Nvidia nForce 550 MCP User manual

USER'S MANUAL
Of
NVIDIA
nForce 550 MCP
Platform Processor Chipset
M/B For Socket AM2 64-bit Dual Core
AMD Processor
NO. G03M25G6-SG--F
Rev:1.0
Release date: Feb 2007
Trademark:
* Specifications and Information contained in this documentation are furnished for information use only, and are
subject to change at any time without notice, and should not be construed as a commitment by manufacturer.

ii
Environmental Protection Announcement
Do not dispose this electronic device into the trash while discarding. To minimize pollution and
ensure environment protection of mother earth, please recycle.

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USER’S NOTICE.....................................................................................................................iii
MANUAL REVISION INFORMATION ..............................................................................iii
COOLING SOLUTIONS........................................................................................................iii
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION OF NFORCE 550 MCP MOTHERBOARD SERIES
1-1 FEATURE OF MOTHERBOARD ...................................................................................... 1
1-1.1 SPECIAL FEATURES OF MOTHERBOARD.................................................... 2
1-2 SPECIFICATION.................................................................................................................. 3
1-3 PERFORMANCE LIST........................................................................................................ 4
1-4 LAYOUT DIAGRAM & JUMPER SETTING................................................................... 5
CHAPTER 2 HARDWARE INSTALLATION
2-1 HARDWARE INSTALLATION STEPS............................................................................. 7
2-2 CHECKING MOTHERBOARD'S JUMPER SETTING.................................................. 7
2-3 INSTALL CPU....................................................................................................................... 8
2-3-1 GLOSSARY............................................................................................................. 8
2-3-2
ABOUT AMD Athlon64 940-PIN CPU.............................................................. 9
2-4 INSTALL MEMORY............................................................................................................ 10
2-5 EXPANSION CARD ............................................................................................................. 11
2-5-1 PROCEDURE FOR EXPANSION CARD INSTALLATION............................ 11
2-5-2 ASSIGNING IRQ FOR EXPANSION CARD...................................................... 11
2-5-3 INTERRUPT REQUEST TABLE FOR THIS MOTHERBOARD.................... 11
2-5-4 PCI-Express SLOT ................................................................................................. 12
2-5-5 SLI BRIDGE FOR NVIDIA SLI TECH. SUPPORTED VGA CARDS............. 13
2-6 CONNECTORS, HEADERS................................................................................................ 14
2-6-1 CONNECTORS....................................................................................................... 14
2-6-2 HEADERS ............................................................................................................... 16
2-7 STARTING UP YOUR COMPUTER ................................................................................. 20
CHAPTER 3 INTRODUCING BIOS
3-1 ENTERING SETUP.............................................................................................................. 21
3-2 GETTING HELP................................................................................................................... 21
3-3 THE MAIN MENU................................................................................................................ 22
3-4 STANDARD CMOS FEATURES........................................................................................ 23
3-5 ADVANCED BIOS FEATURES.......................................................................................... 24
3-6 ADVANCED CHIPSET FEATURES.................................................................................. 26
3-6-1 DRAM CONFIGURATIONS............................................................................... 27
3-7 INTEGRATED PERIPHERALS......................................................................................... 28
3-7-1 IDE FUNCTION SETUP ...................................................................................... 28
3-7-2 ONBOARD DEVICE............................................................................................. 29
3-7-3 SUPER IO FUNCTION SETUP........................................................................... 30
3-8 POWER MANAGEMENT SETUP ..................................................................................... 31
3-9 MISCELLANEOUS CONTROL........................................................................................ 32
3-9-1 IRQ RESOURCES.................................................................................................. 32
3-10 PC HEALTH STATUS........................................................................................................ 33
3-11 THERMAL THROTTLING OPTIONS ............................................................................ 33
3-12 POWER USER OVERCLOCK SETTINGS ..................................................................... 34
3-13 PASSWORD SETTINGS .................................................................................................... 35
3-14 LOAD OPTIMIZED DEFAULTS...................................................................................... 35
CHAPTER 4 DRIVER & FREE PROGRAM INSTALLATION
MAGIC INSTALL SUPPORTS WINDOWS 9X/ME/NT4.0/2000/XP ....................................... 36
4-1 NFORCE INSTALL NFORCE INTEGRATED DRIVER.......................................... 37
4-2 SOUND INSTALL ALC880E 8-CHANNEL HD AUDIO DRIVER ........................ 38
4-3 LAN INSTALL REALTEK GIGABIT ETHERNET NIC DRIVER.................. 39
4-4 USB2.0 INSTALL INTEL USB2.0 DRIVER............................................................. 40
4-5 PC-CILLIN INSTALL PC-CILLIN 2006 ANTI-VIRUS PROGRAM........................... 41
4-6 PC-HEALTH INSTALL MYGUARD HARDWARE MONITOR UTILITY .............. 42
4-7 RAIDDISk INSTALL MCP55 WINXP RAID DRIVER DISK................................... 42
4-8 HOW TO UPDATE BIOS..................................................................................................... 43
4-9 NFORCE 550 MCP PLATFORM RAID FUNCTION INSTALLATION........................ 45
4-10 PRO MAGIC PLUS FUNCTION INTRODUCTION........................................................ 50
APPENDIX: Debug Port Post Code....................................................................................i1
TABLE OF CONTENT

iii
USER’S NOTICE
COPYRIGHT OF THIS MANUAL BELONGS TO THE MANUFACTURER. NO PART OF THIS
MANUAL, INCLUDING THE PRODUCTS AND SOFTWARE DESCRIBED IN IT MAY BE
REPRODUCED, TRANSMITTED OR TRANSLATED INTO ANY LANGUAGE IN ANY FORM OR
BY ANY MEANS WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION OF THE MANUFACTURER.
THIS MANUAL CONTAINS ALL INFORMATION REQUIRED TO USE M25GT6
MOTHER-BOARD AND WE DO ASSURE THIS MANUAL MEETS USER’S REQUIREMENT BUT
WILL CHANGE, CORRECT ANY TIME WITHOUT NOTICE. MANUFACTURER PROVIDES THIS
MANUAL “AS IS” WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, AND WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY
INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING DAMAGES
FOR LOSS OF PROFIT, LOSS OF BUSINESS, LOSS OF USE OF DATA, INTERRUPTION OF
BUSINESS AND THE LIKE).
PRODUCTS AND CORPORATE NAMES APPEARING IN THIS MANUAL MAY OR MAY NOT BE
REGISTERED TRADEMARKS OR COPYRIGHTS OF THEIR RESPECTIVE COMPANIES, AND
THEY ARE USED ONLY FOR IDENTIFICATION OR EXPLANATION AND TO THE OWNER’S
BENEFIT, WITHOUT INTENT TO INFRINGE.
Manual Revision Information
Reversion Revision History Date
1.0 First Edition Feb 2007
Item Checklist
5NVIDIA nForce 550 MCP Chipset motherboard
5Cable for IDE
5CD for motherboard utilities
□SLI Supported Bridge
5Cable for Serial ATA IDE Port
□SPDIF-IN/SPDIF-OUT Adaptor
5NVIDIA nForce 550 MCP Chipset User’s Manual
AMD K8 Processor Family
Cooling Solutions
As processor technology pushes to faster speeds and higher performance with increasing operation
clock, thermal management becomes increasingly crucial while building computer systems. Maintaining
the proper computing environment without thermal increasing is the key to reliable, stable, and 24
hours system operation. The overall goal is keeping the processor below its specified maximum case
temperature. Heatsinks induce improved processor heat dissipation through increasing surface area
and concentrated airflow from attached active cooling fans. In addition, interface materials allow
effective transfers of heat from the processor to the heatsink. For optimum heat transfer, AMD
recommends the use of thermal grease and mounting clips to attach the heatsink to the processor.
Please refer to the website below for collection of heatsinks evaluated and recommended for
Socket-AM2 processors by AMD. In addition, this collection is not intended to be a comprehensive
listing of all heatsinks that support Socket-AM2 processors.
For vendor list of heatsinks and Active cooling fans, please visit：
http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/DevelopWithAMD/0,,30_2252_869_9460^9515,00.html

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Chapter 1
Introduction of nForce 550 MCP Motherboard Series
1-1 Features of motherboard
The NVIDIA nForce 550 MCP Chipset motherboard series are based on the latest
revolutionary NVIDIA nForce 550 MCP (Media Communication Processor) single chip
technology which supports the new generation innovative 64-bit AMD Socket AM2 Athlon64
FX and dual core multi-tasking Socket AM2 Athlon64 x2 processors with an integrated
low-latency high-bandwidth DDRII memory controller and a highly-scalable HyperTransport
technology-based system bus up to 1.0 GHZ.
The motherboard series deliver the cutting-edge performance and professional desktop platform
solution with both of the benefits from new generation 64-bit multi-tasking dual core AMD
Socket AM2 processors and NVIDIA Scalable Link Interface Technology(x8+x8 SLI mode)
with the latest Dual PCI Express for NVIDIA Dual Graphic Processing Unit ready platform.
Utilize the 64-bit multi-tasking innovative socket AM2 solution and the dual channel
DDR2-800 memory which size is expandable to 8.0GB, the nForce 550 motherboard series
meet the demanding usage of computing in the future.
The motherboards incorporate the advanced NVIDIA nForce 550 MCP (Media
Communication Processor) single chip with 1000 MHz HyperTransport system bus of data
transferring, the motherboards support new generation innovative Socket AM2 processors
with an integrated DDRII memory controller which provides with 200MHz / 266MHz /
333MHz / 400MHz memory clock frequency for Dual channel DDRII400 / DDRII533 /
DDRII667 / DDRII800 DDRII Module. The NVIDIA nForce 550 MCP single chipset offers
ULTRA ATA 133 and Serial ATA2 RAID0, 1, 0+1 functions to accelerate hard disk drives
and guarantee the data security without fail in advanced computing performance.
The nForce™550 MCP Chipset motherboards provide 10/100/1000 LAN function with
Realtek RTL8111B 10/100/1000 LAN PHY which supports 10/100/1000Mbps data transfer
rate. Embedded 8-channel HD Audio CODEC is fully compatible with Sound Blaster Pro®
standards that offer you with the home cinema quality and absolutely software compatibility.
The nForce™550 MCP Chipset motherboard offers two PCI-Express x16 graphics slots (One
PCI-Express x16 graphics slot offers 4Gbyte/sec data transfer rate at each relative direction
which get 3.5 times of bandwidth more than AGP8X and up to 8Gbyte/sec concurrent
bandwidth at full speed, the other one offers 2Gbyte/sec data transfer rate at each relative
direction and up to 4Gbyte/sec concurrent bandwidth at full speed which is fully compatible
with the latest NVIDIA SLI Technology. The two PCI-Express x16 graphics slots can
implement x8 lane+x8 lane SLI mode) to guarantee the fully operational multi-GPUs graphics
power and avoid the possible SLI hardware installation error. Two PCI Express x1 I/O slot
offers 512M byte/sec concurrently over 3.5 times more bandwidth than PCI at 133Mbye/sec,
tackling the most demanding multimedia tasks nowadays. Two32-bit PCI slots guarantee the
rich connectivity for the I/O of peripherals; the motherboards are designed of tackling the
profuse multimedia requirements nowadays.
Embedded USB controller as well as capability of expanding to 10 of USB2.0 functional
ports delivering 480Mb/s bandwidth and rich connectivity, these motherboards meet the
future USB demands which are also equipped with hardware monitor function on system to
monitor and protect your system and maintain your non-stop business computing.

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Some special features---CPU Thermal Throttling/ CPU Vcore 7-shift/ CPU Smart Fan/
Debug Port/DIY COOL Function) in this motherboard are designed for power user to use the
over-clocking function in more flexible ways. But please be caution that the over-clocking
may cause the fails in system reliabilities. This motherboard provides the guaranteed
performance and meets the demands of the next generation computing. But if you insist to
gain more system performance with variety possibilities of the components you choose,
please be careful and make sure to read the detailed descriptions of these value added product
features, please get them in the coming section.
1-1.1 Special Features of motherboard
CPU Thermal Throttling Technology---(The CPU Overheat Protection Technology)
To prevent the increasing heat from damage of CPU or accidental shutdown while at high
workload, the CPU Thermal Throttling Technology will force CPU to enter partially idle
mode from 87.5% to 12.5% according to preset CPU operating temperature in BIOS (from 40
℃to 90℃). When the system senses the CPU operating temperature reaching the preset
value, the CPU operating bandwidth will be decreased to the preset idle percentage to cool
down the processor. When at throttling mode the beeper sound can be optionally selected to
indicate it is in working. (For detail operating please read Section 3-11 Bi-turbo
Configuration)
CPU Smart Fan---( The Noise Management System )
It’s never been a good idea to gain the performance of your system by sacrificing its acoustics.
CPU Smart Fan Noise Management System is the answer to control the noise level needed for
now-a-day’s high performance computing system. The system will automatically increase the
fan speed when CPU operating loading is high, after the CPU is in normal operating condition,
the system will low down the fan speed for the silent operating environment. The system can
provide the much longer life cycle for both CPU and the system fans for game use and
business requirements.
CPU Vcore 7-Shift--- (Shift to Higher Performance)
The CPU voltage can be adjusted up by 7 steps for the precisely over-clocking of extra
demanding computing performance.
DIY COOL Function--(Advanced Thermal Solution System for PWM)
“DIY COOL” function is the unique thermal solution for PWM. The special and
cost-effective design can be the exhaust valve of exhausting the heat generated by PWM
effectively. With the small but quiet active 55mm cooling fan to decrease the temperature of
PWM, we can extend the MTBF of the capacitors up to 30% and get more stability of the
system working under the higher and higher frequency in the future

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1-2 Specification
Spec Description
Design ∗ATX form factor 4 layers PCB size: 21.0*29.5cm
Chipset ∗NVIDIA nForce 550 MCP(MCP55S) single chip
CPU Socket AM2
∗Support 64bit AMD Athlon64 940-Pin package utilizes Flip-Chip
Pin Grid Array package processor
∗Support for future AMD Athlon64 940-pin Dual–Core Athlon 64
FX-62 processors, Athlon 64 x2 up to 5600+ with HTT Frequency
1GHz
Memory Socket ∗240-pin DDRII Module socket x 4
∗Support 4pcs DDRII400/DDRII533/DDRII667/DDRII800 DDRII
Modules Expandable to 8.0GB
∗Support Dual channel function
Expansion Slot ∗PCI-Express x16 slot 2pcs deliver up to 8GB/s concurrent
bandwidth in Non-SLI mode and 4GB/s concurrent bandwidth
while SLI mode being activated
∗PCI-Express x1 slot 2pcs delivers up to 512MB/s concurrent
bandwidth
∗32-bit PCI slot x 2pcs
Integrate IDE and
Serial ATA2
RAID
∗One PCI IDE controller supports PCI Bus Mastering, ATA
PIO/DMA and the ULTRA DMA 33/66/100/133 functions that
deliver the data transfer rate up to 133 MB/s; Six Serial ATA2 ports
provide 300 MB/sec data transfer rate with RAID 0, 1, 0+1
functions.
Gigabit LAN
∗Integrated RealTek RTL8111B PCI-E Gigabit LAN
∗Supports Fast Ethernet LAN function provide 10Mb/100Mb/ 1Gb
/s data transfer rate
8CH-Audio ∗RealTek ALC880E 8-channel HD Audio Codec integrated
∗Support 8-channel 3D surround & Positioning Audio
∗Audio driver and utility included
BIOS ∗Award 4MB Flash ROM
Multi I/O ∗PS/2 keyboard and PS/2 mouse connectors
∗Floppy disk drive connector x1
∗Parallel port Header x1
∗Serial port Header x1
∗SPDIF In/Out Port header x1
∗IR 5-pin block x 1
∗ESATA Port x 1(optional)
∗IEEE 1394 9-pin block header x 2 (Optional)
∗USB2.0 port x 4 and headers x 6 (connecting cable optional)
∗Audio connector (Line-in, Line-out, MIC/ 8CH Audio)

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1-3 Performance List
The following performance data list is the testing result of some popular benchmark testing
programs. These data are just referred by users, and there is no responsibility for different
testing data values gotten by users (the different Hardware & Software configuration will
result in different benchmark testing results.)
Performance Test Report
CPU: AMD K8 Sempron 2800+ ( AM2 / 512K L2 cache)
DRAM: ADATA (ELPIDA E5108AE) DDR2-667 512M Memory
VGA Card : Geforce4 7800GTX 512M (1024X768X32BIT)
Hard Disk Driver: West Digite 7200.7 IDE 80
BIOS: AwardOptimaldefault
OS: Windows XP Professional (SERVICE PACK 2)
M25GT6
3D Mark 2001SE 17740
3D Mark 2003 14415
3D Mark 2005 6400
AQUAMRK3 8553/7191/53646
PCMark2004
System / CPU / Memory 3225/3038/3862
Graph / HDD 9482/4007
Content Creation Winstone 2004 24.7
Business Winstone 2004 18.7
Winbench 99 V2.0:
Business/Hi-end Disk Winmark99 N/A / 31100
Business/Hi-end Graphic Winmark N/A
SISMark 2004: SISMark Rating(Internet Content Creation / Office Productivity )
SISMark 2004 130
3D Creation / 2D Creation 137/168
/ Web publication 126
Communication / Document Creation 107/130
/ Data Analysis 121
SISOFT Sandra 2004 : 1.CPU Arithmetic Benchmark 2.Memory bandwidth Benchmark 3.CPU Multi-Media
Benchmar
k
1.Dhrystone ALU MIPS 5808
Whetstone FPU iSSE2 FLOPS 5912
2.Int/Float Buffered iSSE2 MB/S 4209/4169
3.Integer/Floating-Point SSE2 IT/S 15094/16353
UT2003 Benchmark (flyby/botmatch) 201.68/64.23
Quake3 DEMO1 / DEMO2 FPS 254.7/249
Return to Castle Wolfenstein FPS n/a
Super Pi (1M) Second 55”
CPUZ System / CPU Clock Xp+sp2/1610MHz
//

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1-4 Layout Diagram & Jumper Setting
Jumpers
USB1, USB2, USB3
4MBit Flash ROM BIOS
Floppy Connector
Front Panel Connector
Clear CMOS (JBAT)
Speaker/Power LED Connector
CPU Socket
DDR2 Socket X4
ATX Power Connecto
r
Serial-ATA Connector
(SATA1, 2, 3, 4)
USB Power
On Jumper (JP2)
PCI EXPRESSx1
PCI Slo
t
PS2 KB/Mouse Port
Audio Connector
KBMS/USB Power On
Jumper (JP1)
USB Port/
ESATA Connector
CHAFAN
RTL8111B
Gigabit LAN Chip
N
VIDIA MCP55S Chip
ATX 12V Power Connecto
r
1st PCI EXPRESS x16 for SLI
2n
d
PCI EXPRESS x8 for SLI
Optional VIA VT6307 Chip
Front Panel Audio
CPU FAN
ATA 133 IDE Connector
(IDE1)
SYSFAN2
PARALLEL
Opitional
ESATA
UL1
PS/2 Mouse
PS/2 Keyboard
Surrback
Line-IN
MIC-IN
Surround
CEN/LFE
Line-OUT
USB1
USB Port/ Giga
b
it
LAN Connector
CD Audio In
Serial-ATAII Connector
(SATA5,6)
Gigabit
LAN
SYS FAN1
Serial-ATAII Connector
(SATA7) (Option)al
8-CH HD Audio Codec
SPDIF IN/OUT
Optional IEEE 1394
COM1
IR

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Jumper Name Description Page
JBAT CMOS RAM Clear 3-pin Block P.7
JP1 Keyboard/USB Power On Enabled/Disabled 3-pin Block P.8
JP2 USB Power On Enabled/Disabled 3-pin Block P.8
Connectors
Connector Name Description Page
ATXPWR ATX Power Connector 24-pin Block P.14
ATX12V1 ATX 12V Power Connector 8-pin Block P.14
KB PS/2 Mouse & PS/2 Keyboard Connector 6-pin Female P.14
UL2 USB Port Connector 4-pin Connector P.14
UL1 Gigabit-LAN Port Connector RJ-45 Connector P.15
CN1/CN2 8-CH Audio Connector 6 phone jack Connector P.15
FDD Floppy Driver Connector 34-pin Block P.15
IDE1 Primary/Secondary IDE Connector 40-pin Block P.15
SATAII1~7 Serial ATAII IDE Connector 7-pin Connector P.16
J1 SLI Power Supply 4-pin Block P.16
ESATA(optional) Serial ATAII IDE Connector 7-pin Block P.16
Headers
Header Name Description Page
AUDIO SPEAKER, MIC header 9-pin Block P.17
USB1, USB2, USB3 USB Port Headers 9-pin Block P.17
SPEAK PC Speaker connector 4-pin Block P.17
PWR LED Power LED 3-pin Block P.17
JW_FP
(Power LED/Reset/
IDE LED/Power Button)
Front Panel Header(including Power LED/ IDE
activity LED/Reset switch / Power On Button
lead)
9-pin Block P.17
SYSFAN1, SYSFAN2
CPUFAN,CHAFAN FAN Headers 3-pin Block P.18
CDIN CD Audio-In Header 4-pin Block P.16
COM1 COM1 Header 9-pin Block P.19
PARALLEL PARALLEL Header 25-Pin Block P.19
IR IR Header 5-pin Block P.18
SPDIF In/Out SPDIF In/Out Header 5-Pin block P.19
IEEE1394 (Optional) IEEE1394 port Header 9-Pin block P.19
Expansion Sockets
Socket/Slot Name Description Page
ZIF Socket AM2 CPU Socket 940-pin mPGAB Athlon64 CPU Socket P.9
DIMM1~4 DDRII Module Socket 240-pin DDRII Module Socket P.10
PCI1∼PCI2 PCI Slot 32-bit PCI Local Bus Expansion slots P.12
PE2/ PE3 PCI-Express x1 Slot PCI-Express x1 Expansion Slot P.12
PE1 PCI-Express x16 Slot PCI-Express x16 Expansion Slot P.12
PE4 PCI-Express x16 Slot PCI-E x 8 Bandwidth for SLI Tech. P.12
Chapter 2

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Hardware Installation
2-1 Hardware installation Steps
Before using your computer, you had better complete the following steps:
1. Check motherboard jumper setting
2. Install CPU and Fan
3. Install System Memory (DIMM)
4. Install Expansion cards
5. Connect IDE, Front Panel /Back Panel cable
6. Connect ATX Power cable
7. Power-On and Load Standard Default
8. Reboot
9. Install Operating System
10. Install Driver and Utility
2-2 Checking Motherboard’s Jumper Setting
(1) CMOS RAM Clear (3-pin) : JBAT
A battery must be used to retain the motherboard configuration in CMOS RAM short 1-2
pins of JBAT to store the CMOS data.
To clear the CMOS, follow the procedure below:
1. Turn off the system and unplug the AC power
2. Remove ATX power cable from ATX power connector
3. Locate JBAT and short pins 2-3 for a few seconds
4. Return JBAT to its normal setting by shorting pins 1-2
5. Connect ATX power cable back to ATX power connector
Note: When should clear CMOS
1. Troubleshooting
2. Forget password
3. After over clocking system boot fail
CMOS RAM Clear Setting
2-3 Closed Clear CMOS
JBATJBAT
1-2 Closed Normal
(2) Keyboard function Enabled/Disabled: JP1

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(3) USB Power On function Enabled/Disabled: JP2
USB Power On Setting
2-3 closed USB Power On Enabled
JP2JP2
1-2 closed USB Power On Disable
(Default)
2-3 Install CPU
2-3-1 Glossary
Chipset (or core logic) - two or more integrated circuits which control the interfaces between
the system processor, RAM, I/O devises, and adapter cards.
Processor slot/socket - the slot or socket used to mount the system processor on the
motherboard.
Slot (PCI-E, PCI, RAM) - the slots used to mount adapter cards and system RAM.
AGP - Accelerated Graphics Port - a high speed interface for video cards; runs at 1X
(66MHz), 2X (133MHz), or 4X (266MHz), or 8X (533MHz).
PCI - Peripheral Component Interconnect - a high speed interface for video cards, sound
cards, network interface cards, and modems; runs at 33MHz.
PCI Express- Peripheral Component Interconnect Express- a high speed interface for video
cards, sound cards, network interface cards, and modems.
Serial Port - a low speed interface typically used for mouse and external modems.
Parallel Port - a low speed interface typically used for printers.
PS/2 - a low speed interface used for mouse and keyboards.
USB - Universal Serial Bus - a medium speed interface typically used for mouse, keyboards,
scanners, and some digital cameras.
Sound (interface) - the interface between the sound card or integrated sound connectors and
speakers, MIC, game controllers, and MIDI sound devices.
LAN (interface) - Local Area Network - the interface to your local area network.
BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) - the program logic used to boot up a computer and

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establish the relationship between the various components.
Driver - software, which defines the characteristics of a device for use by another device or
other software.
Processor - the "central processing unit" (CPU); the principal integrated circuit used for
doing the "computing" in "personal computer"
Front Side Bus Frequency - the working frequency of the motherboard, which is generated
by the clock generator for CPU, DRAM and PCI BUS.
CPU L2 Cache - the flash memory inside the CPU, normal it depend on CPU type.
2-3-2 About AMD Athlon64 940-pin CPU
This motherboard provides a 940-pin surface mount, Zero Insertion Force (ZIF) socket,
referred to as the mPGA940 socket supports AMD Athlon64 processor in the 940 Pin package
utilizes Flip-Chip Pin Grid Array package technology.
The CPU that comes with the motherboard should have a cooling FAN attached to prevent
overheating. If this is not the case, then purchase a correct cooling FAN before you turn on
your system.
WARNING! Be sure that there is sufficient air circulation across the processor’s
heatsink and CPU cooling FAN is working correctly, otherwise it may
cause the processor and motherboard overheat and damage, you may install
an auxiliary cooling FAN, if necessary.
To install a CPU, first turn off your system and remove its cover. Locate the ZIF socket and
open it by first pulling the level sideways away from the socket then upward to a 90-degree
angle. Insert the CPU with the correct orientation as shown below. The notched corner
should point toward the end of the level. Because the CPU has a corner pin for two of the
four corners, the CPU will only fit in the orientation as shown.
CPU ZIF mPGAB Socket
Colden Arrow
Socket AM2
When you put the CPU into the ZIF socket, No force require to insert of the CPU, then press
the level to Locate position slightly without any extra force.

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2-4 Install Memory
The motherboards provide four 240-pin DDRII DUAL INLINE MEMORY MODULES
(DIMM) sites for DDRII memory expansion available from minimum memory size of
128MB to maximum memory size of 8.0GB DDRII SDRAM.
Valid Memory Configurations
Bank 240-Pin DIMM PCS Total Memory
Bank 0, 1 (DIMM1) DDRII400/DDRII533/DDRII667/DDRII800 X1 128MB∼2.0GB
Bank 2, 3 (DIMM2) DDRII400/DDRII533/DDRII667/DDRII800 X1 128MB∼2.0GB
Bank 4, 5 (DIMM3) DDRII400/DDRII533/DDRII667/DDRII800 X1 128MB∼2.0GB
Bank 6,7 (DIMM4) DDRII400/DDRII533/DDRII667/DDRII800 X1 128MB 2.0GB
Total System Memory (Max. 8.0GB) 4 128MB∼2.0GB
Recommend DIMM Module Combination
1. One DIMM Module ----Plug in DIMM1
2. Two DIMM Modules---Plug in DIMM1 and DIMM2 for Dual channel function
3. Four DIMM Modules---Plug in DIMM1/DIMM2/DIMM3/DIMM4.
For Dual channel Limited!
4. Dual channel function only supports when 2 DIMM Modules plug in either both DIMM1 &
DIMM2 or DIMM3 &DIMM4, or four DIMM Modules plug in DIMM1~DIMM4.
5. DIMM1 & DIMM2 or DIMM3 & DIMM4 must be the same type, same size, and same
frequency for dual channel function.
Generally, installing DDR SDRAM modules to your motherboard is very easy, you can refer
to figure 2-4 to see what a 240-Pin DDRII400/DDRII533/DDRII667/DDRII800 DDRII
SDRAM module looks like.
DIMM3(BANK2+BANK3)
DIMM4 (BANK0+BANK1)
DIMM1 (BANK6+BANK7)
DIMM2 (BANK4+BANK5)
DIMM1 & DIMM2: Dual Channel 1
DIMM3 & DIMM4: Dual Channel 2
NOTE! When you install DIMM module fully into the DIMM socket the eject tab
should be locked into the DIMM module very firmly and fit into its
indention on both sides.
Figure 2-4

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2-5 Expansion Cards
WARNING! Turn off your power when adding or removing expansion cards or other
system components. Failure to do so may cause severe damage to both
your motherboard and expansion cards.
2-5-1 Procedure For Expansion Card Installation
1. Read the documentation for your expansion card and make any necessary hardware or
software setting for your expansion card such as jumpers.
2. Remove your computer’s cover and the bracket plate on the slot you intend to use.
3. Align the card’s connectors and press firmly.
4. Secure the card on the slot with the screen you remove above.
5. Replace the computer system’s cover.
6. Set up the BIOS if necessary.
7. Install the necessary software driver for your expansion card.
2-5-2 Assigning IRQs For Expansion Card
Some expansion cards need an IRQ to operate. Generally, an IRQ must exclusively assign
to one use. In a standard design, there are 16 IRQs available but most of them are already in
use.
Standard Interrupt Assignments
IRQ Priority Standard function
0 N/A System Timer
1 N/A Keyboard Controller
2 N/A Programmable Interrupt
3 * 8 Communications Port (COM2)
4 * 9 Communications Port (COM1)
5 * 6 Sound Card (sometimes LPT2)
6 * 11 Floppy Disk Controller
7 * 7 Printer Port (LPT1)
8 N/A System CMOS/Real Time Clock
9 * 10 ACPI Mode when enabled
10 * 3 IRQ Holder for PCI Steering
11 * 2 IRQ Holder for PCI Steering
12 * 4 PS/2 Compatible Mouse Port
13 N/A Numeric Data Processor
14 * 5 Primary IDE Channel
15 * 1 Secondary IDE Channel
* These IRQs are usually available for ISA or PCI devices.
2-5-3 Interrupt Request Table For This Motherboard
Interrupt request are shared as shown the table below:
INT A INT B INT C INT D INT E INT F INT G INT H
Slot 1 √
Slot 2 √
Onboard USB 1 √
Onboard USB 2 √
Onboard USB 3 √
Sound √

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IMPORTANT! If using PCI cards on shared slots, make sure that the drivers support
“Shared IRQ” or that the cards don’t need IRQ assignments. Conflicts will
arise between the two PCI groups that will make the system unstable or
cards inoperable.
2-5-4 PCI Express Slot
The motherboards provide two PCI Expressx16 slot intended for Graphics Attach(Two
symmetrical PCI-Express x16 graphics slots in light yellow deliver up to 2Gbyte/sec data
transfer rate at each relative direction which is fully compatible with the latest NVIDIA SLI
Technology. Two PCI-Express x16 graphics slot offers 4Gbyte/sec data transfer rate at each
relative direction.), and two x1 PCI Express Slot. Fully compliant to the PCI Express Base
Specification revision 1.0a , support PCI Express VGA card, and other PCI Express device.
IMPORTANT! The SLI Technology supports only nForce4 SLI chipset based
motherboard only. The modification for chipset is not an option for end
users. Or you may get no warranty for the motherboard you purchased.
Please make sure the major display output is out from the NVIDIA SLI Supported VGA
Card installed in the 2nd PCI EXPRESS x8 for SLI slot in light green while activating
the SLI technology with one pair NVIDIA SLI Supported VGA Cards . And install the
single PCI EXPRESS x16 interface supported VGA card to get the full speed of x16
bandwidth in the PCI EXPRESS x16 slot in light yellow as being marked above.
PCI
-
Ex
1
Slot
2nd PCI-E x8 for SLI
PCI-E x16 for full bandwidth

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2-5-5 SLI Bridge for NVIDIA SLI Tech. Supported VGA Cards
In order to activate the NVIDIA SLI technology, you have to install the embedded SLI Bridge
for your NVIDIA SLI Tech. Supported VGA Cards before you activating the advance
multi-GPUs functions.
1. Install your NVIDIA SLI Tech Supported VGA
Cards in the PCI-E x8 slots in the color of light
green.
2. Prepare with the SLI Bridge with your
NVIDIA SLI Tech Supported VGA
Cards.
3. Be careful with the position for the pin you
would like to set up. 4. Keep straight to force the SLI Bridge plug into both sides of NVIDIA SLI Tech
Supported VGA Cards.

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2-6 Connectors, Headers
2-6-1 Connectors
(1) Power Connector (24-pin block) : ATXPWR
ATX Power Supply connector. This is a new defined 24-pins connector that usually
comes with ATX case. The ATX Power Supply allows to use soft power on momentary
switch that connect from the front panel switch to 2-pins Power On jumper pole on the
motherboard. When the power switch on the back of the ATX power supply turned on,
the full power will not come into the system board until the front panel switch is
momentarily pressed. Press this switch again will turn off the power to the system
board.
** We recommend that you use an ATX 12V Specification 2.0-compliant power supply
unit (PSU) with a minimum of 350W power rating. This type has 24-pin and 4-pin
power plugs.
** If you intend to use a PSU with 20-pin and 4-pin power plugs, make sure that the 20-pin
power plug can provide at least 15A on +12V and the power supply unit has a minimum
power rating of 350W. The system may become unstable or may not boot up if the
power is inadequate.
(2) ATX 12V Power Connector (8-pin block) : ATX12V1
This is a new defined 8-pins connector that usually comes with ATX Power Supply.
The ATX Power Supply which fully supports socket AM2 processor must including this
connector for support extra 12V voltage to maintain system power consumption.
Without this connector might cause system unstable because the power supply can not
provide sufficient current for system.
(3) PS/2 Mouse & PS/2 Keyboard Connector: KB
The connectors for PS / 2 keyboard and PS/2 Mouse.
(4) USB Port connector: UL2
The connectors are 4-pin connector that connects USB devices to the system board.
Pin 1
ROW1 ROW2
24-Pin
ROW1 ROW2
Pin 1
20-Pin
PIN ROW1 ROW2
1 3.3V 3.3V
2 3.3V -12V
3 GND GND
4 5V Soft Power On
5 GND GND
6 5V GND
7 GND GND
8 Power OK -5V
9 +5V (for Soft Logic) +5V
10 +12V +5V
11 +12V +5V
12 +3V GND

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Floppy Drive Connector
Pin 1
FDD
(5) LAN Port connector: UL1
This connector is standard RJ45 connector for Network
The USBLAN1 support 10M/100Mb/1G b/s data transfer rate
(6) Audio Line-In,
Lin-Out, MIC, Surrback, Surround, CEN/LEF Connector : CN1/CN2
This Connector are 6 phone Jack for LINE-OUT, LINE-IN, MIC, Surrback, Surround,
CEN/LEF
Line-in : (BLUE) Audio input to sound chip
Line-out : (GREEN) Audio output to speaker
MIC : (PINK) Microphone Connector
Surrback : (ORANGE) Audio output to speaker-Rear speaker out
CEN/LEF : (BLACKNESS) Audio output to speaker-Center/Subwoofer speaker out
Surround: (GRAY) Audio output to speaker-Side speaker out
.
(7) Floppy drive Connector (34-pin block): FDD
This connector supports the provided floppy drive ribbon cable. After connecting the
single plug end to motherboard, connect the two plugs at other end to the floppy drives.
(8) Primary IDE Connector (40-pin block): IDE1
This connector supports the provided IDE hard disk ribbon cable. After connecting the
single plug end to motherboard, connect the two plugs at other end to your hard disk(s).
If you install two hard disks, you must configure the second drive to Slave mode by
setting its jumpers accordingly. Please refer to the documentation of your hard disk for
the jumper settings.
Primary IDE Connector
Pin 1
IDE1
USB MIC-IN
UL1
Line-IN
Line-OUT
Surrback
PS/2
Mouse
PS/2
Keyboard
Surround
Gigabit
LAN
Optional
ESATA
CEN/LFE

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(9) Serial-ATAII Port connector:SATA1/SATA2/SATA3/SATA4/SATA5/SATA6
This connector supports the provided Serial ATA2 IDE hard disk cable to connect the
motherboard and serial ATAII hard disk.
SATA7 is not for SATA harddrive ,it is only for connecting to SATA 1~6 to let the
ESATA port work.
Serial-ATAII1 & 2 Compatible Connectors
SATA2
SATA1
SATA5
SATA6
SATA4
SATA3
SATA4
SATA3
SATA7
(10) SLI Power Supply: J1 This connector is for SLI Power Supply.
(13) ESATA Port: ESATA1 (optional)
This connector supports the External Serial ATA2 (eSATA) enable the full SATA interface
speed outside the chassis, up to 3Gb/s. The ESATA port can be enabled only when the
SATA 7 is connected to one of SATA1-SATA6
2-6-2 Headers
(1) CD Audio-In Headers (4-pin) : CDIN
CDIN are the connectors for CD-Audio Input signal. Please connect it to CD-ROM or
CD-Audio output connector.
CD Audio-In Headers
CDIN 4 1
Optional
ESATA