Supermicro X8STE operation manual

X8ST3-F
X8STE

USER’S MANUAL

Revision 1.3

The information in this User’s Manual has been carefully reviewed and is believed to be accurate.
The vendor assumes no responsibility for any inaccuracies that may be contained in this document,
makes no commitment to update or to keep current the information in this manual, or to notify any
person or organization of the updates. Please Note: For the most up-to-date version of this

manual, please see our web site at www.supermicro.com.

Super Micro Computer, Inc. ("Supermicro") reserves the right to make changes to the product
described in this manual at any time and without notice. This product, including software and docu­mentation, is the property of Supermicro and/or its licensors, and is supplied only under a license.
Any use or reproduction of this product is not allowed, except as expressly permitted by the terms
of said license.

IN NO EVENT WILL SUPER MICRO COMPUTER, INC. BE LIABLE FOR DIRECT, INDIRECT,
SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, SPECULATIVE OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING FROM THE
USE OR INABILITY TO USE THIS PRODUCT OR DOCUMENTATION, EVEN IF ADVISED OF
THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. IN PARTICULAR, SUPER MICRO COMPUTER, INC.
SHALL NOT HAVE LIABILITY FOR ANY HARDWARE, SOFTWARE, OR DATA STORED OR USED
WITH THE PRODUCT, INCLUDING THE COSTS OF REPAIRING, REPLACING, INTEGRATING,
INSTALLING OR RECOVERING SUCH HARDWARE, SOFTWARE, OR DATA.

Any disputes arising between manufacturer and customer shall be governed by the laws of Santa
Clara County in the State of California, USA. The State of California, County of Santa Clara shall
be the exclusive venue for the resolution of any such disputes. Supermicro's total liability for all
claims will not exceed the price paid for the hardware product.

FCC Statement: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class
A digital device pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide
reasonable protection against harmful interference when the equipment is operated in a commercial
environment. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not
installed and used in accordance with the manufacturer’s instruction manual, may cause harmful
interference with radio communications. Operation of this equipment in a residential area is likely
to cause harmful interference, in which case you will be required to correct the interference at your
own expense.

California Best Management Practices Regulations for Perchlorate Materials: This Perchlorate
warning applies only to products containing CR (Manganese Dioxide) Lithium coin cells. “Perchlorate
Material-special handling may apply. See www.dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/perchlorate”.

WARNING: Handling of lead solder materials used in this
product may expose you to lead, a chemical known to
the State of California to cause birth defects and other
reproductive harm.

Manual Revision 1.3

Release Date: January 11, 2012

Unless you request and receive written permission from Super Micro Computer, Inc., you may not
copy any part of this document.

Information in this document is subject to change without notice. Other products and companies
referred to herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies or mark
holders.

Copyright © 2012 by Super Micro Computer, Inc.
All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

Preface

This manual is written for system integrators, PC technicians and

knowledgeable PC users. It provides information for the installation and use of the

X8ST3-F/X8STE motherboard.

About This Motherboard

The X8ST3-F/X8STE supports the Intel® Core™ i7 990X, i7-980X, i7-

975, i7-965 Extreme Edition, Intel® Xeon® 5600/5500 series and Intel® Xeon®

3600/3500 series. These processors support the Intel QuickPath Interconnect

(QPI) technology, providing the next generation point-to-point system interface that

replaces the current Front Side Bus. With the Intel X58 Express chipset built-in,

the X8ST3-F/X8STE offers substantial enhancement in system performance with in-

creased bandwidth and unprecedented scalability, optimized for intense-computing

and high-end server platforms. Please refer to our web site (http://www.supermicro.

com/products/) for updates on supported processors. This product is intended to be

professionally installed and serviced by a technician.

Manual Organization

Preface

Chapter 1 describes the features, specications and performance of the mother-

board and provides detailed information about the chipset.

Chapter 2 provides hardware installation instructions. Read this chapter when in-

stalling the processor, memory modules and other hardware components into the

system. If you encounter any problems, see Chapter 3, which describes trouble-

shooting procedures for video, memory and system setup stored in the CMOS.

Chapter 4 includes an introduction to the BIOS and provides detailed information

on running the CMOS Setup utility.

Appendix A provides BIOS Error Beep Codes.

Appendix B lists the Windows OS Installation Instructions.

Appendix C and Appendix D lists Other Software Program Installation and BIOS

Recovery Instructions.

iii

X8ST3-F/X8STE User’s Manual

Conventions Used in the Manual:

Special attention should be given to the following symbols for proper installation and

to prevent damage done to the components or injury to yourself:

Danger/Caution: Instructions to be strictly followed to prevent catastrophic

system failure or to avoid bodily injury

Warning: Important information given to ensure proper system installation

or to prevent damage to the components

Note: Additional Information given to differentiate various models or pro-

vides information for correct system setup.

iv

Contacting Supermicro

Headquarters

Address: Super Micro Computer, Inc.

980 Rock Ave.

San Jose, CA 95131 U.S.A.

Tel: [phone]

Fax: [phone]

Email: [e-mail] (General Information)

[e-mail] (Technical Support)

Web Site: www.supermicro.com

Europe

Address: Super Micro Computer B.V.

Het Sterrenbeeld 28, 5215 ML

's-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands

Tel: [phone]

Fax: [phone]

Email: [e-mail] (General Information)

[e-mail] (Technical Support)

[e-mail] (Customer Support)

Contacting Supermicro

Asia-Pacic

Address: Super Micro Computer, Inc.

4F, No. 232-1, Liancheng Rd.

Chung-Ho 235, Taipei County

Taiwan, R.O.C.

Tel: [phone]

Fax: [phone]

Web Site: www.supermicro.com.tw

Technical Support:

Email: [e-mail]

Tel: [phone], ext.132 or 139

v

X8ST3-F/X8STE User’s Manual

Table of Contents

Preface

About This Motherboard ................................................................................................ 3

Manual Organization ..................................................................................................... 3

Conventions Used in the Manual: ................................................................................. 4

Contacting Supermicro .................................................................................................. 5

Chapter 1 Introduction

1-1 Overview ......................................................................................................... 1-1

Checklist .......................................................................................................... 1-1

Motherboard Features ..................................................................................... 1-6

1-2 Chipset Overview ..........................................................................................1-11

1-3 PC Health Monitoring .................................................................................... 1-12

Recovery from AC Power Loss ..................................................................... 1-12

Onboard Voltage Monitoring ........................................................................ 1-12

Fan Status Monitor with Software ................................................................. 1-12

CPU Overheat LED and Control .................................................................. 1-12

1-4 Power Conguration Settings........................................................................ 1-12

Slow Blinking LED for Suspend-State Indicator ........................................... 1-12

BIOS Support for USB Keyboard.................................................................. 1-13

Main Switch Override Mechanism ................................................................ 1-13

Wake-On-LAN (WOL) ................................................................................... 1-13

1-5 Power Supply ................................................................................................ 1-13

1-6 Super I/O ....................................................................................................... 1-14

1-7 Overview of the Winbond WPCM450 Controller .......................................... 1-14

Chapter 2 Installation

2-1 Static-Sensitive Devices .................................................................................. 2-1

Precautions ..................................................................................................... 2-1

Unpacking ....................................................................................................... 2-1

2-2 Processor and Heatsink Installation................................................................ 2-2

Installing an LGA 1366 Processor .................................................................. 2-2

Installing a Passive CPU Heatsink (#SNK-P0037) ......................................... 2-4

2-3 Mounting the Motherboard into the Chassis ................................................... 2-6

2-4 Installing and Removing the Memory Modules ............................................... 2-7

Installing & Removing DIMMs ......................................................................... 2-7

2-5 Connectors/IO Ports ...................................................................................... 2-10

Back Panel Connectors and IO Ports ........................................................... 2-10

ATX PS/2 Keyboard and PS/2 Mouse Ports .............................................2-11

vi

Table of Contents

Universal Serial Bus (USB) ...................................................................... 2-12

Ethernet Ports .......................................................................................... 2-13

Serial Ports ............................................................................................... 2-14

Video Connector ....................................................................................... 2-15

Front Control Panel ....................................................................................... 2-16

Front Control Panel Pin Denitions............................................................... 2-17

NMI Button ............................................................................................... 2-17

HDD LED .................................................................................................. 2-18

NIC1/NIC2 LED Indicators ....................................................................... 2-18

Overheat (OH)/Fan Fail LED.................................................................... 2-19

Power Fail LED ........................................................................................ 2-19

Reset Button ........................................................................................... 2-20

Power Button ........................................................................................... 2-20

2-6 Connecting Cables ........................................................................................ 2-21

ATX Main PWR & CPU PWR Connectors .............................................. 2-21

Fan Headers ............................................................................................. 2-22

Internal Buzzer ......................................................................................... 2-23

Speaker .................................................................................................... 2-23

Overheat/Fan Fail LED ............................................................................ 2-24

Chassis Intrusion ..................................................................................... 2-24

Power Supply I2C Connector.................................................................... 2-25

Onboard Power LED ................................................................................ 2-25

T-SGPIO 0/1 & 3-SGPIO 0/1 Headers ..................................................... 2-26

Alarm Reset .............................................................................................. 2-26

Wake-On-LAN .......................................................................................... 2-27

I-Button ..................................................................................................... 2-27

2-7 Jumper Settings ............................................................................................ 2-28

Explanation of Jumpers ................................................................................ 2-28

LAN Port Enable/Disable ......................................................................... 2-28

CMOS Clear ............................................................................................. 2-29

Watch Dog Enable/Disable ...................................................................... 2-29

SMB to PCI-X/PCI-E Slots Speeds .......................................................... 2-30

(BMC) VGA Enable .................................................................................. 2-30

USB Wake-Up ......................................................................................... 2-31

SAS Enable/Disable (X8ST3-F Only) ....................................................... 2-32

SAS RAID Mode Select (X8ST3-F Only) ................................................. 2-32

BMC IPMI Enable (X7ST3-F only) ........................................................... 2-33

2-8 Onboard Indicators ........................................................................................ 2-34

LAN 1/LAN 2 LEDs .................................................................................. 2-34

vii

X8ST3-F/X8STE User’s Manual

IPMI Dedicated LAN LEDs (X8ST3-F Only) ............................................ 2-34

SAS Activity LED (X8ST3-F Only) ........................................................... 2-35

SAS Heartbeat LED (X8ST3-F Only) ....................................................... 2-35

Onboard Power LED ............................................................................................................ 2-36

2-9 Serial ATA and Floppy Drive Connections .................................................... 2-37

SATA Connectors ..................................................................................... 2-37

Floppy Connector ..................................................................................... 2-38

Chapter 3 Troubleshooting

3-1 Troubleshooting Procedures ........................................................................... 3-1

Before Power On ............................................................................................ 3-1

No Power ........................................................................................................ 3-1

No Video ......................................................................................................... 3-1

Memory Errors ............................................................................................... 3-2

Losing the System’s Setup Conguration ....................................................... 3-2

3-2 Technical Support Procedures ........................................................................ 3-2

3-3 Frequently Asked Questions ........................................................................... 3-3

3-4 Returning Merchandise for Service................................................................. 3-5

Chapter 4 BIOS

4-1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 4-1

Starting BIOS Setup Utility .............................................................................. 4-1

How To Change the Conguration Data ......................................................... 4-1

How to Start the Setup Utility ......................................................................... 4-2

4-2 Main Setup ...................................................................................................... 4-2

4-3 Advanced Setup Congurations...................................................................... 4-4

4-4 Security Settings ........................................................................................... 4-23

4-5 Boot Conguration ........................................................................................ 4-24

4-6 Exit Options ................................................................................................... 4-25

Appendix A POST Error Beep Codes

Recoverable POST Error Beep Codes ......................................................................A-1

Appendix B Installing the Windows OS

B-1 Installing the Windows OS for Systems with RAID Functions........................B-1

B-2 Installing the Windows OS for Systems without RAID Functions...................B-2

Appendix C Software Installation Instructions

C-1 Installing Drivers ..............................................................................................C-1

C-2 Conguring SuperoDoctor III ..........................................................................C-2

Appendix D - BIOS Recovery

D-1 Recovery Process from a USB Device/Drive (Recommended Method) ................ 1

D-2 Recovery Process from an IDE/SATA ATAPI Disc Drive ....................................... 2

viii

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 1

Introduction

1-1 Overview

Checklist

Congratulations on purchasing your computer motherboard from an acknowledged

leader in the industry. Supermicro boards are designed with the utmost attention to

detail to provide you with the highest standards in quality and performance.

Please check that the following items have all been included with your motherboard.

If anything listed here is damaged or missing, contact your retailer.

The following items are included in the retail box.

•One (1) Supermicro Mainboard

•Six (6) SATA cables (CBL-0044L)

•One (1) oppy drive ribbon cable (CBL-022L)

•One (1) I/O shield (MCP-260-00027-0N)

•One (1) Supermicro CD containing drivers and utilities (CDR-X8-UP)

•One (1) User's/BIOS Manual (MNL-1040)

1-1

X8ST3-F/X8STE User’s Manual

X8ST3-F Image

Note: All graphics shown in this manual were based upon the latest PCB

Revision available at the time of publishing of the manual. The motherboard

you've received may or may not look exactly the same as the graphics

shown in this manual.

1-2

Motherboard Layout

Chapter 1: Introduction

KB/MOUSE

USB 0/1

IPMI_LAN

COM1

VGA

LAN1

LAN2

FAN5

LAN CTRL
for IPMIl LAN

LAN
CTRL1

LAN
CTRL2

X8ST3-F/X8STE

SI/O

COM2

1

JPUSB1

JPL1
JPL2

JPW2

Slot6 PCI-E 2.0 X8 on X16

Slot5 PCI-E 2.0 X8

Slot4 PCI-E 2.0 X4 on X8

Slot3 PCI-E 2.0 X8

Slot2 PCI 33MHz

Slot1 PCI 33MHz

Floppy

SMBUS_PS1

Intel Processor

JBMC1

JI2C1

BMC JTAG

DIMM3A

DIMM3B

DIMM2A

DIMM2B

DIMM1A

DIMM1B

BMC
Firmware

JPG1

JI2C2

I-Button

USB2

BMC CTRL

WPCM 450

JPUSB3

USB3

Important Notes to the User

•Jumpers not indicated are for testing only.

JWOL

SAS0

SAS1

JBT1

BIOS

SAS2

Battery

3-SGPIO1

3-SGPIO2

Intel X58-Express

North Bridge

SPKR1

Intel ICH10R

South Bridge

SAS3

JPS2

SAS CTRL

LSI 1068E

SAS5

SAS4

JPW1

LES2

SAS6

LES1

FAN2

T-SGPIO1

JPUSB2

JPS1

FAN3

SAS7

CPU FAN

LE1

JOH

JWD

T-SGPIO2

FAN4

JL1

I-SATA1

I-SATA3

FAN1

JLED

JAR

I-SATA5

JF1

1

JD1

I-SATA0

I-SATA2

I-SATA4

USB 6/7

USB 4/5

1

•See Chapter 2 for detailed information on jumpers, I/O ports and JF1 front

panel connections.

•" " indicates the location of "Pin 1".

•When LE1 (Onboard Power LED Indicator) is on, system power is on. Unplug

the power cable before installing or removing any components.

1-3

BMC JTAG

1

SAS1

SAS2

SAS7

SAS3

SAS4

SAS5

SAS6

JWOL

Battery

JD1

SPKR1

JAR

JI2C1

JI2C2

JPS2

JL1

1

JOH

1

JF1

LES1

LE1

COM1

FAN4

FAN3

FAN5

FAN2

FAN1

JPW1

SMBUS_PS1

JPW2

JPG1

JPUSB3

JBMC1

JPS1

JPUSB2

JPL1
JPL2

JLED

JWD

JPUSB1

IPMI_LAN

COM2

Floppy

I-Button

T-SGPIO1

3-SGPIO2

3-SGPIO1

USB 6/7

USB 4/5

USB3

USB2

Slot6 PCI-E 2.0 X8 on X16

Slot3 PCI-E 2.0 X8

I-SATA4

I-SATA5

Slot4 PCI-E 2.0 X4 on X8

Slot2 PCI 33MHz

Slot5 PCI-E 2.0 X8

I-SATA2

I-SATA3

DIMM1B

DIMM1A

DIMM3B

DIMM2B

DIMM2A

DIMM3A

I-SATA0

I-SATA1

X8ST3-F/X8STE

USB 0/1

LAN2

LAN1

VGA

KB/MOUSE

BIOS

JBT1

Slot1 PCI 33MHz

SAS0

T-SGPIO2

LAN CTRL
for IPMIl LAN

LAN
CTRL1

LAN
CTRL2

SI/O

BMC CTRL

BMC
Firmware

SAS CTRL

Intel ICH10R

South Bridge

Intel X58-Express

North Bridge

Intel Processor

LES2

LSI 1068E

WPCM 450

CPU FAN

5

6

7

X8ST3-F/X8STE User’s Manual

X8ST3-F/X8STE Quick Reference

61

1

62

2

3

4

8

9

11

12

Jumper Label Description Default Setting

JBMC1 #13 BMC Enable Pins 1-2 (Enabled)

JBT1 #44 CMOS Clear (See Chpt. 2)

JI2C1/JI2C2 #14, 15 SMB to PCI Slots (See Chpt. 2)

JPG1 #10 VGA Enable Pins 1-2 (Enabled)

JPL1/JPL2 #8, 9 LAN 1/2 Enable Pins 1-2 (Enabled)

JPS1 #35 SAS Enable (X8ST3-F) Pins 1-2 (Enabled)

JPS2 #26 SAS RAID Mode (X8ST3-F) On (Software RAID)

JPUSB1 #62 BP USB0/1 Wake-up Pins 1-2 (Enabled)

JPUSB2 #37 FP USB 4/5, 6/7 Wake-up Pins 1-2 (Enabled)

60

42

10

13

14

15

17

181920

16

X8ST3-F/X8STE Jumpers

1-4

21

44

43

22 23

45

26

24
25

27

59

56

46

48

47

29

35

28

313233

30

58

57

55

54

53
52

51

50

49

41

40

39

38

37

36

34

Chapter 1: Introduction

X8ST3-F/X8STE Jumpers

JPUSB3 #19 FP USB 2, 3 Wake-up Pins 1-2 (Enabled)

JWD #53 Watch Dog Timer Enable Pins 1-2 (Reset)

X8ST3-F/X8STE Headers/Connectors

Connector

Battery #45 Onboard battery (B1)

COM1/COM2 #3, 11 COM1/2 Serial connection headers

Fans 1~5 #58, 52, 34, 33, 7 System/CPU fan headers (Fan 1: CPU fan)

Floppy #12 Floppy Disk Drive connector

I-Button #42 I-Button for RAID data storage

JAR #50 Alarm Reset

JD1 #51 Speaker header (Pins 3/4: Internal, 1~4:External)

JF1 #55 Front Panel Control header

JL1 #36 Chassis Intrusion header

JLED #57 Power LED Indicator header

JOH #54 Overheat LED header

JPW1 #59 24-pin ATX main power connector (required)

JPW2 #61 +12V 8-pin CPU power connector (required)

JWOL #43 Wake-On-LAN header

KB/Mouse #1 Keyboard/mouse connectors

LAN1/LAN2 #5, 6 Gigabit Ethernet (RJ45) ports

(IPMI) LAN #2 IPMI Dedicated LAN (X8ST3-F only)

I-SATA 0~5 #40, 41, 49 Serial_ATA ports

SAS 0~3, 4~7 #20~23, 27, 28,

SMB_PS1 #60 PWR supply (I2C) System Management Bus

SPKR1 #46 Internal speaker/buzzer

3-SGPIO-0/1 #24, 25 Serial_link IO headers for SAS (X8ST3-F)

T-SGPIO-0/1 #48, 47 Serial General Purpose IO headers (for SATA)

USB 0~1 #2 (Backpanel) Universal Serial Bus (USB) ports

USB 2, USB 3,

USB4/5, 6/7

VGA #4 Video Port

Label

30, 31

#17, 18, 38, 39 Front panel accessible USB headers

Description

Serial Attached SCSI Ports (X8ST3-F only)

X8ST3-F/X8STE LED Indicators

LED

LE1 #56 Onboard Standby PWR warning LED Indicator

LES1 #32 SAS Activity (Blinking: SAS Active) (X8ST3-F only)

LES2 #29 SAS Heartbeat (Blinking: SAS Normal) (X8ST3-F only)

Label

Description

1-5

X8ST3-F/X8STE User’s Manual

Motherboard Features

CPU

• Single Intel

Xeon® 5600/5500 series and Intel® Xeon® 3600/3500 series.

Memory

®

Core™ i7 990X, i7-980X, i7-975, i7-965 Extreme Edition, Intel®

• Six 240-pin, DDR3 SDRAM DIMM sockets with support for unbuffered ECC or

non ECC 1333/1066/800 MHz memory.

Note: Both Unbuffered ECC and Non-ECC DIMM modules are supported

by the motherboard. Using ECC or Non-ECC memory on your motherboard

depends on the CPU installed. Please see page 3-3 for more information

on memory support.

• Supports 3-channel memory bus

• DIMM sizes of 256 MB, 512 MB, 1 GB, 2 GB, and 4 GB are supported

Chipset

• Intel® X58 Express Chipset (IOH)

• Intel ICH10R (South Bridge)

Expansion Slots

• One (1) PCI-Express x8 Gen2 on x16 slot (Slot 6)

• Two (2) PCI-Express x8 Gen2 slots (Slot 3/Slot 5)

• One PCI-Express x4 Gen2 on x8 slot (Slot 4)

• Two (2) 32-bit PCI 33MHz slots (Slot 1/Slot 2)

Graphics

• Support for multiple PCI-Express Graphics cards (Gen 2 or Gen 1)

• Matrox G200 with 16 MB DDR2 Memory

Network Connections

• Intel Dual-channel 82574L Gigabit (10/100/1000 Mb/s) Ethernet Controller with

two Gigabit LAN ports (LAN 1 and LAN 2)

• Realtek RTL8201N PHY (Dedicated LAN for X8ST3-F)

• Three (3) RJ-45 backplane connectors with Link and Activity LEDs built-in

I/O Devices

SATA Connections

• Six (6) SATA ports supported by the Intel ICH10R SATA Controller

• Supports RAID 0, 1, 5, 10 under the Windows OS environment

1-6

Chapter 1: Introduction

• Supports RAID 0, 1 , 10 under the Linux OS environment

SAS Connections (for the X8ST3-F only)

• Eight (8) SAS ports supported by the LSI 1068E Controller

• Supports RAID 0, 1, 5*, 10 under the Windows OS environment

• Supports RAID 0, 1 , 5*, 10 under the Linux OS environment

Notes:

1. RAID 5 is supported when the I-Button (AOC-IButton68) is installed on

the motherboard. For more information on the AOC-IButton68, please refer

to http://www.supermicro.com/products/accessories/addon/AOC-IButton68.

cfm.

2. For the LSI 1068 Controller User's Guide, please refer to http://www.

supermicro.com/support/manuals/.

Integrated IPMI 2.0 (for the X8ST3-F only)

• IPMI 2.0 supported by the WPCM450 Server BMC

Note: For IPMI Conguration Instructions, please refer to the Embedded

IPMI Conguration User's Guide available @ http://www.supermicro.com/

support/manuals/.

Floppy Drive

• One (1) oppy port interface (up to 1.44 MB)

USB Devices

• Two (2) USB ports (USB 0~1) on the IO backplane for rear access

• Six (6) USB connections for front access (Two Type A connectors: USB 2,

USB 3 and two headers: USB 4/5, 6/7)

Keyboard/Mouse

• PS/2 Keyboard/Mouse ports on the I/O backplane

Serial (COM) Ports

• Fast UART 16550 Connections: one COM port and one header

Super I/O

• Winbond Super I/O 83627DHG

BIOS

• 32 MBit SPI AMI BIOS

®

SM Flash BIOS

• DMI 2.3, PCI 2.3, ACPI 1.0/2.0/3.0, USB Keyboard and SMBIOS 2.5

1-7

X8ST3-F/X8STE User’s Manual

Power Conguration

• ACPI/ACPM Power Management

• Main switch override mechanism

• Keyboard Wake-up from Soft-Off

• USB Wake-up from Soft-Off

• Wake-on-LAN

• Power-on mode for AC power recovery

PC Health Monitoring

CPU Monitoring

• Onboard voltage monitors for CPU core, Memory Voltage, Chipset Voltage,

+1.8V, +3.3V, +3.3V standby, +5V, +5V, Standby, VBat and ±12V

• CPU 6-Phase-switching voltage regulator

• CPU/System overheat LED and control

• CPU Thermal Trip support

• Thermal Monitor 2 (TM2) support

Fan Control

• Fan status monitoring with rmware 4-pin (Pulse Width Modulation) fan

speed control

• Low noise fan speed control

System Management

• PECI (Platform Environment Conguration Interface) support

• System resource alert via Supero Doctor III

• SuperoDoctor III, Watch Dog, NMI

2

• I

C temperature sensing logic

• Chassis Intrusion Header and Detection

• Pb Free

CD Utilities

• BIOS ash upgrade utility

• Drivers and software for Intel® X58 Express chipset utilities

Dimensions

• ATX form factor, 12" x 10" (304.8 x 254.0 mm)

1-8

Notes

Chapter 1: Introduction

1-9

X8ST3-F/X8STE User’s Manual

Intersil

VRD 11.1

IDT

CK505 CLK

SAS x 8

RJ45

INTEL 82574L x 2

SATA x 6

USB x 8

W83795ADG

H/W Monitor

FAN
x 5

QPI: Up to 6.40 GT/s

SAS1068E

RJ45

PCIE_x1

SATAII /300

USB2.0

FloppyKB.

MS.

Intel

LGA1366_PROCESSOR

PCIE_x8

W83627DHG

Intel X58

Intel

ICH10R

LPC I/O

COM1
COM2

DMI

PCIE_x 8

PCIE_x 8

PCIE_x 4

PCIE_x 8

PCI_32_BUS

SPI

DIMM_CHA

DIMM_CHB

DIMM_CHC

DDR3:1333/1066/800

PCI_E x 8 on

PCI_E x 8 Slot

PCI_E x 4 in x 8 Slot

PCI_E x 8 Slot

PCI 32 x 1 Slot

PCI 32 x 1 Slot

BMC WPCM450

IPMI LAN

SPI EEPROM

x 16 Slot

CRT

X8ST3-F/X8STE System Block Diagram

Note: This is a general block diagram and may not exactly represent

the features on your motherboard. See the following pages for the

actual specications of each motherboard.

1-10

Chapter 1: Introduction

1-2 Chipset Overview

Built upon the functionality and the capability of the Intel X58 Express chipset, the

X8ST3-F/X8STE motherboard provides the performance and feature set required

for single-processor-based high-end systems with conguration options optimized

for intensive application and high-end server platforms.

The main architecture of the X8ST3-F/X8STE consists of an Intel® Core™ i7 or

an Intel Xeon 5500/3500 Processor in an LGA1366 socket, the Intel X58 Express

chipset, and the ICH10R. With Intel QuickPath Interconnect (QPI) technology

built in, the X8ST3-F/X8STE is one of the rst motherboards on the market that

offers the next generation point-to-point system interconnect interface, replacing

the current Front Side Bus technology, providing substantial system performance

enhancement by utilizing serial link interconnections to increase bandwidth and

scalability.

1-11

X8ST3-F/X8STE User’s Manual

1-3 PC Health Monitoring

This section describes the PC health monitoring features of the X8ST3-F/X8STE.

These features are supported by an onboard System Hardware Monitor chip.

Recovery from AC Power Loss

BIOS provides a setting for you to determine how the system will respond when

AC power is lost and then restored to the system. You can choose for the system

to remain powered off (in which case you must hit the power switch to turn it back

on) or for it to automatically return to a power on state. See the Power Lost Control

setting in the BIOS chapter of this manual to change this setting. The default set-

ting is Last State.

Onboard Voltage Monitoring

The onboard voltage monitor will scan the following voltages continuously: CPU

Core, Chipset Voltage, Memory Voltage, +1.8V, +3.3V, +3.3V standby, +5V, +5V

Standby, Vbat and ±12V. Once a voltage becomes unstable, it will give a warning

or send an error message to the screen. Users can adjust the voltage thresholds

to dene the sensitivity of the voltage monitor by using SD III.

Fan Status Monitor with Software

PC health monitoring can check the RPM status of the cooling fans via Supero

Doctor III.

CPU Overheat LED and Control

This feature is available when the user enables the CPU overheat warning feature

in the BIOS. This allows the user to dene an overheat temperature. When this tem-

perature reaches this pre-dened overheat threshold, the CPU thermal trip feature

will be activated and it will send a signal to the buzzer and, at the same time, the

CPU speed will be decreased.

1-4 Power Conguration Settings

This section describes the features of your motherboard that deal with power and

power settings.

Slow Blinking LED for Suspend-State Indicator

When the CPU goes into a suspend state, the chassis power LED will start blink-

ing to indicate that the CPU is in the suspend mode. When the user presses any

1-12

Chapter 1: Introduction

key, the CPU will wake-up and the LED indicator will automatically stop blinking

and remain on.

BIOS Support for USB Keyboard

If the USB keyboard is the only keyboard in the system, it will function like a normal

keyboard during system boot-up.

Main Switch Override Mechanism

When an ATX power supply is used, the power button can function as a system

suspend button. When the user presses the power button, the system will enter

a SoftOff state. The monitor will be suspended and the hard drive will spin down.

Pressing the power button again to wake-up the whole system. During the SoftOff

state, the ATX power supply provides power the system to keep the required cir-

cuitry "alive". In case the system malfunctions and you want to turn off the power,

just press and hold the power button for 4 seconds. The power will turn off and no

power will be provided to the motherboard.

Wake-On-LAN (WOL)

Wake-On-LAN is dened as the ability of a management application to remotely

power up a computer that is powered off. Remote PC setup, up-dates and asset

tracking can occur after hours and on weekends so that daily LAN trafc is kept to

a minimum and users are not interrupted. The motherboard has a 3-pin header

(WOL) to connect to the 3-pin header on a Network Interface Card (NIC) that has

WOL capability. In addition, an onboard LAN controller can also support WOL

without any connection to the WOL header. The 3-pin WOL header is to be used

with a LAN add-on card only.

Note: Wake-On-LAN requires an ATX 2.01 (or above) compliant power

supply.

1-5 Power Supply

As with all computer products, a stable power source is necessary for proper and

reliable operation. It is even more important for processors that have high CPU

clock rates of 1 GHz and faster.

The X8ST3-F/X8STE accommodates ATX12V standard power supplies.

Although most power supplies generally meet the specications required by the

CPU, some are inadequate. A 2-Amp of current supply on a 5V Standby rail is

strongly recommended.

1-13

X8ST3-F/X8STE User’s Manual

It is strongly recommended that you use a high quality power supply that meets

ATX12V standard power supply Specication 1.1 or above. It is also required that

the 12V 8-pin power connection (JPW2) be used for adequate power supply. In

areas where noisy power transmission is present, you may choose to install a line

lter to shield the computer from noise. It is recommended that you also install a

power surge protector to help avoid problems caused by power surges.

1-6 Super I/O

The disk drive adapter functions of the Super I/O chip include a oppy disk drive

controller that is compatible with industry standard 82077/765, a data separator,

write pre-compensation circuitry, decode logic, data rate selection, a clock genera-

tor, drive interface control logic and interrupt and DMA logic. The wide range of

functions integrated onto the Super I/O greatly reduces the number of components

required for interfacing with oppy disk drives. The Super I/O supports two 360 K,

720 K, 1.2 M, 1.44 M or 2.88 M disk drives and data transfer rates of 250 Kb/s,

500 Kb/s or 1 Mb/s.

It also provides two high-speed, 16550 compatible serial communication ports

(UARTs). Each UART includes a 16-byte send/receive FIFO, a programmable baud

rate generator, complete modem control capability and a processor interrupt sys-

tem. Both UARTs provide legacy speed with baud rate of up to 115.2 Kbps as well

as an advanced speed with baud rates of 250 K, 500 K, or 1 Mb/s, which support

higher speed modems.

The Super I/O provides functions that comply with ACPI (Advanced Conguration

and Power Interface), which includes support of legacy and ACPI power manage-

ment through a SMI or SCI function pin. It also features auto power management

to reduce power consumption.

1-7 Overview of the Winbond WPCM450 Controller

The Winbond WPCM450, a Baseboard Management Controller (BMC), supports

the 2D/VGA-compatible Graphics Core with the PCI interface, Virtual Media, and

Keyboard/Video/Mouse (KVM) Redirection modules.

The WPCM450 BMC interfaces with the host system via a PCI interface to com-

municate with the graphics core. It supports USB 2.0 and 1.1 for remote keyboard/

mouse/virtual media emulation. It also provides LPC interface to control Super IO

functions. The WPCM450 is connected to the network via an external Ethernet

PHY module.

The WPCM450 communicates with onboard components via six SMBus interfaces,

fan control, Platform Environment Control Interface (PECI) buses, and General

Purpose I/O (3SGPIO) ports.

1-14

Chapter 1: Introduction

The WPCM450 also includes the following features:

•One X-Bus parallel interface for expansion I/O connections

•Three ADC inputs, Analog and Digital Video outputs

•Two serial for boundary scan and debug

Note: For more information on IPMI conguration, please refer to the

Embedded IPMI User's Guide posted on our website @ http://www.super-

micro.com/support/manuals/.

1-15

X8ST3-F/X8STE User’s Manual

Notes

1-16

Chapter 2: Installation

Chapter 2

Installation

2-1 Static-Sensitive Devices

Electrostatic-Discharge (ESD) can damage electronic com ponents. To prevent dam-

age to your system board, it is important to handle it very carefully. The following

measures are generally sufcient to protect your equipment from ESD.

Precautions

• Use a grounded wrist strap designed to prevent static discharge.

• Touch a grounded metal object before removing the board from the antistatic

bag.

• Handle the board by its edges only; do not touch its components, peripheral

chips, memory modules or gold contacts.

• When handling chips or modules, avoid touching their pins.

• Put the motherboard and peripherals back into their antistatic bags when not in

use.

• For grounding purposes, make sure your computer chassis provides excellent

conductivity between the power supply, the case, the mounting fasteners and

the motherboard.

• Use only the correct type of onboard CMOS battery. Do not install the onboard

upside down battery to avoid possible explosion.

Unpacking

The motherboard is shipped in antistatic packaging to avoid static damage. When

unpacking the board, make sure the person handling it is static protected.

2-1

X8ST3-F/X8STE User's Manual

!

2-2 Processor and Heatsink Installation

When handling the processor package, avoid placing direct pressure on

the label area of the fan.

Notes:

1. Always connect the power cord last and always remove it before adding, re-

moving or changing any hardware components. Make sure that you install the

processor into the CPU socket before you install the CPU heatsink.

2. Intel's boxed processor package contains the CPU fan and heatsink assem-

bly. If you buy a CPU separately, make sure that you use only Intel-certied

multi-directional heatsink and fan.

3. Make sure to install the motherboard into the chassis before you install the

CPU heatsink and heatsink fans.

4. When purchasing an LGA 1366 processor or when receiving a motherboard

with an LGA 1366 processor pre-installed, make sure that the CPU plastic

cap is in place, and none of the CPU pins are bent; otherwise, contact the

retailer immediately.

5. Refer to the MB Features Section for more details on CPU support.

Installing an LGA 1366 Processor

1. Press the socket clip to release

the load plate, which covers the

CPU socket, from its locking

position.

2. Gently lift the socket clip to

open the load plate.

3. Hold the plastic cap at its north

and south center edges to re-

move it from the CPU socket.

Note: The photos on this

page and succeeding pag-

es 2-3 through 2-9 are for

illustration purposes only.

They do not necessarily

reect the exact product(s)

described in this manual.

Socket Clip

Plastic Cap

Hold the north & south edges of
the plastic cap to remove it

2-2

Load Plate

Chapter 2: Installation

4. After removing the plastic cap, using

your thumb and the index nger,

hold the CPU at the north and south

center edges.

5. Align the CPU key, the semi-circle

cutout, against the socket key, the

notch below the gold color dot on

the side of the socket.

6. Once both the CPU and the socket

are aligned, carefully lower the CPU

straight down into the socket. (Do

not rub the CPU against the surface

of the socket or its pins to avoid

damaging the CPU or the socket.)

7. With the CPU inside the socket, in-

spect the four corners of the CPU to

make sure that the CPU is properly

installed.

8. Once the CPU is securely seated

on the socket, lower the CPU load

plate to the socket.

CPU

CPU Socket

CPU

Align CPU keys with socket keys.

9. Use your thumb to gently push the

socket clip down to the clip lock.

Warning: Pl eas e sav e the pl as-

tic cap. The motherboard must

be shipped with the plastic cap

properly installed to protect the

CPU socket pins. Shipment

without the plastic cap properly

installed will cause damage to

the socket pins.

2-3

Load Plate

X8ST3-F/X8STE User's Manual

Installing a Passive CPU Heatsink (#SNK-P0037)

Note: A heatsink bracket (BKT-

0023L) is required for a screw-type

heatsink (-which is a non-pushpin

heatsink as shown on the right.)

The required heatsink bracket

(BKT-0023L) can be purchased

from Supermicro.

Note: Do not apply any thermal

grease to the heatsink or the CPU

die because the required amount

has already been applied.

1. If you use a screw-type heatsink,

please install a heatsink bracket

(BKT-0023L) on the reverse side of

the motherboard before installing

the heatsink. (To install the heatsink

bracket, please insert four screws

to the mounting holes to secure the

bracket on the motherboard.) If you

do not use a screw-type heatsink,

please skip this step.

2. Place the heatsink on top of the CPU

so that the four mounting holes are

aligned with those on the bracket

now located underneath.

Screw#1

Screw#3

Heatsink Bracket (BKT-0023L, for
screw-type heatsink only.)

Install the Heatsink Bracket on the

reverse side of the board.

Install Screw#1

Screw#4

Screw#1

Screw#2

Screw#2

3. Install two diagonal screws (i.e.,

the #1 and the #2 screws) until se-

cure. However, leave each loosely

tightened until all four screws are

in place.

2-4

Screw#1

Install Screw#2

4. Finish the installation by fully

tightening all four screws. Do not

over-tighten to avoid possible

damage to the CPU.

Passive Heatsink Removal

1. Unplug the power cord from the

power supply.

2. Using a screwdriver, loosen and

remove the heatsink screws from

the motherboard in the sequence

as shown in the picture on the

right.

3. Hold the heatsink as shown and

gently loosen it from the CPU by

moving it from side to side. (Do

not use excessive force)

Chapter 2: Installation

Using a screwdriver to

Remove Screw#1

4. Once it is loosened, remove the

heatsink from the CPU socket.

5. To reinstall the CPU and the

heatsink, clean the surface of

the CPU and the heatsink to

remove the old thermal grease.

Reapply the proper amount of

thermal grease on the surface

before reinstalling them on the

motherboard.

Remove Screw#2

2-5

X8ST3-F/X8STE User's Manual

2-3 Mounting the Motherboard into the Chassis

All motherboards have standard mounting holes to t different types of chassis.

Make sure that the locations of all mounting holes for the motherboard and the chas-

sis match. Although a chassis may have both plastic and metal mounting fasteners,

metal ones are highly recommended because they ground the motherboard to the

chassis. Make sure that the metal standoffs click in or are screwed in tightly. Then

use a screwdriver to secure the motherboard onto the motherboard tray. (See the

layout on the right for mounting hole locations.)

Note: Some components are very close to the mounting holes. Please take

all necessary precautionary measures to avoid damaging these compo-

nents when installing the motherboard into the chassis.

Tools Needed

Location of Mounting Holes

•Philips Screwdriver

•(9) Pan head #6 screws

Installation Instructions

1. Install the I/O shield in your chassis. This

is provided with your motherboard.

2. Locate the mounting holes on the mother-

board. Refer to the layout on the right for

mounting hole locations.

3. Place Standoffs on the chassis as needed.

4. Place the motherboard inside the chassis.

5. Locate the matching mounting holes on

the chassis. Align the mounting holes on

the motherboard against the mounting

holes on the chassis.

6. Insert a Pan head #6 screw into a mount-

ing hole on the motherboard and its

matching mounting hole on the chassis,

using a Philips screwdriver.

7. Repeat Step 6 until all mounting holes are

secured.

2-6

X8ST3-F/X8STE

Caution: To avoid

damaging the

motherboard and

its components, please do

not use a force greater than

8 lb/inch on each mounting

screw during motherboard

installation.