Asus A55BM-K User Manual

A55BM-K

Motherboard

E8809
First Edition

November 2013

Copyright © 2013 ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. All Rights Reserved.

No part of this manual, including the products and software described in it, may be reproduced,
transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any language in any form or by any
means, except documentation kept by the purchaser for backup purposes, without the express written
permission of ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. (“ASUS”).

Product warranty or service will not be extended if: (1) the product is repaired, modied or altered, unless
such repair, modication of alteration is authorized in writing by ASUS; or (2) the serial number of the

product is defaced or missing.
ASUS PROVIDES THIS MANUAL “AS IS” WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS

OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF
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This product contains copyrighted software that is licensed under the General Public License (“GPL”),
under the Lesser General Public License Version (“LGPL”) and/or other Free Open Source Software
Licenses. Such software in this product is distributed without any warranty to the extent permitted by the
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Where the applicable license entitles you to the source code of such software and/or other additional data,
you may obtain it for a period of three years after our last shipment of the product, either

(1) for free by downloading it from http://support.asus.com/download
or
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Legal Compliance Dept.
15 Li Te Rd.,
Beitou, Taipei 112
Taiwan

In your request please provide the name, model number and version, as stated in the About Box of the
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The source code will be distributed WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY and licensed under the same license as
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Software licenses. If however you encounter any problems in obtaining the full corresponding source
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the product and describing the problem (please DO NOT send large attachments such as source code
archives, etc. to this email address).

ii

Contents

Safety information ...................................................................................................... iv

About this guide ......................................................................................................... iv

Package contents ....................................................................................................... vi

A55BM-K specications summary ...........................................................................vi

Product introduction

1.1 Before you proceed ...................................................................................... 1-1

1.2 Motherboard overview .................................................................................

1.3 Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) ............................................................

1.4 System memory ............................................................................................

1.5 Expansion slots ..........................................................................................

1.6 Jumpers

1.7 Connectors ..................................................................................................

1.8 Software support ........................................................................................

BIOS information

2.1 Managing and updating your BIOS .............................................................2-1

2.2 BIOS setup program .....................................................................................

2.3 My Favorites

2.4 Main menu ...................................................................................................

2.5 Ai Tweaker menu ........................................................................................

2.6 Advanced menu ..........................................................................................

2.7 Monitor menu ..............................................................................................

2.8 Boot menu ...................................................................................................

2.9 Tools menu ..................................................................................................

2.10 Exit menu ....................................................................................................

....................................................................................................... 1-11

.................................................................................................. 2-9

1-2

1-4

1-7

1-10

1-13

1-21

2-5

2-10

2-11

2-12

2-12

2-13

2-14

2-14

Appendices

Notices ..................................................................................................................... A-1

ASUS contact information ...................................................................................... A-4

iii

Safety information

Electrical safety

To prevent electrical shock hazard, disconnect the power cable from the electrical outlet

•
before relocating the system.

When adding or removing devices to or from the system, ensure that the power cables

•
for the devices are unplugged before the signal cables are connected. If possible,
disconnect all power cables from the existing system before you add a device.

Before connecting or removing signal cables from the motherboard, ensure that all

•
power cables are unplugged.

Seek professional assistance before using an adapter or extension cord. These devices

•
could interrupt the grounding circuit.

Ensure that your power supply is set to the correct voltage in your area. If you are not

•
sure about the voltage of the electrical outlet you are using, contact your local power
company.

If the power supply is broken, do not try to x it by yourself. Contact a qualied service

•
technician or your retailer.

Operation safety

Before installing the motherboard and adding devices on it, carefully read all the manuals

•
that came with the package.

Before using the product, ensure all cables are correctly connected and the power

•
cables are not damaged. If you detect any damage, contact your dealer immediately.

To avoid short circuits, keep paper clips, screws, and staples away from connectors,

•
slots, sockets and circuitry.

Avoid dust, humidity, and temperature extremes. Do not place the product in any area

•
where it may become wet.

Place the product on a stable surface.

•

If you encounter technical problems with the product, contact a qualied service

•
technician or your retailer.

About this guide

This user guide contains the information you need when installing and conguring the

motherboard.

How this guide is organized

This guide contains the following parts:

• Chapter 1: Product introduction

This chapter describes the features of the motherboard and the new technology it
supports.

• Chapter 2: BIOS information

This chapter tells how to change system settings through the BIOS Setup menus.
Detailed descriptions of the BIOS parameters are also provided.

iv

Where to nd more information

Refer to the following sources for additional information and for product and software
updates.

1. ASUS websites

The ASUS website provides updated information on ASUS hardware and software
products. Refer to the ASUS contact information.

2. Optional documentation

Your product package may include optional documentation, such as warranty yers,

that may have been added by your dealer. These documents are not part of the
standard package.

Conventions used in this guide

To ensure that you perform certain tasks properly, take note of the following symbols used
throughout this manual.

DANGER/WARNING: Information to prevent injury to yourself when trying to
complete a task.

CAUTION: Information to prevent damage to the components when trying to
complete a task

IMPORTANT: Instructions that you MUST follow to complete a task. .

NOTE: Tips and additional information to help you complete a task.

Typography

Bold text Indicates a menu or an item to select.

Italics

<Key> Keys enclosed in the less-than and greater-than sign

<Key1> + <Key2> + <Key3> If you must press two or more keys simultaneously, the key

Used to emphasize a word or a phrase.

means that you must press the enclosed key.

Example: <Enter> means that you must press the Enter or
Return key.

names are linked with a plus sign (+).

v

Package contents

Check your motherboard package for the following items.

Motherboard ASUS A55BM-K motherboard

Cables 2 x Serial ATA 3.0 Gb/s cables

Accessories 1 x I/O Shield

Application DVD Support DVD

Documentation User Guide

If any of the above items is damaged or missing, contact your retailer.

A55BM-K specications summary

APU AMD® FM2+ Socket for AMD® A-series/Athlon™ Series processors

AMD® Turbo Core Technology 3.0 support

Supports APU up to 4 cores

• Refer to www.asus.com for the AMD® APU support list.

Chipset AMD® A55 FCH (Hudson D2)

Memory 2 x DDR3 DIMM, max. 32GB, DDR3 2133* / 1866 / 1600 / 1333 MHz, non-

Graphics Integrated AMD® Radeon™ HD 7000 / 8000 Series Graphics in the A-

Expansion slots 1 x PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16 slot*

ECC un-buffered memory

Dual-channel memory architecture

Supports AMD Memory Prole (AMP) memory

• The maximum 32GB memory capacity can be supported with 16GB or above
DIMMs. ASUS will update the memory QVL once the DIMMs are available in the
market.

• Hyper DIMM support is subject to the physical characteristics of individual
APUs.

• Refer to

www.asus.com for the latest Memory QVL (Qualied Vendors List).

• When you install a total memory of 4GB capacity or more, Windows
operating system may only recognize less than 3GB. We recommend a
maximum of 3GB system memory if you are using a Windows® 32-bit operating
system.

®

32-bit

Series APU

Multi-VGA output support: DVI and D-Sub ports

Supports Dual-link DVI with max. resolution 2560x1600@60Hz

Supports D-Sub with max. resolution 1920x1600@60Hz

AMD® Dual Graphics technology support*

Maximum shared memory of 2G

Supports AMD® Dual Graphics technology

• Refer to http://www.amd.com/us/products/technologies/dual-graphics/
Pages/dual-graphics.aspx#3 for the discrete GPUs which support Dual Graphics

technology.

1 x PCIe 2.0 x1 slot

1 x PCI slot

• Only FM2+ processors support PCIe 3.0.

(continued on the next page)

vi

A55BM-K specications summary

Storage / RAID AMD® A55 FCH:

- 4 x Serial ATA 3.0Gb/s connectors (dark brown) support RAID 0, RAID 1,

RAID 10, and JBOD congurations

LAN

Audio Realtek

USB AMD® A55 FCH:

ASUS unique
features

Back Panel I/O
ports

Realtek® 8111G PCIe Gigabit LAN controller

®

ALC887-VD 8-channel High Denition Audio CODEC

• Use a chassis with HD audio module in the front panel to support a 7.1-channel
audio output.

- 8 x USB 2.0 ports (4 ports at the back panel, 4 ports at mid-board)

ASUS DIGI+ VRM

- 3+1 Phase digital power design

ASUS Enhanced DRAM Overcurrent Protection

- Short circuit damage protection

ASUS ESD Guards

- Strong ESD protection for extended component lifespan

ASUS Stainless Steel Back I/O

- 3x More durable corrosion-resistant coating

ASUS Exclusive Features

- ASUS EPU

- ASUS Network iControl

- ASUS AI Charger

- ASUS AI Suite III

- ASUS Anti-Surge Protection

ASUS Quiet Thermal Solution

- ASUS Fanless Design: Stylish Heatsink Solution

- ASUS Fan Xpert

ASUS EZ DIY

- ASUS UEFI BIOS EZ Mode

- ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3

- ASUS EZ Flash 2

- ASUS MyLogo 2™

1 x PS/2 mouse port (green)

1 x PS/2 keyboard port (purple)

1 x DVI-D port

1 x VGA output port

1 x LAN (RJ-45) port

4 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports

8-channel audio I/O ports (3-jack)

(continued on the next page)

vii

A55BM-K specications summary

Internal I/O
connectors

BIOS 64 Mb Flash ROM, UEFI AMI BIOS, PnP, DMI 2.0, WfM 2.0, SM BIOS 2.7,

Support DVD Drivers

Operating System
Support

Form factor

2 x USB 2.0 connectors support additional 4 USB 2.0 ports

1 x COM connector

4 x SATA 3.0Gb/s connectors

1 x System panel connector

1 x Internal Speaker connector

1 x CPU fan connector (4-pin)

1 x S/PDIF output connector

1 x Chassis fan connector (4-pin)

1 x Front panel audio connector

1 x 24-pin EATX power connector

1 x 4-pin ATX 12V power connector

ACPI 2.0a, Multi-language BIOS, ASUS EZ Flash 2, ASUS CrashFreen
BIOS 3, F12 Printscreen function, F3 Shortcut function and ASUS DRAM
SPD (Serial Presence Detect) memory information

ASUS Update

ASUS utilities

Anti-Virus software (OEM version)

Windows® 8.1 / 8.1 64bit

Windows® 8 / 8 64bit

Windows® 7 / 7 64bit

Windows® Vista / Vista 64-bit

Windows® XP

uATX form factor: 8.9 in x 7.2 in (22.6 cm x 18.3 cm)

viii

Specications are subject to change without notice.

Product introduction

SB_PWR

ON

Standby Power

Powered Off

OFF

A55BM-K

A55BM-K Onboard LED

1

1.1 Before you proceed

Take note of the following precautions before you install motherboard components or change
any motherboard settings.

• Unplug the power cord from the wall socket before touching any component.

• Before handling components, use a grounded wrist strap or touch a safely grounded
object or a metal object, such as the power supply case, to avoid damaging them due
to static electricity.

• Hold components by the edges to avoid touching the ICs on them.

• Whenever you uninstall any component, place it on a grounded antistatic pad or in the
bag that came with the component.

• Before you install or remove any component, ensure that the ATX power supply is
switched off or the power cord is detached from the power supply. Failure to do so
may cause severe damage to the motherboard, peripherals, or components.

Standby Power LED

The motherboard comes with a standby power LED that lights up to indicate that the system
is ON, in sleep mode, or in soft-off mode. This is a reminder that you should shut down
the system and unplug the power cable before removing or plugging in any motherboard
component. The illustration below shows the location of the onboard LED.

ASUS A55BM-K

1-1

A55BM-K

1.2 Motherboard overview

Before you install the motherboard, study the conguration of your chassis to ensure that the
motherboard ts into it.

Ensure that you unplug the power cord before installing or removing the motherboard.
Failure to do so can cause you physical injury and damage motherboard components.

1.2.1 Placement direction

When installing the motherboard, ensure that you place it into the chassis in the correct
orientation. The edge with external ports goes to the rear part of the chassis as indicated in
the image below.

1.2.2 Screw holes

Place six screws into the holes indicated by circles to secure the motherboard to the chassis.

Do not overtighten the screws! Doing so can damage the motherboard.

1-2

Place this side towards

the rear of the chassis

Chapter 1: Product introduction

1.2.3 Motherboard layout

A55BM-K

PCIEX16

PCIEX1_1

PCI1

F_PANEL

SPEAKER

USBPWF

COM

CLRTC

KB_USBWB

USB56 USB34

AAFP

SPDIF_OUT

ATX12V

EATXPWR

CPU_FAN CHA_FAN

BATTERY

Super

I/O

ALC
887

RTL

8111G

ASM
1042

64Mb

BIOS

SB_PWR

22.6cm(8.9in)

AMD

®

A55

DDR3 DIMM_A1 (64bit, 240-pin module)

DDR3 DIMM_B1 (64bit, 240-pin module)

SATA3G_1 SATA3G_2 SATA3G_3

SATA3G_4

AUDIO

KBMS

LAN_USB12

USB1112

18.3cm(7.2in)

DVI_VGA

SOCKET FM2+

DIGI

+VRM

321 54

2

6

8

7

91011121315 14 7

Connectors/Jumpers/Slots/LED Page

1. Keyboard and USB device wake up (3-pin KB_USBPWB) 1-13

2. ATX power connectors (24-pin EATXPWR, 4-pin ATX12V)

3. AMD FM2+ socket

4. CPU and chassis fan connectors (4-pin CPU_FAN and 4-pin CHA_FAN)

5. DDR3 DIMM slots

6. Speaker connector (4-pin SPEAKER)

7. SATA 3.0Gb/s connectors (7-pin SATA3G_1~4)

8. System panel connector (10-1 pin F_PANEL)

9. USB 2.0 connectors (10-1 pin USB34, USB56)

10. Clear RTC RAM (3-pin CLRTC)

11. USB device wake-up (3-pin USBPWF)

12. Digital audio connector (4-1 pin SPDIF_OUT)

13. Serial port connector (10-1 pin COM)

14. Standby power LED (SB_PWR)

15. Front panel audio connector (10-1 pin AAFP)

ASUS A55BM-K

1-16

1-4

1-15

1-7

1-18

1-17

1-18

1-20

1-11

1-12

1-17

1-20

1-1

1-19

1-3

1.3 Accelerated Processing Unit (APU)

A55BM-K

A55BM-K CPU socket FM2+

This motherboard comes with an FM2+ socket designed for AMD® A-series accelerated
processors with AMD® Radeon™ HD 7000/8000 series graphics.

Ensure that you use an APU designed for the FM2+ socket. The APU ts in only one

correct orientation. DO NOT force the APU into the socket to prevent bending the pins and
damaging the APU!

1.3.1 Installing the APU

1 2

1-4

Chapter 1: Product introduction

43

1.3.2 APU heatsink and fan assembly installation

Apply the Thermal Interface Material
to the APU heatsink and APU before
you install the heatsink and fan if
necessary.

To install the APU heatsink and fan assembly

1

ASUS A55BM-K

2

1-5

To uninstall the APU heatsink and fan assembly

53 4

1 2

4

3

5

1-6

Chapter 1: Product introduction

1.4 System memory

A55BM-K

A55BM-K 240-pin DDR3 DIMM sockets

DIMM_A1

DIMM_B1

1.4.1 Overview

The motherboard comes with two Double Data Rate 3 (DDR3) Dual Inline Memory Modules
(DIMM) sockets.

A DDR3 module has the same physical dimensions as a DDR2 DIMM but is notched
differently to prevent installation on a DDR2 DIMM socket. DDR3 modules are developed for
better performance with less power consumption.

The gure illustrates the location of the DDR3 DIMM sockets:

Channel Sockets

Channel A DIMM_A1

Channel B DIMM_B1

ASUS A55BM-K

1-7