Asus ESC1000 G2 User manual

Workstation
ESC1000 G2
User Guide

ii
Copyright © 2012 ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. All Rights Reserved.
No part of this manual, including the products and software described in it, may be reproduced, transmitted,
transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any language in any form or by any means,
except documentation kept by the purchaser for backup purposes, without the express written permission
of ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. (“ASUS”).
ASUS provides this manual “as is” without warranty of any kind, either express or implied, including but not
limited to the implied warranties or conditions of merchantability or tness for a particular purpose. In no
event shall ASUS, its directors, ofcers, employees, or agents be liable for any indirect, special, incidental,
or consequential damages (including damages for loss of prots, loss of business, loss of use or data,
interruption of business and the like), even if ASUS has been advised of the possibility of such damages
arising from any defect or error in this manual or product.
Specications and information contained in this manual ae furnished for informational use only, and are
subject to change at any time without notice, and should not be construed as a commitment by ASUS.
ASUS assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or inaccuracies that may appear in this manual,
including the products and software described in it.
Product warranty or service will not be extended if: (1) the product is repaired, modied or altered, unless
such repair, modication of alteration is authorized in writing by ASUS; or (2) the serial number of the
product is defaced or missing.
Products and corporate names appearing in this manual may or may not be registered trademarks or
copyrights of their respective companies, and are used only for identication or explanation and to the
owners’ benet, without intent to infringe.
E7226
First Edition
April 2012

iii
Contents
Notices....................................................................................................... viii
Safety information ...................................................................................... ix
About this guide .......................................................................................... x
Chapter 1: Product introduction
1.1 System package contents........................................................... 1-2
1.2 Serial number label...................................................................... 1-2
1.3 Systemspecications ................................................................. 1-3
1.4 Front panel features..................................................................... 1-5
1.5 Rear panel features...................................................................... 1-6
1.6 Internal features ........................................................................... 1-7
1.7 LED information ........................................................................... 1-8
1.7.1 Front panel LEDs ............................................................ 1-8
1.7.2 Rear panel LEDs............................................................. 1-8
Chapter 2: Hardware setup
2.1 Chassis cover............................................................................... 2-2
2.1.1 Removing the side cover ................................................ 2-2
2.1.2 Reinstalling the side cover .............................................. 2-3
2.2 Motherboard overview................................................................. 2-4
2.3 Central Processing Unit (CPU) ................................................... 2-5
2.3.1 CPU installation .............................................................. 2-6
2.3.2 CPU heatsink and fan assembly installation................... 2-8
2.4 System memory ......................................................................... 2-10
2.4.1 Overview ....................................................................... 2-10
2.4.2 Memory congurations...................................................2-11
2.4.3 Installing a DIMM .......................................................... 2-12
2.4.4 Removing a DIMM ........................................................ 2-12
2.5 Front panel assembly ................................................................ 2-13
2.5.1 Removing the front panel assembly.............................. 2-13
2.5.2 Reinstalling the front panel assembly ........................... 2-13
2.6 5.25-inch drives.......................................................................... 2-14

iv
Contents
2.7 SATA hard disk drives ............................................................... 2-15
2.7.1 Installing the HDD module cage ................................... 2-15
2.7.2 Removing the HDD module cage ................................. 2-16
2.7.3 Installing a hot-swap SATA hard disk drive ................... 2-16
2.7.4 Removing and reinstalling the backplane ..................... 2-18
2.8 Expansion cards ........................................................................ 2-19
2.8.1 Installing an expansion card ......................................... 2-20
2.8.2 Conguring an expansion card ..................................... 2-21
2.9 Cable connections ..................................................................... 2-23
2.9.1 Motherboard connections ............................................. 2-23
2.9.2 SATA backplane connections ....................................... 2-24
2.10 Removable components............................................................ 2-26
2.10.1 Removing rear system fan ............................................ 2-26
2.10.2 Removing front system fan ........................................... 2-27
Chapter 3: Motherboard Info
3.1 Motherboard layout...................................................................... 3-2
3.2 Jumpers ........................................................................................ 3-4
3.3 Onboard buttons and switches .................................................. 3-6
3.4 Onboard LEDs.............................................................................. 3-9
3.5 Connectors ................................................................................. 3-16
3.5.1 Rear panel connectors.................................................. 3-16
3.5.2 Audio I/O connections................................................... 3-17
3.5.3 USB BIOS Flashback.................................................... 3-20
3.5.4 Internal connectors ....................................................... 3-21
3.5.5 ASUS Q-Connector (system panel) .............................. 3-33
Chapter 4: BIOS setup
4.1 Knowing BIOS .............................................................................. 4-2
4.2 BIOS setup program .................................................................... 4-2
4.2.1 EZ Mode ......................................................................... 4-3
4.2.2 Advanced Mode .............................................................. 4-4
4.3 Main menu .................................................................................... 4-6

v
Contents
4.4 Ai Tweaker menu.......................................................................... 4-8
4.4.1 DRAM Timing Control ................................................... 4-12
4.4.2 DIGI+ Power Control..................................................... 4-23
4.4.3 CPU Performance Settings........................................... 4-27
4.5 Advanced menu ......................................................................... 4-32
4.5.1 CPU Conguration ........................................................ 4-33
4.5.2 System Agent Conguration ......................................... 4-34
4.5.3 CPU Power Management Conguration....................... 4-35
4.5.4 PCH Conguration ........................................................ 4-36
4.5.5 SATA Conguration ....................................................... 4-36
4.5.6 USB Conguration ........................................................ 4-39
4.5.7 Onboard Devices Conguraton..................................... 4-40
4.5.8 APM .............................................................................. 4-42
4.6 Monitor menu ............................................................................. 4-44
4.7 Boot menu .................................................................................. 4-48
4.8 Tools menu ................................................................................. 4-50
4.8.1 ASUS EZ Flash 2 Utility ................................................ 4-50
4.8.2 ASUS DRAM SPD Information ..................................... 4-51
4.8.3 ASUS O.C. Prole......................................................... 4-52
4.8.4 ASUS Drive Xpert ......................................................... 4-53
4.9 Exit menu.................................................................................... 4-54
4.10 Updating BIOS............................................................................ 4-55
4.10.1 ASUS Update utility ...................................................... 4-55
4.10.2 ASUS EZ Flash 2 utility................................................. 4-58
4.10.3 ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3 utility .................................... 4-59
4.10.4 ASUS BIOS Updater..................................................... 4-60
Chapter5: RAIDconguration
5.1 RAIDcongurations .................................................................... 5-2
5.1.1 RAID denitions .............................................................. 5-2
5.1.2 Installing Serial ATA hard disks ....................................... 5-3
5.1.3 Setting the RAID item in BIOS ........................................ 5-3
5.1.4 Intel®Rapid Storage Technology Option ROM utility ...... 5-3

vi
Contents
5.1.5 Marvell RAID utility.......................................................... 5-7
Chapter 6: Driver installation
6.1 Creating a RAID driver disk......................................................... 6-2
6.1.1 Creating a RAID driver disk without entering the OS...... 6-2
6.1.2 Creating a RAID driver disk in Windows®............................................. 6-2
6.1.3 Installing the RAID driver during Windows®OS
installation ....................................................................... 6-3
6.1.4 Using a USB oppy disk drive......................................... 6-3
6.2 Support DVD information ............................................................ 6-6
6.2.1 Running the support DVD ............................................... 6-6
6.2.2 Obtaining the software manuals ..................................... 6-7
6.3 Software information ................................................................... 6-8
6.3.1 AI Suite II ........................................................................ 6-8
6.3.2 TurboV EVO.................................................................... 6-9
6.3.3 DIGI+ Power Control..................................................... 6-13
6.3.4 EPU............................................................................... 6-15
6.3.5 FAN Xpert+ ................................................................... 6-16
6.3.6 Sensor Recorder........................................................... 6-17
6.3.7 Probe II ......................................................................... 6-18
6.3.8 USB 3.0 Boost .............................................................. 6-19
6.3.9 ASUS SSD Caching...................................................... 6-20
6.3.10 ASUS Update................................................................ 6-21
6.3.11 MyLogo2 ....................................................................... 6-22
6.3.12 Audio congurations ..................................................... 6-25
6.4 System Recovery ....................................................................... 6-26
6.4.1 Using the Recovery Partition ........................................ 6-26
6.4.2 Using the Recovery DVD .............................................. 6-26
Chapter 7: Multiple GPU technology support
7.1 AMD®CrossFireX™ technology ................................................. 7-2
7.1.1 Requirements.................................................................. 7-2
7.1.2 Before you begin............................................................. 7-2
7.1.3 Installing two CrossFireX™ graphics cards .................... 7-3

vii
5.1.4 Installing the device drivers............................................. 7-4
5.1.5 Enabling the AMD® CrossFireX™ technology................. 7-4
7.2 NVIDIA®SLI™ technology ........................................................... 7-5
7.2.1 Requirements.................................................................. 7-5
7.2.2 Installing two SLI-ready graphics cards .......................... 7-5
7.2.3 Installing three SLI-ready graphics cards........................ 7-6
7.2.4 Installing four SLI-ready graphics cards.......................... 7-7
7.2.5 Installing the device drivers............................................. 7-8
7.2.6 Enabling the NVIDIA® SLI™ technology ......................... 7-8
7.3 NVIDIA®CUDA™ technology .................................................... 7-11
7.3.1 Requirements.................................................................7-11
7.3.2 Installing CUDA-ready graphics cards ...........................7-11
Contents

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 been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A 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 manufacturer’s instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications.
However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If
this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be
determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the
interference by one or more of the following measures:
• Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
• Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.
• Connect the equipment to an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is
connected.
• Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.
Canadian Department of Communications Statement
This digital apparatus does not exceed the Class B limits for radio noise emissions from
digital apparatus set out in the Radio Interference Regulations of the Canadian Department of
Communications.
This Class B digital apparatus complies with Canadian ICES-003.
WARNING! The use of shielded cables for connection of the monitor to the graphics card
is required to assure compliance with FCC regulations. Changes or modications to this
unit not expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance could void the user’s
authority to operate this equipment.
REACH
Complying with the REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of
Chemicals) regulatory framework, we publish the chemical substances in our products at
ASUS REACH website at http://green.asus.com/english/REACH.htm.

ix
Safety information
Electrical Safety
• Before installing or removing signal cables, ensure that the power cables for the system
unit and all attached devices are unplugged.
• To prevent electrical shock hazard, disconnect the power cable from the electrical outlet
before relocating the system.
• When adding or removing any additional devices to or from the system, contact a
qualied service technician or your dealer. Ensure that the power cables for the devices
are unplugged before the signal cables are connected. If possible, disconnect all power
cables from the existing system before you service.
• If the power supply is broken, do not try to x it by yourself. Contact a qualied service
technician or your dealer.
Operation Safety
• Servicing of this product or units is to be performed by trained service personnel only.
• Before operating the server, carefully read all the manuals included with the server
package.
• Before using the server, make sure all cables are correctly connected and the power
cables are not damaged. If any damage is detected, contact your dealer as soon as
possible.
• To avoid short circuits, keep paper clips, screws, and staples away from connectors,
slots, sockets and circuitry.
• Avoid dust, humidity, and temperature extremes. Place the server on a stable surface.
This product is equipped with a three-wire power cable and plug for the user’s safety. Use
the power cable with a properly grounded electrical outlet to avoid electrical shock.
Lithium-Ion Battery Warning
CAUTION! Danger of explosion if battery is incorrectly replaced. Replace only
with the same or equivalent type recommended by the manufacturer. Dispose of
used batteries according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
CD-ROM Drive Safety Warning
CLASS 1 LASER PRODUCT
Heavy System
CAUTION! This server system is heavy. Ask for assistance when moving or carrying
the system.

x
DO NOT throw the motherboard in municipal waste. This product has been designed to
enable proper reuse of parts and recycling. This symbol of the crossed out wheeled bin
indicates that the product (electrical and electronic equipment) should not be placed in
municipal waste. Check local regulations for disposal of electronic products.
DO NOT throw the mercury-containing button cell battery in municipal waste. This symbol
of the crossed out wheeled bin indicates that the battery should not be placed in municipal
waste.
About this guide
Audience
This user guide is intended for system integrators, and experienced users with at least basic
knowledge of conguring a server.
Contents
This guide contains the following parts:
1. Chapter 1: Product Introduction
This chapter describes the general features of the server, including sections on front
panel and rear panel specications.
2. Chapter 2: Hardware setup
This chapter lists the hardware setup procedures that you have to perform when
installing or removing system components.
3. Chapter 3: Motherboard information
This chapter includes the motherboard layout and brief descriptions of the jumpers and
internal connectors.
4. Chapter 4: BIOS information
This chapter tells how to change system settings through the BIOS Setup menus and
describes the BIOS parameters.
5. Chapter5:RAIDconguration
This chapter provides instructions for setting up, creating and conguring RAID sets
using the available utilities.
6. Chapter 6: Driver installation
This chapter provides instructions for installing the necessary drivers for different
system components.
7. Chapter 7: Multiple GPU technology support
This chapter describes how to install and congure multiple ATI®
CrossFireX™/ NVIDIA® SLI™ graphics cards and NVIDIA®CUDA technology.

xi
Conventions
To make sure that you perform certain tasks properly, take note of the following symbols used
throughout this manual.
Typography
Bold text Indicates a menu or an item to select.
Italics Used to emphasize a word or a phrase.
<Key> Keys enclosed in the less-than and greater-
than sign means that you must press the
enclosed key.
Example: <Enter> means that you must press
the Enter or Return key.
<Key1+Key2+Key3> If you must press two or more keys
simultaneously, the key names are linked with
a plus sign (+).
Example: <Ctrl+Alt+D>
Command Means that you must type the command
exactly as shown, then supply the required
item or value enclosed in brackets.
Example: At the DOS prompt, type the
command line: format A:/S
DANGER/WARNING: Information to prevent injury to yourself when
trying to complete a task.
NOTE: Tips and additional information to help you complete a task.
IMPORTANT: Instructions that you MUST follow to complete a task.
CAUTION: Information to prevent damage to the components when
trying to complete a task.

xii
Wheretondmoreinformation
Refer to the following sources for additional information and for product and software
updates.
1. ASUS websites
The ASUS website provides updated information on ASUS hardware and software
products. Refer to the ASUS contact information.
2. Optional documentation
Your product package may include optional documentation, such as warranty yers,
that may have been added by your dealer. These documents are not part of the
standard package.

ASUS ESC1000 G2
This chapter describes the general features
of the workstation, including sections on front
panel and rear panel specications.
Chapter 1
Product introduction

Chapter 1: Product introduction1-2
If any of the above items is damaged or missing, contact your retailer.
1.1 System package contents
Check your system package for the following items.
1.2 Serial number label
For faster and quicker troubleshooting solutions from the ASUS Technical Support team,
provide the product’s serial number containing 14 characters such as xxS0xxxxxxxxxx as
shown in the gure below.
Model Name ESC1000 G2
Chassis ASUS T50A Pedestal 5U Rackmount Chassis
Motherboard ASUS P9X79 WS workstation motherboard
Component 1 x 1350W 80+ Gold Single Power Supply
4 x hot-swap HDD trays
1 x Front I/O Board
1 x System Fan (Rear: 1 x 120mm x 38mm)
Accessories 1 x ESC1000 G2 User’s Guide
1 x P9X79 WS Support DVD
1 x Bag of Screws
1 x AC Power Cable
1 x COM Port Cable
Optional Items Cooler for CPU 150W Upgrade Kit
1 x System Fan (Front: 1 x 80mm x 25mm; )
xxS0xxxxxxxxxx
ESC1000 G2

ASUS ESC1000 G2 1-3
1.3 Systemspecications
ASUS ESC1000 G2 is a workstation that features the ASUS P9X79 WS motherboard,
supports Intel® LGA2011 Xeon® E5-1600/Core™ i7-3900/3800 series processors, and the
latest technologies through the onboard chipsets.
Model Name ESC1000 G2
Processor / System Bus
1 x Socket LGA2011
Intel® Xeon® processor E5-1600/Core™
i7-3900/3800 processor family
(TDP=130W)
Core Logic Intel® X79 Express Chipset
Memory
Total Slots 8 (4-channel per CPU, 8 DIMM per CPU)
Capacity Maximum up to 64GB (UDIMM)
Memory Type
DDR3 1066/1333/1866(O.C.)/2000(O.C.)/ 2133
(O.C.)/2400(O.C.) non-ECC/ECC UDIMM
*Refer to www.asus.com for detailed memory AVL
CPU support list.
Memory Size 1GB, 2GB, 4GB and 8GB (UDIMM)
Expansion Slots
Total PCI/PCI-X/
PCI-E Slots 6
Slot Type
4 x PCI-E 3.0 x16 slots
(dual at x16/x16, quad at x8/x8/x8/x8)
2 x PCI-E 3.0 x16 slots (at x4 mode)
Storage SATA Controller
Intel®X79:
- 2 x SATA 6.0Gb/s ports (gray)
- 4 x SATA 3.0Gb/s ports (blue)
Intel Rapid Storage Technology enterprise (for
Windows only) supporting software RAID 0, 1, 5 &
10
Marvell 88SE9128 SATA controller:
- 2 x SATA 6.0Gb/s ports supporting RAID 0 & 1
Networking LAN 1 x Intel® 82579V Gigabit LAN (PHY)
1 x Intel® 82574L Gigabit LAN controller
HDD Bays 4 x Hot-swap 3.5” HDD Bays
Auxiliary Storage FDD / CD / DVD 3 x 5.25” media bays (Optional: DVD-RW)*
*DVD-RW default for North America
Front Panel I/O
2 x USB 3.0 ports
2 x USB 2.0 ports
1 x Line In
1 x Line Out
(continued on the next page)

Chapter 1: Product introduction1-4
*Specicationsaresubjecttochangewithoutnotice.
Rear Panel I/O
1 x PS/2 Keyboard port
1 x PS/2 Mouse port
1 x S/PDIF Out (Optical)
1 x USB BIOS Flashback button
2 x USB 3.0/2.0 ports (blue)
8 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports (white port can be switched to
USB BIOS Flashback)
1 x IEEE 1394a port
2 x RJ45 ports
8-channel Audio I/O
OS Support
Windows® XP Service Pack 2 64-bit
Windows® XP Service Pack 3 32-bit
Windows® Vista Sevice Pack 2 32/64-bit
Windows® 7 Ultimate Service Pack 1 32/64-bit
RedHat® Enterprise Linux Desktop WS 6.2
Open SuSE® 12.1
Ubuntu Desktop 11.1
Fedora 16
Anti-virus Software Optional anti-virus CD Pack
Dimension (HH x WW x DD) 445mm x 217.5mm x 545mm
Net Weight Kg (CPU, DRAM &
HDD not included) 17 Kg
Power Supply 1350W (80+) Gold Single Power Supply
Power Rating Input: 115-240Vac, 14.5-6.5A, 50-60Hz, Class I
Environment
Operating temperature: 10°C–35°C
Non operating temperature: -40°C–70°C
Non operating humidity: 20%–90% (Non-condensing)

ASUS ESC1000 G2 1-5
1.4 Front panel features
Refer to section 1.7.1 Front panel LEDs for the LED descriptions.
Optical drive
Empty 5.25-inch
bays
Power button
Reset button
HDD access LED
Power LED
USB 2.0 ports
Security lock
4-bay HDD cage
Headphone
outputjack
Microphone
jack
USB 3.0 ports

Chapter 1: Product introduction1-6
1.5 Rear panel features
1350W 80+Single power
supply
Power connector
Expansion slots
Chassis intrusion switch
Chassis lock
120mm x 38mm system fan
PS/2 mouse port
USB 2.0 ports
Optical S/PDIF Out port
8-channel audio ports
USB 2.0 ports
USB 3.0 ports LAN2 (RJ-45) port
LAN1 (RJ-45) port
PS/2 keyboard port
USB BIOS
Flashback button
Power switch
IEEE 1394a port

ASUS ESC1000 G2 1-7
1.6 Internal features
Connect a USB oppy disk drive or a USB ODD to any of the USB ports on the front or rear
panel if you need to use a oppy disk or an optical disc.
*WARNING
HAZARDOUS MOVING PARTS
KEEP FINGERS AND OTHER BODY PARTS AWAY
Turn off the system power and detach the power supply before removing or replacing any
system component.
1. 1350W 80+ Gold Single Power supply unit
2. 120mm x 38mm system fan
3. ASUS P9X79 WS motherboard
4. Expansion card locks
5. Optical drive
6. 2 x 5.25-inch drive bays
7. 4-bay HDD module
8. SATA/SAS backplane board
1
2
8
5
6
7
3
4

Chapter 1: Product introduction1-8
1.7 LED information
1.7.1 Front panel LEDs
The Power and HDD Access LEDs are visible even if the system front bezel is closed.
LED Icon Display status Description
Power LED ON System power ON
HDD Access LED OFF
Blinking
No activity
Read/write data into the HDD
Drive status LED
Green
Red
Green/Red blinking
Bridge board connected to backplane
Installed HDD is in good condition
HDD failure
HDD rebuilding using the RAID card
Drive Status LED
Power LED
HDD Access LED
1.7.2 Rear panel LEDs
Activity Link LED Speed LED
Status Description Status Description
OFF No link OFF 10 Mbps connection
ORANGE Linked ORANGE 100 Mbps connection
BLINKING Data activity GREEN 1 Gbps connection
SPEED
LED
ACT/LINK
LED
LAN port