Asus P9a-i series User manual

Motherboard

P9A-I Series

E9515

Second Edition

June 2014

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, 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.

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 FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT SHALL ASUS, ITS

DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES OR AGENTS BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL,

INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS,

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.

SPECIFICATIONS AND INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS MANUAL ARE 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

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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.

iii

Contents

Notices ....................................................................................................................... vi

Safety information..................................................................................................... vii

About this guide......................................................................................................... ix

P9A-I Series Specifications Summary...................................................................... xi

Chapter 1: Product Introduction

1.1 Welcome! ....................................................................................................1-3

1.2 Package contents ...................................................................................... 1-3

1.3 Serial number label....................................................................................1-3

1.4 Special features..........................................................................................1-3

1.4.1 Product highlights........................................................................ 1-3

1.4.2 Innovative ASUS features........................................................... 1-4

Chapter 2: Hardware Information

2.1 Before you proceed ...................................................................................2-3

2.2 Motherboard overview............................................................................... 2-4

2.2.1 Placement direction..................................................................... 2-4

2.2.2 Screw holes................................................................................. 2-4

2.2.3 Motherboard layout ..................................................................... 2-5

2.2.4 Layout contents........................................................................... 2-6

2.3 Central Processing Unit (CPU) .................................................................2-8

2.4 System memory .........................................................................................2-8

2.4.1 Overview ..................................................................................... 2-8

2.4.2 Memory Congurations............................................................... 2-8

2.4.3 Installing a DIMM on a single clip DIMM socket.......................... 2-9

2.5 Expansion slots........................................................................................2-10

2.5.1 Installing an expansion card......................................................2-10

2.5.2 Conguring an expansion card ................................................. 2-10

2.5.3 Interrupt assignments................................................................ 2-11

2.5.4 PCI Express x8 slot (x4 Gen2 link) ........................................... 2-11

2.6 Onboard LEDs..........................................................................................2-12

2.7 Jumpers ....................................................................................................2-13

2.8 Connectors ...............................................................................................2-15

2.8.1 Rear panel connectors.............................................................. 2-15

2.8.2 Internal connectors.................................................................... 2-16

Chapter 3: Powering Up

3.1 Starting up for the first time...................................................................... 3-3

3.2 Powering off the computer........................................................................3-4

3.2.1 Using the OS shut down function................................................ 3-4

3.2.2 Using the dual function power switch.......................................... 3-4

Contents

Chapter 4: BIOS setup

4.1 Managing and updating your BIOS .......................................................... 4-3

4.1.1 ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3 utility................................................... 4-3

4.1.2 ASUS EzFlash Utility................................................................... 4-4

4.1.3 BUPDATER utility ....................................................................... 4-5

4.2 BIOS setup program ..................................................................................4-7

4.2.1 BIOS menu screen...................................................................... 4-8

4.2.2 Menu bar..................................................................................... 4-8

4.2.3 Menu items.................................................................................. 4-9

4.2.4 Submenu items ........................................................................... 4-9

4.2.5 Navigation keys........................................................................... 4-9

4.2.6 General help................................................................................ 4-9

4.2.7 Conguration elds ..................................................................... 4-9

4.2.8 Pop-up window............................................................................ 4-9

4.2.9 Scroll bar..................................................................................... 4-9

4.3 Main menu ................................................................................................4-10

4.3.1 System Language [English] ...................................................... 4-10

4.3.2 System Date ............................................................................. 4-10

4.3.3 System Time ............................................................................. 4-10

4.4 Advanced menu .......................................................................................4-11

4.4.1 Enable CRID [Disabled] ............................................................ 4-11

4.4.2 ACPI Settings............................................................................ 4-12

4.4.3 NCT6779D Super IO Conguration .......................................... 4-13

4.4.4 Serial Port Console Redirection................................................ 4-14

4.4.5 Onboard LAN I354 Conguration.............................................. 4-16

4.4.6 APM .......................................................................................... 4-17

4.4.7 PCI Subsystem Settings ........................................................... 4-18

4.4.8 Network Stack Conguration..................................................... 4-22

4.4.9 CSM Conguration.................................................................... 4-22

4.4.10 Trusted Computing.................................................................... 4-24

4.4.11 USB Conguration .................................................................... 4-24

4.4.12 iSCSI Conguration................................................................... 4-26

4.4.13 Intel(R) Ethernet Connection I354............................................. 4-26

4.4.14 Driver Health ............................................................................. 4-27

4.5 IntelRCSetup menu.................................................................................. 4-28

4.5.1 Processor Conguration............................................................ 4-29

4.5.2 Thermal Conguration............................................................... 4-32

4.5.3 USB Conguration .................................................................... 4-36

4.5.4 CK420 Conguration................................................................. 4-36

4.5.5 Network Conguration............................................................... 4-37

Contents

4.5.6 North Bridge Chipset Conguration .......................................... 4-37

4.5.7 Wake On Lan Conguration...................................................... 4-44

4.5.8 South Bridge Chipset Conguration.......................................... 4-44

4.5.9 System Event Log..................................................................... 4-48

4.6 Server Mgmt menu...................................................................................4-50

4.6.1 System Event Log..................................................................... 4-51

4.6.2 View FRU information ............................................................... 4-52

4.6.3 BMC network conguration....................................................... 4-52

4.6.4 View System Event Log ............................................................ 4-53

4.6.5 IPv6 BMC Network Conguration ............................................. 4-53

4.7 Event Logs menu .....................................................................................4-55

4.7.1 Change Smbios Event Log Settings ......................................... 4-55

4.7.2 View Smbios Event Log ............................................................ 4-56

4.8 Security.....................................................................................................4-57

4.9 Boot menu ................................................................................................4-60

4.10 Monitor menu ...........................................................................................4-61

4.11 Tool menu.................................................................................................4-62

4.12 Exit menu..................................................................................................4-62

Chapter 5: Driver installation

5.1 Management applications and utilities installation ................................ 5-3

5.2 Running the Support DVD ........................................................................5-3

5.3 Installing the LAN driver..........................................................................5-11

5.4 Installing the VGA driver .........................................................................5-16

5.5 Installing the Intel®I354 Gigabit Adapters driver.................................. 5-19

Appendix A: Reference Information

A.1 Block diagram ........................................................................................... A-3

ASUS contact information.......................................................................................... 1

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 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://csr.asus.com/english/REACH.htm.

vii

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 x it by yourself. Contact a qualied 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 qualied service

technician or your retailer.

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.

viii

Australia statement notice

From 1 January 2012 updated warranties apply to all ASUS products, consistent with

the Australian Consumer Law. For the latest product warranty details please visit http://

support.asus.com. Our goods come with guarantees that cannot be excluded under the

Australian Consumer Law. You are entitled to a replacement or refund for a major failure and

compensation for any other reasonably foreseeable loss or damage. You are also entitled

to have the goods repaired or replaced if the goods fail to be of acceptable quality and the

failure does not amount to a major failure.

If you require assistance please call ASUS Customer Service 1300 2787 88 or visit us at

http://support.asus.com

About this guide

This user guide contains the information you need when installing and conguring the

motherboard.

How this guide is organized

This user guide contains the following parts:

• Chapter1:Productintroduction

This chapter describes the features of the motherboard and the new technologies it

supports.

• Chapter2:Hardwareinformation

This chapter lists the hardware setup procedures that you have to perform when

installing system components. It includes description of the switches, jumpers, and

connectors on the motherboard.

• Chapter3:Poweringup

This chapter describes the power up sequence and ways of shutting down the system.

• Chapter4:BIOSsetup

This chapter tells how to change system settings through the BIOS Setup menus.

Detailed descriptions of the BIOS parameters are also provided.

• Chapter5:Driverinstallation

This chapter provides instructions for installing the necessary drivers for different

system components.

• Appendix:Referenceinformation

This appendix includes additional information that you may refer to when conguring

the motherboard.

Where to find 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.

Conventions used in this guide

To ensure that you perform certain tasks properly, take note of the following symbols used

throughout this manual.

DANGER/WARNING: Information to prevent injury to yourself when trying to

complete a task.

CAUTION: Information to prevent damage to the components when trying to

complete a task

IMPORTANT: Instructions that you MUST follow to complete a task.

NOTE: Tips and additional information to help you complete a task.

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> + <Del>

Command

Means that you must type the command exactly as shown,

then supply the required item or value enclosed in brackets.

Example: At DOS prompt, type the command line:

format A:/S

Model Name P9A-I/C2750/SAS/4L P9A-I/C2550/SAS/4L P9A-I/C2550/4L

Processor Support / System Bus Intel®Atom®C-Series FCBGA processor (Avoton)

C2750 C2550

Form Factor Mini-ITX, 6.7 in. x 6.7 in.

ASUS Features Fan Speed Control

ASWM Enterprise

Memory

Total Slots 2 (2 Channels)

Capacity Maximum up to 32GB

Memory Type DDR3 1333/1600 ECC/Non-ECC UDIMM

Expansion

Slots (follow

SSI Location

number)

Total PCI//PCI-X/

PCI-E Slots 1

Slot Location 7 1 x PCI-E x8 (x4 Gen2 link)

Storage

SATA Controller 2 x SATA 6Gb/s ports (1 for SATA 6Gb/s or M.2 connector)

SAS Controller

4 x MiniSAS connector (Marvell

88SE9485 x 2; supports up to 16 SAS/

SATA 6Gb/s HDD connections)

Networking LAN 4 x Marvell 88E1543 Quad PHY ports

1 x Management port

Graphic VGA Aspeed AST2300 32MB

Onboard I/O

Connectors

PSU Connector 24-pin ATX power connector

4-pin ATX 12V power connector

Fan Header 5 x 4-pin headers

Chassis Intruder 1

Front LAN LED 4

Serial Port Header 1

SATA DOM Power

Connector 1

M.2 Connector 1 (NGFF Type 2242, Capacity 16~128 GB)

Rear I/O

Connectors

External USB Port 2 x USB 2.0

VGA Port 1

RJ-45 4 x GbE LAN

1 x Management LAN

Management

Solution

Software ASWM Enterprise

Out of Band

Remote

Management

ASMB7-iKVM for KVM-over-Internet

Monitoring CPU Temperature

FAN RPM

Regulatory Compliance CE, FCC(Class B)

P9A-I Series Specifications Summary

(continued on the next page)

xii

Environment

Operation temperature:

10oC – 35oC (50oF – 95oF)

Non operation temperature:

-40oC – 70oC (-40oF – 158oF)

Non operation humidity:

20% – 90% (Non condensing)

Product SKUs

Standard Gift Box

Pack with ASMB7

Standard Bulk Pack

with ASMB7

Specications are subject to change without notice.

P9A-I Series Specifications Summary

Chapter 1:

Product Introduction

ASUS P9A-I Series

Chapter summary

This chapter describes the motherboard features and the new technologies it supports. This

chapter contains the following sections:

1.1 Welcome! ....................................................................................................1-3

1.2 Package contents ...................................................................................... 1-3

1.3 Serial number label....................................................................................1-3

1.4 Special features..........................................................................................1-3

ASUS P9A-I Series 1-3

1.1 Welcome!

Thank you for buying an ASUS®P9A-I Series motherboard!

The motherboard delivers a host of new features and latest technologies, making it another

standout in the long line of ASUS quality motherboards!

Before you start installing the motherboard and hardware devices on it, check the items in

your package with the list below.

1.2 Package contents

Check your motherboard package for the following items.

• Install a CPU fan on P9A-I/C2750/SAS/4L, when the airow through the heatsink is

below 1.5CFM.

• If any of the above items is damaged or missing, contact your retailer.

Items Standard Gift Box Pack Standard Bulk Pack

CPU fan (P9A-I/C2750/SAS/4L only) 11

I/O Shield 11

Cables SATA 6Gb/s cable 2 -

COM port cable 1 -

Application CD Support CD 2 2

ASWM Enterprise SDVD 1 1

Packaging Qty. 1 pc per carton 10 pcs per carton

1.3 Serial number label

Before requesting support from the ASUS Technical Support team, you must take note of the

motherboard's serial number containing 12 characters xxS2xxxxxxxx shown as the gure

below. With the correct serial number of the product, ASUS Technical Support team members

can then offer a quicker and satisfying solution to your problems.

xxS2xxxxxxxx

P9A-I Series Made

China

合格

1.4 Special features

1.4.1 Product highlights

Latest processor technology

This motherboard supports the latest Intel®Atom®C-Series FCBGA processor, which has

memory and PCI Express controller integrated to support 2-channel (2 DIMMs) DDR3

memory and 4 PCI Express 2.0 lanes. The Intel®Atom®C-Series FCBGA processor has

improve CPU performance and integrated voltage regulators making it one of the most

powerful and energy efcient CPU in the world.

1-4 Chapter 1: Product introduction

Intel®Turbo Boost

Intel®Turbo Boost automatically allows the processor to run faster than the marked frequency

if the processor is operating below its power, current, and temperature specication

limits. This technology increases performance of both multi-threaded and single-threaded

workloads.

DDR3 memory support

The motherboard supports ECC/Non-ECC UDIMM DDR3 memory that features data transfer

rates of 1600/1333 MHz to meet the higher bandwidth requirements of server and workstation

applications. The dual-channel DDR3 architecture boosts system performance, eliminates

bottlenecks with peak bandwidth up to 25.6GB/s, and dramatically reduces the memory

voltage to just 1.5V compared to DDR2's memory voltage of 1.8V.

Marvell 88E1543 Quad PHY LAN Solution

The motherboard comes with four LAN controllers and ports which provide a total solution for

your networking needs. The onboard Marvell 88E1543 Quad PHY LAN controllers use the

SGMII interface and could achieve network throughput close to Gigabit bandwidth.

Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology (EIST)

The Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology (EIST) intelligently manages the CPU resources

by automatically adjusting the CPU voltage and core frequency depending on the CPU

loading and system speed or power requirement.

Serial ATA III technology

The motherboard supports the Serial ATA III 6 Gb/s technology through the Serial ATA

interface. Get enhanced scalability, faster data retrieval, double the bandwidth of current bus

systems with up to 6Gbps data transfer rates.

M.2 Support

This motherboard features the M.2 slot, which shares bandwidth with the SATA 6Gb/s port

and is dedicated to the operating system.

Temperature, fan, and voltage monitoring

The CPU temperature is monitored to prevent overheating and damage. The system fan

rotations per minute (RPM) is monitored for timely failure detection. The chip monitors the

voltage levels to ensure stable supply of current for critical components.

1.4.2 Innovative ASUS features

ASUS Fan Speed technology

The ASUS Fan Speed technology smartly adjusts the fan speeds according to the system

loading to ensure quiet, cool, and efcient operation.

Chapter 2:

Hardware Information

Chapter 1: Product introduction