Foxconn NF4K8AB-8EKRS 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.

V ersion:

User’s Manual V1.0 in English for NF4K8AB series motherboard.
P/N: 91-181-K84-A3-0E

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 the following
website:

http://www.foxconnchannel.com

Item Checklist:

Thank for your purchasing WinFast NF4K8AB series motherboard. Please check
the package; if there are missing or damaged items, contact your distributor as
soon as possible.

NF4K8AB series motherboard (x1)
WinFast Utility CD (x1)
User’s Manual (x1)
IDE Ribbon Cable (x2)
FDD Ribbon Cable (x1)
I/O Shield (x1)
S-ATA Signal Cable (x2)
S-ATA Power Cable (x1)
USB 2.0 Cable (x1) (optional)
NVRAID Driver Floppy Disk (x1)

Declaration of conformity

HON HAI PRECISION INDUSTRY COMPANY L TD

66 , CHUNG SHAN RD., TU-CHENG INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT,

TAIPEI HSIEN, TAIWAN, R.O.C.

declares that the product

Motherboard

NF4K8AB

is in conformity with

(reference to the specification under which conformity is declared in

accordance with 89/336 EEC-EMC Directive)

 EN 55022/A1: 2000 Limits and methods of measurements of radio disturbance

characteristics of information technology equipment

 EN 61000-3-2/A14:2000 Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC)

Part 3: Limits
Section 2: Limits for harmonic current emissions
(equipment input current <= 16A per phase)

 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

 EN 55024/A1:2001 Information technology equipment-Immunity characteristics limits

and methods of measurement

Signature : Place / Date : TAIPEI/2005

Printed Name : James Liang Position/ Title : Assistant President

Declaration of conformity

Supplementary Information:

This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the
following 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 : 2005

Table of Contents

Chapter

Main Features .............................................................................................. 2

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

Chapter

CPU.............................................................................................................. 8

Memory ...................................................................................................... 12

Power Supply ............................................................................................ 14

Rear Panel Connectors .............................................................................. 15

Other Connectors ...................................................................................... 17

Expansion Slots ......................................................................................... 21

Jumpers..................................................................................................... 23

Chapter

Enter BIOS Setup ....................................................................................... 27

Main Menu ................................................................................................. 27

Standard CMOS Features .......................................................................... 29

BIOS Features ........................................................................................... 31

Advanced BIOS Features .......................................................................... 32

Advanced Chipset Features ...................................................................... 34

Integrated Peripherals ................................................................................ 36

Power Management Setup ......................................................................... 39

PnP/PCI Configurations............................................................................... 43

PC Health Status (O.T.S) ............................................................................ 44

X-BIOS II <Over Clocking> .......................................................................... 45

Load Best Defaults .................................................................................... 46

Set Supervisor/User Password ................................................................. 46

Save & Exit Setup ...................................................................................... 47

Exit Without Saving .................................................................................... 47

Product Introduction

Installation Instructions

BIOS Description

Table of Contents

Chapter

Utility CD content........................................................................................

Start to install drivers .................................................................................

Chapter

Basic Configuration Introductions .............................................................. 53

Setting up the BIOS.................................................................................... 54

Entering the RAID BIOS Setup .................................................................... 55

NVIDIA RAID Utility Installation .................................................................... 59

Initializing and Using the Disk Array ........................................................... 62

Win2K Limitation with Bootable RAID.......................................................... 63

Using 8-channel Audio (optional) ............................................................... 65

Driver CD Introduction

NVIDIA RAID Introduction

Appendix

Warning:

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 to high temperature.

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 re
moving 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.

Warning:

We cannot guarantee that your system will operate normally while
overclocked. Normal operation depends on the overclock 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 NF4K8AB series.
Each motherboard is carefully designed for the PC user who
wants diverse features.

-L with onboard 100M LAN

-K with onboard 1G LAN

-6 with 6-channel audio

-8 with 8-channel audio

-E with 1394

-S with SAT A

-R with RAID

You can find PPID label on the motherboard. It indicates the
functions that the motherboard has.

For example:

On the blue mark of the PPID label, it means the motherboard
supports 6-channel Audio (-6), 1394 port (-E), onboard 100M
LAN (-L), SA TA function (-S).

Chapter

Thank you for buying WinFast NF4K8AB series motherboard.
This series of motherboard is one of our new products, and
offers superior performance, reliability and quality, at a rea­sonable price. This motherboard adopts the advanced NVIDIA
nForce4 chipset, providing users a computer platform with a
high integration-compatibility-performance price ratio.

This chapter includes the following information:

1

1

 Main Features
 Motherboard Layout

Main Features

Size:

 ATX form factor of 12” x 9.6”

Microprocessor:

 Supports AMD socket 754 Sempron
 Supports HyperTransport technology

Chipset:

 NVIDIA chipset: nForce4

System Memory

 Three 184-pin DDR DIMM slots
 Supports PC3200/2700/2100 memory

TM

Chapter 1 Product Introduction

, Athlon

TM

64 processors

 Supports 128/256/512/1024Mb technology up to 3GB

USB 2.0 Port

 Supports hot-plug
 Ten USB 2.0 ports (four rear panel ports, three onboard USB headers

providing six extra ports)

 Supports wake-up from S1 and S3 mode
 Supports USB 2.0 protocol up to 480Mbps transmission rate

Onboard Serial ATA

 150MBps transfer rate
 Supports four S-ATA devices

NVIDIA RAID Technology

 supports RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 0+1 and JBOD
 Cross-controller RAID uniquely supports both SA TA and PATA disk devices within

a single array

Onboard LAN (-L/-K) (optional)

 Supports10/100/1000 (-K optional) Mbps Ethernet
 LAN interface built-in on board

Note: The shielded LAN cables are recommended.

2

NF4K8AB Series User Manual

Chapter 1 Product Introduction

Onboard Audio

 AC’ 97 2.3 Specification Compliant
 Supports S/PDIF output
 Onboard Line-in jack, Microphone jack, Line-out jack
 Supports 6-channel audio (setting via software)

Onboard Audio

 Supports 8-channel audio
 Supports S/PDIF output
 Supports Universal Audio Jack (UAJ)
 Supports high quality differential CD input

Onboard 1394 (-E) (optional)

 Supports hot-plug
 With rate of transmission at 400Mbps
 Self-configured addressing
 Supports two independent 1394 units synchronously at most, such as HDD,

CD-ROM

BIOS

 Licensed advanced AWARD (Phoenix) BIOS, supports flash ROM, Plug-and-

Play

 Supports IDE, CD-ROM, SCSI HDD or USB device boot up

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) ACPI state

PCI Express x16 Support

 Supports 4 GB/sec (8GB/sec concurrent) bandwidth
 Low power consumption and power management features

Expansion Slots

 Three PCI slots
 Three PCI Express x1 slots
 One PCI Express x16 Graphics slot

NF4K8AB Series User Manual

3

Chapter 1 Product Introduction

Advanced Features

 PCI 2.3 Specification Compliant
 Supports PC Health function (capable of monitoring system voltage, CPU

temperature, system temperature, and fan speed)

4

NF4K8AB Series User Manual

Motherboard Layout

5

7

Chapter 1 Product Introduction

4 3 2 16

8

9
10
11

12
13
14
15

16
17

18

19

20 21

2422 23 26 2725

1. PCI Express x1 slots

3. Front Audio connector

5. PEX PLL REFCLK jumper

7. F_1394 connector (optional)

32

31
30

29

28

2. CD_IN connector

4. Termination enable jumper

6. PCI slots

8. Auxiliary PEX power connector

9. SPDIF_OUT connector

11.Recovery jumper

13.FAN1 connector

15. Clear CMOS jumper

17. BIOS TBL Enable jumper

19. FAN2 connector

21. Intruder connector

23. SATA connectors

25. Chipset: NVIDIA nForce4

27. 24-pin power connector

29. CPU_FAN connector

31. PCI Express x16 slot

10. ROM Table Select jumper

12. PEX REFCLK jumper

14. Speaker connector

16. Floppy drive connector

18. IrDA connector

20. Front Panel connector

22. Front USB connectors

24. Primary IDE connector

26. Secondary IDE connector

28. DDR DIMM slots

30. Socket 754

32. 12V CPU power connector

Note: The above motherboard layout is provided for reference only; please

refer to the physical motherboard.

NF4K8AB Series User Manual

5

Chapter

This chapter introduces the hardware installation process,
including the installation of the CPU and memory. It also
addresses the connection of your power supply, use of the
rear panel connectors, connection of hard drive and floppy
drive data cables, and setting up various other feature of the
motherboard. Caution should be exercised during the in­stallation process. Please refer to the motherboard layout
prior to any installation and read the contents in this chapter
carefully.

Chapter 1 Product Introduction

This chapter includes the following information:

 CPU
 Memory
 Power Supply
 Rear Panel Connectors
 Other Connectors
 Expansion Slots
 Jumpers

6

NF4K8AB Series User Manual

Chapter 2 Installation Instructions

Take note of the following precautions before you install components
or change settings.

1. Use a grounded wrist strap or touch a safely grounded object, such

as an attached power supply, before handling components to avoid
damaging them due to static electricity.

2. Unplug the power cord before opening your chassis or touching any

components.

3. Hold components by their edges to avoid touching any exposed

integrated circuits (ICs).

4. Whenever you uninstall a component, place it on a grounded anti-

static pad or into the anti-static bag that it came in.

NF4K8AB Series User Manual

7

Chapter 2 Installation Instructions

This motherboard supports AMD socket 754 SempronTM, Athlon
cessors with HyperTransport

TM

Technology.

Attention:

The CPU pins must be properly aligned with the holes in the
socket, otherwise the CPU may be damaged.

Installation of CPU

Follow these steps to install the CPU.

1. Unlock the socket by pressing the le­ver sideways, then lift it up to a 90
angle.

o

TM

64 family pro-

2. Align the cut edge to the gap in the base
of the socket. Carefully insert the CPU
into the socket until it fits in place.

When the CPU is in place, press it
firmly on the socket while you push
down the socket lever to secure the
CPU. The lever clicks on the side tab
to indicate that it is locked.

Cut edge

Gap in the base

Push down the socket
lever to secure the CPU.

8

NF4K8AB Series User Manual

Chapter 2 Installation Instructions

Installation of CPU Fan

New technology allows processors to run at higher and higher frequencies.
To avoid problems arising from high-speed operation, for example,
overheating, you need to install the proper fan. The following procedure is
provided for reference only, please refer to your CPU fan user guide for the
actual procedure.

CPU Fan

CPU Heatsink

CPU Retention Mechanism

CPU Retention Bracket

1.Locate the CPU retention mecha­nism base (surrounds the CPU
socket).

CPU Retention Lock

2.If required, apply a light coating of
silica gel to the top of the CPU.

NOTE: The CPU heatsink may have
a pre-applied thermal compound. In
that case, the silica gel is not required.

NF4K8AB Series User Manual

9

Chapter 2 Installation Instructions

3. Place the cooling set onto the re­tention mechanism. Attach one end
of the retention bracket to retention
mechanism.

5. Push down the retention bracket lock on the retention mechanism to secure
the heatsink and fan to module base.

4.Align the other end of the reten­tion bracket to fasten the cooling
set on the top of the retention
mechanism.

6.Connect the fan’s power cable to the appropriate 3-pin terminal on the
motherboard.

10

NF4K8AB Series User Manual

Chapter 2 Installation Instructions

CPU Qualified Vendor List

The following table lists the CPUs that have been tested and qualified for use
with this motherboard.

Socket CPU Host Bus Speed (Hz)

754 Athlon 64 3000+ 1.8G
754
754
754
754
754

Athlon 64 3200+ 2.0G
Athlon 64 3400+ 2.2G
Athlon 64 2800+ 1.8G
Athlon 64 3700+ 2.4G
Sempron 3100+ 2.0G

NF4K8AB Series User Manual

11

Chapter 2 Installation Instructions

Memory

This motherboard includes three 184-pin slots with 266/333/400 MHz single
channel DDR DRAM interface, You must install at least one memory module to
ensure normal operation and install to DIMM1 at first. Mixing memory modules
from different manufactures are not recommended.

Installation of DDR Memory

1. There is only one gap in the center of the DIMM slot, and the memory module
can be fixed in one direction only.

2. Align the memory module to the DIMM slot, and insert the module verti­cally into the DIMM slot.

3. The plastic clips at both sides of the DIMM slot will lock automatically.

Note:

Be sure to unplug the AC power supply before adding or re­moving expansion cards or other system peripherals, espe­cially the memory devices, otherwise your motherboard or the
system memory might be seriously damaged.

12

NF4K8AB Series User Manual

Chapter 2 Installation Instructions

Memory Qualified Vendor List

The following table list is the memory modules that have been tested and qualified for
use with this motherboard.

Vendor

GEIL
TWINMOS
HLX
SAMSUNG
SAMSUNG
INFINEON
MT
MT
HYNIX
SAMSUNG
SAMSUNG
KINGSTEK
CRL
NANY A

Type

(PC3200) DDR 400
(PC3200) DDR 400
(PC2700) DDR 333
(PC3200) DDR 400
(PC2700) DDR 333
(PC2700) DDR 333
(PC2700) DDR 333
(PC2700) DDR 333
(PC2700) DDR 333
(PC2700) DDR 333
(PC2700) DDR 333
(PC2700) DDR 333
(PC2700) DDR 333
(PC2700) DDR 333

Size

512MB
1GB
256MB
256MB
512MB
128MB
256MB
512MB
128MB
256MB
128MB
512MB
512MB
1GB

HLX
KINGMAX
NANY A
SAMSUNG
INFINEON
HYNIX
INFINEON
CORSAIR
KINGSTEK
MT

(PC2100) DDR 266
(PC2100) DDR 266
(PC2100) DDR 266
(PC3200) DDR 400
(PC3200) DDR 400
(PC3200) DDR 400
(PC3200) DDR 400
(PC3200) DDR 400
(PC3200) DDR 400
(PC2700) DDR 333

NF4K8AB Series User Manual

256MB
256MB
128MB
128MB
128MB
128MB
256MB
512MB
512MB
128MB

13

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 properly aligned with the
connector on the motherboard. Firmly
plug the power supply cable into the con­nector and make sure it is secure.

ATX 12V Power Connector: PWR2

The 4 pin ATX 12V power supply connects
to PWR2 and provides power to the CPU.

AUX PEX PWR connector: J2A1

This connector is auxiliary power which
mainly supplies for PXE function.

24-pin ATX Power Connector

+5V_AUX +5V

GND

1

13

+3.3V

GND

-12V

A TX 12V Power Connector

GND

12V

AUX PEX PWR connector

12V

GND
GND

GND

PSON

5V

GND

+5V

GND

GND

PWROK

RSVD

+12V

+5V

+5V

+12V

+5V

GND

12V

+3.3V

12

24

GND GND

Attention:

We strongly 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 right picture.

14

NF4K8AB Series User Manual

Chapter 2 Installation Instructions

Rear Panel Connectors

This motherboard provides the following ports as below:

For -8 models

Parallel Port

1

PS/2 Mouse Port

PS/2 Keyboard Port

2

4

(Printer Port)

COM1 USB 2.0 Ports

3

5

Coaxial

Out Port

SPDIF

6

1394 Port
(optional)

7

8

LAN Port

Rear

Line-in/
Side

Line-out/
Front

Microphone

CEN/LFE

9

For -6 models

Line-in jack

Line-out jack

Microphone jack

1

PS/2 Mouse Port

This green 6-pin connector is for a PS/2 mouse.

2

PS/2 Keyboard Port

This purple 6-pin connector is for a PS/2 keyboard.

3

Serial Port: COM1

This 9-pin COM1 port is for pointing devices or other serial devices.

4

Parallel Port: Printer Port

The 25-pin port connects a parallel printer, a scanner, or other devices.

10

5

SPDIF Coaxial Out Port
This port connects to external audio output devices with coaxial cable
connectors.

NF4K8AB Series User Manual

15