port Headers 9-pin Block P.18
SPEAK PC Speaker connector 4-pin Block P.18
PWR LED Power LED 3-pin Block P.18
JW_FP1
(Reset/IDE LED/Power
Button)
Front Panel Header
(including IDE activity LED/Reset
switch / Power On Button lead)
9-pin Block P.18
SYSFAN1/2 System FAN Headers 3-pin Block P.19
CPUFAN CPU FAN Header 4-pin Block P.19
CDIN1 CD Audio-In Header 4-pin Block P.19
IR IR infrared module Headers 5-pin Block P.19
COM1 Serial Port COM1 Header 9-pin Block P.20
HDMI-SPDIF SPDIF Out header 2-pin Block P.20
Expansion Sockets
Socket/Slot Name Description Page
ZIF Socket AM3 CPU Socket 940-pin PGAB Athlon64 CPU Socket P.11
DDR3-1,DDR3-2,
DDR3-3,DDR3-4
DDRIII Module Socket 240-pin DDRIII Module Socket P.12
DDR2-1.DDR2-2 DDRII Module Socket 240-pin DDRII Module Socket P.12
PCI1,PCI2 PCI Slot 32-bit PCI Local Bus Expansion slot P.14
PE2,PE3 PCI-Express x1Slot PCI-Express x1 Expansion Slot P.14
PE1,PE4 PCI-Express2.0x16 by
8-lane
PCI-Express2.0 x16 Expansion Slot P.14

9
Chapter 2
Hardware Installation
WARNING! Turn off your power when adding or removing expansion cards or
other system components. Failure to do so may cause severe
damage to both your motherboard and expansion cards.
2-1 Hardware installation Steps
Before using your computer, you had better complete the following steps:
1. Check motherboard jumper setting
2. Install CPU and Fan
3. Install System Memory (DIMM)
4. Install Expansion cards
5. Connect IDE and Front Panel /Back Panel cable
6. Connect ATX Power cable
7. Power-On and Load Standard Default
8. Reboot
9. Install Operating System
10. Install Driver and Utility
2-2 Checking Motherboard’s Jumper Setting
(1) Keyboard/USB function Enabled/Disabled: JP1
(2) CMOS RAM Clear (3-pin) : JBAT
A battery must be used to retain the motherboard configuration in CMOS RAM
short 1-2 pins of JBAT to store the CMOS data.
To clear the CMOS, follow the procedure below:
1. Turn off the system and unplug the AC power
2. Remove ATX power cable from ATX power connector
3. Locate JBAT and short pins 2-3 for a few seconds
4. Return JBAT to its normal setting by shorting pins 1-2
5. Connect ATX power cable back to ATX power connector
Note: When should clear CMOS
1. Troubleshooting
2. Forget password
Keyboard/Mouse & USB Power On Setting
2-3 Closed KB/USB Power ON Enabled
JP1
JP1
1-2 Closed KB/USB Power ON Disable (Default)

10
3. After over clocking system boot fail
CMOS RAM Clear Setting
2-3 Closed Clear CMOS
JBATJBAT
1-2 Closed Normal
2-3 Install CPU
2-3-1 Glossary
Chipset (or core logic) - two or more integrated circuits which control the interfaces
between the system processor, RAM, I/O devises, and adapter cards.
Processor socket - the socket used to mount the system processor on the
motherboard.
Slot (PCI-E, PCI, RAM) - the slots used to mount adapter cards and system RAM.
PCI - Peripheral Component Interconnect - a high speed interface for video cards,
sound cards, network interface cards, and modems; runs at 33MHz.
PCI Express2.0- Peripheral Component Interconnect Express2.0, developed in 2003,
the speed of each line doubled from the previous PCI-E of 2.5 Gbps to 5 Gbps.
Serial Port - a low speed interface typically used for mouse and external modems.
Parallel Port - a low speed interface typically used for printers.
PS/2 - a low speed interface used for mouse and keyboards.
USB - Universal Serial Bus - a medium speed interface typically used for mouse,
keyboards, scanners, and some digital cameras.
Sound (interface) - the interface between the sound card or integrated sound
connectors and speakers, MIC, game controllers, and MIDI sound devices.
LAN (interface) - Local Area Network - the interface to your local area network.
BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) - the program logic used to boot up a computer
and establish the relationship between the various components.
Driver - software, which defines the characteristics of a device for use by another
device or other software.
Processor - the "central processing unit" (CPU); the principal integrated circuit used
for doing the "computing" in "personal computer"
Front Side Bus Frequency - the working frequency of the motherboard, which is
generated by the clock generator for CPU, DRAM and PCI BUS.
CPU L2 Cache - the flash memory inside the CPU, normal it depend on CPU type.

11
2-3-2 About AMD Athlon64 Socket AM2+ CPU Socket
This motherboard provides a socket AM2 surface mount, Zero Insertion Force (ZIF)
socket, referred to as the mPGA940 socket supports AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD processor
utilizes Flip-Chip Pin Grid Array package technology.
The CPU that comes with the motherboard should have a cooling FAN attached to
prevent overheating. If this is not the case, then purchase a correct cooling FAN
before you turn on your system.
WARNING! Be sure that there is sufficient air circulation across the processor’s
heatsink and CPU cooling FAN is working correctly, otherwise it may
cause the processor and motherboard overheat and damage, you
may install an auxiliary cooling FAN, if necessary.
To install a CPU, first turn off your system and remove its cover. Locate the ZIF
socket and open it by first pulling the level sideways away from the socket then
upward to a 90-degree angle. Insert the CPU with the correct orientation as shown
below. The notched corner should point toward the end of the level. Because the
CPU has a corner pin for two of the four corners, the CPU will only fit in the orientation
as shown.
CPU ZIF mPGAB Socket
Colden Arrow
Socket AM2+
When you put the CPU into the ZIF socket, No force required to insert of the CPU, and
then press the level to locate position slightly without any extra force.

12
2-4 Install Memory
This motherboard provides two 240-pin DDRII DUAL INLINE MEMORY MODULES
(DIMM) socket for DDR II memory SDRAM expansion available from minimum
memory volume of 128MB to maximum memory volume of 4 GB and four 240-pin
DDRIII SDRAM DUAL INLINE MEMORY MODULES (DIMM) socket for DDRIII
memory expansion available from minimum memory volume of 128MB to maximum
memory volume of 8 GB.
Valid Memory Configurations for DDR II
Bank 240-Pin DIMM PCS Maximum
Capacity
DDR2-1(yellow) DDRII 667/DDRII 800/DDRII 1066 X1 2GB
DDR2-2(yellow) DDRII 667/DDRII 800/DDRII 1066 X1 2GB
Total System Memory (Max 4GB) 2 4GB
Valid Memory Configuration for DDR III
Bank 240-Pin DIMM PCS Maximum
Capacity
DDR3-1(orange) DDRIII1066/DDRIII1333 X1 2GB
DDR3-2(orange) DDRIII1066/DDRIII1333 X1 2GB
DDR3-3(orange) DDRIII1066/DDRIII1333 X1 2GB
DDR3-4(orange) DDRIII1066/DDRIII1333 X1 2GB
Total System Memory (Max. 8 GB) 4 8 GB
NOTICE!
1. Dual channel function only supports when 2 DIMM Modules plug in any two of the four
DDR3 module or both on the two DDR2 module.
2. Memory modules in the four DDR III or two DDR2 must be of the same type, same
size, and same frequency for dual channel function.
3. DIMM1and DIMM2 is for installing DDR II memory modules only while DDRIII1 and
DDRIII2 is for installing DDRIII memory modules only.
4. User can only install DDRII memory module(s) in DDR II memory module slot(s) when
an AM2 or AM2+ CPU is installed;
5. User can choose either installing DDRII memory module(s) in DDR II memory module
slot(s) or DDRIII memory module(s) in DDR III memory module slot(s), but NEVER
both DDRII and DDRIII memory module(s) at the same time under any circumstances.
Install DDR SDRAM modules to your motherboard is not difficult, you can refer to
figure below to see how to install a 240-Pin DDR II 667/DDR II 800/DDR II 1066 or a
DDR III 1066 and DDR III 1333 SDRAM module.

13
Graph 2-4
NOTICE! When you install DIMM module fully into the DIMM socket the eject tab should be
locked into the DIMM module very firmly and fit into its indention on both sides.
WARNING! This motherboard only supports DDR II 667/800 or higher frequency- compliant
DDRII Modules in DDRII memory slots and DDRIII 1066 or higher
frequency-compliant DDR III Modules in DDRIII memory slots.
2-5 Expansion Cards
2-5-1 Procedure For Expansion Card Installation
1. Read the documentation for your expansion card and make any necessary
hardware or software setting for your expansion card such as jumpers.
2. Remove your computer’s cover and the bracket plate on the slot you intend to use.
3. Align the card’s connectors and press firmly.
4. Secure the card on the slot with the screen you remove above.
5. Replace the computer system’s cover.
6. Set up the BIOS if necessary.
7. Install the necessary software driver for your expansion card.
2-5-2 Assigning IRQs For Expansion Card
Some expansion cards need an IRQ to operate. Generally, an IRQ must exclusively
assign to one use. In a standard design, there are 16 IRQs available but most of
them are already in use.
Standard Interrupt Assignments
IRQ Priority Standard function
0 N/A System Timer
1 N/A Keyboard Controller
2 N/A Programmable Interrupt
3 * 8 Communications Port (COM2)
4 * 9 Communications Port (COM1)
5 * 6 Sound Card (sometimes LPT2)
6 * 11 Floppy Disk Controller
7 * 7 Printer Port (LPT1)
8 N/A System CMOS/Real Time Clock
9 * 10 ACPI Mode when enabled
10 * 3 IRQ Holder for PCI Steering
11 * 2 IRQ Holder for PCI Steering
12 * 4 PS/2 Compatible Mouse Port
13 N/A Numeric Data Processor
14 * 5 Primary IDE Channel

14
15 * 1 Secondary IDE Channel
* These IRQs are usually available for ISA or PCI devices.
2-5-3 PCI Express Slot
Two PCI-Express2.0 x16by8 lane graphic slot offer 4Gbyte/sec data transfer rate at
each relative direction and up to 8Gbyte/sec concurrent bandwidth at full speed, fully
compliant to the PCI Express Base Specification revision2.0, support PCI Express
VGA card, and other PCI Express device. This motherboard support Hybrid
CrossFireX function. Two PCI-Express x1 1.0 a Slot offer 1024 Mbyte/sec
concurrently over 7 times more bandwidth than PCI at 133Mbye/sec, tackling the most
demanding multimedia tasks nowadays.
2-6 Connectors, Headers
2-6-1 Connectors
(1) Power Connector (24-pin block) : ATXPWR1
ATX Power Supply connector: This is a new defined 24-pins connector that
usually comes with ATX case. The ATX Power Supply allows using soft power
on momentary switch that connect from the front panel switch to 2-pins Power
On jumper pole on the motherboard. When the power switch on the back of the
ATX power supply turned on, the full power will not come into the system board
until the front panel switch is momentarily pressed. Press this switch again will
turn off the power to the system board.
** We recommend that you use an ATX 12V Specification 2.0-compliant power
supply unit (PSU) with a minimum of 350W power rating. This type has 24-pin
and 4-pin power plugs.
** If you intend to use a PSU with 20-pin and 4-pin power plugs, make sure that the
20-pin power plug can provide at least 15A on +12V and the power supply unit
has a minimum power rating of 350W. The system may become unstable or may
not boot up if the power is inadequate.
PCI-E x1 Slot
32
-
bit PCI
Slot
PCI-E 2.0 x16 by 8-lane
PCI-E 2.0 x16 by 8-lane

15
(2) ATX 12V Power Connector (8-pin block) : ATX12V
This is a new defined 8-pins connector that usually comes with ATX Power Supply.
The ATX Power Supply which fully supports Socket AM2+ processor must including
this connector for support extra 12V voltage to maintain system power consumption.
Without this connector might cause system unstable because the power supply can
not provide sufficient current for system.
(3) PS/2 Mouse & PS/2 Keyboard Connector: KB
The connectors are for PS/2 keyboard and PS/2 Mouse.
(4) USB Port connector: CN1/ UL1 for USB
The connectors are 4-pin connector that connects USB devices to the system
board.
(5) LAN Port connector: UL1 for RJ45 LAN
The connector is standard RJ45 connector for Network. It supports
10M/100Mb/1000Mb s data transfer rate
(6) Audio Line-In,
Lin-Out, MIC, RS-Out, CS-Out，SS-Out connector : J1
These Connectors are 6 Phone-Jack for LINE-OUT, LINE-IN, MIC, RS-Out,
CS-Out，SS-Out audio connections.
Line-in : (BLUE) Audio input to sound chip
Line-out : (GREEN) Audio output to speaker
MIC : (PINK) Microphone Connector
RS-OUT : (BLACK) Rear-Surround audio output
CS-OUT : (ORANGE) Center/ Subwoofer audio output
SS-OUT: (GRAY) Side-Surround audio output
Pin 1
ROW1 ROW2
24-Pin
ROW1 ROW2
Pin 1
20-Pin
PIN ROW1 ROW2
1 3.3V 3.3V
2 3.3V -12V
3 GND GND
4 5V Soft Power On
5 GND GND
6 5V GND
7 GND GND
8 Power OK -5V
9 +5V (for Soft Logic) +5V
10 +12V +5V
11 +12V +5V
12 +3V GND
Pin 1