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ii
Contents
Safety information ...................................................................................... vi
About this guide ......................................................................................... vi
P8H61-I R2.0 specications summary .................................................... viii
Chapter 1 Product introduction
1.1 Before you proceed ..................................................................... 1-1
ASUS contact information .......................................................................A-3
v
Safety information
Electrical safety
• To prevent electric shock hazard, disconnect the power cable from the electric 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 qualied 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 that 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 qualied service
technician or your retailer.
About this guide
This user guide contains the information you need when installing and conguring 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.
vi
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 completing
CAUTION: Information to prevent damage to the components when completing a
task.
IMPORTANT: Instructions you MUST follow to complete a task.
NOTE: Tips and additional information to help you complete a task.
a task.
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.
Typography
Bold textIndicates a menu or an item to select.
Italic
sUsed to emphasize a word or a phrase.
<Key>Keys enclosed in the less-than and greater-than sign
<Key1> + <Key2> + <Key3>If you must press two or more keys simultaneously, the
means that you must press the enclosed key.
Example: <Enter> means that you must press the Enter
or Return key.
key names are linked with a plus sign (+). Example:
<Ctrl> + <Alt> + <Del>
*When you install a total memory of 4GB capacity or more,
Windows® 32-bit 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.
**DDR3 1600 MHz and higher memory frequency is supported by
Intel® 3rd generation processors.
***Refer to www.asus.com for the latest Memory QVL (Qualied
Vendors List).
*PCIe 3.0 speed is supported by Intel® 3rd generation processors.
Supports DVI with max. resolution up to 1920 x 1200 @60Hz
Supports D-Sub with max. resolution up to 2048 x 1530 @75Hz
Max. UMA memory: 1748MB
- 4 x Serial ATA 3.0 Gb/s connectors (blue)
- Supports AHCI Mode (in Windows® 7/Vista)
- Supports Jack-Detection, Multi-streaming, and Front Panel JackRetasking
8 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports (4 ports at the mid-board, 4 ports at the back
panel)
viii
(continued on the next page)
P8H61-I R2.0 specications summary
Rear panel ports1 x PS/2 Keyboard/Mouse Combo port
1 x HDMI output port
1 x DVI-D output port
1 x D-Sub output port
1 x LAN (RJ-45) port
4 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports
2 x USB 3.0/2.0 ports (blue)
3 x Audio jacks
Internal connectors2 x USB 2.0/1.1 connector support additional 4 USB 2.0/1.1 ports
4 x SATA 3.0Gb/s connectors
1 x 4-pin CPU fan connector
1 x 4-pin Chassis fan connector
1 x Front panel audio connector
1 x System panel connector
1 x Clear CMOS jumper
1 x 24-pin EATX power connector
1 x 4-pin ATX 12V power connector
1 x speaker header
1 x S/PDIF out connector
1 x DRCT Header
ASUS utilities
ASUS Update
Anti-virus software (OEM version)
Mini-ITX form factor: 6.75 in x 6.75 in (17.1 cm x 17.1 cm)
* Specications are subject to change without notice.
ix
x
Chapter 1
P8H61-I R2.0
SB_PWR
ON
Standby Power Powered Off
OFF
P8H61-I R2.0 Onboard LED
Product introduction
Thank you for buying an ASUS® P8H61-I R2.0 motherboard!
Before you start installing the motherboard and adding hardware components, check the
items in your motherboard package. Refer to page ix for the list of accessories.
If any of the items is damaged or missing, contact your retailer.
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.
Onboard LED
This 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 must 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.
1-1Chapter 1: Product introduction
1.2 Motherboard overview
P8H61-I R2.0
Before you install the motherboard, study the conguration of your chassis to ensure that the
motherboard ts.
Unplug the power cord before installing or removing the motherboard. Failure to do so can
cause you physical injury and damage motherboard components.
1.2.1 Placement direction
When installing the motherboard, 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 four 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.
The motherboard comes with a surface mount LGA1155 socket designed for the Intel® 3rd/ 2rd
Generation Core™ i7 / Core™ i5 / Core™ i3 / Pentium® / Celeron® processors processors.
Unplug all power cables before installing the CPU.
• Upon purchase of the motherboard, ensure that the PnP cap is on the socket and the
socket contacts are not bent. Contact your retailer immediately if the PnP cap is missing,
or if you see any damage to the PnP cap/socket contacts/motherboard components.
ASUS will shoulder the cost of repair only if the damage is shipment/transit-related.
• Keep the cap after installing the motherboard. ASUS will process Return Merchandise
Authorization (RMA) requests only if the motherboard comes with the cap on the
LGA1155 socket.
• The product warranty does not cover damage to the socket contacts resulting from
incorrect CPU installation/removal, or misplacement/loss/incorrect removal of the PnP
cap.
1.4 System memory
1.4.1 Overview
The motherboard comes with two Double Data Rate 3 (DDR3) unbuffered Dual Inline
Memory Module (U-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 below illustrates the location of the DDR3 DIMM sockets:
ChannelSockets
Channel ADIMM_A1
Channel BDIMM_B1
ASUS P8H61-I R2.01-4
1.4.2 Memory congurations
You may install 1GB, 2GB, 4GB and 8GB unbuffered non-ECC DDR3 U-DIMMs into the
DIMM sockets.
• You may install varying memory sizes in Channel A and Channel B. The system maps
the total size of the lower-sized channel for the dual-channel conguration. Any excess
memory from the higher-sized channel is then mapped for single-channel operation.
• Always install DIMMs with the same CAS latency. For optimal compatibility, we
recommend that you install memory modules of the same version or date code (D/C)
from the same vendor. Check with the retailer to get the correct memory modules.
• Due to the memory address limitation on 32-bit Windows® OS, when you install 4GB
or more memory on the motherboard, the actual usable memory for the OS can be
about 3GB or less. For effective use of memory, we recommend that you do any of the
following:
- Use a maximum of 3GB system memory if you are using a 32-bit Windows
- Install a 64-bit Windows® OS when you want to install 4GB or more on the
motherboard.
• This motherboard does not support DIMMs that use 512Mb (64MB) chips or less.
• Memory modules with memory frequency higher than 2133 MHz and its corresponding
timing or the loaded X.M.P. Prole is not the JEDEC memory standard. The stability
and compatibility of these memory modules depend on the CPU’s capabilities and other
installed devices.
• The default memory operation frequency is dependent on its Serial Presence Detect
(SPD), which is the standard way of accessing information from a memory module.
Under the default state, some memory modules for overclocking may operate at a lower
frequency than the vendor-marked value. To operate at the vendor-marked rate or at a
higher frequency, refer to section 2.4 Ai Tweaker menu for manual memory frequency
adjustment.
• For system stability, use a more efcient memory cooling system to support a full
memory load (2 U-DIMMs) or overclocking condition.
G.SKILLF3-10600CL8D-2GBHK(XMP) 1GBSS G.SKILL---••
G.SKILLF3-10666CL7T-3GBPK(XMP) 3GB(3 x 1GB) SS --7-7-7-18 1.5~1.6V••
G.SKILLF3-10666CL9T-3GBNQ3GB(3 x 1GB) SS --9-9-9-24 1.5~1.6V••
G.SKILLF3-10600CL9D-2GBNQ1GBDS G.SKILL--G.SKILLF3-10600CL8D-4GBHK(XMP) 4GB(2 x 2GB) DS --8-8-8-21 1.5-1.6V••
G.SKILLF3-10666CL8D-4GBECO(XMP) 4GB(2 x 2GB) DS --8-8-8-
G.SKILLF3-10666CL7T-6GBPK(XMP) 6GB(3 x 2GB) DS --7-7-7-18 1.5~1.6V••
G.SKILLF3-10666CL7D-8GBRH(XMP) 8GB(2 x 4GB) DS --7-7-7-21 1.5V••
G.SKILLF3-10666CL9D-8GBRL8GB(2 x 4GB) DS --9-9-9-24 1.5V••
GEILGET316GB1333C9QC16GB ( 4x
GEILGV32GB1333C9DC2GB(2 x 1GB) DS --9-9-9-24 1.5V••
GEILGV34GB1333C7DC2GBDS --7-7-7-24 1.5V
GEILGG34GB1333C9DC4GB(2 x 2GB) DS GEILGL1L128M88BA12N 9-9-9-24 1.3V(low
GEILGV34GB1333C9DC4GB(2 x 2GB) DS --9-9-9-24 1.5V••
HynixHMT112U6TFR8A-H91GBSS HYNIXH5TC1G83TFRH9A-1.35V(low