ASUS Z8NR-D12 User Manual
Z8NR-D12
Motherboard
E4234
First Edition V1
January 2009
Copyright © 2009 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, modied or altered, unless
such repair, modication 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
MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT SHALL ASUS, ITS
DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES OR AGENTS BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL,
INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS,
LOSS OF BUSINESS, LOSS OF USE OR DATA, INTERRUPTION OF BUSINESS AND THE LIKE),
EVEN IF ASUS HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES ARISING FROM ANY
DEFECT OR ERROR IN THIS MANUAL OR PRODUCT.
SPECIFICATIONS AND INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS MANUAL ARE FURNISHED FOR
INFORMATIONAL USE ONLY, AND ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE AT ANY TIME WITHOUT NOTICE, AND
SHOULD NOT BE CONSTRUED AS A COMMITMENT BY ASUS. ASUS ASSUMES NO RESPONSIBILITY
OR LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS OR INACCURACIES THAT MAY APPEAR IN THIS MANUAL,
INCLUDING THE PRODUCTS AND SOFTWARE DESCRIBED IN IT.
Products and corporate names appearing in this manual may or may not be registered trademarks or
copyrights of their respective companies, and are used only for identication or explanation and to the
owners’ benet, without intent to infringe.
ii
Contents
Contents ...................................................................................................... iii
Notices ........................................................................................................ vii
Safety information .................................................................................... viii
About this guide ......................................................................................... ix
Z8NR-D12 specications summary ........................................................... xi
Chapter 1: Product introduction
1.1 Welcome! ...................................................................................... 1-1
1.2 Package contents ......................................................................... 1-1
1.3 Serial number label ...................................................................... 1-2
1.4 Special features ............................................................................ 1-2
1.4.1 Product highlights ........................................................... 1-2
1.4.2 Innovative ASUS features ............................................... 1-4
Chapter 2: Hardware information
2.1 Before you proceed ..................................................................... 2-1
2.2 Motherboard overview ................................................................. 2-2
2.2.1 Placement direction ........................................................ 2-2
2.2.2 Screw holes .................................................................... 2-2
2.2.3 Motherboard layouts ....................................................... 2-3
2.2.4 Layout contents ............................................................... 2-4
2.3 Central Processing Unit (CPU) ................................................... 2-6
2.3.1 Installing the CPU ........................................................... 2-6
2.3.2 Installing the CPU heatsink and fan ................................ 2-9
2.4 System memory ......................................................................... 2-11
2.4.1 Overview ........................................................................2-11
2.4.2 Memory congurations .................................................. 2-12
2.4.3 Installing a DIMM .......................................................... 2-13
2.4.4 Removing a DIMM ........................................................ 2-13
2.5 Expansion slots .......................................................................... 2-14
2.5.1 Installing an expansion card ......................................... 2-14
2.5.2 Conguring an expansion card ..................................... 2-14
2.5.3 Interrupt assignments ................................................... 2-15
2.5.4 PCI Express x16 slot (x16 link) ..................................... 2-16
2.5.5 PCI Express x8 slots (x8 link; x4 link) ........................... 2-16
2.5.6 PCI slot ......................................................................... 2-16
iii
Contents
2.5.7 PIKE slot ....................................................................... 2-16
2.5.8 Installing ASUS PIKE RAID card .................................. 2-17
2.5.9 Installing i Button ........................................................... 2-17
2.6 Jumpers ...................................................................................... 2-18
2.7 Connectors ................................................................................. 2-23
2.7.1 Rear panel connectors .................................................. 2-23
2.7.2 Internal connectors ....................................................... 2-24
Chatper 3: Powering up
3.1 Starting up for the rst time ........................................................ 3-1
3.2 Turning off the computer ............................................................. 3-2
3.2.1 Using the OS shut down function .................................... 3-2
3.2.2 Using the dual function power switch .............................. 3-2
Chapter 4 BIOS setup
4.1 Managing and updating your BIOS ............................................ 4-1
4.1.1 AFUDOS utility ................................................................ 4-1
4.1.2 ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3 utility ...................................... 4-3
4.2 BIOS setup program .................................................................... 4-4
4.2.1 BIOS menu screen .......................................................... 4-5
4.2.2 Menu bar ......................................................................... 4-5
4.2.3 Navigation keys ............................................................... 4-5
4.2.4 Menu items ..................................................................... 4-6
4.2.5 Sub-menu items .............................................................. 4-6
4.2.6 Conguration elds ......................................................... 4-6
4.2.7 Pop-up window ............................................................... 4-6
4.2.8 Scroll bar ......................................................................... 4-6
4.2.9 General help ................................................................... 4-6
4.3 Main menu .................................................................................... 4-7
4.3.1 System Time ................................................................... 4-7
4.3.2 System Date ................................................................... 4-7
4.3.3 Legacy Diskette A ........................................................... 4-7
4.3.4 SATA1–6 ......................................................................... 4-8
4.3.5 IDE Conguration .......................................................... 4-10
4.3.6 AHCI Conguration ........................................................4-11
4.3.7 System Information ....................................................... 4-12
iv
Contents
4.4 Advanced menu ......................................................................... 4-13
4.4.1 CPU Conguration ........................................................ 4-13
4.4.2 Chipset Conguration ................................................... 4-16
4.4.3 Legacy Device Conguration ........................................ 4-20
4.4.4 USB Conguration ........................................................ 4-20
4.4.5 PCIPnP ......................................................................... 4-21
4.4.6 Power On Conguration ................................................ 4-22
4.4.7 Event Log Conguration ............................................... 4-23
4.4.8 Hardware Monitor ......................................................... 4-24
4.4.9 ACPI Conguration ....................................................... 4-25
4.4.10 PCI Express Conguration ............................................ 4-26
4.5 Server menu ............................................................................... 4-27
4.6 Boot menu .................................................................................. 4-29
4.6.1 Boot Device Priority ...................................................... 4-29
4.6.2 Hard Disk Drives ........................................................... 4-30
4.6.3 Removable Drives ......................................................... 4-30
4.6.4 Boot Settings Conguration .......................................... 4-31
4.6.5 Security ......................................................................... 4-32
4.7 Exit menu .................................................................................... 4-34
Chapter 5: RAID conguration
5.1 Setting up RAID ............................................................................ 5-1
5.1.1 RAID denitions .............................................................. 5-1
5.1.2 Installing hard disk drives ................................................ 5-1
5.1.3 RAID controller selection ................................................ 5-2
5.1.4 Setting the RAID item in BIOS ........................................ 5-2
5.2 LSI Software RAID Conguration Utility .................................... 5-3
5.2.1 Creating a RAID set ........................................................ 5-4
5.2.2 Adding or viewing a RAID conguration ....................... 5-10
5.2.3 Initializing the virtual drives ............................................5-11
5.2.4 Rebuilding failed drives ................................................. 5-15
5.2.5 Checking the drives for data consistency ..................... 5-17
5.2.6 Deleting a RAID conguration ....................................... 5-20
5.2.7 Selecting the boot drive from a RAID set ...................... 5-21
5.2.8 Enabling WriteCache .................................................... 5-22
v
Contents
5.3 Intel® Matrix Storage Manager Option ROM Utility ................. 5-23
5.3.1 Creating a RAID set ...................................................... 5-24
5.3.2 Creating a Recovery set ............................................... 5-25
5.3.3 Deleting a RAID set ...................................................... 5-27
5.3.4 Resetting disks to Non-RAID ........................................ 5-28
5.3.5 Recovery Volume Options ............................................ 5-29
5.3.6 Exiting the Intel® Matrix Storage Manager .................... 5-30
5.3.7 Rebuilding the RAID ..................................................... 5-30
5.3.8 Setting the Boot array in the BIOS Setup Utility ............ 5-32
Chapter 6: Driver installation
6.1 RAID driver installation ............................................................... 6-1
6.1.1 Creating a RAID driver disk ............................................ 6-1
6.1.2 Installing the RAID controller driver ................................ 6-4
6.2 Intel® chipset device installation .............................................. 6-11
6.3 LAN driver installation ............................................................... 6-13
6.4 VGA driver installation............................................................... 6-16
6.5 Management applications and utilities installation ................ 6-18
6.5.1 Running the support DVD ............................................. 6-18
6.5.2 Drivers menu ................................................................. 6-18
6.5.3 Utilities menu ................................................................ 6-19
6.5.4 Make disk menu ............................................................ 6-19
6.5.5 Contact information ....................................................... 6-19
Appendix: Reference information
A.1 Z8NR-D12 model block diagram .................................................A-1
vi
Notices
Federal Communications Commission Statement
This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the
following two conditions:
•
This device may not cause harmful interference, and
•
This device must accept any interference received including interference that
may cause undesired operation.
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a
Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are
designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a
residential installation. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio
frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with manufacturer’
s instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. However,
there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If
this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception,
which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is
encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following
measures:
•
Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
•
Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.
•
Connect the equipment to an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the
receiver is connected.
•
Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.
The use of shielded cables for connection of the monitor to the graphics card is
required to assure compliance with FCC regulations. Changes or modications
to this unit not expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance could
void the user’s authority to operate this equipment.
Canadian Department of Communications Statement
This digital apparatus does not exceed the Class B limits for radio noise emissions
from digital apparatus set out in the Radio Interference Regulations of the
Canadian Department of Communications.
This class B digital apparatus complies with Canadian ICES-003.
vii
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.
• Make sure 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, make sure 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.
viii
DO NOT throw the motherboard in municipal waste. This product has been
designed to enable proper reuse of parts and recycling. This symbol of the
crossed out wheeled bin indicates that the product (electrical and electronic
equipment) should not be placed in municipal waste. Check local regulations for
disposal of electronic products.
DO NOT throw the mercury-containing button cell battery in municipal waste.
This symbol of the crossed out wheeled bin indicates that the battery should not
be placed in municipal waste.
About this guide
This user guide contains the information you need when installing and conguring
the motherboard.
How this guide is organized
This user guide contains the following parts:
• Chapter 1: Product introduction
This chapter describes the features of the motherboard and the new
technologies it supports.
• Chapter 2: Hardware information
This chapter lists the hardware setup procedures that you have to perform
when installing system components. It includes description of the switches,
jumpers, and connectors on the motherboard.
• Chapter 3: Powering up
This chapter describes the power up sequence and ways of shutting down
the system.
• Chapter 4: BIOS setup
This chapter tells how to change system settings through the BIOS Setup
menus. Detailed descriptions of the BIOS parameters are also provided.
• Chapter 5: RAID conguration
This chapter provides instructions for setting up, creating, and conguring
RAID sets using the available utilities.
• Chapter 6: Driver installation
This chapter provides instructions for installing the necessary drivers for
different system components.
• Appendix: Reference information
This appendix includes additional information that you may refer to when
conguring the motherboard.
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.
ix
Conventions used in this guide
To make sure that you perform certain tasks properly, take note of the following
symbols used throughout this manual.
DANGER/WARNING:
when trying to complete a task.
CAUTION:
when trying to complete a task.
IMPORTANT:
task.
NOTE:
task.
Information to prevent damage to the components
Instructions that you MUST follow to complete a
Tips and additional information to help you complete a
Information to prevent injury to yourself
Typography
Bold text
Italics
<Key> Keys enclosed in the less-than and greater than sign means that you must press the
enclosed key.
Example: <Enter> means that you must press
the Enter or Return key.
<Key1+Key2+Key3> If you must press two or more keys
simultaneously, the key names are linked with
a plus sign (+).
Indicates a menu or an item to select.
Used to emphasize a word or a phrase.
Example: <Ctrl+Alt+D>
Command
exactly as shown, then supply the required
item or value enclosed in brackets.
Example: At the DOS prompt, type the
command line:
x
Means that you must type the command
format A:/S
Z8NR-D12 specications summary
Model Name
Processor / System Bus
Core Logic
Form Factor
ASUS Features Smart Fan
Rack Ready (Rack
and Pedestal dual
use)
Rack Optimized
(Dedicated for Rack)
ASWM
PIKE
Flex-E
Memory Total Slots
Capacity
Memory Type
Memory Size
Expansion Slots
(follow SSI
Location #)
Storage SATA Controller
Total PCI/PCI-X/PCI-E
Slots
Slot Location 1
Slot Location 3
Slot Location 4
Slot Location 5
Slot Location 6
Additional Slot
SAS Controller
(continued on the next page)
Z8NR-D12
2 x Socket LGA1366
Quad-Core Intel® Xeon® W5500 Series
(130W)
Quad-Core Intel® Xeon® X5500 Series (95W)
Quad-Core Intel® Xeon® E5500 Series (80W)
Quad-Core Intel® Xeon® L5500 Series (60W)
QPI 4.8 / 5.86 / 6.4 GT/s
Intel® Tylersburg-24D I/O Hub
Intel® ICH10R I/O Controller
SSI EEB, 12" x 13"
�
�
�
�
�
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12 (3-channel per CPU, 6 DIMM per CPU)
Maximum up to 96GB (RDIMM)
Maximum up to 24GB (UDIMM)*
* Minimum: 1GB
DDR3 1066/1333 Reg. DIMM / Unbuffered
DIMM with ECC / non-ECC
1 GB, 2GB, 4GB, 8GB*
5
1 x PCI 32bit / 33MHz
1 x PCIe x8 (Gen2 x4 Link)
1 x PCIe x8 (Gen2 x4 Link)
1 x PCIe x8 (Gen2 x8 Link)
1 x PCIe x16 (Gen2 x16 Link for 1U Full-
Hight / Half-Length Card) (Auto switch to
x8 Link if slot 5 is occupied)
1 x PIKE Slot for Storage expansion
Intel® ICH10R:
6 x SATA2 300MB/s ports
Intel Matrix Storage (for Windows only)
(Support software RAID 0, 1, 10 & 5)
LSI® MegaRAID (for Linux/Windows)
(Support software RAID 0, 1, 10)
Optional:
ASUS PIKE 1064E 4-port SAS RAID card
ASUS PIKE 1068E 8-port SAS RAID card
ASUS PIKE 1078 8-port SAS HW RAID card
xi
Z8NR-D12 specications summary
Networking LAN
Graphic VGA
Onboard I/O
Connectors
Rear I/O
Connectors
Management
Solution
Monitoring CPU Temperature
Environment
PSU Connector
USB Connectors
Fan Header
SMBus
Chassis Intruder
Front LAN LED
Serial Port Header
External Serial Port
External USB Port
VGA Port
RJ-45
PS/2 KB/Mouse
Software
Out of Band Remote
Management
FAN RPM
®
LSI
MegaRAID 5 function is available only when you install an ASUS PIKE
RAID card with iBTN.
2 x Intel® 82574L + 1 x Management LAN
Aspeed AST2050 8MB
24-pin ATX power connector + 2 x 8-pin ATX
12V power connector
3 (support 4 USB ports and 1 internal Type A
USB connector)
8 * 4Pin (With PWM control)
2
1
2
1
1
2
1
2
1
ASWM
Optional ASMB4-iKVM for KVM-over-IP
support
�
�
Operation temperature: 10°C ~ 35°C
Non operation temperature: -40°C ~ 70°C
Non operation humidity: 20% ~ 90% (Non
condensing)
*Specications are subject to change without notice.
xii
This chapter describes the motherboard
features and the new technologies it
supports.
Product
introduction
1
Chapter summary
1
1.1 Welcome! ...................................................................................... 1-1
1.2 Package contents ......................................................................... 1-1
1.3 Serial number label ...................................................................... 1-2
1.4 Special features ............................................................................ 1-2
ASUS Z8NR-D12
1.1 Welcome!
Thank you for buying an ASUS® Z8NR-D12 motherboard!
The motherboard delivers a host of new features and latest technologies, making it
another standout in the long line of ASUS quality motherboards!
Before you start installing the motherboard, and hardware devices on it, check the
items in your package with the list below.
1.2 Package contents
Check your motherboard package for the following items.
Standard Gift Box Pack Standard Bulk Pack
Z8NR-D12 Z8NR-D12
Cables
Accessories IO shield
Application CD Support CD
Documentation User Guide
Packing Qty.
Optional items Description
PIKE 1064E LSI 4 port SAS RAID card
PIKE 1068E LSI 8 port SAS RAID card
PIKE 1078 LSI 8 port SAS RAID card with Hardware RAID 5, 6, 50, 60
PIKE 6480 Marvell 8 port SAS RAID card
ASMB4-iKVM Remote Management solution provides KVM over IP solution.
ASUS MIO audio card Discrete 8 channel audio card provides clearest high quality
SATA signal cable
FDD cable
sounds
6 --
1 --
1 1
1 1
1 1
1 pcs per carton 10 pcs per carton
If any of the above items is damaged or missing, contact your retailer.
ASUS Z8NR-D12 1-1
1.3 Serial number label
Before requesting support from the ASUS Technical Support team, you must take
note of the motherboard's serial number containing 12 characters
shown as the gure below. With the correct serial number of the product, ASUS
Technical Support team members can then offer a quicker and satisfying solution
to your problems.
xxM0Axxxxxxx
Z8NR-D12
xxM0Axxxxxxx
Made
in
China
合格
1.4 Special features
1.4.1 Product highlights
Latest processor technology
This motherboard supports the latest Intel Xeon 5500 series processors in LGA
1366 package with integrated memory controller to support 3-channel (6 DIMM per
CPU) DDR3 memory. Intel Xeon 5500 series processor supports Intel QuickPath
Interconnect (QPI) with a system bus of up to 6.4GT/s and a max bandwidth of up
to 25.6GB/s. Intel Xeon 5500 series processor is the one of the most powerful and
energy-efcient CPUs in the world.
Intel® Turbo Boost
Intel® Turbo Boost dynamically reroute power to improve performance. The
processor will automatically overclock as long as the CPU temperature is allowed.
Intel® Hyper Threading
The thread-level parallelism on each processor makes more efcient use of the
processor resources, higher processing throughout and improved performance on
today’s multi-threaded software.
DDR3 memory support
The Z8NR-D12 supports UDIMM and RDIMM DDR3 memory that features data
transfer rates of 1333/1066 MHZ to meet the higher bandwidth requirements of
server and workstation applications. The 3-channel DDR3 architecture boosts
system performance, eliminating bottlenecks with peak bandwidth of up to 32GB/s.
Furthermore, the supply voltage for the memory is reduced from 1.8 V for DDR2 to
just 1.5V for DDR3. This voltage reduction limits the power consumption and heat
generation of DDR3 which makes it an ideal memory solution.
1-2 Chapter 1: Product introduction
Intel® EM64T
The motherboard supports Intel® processors with the Intel® EM64T (Extended
Memory 64 Technology). The Intel® EM64T feature allows your computer to run on
64-bit operating systems and access larger amounts of system memory for faster
and more efcient computing.
PCIe 2.0
This motherboard supports the latest PCIe 2.0 device for twice the current speed
and bandwidth. This enhances system performance while still providing backward
compatibility to PCIe 1.0 devices.
82574L LAN Solution
The motherboard comes with dual Gigabit LAN controllers and ports which provide
a total solution for your networking needs. The onboard Intel 82574L Gigabit LAN
controllers use the PCI Express interface and could achieve network throughput
close to Gigabit bandwidth.
Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology (EIST)
The Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology (EIST) intelligently manages the
CPU resources by automatically adjusting the CPU voltage and core frequency
depending on the CPU loading and system speed or power requirement.
Serial ATA II technology
The motherboard supports the Serial ATA II 3 Gb/s technology through ICH10R
Serial ATA interfaces. The Serial ATA II specication provides twice the bandwidth
of the current Serial ATA products with a host of new features, including Native
Command Queuing (NCQ), Power Management (PM) Implementation Algorithm,
and Hot Swap. Serial ATA allows thinner, more exible cables with lower pin count
and reduced voltage requirements.
USB 2.0 technology
The motherboard implements the Universal Serial Bus (USB) 2.0 specication,
dramatically increasing the connection speed from the 12 Mbps bandwidth on USB
1.1 to a fast 480 Mbps on USB 2.0. USB 2.0 is backward compatible with USB 1.1.
All High-quality Conductive Polymer Capacitors
This motherboard uses all high-quality conductive polymer capacitors onboard for
durability, improved lifespan, and enhanced thermal capacity.
ASUS Z8NR-D12 1-3
Temperature, fan, and voltage monitoring
The CPU temperature is monitored by the W83795AG chip to prevent overheating
and damage. The system fan rotations per minute (RPM) is monitored for timely
failure detection. The chip monitors the voltage levels to ensure stable supply of
current for critical components.
1.4.2 Innovative ASUS features
ASUS EPU
With current trends leaning towards power efciency, the Z8NR-D12 is equipped
with the ASUS exclusive EPU technology to provide total system power saving by
detecting current CPU loadings and intelligently moderating power in real-time.
ASUS Smart Fan II technology
The ASUS Smart Fan technology smartly adjusts the fan speeds according to the
system loading to ensure quiet, cool, and efcient operation.
PIKE (Proprietary I/O Kit Expansion)
PIKE is an on-demand upgrade kit for users. This ASUS unique feature enables
users to choose their preferred I/O solutions. ASUS provides multiple SAS
solutions for different segments and purposes and PIKE saves lots of validation
efforts and hardware cost for end users. Moreover, the special patent design offers
multiple I/O solutions without occupying the Slot 6 in 1U system.
ASUS Flex-E Technology
ASUS Flex-E Technology allows PCIE slots to automatically switch congurations
for Graphic Card and Storage Utilization. ASUS Flex-E Technology offers two kinds
of congurations, PCI-E x8 Link on both Slot 5 and 6 or PCI-E x16 Link on the Slot 6.
The PCI-E signal of the Slot 6 would switch to x16 Link automatically when the Slot
5 is not occupied.
1-4 Chapter 1: Product introduction
This chapter lists the hardware setup
procedures that you have to perform
when installing system components. It
includes description of the jumpers and
connectors on the motherboard.
Hardware
information
2
Chapter summary
2
2.1 Before you proceed ..................................................................... 2-1
2.2 Motherboard overview ................................................................. 2-2
2.3 Central Processing Unit (CPU) ................................................... 2-6
2.4 System memory ......................................................................... 2-11
2.5 Expansion slots .......................................................................... 2-14
2.6 Jumpers ...................................................................................... 2-18
2.7 Connectors ................................................................................. 2-23
ASUS Z8NR-D12
2.1 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.
• Use a grounded wrist strap or touch a safely grounded object or a metal
object, such as the power supply case, before handling components 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 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, and/or
components.
ASUS Z8NR-D12 2-1
2.2 Motherboard overview
Before you install the motherboard, study the conguration of your chassis to
ensure that the motherboard ts into it.
To optimize the motherboard features, we highly recommend that you install it in an
SSI EEB compliant chassis.
Ensure to unplug the chassis power cord before installing or removing the
motherboard. Failure to do so can cause you physical injury and damage
motherboard components!
2.2.1 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.
2.2.2 Screw holes
Place nine (9) 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.
Place this side towards
the rear of the chassis
2-2 Chapter 2: Hardware information
2.2.3 Motherboard layouts
ASUS Z8NR-D12 2-3
2.2.4 Layout contents
Slots / Sockets Page
1. CPU sockets 2-6
2. DDR3 DIMM sockets 2-11
3. PCI Express x16 slot (x16 link) 2-16
4. PCI Express x8 slots (x8 link; x4 link) 2-16
5. PCI slot 2-16
6. PIKE slot 2-16
Jumpers Page
1. Clear RTC RAM (CLRTC1) 2-18
2. VGA controller setting (3-pin VGA_SW1) 2-19
3. LAN controller setting (3-pin LAN_SW1, LAN_SW2) 2-19
4. iBTN RAID setting (3-pin IBTN_SEL1) 2-20
5. RAID conguration utility selection (3-pin RAID_SEL1) 2-20
6. Force BIOS recovery setting (3-pin RECOVERY1) 2-21
7. Fan controller setting (3-pin FAN_SEL1) 2-22
8. DDR3 voltage setting (4-pin LVDDR3_SEL1/2) 2-22
Rear panel connectors Page
1. PS/2 mouse port (green) 2-23
2. RJ-45 port for iKVM 2-23
3. PS/2 keyboard port (purple) 2-23
4. USB 2.0 ports 1 and 2 2-23
5. Serial (COM1) port 2-23
6. Video Graphics Adapter port 2-23
7. LAN 1 (RJ-45) ports 2-23
8. LAN 2 (RJ-45) ports 2-23
2-4 Chapter 2: Hardware information
Internal connectors Page
1. Floppy disk drive connector (34-1 pin FLOPPY1) 2-24
2. Serial ATA connectors (7-pin SATA1–4 [red], SATA5–6 [black]) 2-24
3. SAS connectors (7-pin SAS1–4 [red], SAS5–8 [blue]) 2-25
4. Hard disk activity LED connector (4-pin HDLED1) 2-25
5. Serial General Purpose Input/Output connector (6-1 pin SGPIO1) 2-26
6. Serial General Purpose Input/Output connectors
(6-1 pin SGPIO2/3)
7. USB connectors (10-1 pin USB34, USB56; 4-pin USB7) 2-27
8. CPU and system fan connectors (4-pin CPU_FAN1/2,
REAR_FAN1/2, FRNT_FAN1/2/3/4)
9. Serial port connectors (10-1 pin COM2) 2-28
10. Power supply SMBus connector (5-pin PSUSMB1) 2-28
11. SSI power connectors (24-pin ATXPWR1, 8-pin ATX12V1/2) 2-29
12. Baseboard Management Controller (BMC) connector
(14-pin BMC_FW1)
13. System panel connector (20-1 pin PANEL1 [white]) 2-30
14. Auxiliary panel connector (20-pin AUX_PANEL1 [black]) 2-31
2-26
2-27
2-29
ASUS Z8NR-D12 2-5
2.3 Central Processing Unit (CPU)
The motherboard comes with two surface mount LGA1366 sockets designed for
the Intel® Xeon® Dual/Quad Core processor.
• Your boxed Intel® Xeon® LGA1366 processor package should come with
installation instructions for the CPU and heatsink. If the instructions in this
section do not match the CPU documentation, follow the latter.
• 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 LGA1366 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.
2.3.1 Installing the CPU
To install a CPU:
1. Locate the CPU socket on the motherboard.
Before installing the CPU, ensure that the socket box is facing towards you and
the load lever is on your left.
2-6 Chapter 2: Hardware information
2. Press the load lever with your
thumb (A), then move it to the left
(B) until it is released from the
retention tab.
Retention tab
A
To prevent damage to the socket
pins, do not remove the PnP cap
unless you are installing a CPU.
3. Lift the load lever in the direction of
the arrow to a 135º angle.
4. Lift the load plate with your thumb
and forenger to a 100º angle.
5. Remove the PnP cap from the CPU
socket.
B
Load lever
Load plate
4
3
PnP cap
ASUS Z8NR-D12 2-7
6. Position the CPU over the socket,
ensuring that the gold triangle is on
the bottom-left corner of the socket,
and then t the socket alignment key
into the CPU notch.
The CPU ts in only one correct
orientation. DO NOT force the
CPU into the socket to prevent
bending the connectors on the
socket and damaging the CPU!
7. Apply some Thermal Interface
Material to the exposed area of
the CPU that the heatsink will be
in contact with, ensuring that it is
spread in an even thin layer.
Some heatsinks come with preapplied thermal paste. If so, skip
this step.
DO NOT eat the Thermal Interface
Material. If it gets into your eyes or
touches your skin, ensure that you
wash it off immediately and seek
professional medical help.
Gold
triangle
mark
CPU notch
Alignment key
To prevent contaminating the paste, DO NOT spread the paste with your nger
directly.
8. Close the load plate (A), and then
push the load lever (B) until it snaps
into the retention tab.
2-8 Chapter 2: Hardware information
A
B
2.3.2 Installing the CPU heatsink and fan
The Intel® Xeon™ processors require an Intel certied heatsink and fan assembly
to ensure optimum thermal condition and performance.
When you buy a boxed Intel CPU, the package includes the heatsink, fan, retention
brackets, screws, thermal grease, installation manual, and other items that are
necessary for CPU installation.
• Ensure that you have applied the thermal grease to the top of the CPU
before installing the heatsink and fan.
• Refer to the installation manual that came with the CPU package for details
on heatsink/fan assembly and installation.
To install the CPU heatsink and fan:
1. Place the heatsink on top of the installed CPU, ensuring that the four screws
on the heatsink align with the nuts on the support plate.
2. Use a Phillips screwdriver to tighten the four heatsink screws in a diagonal
sequence.
ASUS Z8NR-D12 2-9
3. Connect the fan cable to the nearest 4-pin fan connector.
FAN
connector
DO NOT forget to connect the CPU fan cable! Hardware monitoring errors may
occur if you fail to plug this connector.
4. Repeat steps 1 to 3 to install the other heatsink if you have installed a second
CPU, then connect the fan cable to the nearest 4-pin fan connector.
2-10 Chapter 2: Hardware information
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