Asus A88XMPLUSCSM manual

Motherboard A88XM-A[...]

ii E8512 First Edition July 2013 Copyright © 2013 ASUST eK COMPUTER INC. All Rights Reserved. No part of this manual, including the products and software described in it, may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any language in any form or by any means, except documentation kept by the purchaser[...]

iii Contents Safety information ...................................................................................... iv About this guide ......................................................................................... iv Package contents ....................................................................................... vi A88XM-A sp[...]

iv Safety information Electrical safety T o prevent electrical shock hazard, disconnect the power cable from the electrical outlet before relocating the system. When adding or removing devices to or from the system, ensure that the power cables for the devices are unplugged before the signal cables are connected. If possible, disconnect all power c[...]

v Where to nd more information Refer to the following sources for additional information and for product and software updates. 1. ASUS websites The ASUS website provides updated information on ASUS hardware and software products. Refer to the ASUS contact information. 2. Optional documentation Y our product package may include optional documenta[...]

vi (continued on the next page) Package contents Check your motherboard package for the following items. Motherboard ASUS A88XM-A motherboard Cables 2 x S erial A T A 6.0 Gb/ s cables Accessories 1 x I/O Shield Application DVD Support DVD Documentation User Guide If any of the above items is damaged or missing, contact your retailer . A88XM-A speci[...]

vii (continued on the next page) Storage AMD ® A88X FCH: - 6 x Serial A T A 6 Gb/s connectors with RAID 0, RAID 1,RAID 5,RAID 10 and JBOD support LAN Realtek ® 81 1 1G PCIe Gigabit LAN controller Audio Realtek ® ALC887-VD 8-Channel High Denition Audio CODEC • Use a chassis with HD audio module in the front panel to support an 8- channel aud[...]

viii A88XM-A specications summary Specications are subject to change without notice. Back panel I/O ports 1 x PS/2 keyboard port 1 x PS/2 mouse port 1 x HDMI port 1 x DVI port 1 x D-Sub output port 1 x LAN (RJ-45) port 2 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports 2 x USB 3.0 ports (blue) 8-channel audio I/O ports (3 jacks) Internal I/O connectors 1 x USB 3.0 connec[...]

ASUS A88XM-A 1-1 Product introduction 1 1.1 Before you proceed T ake note of the following precautions before you install motherboard components or change any motherboard settings. • Unplug the power cord from the wall socket before touching any component. • Before handling components, use a grounded wrist strap or touch a safely grounded objec[...]

1-2 Chapter 1: Product introduction A88XM-A Place this side towards the rear of the chassis 1.2 Motherboard overview Before you install the motherboard, study the conguration of your chassis to ensure that the motherboard ts. Unplug the power cord before installing or removing the motherboard. Failure to do so can cause you physical injury an[...]

ASUS A88XM-A 1-3 1.2.3 Motherboard layout A88XM-A PCIEX16 PCIEX1_1 PCI1 AAFP EATXPWR CPU_FAN BATTERY Super I/O ALC 887 KBMS DVI_VGA 64Mb BIOS SB_PWR CLRTC 20.8cm(8.2in) AMD ® A88X DDR3 DIMM_A1 (64bit, 240-pin module) DDR3 DIMM_A2 (64bit, 240-pin module) DDR3 DIMM_B1 (64bit, 240-pin module) DDR3 DIMM_B2 (64bit, 240-pin module) SATA6G_2 SOCKET FM2+ [...]

1-4 Chapter 1: Product introduction 1.2.4 Layout contents A88XM-A A88XM-A CPU socket FM2+ 1.3 Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) This motherboard comes with a FM2+ socket designed for AMD ® A-series and Athlon™ processors. Ensure that you use an APU designed for the FM2+ socket. The APU ts in only one correct orientation. DO NOT force the APU [...]

ASUS A88XM-A 1-5 1.3.1 APU installation 1 4 3 2[...]

1-6 Chapter 1: Product introduction 1 2 5 3 4 1.3.2 APU heatsink and fan assembly installation Apply the Thermal Interface Material to the APU heatsink and APU before you install the heatsink and fan if necessary . T o install the APU heatsink and fan assembly[...]

ASUS A88XM-A 1-7 T o uninstall the APU heatsink and fan assembly 5 3 1 4 2[...]

1-8 Chapter 1: Product introduction 1.4.2 Memory congurations Y ou may install 1GB, 2GB, 4GB, and 8GB unbuffered non-ECC DDR3 DIMMs into the DIMM sockets. • Y ou may install varying memory sizes in Channel A and Channel B. The system maps the total size of the lower-sized channel for the dual-channel conguration. Any excess memory from the [...]

ASUS A88XM-A 1-9 • The default memory operation frequency is dependent on its Serial Presence Detect (SPD), which is the standard way of accessing information from a memory module. Under the default state, some memory modules for overclocking may operate at a lower frequency than the vendor-marked value. T o operate at the vendor-marked or at a h[...]

1-10 Chapter 1: Product introduction 1.5 Expansion slots In the future, you may need to install expansion cards. The following sub-sections describe the slots and the expansion cards that they support. Unplug the power cord before adding or removing expansion cards. Failure to do so may cause you physical injury and damage motherboard components. 1[...]

ASUS A88XM-A 1-1 1 1.5.3 PCI slot The PCI slot supports cards such as a LAN card, SCSI card, USB card, and other cards that comply with PCI specications. 1.5.4 PCI Express 2.0 x1 slot This motherboard supports PCI Express x1 network cards, SCSI cards, and other cards that comply with the PCI Express specications. 1.5.5 PCI Express x16 slot Th[...]

1-12 Chapter 1: Product introduction 1.6 Jumpers 1. Clear RTC RAM (3-pin CLRTC) This jumper allows you to clear the Real T ime Clock (RTC) RAM in CMOS. Y ou can clear the CMOS memory of date, time, and system setup parameters by erasing the CMOS RTC RAM data. The onboard button cell battery powers the RAM data in CMOS, which include system setup in[...]

ASUS A88XM-A 1-13 2. Keyboard wake-up (3-pin KB_USBPWB) This jumper allows you to enable or disable the keyboard wake-up feature. When you set this jumper to pins 2-3 (+5VSB), you can wake up the computer by pressing a key on the keyboard. This feature requires an A TX power supply that can supply at least 1A on the +5VSB lead, and a corresponding [...]

1-14 Chapter 1: Product introduction 1.7 Connectors 1.7.1 Rear panel connectors 4 5 3 6 8 7 1 11 2 9 10 1. PS/2 mouse port. This port is for a PS/2 mouse. 2. V ideo Graphics Adapter (VGA) port. This 15-pin port is for a VGA monitor or other VGA-compatible devices. 3. LAN (RJ-45) port. This port allows Gigabit connection to a Local Area Network (LAN[...]

ASUS A88XM-A 1-15 7. USB 2.0 ports 1 and 2. These two 4-pin Universal Serial Bus (USB) ports are for USB 2.0/1.1 devices. 8. USB 3.0 ports 1 and 2 . These two 9-pin Universal Serial Bus (USB) ports are for USB 3.0/2.0 devices. • DO NOT connect a keyboard / mouse to any USB 3.0 port when installing Windows ® operating system. • Due to USB 3.0 c[...]

1-16 Chapter 1: Product introduction 1.7.2 Internal connectors 1. CPU and chassis fan connectors (4-pin CPU_F AN, and 4-pin CHA_F AN) Conn ect th e fan c ables to the fan co nnecto rs o n the motherb oard, ensuring tha t the blac k wire of eac h cabl e match es the groun d pi n of t he conn ector. • The CPU_F AN connector supports a CPU fan of ma[...]

ASUS A88XM-A 1-17 2. A TX power connectors (24-pin EA TXPWR, 4-pin A TX12V) These connectors are for an A TX power supply . The plugs from the power supply are designed to t these connectors in only one orientation. Find the proper orientation and push down rmly until the connectors completely t. • We recommend that you use an A TX 12V S[...]

1-18 Chapter 1: Product introduction 3. Serial A T A 6.0 Gb/s connectors (7-pin SA T A6G 1~6) These connectors are for the Serial A T A 6.0 Gb/s signal cables for Serial A T A hard disk drives and optical disc drives. If you installed Serial A T A hard disk drives, you can create a RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 10 and JBOD conguration through the[...]

ASUS A88XM-A 1-19 4. System panel connector (10-1 pin P ANEL) This connector supports several chassis-mounted functions. • System power LED (2-pin PLED) This 2-pin connector is for the system power LED. Connect the chassis power LED cable to this connector . The system power LED lights up when you turn on the system power , and blinks when the sy[...]

1-20 Chapter 1: Product introduction 6. Digital audio connector (4-1 pin SPDIF_OUT) This connector is for an additional Sony/Philips Digital Interface (S/PDIF) port. The S/PDIF module is purchased separately . • W e recommend that you connect a high-denition front panel audio module to this connector to avail of the motherboard high-denitio[...]

ASUS A88XM-A 1-21 8. USB 2.0 connectors (10-1 pin USB34, USB56) These connectors are for USB 2.0 ports. Connect the USB module cable to any of these connectors, then install the module to a slot opening at the back of the system chassis. These USB connectors comply with USB 2.0 specication that supports up to 480Mbps connection speed. Never conn[...]

1-22 Chapter 1: Product introduction A88XM-A A88XM-A Serial port connectors PIN 1 COM D C D D X T D N G S T R I R D X R R T D R S D S T C 10. Serial port connector (10-1 pin COM) This connector is for a serial (COM) port. Connect the serial port module cable to this connector , then install the module to a slot opening at the back of the system cha[...]

ASUS A88XM-A 1-23 1.8 Software support 1.8.1 Installing an operating system This motherboard supports Windows ® XP / Windows ® V ista / 64-bit Windows ® Vista / Windows ® 7 / 64-bit Windows ® 7 / Windows ® 8 / 64-bit Windows ® 8 Operating Systems (OS). Always install the latest OS version and corresponding updates to maximize the features of[...]

1-24 Chapter 1: Product introduction[...]

ASUS A88XM-A 2-1 BIOS information 2 2.1 Managing and updating your BIOS Save a copy of the original motherboard BIOS le to a USB ash disk in case you need to restore the BIOS in the future. Copy the original motherboard BIOS using the ASUS Update utility . 2.1.1 EZ Update EZ Update is a utility that allows you to automatically update your mot[...]

2-2 Chapter 2: BIOS information 2.1.2 ASUS EZ Flash 2 The ASUS EZ Flash 2 feature allows you to update the BIOS without using an OS-based utility . Before you start using this utility , download the latest BIOS le from the ASUS website at www .asus.com. T o update the BIOS using EZ Flash 2: 1. Insert the USB ash disk that contains the latest [...]

ASUS A88XM-A 2-3 2.1.3 ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3 utility The ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3 is an auto recovery tool that allows you to restore the BIOS le when it fails or gets corrupted during the updating process. Y ou can restore a corrupted BIOS le using the motherboard support DVD or a USB ash drive that contains the updated BIOS le. • Befor[...]

2-4 Chapter 2: BIOS information Booting the system to a DOS environment 1. Insert the USB ash drive with the latest BIOS le and BIOS Updater to the USB port. 2. Boot your computer . When the ASUS Logo appears, press <F8> to show th e BIOS Boot Device Select Menu . Insert the support DVD into the optical drive and select the optical driv[...]

ASUS A88XM-A 2-5 3. Press <T ab> to switch between screen elds and use the <Up/Down/Home/End> keys to select the BIOS le and press <Enter>. BIOS Updater checks the selected BIOS le and prompts you to conrm BIOS update. 4. Select Y es and press <Enter>. When BIOS update is done, press <ESC> to exit BIOS Upda[...]

2-6 Chapter 2: BIOS information Using the power button , reset button , or the <Ctrl>+<Alt>+<Del> keys to force reset from a running operating system can cause damage to your data or system. We recommend to always shut down the system properly from the operating system. 2.2 BIOS setup program Use the BIOS Setup program to update t[...]

ASUS A88XM-A 2-7 • The boot device options vary depending on the devices you installed to the system. • The Boot Menu(F8) button is available only when the boot device is installed to the system. Advanced Mode The Advanced Mode provides advanced options for experienced end-users to congure the BIOS settings. The gure below shows an exampl[...]

2-8 Chapter 2: BIOS information Menu bar The menu bar on top of the screen has the following main items: My Favorites For saving the frequently-used system settings and conguration Main For changing the basic system conguration Ai T weaker For changing the overclocking settings Advanced For changing the advanced system settings Monitor For di[...]

ASUS A88XM-A 2-9 Pop-up window Select a menu item and press <Enter> to display a pop-up window with the conguration options for that item. Scroll bar A scroll bar appears on the right side of a menu screen when there are items that do not t on the screen. Press the Up/Down arrow keys or <Page Up> / <Page Down> keys to displa[...]

2-10 Chapter 2: BIOS information 2.4 Main menu The Main menu screen appears when you enter the Advanced Mode of the BIOS Setup program. The Main menu provides you an overview of the basic system information, and allows you to set the system date, time, language, and security settings. 2.4.1 System Language [English] Allows you to choose the BIOS la[...]

ASUS A88XM-A 2-1 1 • If you have forgotten your BIOS password, erase the CMOS Real Time Clock (RTC) RAM to clear the BIOS password. See section 1.6 Jumpers for information on how to erase the RTC RAM. • The Administrator or User Password items on top of the screen show the default Not Installed . After you set a password, these items show Insta[...]

2-12 Chapter 2: BIOS information 2.5 Ai T weaker menu The Ai T weaker menu items allow you to congure overclocking-related items. Be cautious when changing the settings of the Ai T weaker menu items. Incorrect eld values can cause the system to malfunction. The conguration options for this section vary depending on the CPU and DIMM model y[...]

ASUS A88XM-A 2-13 T arget CPU Speed : xxxxMHz Displays the current CPU speed. T arget DRAM Speed : xxxxMHz Displays the current DRAM speed. 2.5.1 Ai Overclock T uner [Auto] Allows you to select the CPU overclocking options to achieve the desired CPU internal frequency . Select any of these preset overclocking conguration options: [Auto] Loads th[...]

2-14 Chapter 2: BIOS information 2.5.6 DRAM Timing Control The sub-items in this menu allow you to set the DRAM timing control features. Use the <+> and <-> keys to adjust the value. T o restore the default setting, type [auto] using the keyboard and press <Enter>. Changing the values in this menu may cause the system to become un[...]

ASUS A88XM-A 2-15 2.5.10 DIGI+ VRM CPU Load Line Calibration [Auto] Load-line Calibration is dened by AMD VRM specications and affects CPU voltage. The CPU working voltage will decrease proportionally to CPU loading. Higher load-line calibration would get higher voltage and better overclocking performance, but increase the CPU and VRM thermal[...]

2-16 Chapter 2: BIOS information CPU Power Duty Control [T .Probe] [T .Probe] Maintains the VRM thermal balance. [Extreme] Maintains the VRM current balance. Do not remove the thermal module while changing the DIGI+VRM related parameters. The thermal conditions should be monitored. Be cautious when changing the settings of the Advanced menu items. [...]

ASUS A88XM-A 2-17 CPB Mode [Auto] Disables the CPB (Core Performance Boost) mode or set it to [Auto] for automatic conguration. Conguration options: [Disabled] [Auto] C6 Mode [Enabled] Enables or disables C6 mode. Conguration options: [Enabled] [Disabled] IOMMU [Disabled] Set this item to [Enabled] to show IOMMU Mode. Conguration option[...]

2-18 Chapter 2: BIOS information S.M.A.R.T . Status Check [Enabled] S.M.A.R.T . (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting T echnology) is a monitor system. When read/write of your hard disk errors occur , this feature allows the hard disk to report warning messages during the POST . Conguration options: [Enabled] [Disabled] 2.6.3 USB Congurati[...]

ASUS A88XM-A 2-19 2.6.4 NB Conguration IGFX Multi-Monitor [Disabled] Enables or disables the Internal Graphics Device Multi-Monitor support for add-on VGA devices. And the memory size of Internal Graphics Device will keep memory reserved. Conguration options: [Disabled] [Enabled] The IGFX Multi-Monitor item must be enabled before using AMD ®[...]

2-20 Chapter 2: BIOS information Realtek PXE OPROM [Disabled] This item appears only when you set the Realtek LAN Controller item to [Enabled] and allows you to enable or disable the Rom of the Realtek LAN controller . Conguration options: [Enabled] [Disabled] Serial Port Conguration The sub-items in this menu allow you to set the serial port[...]

ASUS A88XM-A 2-21 RTC Alarm Date (Days) This item appears only when you set the previous item to [Enabled] and allows you to select RTC alarm time (days). When you set the time to zero, the R TC alarms everyday . Use <+> and <-> keys to adjust the time. - Hour / - Minute / - Second Allows you to set the RTC alarm time. Use <+> and[...]

2-22 Chapter 2: BIOS information 2.7.1 CPU T emperature / MB T emperature [xxxºC/xxxºF] The onboard hardware monitor automatically detects and displays the CPU and motherboard temperatures. Select Ignore if you do not wish to display the detected temperatures. 2.7.2 CPU / Chassis Fan Speed [xxxx RPM] or [Ignore] / [N/A] The onboard hardware monit[...]

ASUS A88XM-A 2-23 Q-Fan Lower T emperature [20] Use the <+> and <-> keys to adjust the lower limit of the CPU temperature. The values range from 20ºC to 75ºC. Q-Fan Min. Duty Cycle(%) [20] Use the <+> and <-> keys to adjust the minimum CPU fan duty cycle. The values range from 0% to 100%. When the CPU temperature is under [...]

2-24 Chapter 2: BIOS information 2.7.5 CPU V oltage, 3.3V V oltage, 5V V oltage, 12V V oltage The onboard hardware monitor automatically detects the voltage output through the onboard voltage regulators. Select Ignore if you do not want to detect this item. 2.7.6 Anti Surge Support [Auto] This item allows you to enable or disable the Anti Surge fun[...]

ASUS A88XM-A 2-25 2.8.2 Boot Logo Display [Enabled] [Enabled] Display the boot logo during POST . [Disabled] Hide the logo during POST . Set this item to [Enabled] to use the ASUS MyLogo 2™ feature. Boot Logo Size Control [Auto] This item appears only when you set Boot Logo Display to [Enabled] and allows you to adjust the boot logo size. Cong[...]

2-26 Chapter 2: BIOS information POST Delay Time [3 sec] This item appears only when you set Full Screen Logo to [Enabled]. This item allows you to select the desired additional POST waiting time to easily enter the BIOS setup. Y ou can only execute the POST delay time during Normal Boot. The values range from 0 to 10 seconds. This feature will onl[...]

ASUS A88XM-A 2-27 The following four items appear when you set Launch CSM to [Enabled]. Boot Device Control [UEFI and Legacy OpROM] Allows you to select the type of devices that you want to boot up. Conguration options: [UEFI and Legacy OpROM] [Legacy OpROM only] [UEFI only] Boot from Network Devices [Legacy OpROM rst] Allows you to select th[...]

2-28 Chapter 2: BIOS information Save Secure Boot keys This item appears only when you load the default Secure Boot keys. This item allows you to save all default Secure Boot keys. PK Management The Platform Key (PK) locks and secures the rmware from any non-permissible changes. The system veries the PK before your system enters the OS. Delet[...]

ASUS A88XM-A 2-29 The DB le must be formatted as a UEFI variable structure with time-based authenticated variable. DBX Management The dbx (Revoked Signature database) lists the forbidden images of db items that are no longer trusted and cannot be loaded. Delete the DBX Allows you to delete the DBX le from your system. Conguration options: [...]

2-30 Chapter 2: BIOS information 2.9 T ools menu The T ools menu items allow you to congure options for special functions. Select an item then press <Enter> to display the submenu. 2.9.1 ASUS EZ Flash 2 Utility Allows you to run ASUS EZ Flash 2. Press [Enter] to launch the ASUS EZ Flash 2 screen. For more details, see section 2.1.2 ASUS EZ[...]

ASUS A88XM-A 2-31 2.10 Exit menu The Exit menu items allow you to load the optimal default values for the BIOS items, and save or discard your changes to the BIOS items. Y ou can access the EZ Mode from the Exit menu. Load Optimized Defaults This option allows you to load the default values for each of the parameters on the Setup menus. When you se[...]

2-32 Chapter 2: BIOS information[...]

ASUS A88XM-A A-1 Appendices Notices Federal Communications Commission Statement This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions: This device may not cause harmful interference. This device must accept any interference received including interference that may cause undesired operation. This eq[...]

A-2 Appendices REACH Complying with the REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and Restriction of Chemicals) regulatory framework, we published the chemical substances in our products at ASUS REACH website at http://csr .asus.com/english/REACH.htm. DO NOT throw the motherboard in municipal waste. This product has been designed to enable pr[...]

ASUS A88XM-A A-3 ASUS contact information ASUST eK COMPUTER INC. Address 15 Li-T e Road, Peitou, T aipei, T aiwan 1 1259 T elephone +886-2-2894-3447 Fax +886-2-2890-7798 E-mail info@asus.com.tw Web site www .asus.com.tw T echnical Support T elephone +86-21-3842991 1 Online support support.asus.com ASUS COMPUTER INTERNA TIONAL (America) Address 800 [...]

A-4 Appendices[...]