AOpen I915GAE User Manual

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Table of Contents ................................................................................... 1

1.1 Thank-you Note Before You Get Start............................................................. 3

1.2 Features of This Manual ............................................................................... 4

1.3 Safety Information ......................................................................................4

Chapter 2 Introduction to This Motherboard ............................................... 5

2.1 How does your motherboard look like?...........................................................5

2.2 Specification ...............................................................................................6

2.3 Block Diagram ............................................................................................7

Chapter 3 Hardware Installation ............................................................... 8

3.1 Quick Installation Procedure .........................................................................8

3.2 Installation You Have to Know....................................................................... 9

Installing CPU............................................................................................ 9

Installing CPU Fan.....................................................................................10

Connecting CPU and System Fans ...............................................................11

Installing Memory Modules.........................................................................12

Maximum The Performance of the Dual Channel............................................13

Connecting IDE and Floppy Cables ..............................................................14

Connecting Front Panel Cable .....................................................................15

Connecting ATX Power Cables.....................................................................16

3.3 Other Installation for Your Reference ........................................................... 17

Setting CPU Voltage and Frequency.............................................................17

Connecting Serial ATA................................................................................18

Adjusting your Hard Disk Setting.................................................................19

Connecting PCI Express x 16 Graphics Slot...................................................21

Connecting PCI Express x 1 Slot..................................................................22

Connecting IrDA........................................................................................23

10/100/1000Mbps LAN Supported...............................................................24

1

Connecting USB2.0....................................................................................25

2

Super 7.1 Channel Audio Effect...................................................................26

Connecting Front Audio..............................................................................27

Connecting S/PDIF (Sony/Philips Digital Interface) ........................................28

Connecting Game Port ...............................................................................29

Connecting CD_IN.....................................................................................30

Connecting Case Open...............................................................................31

Colored Coded Back Panel (for i915Ga–E) ....................................................32

Colored Coded Back Panel (for i915Pa–E).....................................................33

LED Indication ..........................................................................................34

3.4 Jumper Settings........................................................................................ 35

Chapter 4 Special Features and Utilities................................................... 36

SilentTek – Noise is Gone!..........................................................................36

Other Useful Features................................................................................39

Chapter 5 Setting BIOS......................................................................... 40

Introduction .............................................................................................40

How To Use Phoenix-Award™ BIOS Setup Program .......................................41

How To Enter BIOS Setup ..........................................................................41

BIOS Upgrade under Windows environment..................................................42

Vivid BIOS technology ...............................................................................44

Chapter 6 Installing Drivers ................................................................... 45

6.1 Installing Drivers....................................................................................... 46

6.2 Installing Utilities ...................................................................................... 47

Chapter 7 Troubleshooting..................................................................... 48

Chapter 8 Technical Support .................................................................. 49

Model Name and BIOS Version....................................................................50

Register Your Motherboard .........................................................................50

Technical Support......................................................................................51

1.1 Thank-you Note Before You Get Start

3

First of all, we would like to express our gratitude for purchasing AOpen products.
Once again, this motherboard is designed uniquely to meet all your personal
needs with our great industry-designing ability and our everlasting perseverance
to the quality of all our products.

This manual will introduce you how this motherboard is installed. Please keep it
well for your future reference. If you lost your printed manual, you may also go to
our website at

Now, we would like to invite you to personally experience this user-friendly
manual and all of the powerful functions this AOpen product offers.

The logos of Adobe and Acrobat are the registered trademarks of Adobe Systems
Incorporated.

The logos of AMD, Athlon, and Duron are the registered trademarks of Advanced Micro
Devices, Inc.

The logos of Intel, Intel Celeron, Pentium II, III and Pentium 4 are the registered trademarks
of Intel Corporation.

The logos of nVidia are the registered trademarks of nVidia Corporation.

The logos of Microsoft, Windows are the registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in
America and other countries.

All the titles of the products and the trademarks mentioned in this manual are for the
purpose of illustrative conveniences and are possessed by their respective firms.

We regret not informing about any changes in usage standards and other related
information. AOpen reserves the right of altering or modifying the content of this manual. In
case of any mistakes or incorrect descriptions, which include those on the products, AOpen
makes no guarantee or commitments.

This document is based on the copyright laws in order to protect our company and reserve
all rights.

Under no circumstances are any types of duplicating and loading this brochure in any
databases and media permitted except the permission signed on formal document by AOpen
Company.

1996-2004 Copyrights, AOpen Ltd. All rights reserved.

http://www.aopen.com to download the updated file.

1.2 Features of This Manual

To help you grab the useful information of this motherboard and aware of certain
conditions that you might need to know, you will see the icons below frequently:

Note

Warning / Caution

Warning

Tip

Warning

This contains knowledge you should know in process
of assembling, or some helpful tips.

Please be careful when you see this mark. It
highlights mistakes that occur often during
assembling, or something you need to pay attention
to.

This tip tells you some useful information that will
make your installation smoothly.

1.3 Safety Information

Please wear a wrist strap and attach it to a metal part of the system unit
before handling a component. Alternatively, you can also touch an object
that is of ground connection or with metal surface.

Always unplug the power before you make any jumper setting.

Before you install or remove any components on the motherboard, please
make sure to disconnect the power first in case of damaging motherboard
or other components.

4

15 18

Chapter 2 Introduction to This Motherboard

Chapter 2 Introduction to This Motherboard

2.1 How does your motherboard look like?

17

19

21

23

25

27

29

14

16

20

22

24

26

28

30

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

1. JP28 PS2 KB/Mouse Wakeup Jumper 16. Front Audio Connector

2. COM2 Connector 17. PCI Express x 1 Slots x 2

3. 4-pin 12V ATX Power Connector 18. S/PDIF Connector

4. SYSFAN1 Connector 19. Marvell Gigabit PCI Express LAN Chip

5. PCI Express x 16 Graphics Slot 20. IRDA Connector

6. LGA775 CPU Socket supporting Intel FC-LGA

6. CPU

7. Intel 915G/ICH6 (i915Ga-E)

8. Intel 915P/ICH6 (i915Pa-E)

8. CPUFAN Connector 23. Diehard BIOS Lite

9. STBY LED 24. USB2.0 Connectors x 2

10. 184-pin DIMMs x 4 25. Case Open Connector

11. BOOT LED 26. JP14 CMOS Data Clear Jumper

12. ATX Power Connector 27. Floppy Connector

13. ATA 100 IDE Connector 28. SYSFAN2 Connector

14. CD_IN Connector 29. Front Panel Connector

15. Onboard HD Audio Codec 30. Serial ATA Ports X 4

21. Game Port Connector

22. 32-bit PCI Expansion Slots x 3

5

2.2 Specification

Here is the main function of your motherboard.

Models

Chipset Intel 915G/ICH6 Intel 915P/ICH6

Main
Memory

Graphics

IDE

LAN Marvell Gigabit PCI Express LAN Chip Marvell Gigabit PCI Express LAN Chip

Sound

USB Integrated in chipset, USB 2.0 x 8 Integrated in chipset, USB 2.0 x 8

Slots

Back Panel
I/O

On Board
Connector

BIOS Award PnP 4Mb Flash ROM BIOS Award PnP 4Mb Flash ROM BIOS
Board Size 305 mm x 244 mm 305 mm x 244 mm

i915Ga-E i915Pa-E

Dual Channel Mode DDR
DDR 400 and DDR 333
DDR DIMM x 4
DIMM Type : 256/512MB & 1GB
Max Memory : 4GB
Integrated VGA Engine in chipset
PCI Express x 16 graphics slot
support ADD2 card
Integrated ATA100 and Serial ATA
Controller
Max Disk: 144,000,000GB [by 48 bits LBA
Spec.]

Azalia Codec on-Board support Dolby

Sound System up to7.1 Channel and
above

PCI Express x1 slots x 2
PCI Express x 16 Graphics slot x 1
PCI slots x 3
PS/2 Keyboard x 1, PS/2 Mouse x 1
USB Port x 4, LAN Port x 1, VGA Port x 1,
COM Port x 1, Printer Port x 1
Speaker_Out x 1, Line_In x 1, MIC_In x 1
Side SUR x 1, Rear SUR x 1
Center/Subwoofer x 1
Floppy Drive Connector x 1
IDE Channel: ATA100 x 1
Serial ATA Channel x 4
Front Panel x 1
Front Audio x 1
CPU FAN x 1,Sy stem FAN x 1,
Chassis FAN x 1 Power FAN x 1
Power Temperature Connector x 1
Case Open Connector x 1
S/PDIF Connector x 1
Game Connector x 1
CD_IN x 1, IrDA x 1,
COM2 x 1,
USB2.0 Connectors x 2

Dual Channel Mode DDR
DDR 400 and DDR 333
DDR DIMM x 4
DIMM Type : 256/512MB & 1GB
Max Memory : 4GB
PCI Express x 16 graphics slot

Integrated ATA100 and Serial ATA
Controller
Max Disk: 144,000,000GB [by 48 bits LBA
Spec.]

Azalia Codec on-Board support Dolby

Sound System up to7.1 Channel and
above

PCI Express x 1 slots x 2
PCI Express x 16 Graphics slot x 1
PCI slots x 3
PS/2 Keyboard x 1, PS/2 Mouse x 1
USB Port x 4, LAN Port x 1
COM Port x 2, Printer Port x 1
Speaker_Out x 1, Line_In x 1, MIC_In x 1
Side SUR x 1, Rear SUR x 1
Center/Subwoofer x 1
Floppy Drive Connector x 1
IDE Channel: ATA100 x 1
Serial ATA Channel x 4
Front Panel x 1
Front Audio x 1
CPU FAN x 1,Sy stem FAN x 1,
Chassis FAN x 1 Power FAN x 1,
Power Temperature Connector x 1
Case Open Connector x 1
S/PDIF Connector x 1
Game Connector x 1
CD_IN x 1, IrDA x 1,
COM2 x 1,
USB2.0 Connectors x 2

6

2.3 Block Diagram

(

p

VGA Onboard

i915Ga-E)

PCI Express x 16

Graphics Slot

Support ADD2 Card
(for i915Ga-E)

DIMM Sockets x4

Marvell
Gigabit

LAN Chip

LAN connect
Com

onent

Socket T

Intel

LGA775

CPU

533/800 MHZ
System Bus

Intel

915G

(i915Ga-E)

915P

(i915Pa-E)

chipset

DDR 333/400
Dual Channel RAM
Up to 4GB

USB Ports x8

Floppy Disk
Drive

Serial Ports x2

PCI Express x 1
Slots x 2

PCI Bus

32-bit PCI Slot
x3

150MB/s

Serial ATA Ports
x4

ATA 33/66/100

IDE Drives x 2

Azalia

CODEC

ICH6

4Mbits Flash
EEPROM

Parallel Port

7

Chapter 3 Hardware Installation

Chapter 3 Hardware

r

q

Installation

3.1 Quick Installation Procedure

1. Installing CPU

2. Installing CPU
Fan & Syste m Fan

12. Installing Drivers &
Utilities

11. Installing
Operating System
(such as, Windows
XP)

3. Installing
Memory Module

4. Installing HD,
CD-ROM and
SATA Disk, etc

5. Connecting F
Panel Cable

ont

6. Connecting ATX
Power Cable

10. Loading
Default BIOS,
Setting CPU

uency

Fre

9. Connecting
Back Panel Ports
(Keyboard,
Mouse, etc)

8. Installing Other
Devices (USB, Front
Audio, etc)

7. Installing PCI Express x16
Graphics cards & PCI Express
x 1 cards & PCI Cards

8

3.2 Installation You Have to Know

Installing CPU

This socket supports Intel FC-LGA4 CPU, which is the latest CPU package
developed by Intel. Other forms of CPU package are impossible to be fitted in.

Pull CPU socket lever and plate up.

1. Remove plastic cap from CPU socket plate.

2. Locate Pin 1 in the socket and look for a golden arrow on the CPU upper
interface. Match Pin 1 and golden arrow. Then insert the CPU into the socket.

3. Press down the CPU socket plate and CPU socket lever to finish CPU
installation.

CPU socket plate

socket Pin 1 and CPU golden arrow well,
you may damage the CPU. And please don’t
touch CPU socket pins when installing CPU.

Intel to use thermal paste properly to avoid
over-heat generated from Prescott CPU .

Socket Pin 1

Warning: If you do not match the CP U

Note: It’s strongly recommended by

9

CPU socket
lever

Golden
arrow

Plastic cap

Installing CPU Fan

1. Gently put down the CPU fan on CPU socket with four sticks aiming correctly
to the four mounting holes.

Mounting

hole

2. Press down four fixing sticks into the holes one by one. Make sure the
sticks are firmly fixed into the holes.

Mounting

hole

Fixing
stick

Note: The picture above may look different from the product
you purchased.

10

Connecting CPU and System Fans

R

R

R

Plug the CPU fan cable to the 4-pin CPUFAN connector. If you have chassis fan,
you can also plug chassis fan in SYSFAN1 or SYSFAN2 connector.

SENSO

+12V

GND

SENSO

+12V

GND

SYSFAN2 Connector

PWM

SENSO

GND

Note: Some CPU fans
do not have sensor pin so
that they cannot support fan
monitoring.

SYSFAN1 Connector

12V

CPUFAN Connector

11

Installing Memory Modules

DIMM slots are designed in Navy Blue and Electronic Blue which are very easy to
recognize. Insert the module straight down to the DIMM slot with both hands and
press down firmly until the DIMM module is securely in place.

Tab

Pin 1

Key

Note: The tabs of the
DIMM slot will clip to hold the
DIMM in place when the DIMM
touches the slot’s bottom.

12

Maximum The Performance of the Dual Channel

To obtain the highest performance of Dual Channel, the configuration of DIMM
must meet the following conditions.

Matched DIMM configuration in each channel

● Same density (128MB~1GB)

As long as you insert memory modules of same density into Channel 1 (DIMM A1
& DIMM A2) and Channel 2 (DIMM B1 & DIMM B2), dual channel mode will be
enabled.
DIMM A1 + DIMM A2 = DIMM B1 + DIMM B2
Ex: if you insert 1GB memory module into DIMM A1 and DIMM A2, dual channel
mode will be enabled when DIMM B1 + DIMM B2 = 1GB

● Same DRAM bus width (x8 or x16)

● Either single-sided or double-sided

Note: Using memory modules of dif ferent chip will
cause system unstable.

When dual channel mode is successfully enabled, the screen will show “Dual
Channel Mode Enabled” while entering POST screen.

13

Connecting IDE and Floppy Cables

(

(

Connect the 34-pin floppy cable and 40-pin, 80-wire IDE cable to floppy
connector and IDE connector. Be careful of the pin1 orientation. Wrong
orientation may cause system damage.

Pin 1

FDD Connector

Pin 1

Primary

2nd)

Slave

ATA 66/100 IDE Connector

14

Primary
Master

1st)

Connecting Front Panel Cable

Attach the power LED, speaker and reset switch connectors to the corresponding
pins. If you enable “Suspend Mode” item in BIOS Setup, the ACPI & Power LED
will keep flashing while the system is in suspend mode.

Locate the power switch cable from your ATX housing, which is a 2-pin female
connector from the housing front panel. Plug this connector to the soft-power
switch connector marked SPWR.

15

Connecting ATX Power Cables

This motherboard comes with a 24-pinATX power connector and 4-pin 12V ATX
power connector as shown below. Make sure you plug them in the right direction.
We strongly recommend you to insert the 4-pin connector before connecting the
24-pin connector.

Note: If you don’t
have 24-pin ATX power
cable, please plug your

.ATX power cable

20-pin

leftwards into the ATX
power connector as
shown leftwards.

+12V
+12V
Ground
Ground

16

3.3 Other Installation for Your Reference

Setting CPU Voltage and Frequency

Setting CPU Core Voltage

This motherboard supports Voltage ID (VID) function to detect CPU voltage
automatically during power-on. It’s not necessary to set CPU core voltage.

Setting CPU Frequency

This motherboard is CPU jumper-less design; you can set CPU frequency by 1MHz
stepping CPU Overclocking in the BIOS. CPU Core Frequency = CPU FSB clock
x CPU Ratio. However, all CPU now sold in market belong to "Fixed Multiplier".
That means users can not adjust the CPU Ratio but change CPU FSB clock to
achieve overclocking only.

BIOS Setup > Frequency / Voltage Control > CPU Speed Setup

(Users will do the overclocking at their own risks!!)

CPU Ratio 8x, 10x… 24x, 25x, 26x, 27x, 28x
CPU FSB (Adjustment

manually)

Processor Number

5 Series

580 4.00G 800MHZ 20x 1MB L2
570 3.80G 800MHZ 19x 1MB L2
560 3.60G 800MHZ 18x 1MB L2
550 3.40G 800MHZ 17x 1MB L2
540 3.20G 800MHZ 16x 1MB L2
530 3.00G 800MHZ 15x 1MB L2
520 2.80G 800MHZ 14x 1MB L2

3 Series

350 3.20G 533MHZ 24x 256K L2
345 3.06G 533MHZ 23x 256K L2
340 2.93G 533MHZ 22x 256K L2

Note: With CPU speed changing rapidly, there might be faster CPU on the market by

the time you received this installation guide. This table is kindly for your references
only, please contact with your distributor for more information.

Warning: Intel 915G / 915P chipset support maximum 800MHz (200MHz*4)

system; higher clock setting may cause seri ous system damage.

FSB = 100MHz-400MHz by 1MHz Stepping CPU Overclocking

Processor

Frequency

FSB CPU Ratio Cache

17

Connecting Serial ATA

To connect a serial ATA disk, you have to have a 7-pin serial ATA cable. Connect
two ends of the serial ATA cable to the serial ATA header on the motherboard and
the disk. Like every other traditional disk, you also have to connect a power cable.
Please be noted that it is a jumper free implement; you don’t need to set jumpers
to define a master or slave disk. When serial ATA hard disks are installed on serial
ATA ports, the one connected on SATA1 will be set as the first boot device
automatically.

Please note that it doesn’t support Hot-Plug function.

SATA1 SATA3 SATA2 SATA4

18

Adjusting your Hard Disk Setting

Except its original 1 set of parallel IDE, this motherboard supports the latest serial
ATA hard disk. If you are unable to find your newly installed serial ATA hard disks
on your operating system after having them installed, the problem may lie in the
BIOS setting. You can simply adjust BIOS settings to have them work properly.

After installing your hard disks properly, you can directly go to BIOS setting
screen for adjustment. Simply pressing
IDE Device Æ On-Chip Serial ATA” to choose your preferable mode. If you
have no intention of changing its original setting, the default would be Auto.

“Integrated Peripherals Æ OnChip

19

If you desire to change the default setting,
press Enter for selection list:

Disabled: You can choose this item if
there are only traditional IDE hard disks
had been installed on your system.
Disabling this item will also cancel the
detection of serial ATA hard disks during
POST, which will theoretically speed up

your boot-up time a little bit; however,
please remember to re-adjust the setting here if you want to use serial ATA hard
disk later.

Auto: This is factory default setting on this motherboard. Basically, if your system
functions properly, it is unnecessary to change it. The system will automatically
recognize PATA (IDE) as primary.

Combined Mode: If you have traditional IDE hard disks and serial ATA hard disks
installed at the same time, then you can choose this mode. Under this mode, you
can randomly choose either IDE hard disks or serial ATA had disk as your first boot
device. But please note, IDE will exist with serial ATA in a mapping way, which
means it will occupy one of the serial Channel and leave you one serial Channel
onl y. W hen PATA Mo d e is se t to pr i m ary, S ATA3 an d SATA 4 will b e set t o s econ d a ry,
and when PATA Mode is set to secondary, SATA1 and SATA2 will be set to primary.

Enhanced Mode: If you are using the latest operating system (say, Windows XP,
Windows.NET Server), it is highly recommended that you select Enhanced Mode.
Under this mode the system will detect all six devices (traditional IDE x 2, Serial
ATA x 4) completely and function perfectly. But please note that PATA Mode is set
to primary under this mode.

Note: According to practical lab tests of us, there are no obvious
problems or mistakes happened when we set this mode under
Windows2000 operating system; however, it is not recommended by
Intel.

SATA Only: You may select this mode if you install serial ATA hard disks only.

20

Connecting PCI Express x 16 Graphics Slot

i915Ga-E / i915Pa-E provides a PCI Express x 16 Graphics slot, a red slot having
the latest PCI Express x 16 specification on motherboard. The PCI Express x 16 is
a bus interface targeted for high-performance 3D graphic. Traditionally AGP used
both rising and falling edge of the 66MHz clock for 8X AGP, and the data transfer
rate could achieve 2.1GB/s. Now PCI Express x 16 is moving to higher data
transfer rate, which is upgraded to 8.0GB/s (250MB/s x 16 x 2, it’s 4GB/s per
direction). For i915Ga-E, the PCI Express x 16 slot can automatically recognize a
PCI Express x 16 Graphics or a Multiplexed Intel DVO Output depending on which
cards being inserted, such as PCI Express x 16 Graphics, or ADD2 (AGP Digital
Display 2) cards. With an ADD2 card implemented to this slot, Multiplexed Intel
DVO output will provide high-speed digital connection for digital displays or
TV-OUT functionality.

21

Connecting PCI Express x 1 Slot

This motherboard provides two PCI Express x 1 slots, which are located between
the PCI Express x 16 and traditional PCI slot. In order to go with the step of
today’s and tomorrow’s processors, PCI Express x 1 provides higher I/O
bandwidth. The transfer data rate could achieve 500MB/s concurrently (it’s
250MB/s per direction), which is nearly 4 times faster than the traditional PCI.
You could install any PCI Express x 1 device in these slots for your preference.

22

Connecting IrDA

The IrDA connector can be configured to support wireless infrared module, with
this module and application software such as Laplink or Windows Direct Cable
Connection, user can transfer files to or from laptops, notebooks, PDA devices
and printers. This connector supports both HPSIR (115.2Kbps, 2 meters) and
ASK-IR (56Kbps).

Install an infrared module onto the IrDA connector and enable the infrared
function from BIOS Setup, UART Mode, you can use this function. Please make
sure you connect correct orientation when plugging IrDA module.

Pin 1

1

NC

+5V

IR_TX

IrDA Connector

23

KEY
GND
IR_RX

10/100/1000Mbps LAN Supported

On the strength of Gigabit LAN controller on board, this motherboard provides
10/100/1000Mbps Ethernet for office and home use. The Ethernet RJ45
connector is located on the top of USB connectors. The right hand side LED
indicates link mode; it lights in yellow when linking to network. The left hand side
LED indicates the transfer mode and will light in green when data is transferring
at 100Mbps (never lights while at 10Mbps), but will light in orange when
transferring in Gigabit’s mode. To enable or disable this function, you may simply
adjust it through BIOS. To enable LAN wakeup function, you have to set the
“Wake on PCI Card” enable in the BIOS “Power Management Setup” section.

Speed LED (Left)

Green 100Mbps

Orange Gigabit mode

ACT LED (Right)

Yellow

24

Connecting USB2.0

This motherboard provides eight USB 2.0 ports to connect USB devices such as
mouse, keyboard, modem, printer, etc. There are four ports on the back panel.
You can use proper cables to connect Front USB connector to USB modules or
chassis front panel.

Pin 1

Pin 1

25

Super 7.1 Channel Audio Effect

This motherboard comes with a Reltek ALC880 CODEC, which supports the latest

7.1 Channel with high quality of audio effects, bringing you a brand new audio
experience. This motherboard provides 7.1 Channel ports shown as below.
Picture represents the standard location of all speakers in 7.1 Channel sound
tracks. Please connect the plug of your front speakers to the green “Speaker out”
port , rear surround speakers to orange port, side surround speakers to gray port
and both of the center and subwoofer speakers to black port on the back panel..

26

Connecting Front Audio

If the housing is designed with an audio port on the front panel, you’ll be able to
connect onboard audio to front panel through this connector. Please be

informed that to have front audio ports work properly, the front audio
panel of the housing should be designed for High definition Audio jack. If
the front audio panel is not designed for High Definition Audio jack, we
strongly recommend you to connect the microphone to the back panel of
the motherboard.

Pin1

SENSE2_RETURN

SENSE1_RETURN

PRESENCE#

KEY

GND

PORT2L
SENSE_SEND
PORT2R
PORT1R
PORT1L

1

27

Connecting S/PDIF (Sony/Philips Digital Interface)

S/PDIF (Sony/Philips Digital Interface) is a newest audio transfer file format,
which provides impressive audio quality through optical fiber and allows you to
enjoy digital audio instead of analog audio. Through a specific audio cable, you
can connect the S/PDIF connector to other end of the S/PDIF audio module, which
bears S/PDIF digital output. Normally there are two S/PDIF outputs as shown,
one for RCA connector, the most common one used for consumer audio products,
and the other for optical connector with better audio quality. Same as outputs,
you can also connect RCA or optical audio products to input connectors on the
module and have the voice or music come out from your computer. However, you
must have a S/PDIF supported speaker/amplifier/decoder with S/PDIF digital
input/output to connect to the S/PDIF digital input/output to make the most out
of this function.

Pin 1

1

+5V
NC
SPDIFOUT
GND
SPDIFIN

(RCA)

S/PDIF OUT

S/PDIF IN

S/PDIF OUT

S/PDIF IN

(Optical)

S/PDIF Module

(User Upgrade Optional)

S/PDIF
Cable

28

Connecting Game Port

This motherboard comes with a game port (Joystick-Midi) for you to connect any
midi devices or joysticks. To use this function you have to have a joystick module
and connect it with a game port cable to this port on the motherboard.

Pin1

(User Upgrade Optional)

29

Connecting CD_IN

This connector is designed to connect CD Audio cable from CDROM or DVD drive
to onboard sound.

30

Connecting Case Open

r

The “CASE OPEN” header provides chassis intrusion-monitoring function. To
make this function work, you have to enable it in the system BIOS, connect this
header to a sensor somewhere on the chassis. So, whenever the sensor is
triggered by lights or by the opening of the chassis, the system will beep to inform
you. Please be informed that this useful function only applies to advanced chassis;
you may purchase an extra sensor, attach it on your chassis and make a good use
of this function.

Pin 1

1

Sensor
GND

Intrusion Senso

31

Colored Coded Back Panel (for i915Ga–E)

The onboard I/O devices have PS/2 Keyboard, PS/2 Mouse, RJ-45 LAN Connector,
COM1, VGA port, Printer, USB, Azalia sound and game ports. The view angle of
drawing shown here is from the back panel of the housing.

PS/2 Mouse
Connector

PS/2 Keyboard
Connector

SPP/EPP/ECP
Parallel Port

COM 1 Port

VGA Port

RJ45

LAN Jack

USB 2.0

Ports

USB 2.0

Ports

Rear SUR

Line-In
Speaker Out

Center &
Subwoofer

MIC-In

Side SUR

PS/2 Keyboard: For standard keyboard, which use a PS/2 plug.
PS/2 Mouse: For PC-Mouse, which use a PS/2 plug.
Parallel Port: To connect with SPP/ECP/EPP printer.
COM1 Port: To connect with pointing devices, modem or

others serial devices.

RJ-45 LAN Port: To connect Ethernet for home or office use.
VGA Connector: To connect with PC monitor.
USB Port: Available for connecting USB devices.
Side SUR: For side surround speaker
Center & Subwoofer: For center & subwoofer speaker.
Rear SUR: For rear surround speaker.
Speaker Out: To External Speaker, Earphone or Amplifier.
Line-In: Comes from the signal sources, such as

CD/Tape player.

MIC-In:

For Microphone

32

Colored Coded Back Panel (for i915Pa–E)

a

The onboard I/O devices have PS/2 Keyboard, PS/2 Mouse, RJ-45 LAN Connector,
COM1, COM2, Printer, USB, Azalia sound and game ports. The view angle of
drawing shown here is from the back panel of the housing.

PS/2 Mouse
Connector

PS/2 Keyboard
Connector

SPP/EPP/ECP
Parallel Port

COM 1 Port

COM 2 Port

LAN J

USB 2.0

Ports

RJ45

ck

USB 2.0

Ports

Rear SUR

Line-In

Speaker Out

Center &
Subwoofer

MIC-In

Side SUR

PS/2 Keyboard:

For standard keyboard, which use a PS/2 plug.

PS/2 Mouse: For PC-Mouse, which use a PS/2 plug.
Parallel Port: To connect with SPP/ECP/EPP printer.
COM1 and COM2 Port:

To connect with pointing devices, modem or

others serial devices.

RJ-45 LAN Port:

To connect Ethernet for home or office use.

USB Port: Available for connecting USB devices.
Side SUR: For side surround speaker
Center & Subwoofer: For center & subwoofer speaker.
Rear SUR: For rear surround speaker.
Speaker Out: To External Speaker, Earphone or Amplifier.
Line-In: Comes from the signal sources, such as

CD/Tape player.

MIC-In:

For Microphone

33

LED Indication

LED indication including Boot LED and Standby LED are AOpen’s considerate
designs that aim at providing you friendly system information.

STBY LED will light up when power is provided to the motherboard, giving you a
convenient indication check the system power status in circumstances such as
power on/off, stand-by mode and RAM power status during Suspend to RAM
mode.

BOOT LED will keep blinking when you power the system on and when your
system is under
right and finishes the booting, the LED will stay on otherwise it will remain
flashing to warn you that mistakes have occurred during POST

POST (Power-On Self Test). After POST diagnoses everything all

34

STBY LED

BOOT LED

3.4 Jumper Settings

JP28 Keyboard / Mouse
Wakeup Jumper

JP28 KB/Mouse Wakeup Jumper

This motherboard provides PS2 keyboard / mouse
wake-up function.

JP14 Clear CMOS Jumper

JP14 Clear CMOS Data

1

Disable

(Default)

1

Normal

(default)

1

Enable

1

Clear CMOS

You can clear CMOS to restore system default setting. To
clear the CMOS, follow the procedure below.

1. Turn off the system and unplug the AC power.

2. Remove ATX power cable from connector PWR3.

3. Locate JP14 and short pins 2-3 for a few seconds.

4. Return JP14 to its normal setting by shorting pin 1 & pin 2.

5. Connect ATX power cable back to connector PWR3.

35

Chapter 4 Special Features and Utilities

Chapter 4 Special Features and Utilities

SilentTek – Noise is Gone!

As CPU clock keeps rocketing higher and higher, it has inevitably brought higher
heat and system temperature in a relative way. The way we deal with this heat
problem, however, is to spare no effort to add one fan after another to protect our
pampered system, expecting these fans cool down our machine as much as they
can.

But at the same time, we believe that same users are affected terribly by the
irritating noises of these fans while working with their PC. As a matter of fact, we
do not have to get our fans running at such a high speed in most cases; on the
contrary, we discovered that having your fans running at appropriate time and
speed not only reduces the noise, but also consumes the least power the system
needs, so as to prevent over-wasting of energy resource.

Today, AOpen Motherboard is honored to bring you a new overall solution,
SilentTek, to make your system quiet. To collocate with hardware circuit, BIOS
and the utility under Windows, SilentTek combines “Hardware-Status Monitoring”,
“Overheat Warning” and “Fan Speed Control” in a user-friendly interface to
provide you a perfect balance among noises, system performance and stability.

36

The first image you have here is Voltage Status page. You can find current status
of all voltages here and set your expected margins of warning level.

You may check your
system voltage from
the indicating bar here.

In “Temp/Fan/Case” page, you can get aware of the current temperature of CPU
and the heat inside chassis. Also, you can check if fans are running properly.

Of course, you can set your defaulted
lowest margin for your fans and
SilentTek will also pop up a message
box to alarm you when the fan is
rotating slower than this specified
speed.

You can set the highest margin of your
CPU and system temperature as default,
and SilentTek will pop up a message box
to alert you with an alarm when the
temperature goes beyond the specified
margin.

37

The following page is surely the most important part of this utility. You can control

The following page is surely the most important part of this utility. You can control
the rotation speed of specific fans that you have got the options inside this page.

the rotation speed of specific fans that you have got the options inside this page.

CD-ROM Rotation Speed Control:
by enabling the CD-ROM Rotation
Speed Control, you can adjust the
rotation speed of your CD-ROM.
When you set the speed to high
level, the CD-ROM will work at its
fastest speed and it will run at
basic required speed while you set
the value to low speed.

Smart FAN Control:Smart FAN Control: This is the default setting of SilentTek and can be used for
any branded computer housing. With a special algorithm developed by AOpen,
the fan speed is automatically adjusted by the parameters of CPU and ambient
temperature which is ease-of-use and trouble free at your service.

Fixed FAN Control:

Under this setting, a desired fan speed is set fixed when

operating.

Multiple Level Controls:

This is the most versatile setting that allows you to set

fan speed in relation to temperature. You may find that this setting fits you best.

AOpen Recommend Setting:

This setting is designed specifically for AOpen
housing. A series of lab tests were conducted under the real world scenario to
determine optimum fan speed to reduce noise level within CPU working condition
and temperature. Most of the time, the fan would remain still when CPU is not
fully utilized.

Note: Due to hundreds brands of fans
on market, inaccuracy may happen in some
cases when you have your rotation speed
adjusted. It is still under the criterion and
please rest assured that it won’t cause any
problem to your system.

38

Other Useful Features

With excellent design ability of R&D team, AOpen boasts for its various powerful
and handy features that come with our product like follows. You are welcomed
to visit our technical website to learn more about those features.

http://english.aopen.com.tw/tech/techinside

39

Chapter 5 Setting BIOS

Chapter 5 Setting BIOS

Introduction

System parameters can be modified by going into BIOS Setup menu; this menu
allows you to configure the system parameters and save the configuration into
the 128 bytes CMOS area (normally in the RTC chip or in the main chipset).

The Phoenix-Award BIOS™ that installed in the Flash ROM of the motherboard is
a custom version of an industry standard BIOS. The BIOS provides critical
low-level support for standard devices such as hard disk drives, serial and parallel
ports.

AOpen’s R&D engineering team had optimized most BIOS settings of this
motherboard. However, some default settings of BIOS cannot fine-tune those
sections that controlled by chipset. Therefore, this chapter is intended to guide
you and help you to configure some other settings.

To enter BIOS setup menu, press <Del> when POST (Power-On Self Test) screen
is shown on your monitor.

Note: Because BIOS code is the most often
changed part on motherboard, the BIOS
information contained in this manual may be
different from the BIOS version that comes with
your motherboard.

40

How To Use Phoenix-Award™ BIOS Setup Program

Generally, you can use arrow keys to highlight items that you want to choose,
press <Enter> key to select, and use <Page Up> and <Page Down> keys to
change setting values. You can press <Esc> key to quit Phoenix-Award™ BIOS
setup program. The following table provides details about how to use keyboard in
the Phoenix-AwardBIOS setup program.

Key Description

Page Up or + Change setting to next value or increase the value.
Page Down or - Change setting to previous value or decrease value.
Enter Select the item.
Esc In main menu: Quit without saving any changes.

In sub menu: Exit current menu to main menu.

Up Arrow Highlight previous item.
Down Arrow Highlight next item.
Left Arrow Move the light bar to left side of menu.
Right Arrow Move the light bar to right side of menu.
F6 Load Setup Default setting value from CMOS.
F7 Load turbo setting value from CMOS.
F10 Save changed settings and exit setup program .

How To Enter BIOS Setup

After finishing the jumper settings and connecting cables, you can power on and
enter the BIOS Setup. Press <Del> during POST (Power-On Self T est) and choose
"Load Setup Defaults" for recommended optimal performance.

Del

Warning: Please avoid of using “Load
Turbo Defaults”, unless you are certain your
system components (CPU, SDRAM, HDD, etc.)
are good enough for turbo setting.

41

BIOS Upgrade under Windows environment

y p

With outstanding R&D ability of AOpen, we now bring you a whole new BIOS Flash
wizard ---- EzWinFlash. With an eye to convenience for users, EzWinFlash
combines the BIOS binary code and flash module together, so the only thing you
have to do is just clicking on the utility you downloaded from web and let it help
you complete the flash process automatically. EzWinFlash detects your
motherboard and checks the BIOS version cleverly to prevent your system from
any possible failure. Moreover, EzWinFlash has been taken into consideration to
go with any windows platform you might be using, no matter if you’re using
Windows 2000, or Windows XP.

In the meanwhile, in order to provide a much more user-friendly operating
environment, AOpen EzWinFlash is natively designed to have multi-language
function to provide easier way for user in changing BIOS setting.

Caution: You are taking a risk of BIOS flash

failure when you update your system. If your

motherboard is working stable, and there are no

major bugs to be fixed by a latter BIOS revision, we

recommend that you DO NOT upgrade your BIOS.

If you intent on upgrade PLEASE MAKE SURE you

get the right BIOS revision for your motherboard

model so as to avoid an

ossible failure.

Note: The model name on this BIOS picture is for reference only. It may
not be the same model with your motherboard.

42

You may accomplish BIOS upgrade procedure with EzWinFlash according to
following steps, and it’s STRONGLY RECOMMENDED to close all applications
before you start the upgrades.

Download the latest version of BIOS package
(Ex:

http://english.aopen.com.tw/)

zip file from AOpen official web site.

Unzip the downloaded BIOS package (ex: WSGMAXII102.ZIP) with WinZip
(

http://www.winzip.com) in Windows environment.

Save the unzipped files into a folder, for example, WSGMAXII102.EXE &
WSGMAXII102.BIN.

Double click WSGMAXII102.EXE; EzWinFlash will detect the model name and
BIOS version of your motherboard. If you collect wrong BIOS, you will not be
allowed to proceed with the flash steps.

You may select a preferred language in main menu, then click [Start Flash] to
begin the BIOS upgrade procedure.

EzWinFlash will complete all the process automatically, and a dialogue box will
pop up to ask you to restart Windows. Click [YES] to reboot Windows.

Press <Del> at POST to enter BIOS setup screen; choose "Load Setup Defaults",
then “Save & Exit Setup”. Done!

It is strongly recommended NOT to turn off the power or run any applications
during FLASH PROCESS.

Warning: The new BIOS upgrade will
permanently replace your original BIOS setting
when flashing. You may need to reconfigure the
BIOS setting before your system goes back to
work as normal.

43

Vivid BIOS technology

Have you been fed up with the conservative and immutable POST screen? Let’s
rule out the tradition idea that POST screen are stiff and frigid, and let AOpen
show you the newly developed VividBIOS to experience the lively vivid colorful
POST screen!

Unlike earlier graphic POST screen which could occupy the whole screen and
mask text information during POST, AOpen VividBIOS deals with graphics and
texts separately, and makes them running simultaneously during POST. With this
innovative design, VividBIOS now brings you a beautiful and sleek 256 colors
screen without missing any important information shown on POST screen.

In addition, the limited space of BIOS ROM is another big issue. When all of the
traditional BIOS can only show space-consuming and uncompressed Bitmap,
AOpen has considerately tuned the BIOS to next generation, to recognize the
smaller-sized GIF format and even dynamic-showing GIF animation.

Vivid BIOS shares the same fundamental technology with Open JukeBox CD
Player, you may use the same EzSkin utility to change your VividBIOS screen or to
download your favorite Open JukeBox skin. If you see this little logo shown beside

your model name on the motherboard download page,

http://english.aopen.com.tw/tech/ezskin/vivid.htm, it is assured

that your motherboard supports this innovative feature!

44

Chapter 6 Installing Drivers

Chapter 6 Installing Drivers

You may think that installing drivers and utilities would be a repeated task of
going through those installation wizards and steps-by-steps. Now, you will be
surprised with how “Ez” EzInstall could do. Without wizards or steps, all you have
to do is to do one click and then it’s done. Click and done. Yes. EzInstall makes
installation easy and even foolproof!

After putting in the CD, you will be prompted with AOpen welcome page and our
branches information.

First, click on the install driver ICON at left side for necessary drivers.

Second, click on the install utility ICON at left side for preferred utilities.

Practically, it’s done. But you may also browse CD contents, Readme to get more
information or just exit the CD installation.

Install
driver

Install
utility

Browse CD
Contents

Readme

Click to install
online manual

AOpen
branches
information

Exit CD

45

6.1 Installing Drivers

As you may see from the Installing driver page, EzInstall had picked up necessary
for your motherboard. All you have to do is just click on the “GO”, a n d no mor e
steps afterward, of all listed drivers, grey checks indicate necessary drivers; you
cannot click them off. Red checks can be disabled if you don’t want to install them
now.

Press the icon will prompt the
“Install Driver” page. You
may also press “Back” to
return to the Main page.

Once clicking “GO”, EzInstall will run the installing procedure
automatically, and prompt a reboot dialog (Some drivers or
utilities may skip the reboot part).

46

6.2 Installing Utilities

Installing Utilities is virtually the same as installing drivers. AOpen provides you
many friendly and powerful utilities to manage your system. Y ou may find lots of
fabulous utilities liste d t here, and all yo u ha v e to do is to clic k on t he “GO”, then
it will install the utilities to your system right away without complicated steps.

Press the icon will
prompt the “Install
Utilities” page for your
selection. You may also
press “Back” to get back
to the Main page.

Note: Due to the limitation of Intel chipsets driver, Windows 2000 is
needed to be updated to service pack 4 for installing audio driver correctly.

47

Chapter 7 Troubleshooting

g

Chapter 7 Troubleshootin

48

Chapter 8 Technical Support

Chapter 8 Technical Support

Dear Customer,
Thanks for choosing AOpen products. We invite you to register at

http://www.aopen.com

to become a Gold Member of Club AOpen so as to
ensure quality service in the future. In order to maintain the best service to every
customer of us, we recommend you to follow the procedures below and seek help
from our branches according to the region you buy the product. With your help,
we can then continue to provide efficient and the best quality service to every
customer.

Thanks very much for your understanding!
AOpen Technical Supporting Team

Europe

AOpen Computer b.v.
Tel: [phone]

Email: [e-mail]

Germany

AOpen Computer GmbH.
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

Europe Email: [e-mail]
Pacific Rim: http://www.aopen.com.tw/tech/default.htm
China: http://www.aopen.com.cn/tech/default.htm
Germany: http://www.aopencom.de/tech/default.htm
America: http://usa.aopen.com/tech/default.htm
Japan: http://aopen.jp/tech/index.html

China

艾爾鵬國際貿易(上海)有限公司
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

Japan

AOpen Japan Inc.
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

Pacific Rim

AOpen Inc.
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

America

AOpen America Inc.
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

49

Model Name and BIOS Version

Model name and BIOS version can be found on upper left corner of first boot
screen (POST screen). For example:

Phoenix AwardBIOS v6.00PG, An Energy Star Ally

Copyright (C) 2003, Phoenix Technologies, LTD.

i915Ga-E R1.02 June. 01. 2004 AOpen Inc.

i915Ga-E is the model name of motherboard; R1.02 is BIOS version

Register Your Motherboard

Thanks for choosing AOpen product, please register this motherboard at

http://club.aopen.com.tw/productreg/ to become a Gold member of Club AOpen,

and to ensure high service quality and priority from AOpen. You will also have a
chance to play slot machine game to win prize from AOpen. Please prepare the
following information before you start: Model Name, Part Number (P/N), Serial
Number (S/N) and Purchase Date. The Part Number and Serial number are
printed on bar code label. You can find this bar code label on the outside packing
or on component side of PCB. For example:

P/N: 91.88110.201 is part number, S/N: 91949378KN73 is serial number.

Phoenix-Award BIOS ERROR Message

Beep Sound Message

1 short(Beep) System booting is working normally.

1 long - 1 short(Beep) DRAM error

1 long - 2 short(Beep) Display card or monitor connection error

1 long - 3 short(Beep) Keyboard error

Long(Beep) continuous DRAM isn’t installed correctly.

Part No. Serial No.

50

Technical Support

51