EVGA 730i - nForce Motherboard - ATX User manual

User’s Guide
EVGA nForce 730i
Motherboard

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EVGA nForce 730i Motherboard
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Table of Contents
User’s Guide..................................................................................................................i 
EVGA nForce 730i Motherboard .................................................................................i
Before You Begin… ....................................................................................................ix
Parts NOT in the Kit .................................................................................................ix
Intentions of the Kit..................................................................................................ix
EVGA nForce 730i Motherboard ................................................................................1
Motherboard Specifications..................................................................................... 1
Unpacking and Parts Descriptions ............................................................................4
Unpacking ................................................................................................................ 4
Equipment................................................................................................................ 4
EVGA nForce 730i Motherboard............................................................................. 5
Hardware Installation ...................................................................................................8
Safety Instructions ................................................................................................... 8
Preparing the Motherboard...................................................................................... 9
Installing the CPU ................................................................................................ 9
Installing the CPU Fan ....................................................................................... 10
Installing System Memory (DIMMs) ................................................................... 10
Installing the Motherboard..................................................................................... 11
Installing the I/O Shield ...................................................................................... 12
Securing the Motherboard into a System Case ................................................ 12
Connecting Cables and Setting Switches ............................................................. 12
24-pin ATX Power (PW1) ................................................................................... 14
8-pin ATX 12V Power (PW12) ............................................................................ 15

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Connecting IDE Hard Disk Drives ...................................................................... 15
Connecting Serial ATA Cables........................................................................... 16
Connecting Internal Headers ............................................................................. 17
Front Panel Header............................................................................................ 17
USB Headers ..................................................................................................... 18
Audio.................................................................................................................. 19
SPK Header ....................................................................................................... 19
Fan Connections................................................................................................ 20
COM1................................................................................................................. 21
FDD Connector .................................................................................................. 21
Expansion Slots ................................................................................................. 21
PCI Slots ............................................................................................................ 22
PCI Express x1 Slots ......................................................................................... 22
PCI Express x16 Slot ......................................................................................... 22
Onboard Buttons ................................................................................................... 23
Clear CMOS Button........................................................................................... 23
RESET and POWER Button............................................................................... 23
Post Port Debug LED and LED Status Indicators ................................................. 25
Post Port Debug LED......................................................................................... 25
LED Status Indicators ........................................................................................ 25
Configuring the BIOS .................................................................................................26
Enter BIOS Setup................................................................................................... 27
Main Menu ............................................................................................................. 27
Standard CMOS Features Menu ........................................................................... 30
Date and Time.................................................................................................... 31
SATA Channel .................................................................................................... 31
Drive A................................................................................................................ 33
Halt On ............................................................................................................... 33

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Memory .............................................................................................................. 34
Advanced BIOS Features Menu ............................................................................ 35
Removable Device Priority................................................................................. 36
Hard Disk Boot Priority ...................................................................................... 36
CD-ROM Boot Priority ....................................................................................... 36
First/Second/Third Boot Device ........................................................................ 36
Boot Other Device.............................................................................................. 37
Boot Up NumLock Status.................................................................................. 37
Security Option .................................................................................................. 37
APIC Mode......................................................................................................... 38
MPS Version Control For OS ............................................................................. 38
Full Screen LOGO Show.................................................................................... 38
Advanced Chipset Features Menu ........................................................................ 39
Spread Spectrum Control .................................................................................. 40
Init Display First ................................................................................................. 40
Hybrid SLI .......................................................................................................... 40
Display Detection ............................................................................................... 41
Onbaord GPU .................................................................................................... 41
Frame Buffer Size............................................................................................... 41
HPET Support .................................................................................................... 41
Retrain PCIE dev to Gen2.................................................................................. 41
System BIOS Cacheable ................................................................................... 42
Integrated Peripherals Menu.................................................................................. 43
Storage Config ................................................................................................... 44
Onboard Devices ............................................................................................... 45
Legacy Devices.................................................................................................. 45
USB Device Setting............................................................................................ 46

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Power Management Setup Menu .......................................................................... 47
ACPI Function .................................................................................................... 47
ACPI Suspend Type........................................................................................... 48
Soft-Off by PBNT ............................................................................................... 48
WOL(PME#) From Soft-Off ................................................................................ 48
S5 Resume by USB ........................................................................................... 48
Power On by Alarm ............................................................................................ 48
POWER ON Function......................................................................................... 48
Hot Key Power On ............................................................................................. 49
PWRON After PWR-Fail ..................................................................................... 49
PnP/PCI Configuration Menu................................................................................. 50
Resources Controlled By ................................................................................... 51
IRQ Resources ................................................................................................... 51
PCI/VGA Palette Snoop ..................................................................................... 51
Maximum Payload Size...................................................................................... 52
PC Health Status Menu ......................................................................................... 53
SmartFan Function............................................................................................. 54
Frequency/Voltage Control Menu.......................................................................... 55
System Clocks ................................................................................................... 56
Frequency Settings............................................................................................ 56
FSB & Memory Config ....................................................................................... 57
FSB - Memory Clock Mode ............................................................................... 57
Memory Timing Setting...................................................................................... 59
System Voltages ................................................................................................ 61
CPU Feature....................................................................................................... 63
CPU Clock Ratio Unlock.................................................................................... 64
Installing Drivers and Software ................................................................................65
Drivers Installation.................................................................................................. 65

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Appendix A POST Codes for the EVGA nForce 730i Motherboard.........................68

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List of Figures
Figure 2.PW1 Motherboard Connector ........................................ 14
Figure 3.BIOS CMOS Setup Utility Main Menu............................ 28
Figure 4.Standard CMOS Features Menu.................................... 30
Figure 5.Advanced BIOS Features Menu..................................... 35
Figure 6.Advanced Chipset Features ........................................... 39
Figure 7.Integrated Peripherals Menu .......................................... 43
Figure 8.Power Management Setup Menu................................... 47
Figure 9.PnP/PCI Configuration Menu ......................................... 50
Figure 2.PC Health Status Menu.................................................. 53
Figure 3.Frequency/Voltage Control Menu .................................. 55
Figure 4.System Clocks Menu...................................................... 56
Figure 5.FSB & Memory Config Menu.......................................... 57
Figure 6.System Voltages Menu................................................... 61

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Before You Begin…
Parts NOT in the Kit
This kit contains all the hardware necessary to install and connect your new
EVGA nForce 730i motherboard. However, it does not contain the following
items that must be purchased separately to make the motherboard functional.
Intel Microprocessor
System Memory
Cooling fan for the Microprocessor
Graphics Card
Power Supply
EVGA assumes you have purchased all necessary parts needed to allow for
proper system functionality.
Intentions of the Kit
This kit provides you with the motherboard and all connecting cables necessary
to install the motherboard into a system case. If you are building a PC, you will
use most of the cables provided in the kit. If however, you are replacing a
motherboard, you will not need many of the cables.
When replacing a motherboard in a system case, you will need to reinstall an
operating system even though the current drives have an operating system.

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EVGA nForce 730i
Motherboard
Thank you for purchasing the EVGA nForce 730i Motherboard, with
integrated GeForce Graphics, this motherboard offers the tools and
performance PC users’ demand.
Motherboard Specifications
Size
ATX form factor of 12 inch x 9.5 inch
Microprocessor support
¾Intel Core 2 Extreme, Intel Core 2 Quad, Intel Core 2 Duo, Pentium
EE, Pentium D, Pentium
¾Intel CPU frontside bus (FSB) interface with Hyper-Threading
Technology support, running at up to 1333 MHz
Operating systems:
Supports Windows XP 32bit/64bit and Windows Vista 32bit/64bit
Contains NVIDIA GeForce 9300/nForce 730i Chipset
Support Hybrid SLI technology to enhance Add-on Graphic card
performance by NVIDIA Software settings for Windows Vista only
Integrated VGA
¾Integrated GeForce Series DirectX 10 Shader Model 4.0 graphics
processor, 400MHz RAMDAC for analog display resolutions up to
2560x1600
¾GeForce Boost Technology which increases the performance of a
discrete GeForce GPUs

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¾Next generation NVIDIA PureVideo HD video engine for full HD-
DVD and Blu-ray content decode and playback even with entry level
CPUs.
¾Integrated HDMI interface with High-Definition Content Protection
(HDCP) key support and protected audio stream mixing for full HDMI
¾Support Full NVIDIA®nView®multi-display technology capability
support D-SUB + DVI-D or HDMI
System Memory support
¾Supports 128-bit dual channel JEDEC DDR2-800. Supports up to 8
GBs DDR2 memory.
Twelve USB 2.0 Ports
¾Supports hot plug
¾Twelve USB 2.0 ports (four rear panel ports, eight onboard headers)
¾Supports wake-up from S1 and S3 mode
¾Supports USB 2.0 protocol up to 480 Mbps transmission rate
Onboard Serial ATA II
¾300MBps data transfer rate
¾Six S-ATA II connectors from south bridge and two S-ATA II
connectors from JMicron’s JMB363
¾NVIDIA MediaShield RAID with support for RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID
0+1, RAID 5, and JBOD
¾Supports hot plug and NCQ (Native Command Queuing )
Onboard LAN
¾LAN interface built-in onboard
¾Supports 10/100/1000 Mbit/sec Ethernet
Onboard Audio
¾Azalia High-Definition audio
¾Supports 8-channel audio
¾Supports S/PDIF output
¾Supports Jack-Sensing function

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Green Function
¾Supports ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface)
¾Supports S0 (normal), S1 (power on suspend), S3 (suspend to RAM),
S4 (Suspend to disk - depends on OS), and S5 (soft - off)
Expansion Slots
¾Three PCI slots
¾Two PCI Express x1 slot
¾One PCI Express x16 Graphics slots with PCI Express 2.0

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Unpacking and
Parts Descriptions
Unpacking
The EVGA nForce 730i motherboard comes with all the necessary cables for
adding a motherboard to a system case. If you are replacing a motherboard, you
may not need many of these cables.
All parts shipped in this kit are RoHS-compliant (lead-free) parts.
Equipment
The following equipment is included in the motherboard box.
The EVGA nForce 730i Motherboard
This PCI Express motherboard contains the
NVIDIA GeForce 9300 Chipset and is Hybrid SLI-
ready.
1 - Visual Guide
Helps to quickly and visually guide you through
the hardware installation of the motherboard.
1 - I/O Shield
Installs in the system case to block radio
frequency transmissions, protect internal
components from dust, foreign objects, and aids
in proper airflow within the chassis.

Hardware Installation
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1 - Floppy Cable
Used to attach a floppy drive to the motherboard.
1 - 2-Port SATA Power Cable
Allows a Molex power connector to adapt to a
SATA power connector.
2 - SATA Signal Cable
Used to support the Serial ATA protocol and each
one connects a single drive to the motherboard.
1 - IDE-ATA 133 HDD Cable
Passes data between the IDE connection on the
motherboard and IDE device.
1 - Driver Installation CD
Contains drivers and software needed to setup the
motherboard.
EVGA nForce 730i
Motherboard
The EVGA nForce 730i motherboard with the NVIDIA GeForce
9300/nForce 730i single chip is a PCI Express, NVIDIA GeForce Boost
Technology ready motherboard. Figure 1 shows the motherboard and Figures 2
shows the back panel connectors.

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1. CPU Socket – LGA 775 11. Diagnostic Code Display 21. PCI Express x1 Slot
2. NVIDIA SPP (with passive heat
sink) 12. FDD Connector 22. Front Panel Audio Connector
3. CPU Fan Connector 13. Motherboard Battery 23. Clear CMOS Button
4. DDR2 DIMM Slots 1 - 4 14. Serial Port Connector 24. Back Panel Connectors (Figure 2)
5. Power Fan Connector 15. System Fan Connector 25. 8-pin ATX_12V Power Connector
6. 24-pin ATX Power Connector 16. Power Button
7. IDE Connector 17. RESET Button
8. Serial-ATA (SATA) Connectors 18. USB Headers
9. Front Panel Connector 19. PCI Slots
10. Speaker Connector 20. PCI Express x16 Slot
Figure 1. EVGA nForce 730i Motherboard Layout
1
4
2
6
11
987
19 24
25
22
16
12
17
20
14
21
3
13
15
5
10
18
23

Hardware Installation
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1. PS/2 Mouse Port
2. PS/2 Keyboard Port
3. HDMI Port
4. Coaxial SPDIF output
5. Optical SPDIF output
6. VGA Port
7. DVI-D Port
8. USB 2.0 Ports (Four)
9. LAN Port with LEDs to indicate status:
10.Audio Port 2-Channel 6-Channel 8-Channel________
Blue Line-In Line-In Line-In
Green Line-Out Front Speaker Out Front Speaker Out
Pink Mic In Mic In Mic In
Orange Center/Subwoofer Center/Subwoofer
Black Rear Speaker Out Rear Speaker Out
Grey SideSpeakerOut
Figure 2. Chassis Back Panel Connectors
1
27
94
Activity LED Status Description
Off No data transmission
Blinking (Green) Data transmission
Speed/Link LED Status Description
Yellow 1000 Mbps data rate
Green 100 Mbps data rate
Off 10 Mbps data rate
5
6
8810 3

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Hardware Installation
This section will guide you through the installation of the motherboard. The
topics covered in this section are:
Preparing the motherboard
¾Installing the CPU
¾Installing the CPU fan
¾Installing the memory
Installing the motherboard
Connecting cables and setting switches
Safety Instructions
To reduce the risk of fire, electric shock, and injury, always follow basic
safety precautions.
Remember to remove power from your computer by disconnecting the
AC main source before removing or installing any equipment from/to the
computer chassis.

Hardware Installation
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Preparing the Motherboard
Installing the CPU
Be very careful when handling the CPU. Make sure not to bend or break any
pins in the socket. Hold the processor only by the edges and do not touch the
bottom of the processor.
Use the following procedure to install
the CPU onto the motherboard.
1. Unhook the socket lever by
pushing down and away from the
socket.
2. Lift the load plate. There is a
protective socket cover on the
load plate to protect the socket
when there is no CPU installed.
3. Remove the protective socket
cover
from the load plate.
4. Remove the processor from its
protective
cover, making sure you hold it
only by
the edges. It is a good idea to save
the
cover so that whenever you remove the
CPU, you have a safe place to store it.
5. Align the notches in the processor with the
notches on the socket.
6. Lower the processor straight down into the socket
with out tilting or sliding it into the socket.
Align notches with
notches on the CPU