DFI NF4 SLI INFINITY User manual

87100522
System Board
User’s Manual

Copyright
This publication contains information that is protected by copyright.
No part of it may be reproduced in any form or by any means or
used to make any transformation/adaptation without the prior
written permission from the copyright holders.
This publication is provided for informational purposes only. The
manufacturer makes no representations or warranties with respect to
the contents or use of this manual and specifically disclaims any
express or implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for any
particular purpose.The user will assume the entire risk of the use or
the results of the use of this document. Further, the manufacturer
reserves the right to revise this publication and make changes to its
contents at any time, without obligation to notify any person or
entity of such revisions or changes.
© 2005. All Rights Reserved.
Trademarks
Product names or trademarks appearing in this manual are for
identification purpose only and are the properties of the respective
owners.

FCC and DOC Statement on Class B
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 when the equipment is operated in a residential
installation. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio
frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with
the instruction manual, 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 the receiver.
• Connect the equipment into 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.
Notice:
1. The changes or modifications not expressly approved by the
party responsible for compliance could void the user's authority
to operate the equipment.
2. Shielded interface cables must be used in order to comply with
the emission limits.

Introduction
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4
Table of Contents
About this Manual................................................................................
Warranty.....................................................................................................
Static Electricity Precaution................................................................
Safety Measures.....................................................................................
About the Package...............................................................................
Before Using the System Board.........................................................
Chapter 1 - Introduction....................................................................
Specifications...................................................................................................................................
Special Features of the System Board..................................................................
Chapter 2 - Hardware Installation....................................................
System Board Layout ..........................................................................................................
System Memory..........................................................................................................................
CPU.......................................................................................................................................................
Jumper Settings............................................................................................................................
Rear Panel I/O Ports.............................................................................................................
I/O Connectors..........................................................................................................................
SLI Technology................................................................................................................................
Chapter 3 - BIOS Setup......................................................................
Award BIOS Setup Utility.................................................................................................
NVRAID BIOS............................................................................................................................
Updating the BIOS..................................................................................................................
Chapter 4 - Supported Softwares.....................................................
Drivers, Utilities and Software Applications......................................................
Installation Notes.......................................................................................................................
Appendix A - System Error Messages...............................................
POST Beep.................................................................................................................................
Error Messages.........................................................................................................................
Appendix B - Troubleshooting..........................................................
Troubleshooting Checklist...............................................................................................
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Introduction
5
About this Manual
This user’s manual contains detailed information about the system
board. If, in some cases, some information doesn’t match those
shown in the multilingual manual, the multilingual manual should al-
ways be regarded as the most updated version. The multilingual
manual is included in the system board package.
To view the user’s manual, insert the CD into a CD-ROM drive.The
autorun screen (Mainboard Utility CD) will appear. Click the
“TOOLS” icon then click “Manual” on the main menu.
Warranty
1. Warranty does not cover damages or failures that arised from
misuse of the product, inability to use the product, unauthorized
replacement or alteration of components and product
specifications.
2. The warranty is void if the product has been subjected to
physical abuse, improper installation, modification, accidents or
unauthorized repair of the product.
3. Unless otherwise instructed in this user’s manual, the user may
not, under any circumstances, attempt to perform service,
adjustments or repairs on the product, whether in or out of
warranty. It must be returned to the purchase point, factory or
authorized service agency for all such work.
4. We will not be liable for any indirect, special, incidental or
consequencial damages to the product that has been modified
or altered.

Introduction
1
6
Static Electricity Precautions
It is quite easy to inadvertently damage your PC, system board,
components or devices even before installing them in your system
unit. Static electrical discharge can damage computer components
without causing any signs of physical damage. You must take extra
care in handling them to ensure against electrostatic build-up.
1. To prevent electrostatic build-up, leave the system board in its
anti-static bag until you are ready to install it.
2. Wear an antistatic wrist strap.
3. Do all preparation work on a static-free surface.
4. Hold the device only by its edges. Be careful not to touch any of
the components, contacts or connections.
5. Avoid touching the pins or contacts on all modules and
connectors. Hold modules or connectors by their ends.
Important:
Electrostatic discharge (ESD) can damage your processor, disk
drive and other components. Perform the upgrade instruction
procedures described at an ESD workstation only. If such a
station is not available, you can provide some ESD protection
by wearing an antistatic wrist strap and attaching it to a metal
part of the system chassis. If a wrist strap is unavailable,
establish and maintain contact with the system chassis
throughout any procedures requiring ESD protection.
Safety Measures
To avoid damage to the system:
• Use the correct AC input voltage range.....
To reduce the risk of electric shock:
• Unplug the power cord before removing the system chassis
cover for installation or servicing. After installation or servicing,
cover the system chassis before plugging the power cord.
Battery:
• Danger of explosion if battery incorrectly replaced.
• Replace only with the same or equivalent type recommend by
the manufacturer.
• Dispose of used batteries according to the battery
manufacturer’s instructions.

1
Introduction
7
About the Package
The system board package contains the following items. If any of
these items are missing or damaged, please contact your dealer or
sales representative for assistance.
;The system board
;A user’s manual
;One IDE cable
;One floppy cable
;Two Serial ATA data cables
;One Serial ATA power cable
;One “nVRAID Driver” diskette
;One I/O shield
;One “Mainboard Utility” CD
The system board and accessories in the package may not come
similar to the information listed above.This may differ in accordance
to the sales region or models in which it was sold. For more
information about the standard package in your region, please
contact your dealer or sales representative.
Before Using the System Board
Before using the system board, prepare basic system components.
If you are installing the system board in a new system, you will need
at least the following internal components.
•A CPU
•Memory module
•Storage devices such as hard disk drive, CD-ROM, etc.
You will also need external system peripherals you intend to use
which will normally include at least a keyboard, a mouse and a video
display monitor.

Introduction
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8
Chapter 1 - Introduction
Specifications
Processor
• AMD AthlonTM 64 FX / AthlonTM 64 / SempronTM
• Socket 939
Front Side Bus
• 2000MT/s HyperTransport interface
Chipset
• NVIDIA nForce4TM SLI
- Supports NVIDIA SLITM (Scalable Link Interface)
System Memory
• Four 184-pin DDR SDRAM DIMM sockets
• Supports dual channel (128-bit wide) memory interface
• Supports up to 4GB system memory
• Supports PC2100 (DDR266), PC2700 (DDR333) and PC3200
(DDR400) DDR SDRAM DIMM
• Supports x8/x16 ECC/non-ECC unbuffered DIMMs, up to
512Mb DDR devices
Expansion Slots
• 2 PCI Express x16 slots (operates at x8 bandwidth)
• 2 PCI Express x1 slots
• 3 PCI slots
SLI (Scalable Link Interface) Mode
• Use 2 SLI-ready PCI Express x16 graphics cards (use identical
cards) on the PCI Express x16 slots.
• In SLI mode, the bandwidth of each x16 slot works at the
bandwidth of x8. When the graphics cards are connected via the
SLI bridge, it runs at x16 bandwidth.
Refer to chapter 2 for more information about NVIDIA SLI
technology.

1
Introduction
9
BIOS
• Award BIOS
• 4Mbit flash memory
Energy Efficient Design
• Supports ACPI specification and OS Directed Power
Management
• Supports ACPI STR (Suspend to RAM) function
• Wake-On-Events include:
- Wake-On-PS/2 Keyboard/Mouse
- Wake-On-USB Keyboard/Mouse
- Wake-On-LAN
- Wake-On-Ring
- RTC timer to power-on the system
• AC power failure recovery
Hardware Monitor
• Monitors CPU/system temperature
• Monitors VCC3/12V/3.3V/5VSB/Vbat voltages
• Monitors the speed of the cooling fans
• CPU Overheat Protection function monitors CPU temperature
during system boot-up
Onboard Audio Features
• 6-channel audio CODEC
• True stereo line level outputs
• S/PDIF-in/out interface
Onboard LAN Features
• Marvell 88E1111 Gigabit Phy
• Fully compliant to IEEE 802.3 (10BASE-T), 802.3u (100BASE-TX)
and 802.3ab (1000BASE-T) standards
• Integrated power management functions
• Supports wire for management
IDE Interface with NVIDIA RAID
• Supports two IDE connectors that allows connecting up to four
UltraDMA 133Mbps hard drives
• NVIDIA RAID allows RAID arrays spanning across Serial ATA
and Parallel ATA
• RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 0+1 and JBOD

Introduction
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10
Serial ATA Interface with NVIDIA RAID
• Supports four Serial ATA ports
• SATA speed up to 3Gb/s
• NVIDIA RAID allows RAID arrays spanning across Serial ATA
and Parallel ATA
• RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 0+1 and JBOD
IEEE 1394 Interface
• VIA VT6307
• Supports two 100/200/400 Mb/sec ports
Rear Panel I/O Ports
• 1 mini-DIN-6 PS/2 mouse port
• 1 mini-DIN-6 PS/2 keyboard port
• 2 S/PDIF RCA jacks (S/PDIF-in and S/PDIF-out)
• 1 parallel port
• 1 serial port
• 1 IEEE 1394 port
• 1 RJ45 LAN port
• 4 USB 2.0/1.1 ports
• Line-in, line-out and mic-in jacks
I/O Connectors
• 3 connectors for 6 additional external USB 2.0/1.1 ports
• 1 connector for 1 external IEEE 1394 port
• 1 front audio connector for external line-out and mic-in jacks
• 1 CD-in internal audio connector
• 1 S/PDIF connector for optical cable connection
• 1 IrDA connector
• 4 Serial ATA connectors
• 2 IDE connectors
• 1 floppy connector
• 1 24-pin ATX power connector
• 1 4-pin ATX 12V power connector
• 1 5V/12V power connector
• 1 front panel connector
• 3 fan connectors
PCB
• ATX form factor
• 24.4cm (9.6") x 30.5cm (12")

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Introduction
11
Special Features of the System Board
AMD AthlonTM 64
The system board supports the AMD AthlonTM 64 processor. AMD
AthlonTM 64 provides superior computing for many software
applications by allowing both 32-bit and 64-bit applications to run
simultaneously on the same platform. The operating system and
software are able to process more data and access a tremendous
amount of memory which improves the overall system performance.
2T timing which provides better system stability is supported in CG
or later revisions of the AMD AthlonTM 64 processor. You can select
the memory timing in the Genie BIOS Setting submenu (“DRAM
Configuration” section) of the BIOS.
AMD Cool‘n’QuietTM Technology
The AMD Cool‘n’QuietTM technology allows the system to detect the
CPU’s tasks and utilization status. When the CPU’s task slows down,
the system effectively lowers power consumption by lowering its
CPU speed and voltage, subsequently decreasing its noise level.
NVIDIA®SLITM (Scalable Link Interface) Technology
The NVIDIA®SLITM (Scalable Link Interface) technology connects
two SLI-ready PCI Express graphics cards in a single and scalable
system.The two identical graphics cards, which are connected via the
SLI bridge, will provide extreme performance allowing you to enjoy
games with the most visual effects and the most graphics
demanding multimedia utilities. Dual GPUs provide increased 3D
graphics and doubles the graphics performance.

Introduction
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12
PCI Express
PCI Express is a high bandwidth I/O infrastructure that possesses
the ability to scale speeds by forming multiple lanes. The system
board currently supports the physical layer of x1 and x16 lane
widths.
The x1 PCI Express lane supports transfer rate of 2.5 Gigabytes
(250MBbps) per second. The PCI Express architecture also provides
a high performance graphics infrastructure by enhancing the capability
of a x16 PCI Express lane to provide 4 Gigabytes per second
transfer rate.
CPU Overheat Protection
CPU Overheat Protection has the capability of monitoring the CPU’s
temperature during system boot up. Once the CPU’s temperature
exceeded the temperature limit pre-defined by the CPU, the system
will automatically shutdown.This preventive measure has been added
to protect the CPU from damage and insure a safe computing
environment.
DDR
Double Data Rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM) is a type of SDRAM
that doubles the data rate through reading and writing at both the
rising and falling edge of each clock. This effectively doubles the
speed of operation therefore doubling the speed of data transfer.
6-channel Audio
The audio jacks at the rear panel will support 6-channel audio only
when the audio utility is configured to support this function.The mic-
in at the rear will be disabled. Use the front audio’s mic-in jack.

1
Introduction
13
S/PDIF
S/PDIF is a standard audio file transfer format that transfers digital
audio signals to a device without having to be converted first to an
analog format. This prevents the quality of the audio signal from
degrading whenever it is converted to analog. S/PDIF is usually
found on digital audio equipment such as a DAT machine or audio
processing device.The S/PDIF connector on the system board sends
surround sound and 3D audio signal outputs to amplifiers and
speakers and to digital recording devices like CD recorders.
Serial ATA Interface with NVIDIA RAID
Serial ATA is a storage interface that is compliant with SATA 1.0
specification. With speed of up to 3Gb/s, it improves hard drive
performance faster than the standard parallel ATA whose data
transfer rate is 100MB/s. The system board supports NVIDIA RAID
that allows RAID arrays spanning across 4 Serial ATA and Parallel
ATA drives. It supports RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 0+1 and JBOD.
IEEE 1394 Interface
IEEE 1394 is fully compliant with the 1394 OHCI (Open Host
Controller Interface) 1.1 specification. It supports up to 63 devices
that can run simultaneously on a system. 1394 is a fast external bus
standard that supports data transfer rates of up to 400Mbps. In
addition to its high speed, it also supports isochronous data transfer
which is ideal for video devices that need to transfer high levels of
data in real-time. 1394 supports both Plug-and-Play and hot
plugging.
IrDA Interface
The system board is equipped with an IrDA connector for wireless
connectivity between your computer and peripheral devices. The
IRDA (Infrared Data Association) specification supports data
transfers of 115K baud at a distance of 1 meter.

Introduction
1
14
USB Ports
The system board supports USB 2.0 and USB 1.1 ports. USB 1.1
supports 12Mb/second bandwidth while USB 2.0 supports 480Mb/
second bandwidth providing a marked improvement in device
transfer speeds between your computer and a wide range of
simultaneously accessible external Plug and Play peripherals.
Dual Function Power Button
Depending on the setting in the “Soft-Off By PBTN” field of the
Power Management Setup, this switch will allow the system to enter
the Soft-Off or Suspend mode.
Wake-On-Ring
This feature allows the system that is in the Suspend mode or Soft
Power Off mode to wake-up/power-on to respond to calls coming
from an external modem or respond to calls from a modem PCI
card that uses the PCI PME (Power Management Event) signal to
remotely wake up the PC.
Important:
If you are using a modem add-in card, the 5VSB power source
of your power supply must support a minimum of ≥ 720mA.
Wake-On-LAN
This feature allows the network to remotely wake up a Soft Power
Down (Soft-Off) PC. It is supported via the onboard LAN port or
via a PCI LAN card that uses the PCI PME (Power Management
Event) signal. However, if your system is in the Suspend mode, you
can power-on the system only through an IRQ or DMA interrupt.
Important:
The 5VSB power source of your power supply must support
≥ 720mA.

1
Introduction
15
Wake-On-PS/2 Keyboard/Mouse
This function allows you to use the PS/2 keyboard or PS/2 mouse
to power-on the system.
Important:
The 5VSB power source of your power supply must support
≥ 720mA.
Wake-On-USB Keyboard/Mouse
This function allows you to use a USB keyboard or USB mouse to
wake up a system from the S3 (STR - Suspend To RAM) state.
Important:
If you are using the Wake-On-USB Keyboard/Mouse function for
2 USB ports, the 5VSB power source of your power supply
must support ≥ 1.5A. For 3 or more USB ports, the 5VSB
power source of your power supply must support ≥ 2A.
RTC Timer to Power-on the System
The RTC installed on the system board allows your system to
automatically power-on on the set date and time.
ACPI
The system board is designed to meet the ACPI (Advanced
Configuration and Power Interface) specification. ACPI has energy
saving features that enables PCs to implement Power Management
and Plug-and-Play with operating systems that support OS Direct
Power Management. Currently, only Windows®®
®®
®2000/XP supports
the ACPI function. ACPI when enabled in the Power Management
Setup will allow you to use the Suspend to RAM function.
With the Suspend to RAM function enabled, you can power-off the
system at once by pressing the power button or selecting “Standby”
when you shut down Windows®®
®®
®2000/XP without having to go
through the sometimes tiresome process of closing files, applications
and operating system. This is because the system is capable of
storing all programs and data files during the entire operating session
into RAM (Random Access Memory) when it powers-off. The
operating session will resume exactly where you left off the next time
you power-on the system.

Introduction
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16
Important:
The 5VSB power source of your power supply must support
≥ 1A.
AC Power Failure Recovery
When power returns after an AC power failure, you may choose to
either power-on the system manually, let the system power-on
automatically or return to the state where you left off before power
failure occurs.

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2
Hardware Installation
System Board Layout
Chapter 2 - Hardware Installation

18
2Hardware Installation
System Memory
Warning:
Electrostatic discharge (ESD) can damage your system board,
processor, disk drives, add-in boards, and other components. Perform
the upgrade instruction procedures described at an ESD workstation
only. If such a station is not available, you can provide some ESD
protection by wearing an antistatic wrist strap and attaching it to a
metal part of the system chassis. If a wrist strap is unavailable,
establish and maintain contact with the system chassis throughout
any procedures requiring ESD protection.
The system board supports DDR SDRAM DIMM. Double Data
Rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM) is a type of SDRAM that doubles the
data rate through reading and writing at both the rising and falling
edge of each clock. This effectively doubles the speed of operation
therefore doubling the speed of data transfer. Refer to chapter 1
(System Memory section) for detailed specification of the memory
supported by the system board.
Single/Dual Channel Memory
The four DDR DIMM sockets on the system board are divided into 2
channels:
Channel A - DDR 1 and DDR 3
Channel B - DDR 2 and DDR 4
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
DDR 4 Channel B
DDR 3 Channel A
DDR 2 Channel B
DDR 1 Channel A

19
2
Hardware Installation
The system board supports the following memory interface.
Single Channel (SC)
Data will be accessed in chunks of 64 bits (8B) from the memory
channels.
Dual Channel (DC)
Data will be accessed in chunks of 128 bits from the memory
channels. Dual channel provides better system performance because
it doubles the data transfer rate.
•DIMMs are on the same channel.
•DIMMs in a channel can be identical or
completely different. However, we highly
recommend using identical DIMMs.
•Not all slots need to be populated.
•DIMMs of the same memory configura-
tion are on different channels.
Single Channel
Dual Channel
The table below shows the DIMM sockets that must be populated
with DIMMs for single or dual channel interface. We strongly
recommend that you strictly follow the memory configurations below.
Installing DDR DIMMs other than the recommended configurations
may cause system boot failure.
DDR 1
-
DDR 1
DDR 1
-
DDR 1
-
Dual Channel
Dual Channel
Dual Channel
Single Channel
Single Channel
Single Channel
Single Channel
DDR 2
-
DDR 2
-
-
-
DDR 2
-
DDR 3
DDR 3
-
DDR 3
DDR 3
-
-
DDR 4
DDR 4
-
-
-
DDR 4

20
2Hardware Installation
Important Notes on Memory Usage
1. The system board will fail to boot when 3 DIMMs are used.
The integrated memory controller in AMD's 64-bit Socket 939
series CPU supports dual channel however when 3 DIMMs are
installed, the controller is not capable of accurately distinguishing
between dual and single channels resulting to boot up problem.
Even if you have luckily booted the system, the total memory
size detected is from 2 DIMMs only, not 3. Therefore we do not
suggest using 3 DIMMs.
Memory Speed
DDR400
DDR400
DDR400
DDR400
DDR400
DDR333
DDR400
DDR400
DDR400
DDR333
DIMM 1
S
D
S
D
S
D
S
D
DIMM 2
S
D
S
D
DIMM 3
S
D
S
D
S
D
DIMM 4
S
D
"S": Single side DIMM
"D": Double side DIMM
2. The table below lists different memory configurations and their
corresponding memory speed. Take note that some memory
configurations will automatically reduce the memory speed to
DDR333.
If in any case the system becomes unstable, set the memory
timing from “1T” to “2T” in the “1T/2T Memory Timing” field
(Genie BIOS Setting submenu of the Award BIOS).