Foxconn N68S7AA-8EKRS2H User Manual
Statement:
This manual is the intellectual property of Foxconn, Inc. Although the
information in this manual may be changed or modified at any time,
Foxconn does not obligate itself to inform the user of these changes.
Trademark:
All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Version:
User’s Manual V1.0 for N68S7AA motherboard.
Symbol description:
Note: refers to important information that can help you to use motherboard
better.
Attention: indicates that it may damage hardware or cause data loss,
and tells you how to avoid such problems.
Warning: means that a potential risk of property damage or physical
injury exists.
More information:
If you want more information about our products, please visit Foxconn’s
website: http://www.foxconnchannel.com
Declaration of conformity
HON HAI PRECISION INDUSTRY COMPANY LTD
66 , CHUNG SHAN RD., TU-CHENG INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT,
TAIPEI HSIEN, TAIWAN, R.O.C.
declares that the product
Motherboard
N68S7AA
is in conformity with
(reference to the specification under which conformity is declared in
accordance with 89/336 EEC-EMC Directive)
þ EN 55022: 1998/A2: 2003Limits and methods of measurements of radio disturbance
characteristics of information technology equipment
þ EN 61000-3-2/:2000 Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC)
Part 3: Limits
Section 2: Limits for harmonic current emissions
(equipment input current <= 16A per phase)
þ EN 61000-3-3/A1:2001 Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC)
Part 3: Limits
Section 2: Limits of voltage fluctuations and flicker in low-voltage
supply systems for equipment with rated current <= 16A
þ EN 55024/A2:2003 Information technology equipment-Immunity characteristics limits
and methods of measurement
Signature : Place / Date : TAIPEI/2007
Printed Name : James Liang Position/ Title : Assistant President
Declaration of conformity
Trade Name: Foxconn
Model Name: N68S7AA
Responsible Party: PCE Industry Inc.
Address: 458 E. Lambert Rd.
Fullerton, CA 92835
Telephone: 714-738-8868
Facsimile: 714-738-8838
Equipment Classification: FCC Class B Subassembly
Type of Product: Motherboard
Manufacturer: HON HAI PRECISION INDUSTRY
COMPANY LTD
Address: 66 , CHUNG SHAN RD., TU-CHENG
INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT, TAIPEI HSIEN,
TAIWAN, R.O.C.
Supplementary Information:
This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the follow-
ing two conditions : (1) this device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this
device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause
undesired operation.
Tested to comply with FCC standards.
Signature : Date : 2007
Table of Contents
Chapter
Product Introduction
Main Features........................................................................................2
Layout......................................................................................................4
Rear I/O Ports.........................................................................................5
Chapter
CPU.........................................................................................................7
Memory..................................................................................................10
Power Supply........................................................................................11
Other Connectors................................................................................13
Expansion Slots...................................................................................17
Jumpers...............................................................................................18
Chapter
Enter BIOS Setup.................................................................................20
Main menu............................................................................................20
Standard BIOS Features.....................................................................22
Fox Central Control Unit......................................................................23
Boot Configuration Features..............................................................28
Advanced BIOS Features....................................................................29
PCI/PnP Resource Management.......................................................33
Power Management Setup.................................................................34
Hardware Health Configure................................................................36
BIOS Security Features.......................................................................37
Load Optimal Defaults.......................................................................38
Load FailSafe Defaults.......................................................................38
Save Changes and Exit.......................................................................38
Discard Changes and Exit..................................................................38
1
1
Installation Instructions
2
2
BIOS Description
3
3
Chapter
Utility CD content.................................................................................40
Install driver and utility.........................................................................41
4
4
Driver CD Introduction
Table of Contents
Chapter
Directions for Bundled Software
FOX ONE...............................................................................................44
LiveUpdate...........................................................................................51
5
5
Chapter
NVIDIA® RAID Configurations
Introduction...........................................................................................60
BIOS Setup...........................................................................................63
RAID BIOS Setup.................................................................................64
NVIDIA RAID Utility Installation...........................................................68
Initializing and Using the Disk Array..................................................71
66
Appendix
NVIDIA® SLITM Technology...................................................................72
Install OS by using e-SATA..................................................................75
On board Debug LED Code Table.....................................................77
Attention:
1.Attach the CPU and heatsink using silica gel to ensure full contact.
2.It is suggested to select high-quality, certified fans in order to avoid
damage to the motherboard and CPU due high temperatures.
3.Never turn on the machine if the CPU fan is not properly installed.
4.Ensure that the DC power supply is turned off before inserting or
removing expansion cards or other peripherals, especially when
you insert or remove a memory module. Failure to switch off the DC
power supply may result in serious damage to your system or
memory module.
Attention:
We cannot guarantee that your system will operate normally while
over-clocked. Normal operation depends on the over-clock capacity
of your device.
Attention:
Since BIOS programs are upgraded from time to time, the BIOS
description in this manual is just for reference. We do not guarantee
that the content of this manual will remain consistent with the actual
BIOS version at any given time in the future.
Attention:
The pictures of objects used in this manual are just for your reference.
Please refer to the physical motherboard.
This manual is suitable for motherboard of N68S7AA. Each mother-
board is carefully designed for the PC user who wants diverse
features.
-6 with 6-channel audio(Defauit is omitted)
-8 with 8-channel audio
-E with 1394
-L with onboard 10/100M LAN(Defauit is omitted)
-K with onboard Gigabit LAN
-R with RAID
-S with SATA
-2 with DDR2
-H comply with RoHS directive
You can find PPID label on the motherboard. It indicates the functions
that the motherboard has.
For example:
The letters on the black mark of the PPID label mean that the
motherboard supports 6-channel Audio (-6)(default), onboard 10/100M
LAN (-L)(default),1394 function (-E), SATA function (-S),DDR2 slot(-
2),RoHS directive(-H).
Chapter
Thank you for buying Foxconn’s N68S7AA series motherboard.
This series of motherboard is one of our new products, and
offers superior performance, reliability and quality, at a reason-
able price. This motherboard adopts the advanced nVIDIA
C55XE + MCP55XE chipset, providing users a computer plat-
form with a high integration-compatibility-performance price
ratio.
This chapter includes the following information:
1
1
v Main Features
v Layout
v Rear I/O Ports
®
Chapter 1 Product Introduction
Main Features
Size
· ATX form factor of 12 inch x 9.6 inch
Microprocessor
· Supports Intel® CoreTM 2 Quad,CoreTM 2 Extreme,CoreTM 2 Duo processors in
an LGA775 package
· Supports FSB at 1333 MHz/1066 MHz/800 MHz
· Supports Hyper-Threading technology
Chipset
· nVIDIA® C55XE (North Bridge) + MCP55XE (South Bridge)
System Memory
· Four 240-pin DIMM slots
· Supports Dual-Channel DDR2 800/667/533
· Supports up to 8GB DDR2 memory
USB 2.0 Ports
· Supports hot plug
·Ten USB 2.0 ports (four rear panel ports, three onboard USB headers
providing six extra ports)
· Supports USB 2.0 protocol up to 480Mb/s transmission rate
Onboard Serial ATA II
· Six Serial ATA II connectors and one external Serial ATA II port
· 300MB/s data transfer rate
· Supports hot plug and NCQ (Native Command Queuing )
· Supports RAID 0,RAID 1,RAID 0+1,RAID 5,JBOD
Onboard LAN (-K)
· Two LAN interface built-in onboard
· Supports 10/100/1000 Mb/s Ethernet
2
Chapter 1 Product Introduction
Onboard 1394 (-E )
· Supports hot plug
·With rate of transmission at 400 Mb/s
·Connect with 2 independent 1394 units synchronously at most
Onboard Audio (-8)
· Supports S/PDIF output
· Supports Jack-Sensing function
· Supports Intel® High Definition Audio
Expansion Slots
· Two PCI slots
· Two PCI Express x1 slots
· Three PCI Express x16 Graphics slots(one is used as PCI-E X8)
PCI Express x1 Support
· Supports 250 MB/s (500 MB/s concurrent) bandwidth
· Low power consumption and power management features
PCI Express x8 Support
· Supports 2 GB/s (4 GB/s concurrent) bandwidth
· Low power consumption and power management features
PCI Express x16 Support
· Supports 4 GB/s (8 GB/s concurrent) bandwidth
· Low power consumption and power management features
Green Function
· Supports ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface)
· Supports S0 (normal), S1 (power on suspend), S3 (suspend to RAM), S4
(Suspend to disk - depends on OS), and S5 (soft - off)
3
Layout
7
8
9
Chapter 1 Product Introduction
6
5 4
2 1
3
30
29
31
10
11
12
13
14
16 2018 19
15 17
1. COM1 Connector
2. AUX Power Connector:PWR3
3. PCI Express x1 Slot
4. PCI Express x16 Slot
5. PCI Slots
6. Front Audio Connector
7. CD_IN Connector
8. Speaker Connector
9. SPDIF_OUT Connector
10. Debug _LED
11. 1394 Connector
12. Front USB Connectors
13. Power on Button
14. Reset Button
15. Chassis Intruder Connector
16. Front Panel Connector
29
NOTE:
28
27
26
25
31
24
21
31
22
17. Onboard_LED
18. SATA II Connectors
19. Clear CMOS Jumper
20. IrDA Header
21. IDE Connector:PIDE
22. FDD Connector
23. 24-pin ATX Power Connector: PWR1
24. DDR2 DIMM Slots
25. CPU_Fan Connector
26. South Bridge: nVIDIA® MCP55XE Chipset
27. North Bridge: nVIDIA® C55XE Chipset
28. LGA 775 CPU Socket
29. Chipset FAN1/2 Connector
30. 8-pin ATX_12V Power Connector:PWR2
31. System_FAN1/2/3/4 Connector(reserved)
23
The above motherboard layout is provided for reference only,
please refer to the physical motherboard.
4
Chapter 1 Product Introduction
Rear I/O Ports
This motherboard provides the ports as below:
PS/2 Mouse
Port
1
Parallel Port
(Print Port)
10
Lan Port(-K)
9
Line-out
Line-in
Rear Sperker
CEN/LFE
Side Sperker
Microphone
2
PS/2
Keyboard Port
8
Line in, Line out, Microphone, Rear, LEF/CEN, Side Jacks
3
External
SATA Port
4
S/PDIF
Coax Port
5
S/PDIF
Optical Port
6
1394 Single
port
7
USB 2.0 Ports
When using 8-channel sound source, connect the front speaker to the green
audio output; connect the rear sound speaker to the black audio output; con-
nect the center speaker/subwoofer to the orange audio output; connect the side
sound speaker to the grey audio output.
8
5
Chapter 1 Product Introduction
Chapter
This chapter introduces the hardware installation process, in-
cluding the installation of the CPU, memory, power supply,
slots, and pin headers, and the mounting of jumpers. Cau-
tion should be exercised during the installation of these
modules. Please refer to the motherboard layout prior to any
installation and read the contents in this chapter carefully.
This chapter includes the following information:
2
2
v CPU
v Memory
v Power supply
v Other Connectors
v Expansion Slots
v Jumpers
6
Chapter 2 Installation Instructions
CPU
This motherboard supports Intel® CoreTM 2 Quad,CoreTM 2 Extreme,CoreTM 2 Duo
processors in an LGA775 package with a Front Side Bus (FSB) of 1333/1066/
800MHz.
For the detailed CPU support list on this motherboard, please visit the
website: http://www.foxconnchannel.com
Installation of CPU
Below is the CPU socket illustration. Follow these procedures to install a CPU.
Load lever
1. Use thumb and forefinger to hold the hook of the load lever and pull the lever
down and away from socket to unlock it. Lift the load lever.
2. Push down the rear tab with your forefinger to bring the front end of the load
plate up slightly. Open the load plate with thumb. Be careful not to touch the
contacts.
Load plate
Protective cover
7
Chapter 2 Installation Instructions
3. Hold CPU with thumb and forefinger. Ensure fingers align to socket cutouts.
Match the CPU triangle marker to Pin 1 position as shown below. The alignment
key also provides the orientation directed function. Lower the CPU straight down
without tilting or sliding the CPU in the socket.
Alignment
Key
Pin 1
position
Socket
Cutouts
4. After installing the CPU, remove the protective cover from load plate. The
protective cover is used to protect the contacts of the socket. Do not discard the
protective cover. Always replace the socket cover if the CPU is removed from the
socket.
8
Chapter 2 Installation Instructions
5. Close the load plate, and slightly push down the tongue side.
6. Lower the lever and lock it to the load plate, then the CPU is locked completely.
Note :
Excessive temperatures will severely damage the CPU and
system. Therefore, you should install CPU cooling fan and make
sure that the cooling fan works normally at all times in order to
prevent overheating and damaging to the CPU. Please refer to your
CPU fan user guide to install it properly.
9
Chapter 2 Installation Instructions
Memory
This motherboard includes four 240-pin slots with 1.8V for DDR2. You must
install at least one memory bank to ensure normal operation.
For the detailed memory support list on this motherboard, please visit the
website: http://www.foxconnchannel.com
Installation of DDR2 Memory
1.There is only one gap near the center of the DIMM slot, and the memory
module can be fixed in one direction only. Unlock a DIMM slot by pressing the
module clips outward.
2.Align the memory module to the DIMM slot, and insert the module vertically
into the DIMM slot.
128-Pin 112-pin
3.The plastic clips at both sides of the DIMM slot will lock automatically.
Warning:
Be sure to unplug the AC power supply before adding or re-
moving expansion cards or other system peripherals, espe-
cially the memory devices, otherwise your motherboard or the
system memory might be seriously damaged.
10
Chapter 2 Installation Instructions
Power Supply
This motherboard uses an ATX power supply. In order to avoid damaging any
devices, make sure that they have been installed properly prior to connecting
the power supply.
24-pin ATX power connector: PWR1
PWR1 is the ATX power supply connector. Make
sure that the power supply cable and pins are
+3.3V
+5V
+3.3V
GND
GND
1
properly aligned with the connector on the
motherboard. Firmly plug the power supply
cable into the connector and make sure it is
+3.3V
secure.
GND GND
-12V
GND
PSON
24-pin ATX Power Connector
Attention:
We recommend you use 24-pin power supply. If you want to use
20-pin power supply, you need to align the ATX power connector
according to the following picture.
+5V_AUX
+3.3V
+12V
GND
+12V
PWROK
+5V
12
2413
NC
+5V
+5V
+5V
GND
GND
20-Pin Power
24-Pin Power
11
Chapter 2 Installation Instructions
8-pin ATX_12 V Power Connector: PWR2
The 8-pin ATX 12V power supply connects to
PWR2 and provides power to the CPU.
Attention:
We recommend you use 8-pin ATX 12V
power supply. If you want to use 4-pin
power supply, you need to align the ATX
power connector according to the right
picture.
Exclusive Graphics power Connector: PWR3
This connector is a auxiliary power for graphics
card.Exclusive power for graphics card is for
beter graphics performance and for future up-
grade usage.
GND
1
5
8-pin ATX_12 V Power Connector
4
8
12V
Connect a 4-pin power
plug here
5 1
8
Exclusive Graphics power Connector
4
1
+5V
GND
GND
+12V
4
12
Chapter 2 Installation Instructions
Other Connectors
This motherboard includes connectors for FDD device, IDE device,Serial ATA
devices, USB devices, IR module, and others.
FDD Connector: FLOPPY
This motherboard includes a standard FDD connector, supporting 360K, 720K,
1.2M, 1.44M, and 2.88M FDDs.
IDE Connectors: PIDE
These connectors support the provided UltraDMA133/100/66 IDE hard disk rib-
bon cable and you can configure as a disk array through RAID controller. Refer
to RAID manual (in CD) for details on how to set up RAID configurations.
Attention:
If you install two IDE device, you must configure the second drive
as a slave device.
Front Panel Connector: FP1
This motherboard includes one connector for connecting the front panel switch
and LED indicators.
Hard Disk LED Connector (HDD-LED)
The connector connects to the case’s IDE indicator LED indicating the activity
status of hard disks.
Reset Switch (RESET)
Attach the connector to the Reset switch on the front panel of the case; the
system will restart when the switch is pressed.
Power LED Connector (PWRLED)
Attach the connector to the power LED on the front panel of the case. The Power
LED indicates the system’s status. When the system is in S0 status, the LED is
on. When the system is in S1 status, the LED is blink; When the system is in S3,
S4, S5 status, the LED is off.
13
Chapter 2 Installation Instructions
Power Switch Connector (PWRSW)
Attach the connector to the power button
of the case. Pushing this switch allows
the system to be turned on and off rather
than using the power supply button.
Audio Connector: F_AUDIO
The audio connector supports HD audio standard. It provides two kinds of audio output choices: the Front Audio, the
Rear Audio. Front Audio supports re-task-
ing function.
IrDA Connector: IR
This header supports wireless transmit-
ting and receiving device. Before using
this function, configure the settings of
IR Mode from the “Advanced BIOS
Fetures” section of the CMOS Setup.
1394 Connector: F_1394
The 1394 expansion cable can be con-
nected to either the front (provided that
the front panel of your chassis is
equipped with the appropriate
interface) or real panel of the chassis.
HDD-LED
RESET-SW
NC
PORT1_L
PORT1_R
PORT2_R
SENSE_SEND
PORT2_L
1 2
+
-
GND
+12V
TPB -
GND
TPA -
9 10
FPFP1!
1
F_AUDIO
1
IR
F_1394
+
PWR-LED
-
PWR-SW
Empty
AUD_GND
PRESENCE_J
SENSE1_RETURN
Empty
SENSE2_RETURN
+5V
Empty
IRRX
GND
IRTX
910
Empty
+12V
TPB +
GND
TPA +
12
S/PDIF Out Connector: SPDIF_OUT
The SPDIF OUT connector is capable of
providing digital audio to external
speaker or compressed AC3 data to an
external Dolby digital decoder.
14
+5V
Empty
SPDIF_OUT
GND
SPDIF_OUT
1
Chapter 2 Installation Instructions
Speaker Connector:SPEAKER
The speaker connector is used to connect
speaker of the chassis.
Serial ATA II Connectors: SATA_1-2, SATA_3-4,
SATA_5-6
The Serial ATA II connector is used to connect the
Serial ATA II device to the motherboard. These
connectors support the thin Serial ATA II cables
for Serial ATA II devices. The current Serial ATA II
interface allows up to 300MB/s data transfer rate.
Audio Connectors: CD_IN
CD_IN is Sony standard CD audio connectors, it
can be connected to a CD-ROM drive through a
CD audio cable.
Chassis Intruder Connector: INTR
The connector connects to the chassis security
switch on the case. The system can detect the
chassis intrusion through the status of this
connector. If the connector has been closed once,
the system will send a message.
SPKJ
Empty
NC
SPKJ
SPEAKER
GND
RX+
RX-
GND
TX-
TX+
GND
SATA_1/2/3/4/5/6
1
CD_L
CD_IN
1
INTRUDERJ GND
GND
INTR
1
1
CD_R
COM Connector: COM1
This motherboard provides an additional serial
COM header for your machine.Connect one side
of a switching cable to the header, then attach
the serial COM device to the other side of the
cable.
2
1
RLSD
DTR
SOUT
CTS
DSR SIN
GND
COM1
RTS
Empty
10
9
RI
15
Chapter 2 Installation Instructions
Fan Connectors: CPU_FAN, SYS_FAN1/2/3/
4,FAN1/2
there are seven fan connectors on this
motherboard.The fan speed can be detected
and viewed in “Hardware Health Configure”
section of the CMOS Setup. These fans will be
automatically turned off after the system en-
ters S3, S4 and S5 mode.
USB Connectors: F_USB1/2/3
Besides four USB ports on the rear panel,the
series of motherboards also have three 10-pin
connectors on board which may connect to the
front panel USB cable to provide additional six
USB ports.
1
GND
+12V
SENSE
SYS_FAN1/2/3/4,FAN1/2
1
GND
POWER CONTROL
SENSE
CPU_FAN
NC Empty
1
GND
D+
D-
5V_DUAL
GND
D+
D-
5V_DUAL
F_USB 1/2/3
16
Chapter 2 Installation Instructions
Expansion Slots
This motherboard includes two32-bit master PCI slots,two PCI Express x 1 slot
and three PCI Express x 16 slot.
For the detailed PCI Express cards support list on this motherboard, please
visit the website: http://www.foxconnchannel.com
PCI Slots
The expansion cards can be installed in the two PCI slots. PCI slots support
cards such as a LAN card, USB card, SCSI card and other cards that comply
with PCI specifications.
PCI Express x1 Slot
This motherboard has two PCI Express x1 slots that designed to accommodate
less bandwidth-intensive cards, such as a modem or LAN card.The PCI Ex-
press x1 slot offering 250MB/s(500MB/s concurrent) of bandwidth.
PCI Express x16 Slot
This motherboard has three PCI Express x16 slots that reserved for graphics or
video cards. Two of the x16 slots offering 4GB/s (8GB/s concurrent) of bandwidth,
and one offering 2GB/s (4GB/s concurrent) of bandwidth.
Installing an expansion card
1.Before installing the expansion card, read carefully the documentation that
came withit and make the necessary hardware settings for the card.
2.Make sure to unplug the power cord before adding or removing any expan-
sion cards.
3.Remove the bracket opposite the slot that you intend to use.
4.Align the card connector with the slot and press firmly until the card is
completely seated in the slot.
5.Secure the card to the chassis with the screw you removed earlier.
Warning:
If a performance graphics card was installed into x16 PCI Ex-
press slot,24 pin power supply was recommended.
17
Chapter 2 Installation Instructions
Jumpers
The users can change the jumper settings on this motherboard if needed. This
section explains how to use the various functions of this motherboard by chang-
ing the jumper settings. Users should read the following content carefully prior to
modifying any jumper settings.
Description of Jumpers
1. For the jumpers on this motherboard, pin 1 can be identified by the bold
silkscreen next to it. However, in this manual, pin 1 is simply labeled as “1”.
2. The following table provides some explanation of the jumper pin settings.
User should refer to this when adjusting jumper settings.
Jumper Diagram Definition Description
1
1
1
1
1
1
Clear CMOS Jumper: CLR_CMOS
The motherboard uses the CMOS RAM to store all
the set parameters. The CMOS can be cleared by
removing the CMOS jumper.
How to clear CMOS?
1. Turn off the AC power supply and connect pins 1
and 2 together using the jumper cap.
2. Return the jumper setting to normal (pins 2 and
3 together with the jumper cap).
3. Turn the AC power supply back on.
1-2 Set pin 1 and pin 2 closed
2-3 Set pin 2 and pin 3 closed
Closed Set the pin closed
Open Set the pin opened
Normal
(default)
Clear
Clear CMOS Jumper
1
2
3
1
2
3
18
Warning:
1. Disconnect the power cable before adjusting the jumper settings.
2. Do not clear the CMOS while the system is turned on.
Chapter 3 BIOS Description
Chapter
This chapter tells how to change system settings through the
BIOS Setup menus. Detailed descriptions of the BIOS param-
eters are also provided.
You have to run the Setup Program when the following cases
occur:
1.An error message appears on the screen during the system
2.You want to change the default CMOS settings.
This chapter includes the following information:
3
3
POST process.
v Enter BIOS Setup
v Main Menu
v Standard BIOS Features
v Fox Central Control Unit
v Boot Configuration Features
v Advanced BIOS Features
v PCI/PNP Resource Management
v Power Management Setup
v Hardware Health Configure
v BIOS Security Features
v Load Optimal Defaults
v Load FailSafe Defaults
v Save Changes and Exit
v Discard Changes and Exit
19
Chapter 3 BIOS Description
Enter BIOS Setup
The BIOS is the communication bridge between hardware and software,
correctly setting up the BIOS parameters is critical to maintain optimal system
performance. Power on the computer, when the following message briefly
appears at the bottom of the screen during the POST (Power On Self Test),
press <Del> key to enter the BIOS CMOS Setup Utility.
Press TAB to show POST Screen, DEL to enter SETUP.
Note:
1.The BIOS setup screens shown in this section are provided for
reference only, please refer to the phyical screens.
2.We do not suggest that you change the default parameters in the
BIOS Setup, and we shall not be responsible for any damage that
result from any changes that you make.
Main Menu
The main menu allows you to select from the list of setup functions and two exit
choices. Use the arrow keys to select among the items and press <Enter> to
accept or go to the sub-menu.
Main Menu
The items in the main menu are explained as below:
Standard BIOS Features
The basic system configuration can be set up through this menu.
20
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