Gigabyte GA-K8NSNXP User manual

GA-K8NSNXP
User's Manual
AMD Socket 754 Processor Motherboard
Rev. 1002
12ME-K8NSNXP-1002
Copyright
© 2005 GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD
Copyright by GIGA-BYTE TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.("GBT"). No part of this manual may be reproduced or transmitted in any from
without the expressed, written permission of GBT.
Trademarks
Third-party brands and names are the property of their respective owners.
Notice
Please do not remove any labels on motherboard, this may void the warranty of this motherboard.
Due to rapid change in technology, some of the specifications might be out of date before publication of this booklet.
The author assumes no responsibility for any errors or omissions that may appear in this document nor does the author make a
commitment to update the information contained herein.

Apr. 2, 2004
Mother Board
GA-K8NSNXP

MotherboardMotherboard
MotherboardMotherboard
Motherboard
Apr. 2, 2004
GA-K8NSNXPGA-K8NSNXP
GA-K8NSNXPGA-K8NSNXP
GA-K8NSNXP

- 4 -GA-K8NSNXP Motherboard
English
When you installing AGP card, please make sure the following notice is fully understood and
practiced. If your AGP card has "AGP 4X/8X (1.5V) notch" (show below), please make sure
your AGP card is AGP 4X/8X.
Caution: AGP 2X card is not supported by nVIDIA®nForceTM 3 250. You might
experience system unable to boot up normally. Please insert an AGP 4X/8X card.
AGP 4X/8X notch
Read Me First!

Read Me First!
English
- 5 -
Prepare your computer...
Computer motherboards and expansion cards contain very delicate Integrated Circuit (IC) chips. To
protect them against damage from static electricity, you should follow some precautions whenever you
work on your computer.
1. Unplug your computer when working on the inside.
2. Use a grounded wrist strap before handling computer components. If you do not have one,
touch both of your hands to a safely grounded object or to a metal object, such as the power
supply case.
3. Hold components by the edges and try not touch the IC chips, leads or connectors, or other
components.
4. Place components on a grounded antistatic pad or on the bag that came with the components
whenever the components are separated from the system.
5. Ensure that the ATX power supply is switched off before you plug in or remove the ATX power
connector on the motherboard.
Installing the motherboard to the chassis...
If the motherboard has mounting holes, but they don't line up with the holes on the base and there
are no slots to attach the spacers, do not become alarmed you can still attach the spacers to the
mounting holes. Just cut the bottom portion of the spacers (the spacer may be a little hard to cut off, so
be careful of your hands). In this way you can still attach the motherboard to the base without worrying
about short circuits. Sometimes you may need to use the plastic springs to isolate the screw from the
motherboard PCB surface, because the circuit wire may be near by the hole. Be careful, don't let the
screw contact any printed circuit write or parts on the PCB that are near the fixing hole, otherwise it
may damage the board or cause board malfunctioning.

- 6 -GA-K8NSNXP Motherboard
English
Table of Content
Read Me First! ........................................................................................ 4
Chapter 1 Introduction ............................................................................ 8
Features Summary ...................................................................................... 8
GA-K8NSNXP Motherboard Layout .......................................................... 10
Block Diagram ........................................................................................... 11
Chapter 2 Hardware Installation Process ............................................. 13
Step 1: Install the Central Processing Unit (CPU)..................................... 14
Step 2: Install Memory Modules ................................................................ 16
Step 3: Install Expansion Cards ................................................................ 17
Step 3-1: AGP Card Installation...................................................................................... 17
Step 3-2: K8 DPS (Dual Power System) Installation ................................................... 18
Step 4: Install I/O Peripherals Cables ....................................................... 19
Step 4-1: I/O Back Panel Introduction............................................................................ 19
Step 4-2: Connectors Introduction .................................................................................. 21
Chapter 3 BIOS Setup ......................................................................... 37
The Main Menu (For example: BIOS Ver. : E12) ...................................... 38
Standard CMOS Features......................................................................... 40
Advanced BIOS Features .......................................................................... 42
Integrated Peripherals ............................................................................... 44
Power Management Setup ....................................................................... 48
PnP/PCI Configurations ............................................................................. 50
PC Health Status........................................................................................ 51
Frequency/Voltage Control ........................................................................ 52

Table of Content
English
- 7 -
Top Performance ...................................................................................... 53
Load Fail-Safe Defaults ............................................................................. 53
Load Optimized Defaults ........................................................................... 54
Set Supervisor/User Password .................................................................. 54
Exit Without Saving .................................................................................... 55
Save & Exit Setup ....................................................................................... 55
Chapter 4 Technical Reference ........................................................... 57
@BIOS™Introduction ................................................................................. 57
K8 DPS (Dual Power System) Introduction .............................................. 58
Flash BIOS Method Introduction ............................................................... 59
2- / 4- / 6- / 8- Channel Audio Function Introduction ................................. 66
Jack-Sensing and UAJ Introduction .......................................................... 72
Xpress Recovery Introduction ................................................................... 74
Serial ATA BIOS Setting Utility Introduction ............................................... 77
Chapter 5 Appendix ............................................................................. 83

- 8 -GA-K8NSNXP Motherboard
English
CPU ySocket 754 for AMD Althlon™64 processor (K8)
y1600MHz system bus
ySupports core frequencies in excess of 1.6 GHz(2800+) and faster
Chipset ynVIDIA®nForce3TM 250
Memory y3 184-pin DDR DIMM sockets, support up to 3GB DRAM (Max.)
ySupports DDR400/333/266 DIMM
Slots y1 AGP slot supports 8X/4X(1.5V) mode
y5 PCI slots
On-Board IDE y2 IDE controllers provide IDE HDD/CD-ROM (IDE1, IDE2) with
PIO, Bus Master(DMA33/ATA66/ATA100/ATA133) operation modes
yIDE3 and IDE4 compatible with RAID, Ultra ATA133/100, Built-in
GigaRAID IT8212
On-Board Floppy y1 Floppy port supports 2 FDD with 360K, 720K,1.2M, 1.44M and
2.88M bytes
On-Board SATA y4 Serial ATA connectors
y2 SATA connectors controlled by nVIDIA®nForce3TM 250
(SATA0_SB, SATA1_SB) ;
2 SATA connectors controlled by SiI3512(SATA0_SII, SATA1_SII)
On-Board Peripherals y1 Parallel port supports Normal/EPP/ECP mode
y2 Serial ports (COMA & COMB)
y8 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports (4 x rear, 4 x front by cable)
y3 x IEEE1394b ports (by cable)
y1 Front audio connector
y1 IrDA connector for IR/CIR
y1 PS/2 keyboard
y1 PS/2 mouse
On-Board LAN yBuilt-in Marvell 8001 (10/100/1000 Mbit)(LAN1)
yBuilt-in ICS 1883 (10/100 Mbit)(LAN2)
y2 RJ45 ports
On-Board Sound yALC850 CODEC (UAJ)
ySupports Jack Sensing function
ySupports 2-/4-/6-/8-channel
yLine Out / Line In / Mic In
ySurround Back Speaker (by optional Surround-Kit)
ySPDIF In / Out
yCD In / Game connector
to be continued...
Chapter 1 Introduction
Features Summary

Introduction
English
- 9 -
On-Board SATA RAID yBuilt-in nVIDIA®nForce3TM 250
(SATA0_SB, SATA1_SB) ySupports disk striping (RAID 0) or disk mirroring (RAID 1)
ySupports JBOD function
ySupports up to 150MB/s data transfer rate
ySupports hot plug function
yUp to 2 SATA devices
On-Board SATA RAID yBuilt-in Silicon Image SiI3512
(SATA0_SII, SATA1_SII) ySupports disk striping (RAID 0) or disk mirroring (RAID 1)
ySupports up to 150MB/s data transfer rate
ySupports hot plug function
yUp to 2 SATA devices
On-Board IDE RAID yBuilt-in GigaRAID IT8212 chipset
(IDE3, IDE4) ySupports disk striping (RAID 0) or disk mirroring (RAID 1) or
striping + mirroring (RAID 0 + RAID 1)
ySupports JBOD function
ySupports concurrent dualATA133 IDE controller operation
ySupports ATAPI mode for HDD
ySupports IDE bus master operation
ySupports ATA133/RAID mode switch by BIOS
yDisplays status and error checking messages during boot-up
yMirroring supports automatic background rebuilds
yFeatures LBA and Extended Interrupt 13 drive translation in controller
onboard BIOS
I/O Control yIT8712
Hardware Monitor yCPU/System/Power fan revolution detect
yCPU/System/Power fan fail warning
yCPU temperature detect
yCPU warning temperature
ySystem voltage detect
yCPU smart fan control
yThermal shutdown function
BIOS yLicensed AWARD BIOS
ySupports Dual BIOS/Q-Flash
Additional Features ySupports CPU Dual Power System (DPS)
ySupports @BIOS
ySupports EasyTune 4
Overclocking yOver clock (CPU/AGP) by BIOS
yOver voltage (CPU/VDDQ/VCC12_HT/DDR) by BIOS
Form Factor yATX size form factor, 30.5cm x 24.4cm

- 10 -GA-K8NSNXP Motherboard
English
nVIDIA®
nForce™3
250
CD_IN
GA-K8NSNXP
KB_MS
COMB
LPT
USB
LAN1
(Gigabit
Ethernet)
ATX_12V
SOCKET 754
CPU_FAN
IDE1
IDE2
DDR2
COMA
PWR_LED
BAT
PCI1
PCI2
PCI3
F_USB1
IT8712
MAIN
BIOS
CODEC
PWR_FAN
DDR3
PCI4
PCI5
GAME
F_AUDIO
BACKUP
BIOS
SiI3512
SATA1_SII
RAM_LED
ATX
IR_CIR
NB_FAN
DDR1
SPDIF_IO
SUR_CEN
2X_DET
AUDIO
F_PANEL
F1_1394
INFO_LINK
AGP
USB
LAN2
(10/100)
FDD
SATA0_SII
ICS1883
TSB82AA2
F2_1394
Marvell
8001
TSB81BA3
F_USB2
CLR_CMOS
SATA0_SB SATA1_SB
SYS_FAN
VRM_CONN
IDE4
IDE3
GigaRAID
IT8212
CI
GA-K8NSNXP Motherboard Layout

Introduction
English
- 11 -
Block Diagram
CPUCLK+/- (200MHz)
System Bus
1600MHz
AGP Slot
4X/8X
AGPCLK
(66MHz)
5 PCI
PCICLK
(33MHz)
AMD K8
Socket 754
CPU
SiI3512
2 Serial ATA
DDR400/DDR333/266 DIMM
nVIDIA
nForceTM 3
250
LPC BUS
8 USB
Ports
ATA33/66/100/133
IDE Channels
IT8712
24 MHz
33 MHz
Game Port
Floppy
LPT Port
PS/2 KB/Mouse
2 COM Ports
BIOS IR_CIR
AC97 Link
MIC
LINE-IN
LINE-OUT
AC97
CODEC
2 Serial ATA
RJ45RJ45
ICS1883
LAN2
LAN1
3 IEEE1394b
TSB82AA2
TSB81BA3
DDR RAM
IT8212 IDE3
IDE4
Marvell
8001

- 12 -GA-K8NSNXP Motherboard
English

Hardware Installation Process
English
- 13 -
To set up your computer, you must complete the following steps:
Step 1 - Install the Central Processing Unit (CPU)
Step 2 - Install Memory Modules
Step 3 - Install Expansion Cards
Step 4 - Install I/O Peripherals Cables
Chapter 2 Hardware Installation Process
Step 2Step 4
Step 3
Step 4
Step 1
Step 4
Congratulations! You have accomplished the hardware installation!
Turn on the power supply or connect the power cable to the power outlet. Continue with the
BIOS/software installation.
Step 3

- 14 -
GA-K8NSNXP Motherboard
English
Step 1: Install the Central Processing Unit (CPU)
The installation of the processor and cooling fan is performed in four main steps:
Before installing the processor and cooling fan, adhere to the following warning:
1. Please make sure the CPU type is supported by the motherboard.
2. The processor will overheat without the heatsink and/or fan, resulting in permanent
irreparable damage.
3. If you do not match the CPU socket Pin 1 and CPU cut edge well, it will cause improper
installation. Please change the insert orientation.
4. Apply thermal grease between the processor and cooling fan.
5. Never run the processor without the heatsink properly and firmly attached. Permanent
damage will result.
6. Please set the CPU host frequency in accordance with your processor's specifications.
We don't recommend you to set the system bus frequency over the CPU's specification
because these specific bus frequencies are not the standard specifications for CPU,
chipset and most of the peripherals. Whether your system can run under these specific
bus frequencies properly will depend on your hardware configurations, including CPU,
Memory, Cards…etc.
Step1-1. First, check the processor pins to see that none are bent. Move the socket lever to the
unlocked position as shown in Figure 1.(90oto the plane of the motherboard) prior to inserting
the processor. The pin 1 location is designated on the processor by a copper triangle that
matches up to a triangle on the socket as shown in Figure 2. Align the processor to the socket
and gently lower it into place. Do not force the processor into the socket.
Figure 1.
Pull the lever to the 90-degree directly.
Figure 2.
Pin 1 location on the Socket and Processor. Move the
socket lever to the locked position while holding pressure
on the center of the processor.
Socket Lever

Hardware Installation Process
English
- 15 -
Step1-2. When the processor is installed in the socket, apply thermal grease to the processor(as shown
in Figure 3) prior to installing the heatsink. Phase change materials develop strong adhesive
forces between the heatsink and processor. Removing the heatsink under such condi-
tions can cause the processor to be removed from the socket without moving the
socket lever to the unlocked position and then damage the processor pins or socket
contacts.
** We recommend you to apply the thermal tape to provide better heat conduction between
your CPU and heatsink. (The CPU cooling fan might stick to the CPU due to the hardening of
the thermal paste. During this condition if you try to remove the cooling fan, you might pull the
processor out of the CPU socket alone with the cooling fan, and might damage the processor.
To avoid this from happening, we suggest you to either use thermal tape instead of thermal
paste, orremove the cooling fan with extreme caution.)
Figure 3.
Application of thermal grease to the processor.
Step 1-4. Connect the fan power wires to the header on the motherboard as shown in Figure 6.
Figure 6.
Connecting the fan power wires.
Step 1-3.Once the thermal grease has been applied to the processor, the heatsink can be attached to
the processor. Align the heatsink assembly with the support frame mating with the backer plate
standoffs as shown in Figure 4 & 5.
Figure 4 & 5.
Alignment of heatsink assembly
with standoffs.

- 16 -
GA-K8NSNXP Motherboard
English
Before installing the memory modules, adhere to the following warning:
1. When RAM LED is ON, do not install / remove DIMM from socket.
2. Please note that the DIMM module can only fit in one direction due to
the notch. Wrong orientation will cause improper installation. Please
change the insert orientation.
Step 2: Install Memory Modules
The motherboard has 3 dual inline memory module (DIMM) sockets. The BIOS will automatically
detects memory type and size. To install the memory module, just push it vertically into the DIMM
socket. The DIMM module can only fit in one direction due to the notch. Memory size can vary
between sockets.
1. The DIMM socket has a notch, so the DIMM memory
module can only fit in one direction.
2. Insert the DIMM memory module vertically into the DIMM
socket. Then push it down.
3. Close the plastic clip at both edges of the DIMM sockets
to lock the DIMM module.
Reverse the installation steps when you wish to remove
the DIMM module.
DDR
Notch

- 17 -
GA-K8NSNXP Motherboard
English
Step 3: Install Expansion Cards
1. Read the related expansion card's instruction document before install the expansion card into the
computer.
2. Remove your computer's chassis cover, screws and slot bracket from the computer.
3. Press the expansion card firmly into expansion slot in motherboard.
4. Be sure the metal contacts on the card are indeed seated in the slot.
5. Replace the screw to secure the slot bracket of the expansion card.
6. Replace your computer's chassis cover.
7. Power on the computer, if necessary, setup BIOS utility of expansion card from BIOS.
8. Install related driver from the operating system.
AGP Card
Please carefully pull out the small white-drawable bar at the end of the AGP slot when you try to install
/ uninstall the AGP card. Please align the AGP card to the onboard AGP slot and press firmly down on
the slot. Make sure your AGP card is locked by the small white-drawable bar.
When an AGP 2X (3.3V) card is installed the 2X_DET will light up, indicating a non-supported
graphics card is inserted. Informing users that system might not boot up normally due to AGP
2X (3.3V) is not supported by the chipset.
Step 3-1: AGP Card Installation

- 18 -
GA-K8NSNXP Motherboard
English
Step 3-2: K8 DPS (Dual Power System) Installation
1. The K8 DPS connector has a notch, so the K8 DPS can only fit in one direction.
2. Insert the K8 DPS vertically into the socket and then push it down.
3. Fix the K8 DPS on the motherbard with the clip.
4. Reverse the installation steps if you want to remove the K8 DPS.
What is K8 DPS ?
K8 DPS (Dual Power System) is a daughter card which can provide you the Dual Power System
function. A cool stylish neon blue K8 DPS that supply a total 6-phase power circuit design, delivers a
high durable power design for the new generation motherboard.
The K8 DPS can work in a Dual Power System:
• Parallel Mode :
K8 DPS and motherboard CPU power can work
simultaneously, providing a total of 6-phase power
circuit.
How to install a K8 DPS?

Hardware Installation Process
English
- 19 -
Step 4: Install I/O Peripherals Cables
Step 4-1: I/O Back Panel Introduction
PS/2 Keyboard and PS/2 Mouse Connector
This connector supports standard PS/2
keyboard and PS/2 mouse.
PS/2 Mouse Connector
(6 pin Female)
PS/2 Keyboard Connector
(6 pin Female)
/USB/LAN Connector Before you connect your device(s) into USB
connector(s), please make sure your device(s)
such as USB keyboard, mouse, scanner, zip,
speaker...etc. Have a standard USB interface.
Also make sure your OS supports USB
controller. If your OS does not support USB
controller, please contact OS vendor for
possible patch or driver upgrade. For more
information please contact your OS or device(s)
vendors.
LAN1 connector is fast Ethernet with 10/100/
1000 Mbps speed.
LAN2 connector is fast Ethernet with 10/100
Mbps speed.
USB 0
USB 1
USB 2
USB 3
LAN2 LAN1

- 20 -
GA-K8NSNXP Motherboard
English
Line In
MIC In
Line Out
Audio Connectors After install onboard audio driver, you may
connect speaker to Line Out jack, microphone to
MIC In jack. Devices like CD-ROM, walkman
etc. can be connected to Line-In jack.
Please note:
You are able to use 2-/4-/6-/8-channel audio
feature by S/W selection.
If you want to enable 8-channel function you can
refer to page 30, and contact your nearest dealer
for optional SUR_CEN cable.
If you want the detail information for 2-/4-/6-/8-channel audio setup
installation, please refer to page 66.
This connector supports 2 standard COM ports
and 1 Parallel port. Devices like printer can be
connected to Parallel port; mouse and modem
etc. can be connected to Serial ports.
Parallel Port, Serial Ports (COMA / COMB)
Parallel Port (25 pin Female)
COMA COMB
Serial Port (9 pin Male)