ASRock Z68 User Manual [en, ru, de, es, fr, it]

Fatal1ty Story

Who knew that at age 19, I would be a World Champion PC gamer. When I was 13, I actually played competitive billiards in professional tournaments and won four or five games off guys who played at the highest level. I actually thought of making a career of it, but at that young age situations change rapidly. Because I’ve been blessed with great hand-eye coordination and a grasp of mathematics (an important element in video gaming) I gravitated to that activity.

GOING PRO

I started professional gaming in 1999 when I entered the CPL (Cyberathlete Professional League) tournament in Dallas and won $4,000 for coming in third place. Emerging as one of the top players in the United States, a company interested in sponsoring me ﬂ ew me to Sweden to compete against the top 12 players in the world. I won 18 straight games, lost none, and took ﬁ rst place, becoming the number one ranked Quake III player in the world in the process. Two months later I followed that success by traveling to Dallas and defending my title as the world’s best Quake III player, winning the $40,000 grand prize. From there I entered competitions all over the world, including Singapore, Korea, Germany, Australia, Holland and Brazil in addition to Los Angeles, New York and St. Louis.

WINNING STREAK

I was excited to showcase my true gaming skills when defending my title as CPL Champion of the year at the CPL Winter 2001 because I would be competing in a totally different first person shooter (fps) game, Alien vs. Predator II. I won that competition and walked away with a new car. The next year I won the same title playing Unreal Tournament 2003, becoming the only three-time CPL champion of the year. And I did it playing a different game each year, something no one else has ever done and a feat of which I am extremely proud.

At QuakeCon 2002, I faced off against my rival ZeRo4 in one of the most highly anticipated matches of the year, winning in a 14 to (-1) killer victory. Competing at Quakecon 2004, I became the World’s 1st Doom3 Champion by defeating Daler in a series of very challenging matches and earning $25,000 for the victory.

Since then Fatal1ty has traveled the globe to compete against the best in the world, winning prizes and acclaim, including the 2005 CPL World Tour Championship in New York City for a $150,000 ﬁ rst place triumph. In August 2007, Johnathan was awarded the ﬁ rst ever Lifetime Achievement Award in the four year history of the eSports-Award for “showing exceptional sportsmanship, taking part in shaping eSports into what it is today and for being the prime representative of this young sport. He has become the ﬁ gurehead for eSports worldwide”.

Fatal1ty Z68 Professional Gen3 Series Motherboard

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LIVIN’ LARGE

Since my ﬁ rst big tournament wins, I have been a “Professional Cyberathlete”, traveling the world and livin’ large with lots of International media coverage on outlets such as MTV, ESPN and a 60 Minutes segment on CBS to name only a few. It's unreal - it's crazy. I’m living a dream by playing video games for a living. I’ve always been athletic and took sports like hockey and football very seriously, working out and training hard. This discipline helps me become a better gamer and my drive to be the best has opened the doors necessary to become a professional.

A DREAM

Now, another dream is being realized – building the ultimate gaming computer, made up of the best parts under my own brand. Quality hardware makes a huge difference in competitions…a couple more frames per second and everything gets really nice. It’s all about getting the computer processing faster and allowing more ﬂ uid movement around the maps.

My vision for Fatal1ty hardware is to allow gamers to focus on the game without worrying about their equipment, something I’ve preached since I began competing. I don’t want to worry about my equipment. I want to be there – over and done with - so I can focus on the game. I want it to be the fastest and most stable computer equipment on the face of the planet, so quality is what Fatal1ty Brand products represent.

Johnathan “Fatal1ty” Wendel

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The Fatal1ty name, Fatal1ty logos and the Fatal1ty likeness are registered trademarks of Fatal1ty, Inc., and are used under license. © 2011 Fatal1ty, Inc. All rights reserved. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Fatal1ty Z68 Professional Gen3 Series Motherboard

No part of this installation guide may be reproduced, transcribed, transmitted, or translated in any language, in any form or by any means, except duplication of documentation by the purchaser for backup purpose, without written consent of ASRock Inc. Products and corporate names appearing in this guide may or may not be registered trademarks or copyrights of their respective companies, and are used only for identiﬁ ca- tion or explanation and to the owners’ beneﬁ t, without intent to infringe.

Disclaimer:

Speciﬁ cations and information contained in this guide are furnished for informational use only and subject to change without notice, and should not be constructed as a commitment by ASRock. ASRock assumes no responsibility for any errors or omissions that may appear in this guide. With respect to the contents of this guide, ASRock does not provide warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties or conditions of merchantability or ﬁ tness for a particular purpose. In no event shall ASRock, its directors, ofﬁ cers, employees, or agents be liable for any indirect, special, incidental, or consequential damages (including damages for loss of proﬁ ts, loss of business, loss of data, interruption of business and the like), even if ASRock has been advised of the possibility of such damages arising from any defect or error in the guide or product.

This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) this device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this device must accept any interference received, including interference that

may cause undesired operation.

CALIFORNIA, USA ONLY

The Lithium battery adopted on this motherboard contains Perchlorate, a toxic substance controlled in Perchlorate Best Management Practices (BMP) regulations passed by the California Legislature. When you discard the Lithium battery in California, USA, please follow the related regulations in advance. “Perchlorate Material-special handling may apply, see www.dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/perchlorate”

ASRock Website: http://www.asrock.com

Published June 2011

Fatal1ty Z68 Professional Gen3 Series Motherboard

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Motherboard Layout

CPU_FAN1

FRONT_1394

DDR3_A1 (64 bit, 240-pin module)

DDR3 2133

64Mb BIOS

ErP/EuPReady HDMI 1.4a DX10.1

CHA_FAN2

CLRCMOS1

CHA_FAN1

DDR3_A2 (64 bit, 240-pin module)

DDR3_B1 (64 bit, 240-pin module)

PWRBTN

SPEAKER1

PLED PWRBTN

HDLED RESET

DDR3_B2 (64 bit, 240-pin module)

SATA2_4_5

SATA2_2_3

SATA3_0_1

SATA3_A1_A2SATA3_A3_A4

Debug

RSTBTN

PLED1

CHA_FAN3

IDE1

USB3_4_5

Dr.

PANEL1

ATXPWR1

30.5cm (12.0 in)

10 11

18 19

24.4cm (9.6 in)

USB 2.0

T: USB 0

B: USB1

Keyboard

PS2

HDMI1

VGA1

HDMI2

Clr

CMOS

T: USB0

B: USB1

IEEE 1394

eSATA_1

T: USB2

B: USB3

Bottom:

Optical

SPDIF

Bottom:

MIC IN

43 42 41

39 38

Designed in Taipei

HD_AUDIO1

ATX12V1

USB 3.0

Top:

RJ-45

LAN PHY

USB 2.0

T: USB2

B: USB3

USB 3.0

Top:

RJ-45

Top:

SIDE SPK

Center:

REAR SPK

Top:

LINE IN

Center:

FRONT

PWR_FAN1

PCIE1

RoHS USB 3.0

AUDIO

PCIE2

CODEC

PCI1

CD1

FAST US B

CMOS

Battery

PCIE3

Super

I/O

PCIE4

FATAL1TY

PCI2

HDMI_SPDIF1

Z68 P

ROFESSIONAL GEN3

PCIE5

SATA3 6Gb/s

IR1

COM1

FLOPPY1

Intel

Z68

CPU_FAN2

1394a

Front USB 3.0

USB8_91USB6_7

1 ATX 12V Power Connector (ATX12V1) 23 Chassis Fan Connector (CHA_FAN2) 2 CPU Fan Connector (CPU_FAN2) 24 Front Panel IEEE 1394 Header 3 CPU Fan Connector (CPU_FAN1) (FRONT_1394, Red) 4 2 x 240-pin DDR3 DIMM Slots 25 Clear CMOS Jumper (CLRCMOS1) (Dual Channel: DDR3_A1, DDR3_B1, Red) 26 Power Switch (PWRBTN) 5 2 x 240-pin DDR3 DIMM Slots 27 USB 2.0 Header (USB8_9, Black) (Dual Channel: DDR3_A2, DDR3_B2, Black) 28 USB 2.0 Header (USB6_7, Black) 6 Chassis Fan Connector (CHA_FAN3) 29 COM Port Header (COM1) 7 ATX Power Connector (ATXPWR1) 30 PCI Express 2.0 x16 Slot (PCIE5, Red) 8 Primary IDE Connector (IDE1, Black) 31 Floppy Connector (FLOPPY1) 9 USB 3.0 Header (USB3_4_5, Black) 32 HDMI_SPDIF Header (HDMI_SPDIF1, Black) 10 Intel Z68 Chipset 33 Infrared Module Header (IR1) 11 64Mb SPI Flash 34 Front Panel Audio Header 12 SATA2 Connector (SATA2_4_5, Black) (HD_AUDIO1, Black) 13 SATA2 Connector (SATA2_2_3, Black) 35 PCI Slot (PCI2) 14 SATA3 Connector (SATA3_0_1, Red) 36 PCI Express 3.0 x16 Slot (PCIE4, Red) 15 SATA3 Connector (SATA3_A1_A2, Red) 37 PCI Express 2.0 x1 Slot (PCIE3, Black) 16 SATA3 Connector (SATA3_A3_A4, Red) 38 Internal Audio Connector: CD1 (Black) 17 Dr. Debug 39 PCI Slot (PCI1) 18 Reset Switch (RSTBTN) 40 PCI Express 3.0 x16 Slot (PCIE2, Red) 19 Chassis Speaker Header (SPEAKER 1, Black) 41 PCI Express 2.0 x1 Slot (PCIE1, Black) 20 Power LED Header (PLED1) 42 Power Fan Connector (PWR_FAN1) 21 System Panel Header (PANEL1, Black) 43 1155-Pin CPU Socket 22 Chassis Fan Connector (CHA_FAN1)

Fatal1ty Z68 Professional Gen3 Series Motherboard

I/O Panel

1 USB 2.0 Ports (USB01) ** 11 Front Speaker (Lime) 2 VGA/D-Sub Port 12 Microphone (Pink) * 3 LAN RJ-45 Port 13 USB 3.0 Ports (USB23) 4 Fatal1ty Mouse Port (USB2) 14 IEEE 1394 Port (IEEE 1394) 5 USB 2.0 Port (USB3) *** 15 eSATA3 Connector * 6 LAN RJ-45 Port 16 USB 3.0 Ports (USB01) 7 Central / Bass (Orange) 17 Clear CMOS Switch (CLRCBTN) 8 Rear Speaker (Black) **** 18 VGA/HDMI Port (HDMI2) 9 Optical SPDIF Out Port **** 19 VGA/HDMI Port (HDMI1) 10 Line In (Light Blue) 20 PS/2 Keyboard Port (Purple)

* There are two LED next to the LAN port. Please refer to the table below for the LAN port LED indications.

Activity/Link LED SPEED LED

Status Description Status Description

LAN Port LED Indications

1819

ACT/LINK LED

SPEED LED

412

Off No Link Off 10Mbps connection Blinking Data Activity Orange 100Mbps connection On Link Green 1Gbps connection

LAN Port

If you use 2-channel speaker, please connect the speaker’s plug into “Front Speaker Jack”.

See the table below for connection details in accordance with the type of speaker you use.

TABLE for Audio Output Connection

Audio Output Channels Front Speaker Rear Speaker Central / Bass Line In or (No. 11) (No. 8) (No. 7) Side Speaker (No. 10)

2 V -- -- -4 V V -- -6 V V V -8 V V V V

Fatal1ty Z68 Professional Gen3 Series Motherboard

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To enable Multi-Streaming function, you need to connect a front panel audio cable to the front

panel audio header. After restarting your computer, you will ﬁ nd “Mixer” tool on your system. Please select “Mixer ToolBox” , click “Enable playback multi-streaming”, and click

“ok”. Choose “2CH”, “4CH”, “6CH”, or “8CH” and then you are allowed to select “Realtek HDA Primary output” to use Rear Speaker, Central/Bass, and Front Speaker, or select “Realtek HDA Audio 2nd output” to use front panel audio.

*** eSATA3 connector supports SATA Gen3 in cable 1M.

**** HDMI is backwards compatible with DVI. VGA/HDMI port can function similarly as DVI port by applying the bundled HDMI to DVI adapter. Please connect the HDMI to DVI adapter to the VGA/HDMI port on the I/O panel and then connect the DVI-D monitor cable to the VGA/ DVI-D connector on the adpater.

For PS/2 Keyboard users, it is recommended to apply the adapter on HDMI2. If HDMI1 is connected to the adapter, please use USB Keyboard and do not use the PS/2 Keyboard

port. For the other users, apply it either on HDMI1 or HDMI2.

HDMI connector

HDMI to DVI adapter

DVI connector

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Fatal1ty Z68 Professional Gen3 Series Motherboard

1. Introduction

Thank you for purchasing Fatal1ty Z68 Professional Gen3 Series motherboard, a reliable motherboard produced under ASRock’s consistently stringent quality control. It delivers excellent performance with robust design conforming to ASRock’s commitment to quality and endurance. This Quick Installation Guide contains introduction of the motherboard and step-bystep installation guide. More detailed information of the motherboard can be found in the user manual presented in the Support CD.

Because the motherboard speciﬁ cations and the BIOS software might be updated, the content of this manual will be subject to change without notice. In case any modiﬁ cations of this manual occur, the updated version will be available on ASRock website without further notice. You may ﬁ nd the latest VGA cards and CPU support lists on ASRock website as well. ASRock website http://www.asrock.com If you require technical support related to this motherboard, please visit our website for speciﬁ c information about the model you are using. www.asrock.com/support/index.asp

1.1 Package Contents

Fatal1ty Z68 Professional Gen3 Series Motherboard (ATX Form Factor: 12.0-in x 9.6-in, 30.5 cm x 24.4 cm)

Fatal1ty Z68 Professional Gen3 Series Quick Installation Guide Fatal1ty Z68 Professional Gen3 Series Support CD

1 x 80-conductor Ultra ATA 66/100/133 IDE Ribbon Cable 1 x Ribbon Cable for a 3.5-in Floppy Drive 6 x Serial ATA (SATA) Data Cables (Optional) 2 x Serial ATA (SATA) HDD Power Cables (Optional) 1 x 3.5mm Audio Cable (Optional) 1 x I/O Panel Shield 1 x Front USB 3.0 Panel 4 x HDD Screws 6 x Chassis Screws 1 x Rear USB 3.0 Bracket 1 x ASRock SLI_Bridge_2S Card 1 x HDMI to DVI Adapter

ASRock Reminds You...

To get better performance in Windows® 7 / 7 64-bit / Vista bit, it is recommended to set the BIOS option in Storage Conﬁ guration to AHCI mode. For the BIOS setup, please refer to the “User Manual” in our support CD for details.

Fatal1ty Z68 Professional Gen3 Series Motherboard

/ VistaTM 64-

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1.2 Specifications

Platform - ATX Form Factor: 12.0-in x 9.6-in, 30.5 cm x 24.4 cm

- All Solid Capacitor design (100% Japan-made high-quality Conductive Polymer Capacitors) CPU - Supports 2nd Generation Intel LGA1155 Package

- Advanced V12+6 Power Phase Design

- Supports Intel

Turbo Boost 2.0 Technology

- Supports K-Series unlocked CPU

- Supports Hyper-Threading Technology (see CAUTION 1)

Chipset - Intel® Z68 Memory - Dual Channel DDR3 Memory Technology (see CAUTION 2)

- 4 x DDR3 DIMM slots

- Supports DDR3 2133(OC)/1866(OC)/1600/1333/1066 non-ECC, un-buffered memory (see CAUTION 3)

- Max. capacity of system memory: 32GB (see CAUTION 4)

- Supports Intel

Extreme Memory Proﬁ le (XMP)

Expansion Slot - 2 x PCI Express 3.0 x16 slots (PCIE2/PCIE4: single at x16 (PCIE2) / x8 (PCIE4) or dual at x8 (PCIE2) / x8 (PCIE4) mode) (see CAUTION 5)

- 1 x PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot (PCIE5: x4 mode)

- 2 x PCI Express 2.0 x1 slots

- 2 x PCI slots

- Supports AMD and CrossFireX

Quad CrossFireXTM, 3-Way CrossFireXTM

- Supports NVIDIA® Quad SLITM and SLI Graphics * * Requires Processor with Intel® Graphics Technology

- Intel® HD Graphics 2000/3000

- Pixel Shader 4.1, DirectX 10.1

- Max. shared memory 1759MB (see CAUTION 6)

- Four VGA Output options: one D-Sub port, two HDMI ports and one DVI-D port by the bundled HDMI to DVI adpater (see CAUTION 7)

- Supports HDMI 1.4a Technology with max. resolution up to 1920x1200 @ 60Hz

- Supports DVI with max. resolution up to 1920x1200 @ 60Hz

- Supports D-Sub with max. resolution up to 2048x1536 @ 75Hz

- Supports Auto Lip Sync, Deep Color (12bpc), xvYCC and HBR (High Bit Rate Audio) with HDMI

CoreTM i7 / i5 / i3 in

Fatal1ty Z68 Professional Gen3 Series Motherboard

(Compliant HDMI monitor is required) (see CAUTION 8)

- Supports Blu-ray Stereoscopic 3D with HDMI 1.4a

- Supports HDCP function with DVI and HDMI ports

- Supports Full HD 1080p Blu-ray (BD) / HD-DVD playback with DVI and HDMI ports Audio - 7.1 CH HD Audio with Content Protection (Realtek ALC892 Audio Codec)

- Premium Blu-ray audio support

- Supports THX TruStudio

LAN - PCIE x1 Gigabit LAN 10/100/1000 Mb/s

- Realtek RTL8111E

- Supports Wake-On-LAN

- Supports LAN Cable Detection

- Supports Energy Efﬁ cient Ethernet 802.3az

- Supports Dual LAN with Teaming function

- Supports PXE Rear Panel I/O I/O Panel

- 1 x PS/2 Keyboard Port

- 1 x VGA/D-Sub Port

- 2 x HDMI Ports

- 1 x Optical SPDIF Out Port

- 3 x Ready-to-Use USB 2.0 Ports

- 1 x Fatal1ty Mouse Port (USB2.0)

- 1 x eSATA3 Connector

- 4 x Ready-to-Use USB 3.0 Ports

- 2 x RJ-45 LAN Ports with LED (ACT/LINK LED and SPEED LED)

- 1 x IEEE 1394 Port

- 1 x Clear CMOS Switch with LED

- HD Audio Jack: Rear Speaker/Central/Bass/Line in/Front Speaker/Microphone (see CAUTION 9) SATA 3 - 2 x SATA3 6.0 Gb/s connectors by Intel Z68, support RAID (RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 10, RAID 5, Intel Rapid Storage and Intel Smart Response Technology), NCQ, AHCI and "Hot Plug" functions

- 4 x SATA3 6.0 Gb/s connectors by ASMedia ASM1061, support NCQ, AHCI and "Hot Plug" functions (SATA3_A4 connector is shared with eSATA3 port) USB3.0 - 4 x Rear USB 3.0 ports by ASMedia ASM1042, support USB

1.0/2.0/3.0 up to 5Gb/s

- 1 x Front USB 3.0 header (supports 2 USB 3.0 ports) by

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Fatal1ty Z68 Professional Gen3 Series Motherboard

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ASMedia ASM1042, supports USB 1.0/2.0/3.0 up to 5Gb/s Connector - 4 x SATA2 3.0 Gb/s connectors, support RAID (RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 10, RAID 5, Intel Rapid Storage and Intel Smart Response Technology), NCQ, AHCI and Hot Plug functions

- 1x ATA133 IDE connector (supports 2 x IDE devices)

- 1 x Floppy connector

- 1 x IR header

- 1 x COM port header

- 1 x HDMI_SPDIF header

- 1 x IEEE 1394 header

- 1 x Power LED header

- CPU/Chassis/Power FAN connector

- 24 pin ATX power connector

- 8 pin 12V power connector

- CD in header

- Front panel audio connector

- 2 x USB 2.0 headers (support 4 USB 2.0 ports)

- 1 x USB 3.0 header (supports 2 USB 3.0 ports)

- 1 x Dr. Debug (7-Segment Debug LED) Smart Switch - 1 x Clear CMOS Switch with LED

- 1 x Power Switch with LED

- 1 x Reset Switch with LED BIOS Feature - 64Mb AMI BIOS

- AMI UEFI Legal BIOS with GUI support

- Supports “Plug and Play”

- ACPI 1.1 Compliance Wake Up Events

- Supports jumperfree

- SMBIOS 2.3.1 Support

- CPU Core, IGPU, DRAM, PCH, CPU PLL, VTT, VCCSA Voltage Multi-adjustment Support CD - Drivers, Utilities, AntiVirus Software (Trial Version), CyberLink MediaEspresso 6.5 Trial, ASRock Software Suite (CyberLink DVD Suite - OEM and Trial) Unique Feature - F-Stream (see CAUTION 10)

- ASRock Instant Boot

- ASRock Instant Flash (see CAUTION 11)

- ASRock APP Charger (see CAUTION 12)

- ASRock SmartView (see CAUTION 13)

- ASRock XFast USB (see CAUTION 14)

- 6 x SATA3 6.0Gb/s connectors

Fatal1ty Z68 Professional Gen3 Series Motherboard

- Lucid Virtu (see CAUTION 15)

- ASRock On/Off Play Technology (see CAUTION 16)

- Hybrid Booster:

- CPU Frequency Stepless Control (see CAUTION 17)

- ASRock U-COP (see CAUTION 18)

- Boot Failure Guard (B.F.G.)

- Combo Cooler Option (C.C.O.) (see CAUTION 19)

- Good Night LED Hardware - CPU Temperature Sensing Monitor - Chassis Temperature Sensing

- CPU/Chassis/Power Fan Tachometer

- CPU/Chassis Quiet Fan (Allow Chassis Fan Speed Auto-Adjust by CPU Temperature)

- CPU/Chassis Fan Multi-Speed Control

- Voltage Monitoring: +12V, +5V, +3.3V, CPU Vcore OS - Microsoft

Windows® 7 / 7 64-bit / Vista

/ VistaTM 64-bit

/ XP / XP 64-bit compliant Certiﬁ cations - FCC, CE, WHQL

- ErP/EuP Ready (ErP/EuP ready power supply is required) (see CAUTION 20)

* For detailed product information, please visit our website: http://www.asrock.com

WARNING

Please realize that there is a certain risk involved with overclocking, including adjusting the setting in the BIOS, applying Untied Overclocking Technology, or using the third-party overclocking tools. Overclocking may affect your system stability, or even cause damage to the components and devices of your system. It should be done at your own risk and expense. We are not responsible for possible damage caused by overclocking.

Fatal1ty Z68 Professional Gen3 Series Motherboard

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CAUTION!

1. About the setting of “Hyper Threading Technology”, please check page 71 of “User Manual” in the support CD.

2. This motherboard supports Dual Channel Memory Technology. Before you implement Dual Channel Memory Technology, make sure to read the installation guide of memory modules on page 18 for proper installation.

3. DDR3 frequency options may depend on the processor. Only K-Series CPU can support DDR3 overclock to 2133 and 1866.

4. Due to the operating system limitation, the actual memory size may be less than 4GB for the reservation for system usage under Windows VistaTM / XP. For Windows® OS with 64-bit CPU, there is no such limitation.

5. To run the PCI Express in Gen 3 speed, please must install the Ivy Bridge CPU which supports PCI Express Gen3. If you install the Sandy Bridge CPU, the PCI Express will run only at PCI Express Gen 2 speed.

6. The maximum shared memory size is deﬁ ned by the chipset vendor and is subject to change. Please check Intel

website for the latest informa-

tion.

7. You can choose to use two of the four monitors only. D-Sub, DVI-D, and HDMI monitors cannot be enabled at the same time. Besides, with the HDMI to DVI adapter, the HDMI port can support the same features as DVI-D port.

8. xvYCC and Deep Color are only supported under Windows

7. Deep Color mode will be enabled only if the display supports 12bpc in EDID. HBR is supported under Windows

7 64-bit / 7 / VistaTM 64-bit /

VistaTM.

9. For microphone input, this motherboard supports both stereo and mono modes. For audio output, this motherboard supports 2-channel, 4-channel, 6-channel, and 8-channel modes. Please check the table on page 5 for proper connection.

10. F-Stream is an all-in-one tool to ﬁ ne-tune different system functions in a user-friendly interface, which currently includes Hardware Monitor, Fan Control, Overclocking, OC DNA, Mouse Polling and IES. In the Hardware Monitor mode, F-Stream shows the major readings of your system. In Fan Control mode, F-Stream shows the fan speed and temperature for you to adjust. In Overclocking Control mode, F-Stream allows you to overclock the CPU frequency for optimal system performance. In OC DNA mode, you can save your OC settings as a proﬁ le and share them with your friends. Your friends can then load the OC proﬁ le in to their own system to get the same OC settings. In Mouse Polling mode, F-Stream allows you to adjust the mouse polling rate of the Fatal1ty Mouse port to add a professional level mouse conﬁ guration. In IES (Intelligent Energy Saver) mode, the voltage regulator can reduce the number of output phases to improve efﬁ ciency when the CPU cores are idle without sacri- ﬁ cing computing performance.

7 64-bit /

7 /

Fatal1ty Z68 Professional Gen3 Series Motherboard

11. ASRock Instant Flash is a BIOS ﬂ ash utility embedded in Flash ROM. This convenient BIOS update tool allows you to update system BIOS without entering operating systems ﬁ rst like MS-DOS or Windows

. With this utility, you can press <F6> key during the POST or press <F2> key to BIOS setup menu to access ASRock Instant Flash. Just launch this tool and save the new BIOS ﬁ le to your USB ﬂ ash drive, ﬂ oppy disk or hard drive, then you can update your BIOS only in a few clicks without preparing an additional ﬂ oppy diskette or other complicated ﬂ ash utility. Please be noted that the USB ﬂ ash drive or hard drive must use FAT32/16/12 ﬁ le system.

12. If you desire a faster, less restricted way of charging your Apple devices, such as iPhone/iPod/iPad Touch, ASRock has prepared a wonderful solution for you - ASRock APP Charger. Simply installing the APP Charger driver, it makes your iPhone charged much quickly from your computer and up to 40% faster than before. ASRock APP Charger allows you to quickly charge many Apple devices simultaneously and even supports continuous charging when your PC enters into Standby mode (S1), Suspend to RAM (S3), hibernation mode (S4) or power off (S5). With APP Charger driver installed, you can easily enjoy the marvelous charging experience than ever.

ASRock website: http://www.asrock.com/Feature/AppCharger/index.asp

13. ASRock

SmartView, a new function of internet browser, is the smart start page for IE that combines your most visited web sites, your history, your Facebook friends and your real-time newsfeed into an enhanced view for a more personal Internet experience. ASRock motherboards are exclusively equipped with the SmartView utility that helps you keep in touch with friends on-the-go. To use ASRock SmartView feature, please make sure your OS version is Windows

7 / 7 64 bit / VistaTM / VistaTM 64

bit, and your browser version is IE8.

ASRock website: http://www.asrock.com/Feature/SmartView/index.asp

14. ASRock XFast USB can boost USB storage device performance. The performance may depend on the property of the device.

15. With Lucid Virtu technology, you can enjoy beneﬁ ts from both 3D perfor- mance of the discrete GPU and advanced media features of Intel

graphics.

16. ASRock On/Off Play Technology allows users to enjoy the great audio experience from the portable audio devices, such like MP3 player or mobile phone to your PC, even when the PC is turned off (or in ACPI S5 mode)! This motherboard also provides a free 3.5mm audio cable (optional) that ensures users the most convenient computing environment.

17. Although this motherboard offers stepless control, it is not recommended to perform over-clocking. Frequencies other than the recommended CPU bus frequencies may cause the instability of the system or damage the CPU.

18. While CPU overheat is detected, the system will automatically shutdown. Before you resume the system, please check if the CPU fan on the motherboard functions properly and unplug the power cord, then plug it back

English

Fatal1ty Z68 Professional Gen3 Series Motherboard

again. To improve heat dissipation, remember to spray thermal grease

between the CPU and the heatsink when you install the PC system.

19. Combo Cooler Option (C.C.O.) provides the ﬂ exible option to adopt three

different CPU cooler types, Socket LGA 775, LGA 1155 and LGA 1156. Please be noticed that not all the 775 and 1156 CPU Fan can be used.

20. EuP, stands for Energy Using Product, was a provision regulated by Eu-

ropean Union to deﬁ ne the power consumption for the completed system. According to EuP, the total AC power of the completed system shall be under 1.00W in off mode condition. To meet EuP standard, an EuP ready motherboard and an EuP ready power supply are required. According to Intel’s suggestion, the EuP ready power supply must meet the standard of 5v standby power efﬁ ciency is higher than 50% under 100 mA current consumption. For EuP ready power supply selection, we recommend you checking with the power supply manufacturer for more details.

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Fatal1ty Z68 Professional Gen3 Series Motherboard

2. Installation

Pre-installation Precautions

Take 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. Failure to do so may cause severe damage to the motherboard, peripherals, and/or components.

2. To avoid damaging the motherboard components due to static electricity, NEVER place your motherboard directly on the carpet or the like. Also remember to use a grounded wrist strap or touch a safety grounded object before you handle components.

3. Hold components by the edges and do not touch the ICs.

4. Whenever you uninstall any component, place it on a grounded antstatic pad or in the bag that comes with the component.

5. When placing screws into the screw holes to secure the motherboard to the chassis, please do not over-tighten the screws! Doing so may damage the motherboard.

2.1 CPU Installation

For the installation of Intel 1155-Pin CPU, please follow the steps below.

1155-Pin Socket Overview

Before you insert the 1155-Pin CPU into the socket, please check if the CPU surface is unclean or if there is any bent pin on the socket. Do not force to insert the CPU into the socket if above situation is found. Otherwise, the CPU will be seriously damaged.

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Step 1. Open the socket:

Step 1-1. Disengaging the lever by depressing

down and out on the hook to clear retention tab.

Step 1-2. Rotate the load lever to fully open po-

sition at approximately 135 degrees.

Step 1-3. Rotate the load plate to fully open po-

sition at approximately 100 degrees.

Step 2. Remove PnP Cap (Pick and Place Cap).

1. It is recommended to use the cap tab to handle and avoid kicking off the PnP cap.

2. This cap must be placed if returning the motherboard for after service.

Step 3. Insert the 1155-Pin CPU:

Step 3-1. Hold the CPU by the edges where

are marked with black lines.

black line

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Step 3-2. Orient the CPU with IHS (Integrated

Heat Sink) up. Locate Pin1 and the two orientation key notches.

orientation key notch

Pin1

orientation key notch

1155-Pin CPU

For proper inserting, please ensure to match the two orientation key notches of the CPU with the two alignment keys of the socket.

alignment key

Fatal1ty Z68 Professional Gen3 Series Motherboard

Pin1

alignment key

1155-Pin Socket

Step 3-3. Carefully place the CPU into the

socket by using a purely vertical motion.

Step 3-4. Verify that the CPU is within the sock-

et and properly mated to the orient keys.

Step 4. Close the socket:

Step 4-1. Rotate the load plate onto the IHS. Step 4-2. While pressing down lightly on load

plate, engage the load lever.

Step 4-3. Secure load lever with load plate tab

under retention tab of load lever.

2.2 Installation of CPU Fan and Heatsink

For proper installation, please kindly refer to the instruction manuals of your CPU fan and heatsink.

Below is an example to illustrate the installation of the heatsink for 1155-Pin CPU. Step 1. Apply thermal interface material onto center of

IHS on the socket surface.

Step 2. Place the heatsink onto the socket. Ensure

fan cables are oriented on side closest to the CPU fan connector on the motherboard (CPU_ FAN1, see page 4, No. 3).

Step 3. Align fasteners with the motherboard through-

holes.

Step 4. Rotate the fastener clockwise, then press

down on fastener caps with thumb to install and lock. Repeat with remaining fasteners.

If you press down the fasteners without rotating them clockwise, the heatsink cannot be secured on the motherboard.

Step 5. Connect fan header with the CPU fan connector on the motherboard. Step 6. Secure excess cable with tie-wrap to ensure cable does not interfere with fan operation or contact other components.

Please be noticed that this motherboard supports Combo Cooler Option (C.C.O.), which provides the ﬂ exible option to adopt three dif- ferent CPU cooler types, Socket LGA 775, LGA 1155 and LGA 1156. The white throughholes are for Socket LGA 1155/1156 CPU fan.

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2.3 Installation of Memory Modules (DIMM)

This motherboard provides four 240-pin DDR3 (Double Data Rate 3) DIMM slots, and supports Dual Channel Memory Technology. For dual channel conﬁ guration, you always need to install identical (the same brand, speed, size and chip-type) DDR3 DIMM pair in the slots of the same color. In other words, you have to install identical DDR3 DIMM pair in Dual Channel A (DDR3_A1 and DDR3_B1; Red slots; see p.4 No.4) or identical DDR3 DIMM pair in Dual Channel B (DDR3_A2 and DDR3_B2; Black slots; see p.4 No.5), so that Dual Channel Memory Technology can be activated. This motherboard also allows you to install four DDR3 DIMMs for dual channel conﬁ guration, and please in- stall identical DDR3 DIMMs in all four slots. You may refer to the Dual Channel Memory Conﬁ guration Table below.

Dual Channel Memory Conﬁ gurations

DDR3_A1 DDR3_A2 DDR3_B1 DDR3_B2 (Red Slot) (Black Slot) (Red Slot) (Black Slot) (1) Populated - Populated (2) - Populated - Populated (3)* Populated Populated Populated Populated

For the conﬁ guration (3), please install identical DDR3 DIMMs in all four

slots.

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1. If you want to install two memory modules, for optimal compatibility and reliability, it is recommended to install them in the slots of the same color. In other words, install them either in the set of red slots (DDR3_A1 and DDR3_B1), or in the set of black slots (DDR3_A2 and DDR3_B2).

2. If only one memory module or three memory modules are installed in the DDR3 DIMM slots on this motherboard, it is unable to activate the Dual Channel Memory Technology.

3. If a pair of memory modules is NOT installed in the same Dual Channel, for example, installing a pair of memory modules in DDR3_A1 and DDR3_A2, it is unable to activate the Dual Channel Memory Technology .

4. It is not allowed to install a DDR or DDR2 memory module into DDR3 slot; otherwise, this motherboard and DIMM may be damaged.

5. Some DDR3 1GB double-sided DIMMs with 16 chips may not work on this motherboard. It is not recommended to install them on this motherboard.

Fatal1ty Z68 Professional Gen3 Series Motherboard

Installing a DIMM

Please make sure to disconnect power supply before adding or removing DIMMs or the system components.

Step 1. Unlock a DIMM slot by pressing the retaining clips outward. Step 2. Align a DIMM on the slot such that the notch on the DIMM matches the break on the slot.

notch

break

damage to the motherboard and the DIMM if you force the DIMM into the slot at incorrect orientation.

The DIMM only ﬁ ts in one correct orientation. It will cause permanent

Step 3. Firmly insert the DIMM into the slot until the retaining clips at both ends fully snap back in place and the DIMM is properly seated.

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Fatal1ty Z68 Professional Gen3 Series Motherboard

2.4 Expansion Slots (PCI and PCI Express Slots)

There are 2 PCI slots and 5 PCI Express slots on this motherboard. PCI slots: PCI slots are used to install expansion cards that have the 32-bit PCI interface.

PCIE slots: PCIE1 / PCIE3 (PCIE x1 slot; Black) is used for PCI Express cards with

x1 lane width cards, such as Gigabit LAN card, SATA2 card, etc.

PCIE2 / PCIE4 (PCIE x16 slot; Red) is used for PCI Express x16 lane

width graphics cards, or used to install PCI Express graphics cards to support CrossFireX

PCIE5 (PCIE x16 slot; Red) is used for PCI Express x4 lane width

graphics cards, or used to install PCI Express graphics cards to support 3-Way CrossFireX

1. In single VGA card mode, it is recommended to install a PCI Express x16 graphics card on PCIE2 slot.

2. In CrossFireXTM mode or SLITM mode, please install PCI Express x16 graphics cards on PCIE2 and PCIE4 slots. Therefore, both these two slots will work at x8 bandwidth.

3. In 3-Way CrossFireX graphics cards on PCIE2, PCIE4 and PCIE5 slots. Therefore, PCIE2 and PCIE4 slots will work at x8 bandwidth while PCIE5 slot will work at x4 bandwidth.

4. Please connect a chassis fan to motherboard chassis fan connector (CHA_FAN1, CHA_FAN2 or CHA_FAN3) when using multiple graphics cards for better thermal environment.

or SLITM function.

function.

mode, please install PCI Express x16

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Installing an expansion card

Step 1. Before installing the expansion card, please make sure that the power

supply is switched off or the power cord is unplugged. Please read the

documentation of the expansion card and make necessary hardware settings for the card before you start the installation. Step 2. Remove the system unit cover (if your motherboard is already installed

in a chassis). Step 3. Remove the bracket facing the slot that you intend to use. Keep the

screws for later use. Step 4. Align the card connector with the slot and press ﬁ rmly until the card is

completely seated on the slot.

Fatal1ty Z68 Professional Gen3 Series Motherboard

2.5 SLITM and Quad SLI

Operation Guide

This motherboard supports NVIDIA® SLITM and Quad SLITM (Scalable Link Interface) technology that allows you to install up to three identical PCI Express x16 graphics cards. Currently, NVIDIA

SLITM technology supports Windows® XP / XP 64-bit / VistaTM / VistaTM 64-bit / 7 / 7 64-bit OS. NVIDIA® Quad SLITM technology support Windows

VistaTM / VistaTM 64-bit / 7 / 7 64-bit OS only. Please follow the installation

procedures in this section.

Requirements

1. For SLITM technology, you should have two identical SLITM-ready graphics cards that are NVIDIA have two identical Quad SLITM-ready graphics cards that are NVIDIA® certiﬁ ed.

2. Make sure that your graphics card driver supports NVIDIA® SLITM technology. Download the driver from NVIDIA (www.nvidia.com).

3. Make sure that your power supply unit (PSU) can provide at least the minimum power required by your system. It is recommended to use NVIDIA® certiﬁ ed PSU. Please refer to NVIDIA® website for details.

certiﬁ ed. For Quad SLITM technology, you should

website

2.5.1 Graphics Card Setup

2.5.1.1 Installing Two SLI

-Ready Graphics Cards

Step 1. Install the identical SLITM-ready graphics cards that are NVIDIA® certiﬁ ed

because different types of graphics cards will not work together properly. (Even the GPU chips version shall be the same.) Insert one graphics card into PCIE2 slot and the other graphics card to PCIE4 slot. Make sure that the cards are properly seated on the slots.

Step2. If required, connect the auxiliary power source to the PCI Express graphics cards.

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Step3. Align and insert ASRock SLI_Bridge_2S Card to the goldﬁ ngers on each

graphics card. Make sure ASRock SLI_Bridge_2S Card is ﬁ rmly in place.

ASRock SLI_Bridge_2S Card

Step4. Connect a VGA cable or a DVI cable to the monitor connector or the DVI

connector of the graphics card that is inserted to PCIE2 slot.

2.5.2 Driver Installation and Setup

Install the graphics card drivers to your system. After that, you can enable the MultiGraphics Processing Unit (GPU) feature in the NVIDIA Please follow the below procedures to enable the multi-GPU feature.

For Windows® XP / XP 64-bit OS:

(For SLITM mode only)

A. Double-click NVIDIA Settings icon on your Windows® taskbar.

nView system tray utility.

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B. From the pop-up menu, select Set SLI and PhysX conﬁ guration. In

Set PhysX GPU acceleration item, please select Enabled. In Select an SLI conﬁ guration item, please select Enable SLI. And click Apply.

C. Reboot your system. D. You can freely enjoy the beneﬁ t of SLI

feature.

Fatal1ty Z68 Professional Gen3 Series Motherboard

For Windows® VistaTM / VistaTM 64-bit / 7 / 7 64-bit OS: (For SLI

and Quad SLITM mode)

A. Click the Start icon on your Windows taskbar. B. From the pop-up menu, select All Programs, and then click NVIDIA

Corporation. C. Select NVIDIA Control Panel tab. D. Select Control Panel tab.

E. From the pop-up menu, select Set SLI and PhysX conﬁ guration. In

Set PhysX GPU acceleration item, please select Enabled. In Select

an SLI conﬁ guration item, please select Enable SLI. And click Apply.

F. Reboot your system. G. You can freely enjoy the beneﬁ t of SLITM or Quad SLITM feature.

* SLITM appearing here is a registered trademark of NVIDIA® Technologies Inc., and is used only for identiﬁ cation or explanation and to the owners’ beneﬁ t, without intent to infringe.

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2.6 CrossFireXTM, 3-Way CrossFireXTM and Quad CrossFireX Operation Guide

This motherboard supports CrossFireXTM, 3-way CrossFireX CrossFireX

feature. CrossFireXTM technology offers the most advantageous

and Quad

means available of combining multiple high performance Graphics Processing Units (GPU) in a single PC. Combining a range of different operating modes with intelligent software design and an innovative interconnect mechanism, CrossFireX

enables the highest possible level of performance and image quality in any 3D application. Currently CrossFireXTM feature is supported with Windows® XP with Service Pack 2 / VistaTM / 7 OS. 3-way CrossFireXTM and Quad CrossFireX are supported with Windows

VistaTM / 7 OS only. Please check AMD website for

feature

ATITM CrossFireXTM driver updates.

1. If a customer incorrectly conﬁ gures their system they will not see the

performance beneﬁ ts of CrossFireXTM. All three CrossFireXTM components, a CrossFireXTM Ready graphics card, a CrossFireXTM Ready motherboard and a CrossFireXTM Edition co-processor graphics card, must be installed correctly to beneﬁ t from the CrossFireX

2. If you pair a 12-pipe CrossFireXTM Edition card with a 16-pipe card, both cards

will operate as 12-pipe cards while in CrossFireX

multi-GPU platform.

mode.

2.6.1 Graphics Card Setup

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2.6.1.1 Installing Two CrossFireX

Different CrossFireXTM cards may require different methods to enable CrossFireXTM

feature. In below procedures, we use Radeon HD 3870 as the example graphics card. For other CrossFireX

future, please refer to AMDTM graphics card manuals for detailed installation guide.

-Ready Graphics Cards

cards that AMDTM has released or will release in the

Step 1. Insert one Radeon graphics card into PCIE2 slot and the other Radeon

graphics card to PCIE4 slot. Make sure that the cards are properly seated on the slots.

Fatal1ty Z68 Professional Gen3 Series Motherboard

Step 2. Connect two Radeon graphics cards by installing CrossFire Bridge on

CrossFire Bridge Interconnects on the top of Radeon graphics cards. (CrossFire Bridge is provided with the graphics card you purchase, not bundled with this motherboard. Please refer to your graphics card vendor for details.)

CrossFire Bridge

Step 3. Connect the DVI monitor cable to the DVI connector on the Radeon graphics card on PCIE2 slot. (You may use the DVI to D-Sub adapter to

convert the DVI connector to D-Sub interface, and then connect the D-Sub monitor cable to the DVI to D-Sub adapter.)

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2.6.1.2 Installing Three CrossFireXTM-Ready Graphics Cards

Step 1. Install one Radeon graphics card to PCIE2 slot. For the proper installation

procedures, please refer to section “Expansion Slots”.

Step 2. Install one Radeon graphics card to PCIE4 slot. For the proper installation

procedures, please refer to section “Expansion Slots”.

Step 3. Install one Radeon graphics card to PCIE5 slot. For the proper installation

procedures, please refer to section “Expansion Slots”.

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Step 4. Use one CrossFire

and PCIE4 slots, and use the other CrossFireTM Bridge to connect Radeon graphics cards on PCIE4 and PCIE5 slots. (CrossFireTM Bridge is provided with the graphics card you purchase, not bundled with this motherboard. Please refer to your graphics card vendor for details.)

Fatal1ty Z68 Professional Gen3 Series Motherboard

Bridge to connect Radeon graphics cards on PCIE2

CrossFireTM Bridge

Step 5. Connect the DVI monitor cable to the DVI connector on the Radeon graph-

ics card on PCIE2 slot. (You may use the DVI to D-Sub adapter to convert the DVI connector to D-Sub interface, and then connect the D-Sub monitor cable to the DVI to D-Sub adapter.)

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2.6.2 Driver Installation and Setup

Step 1. Power on your computer and boot into OS. Step 2. Remove the ATITM driver if you have any VGA driver installed in your system.

The Catalyst Uninstaller is an optional download. We recommend using this

utility to uninstall any previously installed Catalyst drivers prior to installation.

Please check AMD website for ATI

Step 3. Install the required drivers to your system. For Windows® XP OS: A. AMD

recommends Windows® XP Service Pack 2 or higher to be installed (If you have Windows® XP Service Pack 2 or higher installed in your system, there is no need to download it again):

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/sp2/default.mspx B. You must have Microsoft .NET Framework installed prior to

downloading and installing the CATALYST Control Center. Please check Microsoft website for details.

For Windows

7 / VistaTM OS:

Install the CATALYST Control Center. Please check AMD website for de-

tails.

Step 4. Restart your computer. Step 5. Install the VGA card drivers to your system, and restart your computer. Then you will ﬁ nd “ATI Catalyst Control Center” on your Windows

driver updates.

taskbar.

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ATI Catalyst Control Center

Step 6. Double-click “ATI Catalyst Control Center”. Click “View”, select “CrossFi-

reX

”, and then check the item “Enable CrossFireXTM”. Select “2 GPUs” and click “Apply” (if you install two Radeon graphics cards). Select “3 GPUs” and click “OK” (if you install three Radeon graphics cards).

Fatal1ty Z68 Professional Gen3 Series Motherboard

Although you have selected the option “Enable CrossFireTM”, the CrossFireXTM

function may not work actually. Your computer will automatically reboot. After restarting your computer, please conﬁ rm whether the option “Enable CrossFireTM” in “ATI Catalyst Control Center” is selected or not; if not, please select it again, and then you are able to enjoy the beneﬁ t of CrossFireX feature.

Step 7. You can freely enjoy the beneﬁ t of CrossFireXTM, 3-Way CrossFireXTM or

Quad CrossFireX

* CrossFireXTM appearing here is a registered trademark of AMDTM Technologies Inc., and is used only for identiﬁ cation or explanation and to the owners’ beneﬁ t, without intent to infringe. * For further information of AMDTM CrossFireXTM technology, please check AMD website for updates and details.

feature.

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2.7 Dual Monitor and Surround Display Features

Dual Monitor Feature

This motherboard supports dual monitor feature. With the internal VGA output support (D-Sub, HDMI and DVI-D by the bundled HDMI to DVI adapter), you can easily enjoy the beneﬁ ts of dual monitor feature without installing any add-on VGA card to this motherboard. This motherboard also provides independent display controllers for D-Sub, HDMI and DVI-D to support dual VGA output so that D-sub, HDMI and DVI-D can drive same or different display contents. To enable dual monitor feature, please follow the steps below:

1. Connect D-Sub monitor cable to VGA/D-Sub port on the I/O panel, connect HDMI monitor cable HDMI port on the I/O panel, or connect the HDMI to DVI adapter to the HDMI port on the I/O panel and then connect the DVI-D monitor cable to the DVI-D connector on the adpater.

VGA/D-Sub port

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HDMI port

2. If you have installed onboard VGA driver from our support CD to your system already, you can freely enjoy the beneﬁ ts of dual monitor function after your system boots. If you haven’t installed onboard VGA driver yet, please install onboard VGA driver from our support CD to your system and restart your computer.

HDMI port

D-Sub, HDMI and DVI-D (by the bundled HDMI to DVI adapter) monitors cannot be enabled at the same time. You can only choose two of them.

Fatal1ty Z68 Professional Gen3 Series Motherboard

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User Manual

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