EVGA X58 SLI3 User manual

User’s Guide
EVGA X58 SLI3 Motherboard

Table of Contents
User’s Guide .................................................................................................................1
EVGA X58 SLI3 Motherboard.......................................................................................1
Before You Begin… ......................................................................................................7
Parts NOT in the Kit................................................................................................. 7
Intentions of the Kit .................................................................................................. 7
EVGA X58 SLI3 Motherboard......................................................................................9
Motherboard Specifications...................................................................................... 9
Unpacking and Parts Descriptions.............................................................................11
Unpacking .............................................................................................................. 11
Equipment.............................................................................................................. 11
EVGA X58 SLI3 Motherboard................................................................................ 12
Hardware Installation ..................................................................................................15
Safety Instructions.................................................................................................. 15
Preparing the Motherboard.................................................................................... 16
Installing the CPU .............................................................................................. 16
Installing the CPU Fan ....................................................................................... 17
Installing System Memory (DIMMs)................................................................... 18
Installing the Motherboard...................................................................................... 19
Installing the I/O Shield ...................................................................................... 19
Securing the Motherboard into a System Case................................................. 20
Connecting Cables................................................................................................. 20
24-pin ATX Power (PW1)............................................................................... 21

8-pin ATX 12V Power (PW12) ....................................................................... 22
Connecting SATA Cables .................................................................................. 22
Connecting Internal Headers ............................................................................. 23
Front Panel Header........................................................................................ 23
IEEE1394a (Firewire)..................................................................................... 24
USB Headers ................................................................................................. 25
Audio.............................................................................................................. 26
Fan Connections................................................................................................ 27
Expansion Slots ................................................................................................. 28
PCI Slots ........................................................................................................ 29
PCI Express x1 Slots ..................................................................................... 29
PCI Express x16/x8 Slots............................................................................... 29
Onboard Buttons.................................................................................................... 30
Clear CMOS Button ....................................................................................... 30
RESET and POWER Button.......................................................................... 30
Post Port Debug LED and LED Status Indicators.................................................. 31
Post Port Debug LED..................................................................................... 31
LED Status Indicators .................................................................................... 31
Configuring the BIOS ..................................................................................................32
Enter BIOS Setup................................................................................................... 33
Main Menu.............................................................................................................. 33
Standard CMOS Features Menu ........................................................................... 36
Date and Time.................................................................................................... 37
SATA Channel.................................................................................................... 37
Halt On............................................................................................................... 39
Memory .............................................................................................................. 39
Advanced BIOS Features ...................................................................................... 40
Hard Disk Boot Priority....................................................................................... 41

CD-ROM Device Priority.................................................................................... 41
First/Second/Third Boot Device ......................................................................... 41
Boot Other Device.............................................................................................. 42
Boot Up NumLock Status................................................................................... 42
Security Option................................................................................................... 42
Integrated Peripherals Menu.................................................................................. 43
OnChip PATA/SATA Device.............................................................................. 44
Onboard Device ................................................................................................. 45
USB Device Settings.......................................................................................... 46
Power Management Setup Menu .......................................................................... 47
ACPI Function.................................................................................................... 47
ACPI Suspend Type........................................................................................... 48
Run VGABIOS if S3 Resume............................................................................. 48
Soft-Off by PWR-BTTN...................................................................................... 48
Wake-Up by PCI Card........................................................................................ 48
USB KB Wake-Up From S3............................................................................... 48
Resume by Alarm............................................................................................... 48
POWER ON Function ........................................................................................ 49
Hot Key Power On ............................................................................................. 49
PWRON after PWR-Fail..................................................................................... 49
PnP/PCI Configuration Menu................................................................................. 50
Init Display First.................................................................................................. 50
Reset Configuration ........................................................................................... 51
Resources Controlled By ................................................................................... 51
IRQ Resources................................................................................................... 51
PCI/VGA Palette Snoop..................................................................................... 52
INT Pin 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8 Assignment ................................................................... 52
Maximum Payload Size...................................................................................... 52

PC Health Status Menu.......................................................................................... 53
SmartFan Function............................................................................................. 54
Frequency/Voltage Control Menu .......................................................................... 55
Memory Feature................................................................................................. 56
Voltage Control................................................................................................... 58
CPU Feature ...................................................................................................... 59
Installing Drivers and Software ..................................................................................62
Windows XP/Vista Driver Installation..................................................................... 62
Appendix A. POST Codes for the EVGA X58 SLI3 Motherboard...............................63

List of Figures
Figure 1. EVGA X58 SLI3 Motherboard Layout.................................................... 13
Figure 2. Chassis Back Panel Connectors............................................................ 14
Figure 3. PW1 Motherboard Connector ................................................................ 21
Figure 4. BIOS CMOS Setup Utility Main Menu.................................................... 34
Figure 5. Standard CMOS Features Menu............................................................ 36
Figure 6. Advanced BIOS Features Menu ............................................................ 40
Figure 7. Integrated Peripherals Menu.................................................................. 43
Figure 8. Power Management Setup Menu........................................................... 47
Figure 9. PnP/PCI Configuration Menu................................................................. 50
Figure 10. PC Health Status Menu...................................................................... 53
Figure 11. Frequency/Voltage Control Menu ...................................................... 55
Figure 12. Memory Feature Menu....................................................................... 56
Figure 13. Voltage Control................................................................................... 58

Before You Begin…
Thank you for purchasing the EVGA X58 SLI3 Motherboard. This board is designed
to take the already excellent performance of the EVGA lineup and push it into the
future by adding support for SATA 6Gbps and USB 3.0.
As always with this board you also get the added bonus of EVGA’s industry leading
24/7 technical support in case you ever have any issues or questions.
Parts NOT in the Kit
This kit contains all the hardware necessary to install and connect your new
EVGA X58 SLI3 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 the 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 Hard Disk Drive may already have an
operating system.

EVGA X58 SLI3
Motherboard
Thank you for purchasing the EVGA X58 SLI3 Motherboard. This motherboard offers
enthusiast performance and when combined with two or three SLI-Ready NVIDIA®
GeForce®graphics cards, you get innovative NVIDIA®SLI®technology for enhanced
system performance.
Motherboard Specifications
Size
ATX form factor of 12 inch x 9.6 inch
Microprocessor support
Intel Core i7 processor
Operating systems:
Supports Windows XP, Vista, and Win 7 32/64 Bit
Contains INTEL X58 and ICH10R chipset
System Memory support
Supports triple channel JEDEC DDR3-1600+. Officially supports up to
24GBs of DDR3 memory.
USB 2.0 Ports
Supports hot plug
Twelve USB 2.0 ports (Eight rear panel ports, four onboard USB headers)
Supports wake-up from S1 and S3 mode
Supports USB 2.0 protocol up to a 480 Mbps transmission rate
USB 3.0 Ports
Supports hot plug
Two USB 3.0 ports
Backwards compatible USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 support
Supports transfer speeds up to 5Gbps

Six (6) onboard SATA II
300MBps data transfer rate
Six SATA II connectors from south bridge with support for RAID 0,
RAID 1, RAID 10 and RAID 5
Supports hot plug and NCQ (Native Command Queuing )
Two (2) SATA3 6Gbps onboard ports from Marvell 88SE9128 Chipset
Onboard LAN
Integrated LAN port
Supports 10/100/1000 Mbit/sec Ethernet
Onboard IEEE1394a (Firewire)
Support hot plug
Two IEEE1394a ports (two onboard headers) with a rate transmission of
400 Mbps
Onboard Audio
Realtek High-Definition audio
Supports 8-channel audio
Supports Jack-Sensing function
PCI Express Support
Three (3) PCI-E 2.0 Slots
Supports up to 4 GB/sec (8 GB/sec concurrent) bandwidth
Low power consumption and power management features
Green Function
Supports ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface)
Supports S0 (normal), S1 (power on suspend), S3 (suspend to RAM), S4
(Suspend to disk - depends on OS), and S5 (soft - off)
Expansion Slots
One PCI slot
Two PCI Express x1 slot
Three PCI Express x8/x16 slots

Unpacking and
Parts Descriptions
Unpacking
The EVGA X58 SLI3 Motherboard comes with all the necessary cables for
adding a motherboard to a system case. If 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 accessories are included with the EVGA X58 SLI3 Motherboard.
The EVGA X58 SLI3 Motherboard
This PCI Express motherboard contains the Intel X58 and
ICH10R chipset and is SLI-ready for both 2-Way and 3-Way
SLI configurations.
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.

1- 2-Port SATA Power Cables
Allows a Molex power connector to adapt to a SATA power
connector.
2- SATA Data Cables
Used to support the SATA protocol and each one connects a
single drive to the motherboard.
1- 2-Way SLI Bridge
Bridges two (2) graphic cards together which allows for
2-Way SLI.
1- 3-Way SLI Bridge
Bridges three (3) graphic cards together which allows for
3-Way SLI.
1- Installation CD
Contains drivers and software needed to setup the
motherboard.
EVGA X58 SLI3
Motherboard
The EVGA X58 SLI3 Motherboard with the Intel X58 and ICH10R chipset is a
PCI Express, SLI-ready motherboard. Figure 1 shows the motherboard and
Figures 2 shows the back panel connectors.

1. CPU Socket 1366
11. IEEE1394a Connector
21. Front Panel Audio Connector
2. Intel X58 Chipset
12. USB Headers
22. Back Panel Connectors (Figure 2)
3. DDR3 DIMM Slots 1 –6
13. Clear CMOS Button
23. CPU Fan Connector
4. Fan Connectors
14. Power Button
24. SATA 6Gbps connectors
5. 24-Pin ATX Power Connector
15. Reset Button
6. 8-pin ATX_12V Power Connector
16. Motherboard Battery
7. Intel ICH10R Chipset
17. PC Speaker
8. SATA II Connectors
18. PCI slots
9. Debug LED Display - CPU Temperature
Monitor
19. PCI Express 2.0 Slots
10. Front Panel Connector
20. PCI Express x1 Slot
Figure 1. EVGA X58 SLI3 Motherboard Layout
21
1
2
3
4
4
4
23
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
19
19
20
20
21
22
24
23
2
3

1. PS/2 Keyboard Port
2. USB 2.0 Ports (Eight)
3. Clear CMOS Button
4. USB 3.0 Ports (two)
5. LAN Port with LEDs to indicate status:
6. 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 Side Speaker Out
Figure 2. Chassis Back Panel Connectors
1
2
2
2
3
2
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
4
6
5

Hardware Installation
This section will guide you through the installation of the motherboard. The
topics covered in this section are:
Preparing the motherboard
Installing the CPU
Installing the CPU fan
Installing the memory
Installing the motherboard
Connecting cables
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.

Preparing the Motherboard
Installing the CPU
Be very careful when handling the CPU. 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. Put your finger on the tail of the load
plate and press down with light pressure
to lift the load plate up.
3. Lift the load plate. There is a protective
socket cover within the CPU socket to
protect the socket when there is no CPU
installed.
4. Remove the protective socket cover from
the CPU Socket.
Note: Remove the process 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
Note: Make sure the CPU is fully seated and
level in the socket.
7. Close the load plate over the CPU and
press down while you close and engage
the socket lever.
8. The CPU installation is complete.
Installing the CPU Fan
There are many different fan types that can be used with this motherboard.
Follow the instruction that came with you fan assembly. Be sure that the fan
orientation is correct for your chassis type and your fan assembly.
Align notches with notches on the CPU

Installing System Memory (DIMMs)
Your new motherboard has six 240-pin slots for DDR3 memory. These slots
support 1GB, 2GB, 4GB DDR3 DIMMs. There must be at least one memory bank
populated to ensure normal operation. Use the following the recommendations for
installing memory. (See Figure 1 on page 13 for the location of the memory slots.)
One DIMM: If using 1 DIMM (Single Channel), install into: DIMM slot 1.
Two or Four DIMMs: If using 2 DIMMs (Dual Channel), install into: DIMM
slots 1 and 3. If using 4 DIMMs (Dual Channel), install into: DIMM slots 2, 1,
4, and 3.
Three DIMMs: If using 3 DIMMs (Triple Channel), install into: DIMM slots 1,
3 and 5.
Six DIMMs: If using more than 4 DIMMs, use: DIMM slots 2, 1, 4, and 3 then
proceed to occupy the following DIMM slots in this order: 5 and 6.
Use the following
procedure to install DIMMs. Note that there is only one gap near the center of the
DIMM slot. This slot matches the slot on the DIMM to ensure the component is
installed properly.
1. Unlock a DIMM slot by pressing the module clips outward.
2. Align the DIMM to the DIMM slot, and insert the module vertically into the
DIMM slot. The plastic clips at both sides of the DIMM slot automatically lock
the DIMM into the connector.
DIMM Slot 2
DIMM Slot 1
DIMM Slot 4
DIMM Slot 3
DIMM Slot 6
DIMM Slot 5

Installing the Motherboard
The sequence of installing the motherboard into a system case depends on the
chassis you are using and if you are replacing an existing motherboard or working
with an empty system case. Determine if it would be easier to make all the
connections prior to this step or to secure the motherboard and then make all the
connections. It is normally easier to secure the motherboard first.
Use the following procedure to install the I/O shield and secure the motherboard
into the chassis.
Note: Be sure that the CPU fan assembly has enough clearance for the system case
covers to lock into place and for the expansion cards. Also make sure the CPU
Fan assembly is aligned with the vents on the covers. This will depend on the
system case being used.
Installing the I/O Shield
The motherboard kit comes with an I/O shield that is used to block radio
frequency transmissions, protects internal components from dust and foreign
objects, and promotes correct airflow within the chassis.
Before installing the motherboard, install the I/O shield from the inside of the
chassis. Press the I/O shield into place and make sure it fits securely. If the I/O
shield does not fit into the chassis, you would need to obtain the proper size from
the chassis supplier.

Securing the Motherboard into a System Case
Most system cases have a base with mounting studs or spacers to allow the
motherboard to be secured to the chassis and help to prevent short circuits. If there
are studs that do not align with a mounting hole on the motherboard, it is
recommended that you remove that stud to prevent the possibility of a short circuit.
In most cases, it is recommended to secure the motherboard using a minimum of
nine (9) spacers and screws.
1. Carefully place the motherboard onto the stand off /spacers located inside the
chassis.
2. Align the mounting holes with the studs/spacers.
3. Align the connectors to the I/O shield.
4. Ensure that the fan assembly is aligned with the chassis vents according to the
fan assembly instruction.
5. Secure the motherboard with a recommended minimum of nine (9) screws.
Connecting Cables
This section takes you through all the necessary connections on the motherboard.
This will include:
Power Connections
24-pin ATX power (PW1)
8-pin ATX 12V power (PW12)
Internal Headers
Front panel
IEEE 1394a
USB Headers
Audio
SATA II
SATA 3
Chassis Fans