Biostar TA790GX XE Owner's Manual

TA790GX XE/TA790GX M2+/TA790GXB M2+

Setup 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 generates, 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 ..................................... 13

3.1 How to Setup Jumpers .................................................................... 13

3.2 Detail Settings.................................................................................. 13

Chapter 4: Hybrid CrossFireX Function................................... 20

4.1 Hybrid CrossFireX Requirements .................................................. 20

4.2 Hybrid CrossFireX Installation....................................................... 20

Chapter 5: RAID Functions ..................................................... 21

5.1 Operation System............................................................................ 21

5.2 Raid Arrays ...................................................................................... 21

5.3 How RAID Works............................................................................. 21

Chapter 6: T-Series BIOS & Software ..................................... 25

6.1 T-Series BIOS..................................................................................... 25

6.2 T-Series Software ............................................................................. 33

Chapter 7: Useful Help ............................................................ 43

7.1 Driver Installation Note.................................................................. 43

7.2 Extra Information............................................................................ 44

7.3 AMI BIOS Beep Code....................................................................... 45

7.4 Troubleshooting............................................................................... 46

Appendix: SPEC In Other Language........................................ 48

German.................................................................................................................. 48

France .................................................................................................................... 50

Italian..................................................................................................................... 52

Spanish ................................................................................................................... 54

Portuguese ............................................................................................................ 56

Polish...................................................................................................................... 58

Russian ................................................................................................................... 60

Arabic..................................................................................................................... 62

Japanese ................................................................................................................ 64

TA790GX XE/TA790GX M2+/TA790GXB M2+

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

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
FDD Cable X 1 (optional)
USB 2.0 Cable X1 (optional)
S/PDIF out Cable X 1 (optional)

Note: The package contents may differ by area or your motherboard version.

1

Motherboard Manual

1.3 MOTHERBOARD FEATURES

TA790GX XE TA790GX M2+/TA790GXB M2+

CPU

FSB

Chipset

Super I/O

Main
Memory

Graphics

IDE

SATA II

Socket AM2+
AMD Athlon 64 / Athlon 64 FX / Athlon 64 X2 /
Sempron / Phenom processors
AMD 64 Architecture enables 32 and 64 b it
computing
Supports Hyper Transport 3.0 and PowerNow

Support HyperTransport 3.0
Supports up to 5.2 GT/s Bandwidth

AMD 790GX
AMD SB750
ITE IT8718
Prov ides the mos t co mmonly used legacy Super
I/O functionality.
Low Pin Count Interface
En viro nment Cont ro l in it iatives,
H/W Mon itor
Fan Sp eed Cont ro ller
ITE's "S mart Guard ian" function

DIMM Slots x 4
Each DIMM supports 256MB/512MB/
1GB/2GB/4GB DDR2
Max Memory Capicity 16GB
Dual Channe l Mod e DDR2 memory modu le
Supports DDR2 533 / 667 / 800
Supports DDR2 1066 (by AM2+ CPU)
Register ed DIMM and ECC D IMM is not
supported

Radeon HD 3300
Onboard side port memory 128MB DDR2
Max S hared V ideo Me mo ry is 512 MB
DX10/UVD/HDCP support
Hybrid CrossFireX support (by ATI driver)

AMD SB750
Ultra DMA 33 / 66 / 100 / 133 Bus Master Mode
supports PIO Mode 0~4,

AMD SB750
Data transfer rates up to 3 Gb/s.
SATA Vers ion 2 .0 s pec ific at ion co mpl iant.
RAID 0,1,5,1+0 support

Socket AM2+
AMD Athlon 64 / Athlon 64 FX / Athlon 64 X2 /
Sempron / Phenom processors
AMD 64 Architecture enables 32 and 64 b it
computing
Supports Hyper Transport 3.0 and PowerNow

Support HyperTransport 3.0
Supports up to 5.2 GT/s Bandwidth

AMD 790GX
AMD SB750
ITE IT8718
Prov ides the most commonly us ed legacy Super
I/O functionality.
Low Pin Count Interface
En viro nment Cont ro l in it iatives,
H/W Mon itor
Fan Sp eed Cont ro ller
ITE's "S mart Guard ian" function

DIMM Slots x 4
Each DIMM supports 256MB/512MB/
1GB/2GB/4GB DDR2
Max Memory Capicity 16GB
Dual Channe l Mod e DDR2 memory modu le
Supports DDR2 533 / 667 / 800
Supports DDR2 1066 (by AM2+ CPU)
Register ed DIMM and ECC D IMM is not
supported
Radeon HD 3300
Onboard side port memory 64MB DDR2 (for
TA790GX M2+ only)
Max S hared V ideo Me mo ry is 512 MB
DX10/UVD/HDCP support
Hybrid CrossFireX support (by ATI driver)

AMD SB750
Ultra DMA 33 / 66 / 100 / 133 Bus Master Mode
supports PIO Mode 0~4,

AMD SB750
Data transfer rates up to 3 Gb/s.
SATA Vers ion 2 .0 s pec ific at ion co mpl iant.
RAID 0,1,5,1+0 support

2

TA790GX XE/TA790GX M2+/TA790GXB M2+

TA790GX XE TA790GX M2+/TA790GXB M2+

Realtek RTL 8111C

LAN

Sound

Slots

On Board
Connector

Back Panel
I/O

Board Size 244 mm (W) x 244 mm (L) 244 mm (W) x 244 mm (L)

OS Support

10 / 100 Mb/s / 1Gb/s auto negotiation
Half / Full duplex capability

ALC888

7.1channels audio out

Supports HD Audio
PCI slot x2 PCI slot x2
PCI Express Gen2 x16 slot x1 PCI Express Gen2 x16 slot x1
PCI Express Gen2 x1 slot x1 PCI Express Gen2 x1 slot x1

Floppy connector x1 Floppy connector x1
Printer Port connect or x1 Printer Port connecto r x1
IDE Con n ector x1 ID E Co nnecto r x 1
SATA Connector x6 SATA Connector x6
Front Panel Connector x1 Front Panel Connector x1
Front Audio Connector x1 Front Audio Connector x1
CD-in Connector x1 CD-in Connector x1
S/PDIF out connector x1 S/PDIF out connector x1
CPU Fan header x1 CPU Fan header x1
System Fan header x2 System Fan head er x2
CMOS clear header x1 CMOS clear header x1
USB connect or x3 USB connector x3
Serial port Connector x1 Serial port Connector x1
Power Connector (24pin) x1 Power Connector (24pin) x1
Power Connector (4pin) x1 Power Connector (4pin) x1

PS/2 Keyboard x1
PS/2 Mous e x1
HDMI po rt x1
VGA port x1
DVI-D port x1
LAN port x1
USB Port x4
Audio Jack x6

Windows XP / VISTA
Biostar Reserves the right to add or remove
support for any OS With or without notice.

Realtek RTL 8111C
10 / 100 Mb/s / 1Gb/s auto negotiation
Half / Full duplex capability

ALC888

7.1channels audio out
Supports HD Audio

PS/2 Keyboard x1
PS/2 Mous e x1
HDMI po rt x1
VGA port x1
DVI-D port x1
LAN port x1
USB Port x4
Audio Jack x6

Windows XP / VISTA
Biostar Reserves the right to add or remove
support for any OS With or without notice.

3

Motherboard Manual

1.4 REAR PANEL CONNECTORS

X PS/2 Mouse Port Y PS/2 Key board Port

HDMI Port

Z

The High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) is an all-digital audio/video interface
capable of transmitting uncompressed streams to a n AV receiver or a ny 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

\

Trans mit analog video signals to computer monitor or any other display panels equipped
with D -Sub VGA input.

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 Li ne -In Line - In
Green Line-Out Front Speaker Out Front Speaker Out
Pink Mic In Mic In Mic In
Orange Cente r/S ubwoo fer
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

4

these two interfaces canno t work at the same time. The chipset uses the same channe l
to control HDMI and DVI-D, so these ports ca nnot transmit video signal to different display
panels simultaneously.

TA790GX XE/TA790GX M2+/TA790GXB M2+

1.5 MOTHERBOARD LAYOUT

JKBMS1

JHDMI 1

VGA

JUSB1

JUSBLAN1

JAUDIO2

Codec

DVI

JAUDIOF1

Super I /O

JATXPW R1

JCDIN1

JUSB V1

JNFAN1

LAN

PE X1 _1

AMD

790GX

FDD1

PEX16_1

JSPDIF_OUT1

PCI1

PCI2

BAT1

JPRNT1

JCMOS1

BI O S

JCFAN1

JCOM1

JATXPW R2

Socket AM2+

DIMMA1

DIMMB1

DIMMB2

DIMMA2

IDE1

LED_D1

LED_D2

SATA6

SATA4

SATA2

JUSB3

AMD

SB750

JUSB4

JUSB5

SATA1

SATA3

JUSB V2

SATA5

JPANEL1

JSFAN1

RSTSW1

PWRSW1

Note: represents the 1■

st

pin.

5

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.

6

TA790GX XE/TA790GX M2+/TA790GXB M2+

Step 4: Hold the CPU down firmly, and then close the lever toward direct

B to complete the installation.

Step 5: Put the CPU Fan on the CPU and buckle it. Connect the CPU

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

Note: Please update the BIOS to the latest version while using AM2+ CPUs. Due to the latest CPU

transition, you may encounter the situation that the ne w system failed to boot while using new
AM2+ CPUs. In this case, please install one standard AM2 CPU to boot your system, and
update the latest BIOS from our website for AM2+ CPUs support.

7

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 manufact urer.
Connect the fan cable to the connector while matching the black wire to
pin#1.

JCFAN1: CPU Fan Header

14

JNFAN1: NorthBridge Fan Header

JSFAN1: System Fan Header

JNFAN1

3

1

Pin

1 Ground
2 +12V
3

FAN RPM r at e
sense

4 Smart Fan

Control (By Fan)

Pin Assignment

1 Ground
2 +12V
3

Assignment

FAN RPM
rate sense

JSFAN1

Note:

The JCFAN1, JNFAN1, and JSFAN1 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.

8

TA790GX XE/TA790GX M2+/TA790GXB M2+

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.

9

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 M emory

Size

Max is 16GB.

C. Dual Channel Memory installation

To trigger the Dual Channel function of the motherboard, the memory module
must meet the following requirements:

Install memory module of the same density in pairs, shown in the following
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

10

TA790GX XE/TA790GX M2+/TA790GXB M2+

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.

2

133

34

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.

40

39

2

1

11

Motherboard Manual

PEX16_1: PCI-Express Gen2 x16 Slot

- PCI-Express 2.0 compliant.

- Maximum theoretical realized bandwidth of 8GB/s simultaneously per

direction, for an aggregate of 16GB/s totally.

- 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: PCI-Express Gen2 x1 Slot

- 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.

PEX16_1

PEX1_1

PCI1/PCI2: Peripheral Component Inte rconnect 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.

12

PCI1

PCI2

TA790GX XE/TA790GX M2+/TA790GXB M2+

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

JPANEL1: 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.

D

E

_

R

W

L

P

916
1

K

P

S

/

O

n

O

f

f

-

+

+

8

-

+

T

R

S

D

H

E

L

Pin Assignment Function Pin Assignment Function

1 +5V 9 N/A
2 N/A 10 N/A
3 N/ A 11 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

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Motherboard Manual

JATXPWR2: ATX Power Source Connector

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

12

1

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

24

13

JATXPWR1: ATX Power Source Connector

By connecting this connector, it will provide +12V to CPU power circuit.

12

14

34

Pin Assignment

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

Note:

Before power on the system, please make sure that both JATXPWR2 and JATXPWR1
connectors have been plugged-i n.

TA790GX XE/TA790GX M2+/TA790GXB M2+

JCMOS1: Clear CMOS Header

By placing the jumper on pin2-3, it allows user to restore the BIOS safe setting
and the CMOS data, please carefully follow the procedures to avoid damaging
the motherboard.

13

13

Pin 1-2 Close:

Normal Operation
(default).

13

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.

SATA1~SATA6: 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.

Pin

Assignment

SATA2 SATA4 SATA6
SATA1 SATA3 SATA5

1

4

1 Ground
2 TX+
3 TX­4 Ground
5 RX­6 RX+
7 Ground

7

15

Motherboard Manual

JUSB3~JUSB5: 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.

JUSB3

JUSB5

JUSB4

2

10

1

9

JAUDIOF1: 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.

12

910

Pin

Assignment

1 +5V (fused)
2 +5V (fused)
3 USB­4 USB­5 USB+
6 USB+
7 Ground
8 Ground
9 Key

10 NC

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

JSPDIF_OUT1: Digital Audio-out Connector

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

16

Pin

Assignment

1 +5V
2 SPDIF_OUT
3 Ground

13

TA790GX XE/TA790GX M2+/TA790GXB M2+

JCDIN1: 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.

Assignment

Pin

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

14

JPRNT1: Printer Port Connector

This header allows you to connector printer on the PC.

2

1

Pin Assignment Pin Assignment

1 -Strobe 14 Ground

2 -ALF 15 Data 6

3 Data 0 16 Ground

4 -Error 17 Data 7

5 Data 1 18 Ground

6 -Init 19 -ACK

7 Data 2 20 Ground

8 -Scltin 21 Busy

9 Data 3 22 Ground

10 Ground 23 PE

11 Data 4 24 Ground

12 Ground 25 SCLT

13 Data 5 26 Key

25

17

Motherboard Manual

JCOM1: Serial port Connector

The motherboard has a Serial Port Connector for connecting RS-232 Port.

Pin Assignment

1 Carrier detect
2 Received data
3 Transmitted data
4 Data terminal ready
5 Signal ground
6 Data set ready
7 Request to send
8 Clear to send
9 Ring indicator

2

10

10 NC

1

9

JUSBV1/JUSBV2: Power Source Headers for USB Ports

Pin 1-2 Close:

JUSBV1: +5V for USB ports at JUSB1/JUSBLAN1.

JUSBV2: +5V for USB ports at JUSB3/JUSB4/JUSB5.

Pin 2-3 Close:

JUSBV1: +5V STB for USB ports at JUSB1/JUSBLAN1.

JUSBV2: +5V STB for USB ports at JUSB3/JUSB4/JUSB5.

13

JUSBV1

JUSBV2

3

1

13

Pin 1-2 close

13

Pin 2-3 close

18

TA790GX XE/TA790GX M2+/TA790GXB M2+

On-Board LED Indicators

There are 2 LED indicators on the motherboard to show system status.

LED_D2

LED_D1

LED_D1 and LED_D2:

These 2 LED indicate system power on diagnostics.
Please refer to the table below for different messages:

LED_D2 LED_D1 Message

OFF OFF Abnormal: CPU / Chipset error.
OFF ON Memor y Er ror

ON OFF VGA Error
ON ON Normal

On-Board Buttons

There are 2 on-board buttons.

PWRSW1:

This is an on-board Power Switch button.

RSTSW1:

This is an on-board Reset button.

RSTSW1

PWRSW1

19