PCchips A16 User manual

i
Motherboard User’s Guide
This publication, including photographs, illustrations and software, is under the
protection of international copyright laws, with all rights reserved. Neither this
guide, nor any of the material contained herein, may be reproduced without the
express written consent of the manufacturer.
The information in this document is subject to change without notice. The
manufacturer makes no representations or warranties with respect to the
contents hereof and specifically disclaims any implied warranties of merchant-
ability or fitness for any particular purpose. Further, the manufacturer reserves
the right to revise this publication and to make changes from time to time in the
content hereof without obligation of the manufacturer to notify any person of
such revision or changes.
Trademarks
IBM, VGA, and PS/2 are registered trademarks of International Business
Machines.
AMD, Sempron, Athlon 64/Athlon 64 X2 Dual-core/Athlon 64 FX are regis-
tered trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices Inc.
Microsoft, MS-DOS and Windows 2000/XP are registered trademarks of Microsoft
Corporation.
AMI is a registered trademark of American Megatrends Inc.
Other names used in this publication may be trademarks and are acknowledged.
Static Electricity Precautions
1. Don’t take this motherboard and components out of their original static-
proof package until you are ready to install them.
2. While installing, please wear a grounded wrist strap if possible. If you
don’t have a wrist strap, discharge static electricity by touching the bare
metal of the system chassis.
3. Carefully hold this motherboard by its edges. Do not touch those
components unless it is absolutely necessary. Put this motherboard on
the top of static-protection package with component side facing up
while installing.
Pre-Installation Inspection
1. Inspect this motherboard whether there are any damages to components
and connectors on the board.
2. If you suspect this motherboard has been damaged, do not connect
power to the system. Contact your motherboard vendor about those
damages.
Copyright © 2006
All Rights Reserved
A16 Series, V1.0
September 2006

ii
Motherboard User’s Guide
Table of Contents
Trademark ............................................................................................................ i
Chapter 1: Introduction ..................................................................................... 1
Key Features .................................................................................................................... 1
Package Contents ........................................................................................................... 4
Chapter 2: Motherboard Installation .............................................................. 5
Motherboard Components ............................................................................................ 6
I/O Ports .......................................................................................................................... 7
Installing the Processor ................................................................................................. 8
Installing Memory Modules .......................................................................................... 9
Jumper Settings ............................................................................................................ 1 0
Install the Motherboard ............................................................................................... 11
Connecting Optional Devices ..................................................................................... 1 2
Install Other Devices .................................................................................................... 1 4
Expansion Slots ............................................................................................................ 1 6
Chapter 3: BIOS Setup Utility ....................................................................... 19
Introduction .................................................................................................................. 1 9
Running the Setup Utility ............................................................................................ 1 9
Standard CMOS Features Page ................................................................................. 2 0
Advanced BIOS Features Page .................................................................................. 2 1
Advanced Chipset Features Page ............................................................................... 2 5
Integrated Peripherals ................................................................................................. 2 7
Power Management Setup Page........................................................................ 32
PnP/PCI Configurations Page .................................................................................... 3 3
PC Health Status Page ................................................................................................ 3 4
Load Fail-Safe Defaults .............................................................................................. 3 5
Load Optimized Defaults ............................................................................................. 3 5
Set Supervisor/User Password ..................................................................................... 3 5
Save & Exit Setup ......................................................................................................... 3 6
Exit Without Saving ...................................................................................................... 3 6
Chapter 4: Software & Applications .............................................................. 37
Introduction .................................................................................................................. 3 7
Installing Support Software ........................................................................................ 3 7
Bundled Software Installation .................................................................................... 3 9

iii
Motherboard User’s Guide
Notice:
1. Owing to Microsoft’s certifying schedule is various to every supplier, we
might have some drivers not certified yet by Microsoft. Therefore, it
might happen under Windows XP that a dialogue box (shown as below)
pops out warning you this software has not passed Windows Logo
testing to verify its compatibility with Windows XP. Please rest assured
that our RD department has already tested and verified these drivers.
Just click the “Continue Anyway” button and go ahead the installation.
2. USB 2.0 Driver Limitations:
2-1. The USB 2.0 driver only supports Windows XP and Windows 2000.
2-2. If you connect a USB 2.0 hub to the root hub, plugging USB devices
into this hub, the system might not successfully execute certain USB
devices’ connection because it could not recognize these devices.

1
Motherboard User’s Guide
Chapter 1 Introduction
This motherboard has a Socket AM2 supporting the newest and advanced AMD
Athlon 64 FX/Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core/Athlon 64/Sempron with
HyperTransport Technology processors.
This motherboard integrates the NVIDIATM nFORCE3 250, which is a single-chip,
highly integrated, high performance HyperTransportTM peripheral controller, un-
matched by any other single chip-device controller. It supports the Serial ATA
interface for high-performance and mainstream desktop PCs, and the built-in USB
2.0 providing higher bandwidth. It implements single USB 2.0 EHCI and dual
USB 1.1 OHCI..
It supports 6-channel AC’97 Audio Codec and provides one IDE Ultra DMA 133/
100/66 channel. It has five 32-bit PCI slots and one AGP 8x slot, and supports the
onboard 10Base-T/100Base-TX/1000Base-T Network interface. In addition, this
motherboard has a full set of I/O ports including two PS/2 ports for mouse and
keyboard, one serial port, one parallel port, one LAN port (optional), four back-
panel USB 2.0 ports, and three audio jacks for microphone, line-in and line-out.
Onboard USB header(s) can provide extra ports by connecting the Extended USB
Module to the motherboard.
This motherboard is an ATX size motherboard and has power connectors for an
ATX power supply.
Key Features
The key features of this motherboard include:
Socket AM2 Processor Support
•Supports AMD Athlon 64 FX/Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core/Athlon 64/
Sempron processors
Note: HyperTransport Technology is a point-to-point link between two
devices, it enables integrated circuits to exchange information at much
higher speeds than currently available interconnect technologies.
Chipset
There is an NVIDIATM nFORCE3 250 single chip in this chipset in accordance
with an innovative and scalable architecture with proven reliability and perfor-
mance.
•HyperTransport link to the AMD Athlon 64 FX/Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core/
Athlon 64/Sempron CPU
•AGP 3.0 8X interface at 533 MT/s
•PCI 2.3 interface supporting up to six PCI slots

2
Motherboard User’s Guide
•AC’97 2.3-compliant interface which is integrated to communicate to ex-
ternal AC’ 97 audio and modem codecs.
•Dual Fast ATA-133 IDE controllers
•Single USB 2.0 EHCI and Dual USB 1.1 OHCI, supporting up to eight
ports
•IEEE 802.3 NVIDIA MAC for 1000Base-T/100Base-TX/10Base-T Giga-
bit/Fast Ethernet/Ethernet
•Two separate SATA controllers with integrated PHYs, each supporting
two drives in master mode
Memory Support
•Two 240-pin DIMM sockets for DDR2 SDRAM dual channel memory
modules
•Supports DDR2 800/667/533/400 memory bus
•Maximum installed memory is 16 GB
Expansion Slots
•One AGP 8x slot
•Five 32-bit PCI slots
Onboard IDE channels
•Two IDE Connectors
•Supports PIO (Programmable Input/Output) and DMA (Direct Memory
Access) modes
•Supports IDE Ultra DMA bus mastering with transfer rates of 133/100/66
MB/sec
Serial ATA
•Two Serial ATA Connectors
•Transfer rate exceeding best ATA (~1.5 Gb/s) with scalability to higher
rates
•Low pin count for both host and devices
AC’97 Codec
•Compliant with AC’97 2.3 specification
•16-bit Stereo full-duplex CODEC with independent and variable sampling
rate
•Support for 3.3v digital, 5v analog power supply and low power consump-
tion management
•Three analog line-level stereo inputs with 5-bit volume control: LINE_IN,
CD, AUX
•Front-Out, Surround-Out, MIC-In and LINE-In Jack Sensing
•Two analog line-level mono input
•Standard 48-Pin LQFP

3
Chapter 1: Introduction
Onboard I/O Ports
•Two PS/2 ports for mouse and keyboard
•One serial port
•One parallel port
•Four back-panel USB2.0 ports
•One LAN port (optional)
•Audio jacks for microphone, line-in and line-out
Fast Ethernet LAN (optional)
•Supports MII and 7-wire SNI (Serial Network Interface)
•10/100 Mb/s Auto-Negotiation operation
•Full/half duplex operation
•IEEE 802.3/802.3u compliant
USB 2.0
•Compliant with Universal Serial Bus Specification Revision 2.0
•Compliant with Intel’s Enhanced Host Controller Interface Specification
Revision 1.0
•Compliant with Universal Host Controller Interface Specification Revi-
sion 1.1
•PCI multi-function device consists of two UHCI Host Controller cores
for full-/low-speed signaling and one EHCI Host Controller core for high-
speed signaling
•Root hub consists 4 downstream facing ports with integrated physical
layer transceivers shared by UHCI and EHCI Host Controller, up to eight
functional ports
•Support PCI-Bus Power Management Interface Specification release 1.1
•Legacy support for all downstream facing ports
BIOS Firmware
This motherboard uses Award BIOS that enables users to configure many system
features including the following:
•Power management
•Wake-up alarms
•CPU parameters and memory timing
•CPU and memory timing
The firmware can also be used to set parameters for different processor clock
speeds.
Dimensions
•ATX form factor of 305 x 210 mm
Note: Hardware specifications and software items are subject to change
without notification.

4
Motherboard User’s Guide
Package Contents
Your motherboard package ships with the following items:
The motherboard
The User’s Guide
One diskette drive ribbon cable (optional)
One IDE drive ribbon cable
The Software support CD
Optional Accessories
You can purchase the following optional accessories for this motherboard.
The Extended USB module
The Serial ATA cable
The Serial ATA power cable
Note: You can purchase your own optional accessories from the third party,
but please contact your local vendor on any issues of the specification
and compatibility.

5
Chapter 2: Motherboard Installation
Chapter 2 Motherboard Installation
To install this motherboard in a system, please follow these instructions in this
chapter:
Identify the motherboard components
Install a CPU
Install one or more system memory modules
Make sure all jumpers and switches are set correctly
Install this motherboard in a system chassis (case)
Connect any extension brackets or cables to headers/connectors on the
motherboard
Install peripheral devices and make the appropriate connections to
headers/connectors on the motherboard
Note:
1 Before installing this motherboard, make sure jumper JCMOS1 is
under Normal setting. See this chapter for information about locating
JCMOS1 and the setting options.
2 Never connect power to the system during installation; otherwise, it
may damage the motherboard.

6
Motherboard User’s Guide
Motherboard Components
ITEM LA BEL COM PONENTS
1 CPU Socket Socket AM2 f or AMD Athlon 64 FX/Athlon 64
X2 Dual-Core/Athlon 64/Sempron CPUs
2 CPU_FAN CPU Fan connector (4 PIN)
3 DIMM1~2 240-pin DDR2 SDRAM sockets
4 FDD1 Floppy Disk Drive connector
5 JSFAN2 System Fan connector
6 AGP1 Accelerated Graphics Port
7 JUSBV3 Pow er Source header
8 JCMOS1 Clear CMOS jumper
9SPK1 Speaker header
10 IDE1 Primary IDE connector
11 IDE2 Secondary IDE connector
12 IR1 Inf rared header
13 SW1 Front Panel Sw itch/LED header
14 JUSB1~2 Front Panel USB headers
1 5 PCI1 - 5 3 2 - b it PCI s l o ts
16 JSPDIF_OUT SPDIF out header
17 JCDIN1 Analog Audio Input header
18 JAUDIO1 Front Panel Audio header
19 JSA TA4~5 Serial ATA connectors
20 JATXPWR2 Standard 20-Pin ATX Pow er connector
21 PWR1 Standard 4-Pin ATX Pow er connector
22 JUSBV1 Pow er Source header
23 JKBMSV 1 Pow er Sourc e header

7
Chapter 2: Motherboard Installation
I/O Ports
The illustration below shows a side view of the built-in I/O ports on the
motherboard.
Installing the Processor
This motherboard has a socket AM2 processor socket. When choosing a processor,
consider the performance requirements of the system. Performance is based on the
processor design, the clock speed and system bus frequency of the processor, and
the quantity of internal cache memory and external cache memory.
PS/2 Mouse Use the upper PS/2 port to connect a PS/2 pointing
device.
PS/2 Ke yboard Use the low er PS/2 port to connect a PS/2
keyboard.
Paralle l Port (LPT1) Use the Parallel port to connect printers or other
parallel communications devic es .
Serial Por t (COM1) Use the COM port to connect serial devices such
as mice or fax/modems. COM1 is identified by the
system as COM1.
LAN Port (optional) Connect an RJ-45 jack to the LA N port to connect
your computer to the Netw ork.
USB Po r ts Use the USB ports to connect USB devices.
Audio Ports Use these three audio jacks to connect audio
devices. The first jack is for stereo Line-In signal,
the second jack for stereo Line-Out signal, and the
third jack f or Microphone.

8
Motherboard User’s Guide
CPU Installation Procedure
Follow these instructions to install the CPU:
1 Unhook the locking lever of the CPU socket.
Pull the locking lever away from the socket
and raising it to the upright position.
2 Match the pin1 corner marked as the beveled
edge on the CPU with the pin1 corner on the
socket. Insert the CPU into the socket. Do
not use force.
3 Push the locking lever down and hook it un-
der the latch on the edge of socket.
4 Apply thermal grease to the top of the CPU.
5 Install the cooling fan/heatsink unit onto the
CPU, and secure them all onto the socket
base.
6 Plug the CPU fan power cable into the CPU
fan connector (CPU_FAN) on the
motherboard.
Installing Memory Modules
This motherboard accommodates two 240-pin DIMM sockets (Dual Inline Memory
Module) for unbuffered DDR2 800/667/533/400 memory modules (Double Data
Rate SDRAM), and maximum 16 GB installed memory.
Note: To achieve better airflow rates and heat dissipation, we suggest that
you use a high quality fan with 4800 rpm at least. CPU fan and heatsink
installation procedures may vary with the type of CPU fan/heatsink
supplied. The form and size of fan/heatsink may also vary.

9
Chapter 2: Motherboard Installation
Over its predecessor, DDR-SDRAM, DDR2-SDRAM offers greater bandwidth
and density in a smaller package along with a reduction in power consumption. In
addition, DDR2-SDRAM offers new features and functions that enable a higher
clock rate and data rate operations of 400 MHz, 533 MHz 667 MHz and 800
MHz. DDR2 transfers 64 bits of data twice every clock cycle.
Memory Module Installation Procedure
These modules can be installed with up to 16 GB system memory. Refer to the
following to install the memory module.
1. Push down the latches on both sides of the DIMM socket.
2. Align the memory module with the socket. There is a notch on the DIMM
socket that you can install the DIMM module in the correct direction.
Match the cutout on the DIMM module with the notch on the DIMM
socket.
3. Install the DIMM module into the socket and press it firmly down until it
is seated correctly. The socket latches are levered upwards and latch on to
the edges of the DIMM.
4. Install any remaining DIMM modules.

10
Motherboard User’s Guide
JCMOS1: Clear CMOS Jumper
Use this jumper to clear the contents of the CMOS memory. You may need to clear
the CMOS memory if the settings in the Setup Utility are incorrect and prevent
your motherboard from operating. To clear the CMOS memory, disconnect all the
power cables from the motherboard and then move the jumper cap into the CLEAR
setting for a few seconds.
Function Ju m pe r
Normal Short Pins 1-2
Clear CMOS Short Pins 2-3
Jumper Settings
Connecting two pins with a jumper cap is SHORT; removing a jumper cap from
these pins, OPEN.
Note for dual-channel DDR2:
1. You CAN NOT use only one DIMM2 for it might cause the system shutdown.
2. You need to use DIMM1 and DIMM2 with the same size of memory modules.
Note: To avoid the system unstability after clearing CMOS, we recommend
users to enter the main BIOS setting page to “Load Optimized Defaults”
and then “Save & Exit Setup”.
JUSBV1/JUSBV3/JKBMSV1: Power Source Jumpers
Function Jumper
+5V Short Pins 1-2
+5V Standby
Voltage
Short Pins 2-3

11
Chapter 2: Motherboard Installation
Install The Motherboard
Install the motherboard in a system chassis (case). The board is an ATX size
motherboard. You can install this motherboard in an ATX case. Make sure your
case has an I/O cover plate matching the ports on this motherboard.
Install the motherboard in a case. Follow the case manufacturer’s instructions to
use the hardware and internal mounting points on the chassis.
Connect the power connector from the power supply to the TATXPWR1 connec-
tor on the motherboard. PWR1 is a +12V connecotr for CPU Vcore power.
If there is a cooling fan installed in the system chassis, connect the cable from the
cooling fan to the JSFAN2 fan power connector on the motherboard.
Connect the case switches and indicator LEDs to the SW1 header.
Pin Signal Pin Signal
1 HD_LED_P(+) 2 FP PWR/SLP(+)
3 HD_LED_N( -) 4 FP PWR/SL P( -)
5 RESET_ SW_ N( - ) 6 POW ER_S W_ P( +)
7 RESET_ SW_ P( +) 8 POWER_S W_ N( - )
9 RSV D_ DNU 10 KEY

12
Motherboard User’s Guide
Connecting Optional Devices
Refer to the following for information on connecting the motherboard’s optional
devices:
Pin Signal Pin Signal
1AUD_MIC 2AUD_GND
3 AUD_MIC_BIAS 4 AUD_VCC
5 AUD_FPOUT_R 6 AUD_RET_R
7HP_ON 8KEY
9 AUD_FPOUT_L 10 AUD_RET_L
JAUDIO1: Front Panel Audio Header
This header allows the user to install auxiliary front-oriented microphone and line-
out ports for easier access.
SPK1: Speaker Header
Connect the cable from the PC speaker to the SPK1 header on the motherboard.
Pin Signal
1 +5V
2NC
3GND
4SPKR

13
Chapter 2: Motherboard Installation
Pin Signal Pin Signal
1NC2KEY
3+5V 4GND
5 IRTX 6 IRRX
Here is a list of USB pin assignments.
1. Locate the JUSB1~2 headers on the motherboard.
2. Plug the bracket cable onto the JUSB1~2 headers.
3. Remove a slot cover from one of the expansion slots on the system chassis.
Install an extension bracket in the opening. Secure the extension bracket to
the chassis with a screw.
IR1: Infrared Port Header
The infrared port allows the wireless exchange of information between your com-
puter and similarly equipped devices such as printers, laptops, Personal Digital
Assistants (PDAs), and other computers.
1. Locate the infrared port-IR1 header on the motherboard.
2. If you are adding an infrared port, connect the ribbon cable from the port to
the IR1 header and then secure the port to an appropriate place in your
system chassis.
Pin Signal Pin Signal
1 VERG_FP_USBPWR0 2 VERG_FP_USBPWR0
3 USB_FP_P0(-) 4 USB_FP_P1(-)
5 USB_FP_P0(+) 6 USB_FP_P1(+)
7 GROUND 8 GROUND
9 KEY 10 GROUND
JUSB1~2: Front Panel USB Headers
The motherboard has USB ports installed on the rear edge I/O port array.Addition-
ally, some computer cases have USB ports at the front of the case. If you have this
kind of case, use auxiliary USB headers JUSB1~2 to connect the front-mounted
ports to the motherboard.
JSPDIF_OUT: SPDIF out Header
This is an optional header that provides an S/PDIF (Sony/Philips Digital Interface)
output to digital multimedia device through optical fiber or coaxial connector.
Pin Signal
1SPDIF
2(+)5VA
3GND

14
Motherboard User’s Guide
Floppy Disk Drive
The motherboard ships with a floppy disk drive cable that can support one or
two drives. Drives can be 3.5" or 5.25" wide, with capacities of 360K, 720K,
1.2MB, 1.44MB, or 2.88MB.
Install your drives and connect power from the system power supply. Use the
cable provided to connect the drives to the floppy disk drive connector FDD1.
IDE Devices
IDE devices include hard disk drives, high-density diskette drives, and CD-ROM
or DVD-ROM drives, among others.
The mainboard ships with an IDE cable that can support one or two IDE
devices. If you connect two devices to a single cable, you must configure one of
the drives as Master and one of the drives as Slave. The documentation of the
IDE device will tell you how to configure the device as a Master or Slave device.
The Master device connects to the end of the cable.
Install the device(s) and connect power from the system power
supply. Use the cable provided to connect the device(s) to the Primary IDE
channel connector IDE1 on the motherboard.
Install Other Devices
Install and connect any other devices in the system following the steps below.

15
Chapter 2: Motherboard Installation
If you want to install more IDE devices, you can purchase a second IDE cable and
connect one or two devices to the Secondary IDE channel connector IDE2 on the
motherboard. If you have two devices on the cable, one must be Master and one
must be Slave.
Serial ATA Devices
The Serial ATA (Advanced Technology Attachment) is the standard interface for
the IDE hard drives, which is designed to overcome the design limitations while
enabling the storage interface to scale with the growing media rate demands of PC
platforms. It provides you a faster transfer rate of 1.5 Gb/s. If you have installed a
Serial ATA hard drive, you can connect the Serial ATAcables to the Serial ATA hard
drive or the connector on the motherboard.
On the motherboard, locate the Serial ATA connectors JSATA4-5, which support
new Serial ATAdevices for the highest data transfer rates, simpler disk drive cabling
and easier PC assembly.
It eliminates limitations of the current Parallel ATA interface, but maintains register
compatibility and software compatibility with Parallel ATA.
Analog Audio Input Header
If you have installed a CD-ROM drive or DVD-ROM drive, you can connect the
drive audio cable to the onboard sound system.

16
Motherboard User’s Guide
Pin Signal
1 CD IN L
2GND
3GND
4 CD IN R
Here is a list of JCDIN1 pin assignments.
Expansion Slots
This motherboard has one AGP and five 32-bit PCI slots.
When you first start up your system, the BIOS should automatically detect your
CD-ROM/DVD drive. If it doesn’t, enter the Setup Utility and configure the CD-
ROM/DVD drive that you have installed. On the motherboard, locate the 4-pin
header JCDIN1.

17
Chapter 2: Motherboard Installation
Follow the steps below to install an AGP/PCI expansion card.
1. Locate the AGP or PCI slots on the mainboard.
2. Remove the blanking plate of the slot from the system chassis.
3. Install the edge connector of the expansion card into the slot. Ensure the
edge connector is correctly seated in the slot.
4. Secure the metal bracket of the card to the system chassis with a screw.
AGP Slot
You can install a graphics adapter that supports the 8x AGP specification and has
an 8x AGP edge connector in the AGP slot.
PCI Slots
You can install the 32-bit PCI interface expansion cards in the slots.