Asus A8S-X manual

Motherboard A8S-X User Guide[...]

ii Checklist Copyright © 2005ASUST 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 for backup purposes,[...]

iii Features Contents Notices ........................................................................................... vi Safety information ......................................................................... vii About this guide ............................................................................ viii Conventions used in this guid[...]

iv Safeguards Contents Chapter 2: BIOS Information 2.1 Managing and updating your BIOS .................................... 2-2 2.1.1 Creating a bootable floppy disk ............................. 2-2 2.1.2 Using AFUDOS to update the BIOS ...................... 2-3 2.1.3 Using AFUDOS to copy BIOS from PC ................. 2-4 2.1.4 Using ASUS EZ Fla[...]

v 2.5.4 ACPI APIC Support .............................................. 2-23 2.5.5 APM Configuration ............................................... 2-24 2.5.6 Hardware Monitor ................................................ 2-25 2.6 Boot menu ........................................................................ 2-26 2.6.1 Boot Device Priority[...]

vi 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, and • This device must accept any interference received including interference that may cause undesired operation. Canadian Department [...]

vii Safety infor mation 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 a[...]

viii About this guide Conventions used in this guide T o make sure that you perform certain tasks properly , take note of the following symbols used throughout this manual. W ARNING: Information to prevent injury to yourself when trying to complete a task. CAUTION: Information to prevent damage to the components when trying to complete a task. IMPO[...]

ix A8S-X specifications summar y (continued on the next page) CPU Chipset System Bus Memory Expansion slots Storage Audio LAN USB Special features Back panel I/O Socket 939 for AMD Athlon™ 64 X2/AMD Athlon™ FX/ AMD Athlon™ 64/AMD Sempron™ processors Supports AMD 64 architecture that enables simultaneous 32-bit and 64-bit architecture NorthB[...]

x A8S-X specifications summar y * Specifications are subject to change without notice. Internal I/O BIOS features Industry standard Manageability Power Requirement Form Factor Support CD contents 2 x USB 2.0 connector for 4 additional USB ports CPU/chassis/power fan connectors 24-pin/4-pin A TX 12V power connectors CD/AUX connectors Chassis intrusi[...]

Chapter 1 This chapter describes the features of the motherboard. It includes brief descriptions of the motherboard components, and illustrations of the layout, jumper settings, and connectors. Product introduction[...]

1-2 Chapter 1: Product introduction 1 . 1 W elcome! Thank you for buying the ASUS ® A8S-X motherboard! The motherboard delivers a host of new features and latest technologies making it another standout in the long line of ASUS quality motherboards! The motherboard combines the powers of the AMD Athlon™ 64 X2, AMD Athlon™ 64 FX, AMD Athlon™ 6[...]

ASUS A8S-X 1-3 1 .3 Special features 1.3.1 Product Highlights AMD Dual-Core Architecture The motherboard supports AMD dual-core processors containing two physical CPU cores with discrete L2 cache structure for each core to meet demands for more powerful computing. See page 1-8. Latest processor technology The AMD Athlon™ 64FX and Athlon™ 64 des[...]

1-4 Chapter 1: Product introduction 1.3.2 Unique ASUS features CrashFree BIOS 2 This feature allows you to restore the original BIOS data from the ASUS support CD in case when the BIOS codes and data are corrupted. This protection eliminates the need to buy a replacement ROM chip. See page 2-6. C.P .R. (CPU Parameter Recall) The C.P .R. feature of [...]

ASUS A8S-X 1-5 1 .4 Before you proceed T ake note of the following precautions before you install motherboard components or change any motherboard settings. 1. Unplug the power cord from the wall socket before touching any component. 2. Use a grounded wrist strap or touch a safely grounded object or to a metal object, such as the power supply case,[...]

1-6 Chapter 1: Product introduction 1 .5 Motherboard over view 1.5.1 Motherboard layout P ANEL A8S-X R CR2032 3V Lithium Cell CMOS Power CD AUX 4Mbit BIOS AAFP A TX12V CHASSIS CLRTC EA TXPWR USB56 SB_PWR CHA_F AN USBPW12 USBPW34 USBPW78 USBPW56 18.3cm (8.6in) 30.5cm (12in) S ATA 1 FLOPPY USB78 S ATA 2 PWR_F AN P ARALLEL PORT COM1 SPDIF_O PS/2KBMS T[...]

ASUS A8S-X 1-7 A8S-X ® Do not overtighten the screws! Doing so may damage the motherboard. 1.5.2 Placement direction When installing the motherboard, make sure that you place it into the chassis in the correct orientation. The edge with external ports goes to the rear part of the chassis as indicated in the image below . 1.5.3 Screw holes Place si[...]

1-8 Chapter 1: Product introduction 1 .6 Central Pr ocessing Unit (CPU) 1.6.1 Overview The motherboard comes with a surface mount 939-pin Zero Insertion Force (ZIF) socket designed for the AMD Athlon™ 64 X2, AMD Athlon™ 64 FX and AMD Athlon™ 64 processors. The 128-bit-wide data paths of these processors can run applications faster than proces[...]

ASUS A8S-X 1-9 1.6.2 Installing the CPU Follow these steps to install a CPU. 1. Locate the 939-pin ZIF socket on the motherboard. 3. Position the CPU above the socket such that the CPU corner with the gold triangle matches the socket corner with a small triangle. 4. Carefully insert the CPU into the socket until it fits in place. 2. Unlock the sock[...]

1-10 Chapter 1: Product introduction 1 .7 System memor y 1.7.1 DIMM sockets location The following figure illustrates the location of the DDR DIMM sockets. 1.7.2 Memory configurations Y ou may install 64MB, 128MB, 256MB, 512MB, and 1GB DDR DIMMs into the DIMM sockets using the memory configurations in this section. Important notes • Make sure to [...]

ASUS A8S-X 1-11 1.7.3 Installing a DIMM Follow these steps to install a DIMM. 1. Unlock a DIMM socket by pressing the retaining clips outward. 2. Align a DIMM on the socket such that the notch on the DIMM matches the break on the socket. 3. Firmly insert the DIMM into the socket until the retaining clips snap back in place and the DIMM is properly [...]

1-12 Chapter 1: Product introduction 1.8.3 PCI slots The PCI slots support PCI cards such as a LAN card, SCSI card, USB card, and other cards that comply with PCI specifications. When using PCI cards on shared slots, ensure that the drivers support “Share IRQ” or that the cards do not need IRQ assignments. Otherwise, conflicts will arise betwee[...]

ASUS A8S-X 1-13 1.8.4 PCI Express x1 slot This motherboard supports PCI Express x1 network cards, SCSI cards and other cards that comply with the PCI Express specifications. The figure shows a network card installed on the PCI Express x1 slot. 1.8.5 PCI Express x16 slot This motherboard supports PCI Express x16 graphic cards that comply with the PC[...]

1-14 Chapter 1: Product introduction 1 .9 Jumper s 1. Clear RTC RAM (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 RAM data in CMOS, that include system setup information such as system • words, is power[...]

ASUS A8S-X 1-15 2. USB device wake-up (3-pin USBPW12, USBPW34, USBPW56, USBPW78) Set these jumpers to +5V to wake up the computer from S1 sleep mode (CPU stopped, DRAM refreshed, system running in low power mode) using the connected USB devices. Set to +5VSB to wake up from S3 and S4 sleep modes (no power to CPU, DRAM in slow refresh, power supply [...]

1-16 Chapter 1: Product introduction 1. 10 Connectors This section describes and illustrates the motherboard rear panel and internal connectors. 1.10.1 Rear panel connectors 1. PS/2 mouse port. This green 6-pin connector is for a PS/2 mouse. 2. Parallel port. This 25-pin port connects a parallel printer , a scanner , or other devices. 3. RJ-45 port[...]

ASUS A8S-X 1-17 1.10.2 Internal connectors 1. IDE connectors (40-1 pin PRI_IDE, SEC_IDE) This connector supports the provided UltraA T A 133 IDE hard disk ribbon cable. Connect the cable’s blue connector to the primary (recommended) or secondary IDE connector , then connect the gray connector to the UltraA T A13 3 slave device (hard disk drive) a[...]

1-18 Chapter 1: Product introduction 3. A TX power connectors (24-pin A TXPWR, 4-pin A TX12V) These connectors are for an A TX power supply plugs. The power supply plugs are designed to fit these connectors in only one orientation. Find the proper orientation and push down firmly until the connectors completely fit. 4. Internal audio connectors (4-[...]

ASUS A8S-X 1-19 5. CPU and chassis fan connectors (3-pin CPU_F AN, CHA_F AN, PWR_F AN) The fan connectors support cooling fans of 350mA~740mA (8.88W max.) or a total of 1A~2.22A (26.64W max.) at +12V . Connect the fan cables to the fan connectors on the motherboard, making sure that the black wire of each cable matches the ground pin of the connect[...]

1-20 Chapter 1: Product introduction 8. GAME/MIDI connector (16-1 pin GAME1) This connector supports a GAME/MIDI module. If a GAME/MIDI module is available, connect the GAME/MIDI cable to this connector . The GAME/MIDI port on the module connects a joystick or a game pad for playing games, and MIDI devices for playing or editing audio files. The US[...]

ASUS A8S-X 1-21 9. Serial A T A connectors (7-pin SA T A1, SA T A2) These next generation connectors support the thin Serial A T A cables for primary internal storage devices. The current Serial A T A interface allows up to 150 MB/s data transfer rate, faster than the standard parallel A T A with 133MB/s (Ultra A T A/133). A8S-X ® A8S-X SA T A con[...]

1-22 Chapter 1: Product introduction The System Panel connector is color-coded for easy and foolproof connection. T ake note of the specific connector colors as described. 12. System panel connector (10-1 pin P ANEL) This connector accommodates several system front panel functions. • System Power LED Lead (Green 3-pin PLED) This 3-pin connector c[...]

ASUS A8S-X 2-1 Chapter 2 This chapter tells how to change system settings through the BIOS Setup menus. Detailed descriptions of the BIOS parameters are also provided. BIOS information[...]

2-2 Chapter 2: BIOS Setup 2. 1 Managing and updating your BIOS The following utilities allow you to manage and update the motherboard Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) setup. 1. ASUS AFUDOS - Updates the BIOS using a bootable floppy disk in DOS mode. 2. ASUS EZ Flash - Updates the BIOS using a floppy disk during POST . 3. ASUS CrashFree BIOS 2 - Upd[...]

ASUS A8S-X 2-3 The BIOS information on the screen is for reference only . What you see on your screen may not be exactly the same as shown. DO NOT shutdown or reset the system while updating the BIOS! Doing so may cause system boot failure! 2.1.2 Using AFUDOS to update the BIOS T o update the BIOS using the AFUDOS.EXE utility: 1. V isit the ASUS we[...]

2-4 Chapter 2: BIOS Setup Main filename Extension name A:>afudos /oMYBIOS03.rom AMI Firmware Update Utility - Version 1.10 Copyright (C) 2002 American Megatrends, Inc. All rights reserved. Reading flash ..... 0x0008CC00 (9%) The BIOS information on the screen is for reference only . What you see on your screen may not be exactly the same as sho[...]

ASUS A8S-X 2-5 3. The utility will copy the current system BIOS by default to the floppy disk. Make sure that the floppy disk has at least 600KB of free disk space and is not write- protected. A:>afudos /oMYBIOS03.ROM AMI Firmware Update Utility - Version 1.10 Copyright (C) 2002 American Megatrends, Inc. All rights reserved. Reading flash .....[...]

2-6 Chapter 2: BIOS Setup Make sure that the BIOS file in the floppy disk is renamed as “ A8S-X.ROM ”. 2.1.5 Recovering the BIOS with CrashFree BIOS 2 The CrashFree BIOS 2 auto recovery tool allows you to restore BIOS from the motherboard support CD, or from a floppy disk that contains the BIOS file, in case the current BIOS on the motherboard [...]

ASUS A8S-X 2-7 T o recover the BIOS from the support CD: 1. Boot the system. 2. When a corrupted BIOS is detected, the following screen message appears. 3. Place the support CD in the CD-ROM. The support CD contains the a working BIOS for this motherboard. If there is no floppy disk found in the drive, the system automatically checks the CD-ROM. 2.[...]

2-8 Chapter 2: BIOS Setup 2.2 BIOS Setup progr am This motherboard supports a programmable LPC chip that you can update using the provided utility described in section “ 2.1 Managing and updating your BIOS.” Use the BIOS Setup program when you are installing a motherboard, reconfiguring your system, or prompted to “Run Setup”. This section [...]

ASUS A8S-X 2-9 System Time [11:51:19] System Date [Thu 08/05/2003] Legacy Diskette A [1.44M, 3.5 in] Language [English] Primary IDE Master : [ST320413A] Primary IDE Slave : [ASUS CD-S520/A] Secondary IDE Master : [Not Detected] Secondary IDE Slave : [Not Detected] Third IDE Master : [Not Detected] Fourth IDE Master : [Not Detected] Onboard PCI S-AT[...]

2-10 Chapter 2: BIOS Setup 2.2.4 Menu items The highlighted item on the menu bar displays the specific items for that menu. For example, selecting Main shows the Main menu items. The other items (Advanced, Power , Boot, and Exit) on the menu bar have their respective menu items. 2.2.5 Sub-menu items An item with a sub-menu on any menu screen is dis[...]

ASUS A8S-X 2-11 2.3 Main menu When you enter the BIOS Setup program, the Main menu screen appears giving you an overview of the basic system information. 2.3.1 System T ime [xx:xx:xx] Allows you to set the system time. 2.3.2 System Date [Day xx/xx/xxxx] Allows you to set the system date. 2.3.3 Legacy Diskette A [1.44M, 3.5 in.] Sets the type of flo[...]

2-12 Chapter 2: BIOS Setup 2.3.5 Primary , Secondary , Third and Fourth IDE Master/Primary and Secondary IDE Slave While entering Setup, BIOS auto-detects the presence of IDE devices. There is a separate sub-menu for each IDE device. Select a device item then press <Enter> to display the IDE device information. The values opposite the dimmed [...]

ASUS A8S-X 2-13 AMI BIOS Displays the auto-detected BIOS information. Processor Displays the auto-detected processor information. System Memory Displays the auto-detected system memory . PIO Mode [Auto] Selects the PIO mode. Configuration options: [Auto] [0] [1] [2] [3] [4] DMA Mode [Auto] Selects the DMA mode. Configuration options: [Auto] [SWDMA0[...]

2-14 Chapter 2: BIOS Setup 2.4 Advanced menu The Advanced menu items allow you to change the settings for the CPU and other system devices. T ake caution when changing the settings of the Advanced menu items. Incorrect field values may cause the system to malfunction. JumperFree Configuration USB Configuration CPU Configuration Chipset Onboard Devi[...]

ASUS A8S-X 2-15 PCI Clock Synchronization Mode [T o PCI Express] Sets the PCI Express clock synchronization mode. Configuration options: [T o PCI Express] [33.33MHz] [37.5MHz] [40.0MHz] DDR Reference V oltage [Auto] Allows you to automatically detect or select from a list the DDR operating voltage. Configuration options: [2.6V] [2.7V] [2.8V] [2.9V][...]

2-16 Chapter 2: BIOS Setup The Module V ersion and USB Devices Enabled items show the auto-detected values. If no USB device is detected, the item shows None. Legacy USB Support [Auto] Allows you to enable or disable the legacy USB support. When set to Auto, the system disables the legacy USB support if there are no USB devices connected. Configura[...]

ASUS A8S-X 2-17 2.4.4 Chipset The Chipset menu items allow you to change the advanced chipset settings. Select an item then press <Enter> to display the sub-menu. Chipset Settings PCI Express (Dev1) Configuration NorthBridge Configuration HyperTransport Configuration PCI Express (Dev1) Configuration PCI Express (Dev1) Configuration Primary Gr[...]

2-18 Chapter 2: BIOS Setup Memory Configuration Memclock Mode [Auto] MCT Timing Mode [Auto] Software Memory Hole [Disabled] Memory Configuration Memclock Mode [ Auto] Allows you to set the memory clock mode. Set by the code using [Auto] or select [Manual] to set using one of the standard values. Configuration options: [Auto] [Limit] MCT Timing Mode[...]

ASUS A8S-X 2-19 HyperTransport Configuration HT Width [Auto] HT Speed [800 MHz] TRFC [Auto] Sets the TRFC. Configuration options: [Auto] [9T] [10T] [1 1T] [12T] [13T] [14T] [15T] [16T] TR WT [Auto] Sets the TR WT . Configuration options: [Auto] [1 CLK] [2 CLK] [3 CLK] [4 CLK] [5 CLK] [6 CLK] Software Memory Hole [Disabled] Enables or disables the s[...]

2-20 Chapter 2: BIOS Setup 2.4.5 Onboard Devices Configuration Serial Port1 Address [3F8/IRQ4] Allows you to select the Serial Port1 base address. Configuration options: [Disabled] [3F8/IRQ4] [2F8/IRQ3] [3E8/IRQ4] [2E8/IRQ3] Serial Port Mode [Normal] Allows you to select the Serial Port mode. Configuration options: [Normal] [IrDA] [ASK IR] Parallel[...]

ASUS A8S-X 2-21 Onboard MIDI Port [Disabled] Disables or sets the onboard MIDI port. Configuration options: [Disabled] [300] [330] OnBoard LAN [Enabled] Allows you to enable or disable the onboard LAN controller . Configuration options: [Disabled] [Enabled] Onboard LAN Boot ROM [Disabled] Allows you to enable or disable the onboard LAN boot ROM. Co[...]

2-22 Chapter 2: BIOS Setup PCI Latency Timer [64] Allows you to select the value in units of PCI clocks for the PCI device latency timer register . Configuration options: [32] [64] [96] [128] [160] [192] [224] [248] Allocate IRQ to PCI VGA [Y es] When set to [Y es], BIOS assigns an IRQ to PCI VGA card if the card requests for an IRQ. When set to [N[...]

ASUS A8S-X 2-23 2.5.1 Suspend Mode [S1 & S3 (STR)] Allows you to select the ACPI state to be used for system suspend. Configuration options: [S1 (POS) Only] [S1 and S3 (STR)] [S3 Only] 2.5.2 Repost V ideo On S3 Resume [No] Determines whether to invoke the VGA BIOS post on S3/STR resume. Configuration options: [No] [Y es] 2.5.3 ACPI 2.0 Support [...]

2-24 Chapter 2: BIOS Setup Power Button Mode [On/Off] Restore on AC Power Loss [Always OFF] Power On By PS2 Keyboard [Disabled] Power On By PS2 MOUSE [Disabled] Power On By PCI Devices [Disabled] Power On By External Modem [Disabled] Power On By RTC Alarm [Disabled] 2.5.5 APM Configuration Power Button Mode [On/Off] Allows the system to go into On/[...]

ASUS A8S-X 2-25 2.5.6 Hardware Monitor Hardware Monitor CPU Temperature [40.5ºC/102.5ºF] MB Temperature [33ªC/91ºF] CPU Fan Speed [3260RPM] Chassis Fan Speed [N/A] Power Fan Speed [N/A] VCORE Voltage [ 1.504V] 3.3V Voltage [ 3.360V] 5V Voltage [ 5.160V] 12V Voltage [11.328V] Q-FAN Function [Disabled] CPU Temperature Power On By RTC Alarm [Disab[...]

2-26 Chapter 2: BIOS Setup 2.6 Boot menu The Boot menu items allow you to change the system boot options. Select an item then press <Enter> to display the sub-menu. 2.6.1 Boot Device Priority 1st ~ xxth Boot Device [1st Floppy Drive] These items specify the boot device priority sequence from the available devices. The number of device items t[...]

ASUS A8S-X 2-27 2.6.2 Boot Settings Configuration Quick Boot [Enabled] Enabling this item allows the BIOS to skip some Power On Self T ests (POST) while booting to decrease the time needed to boot the system. When set to [Disabled], BIOS performs all the POST items. Configuration options: [Disabled] [Enabled] Full Screen Logo [Enabled] Allows you t[...]

2-28 Chapter 2: BIOS Setup After you have set a supervisor password, the other items appear to allow you to change other security settings. If you forget your BIOS password, you can clear clear it by erasing the CMOS Real T ime Clock (RTC) RAM. See section “1.9 Jumpers” for information on how to erase the RTC RAM. 2.6.3 Security The Security me[...]

ASUS A8S-X 2-29 User Access Level (Full Access] Allows you to select the access restriction to the Setup items. Configuration options: [No Access] [View Only] [Limited] [Full Access] No Access prevents user access to the Setup utility . V iew Only allows access but does not allow change to any field. Limited allows change only to selected fields, s[...]

2-30 Chapter 2: BIOS Setup Exit & Discard Changes Select this option only if you do not want to save the changes that you made to the Setup program. If you made changes to fields other than System Date, System T ime, and Password, the BIOS asks for a confirmation before exiting. Discard Changes Allows you to discard the selections you made and [...]

Chapter 3 This chapter describes the contents of the support CD that comes with the motherboard package. Software support[...]

3-2 Chapter 3: Software support 3. 1 Install an oper ating system This motherboard supports Windows ® 2000/XP operating system (OS). Always install the latest OS version and corresponding updates to maximize the features of your hardware. 3.2 Suppor t CD information The support CD that came with the motherboard contains useful software and several[...]

ASUS A8S-X 3-3 3.2.2 Drivers menu The drivers menu shows the available device drivers if the system detects installed devices. Install the necessary drivers to activate the devices. ASUS InstAll - Installation Wizard for Drivers Executes the ASUS installation wizard for drivers. AMD Cool ‘n’ Quiet Driver Installs the AMD Cool ‘n’ Quiet! tec[...]

3-4 Chapter 3: Software support ASUS PC Probe II This smart utility monitors the fan speed, CPU temperature, and system voltages, and alerts you on any detected problems. This utility helps you keep your computer at a healthy operating condition. Install ASUS Update This program allows you to download the latest version of the BIOS from the ASUS we[...]

ASUS A8S-X 3-5 3.2.4 Make Disk Make SIS RAID Controller Driver Disk Creates the SIS RAID controller driver disk. 3.2.5 Manual SIS965/SIS965L SA T A RAID User ’ s Manual Allows you to open the SIS965/SIS965L Serial A T A RAID user ’ s manual.[...]

3-6 Chapter 3: Software support 3.2.6 ASUS Contact Information Clicking the ASUS Contact Information tab displays as stated. Y ou may also find this information on the inside front cover of this user guide.[...]