XFX nForce 790i Ultra User manual

User Guide
XFX nForce 790i Ultra
3-Way SLI Motherboard

XFX nForce 790i Ultra 3-Way SLI Motherboard
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XFX nForce 790i 3-Way SLI Motherboard
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Table of Contents
User Guide .....................................................................................................................i
XFX nForce 790i Ultra 3-Way SLI Motherboard ............................................................i
Before You Begin… .....................................................................................................ix
Inside the 780i 3-Way SLI Installation CD ...............................................................ix
Parts NOT in the Kit ..................................................................................................x
Intentions of the Kit ..................................................................................................xi
XFX nForce 790i Ultra SLI Motherboard.......................................................................1
Motherboard Specifications...................................................................................... 1
Unpacking and Parts Descriptions...............................................................................3
Unpacking ................................................................................................................ 3
Equipment ................................................................................................................ 3
XFX nForce 790i Ultra SLI Motherboard.................................................................. 4
Hardware Installation ....................................................................................................7
Safety Instructions.................................................................................................... 7
Preparing the Motherboard ...................................................................................... 8
Installing the CPU ................................................................................................ 8
Installing the CPU Fan ......................................................................................... 9
Installing Memory DIMMs..................................................................................... 9
Installing the Motherboard...................................................................................... 10
Installing the I/O Shield ...................................................................................... 10
Securing the Motherboard into the Chassis....................................................... 11
Connecting Cables and Setting Switches .............................................................. 11

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Power Connections ............................................................................................ 12
24-pin ATX Power (PWR1) ............................................................................ 13
8-pin ATX 12V Power (PWR2)....................................................................... 14
Connecting IDE Hard Disk Drives ...................................................................... 14
Connecting Serial ATA Cables........................................................................... 15
Connecting Internal Headers ............................................................................. 16
Front Panel Header........................................................................................ 16
IEEE 1394a .................................................................................................... 17
USB Headers ................................................................................................. 18
Audio .................................................................................................................. 19
Fan Connections ................................................................................................ 20
COM1 ................................................................................................................. 21
FDD Connector .................................................................................................. 22
Expansion Slots ................................................................................................. 22
PCI Slots ........................................................................................................ 23
PCI Express x1 Slots ..................................................................................... 23
PCI Express x16 Slots ................................................................................... 23
Jumper Settings ..................................................................................................... 24
Clear CMOS Jumper: CLR_CMOS.................................................................... 24
Configuring the BIOS ..................................................................................................25
Enter BIOS Setup................................................................................................... 26
Main Menu.............................................................................................................. 26
Standard CMOS Features Menu ........................................................................... 29
Date and Time.................................................................................................... 30
IDE Channel and SATA Channel....................................................................... 30
Drive A................................................................................................................ 32
Halt On ............................................................................................................... 32
Memory .............................................................................................................. 33

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Advanced BIOS Features ...................................................................................... 34
Removable Device Priority................................................................................. 35
Hard Disk Boot Priority....................................................................................... 35
Network Boot Priority ......................................................................................... 35
CPU Internal Cache ........................................................................................... 35
Quick Power On Self Test.................................................................................. 36
First/Second/Third Boot Device ......................................................................... 36
Boot Other Device .............................................................................................. 36
Boot Up NumLock Status................................................................................... 36
Security Option................................................................................................... 37
APIC Mode ......................................................................................................... 37
MPS Version Control For OS ............................................................................. 37
Full Screen LOGO Show.................................................................................... 37
Advanced Chipset Features................................................................................... 38
System Clocks.................................................................................................... 39
Frequency Settings ........................................................................................ 40
HT Multiplier ................................................................................................... 41
Spread Spectrum ........................................................................................... 41
FSB & Memory Config ....................................................................................... 42
CPU Configuration ............................................................................................. 46
System Voltages ................................................................................................ 48
NVMEM Memory Test........................................................................................ 50
Load Timing/Voltage Set.................................................................................... 50
Save Timing/Voltage Set.................................................................................... 51
System BIOS Cacheable ................................................................................... 51
HPET Function ................................................................................................... 51
NVIDIA GPU Ex ................................................................................................. 51
Integrated Peripherals Menu.................................................................................. 52

XFX nForce 790i Ultra 3-Way SLI Motherboard
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IDE Function Setup ............................................................................................ 53
RAID Config ....................................................................................................... 54
USB Config......................................................................................................... 54
MAC Config ........................................................................................................ 55
IEEE1394 controller ........................................................................................... 55
HD Audio ............................................................................................................ 55
IDE HDD Block Mode......................................................................................... 55
Onboard FDC Controller .................................................................................... 55
Onboard Serial Port 1 ........................................................................................ 56
Power Management Setup Menu .......................................................................... 56
ACPI Function .................................................................................................... 57
ACPI Suspend Type........................................................................................... 57
Soft-Off by PBNT ............................................................................................... 57
WOL(PME#) From Soft-Off ................................................................................ 57
Power On by Alarm ............................................................................................ 57
POWER ON Function ........................................................................................ 58
PnP/PCI Configuration Menu ................................................................................. 59
Init Display First.................................................................................................. 59
Reset Configuration Data................................................................................... 60
Resources Controlled By ................................................................................... 60
IRQ Resources................................................................................................... 61
PCI/VGA Palette Snoop ..................................................................................... 61
Maximum Payload Size...................................................................................... 61
System Monitor Menu ............................................................................................ 62
Dynamic Fan Control ......................................................................................... 63
Installing Drivers and Software ..................................................................................65
Windows XP Drivers Install .................................................................................... 66
Using the NVIDIA Software........................................................................................67

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NVIDIA Performance Group of NVIDIA Control Panel .......................................... 68
Device Settings .................................................................................................. 69
Current Hardware Settings............................................................................. 70
Dynamic BIOS Access ....................................................................................... 76
View System Information ................................................................................... 77
Profile Policies.................................................................................................... 78
Manage Your System BIOS ............................................................................... 79
NVIDIA System Monitor ......................................................................................... 80
Appendix A. POST Codes for Tritium Platform...........................................................85
Appendix B. Configuring an SLI Configuration ...........................................................95
ForceWare Driver................................................................................................... 96
Enabling 3-Way SLI ........................................................................................... 98
Verifying 3-way SLI is Active................................................................................ 100
Index..........................................................................................................................101

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List of Fi ures
Figure 1. XFX nForce 790i Ultra SLI Motherboard Layout .................................... 5
Figure 2. Chassis Backpanel Connectors ............................................................. 6
Figure 3. Power Supply Connectors.................................................................... 12
Figure 4. PWR1 Motherboard Connector ............................................................ 13
Figure 5. BIOS CMOS Setup Utility Main Menu .................................................. 27
Figure 6. Standard CMOS Features Menu.......................................................... 29
Figure 7. Advanced BIOS Features Menu........................................................... 34
Figure 8. Advanced Chipset Features ................................................................. 38
Figure 9. System Clocks Menu............................................................................ 39
Figure 10. FSB & Memory Config Menu................................................................ 42
Figure 11. CPU Configuration Menu ..................................................................... 46
Figure 12. System Voltages Menu ........................................................................ 48
Figure 13. Integrated Peripherals Menu ................................................................ 52
Figure 14. Power Management Setup Menu......................................................... 56
Figure 15. PnP/PCI Configuration Menu ............................................................... 59
Figure 16. System Monitor Menu .......................................................................... 62
Figure 17. 3-Way SLI Using GeForce 8800 Ultra.................................................. 95
Figure 18. 3-way NVIDIA SLI connector................................................................ 96
Figure 19. Windows Vista Device Manager........................................................... 97
Figure 20. NVIDIA Control Panel, Set SLI Configuration ...................................... 98
Figure 21. SLI Visual Indicators Operating in 3DMark2006 .................................. 99

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Before You Begin…
Inside the 780i 3-Way SLI
Installation CD
The following tools and drivers are in the 790i 3-Way SLI Installation CD:
Mother oard Drivers for:
Windows XP
Windows XP 64- it
Windows Vista
Windows Vista 64- it
On oard Audio Drivers
Windows XP
Windows XP 64- it
Windows Vista
Windows Vista 64- it
Ado e Acro at Reader 8.0
Raid Setup Floppy Disk Creator
Mother oard Manual NVIDIA Software
NVIDIA MediaShield Storage
NVIDIA System Monitor

XFX nForce 790i Ultra 3-Way SLI Motherboard
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Parts NOT in the Kit
This kit contains all the hardware necessary to install and connect your new
NVIDIA® nForce® 790i Ultra SLI mother oard. However, it does not contain
the following items that must e purchased separately to make the mother oard
functional.
Intel microprocessor:
Intel Core 2 Extreme, Intel Core 2 Quad, Intel Core 2 Duo Pentium EE,
Pentium D, Pentium
Cooling fan for the microprocessor
System memory support:
Supports dual channel DDR3 800/1066/1333, and up to 2000 MHz SLI-
Ready Memory. Supports up to 8 GBs DDR3 memory.
Graphics Card
This mother oard supports 3-way SLI with three x16 PCI Express slots.
Power Supply
The power supply requirement is dependent upon the power and the num er
of the GPUs you install. If you are going to SLI two graphics cards, you are
going to require more power. As a rule, for one GPU you need a minimum of
a 300 W power supply. If you have two GPUs in an SLI configuration, you
will need a minimum of a 500 W power supply. If you have three GPUs in an
SLI configuration, you will need a minimum of a 1000 W power supply. To
calculate the power you are going to require for your specific configuration,
go to www.slizone.com.
These instructions tell you how to install each of the parts listed so you can
have a functioning mother oard. As you go through the installation
instructions, we are assuming you have purchased the necessary parts.

XFX nForce 790i 3-Way SLI Motherboard
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Intentions of the Kit
This kit provides you with the mother oard and all connecting ca les necessary
to install the mother oard into a PC ca inet. If you are building a PC, you will
use most of the ca les provided in the kit. If however, you are replacing a
mother oard, you will not need many of the ca les.
When replacing a mother oard in a PC ca inet, you will need to reinstall an
operating system even though the current drives have an operating system.

XFX nForce 790i Ultra 3-Way SLI Motherboard
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1
XFX nForce 790i Ultra SLI
Motherboard
Thank you for uying the XFX NFORCE 790i Ultra SLI Mother oard. This
mother oard offers the tools and performance PC users’ demand. When
com ined with two or three SLI-Ready XFX 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 2 Extreme, Intel Core 2 Quad, Intel Core 2 Duo, Pentium EE,
Pentium D, Pentium
Operating systems:
Supports Windows XP 32 it/64 it and Windows Vista 32 it/64 it
Contains NVIDIA nForce 790i Ultra SLI MCP and SPP
System Memory support
Supports dual channel JEDEC DDR3-1333 and SLI-Ready memory up to
2000 MHz. Supports up to 8 GBs DDR3 memories.
Ten USB 2.0 Ports
Supports hot plug
Ten USB 2.0 ports (six rear panel ports, four on oard USB headers)
Supports wake-up from S1 and S3 mode
Supports USB 2.0 protocol up to 480 M ps transmission rate

XFX nForce 790i Ultra 3-Way SLI Motherboard
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On oard Serial ATA II
300MBps data transfer rate
Six Serial ATA II connectors
NVIDIA MediaShield RAID with support for RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID
0+1, RAID 5, and JBOD
Supports hot plug and NCQ (Native Command Queuing )
On oard LAN
Dual LAN interface uilt-in on oard
Supports 10/100/1000 M it/sec Ethernet
On oard 1394
Support hot plug
Two 1394a ports (one rear panel port, one on oard header) with rate of
transmission at 400 M ps
On oard Audio
Azalia High-Definition audio
Supports 8-channel audio
Supports S/PDIF output
Supports Jack-Sensing function
Triple PCI Express x16 Support
2 x16 PCI Express 2.0
1 x16 PCI Express 1.0
Supports 4 GB/sec (8 GB/sec concurrent) andwidth
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
Two PCI slots
One PCI Express x1 slot
Three PCI Express x16 Graphics slots

3
Unpacking and
Parts Descriptions
Unpacking
The XFX nForce 790i Ultra SLI mother oard comes with all the necessary
ca les for adding a mother oard to a new chassis. If you are replacing a
mother oard, you may not need many of these ca les.
Be sure to inspect each piece of equipment shipped in the packing ox. If
anything is missing or damaged, contact your reseller.
All parts shipped in this kit are RoHS-compliant (lead-free) parts.
Equipment
The following equipment is included in the XFX nForce 790i Ultra SLI
mother oard ox.
XFX nForce 790i Ultra SLI Motherboard
This PCI Express motherboard contains the
NVIDIA nForce 790i Ultra SLI SPP and MCP
and is SLI-ready.
I/O Shield
Installs in the chassis to block radio
frequency transmissions, protect internet
components from dust and forei n objects
and aids in proper airflow within the chassis.
Floppy Cable
Used to attach a floppy drive to the
motherboard.

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2-Port SATA Power Cable (Qty Three)
1394 Cable
Provides two additional 1394 ports to either
the front or back panels of the chassis.
USB 2.0 4-Port Cable
Provides four additional USB ports to either
the front or back panels of the chassis.
SATA Si nal Cable (Qty Six)
Used to support the Serial ATA protocol and
each one connects a sin le drive to the
motherboard
IDE-ATA 133 HDD Cable
SLI Brid e (use for two raphics cards in SLI)
3-Way SLI Brid e (use for three raphics
cards in SLI)
XFX nForce 790i Ultra SLI
Motherboard
The XFX nForce 790i Ultra SLI mother oard with the NVIDIA nForce 790i
Ultra SLI SPP and MCP processors is a PCI Express, SLI-ready mother oard.
Figure 1 shows the mother oard and Figures 2 shows the ack panel
connectors.

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1. CPU Socket 11. Fan connectors 21. PCI slots
2. nForce 790i Ultra SLI heatpipe 12. HDA and SPDIF connector 22. PCI Express x16 slots (SLI)
3. CPU fan connector 13. Front panel connector 23. PCI Express x1 slot
4. DDR3 DIMM slots 0 - 3 14. Serial connector 24. SATA connector
5. 24-pin ATX power connector 15. Clear CMOS Jumper 25. Backpanel connectors (Fi ure 2)
6. IDE connector 16. USB headers 26. Heat dissipater
7. Serial-ATA (SATA) connectors 17. 1394a connector 27. 8-pin ATX_12V power connector
8. FDD connector 18. Power button 28. MCP/SPP fan connector
9. NVIDIA MCP (passive heat sink) 19. Reset Button 29. Motherboard battery
10. Dia nostic code display 20. Front panel Audio connector
Fi ure 1. XFX nForce 790i Ultra SLI Motherboard Layout
2
1
4
3
5
10
8
9
7
6
13
14
1
6
1
7
2
1
2
2
2
1
2
3
2
2
2
5
2
7
7
2
2
1
8
1
1
1
5
2
6
28
1
9
11
1
6
2
3
2
4
20
11
29
12

XFX nForce 790i Ultra 3-Way SLI Motherboard
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1. PS/2 Mouse Port
2. PS/2 Keyboard Port
3. Coaxial SPDIF
4. SPDIF output
5. eSATA
6. USB 2.0 ports (SIX)
7. 1394a (Firewire) Port
8. Port 2-Channel 4-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
Oran e Center/Subwoofer
Black Rear Speaker Out Rear Speaker Out
Grey
9. Lan Port with LEDs to indicate status.
•Yellow/Li ht Up/Blink = 10 Mbps/Link/Activity
•Yellow and Green/Li ht Up/Blink = 100 Mbps/link/Activity
•Green/Li ht Up/Blink = 1000 Mbps/Link/Activity
Fi ure 2. Chassis Backpanel Connectors
1
2
5
6
9
6
3
4
6
7
8
9

7
Hardware Installation
This section will guide you through the installation of the mother oard. The
topics covered in this section are:
Preparing the mother oard
Installing the CPU
Installing the CPU fan
Installing the memory
Installing the mother oard
Connecting ca les and setting switches
Safety Instructions
To reduce the risk of fire, electric shock, and injury, always follow basic
safety precautions.
Remember to remo e power from your computer by disconnecting the
AC main source before remo ing or installing any equipment from/to the
computer chassis.

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Preparing the Motherboard
The mother oard shipped in the ox does not contain a CPU or memory. You
need to purchase these to complete this installation.
Installing the CPU
Be very careful when handling the CPU. Make sure not to end or reak any
pins on the ack. Hold the processor only y the edges and do not touch the
ottom of the processor.
Use the following procedure to install the CPU onto
the mother oard.
1. Unhook the socket lever y pushing down and
away from the socket.
2. Lift the load plate. There is a protective socket
cover on the load plate to protect the socket when
there is no CPU installed.
3. Remove the protective socket cover from the load plate.
4. Remove the processor from its protective cover,
making sure you hold it only y 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.
Ali n notches with
notches on the CPU