Biostar TA790GXE 128M Owner's Manual

TA790GXE 128MSetup Manual

FCC Information and Copyright

This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits of 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 ge nerates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. There is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation.

The vendor makes no representations or warranties with respect to the contents here and specially disclaims any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for any purpose. Further the vendor reserves the right to revise this publication and to make changes to the contents here without obligation to notify any party beforehand.

Duplication of this publication, in part or in whole, is not allowed without first obtaining the vendor’s approval in writing.

The content of this user’s manual is subject to be changed without notice and we will not be responsible for any mistakes found in this user’s manual. All the brand and product names are trademarks of their respective companies.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction ............................................................ 1

1.1 Before You Start ................................................................................ 1

1.2 Package Checklist............................................................................. 1

1.3 Motherboard Features...................................................................... 2

1.4 Rear Panel Connectors ..................................................................... 4

1.5 Motherboard Layout......................................................................... 5

Chapter 2: Hardware Installation ............................................. 6

2.1 Installing Central Processing Unit (CPU) ....................................... 6

2.2 FAN Headers...................................................................................... 8

2.3 Installing System Memory................................................................ 9

2.4 Connectors and Slots....................................................................... 11

Chapter 3: Headers & Jumpers Setup ..................................... 16

3.1 How to Setup Jumpers .................................................................... 16

3.2 Detail Settings.................................................................................. 16

Chapter 4: (Hybrid) CrossFireX Function................................ 21

4.1 CrossFireX Requirements................................................................ 21

4.2 CrossFireX Installation.................................................................... 21

4.3 Hybrid CrossFire X Requirements.................................................. 22

4.4 Hybrid CrossFireX Installation....................................................... 22

4.5 Ope ration Modes Supporting List ................................................. 23

Chapter 5: RAID Functions ..................................................... 24

5.1 Operating System............................................................................ 24

5.2 Raid Arrays ...................................................................................... 24

5.3 How RAID Works............................................................................. 24

Chapter 6: T-Series BIOS & Software ..................................... 28

6.1 T-Series BIOS..................................................................................... 28

6.2 T-Series Software ............................................................................. 36

Chapter 7: Useful Help ............................................................ 46

7.1 Driver Installation Note.................................................................. 46

7.2 Extra Information............................................................................ 47

7.3 AMI BIOS Beep Code....................................................................... 48

7.4 Troubleshooting............................................................................... 49

Appendix: SPEC In Other Languages ...................................... 50

German.................................................................................................................. 50

French .................................................................................................................... 52

Italian..................................................................................................................... 54

Spanish ................................................................................................................... 56

Portuguese ............................................................................................................ 58

Polish...................................................................................................................... 60

Russian ................................................................................................................... 62

Arabic..................................................................................................................... 64

Japane se ................................................................................................................ 66

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

TA790GXE 128M

1.1 B

EFORE YOU START

Thank you for choosing our product. Before you start installing the motherboard, please make sure you follow the instructions below:

 Prepare a dry and stable working environment with

sufficient lighting.

 Always disconnect the computer from power outlet

before operation.

 Before you take the motherboard out from anti-static

bag, ground yourself properly by touching any safely grounded appliance, or use grounded wrist strap to remove the static charge.

 Avoid touching the components on motherboard or the

rear side of the board unless necessary. Hold the board on the edge, do not try to bend or flex the board.

 Do not leave any unfastened small parts inside the

case after installation. Loose parts will cause short circuits which may damage the equipment.

 Keep the computer from dangerous area, such as heat

source, humid air and water.

1.2 PACKAGE CHECKLIST

IDE Cable X 1 Serial ATA Cable X 2 Serial ATA Power Cable X 1 Rear I/O Panel for ATX Case X 1 User’s Manual X 1 Fully Setup Driver CD X 1 DCCFX-P2 Paddle Card X 1 FDD Cable X 1 (optional) USB 2.0 Cable X1 (optional) S/PDIF out Cable X 1 (optional)

Note: The package contents may be different due to area or your motherboard version.

Motherboard Manual

1.3 MOTHERBOARD FEATURES

SPEC

Socket AM2+ / AM3

CPU

FSB

Chipset

Super I/O

Main

Memory

Graphics Radeon HD 3300

AMD Athlon 64 / Athlon 64 FX

/ Sempron / Pheno m / Phenom II processors

Support HyperTransport 3.0

Supports up to 5.2 GT/s Bandwidth

AMD 790GX

AMD SB750

ITE 8718

Prov ides the most common ly used legacy

Super I/O functionality.

Low Pin Count Interface

DDR2 DIMM Slots x 4

Max Memory Capacity 16GB

Each DIMM supports 256MB/512MB/

1GB/2GB/4GB DDR2

Athlon 64 x2

AMD 64 Architecture enables 32 and 64 bit

computing

Supports Hyper Transport 3.0 and PowerNow

En vironment Co nt ro l in itiat ives,

H/W Mon itor

Fan Sp eed Controller

ITE's "S mart Guardian" funct ion

Dual Cha nnel Mode DDR2 me mory mod ule

Supports DDR2 533 / 667 / 800

Supports DDR2 1066 (by AM2+ / AM3 CPU)

Registered DIMM and ECC DIMM is not supported

Onboard side port memory 128MB DDR2

Max S har ed Video Memory is 51 2MB

DX10/UVD/HDCP support

IDE AMD SB750

SATA II AMD SB750

LAN Realtek RTL 8111DL

Sound ALC888

(Hybrid) CrossFireX support (by ATI driver)

Ultra DMA 33 / 66 / 100 / 133 Bus Master Mode

supports PIO Mode 0~4,

Data transfer rates up to 3 Gb/s.

SATA Version 2.0 spe cificat ion co mp liant .

RAID 0,1,5,1+0 support

10 / 100 Mb/s / 1Gb/s auto negotiation

Half / Full duplex capability

7.1channels audio out

Supports HD Audio

SPEC

PCI Slot x2 Supports PCI expansion cards

Slots

On Board

Connectors

Back Panel

I/O

Board Size 225 mm (W) x 305 mm (L) ATX

OS Support Windows XP / Vista 32 / Vista 64

PCI Express Gen2 x16 Slot x2 Supports PCI-E Gen2 x16 expansion cards

PCI Express Gen2 x1 Slot x2 Supports PCI-E Gen2 x1 expansion cards

Floppy Connector x1 Each connector supports 2 Floppy drives

IDE Connector x1 Each conne ctor support s 2 IDE device

SATA Connector x6 Each conne ctor supports 1 SATA devices

Front Panel Connector x1 Supports front panel facilities

Front Audio Connector x1 Supports front panel audio function

CD-in Connector x1 Supports CD audio-in function

S/PDIF out Connector x1 Supports digital audio out function

CPU Fan Header x1 CPU Fan power supply (with Smart Fan function)

System Fan Header x2 System Fan Power supply

CMOS clear Header x1 Restore CMOS data to factory default

USB Connector x3 Each connector supports 2 front panel USB ports

Power Connector (24pin) x1 Connects to Power supply

Power Connector (4pin) x2 Connects to Power supply

PS/2 Keyb oard x 1

PS/2 Mouse x1

HDMI port x1

VGA port x1

DVI-D port x1

LAN port x1

USB Port x4

Audio Jack x6

Connects to PS/2 Keyboard

Connects to PS/2 Mouse

Connect to HDTV

Connect to D-SUB monitor

Connect to DVI monitor

Connect to RJ- 45 ethernet cab le

Connect to USB devices

Provide Audio-In/Out and microphone connection

Biostar reserves the right to add or remove support

for any OS With or without notice.

TA790GXE 128M

Motherboard Manual

1.4 REAR PANEL CONNECTORS

X PS/2 Mouse Port Y PS/2 Keyboard Port

HDMI Port

The High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) is an all-digital audio/video interface capable of transmitting uncompressed streams to a n AV receiver or any compatible digital audio and/or video monitor, such as a digital television.

DVI-D VGA Port

[

The Digital Visual Interface (DVI) is a video interface transmitting digital video signals to digital display de vices such as flat panel LCDs or digital projectors. The DVI-D connector allows digital signals transmission only.

D-Sub VGA Port

Transmit analog video signals to computer monitor or any other display panels equipped with D -Sub VGA i nput.

USB 2.0 Port x 4

]

10/100/1000 Mbps LAN Port

Audio Jack x 6

Port 2-Channel 4-Channel 6-Channel/8-Channel

Blue Li ne- In L ine -In Li ne- In Green Line-Out Front Speaker Out Front Speaker Out Pink Mic In Mic In Mic In Orange Center/S ubwoo fe r Black Rear Speaker Out Rear Speaker Out Rear Speaker Out Grey Side Speaker Out

NOTE: The HDMI and DVI-D ports both can provide digital video signals out-put function, but

these two interfaces cannot work at the same time. The chipset uses the same channel to control HDMI and DVI-D, so these ports cannot transmit video signal to different display panels simultaneous ly.

1.5 MOTHERBOARD LAYOUT

TA790GXE 128M

KBMS 1

HDMI1

VGA

DVI

USB1

RJ45USB1

AUDIO2

JUSBV1

LAN

Co de c

F_AUD IO1

Note: represents the 1■

CD_IN1

ATXPWR1

AUXPWR 1

SPDIF1

SYS_FAN1

PEX1_1

PEX1_2

PEX16_2

PEX16_1

PCI1

PCI2

FDD1

AMD

790GX

BAT1

pin.

JUSBV 2

Socket AM2+

Super I/O

F_USB3 F_USB1F_USB2

CPU_FAN1

DIMMA1

DIMMB1

DIMMA2

DIMMB2

ATXPWR2

AMD

SB750

JCMOS1

PH1

PH2

PH3

PH4

SYS_FAN2

BIO S

IDE1

PANE L1

SATA5-6

SATA3-4

SATA1-2

LED_D1 LED_D2

SW_RST

SW_PWR

Motherboard Manual

CHAPTER 2: HARDWARE INSTALLATION

2.1 I

NSTALLING CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT (CPU)

Step 1: Remove the socket protection cap.

Step 2: Pull the lever toward direction A from the socket and then raise the

lever up to a 90-degree angle.

Step 3: Look for the white triangle on socket, and the gold triangle on

CPU should point towards this white triangle. The CPU will fit only in the correct orientation.

TA790GXE 128M

Step 3: Hold the CPU down firmly, and then close the lever toward direct

B to complete the installation.

Step 4: Put the CPU Fan on the CPU and buckle it. Connect the CPU

FAN power cable to the JCFAN1. This completes the installation.

Motherboard Manual

2.2 FAN HEADERS

These fan headers support cooling-fans built in the computer. The fan cable and connector may be different according to the fan manufacturer. Connect the fan cable to the connector while matching the black wire to pin#1.

CPU_FAN1: CPU Fan Header

SYS_FAN1/SYS_FAN2: System Fan Headers

SYS_FAN1

1 Ground 2 +12V 3

FAN RPM r ate sense

4 Smart Fan

Control (By Fan)

Pin Assignment

1 Ground 2 +12V 3

Assignment

FAN RPM rate sense

SYS_FAN2

Note:

The CPU_FAN1, SYS_FAN1, and SYS_FAN2 support 4-pin and 3-pin head connectors. When connecting with wires onto connectors, please note that the red wire is the positive and should be co nnected to pin#2, and the black wire is Ground and should be connected to GND.

TA790GXE 128M

2.3 INSTALLING SYSTEM MEMORY

A. DDR2 Modules

DIMMA1

DIMMB1

DIMMA2

DIMMB2

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

2. Insert the DIMM vertically and firmly into the slot until the retaining chip snap back in place and the DIMM is properly seated.

Motherboard Manual

B. Memory Capacity

DIMM Socket

Location

DIMMA1 256MB/512MB/1GB/2GB/4GB

DIMMB1 256MB/512MB/1GB/2GB/4GB

DIMMA2 256MB/512MB/1GB/2GB/4GB

DIMMB2 256MB/512MB/1GB/2GB/4GB

DDR2 Module

Total Mem ory

Size

Max is 16GB.

C. Dual Channel Memory installation

Please refer to the following requirements to activate Dual Channel function:

Install memory module of the same density in pairs, shown in the table.

Dual Channel Status

Enabled O O X X

Enabled X X O O

Enabled O O O O

(O means memory installed, X means memory not installed.)

The DRAM bus width of the memory module must be the same (x8 or x16)

DIMMA1

DIMMB1 DIMMA2 DIMMB2

TA790GXE 128M

2.4 CONNECTORS AND SLOTS

FDD1: Floppy Disk Connector

The motherboard provides a standard floppy disk connector that supports 360K, 720K, 1.2M, 1.44M and 2.88M floppy disk types. This connector supports the provided floppy drive ribbon cables.

234

133

IDE1: IDE/ATAPI Connector

The motherboard has a 32-bit Enhanced IDE Controller that provides PIO Mode 0~4, Bus Master, and Ultra DMA 33/66/100/133 functionality.

The IDE connector can connect a master and a slave drive, so you can connect up to two drives.

240

139

Motherboard Manual

SATA1-2/SATA3-4/SATA5-6: Serial ATA Connectors

The motherboard has a PCI to SATA Controller with 6 channels SATA interface, it satisfies the SATA 2.0 spec and with transfer rate of 3.0Gb/s.

SATA1-2 SATA3-4 SATA5-6

AUXPWR1: Auxiliary Power for Graphics

This connector is an auxiliary power connection for graphics cards. Exclusive power for the graphics card provides better graphics performance.

Assignment

1 +12V 2 Ground 3 Ground 4 VCC

TA790GXE 128M

ATXP WR2: ATX Power Source Connector

This connector allows user to connect 24-pin power connector on the AT X power supply.

Pin Assignment Pin Assignment

13 +3.3V 1 +3.3V 14 -12V 2 +3.3V 15 Ground 3 Ground 16 PS_ON 4 +5V 17 Ground 5 Ground 18 Ground 6 +5V 19 Ground 7 Ground 20 NC 8 PW_OK 21 +5V 9 Standby Voltage+5V 22 +5V 10 +12V 23 +5V 11 +12V 24 Ground 12 +3.3V

ATXP WR1: ATX Power Source Connector

Connecting this connector will provide +12V to CPU power circuit.

1 +12V 2 +12V 3 Ground 4 Ground

Assignment

Note:

Before power on the s ystem, please make sure that both ATXPWR1 and ATXPWR2 connectors have been plugged-in.

Motherboard Manual

PEX16_1: PCI-Express Gen2 x16 Slot (x16/x8 Speed)

- PCI-Express 2.0 compliant.

- PCI-Express Gen2 supports a raw bit-rate of 5.0Gb/s on the data pins.

- 2X bandwidth over the PCI-Express 1.1 architecture.

- x16 Speed Mode: Maximum theoretical realized bandwidth of 8GB/s

simultaneously per direction, for an aggregate of 16GB/s totally. (Must be with DCCFX-P2 in PEX16_2)

- x8 Speed Mode: Maximum theoretical realized bandwidth of 4GB/s simultaneously per direction, for an aggregate of 8GB/s totally. (Without DCCFX-P2 in PEX16_2 or using CrossFireX)

- PEX16_1 slot is reserved for graphics or video cards. The design of this

motherboard supports dual PCI-Express graphics cards using CrossFireX technology with multiple displays. When using CrossFireX, this slot is master and runs with x8 speed.

- To make this slot run with x16 speed, please insert the Paddle Card

DCCFX-P2 into PEX16_2.

PEX16_2: PCI-Express Gen2 x16 Slot (x8 Speed)

- PCI-Express 2.0 compliant.

- PCI-Express Gen2 supports a raw bit-rate of 5.0Gb/s on the data pins.

- 2X bandwidth over the PCI-Express 1.1 architecture.

- x8 Speed Mode: Maximum theoretical realized bandwidth of 4GB/s

simultaneously per direction, for an aggregate of 8GB/s totally.

- PEX16_2 slot is reserved for graphics or video cards. The design of this

motherboard supports dual PCI-Express graphics cards using CrossFireX technology with multiple displays. This slot is slave when using CrossFireX.

- Note: NVIDIA Dual Graphics is not supported

PEX16_2

PEX16_1

TA790GXE 128M

PEX1_1/PEX1_2: PCI-Express Gen2 x1 Slots

- PCI-Express 2.0 compliant.

- Data transfer bandwidth up to 500MB/s per direction; 1GB/s in total.

- PCI-Express Gen2 supports a raw bit-rate of 5.0Gb/s on the data pins.

- 2X bandwidth over the PCI-Express 1.1 architecture.

PEX1_1

PEX1_2

PCI1~PCI2: Peripheral Component Interconnect Slots

This motherboard is equipped with 2 standard PCI slots. PCI stands for Peripheral Component Interconnect, and it is a bus standard for expansion cards. This PCI slot is designated as 32 bits.

PCI1

PCI2

Motherboard Manual

CHAPTER 3: HEADERS & JUMPERS SETUP

3.1 H

OW TO SETUP JUMPERS

The illustration shows how to set up jumpers. When the jumper cap is placed on pins, the jumper is “close”, if not, that means the jumper is “open”.

Pin opened Pin closed Pin1-2 closed

3.2 DETAIL SETTINGS

PANEL1: Front Panel Header

This 16-pin connector includes Power-on, Reset, HDD LED, Power LED, and speaker connection. It allows user to connect the PC case’s front panel switch functions.

916

Pin Assignment Function Pin Assignment Function

1 +5V 9 N/A 2 N/A 10 N/A 3 N/ A 1 1 N/A N/ A 4 Speaker 5 HDD LED (+) 13 Power LED (+) 6 HDD LED (-) 7 Ground 15 Power button 8 Reset control

Speaker Connector

Hard drive LED

Reset button

12 Power LED (+)

14 Power LED (-)

16 Ground

N/A

Power LED

Power-on button

TA790GXE 128M

JCMOS1: Clear CMOS Header

Placing the jumper on pin2-3 allows user to restore the BIOS safe setting and the CMOS data. Please carefully follow the procedures to avoid damaging the motherboard.

Pin 1-2 Close:

Normal Operation (Default).

Pin 2-3 Close:

Clear CMOS data.

※ Clear CMOS Procedures:

1. Remove AC power line.

2. Set the jumper to “Pin 2-3 close”.

3. Wait for five seconds.

4. Set the jumper to “Pin 1-2 close”.

5. Power on the AC.

6. Reset your desired password or clear the CMOS data.

F_USB1~F_USB3: Headers for USB 2.0 Ports at Front Panel

This header allows user to connect additional USB cable on the PC front panel, and also can be connected with internal USB devices, like USB card reader.

Assignment

1 +5V (fused) 2 +5V (fused) 3 USB4 USB5 USB+

F_U SB3 F _

USB2

2910

USB1

6 USB+ 7 Ground 8 Ground 9 Key

10 NC

Motherboard Manual

F_AUDIO1: Front Panel Audio Header

This header allows user to connect the front audio output cable with the PC front panel. This header allows only HD audio front panel connector; AC’97 connector is not acceptable.

CD_IN1: CD-ROM Audio-in Connector

This connector allows user to connect the audio source from the variaty devices, like CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, PCI sound card, PCI TV turner card etc.

Pin Assignment

1 Mic Left in 2 Ground 3 Mic Right in 4 GPIO 5 Right line in 6 Jack Sense 7 Front Sense

8 Key 9 Left line in

10 Jack Sense

Assignment

1 Left Channel Input 2 Ground 3 Ground 4 Right Channel Input

SPDIF1: Digital Audio-out Connector

This connector allows user to connect the PCI bracket SPDIF output header.

Assignment

1 +5V 2 SPDIF_OUT 3 Ground

On-Board LED Indicators

There are 6 LED indicators showing system status.

LED_D1 & LED_D2: Debug Indicators

PH1 ~ PH4: Power Status Indicators

Please refer to the tables below for specific messages:

LED_D1 LED_D2 Message

ON ON Norma l

ON OFF Memory Error OFF ON VGA Error OFF OFF Abnormal: CPU / Chipset error.

PH1~PH4 Phase Indicator

ON Phase Active

OFF Phase Disable

On-Board Buttons

There are 2 on-board buttons.

PH1

PH2

PH3

PH4

TA790GXE 128M

LED_D2 LED_D1

SW_RST: Reset button. SW_PWR: Power Switch button.

SW_PWR

SW_RST

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