Asus A8N32-SLI - Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce SPP 100 ATX AMD Motherboard... User manual

Motherboard
A8N-SLI

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Copyright © 2005 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”).
Product warranty or service will not be extended if: (1) the product is repaired, modified or
altered, unless such repair, modification of alteration is authorized in writing by ASUS; or (2) the
serial number of the product is defaced or missing.
ASUSPROVIDESTHISMANUAL“ASIS”WITHOUTWARRANTYOFANYKIND,EITHEREXPRESSOR
IMPLIED,INCLUDINGBUTNOTLIMITEDTOTHE IMPLIED WARRANTIES ORCONDITIONSOF
MERCHANTABILITYORFITNESS FOR A PARTICULARPURPOSE.INNOEVENT SHALL ASUS, ITS
DIRECTORS,OFFICERS,EMPLOYEESORAGENTS BELIABLEFORANYINDIRECT,SPECIAL,
INCIDENTAL,OR CONSEQUENTIALDAMAGES(INCLUDINGDAMAGES FORLOSSOF PROFITS,LOSS
OFBUSINESS,LOSS OF USE OR DATA, INTERRUPTION OFBUSINESSANDTHELIKE),EVEN IF ASUS
HASBEEN ADVISEDOFTHEPOSSIBILITY OFSUCHDAMAGES ARISING FROMANYDEFECT OR
ERRORIN THISMANUAL ORPRODUCT.
SPECIFICATIONSAND INFORMATIONCONTAINEDIN THISMANUALAREFURNISHED FOR
INFORMATIONALUSE ONLY, AND ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGEAT ANY TIME WITHOUT NOTICE, AND
SHOULDNOT BE CONSTRUEDASA COMMITMENT BYASUS.ASUS ASSUMES NORESPONSIBILITY
ORLIABILITYFOR ANY ERRORS OR INACCURACIES THAT MAYAPPEARINTHISMANUAL,
INCLUDINGTHE PRODUCTSANDSOFTWAREDESCRIBEDIN IT.
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 identification or
explanation and to the owners’ benefit, without intent to infringe.
E2068
Revised Edition V2
April 2005

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Contents
Notices ........................................................................................................ vi
Safety information.................................................................................... vii
A8N-SLI specifications summary ........................................................... viii
Chapter 1: Hardware information
1.1 Before you proceed ................................................................... 1-2
1.2 Motherboard overview............................................................... 1-3
1.2.1 Placement direction .................................................... 1-3
1.2.2 Screw holes .................................................................. 1-3
1.2.3 Motherboard layout .................................................... 1-4
1.2.4 Layout contents.......................................................... 1-5
1.3 Central Processing Unit (CPU) .................................................. 1-7
1.3.1 Installing the CPU ........................................................ 1-7
1.3.2 Installing the heatsink and fan................................... 1-9
1.4 System memory ...................................................................... 1-12
1.4.1 Overview.................................................................... 1-12
1.4.2 Memory configurations............................................ 1-12
1.4.3 Installing a DIMM ....................................................... 1-13
1.4.4 Removing a DIMM ..................................................... 1-13
1.5 Expansion slots ........................................................................ 1-14
1.5.1 Installing an expansion card .................................... 1-14
1.5.2 Configuring an expansion card ............................... 1-14
1.5.3 PCI slots..................................................................... 1-16
1.5.4 PCI Express x16 slot ................................................ 1-16
1.5.5 PCI Express x1 slot................................................... 1-16
1.6 Jumper...................................................................................... 1-17
1.7 Connectors............................................................................... 1-18
1.7.1 Rear panel connectors ............................................. 1-18
1.7.2 Internal connectors .................................................. 1-20

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Contents
Chapter 2: BIOS setup
2.1 Managing and updating your BIOS ........................................... 2-2
2.1.1 Creating a bootable floppy disk ................................ 2-2
2.1.2 AwardBIOS Flash Utility .............................................. 2-3
2.2 BIOS Setup program................................................................... 2-8
2.2.1 BIOS menu bar ............................................................. 2-9
2.2.2 Legend bar ................................................................... 2-9
2.3 Main Menu................................................................................. 2-11
2.3.1 System Time ............................................................. 2-11
2.3.2 System Date ............................................................. 2-11
2.3.3 Legacy Diskette A.................................................... 2-11
2.3.4 Installed Memory ...................................................... 2-11
2.3.5 Primary and Secondary IDE Master/Slave ............. 2-12
2.3.6 First, Second, Third, and Fourth SATA Master ..... 2-14
2.3.7 Installed Memory ...................................................... 2-15
2.4 Advanced Menu ....................................................................... 2-16
2.4.1 CPU configuration..................................................... 2-17
2.4.2 Chipset configuration .............................................. 2-18
2.4.3 PCIPnP ........................................................................ 2-20
2.4.4 Onboard device configuration ............................... 2-22
2.5 Power Menu.............................................................................. 2-28
2.5.1 APM configuration.................................................... 2-29
2.5.2 Hardware monitor..................................................... 2-31
2.6 Boot Menu ................................................................................ 2-32
2.6.1 Boot Device Priority ................................................. 2-33
2.6.2 Hard Disk Drives ....................................................... 2-33
2.6.3 Boot settings configuration.................................... 2-34
2.6.4 Security ..................................................................... 2-36
2.7 Exit menu.................................................................................. 2-37

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Chapter 3: NVIDIA® SLI™ technology support
3.1 Overview...................................................................................... 3-2
3.1.1 Requirements............................................................... 3-2
3.1.2 ASUS Certified SLI Graphics cards ............................ 3-2
3.2 Dual graphics card setup........................................................... 3-4
3.2.1 Setting the ASUS EZ selector card ........................... 3-4
3.2.2 Installing SLI-ready graphics cards............................ 3-6
3.2.3 Installing the device drivers .................................... 3-10
3.2.4 Enabling the multi-GPU feature in Windows
®...............
3-10

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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 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
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.
The use of shielded cables for connection of the monitor to the graphics
card is required to assure compliance with FCC regulations. Changes or
modifications to this unit not expressly approved by the party
responsible for compliance could void the user’s authority to operate
this equipment.

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Safety information
Electrical safety
• To prevent electrical shock hazard, disconnect the power cable from
the electrical outlet before relocating the system.
• When adding or removing devices to or from the system, 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 add a device.
• Before connecting or removing signal cables from the motherboard,
ensure that all power cables are unplugged.
• Seek professional assistance before using an adapter or extension cord.
These devices could interrupt the grounding circuit.
• Make sure that your power supply is set to the correct voltage in your
area. If you are not sure about the voltage of the electrical outlet you
are using, contact your local power company.
• If the power supply is broken, do not try to fix it by yourself. Contact a
qualified service technician or your retailer.
Operation safety
• Before installing the motherboard and adding devices on it, carefully read
all the manuals that came with the package.
• Before using the product, make sure all cables are correctly connected
and the power cables are not damaged. If you detect any damage,
contact your dealer immediately.
• To avoid short circuits, keep paper clips, screws, and staples away from
connectors, slots, sockets and circuitry.
• Avoid dust, humidity, and temperature extremes. Do not place the
product in any area where it may become wet.
• Place the product on a stable surface.
• If you encounter technical problems with the product, contact a qualified
service technician or your retailer.

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A8N-SLI specifications summary
CPU
Chipset
Front Side Bus
Memory
Expansion slots
Storage
Audio
LAN
IEEE 1394
USB
BIOS features
Special features
Socket 939 for AMD Athlon™ 64FX/AMD Athlon™ 64
processor
Supports AMD 64 architecture that enables simultaneous
32-bit and 64-bit architecture
NVIDIA
®
nForce™4SLI
1 GHz (K8) / 800 MHz
Dual-channelmemory architecture
4 x 184-pin DIMM sockets support non-ECC
unbufferred 400 MHz DDR memory modules
Supports up to 2 GB system memory
2 x PCI Express™ x16 slot for discrete graphics cards*
2 x PCI Express™ x1 slots
3 x PCI slots
NVIDIA
®
nForce™4 SLI chipset supports:
- 4 x Ultra DMA 133/100/66/33 hard disk drives
- 4 x Serial ATA drives with RAID 0, RAID 1, and
RAID 0+1 configurations
Realtek
®
ALC850 8-channel CODEC
1 x Coaxial S/PDIF out port
1 x Optical S/PDIF out port
Marvell
®
88E81111 PCI Express™ Gigabit LAN controller
T1 1394a controller supports:
- 2 x IEEE 1394a ports
Supports up to 10 USB 2.0 ports
4 Mb Flash ROM, Phoenix-Award BIOS, LPC, Green, PnP,
DMI2.0, WfM2.0, SM BIOS 2.3, ACPI 2.0a
ASUSEZ Flash
(continued on the next page)

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1 x PS/2 mouse port
1 x Parallel port
1 x IEEE 1394a port
1 x LAN (RJ-45) port
4 x USB 2.0 ports
1 x Coaxial S/PDIF Out port
1 x Optical S/PDIF Out port
1 x PS/2 keyboard port
8-Channel audio ports
1 x Floppy disk drive connector
2 x IDE connectors
4 x Serial ATA connectors
1 x CPU fan connector
1 x Chassis fan connectors
1 x Chipset fan connector
3 x USB connectors
1 x IEEE 1394a connector
1 x Serial port connector
1 x 24-pin ATX power connector
1 x 4-pin ATX 12V power connector
1 x Internal audio connector
1 x Optical drive audio
1x Front panel audio connector
1 x System panel connector
ATX power supply (with 24-pin and 4-pin 12 V plugs)
ATX 12 V 2.0 compliant
ATX form factor: 12 in x 9.6 in (30.5 cm x 24.4 cm)
A8N-SLI specifications summary
Rear panel
Internal
connectors
Power
requirement
Form factor
*Specifications are subject to change without notice.

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