SUPER MICRO Computer X8DA3 User Manual

®

SUPER

X8DA3
X8DAi

USER’S MANUAL

Revision 1.0

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, if any,
and documentation may not, in whole or in part, be copied, photocopied, reproduced, translated or
reduced to any medium or machine without prior written consent.

IN NO EVENT WILL SUPERMICRO 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, SUPERMICRO SHALL NOT HAVE LIABILITY FOR ANY
HARDWARE, SOFTW ARE, OR DA TA 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. Super Micro'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 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
manufacturer’s instruction manual, may cause interference with radio communications. However,
there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment
does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning
the equipment off and on, you are encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more
of the following measures: Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna. Increase the separation
between the equipment and the receiver. Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different
from that to which the receiver is connected. Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/television
technician for help.

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 1.0
Release Date: March 17, 2009

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 © 2009 by Super Micro Computer, Inc.
All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

Preface

About This Manual

This manual is written for system integrators, PC technicians and knowledgeable
PC users. It provides information for the installation and use of the X8DA3/
X8DAi motherboard.

About This Motherboard

The X8DA3/X8DAi supports the Intel 5500 Series Processor platform,
the fi rst dual-processing platform that supports the Intel QuickPath Interconnect
(QPI) Technology and provides the next generation point-to-point system interface,
replacing the current Front Side Bus. With the 5500 Series Processor platform built­in, the X8DA3/X8DAi substantially enhances system performance with increased
bandwidth and unprecedented scalability, optimized for workstations, high-end
CAD systems and intensive applications. Please refer to our web site (http://www.
supermicro.com/products/) for updates on supported processors. This product is
intended to be installed and serviced by professional technicians.

Preface

Manual Organization

Chapter 1 describes the features, specifi 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 trouble­shooting procedures for video, memory and system setup stored in the CMOS.

Chapter 4 includes an introduction to BIOS and provides detailed information on
running the CMOS Setup utility.

Appendix A lists BIOS POST Error Codes. Appendix B and Appendix C provide
the Windows OS and Other Software Installation Instructions.

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:

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 to
ensure correct system setup.

iii

X8DA3/X8DAi User's Manual

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)

Asia-Pacifi 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

iv

Notes

Preface

v

X8DA3/X8DAi User's Manual

Table of Contents

Preface ...........................................................................................................3

About This Manual ........................................................................................................ 3

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

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

Conventions Used in the Manual .................................................................................. 3

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

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

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

X8DA3/X8DAi Quick Reference ......................................................................1-5

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

1-2 Chipset Overview ............................................................................................1-9

Main Features of the 5500 Series Processor and the 5520 Chipset .............1-9

1-3 Special Features ........................................................................................... 1-10

Recovery from AC Power Loss ..................................................................... 1-10

1-4 PC Health Monitoring .................................................................................... 1-10

Fan Status Monitor with Firmware Control ..................................................1-10

Environmental Temperature Control .............................................................1-10

System Resource Alert ................................................................................. 1-10

1-5 ACPI Features ................................................................................................1-11

Slow Blinking LED for Suspend-State Indicator ............................................1-11

Wake-On-LAN (WOL) ....................................................................................1-11

1-6 Power Supply ................................................................................................1-12

1-7 Super I/O ....................................................................................................... 1-12

Chapter 2 Installation .................................................................................1

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

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

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

2-2 Motherboard Installation ..................................................................................2-2

Tools Needed ..................................................................................................2-2

Installation Instructions ....................................................................................2-2

2-3 Processor and Heatsink Installation................................................................2-3

Installing a CPU Heatsink ...............................................................................2-5

2-4 Memory Installation ........................................................................................ 2-7

DIMM Installation ........................................................................................... 2-7

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

1. Back Panel Connectors/IO Ports .............................................................. 2-10

vi

Table of Contents

3. Front Control Panel Pin Defi nitions .......................................................... 2-12

NMI Button ...............................................................................................2-12

Power LED ..............................................................................................2-12

HDD LED .................................................................................................. 2-13

NIC1/NIC2 LED Indicators ....................................................................... 2-13

Overheat (OH)/Fan Fail LED....................................................................2-14

Power Fail LED ........................................................................................ 2-14

Reset Button ...........................................................................................2-15

Power Button ............................................................................................ 2-15

2-6 Connecting Cables ........................................................................................ 2-16

ATX Power Connector ............................................................................. 2-16

Processor Power Connector ...................................................................2-16

Universal Serial Bus (USB) ...................................................................... 2-17

Chassis Intrusion .....................................................................................2-17

Fan Headers ............................................................................................. 2-18

Speaker/Power LED Header .................................................................... 2-18

ATX PS/2 Keyboard and PS/2 Mouse Ports ............................................2-19

Serial Ports ............................................................................................... 2-19

Wake-On-LAN ..........................................................................................2-20

Overheat LED/Fan Fail (JOH1) ................................................................2-20

GLAN 1/2 (Giga-bit Ethernet Ports) .........................................................2-21

T-SGPIO Headers ....................................................................................2-21

Power SMB (I

2

C) Connector .................................................................... 2-22

SMB ..........................................................................................................2-22

High Defi nition Audio (HD Audio) ............................................................ 2-23

CD Header/Front Panel Audio.................................................................. 2-23

2-7 Jumper Settings ............................................................................................ 2-24

Explanation of Jumpers ................................................................................ 2-24

GLAN Enable/Disable ..............................................................................2-24

CMOS Clear .............................................................................................2-25

Watch Dog Enable/Disable ...................................................................... 2-25

2

I

C Bus to PCI-Exp. Slots ........................................................................ 2-26

2

I

C Bus to PCI-X Slots ............................................................................. 2-26

SAS Enable/Disable .................................................................................2-27

SAS RAID Select .....................................................................................2-27

1394_1/1394_2 Enable ............................................................................ 2-28

2-8 Onboard Indicators ........................................................................................2-29

GLAN LEDs .............................................................................................. 2-29

Onboard Power LED ............................................................................... 2-29

vii

X8DA3/X8DAi User's Manual

SAS LED Indicators .................................................................................2-30

2-9 Floppy Drive, SIMLP, Serial ATA and Hard Disk Drive Connections ............2-31

Floppy Connector .....................................................................................2-31

Serial ATA (SATA) Ports ........................................................................... 2-32

Serial-Attached SCSI (SAS) Ports (For X8DA3 only) .............................. 2-32

SIMLC IPMI Slot .......................................................................................2-33

Chapter 3 Troubleshooting ........................................................................1

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

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

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

No Video .........................................................................................................3-2

Losing the System’s Setup Confi guration ....................................................... 3-2

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

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

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

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

Chapter 4 BIOS ............................................................................................ 1

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

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

How To Change the Confi guration Data .........................................................4-1

Starting the Setup Utility ................................................................................. 4-2

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

4-3 Advanced Setup Confi gurations...................................................................... 4-4

4-4 Security Settings ........................................................................................... 4-20

4-5 Boot Confi guration ........................................................................................ 4-21

4-6 Exit Options ................................................................................................... 4-23

Appendix A BIOS Error Beep Codes .........................................................1

A-1 BIOS Error Beep Codes ................................................................................. A-1

Appendix B Installing the Windows OS ...................................................1

B-1 Installing the Windows OS to a RAID System ................................................ B-1

B-2 Installing the Windows OS to a Non-RAID System ........................................B-2

Appendix C Software Installation Instructions ........................................1

C-1 Installing Software Programs .......................................................................... C-1

C-2 Confi guring Supero Doctor III .........................................................................C-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. 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

•

One (1) fl oppy ribbon cable (CBL-022L)•

One (1) 1394a connector cable (CBL-0173L)•

Two (2) SAS cable for SATA/SAS Backplane (CBL-0097L-02) (For X8DA3)•

Four (4) Serial ATA cables (CBL-0044Lx4) (For X8DA3) •

Six (6) Serial ATA cables (CBL-0044Lx6) (For X8DAi) •

One (1) I/O backpanel shield (MCP-260-74301-0N) •

One (1) Supermicro CD containing drivers and utilities•

One (1) User's/BIOS Manual (MNL#1031)•

1-1

X8DA3/X8DAi User's Manual

X8DA3/X8DAi Image

Note: The drawings and pictures shown in this manual were based on 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 the manual.

1-2

Chapter 1: Introduction

X8DA3/X8DAi Motherboard Layout

Fan5

Fan6

KB/Mouse

0/1

2/3

USB

USB

COM1

COM2

Fan8/CPU2 Fan

LAN1

82573V

82573L

JC2

LAN

CTRL

LAN
CTRL

CD1

LAN2

AUDIO

JPL2

Notes:

Slot6 PCI-E x16

JPL1

Slot5 PCI 33MH

Slot4 PCI 33MH

JI2C1
JI2C2

Slot3 PCI-E X16

Slot2 PCI-E X4

Slot1 PCI 33MH

Slot0 SIMLC

JPW2

P2 DIMM3A

P2 DIMM3B

P2 DIMM2A

P2 DIMM2B
P2 DIMM1A

P2 DIMM1B

1394_2

X8DA3/i

JI2C3

1

JI2C4

1394_1

CPU2

1394
CTRL

JPI1

JPW3

Battery

JBT1

USB6/7

JUSB3

SPI BIOS

USB4/5

JUSB2

J6

ICH10R
Intel
South
Bridge

USB9

USB8

T-SGPIO2

I-SATA5

I-SATA4

P1 DIMM1B

P1 DIMM1A

P1 DIMM2B

P1 DIMM2A

P1 DIMM3B

P1 DIMM3A

Intel IOH-36D

(North Bridge)

I-Button

T-SGPIO1

I-SATA3

I-SATA2

CPU1

I-SATA1

I-SATA0

LES2

1068E

SAS CTRL

JWD1

LES1

JL1

JPS1

JPW1

JPS2

Fan7/CPU1

SP1

LE1

S I/O

J5

JSM2

JSM1

JWOL1

Fan1

JOH1

Fan2

JF1

Fan3

Floppy

JFDD1

SAS 4~7

SAS 0~3

Fan4

JD1

Jumpers not indicated are for test purposes only. 1.

See Chapter 2 for detailed information on jumpers, I/O ports and JF1 front 2.
panel connections.

" " indicates the location of Pin 1.3.

When LE1 LED is on, the onboard power connection is on. Make sure to 4.
unplug the power cables before removing or installing components.

IPMI (Intelligent Platform Management Interface) 2.0 is supported by the 5.
motherboard. To use this feature, please install a SIMLC add-on card on the
SIMLC Slot (Slot 0). For more information on IPMI, please refer to the AOC­SIMLC User Guide @http://www.supermicro.com/products/accessories/addon/
SIM.cfm.

The X8DA3 motherboard supports the LSI 1068E SAS Controller and 8 6.
SAS connectors. To confi gure SAS RAID settings, please refer to the LSI
MegaRAID User Guide posted at http://www.supermicro.com/manuals/other/

LSI/20MegaRAID_Confi guration_for_the_LSI_1068_Controller.pdf.

1-3

X8DA3/X8DAi User's Manual

X8DA3/X8DAi Quick Reference

0/1
USB

COM1

COM2

LAN1

JC2

82573V

LAN
CTRL

82573L

LAN

CTRL

CD1

Fan5

KB/Mouse

2/3

USB

Fan8/CPU2 Fan

LAN2

AUDIO

JPL2

Fan6

JI2C1
JI2C2

JPW2

P2 DIMM3A

P2 DIMM3B

P2 DIMM2A

P2 DIMM2B
P2 DIMM1A

P2 DIMM1B

Slot6 PCI-E x16

JPL1

Slot5 PCI 33MH

Slot4 PCI 33MH

Slot3 PCI-E X16

1394_2

Slot2 PCI-E X4

Slot1 PCI 33MH

Slot0 SIMLC

1

1394_1

JI2C3

JI2C4

X8DA3/i

CPU2

1394
CTRL

JPI1

JPW3

Battery

JBT1

USB6/7

JUSB3

SPI BIOS

USB4/5

JUSB2

J6

ICH10R
Intel
South
Bridge

USB9

USB8

T-SGPIO2

I-SATA5

I-SATA4

P1 DIMM1B

P1 DIMM1A

P1 DIMM2B

P1 DIMM2A

P1 DIMM3B

P1 DIMM3A

Intel IOH-36D

(North Bridge)

I-Button

T-SGPIO1

I-SATA3

I-SATA2

CPU1

I-SATA1

I-SATA0

LES2

1068E

SAS CTRL

JWD1

LES1

JL1

JPS1

JPW1

JPS2

Fan7/CPU1

SP1

LE1

S I/O

J5

JSM2

SAS 4~7

JSM1

SAS 0~3

JWOL1

Fan1

Floppy

Fan4

JOH1

Fan2

JF1

Fan3

JFDD1

JD1

Warning!

1. To prevent damage to your power supply or motherboard, please use a
power supply that contains a 24-pin and two 8-pin power connectors. Be
sure to connect these power connectors to the 24-pin and the two 8-pin
power connectors on your motherboard for adequate power supply to your
system. Failure to do so will void the manufacturer warranty on your power
supply and motherboard.

2. To avoid possible system overheating, please be sure to provide ad­equate airfl ow to your system.

1-4

Chapter 1: Introduction

X8DA3/X8DAi Quick Reference

Jumper Description Default Setting

JBT1 CMOS Clear (See Chapter 2)

2

JI

C1/JI2C2 SMB to PCI-Exp. Slots Pins 2-3 (Disabled)

2

JI

C3/JI2C4 SMB to PCI-X Slots Pins 2-3 (Disabled)
JPI1 1394_1/1394_2 Enable Pins 1-2 (Enabled)
JPL1/JPL2 LAN1/2 Enable Pins 1-2 (Enabled)
JPS1 SAS Enable (X8DA3) Pins 1-2 (Enabled)
JPS2 SAS RAID Mode Select (X8DA3) Closed (SR RAID Enabled)
JWD1 Watch Dog Pins 1-2 (Reset)

Connector Description

1394_1/1394_2 1394 Connection Headers
Audio/CD1/JC2 Audio Input_Output_Mic/CD-ROM/HD Audio Headers
COM1/COM2 COM1/COM2 Serial Ports
FAN 1-8 System/CPU Fan Headers (Fans 7~8: CPU Fans)
Floppy Floppy Disk Drive Connector
J5 SMB I
J6 Power Supply SMBus I

2

C Header

2

C Header
JD1 Speaker/Power LED Header
JF1 Front Panel Connector
JL1 Chassis Intrusion Header
JOH1 Overheat LED Header
JPW1/JPW2 +12V 8-pin Secondary PWR Connector (See the

Warning on P. 1-4)
JPW3 24-pin ATX Main Power Connector (Warning P. 1-4)
JWOL1 Wake-On-LAN Header
LAN1/2 Gigabit Ethernet (RJ45) Ports
I-SATA0 ~ I-SATA5 (Intel South Bridge) SATA Ports
SAS 0~3, 4~7 SAS Connectors (X8DA3 only)
SIMLC (Low Profi le) SIMLC IPMI 2.0 Socket
T-SGPIO-1/T-SGPIO-2 Serial General Purpose Input/Output Headers
(B/P) USB0/1/2/3 (Back Panel) Universal Serial Bus (USB) Ports
F/P USB 4/5, 6/7, 8, 9 Front Panel Ac ces sible U SB Hea ders

LED Description

LE1 Onboa rd Stan dby PWR war ning LE D Indic ator
LES1 SAS Activity LED (Green: SAS Active) (X8DA3 only)
LES2 SAS Link LED (X8DA3 only)

1-5

X8DA3/X8DAi User's Manual

Motherboard Features

CPU

Two Intel•
ports two full-width Intel QuickPath Interconnect links of up to 51.2 GB/s Data
Transfer Rate (6.4 GT/s per direction)

®

5500 Series Processor (LGA 1366) processors. Each processor sup-

Memory

Twelve 240-pin DIMM sockets support up to 96 GB of DDR3 Registered ECC •
Memory (See Section 2-3 in Chapter 2 for DIMM Slot Population.)

Chipset

Intel 5520 chipset, including the 5520 (North Bridge) and the ICH10R (South •
Bridge).

Warning:To avoid possible system overheating, please be sure to provide
adequate airfl ow to your system.

Expansion Slots

Two PCI-E x16 slot (Slot3 and Slot6)•
One PCI-E x4 slot (Slot2)•
Three 32-bit PCI 33 slot (Slot1, Slot4 and Slot5)•
One SIMLC IPMI Slot (Slot0) •

Note: IPMI 2.0 is supported by the motherboard. To use this feature,
please install a SIMLC add-on card on the SIMLC Slot (Slot 0). For more
information on IPMI, please refer to the AOC-SIMLC User Guide @ http://
www.supermicro.com/products/accessories/addon/SIM.cfm.

BIOS

32 Mb AMI SPI Flash ROM•
PCI 2.2, ACPI 1.0/2.0/3.0, Plug and Play (PnP), DMI 2.3, USB Keyboard sup-•

port, and SMBIOS 2.3

PC Health Monitoring

Onboard voltage monitors for CPU cores, chipset voltage, 3.3Vcc, 12V , V_DIMM, •
5V, -12V, 3.3VSB, and Vbatt

Fan status monitor and Pulse Wi dth Mo dulati on (PW M) Fan Contr ol

•

CPU/chass is temper ature moni tors•
Platfo rm Environme nt Control In terfac e (PECI) ready and The rmal Moni tor 2 •

(TM2) support
CPU fan auto - of f in sleep m ode/C PU slow- dow n on temper ature over heat

•

CPU ther mal tr ip supp or t for pro ces sor pr otecti on, power L ED•

1-6

Chapter 1: Introduction

Power-up mod e cont rol for r ecover y fr om AC power l oss•
Auto- switc hing vol tage r egulato r for CPU c ore s•
System over heat /Fan Fail LED I ndic ator and c ontr ol•
Chassis i ntrus ion detec tion•
System re sourc e aler t vi a Super o Doc tor III•

ACPI Features

Slow blinking LED for suspend state indicator•
Main switch override mechanism•
ACPI Pow er Ma nag eme nt•
Keyboard Wakeup from Soft-off •

Onboard I/O

Intel ICH10R supports six SATA2 ports (with RAID0, RAID1, RAID10, RAID5 •
supported in the Windows OS Environment)

LSI 1068E supports eight SAS ports (with RAID0, RAID1, RAID10 supported)

•

(For X8DA3)

Note: SAS RAID5 is also supported when the AOC-Ibutton 68 (optional)
is installed on the motherboard.

One SIM LC IPMI so cket

•

Intel 82573V and 82573L Gigabit Ethernet controllers support dual Giga-bit •
LAN ports

One fl oppy port interface

•

Two COM p or ts •
PS/2 mo use and PS /2 keyboa rd por ts•
Up to ten USB 2.0 (Universal Serial Bus) (4 Ports, 2 Front Headers, and 2 •

Ty p e A H ea de rs)
Super I/ O: Winbo nd W83 627HG

•

High Defi nition 7.1 Audio wi th Line -i n, Line -o ut and Mi crop hone•
Tw o T I 1 3 94 p ort s•

Other

Wake-on-LAN (WOL)•
Console redirection•
Onboa rd Fan Spee d Contr ol by Ther mal Ma nagem ent via BI OS•

CD/Diskette Utilities

BIOS fl ash upgrade utility and device drivers•

Dimensions

Ext . ATX 13.05" (L) x 12.075" (W) (331.47 mm x 306.71 mm)•

1-7

X8DA3/X8DAi User's Manual

DDR3

1333/1066/800

Ports
#0~3

Ports
#4~7

P2DIMM2B

P2DIMM2A

P2DIMM1B

P2DIMM1A

#6

PCI-E X16

SAS

LSI 1068

#1

PCI-E X8

PHY#1

iI82573V

PHY#2
i82573L

1394

TI

PCI-33

PCI-33

PCI-33

SIMLC

P2DIMM3B

P2DIMM3A

PROCESSOR#2

PCI-E x16

#3

PCI-Ex16

PCI-E X16

PCI-Ex4

PCI-Ex4

PCI-Ex1

PCI-Ex1

PCI 33MHz

#5

#4

#1

#0

QPI

Ports

#3-6

IOH-36D

TYLERSBURG

Ports
#7-10

Ports

#1-2

LANES1/2

LANE5

LANE6

MS
KB

QPI

ICH10

Port

#0

ESI

DMI

COM1
External

PROCESSOR#1

QPI

PCIEx4

R

SIO

W83627

HG

3.0 Gb/S

USB 2.0

LPC

DDR3

AC'97

#4

#3

#2

#1

#0

#5

#3

#2

#1

#0

SPI
TPM

COM2

External/SOL

P1DIMM2B

P1DIMM2A

P1DIMM3B

P1DIMM3A

1333/1066/800

#5

SATA

#9

#8

#7

#6

USB

P1DIMM1B

P1DIMM1A

4 Rear
4 Front
2 Type-A

Block Diagram of the Intel 5520 Platform

Note: This is a general block diagram. Please see the previous Mother-

board features pages for details on the features of each motherboard.

1-8

Chapter 1: Introduction

1-2 Chipset Overview

Built upon the functionality and the capability of the Intel 5520 platform, the
X8DA3/X8DAi motherboard provides the performance and feature set required for
dual-processor-based high-end systems with confi guration options optimized for
workstations, high-end CAD systems, and intensive applications. The 5500 Series
Proce s s o r p latform co ns is t s of t h e 5 500 Serie s Pr o cessor (LGA 1366) pro c e s s o r,
the 5200 (North Bridge), and the ICH10R (South Bridge). With the Intel QuickPath
interconnect controller built in the processor, the 5500 Series Processor platform is
the fi rst dual-processing platform to offer 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, a llowi ng for inc reas ed band width a nd sca labili ty.

The IOH c onnects to each processor through an independent QuickPath Inter­connect link. Each link consists of 20 pairs of unidirectional differential lanes for
transmission and receiving in addition to a differential forwarded clock. A full-width
QuickPath interconnect link pair provides 84 signals. Each processor supports two
Quick Path link, o ne goin g to the oth er proc ess or and the ot her to th e 5520 c hip.

The Intel 5 520 platform s up ports up to 3 6 P C I Express Ge n2 l a n e s , a n d t h e 5520
North Bridge supports peer-to-peer read and write transactions. The ICH10R pro­vides up t o 6 PCI -E xpre ss por t s, six SATA por ts an d 10 USB co nnec tions .

In additi on, the Intel 552 0 platform a lso offer s a wide range of R AS (Reliabil ity,
Availability and Serv i c ea bi li t y) featur e s. T he se f eat ure s in c lu de m em o ry interfa c e
ECC, x4/x8 Single Device Data Correction (SDDC), Cyclic Redundancy Check
(CRC), parity pr otec tio n, out- o f- band re gist er ac ces s via S M Bus, me mory mirror­ing, memo ry s pari ng, and Ho t-pl ug suppo rt o n the PCI - Ex press I nter face.

Main Features of the 5500 Series Processor and the 5520
Chipset

Four processor cores in each processor with 8MB shared cache among cores•

Two full-width Intel QuickPath interconnect links, up to 6.4 GT/s of data transfer •
rate in each direction

Virtualization Technology, Integrated Management Engine supported

•

Point-to-point cache coherent interconnect, Fast/narrow unidirectional links, and •
Concurrent bi-directional traffi c

Error detection via CRC and Error correction via Link level retry

•

1-9

X8DA3/X8DAi User's Manual

1-3 Special Features

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 press the power switch to turn it back
on) or for it to automatically return to a power- on state. See the Advanced BIOS

Setup section to change this setting. The default setting is Last State.

1-4 PC Health Monitoring

This section describes the PC health monitoring features of the X8DA3/X8DAi. All
have an onboard System Hardware Monitor chip that supports PC health monitor­ing. An onboard voltage monitor will scan these onboard voltages continuously:
CPU cores, chipset voltage, 3.3Vcc, 12V, V_DIMM, 5V, -12V, 3.3VSB, and Vbatt.
Once a voltage becomes unstable, a warning is given or an error message is sent
to the screen. Users can adjust the voltage thresholds to defi ne the sensitivity of
the voltage monitor.

Fan Status Monitor with Firmware Control

The PC health monitor can check the RPM status of the cooling fans. The onboard
CPU and chassis fans are controlled by Thermal Management in the BIOS (under
System Health Monitoring in the Advanced section.)

Environmental Temperature Control

The thermal control sensor monitors the CPU temperature in real time and will turn
on the thermal control fan whenever the CPU temperature exceeds a user-defi ned
threshold. The overheat circuitry runs independently from the CPU. Once it detects
that the CPU temperature is too high, it will automatically turn on the thermal fan
control to prevent any overheat damage to the CPU. The onboard chassis thermal
circuitry can monitor the overall system temperature and alert users when the chas­sis temperature is too high.

Warning:To avoid possible system overheating, please be sure to provide
adequate airfl ow to your system.

System Resource Alert

This feature is available when used with Supero Doctor III in the Windows OS
environment or used with Supero Doctor II in Linux. Supero Doctor is used to

1-10

Chapter 1: Introduction

notif y the user of cer tain system events. For example, you can also confi gure
Supero Doctor to provide you with warnings when the system temperature, CPU
temperat ures, volt ages a nd fan spe eds go beyon d a pre- defi ned range.

1-5 ACPI Features

ACPI stands for Advanced Confi guration and Power Interface. The ACPI specifi ca-
tion defi nes a fl exible and abstract hardware interface that provides a standard
way to integrate power management features throughout a PC system, including
its hardware, operating system and application software. This enables the system
to automatically turn on and off peripherals such as CD-ROMs, network cards, hard
disk drives and printers.

In addition to enabling operating system-directed power management, ACPI
provides a generic system event mechanism for Plug and Play and an operating
system-independent interface for confi guration control. ACPI leverages the Plug
and Play BIOS data structures while providing a processor architecture-independent
implementation that is compatible with Windows XP/Windows 2003/Windows 2008/
Windows Vista Operating Systems.

Slow Blinking LED for Suspend-State Indicator

When the CPU goes into a suspend state, the chassis power LED will start blinking
to indicate that the CPU is in suspend mode. When the user presses any key, the
CPU will wake-up and the LED will automatically stop blinking and remain on.

Wake-On-LAN (WOL)

Wake-On-LAN is defi 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 traffi 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.

1-11

X8DA3/X8DAi User's Manual

1-6 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.

The X8DA3/X8DAi can accommodate 24-pin ATX power supplies. Although most
power supplies generally meet the specifi cations required by the CPU, some are
inadequate. In addition, the two onboard 12V 8-pin power connections are also
required to ensure adequate power supply to the system. Also your power supply
must supply 1.5A for the Ethernet ports.

Warning: To prevent damage to your power supply or motherboard, please
use a power supply that contains a 24-pin and two 8-pin power connec­tors. Be sure to connect these power connectors to the 24-pin and the two
8-pin power connectors on your motherboard for adequate power supply
to your system. Failure to do so will void the manufacturer warranty on
your power supply and motherboard.

It is strongly recommended that you use a high quality power supply that meets ATX
power supply Specifi cation 2.02 or above. It must also be SSI compliant (For more
information, please refer to the web site at http://www.ssiforum.org/). Additionally, in
areas where noisy power transmission is present, you may choose to install a line
fi 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.

1-7 Super I/O

The disk drive adapter functions of the Super I/O chip include a fl 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 genera­tor, 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 fl oppy disk drives. The Super I/O supports 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
system. 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 Confi guration
and Power Interface), which includes support of legacy and ACPI power manage­ment through an SMI or SCI function pin. It also features auto power management
to reduce power consumption.

1-12

Chapter 2: Installation

Chapter 2

Installation

2-1 Static-Sensitive Devices

Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) can damage electronic com ponents. T o prevent dam­age to your system board, it is important to handle it very carefully. The following
measures are generally suffi 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 as specifi ed by the

•

manufacturer. Do not install the onboard battery upside down to avoid possible
explosion.

Unpacking

The motherboard is ship p ed in antistatic pac k aging to avoid static da m a ge. When
unpacking the board, make sure the person handling it is static protected.

2-1

X8DA3/X8DAi User's Manual

2-2 Motherboard Installation

All motherboards have standard mounting holes to fi t different types of chassis.
Make sure that the locations of all the mounting holes for both motherboard and
chassis 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. Note: Some components are very close to the mounting holes. Please take
precautionary measures to prevent damage to these components when installing
the motherboard to the chassis.

Tools Needed

Phillips Screwdriver1.

Locations of Mounting Holes

Pan head #9 screws2.

X8DA3/i

Installation
Instructions

Install the IO shield into the 1.
chassis.

Locate the mounting holes 2.
on the motherboard. Refer to
the layout above for mounting
hole locations.

Locate the matching mounting holes on the chassis. Align the mounting holes 3.
on the motherboard against the mounting holes on the chassis.

Install standoffs in the chassis as needed.4.

Install the motherboard into the chassis carefully to avoid damage to mother-5.
board components.

Warning: To avoid damaging the motherboard and its components, please
do not apply any force greater than 8 lb/sq.in (8 lbs. per square inch) when
installing a screw into a mounting hole.

Insert a Pan head #6 screw into a mounting hole on the motherboard and its 6.
matching mounting hole on the chassis, using a Phillips screwdriver.

Repeat Step 4 to insert #6 screws to all mounting holes.7.

Make sure that the motherboard is securely placed on the chassis.8.

2-2

2-3 Processor and Heatsink Installation

!

When handling the processor package, avoid placing direct pressure on
the label area of the fan.

Notes:

Always connect the power cord last and always remove it before adding, re-1.
moving or changing any hardware components. Make sure that you install the
processor into the CPU socket before you install the CPU heatsink.

Make sure to install the motherboard into the chassis before you install the 2.
CPU heatsink and heatsink fans.

When purchasing a 5500 Series Processor or when receiving a motherboard 3.
with a 5500 Series 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.

Chapter 2: Installation

Refer to the M B Features S ecti on for mo re deta ils on CPU s uppor t.4.

Installing an LGA 1366 Processor

Press the socket clip to release 1.
the load plate, which covers the
CPU socket, from its locking
position.

Gently lift the socket clip to 2.
open the load plate.

Hold the plastic cap at its north 3.
and south center edges to re­move it from the CPU socket.

Socket Clip

Plastic Cap

Load Plate

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

2-3

X8DA3/X8DAi User's Manual

After removing the plastic cap, 1.
using your thumb and the index
fi nger, hold the CPU at the
north and south center edges.

Align the CPU key, the semi-2.
circle cutout, against the socket
key, the notch below the gold
color dot on the side of the
socket.

Once both the CPU and the 3.
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.)

CPU CPU SocketLoad Plate

Socket Keys

With the CPU inside the socket, 4.
inspect the four corners of the
CPU to make sure that the CPU
is properly installed.

Once the CPU is securely 5.
seated on the socket, lower the
CPU load plate to the socket.

Use your thumb to gently push 6.
the socket clip down to the clip
lock.

Warning: Please save the
plastic cap. The mother­board must be shipped
with the plastic cap prop­erly ins tal led to p rotec t the
CPU socket pins. Ship­ment without the plastic
cap properly installed will
cause damage to the sock­et pins.

CPU Keys

2-4

Installing a CPU Heatsink

Do not apply any thermal 1.
grease to the heatsink or the
CPU die because the required
amount has already been ap­plied.

Chapter 2: Installation

Place the heatsink on top of the 2.
CPU so that the four mounting
holes are aligned with those on
the retention mechanism.

3. Install two diagonal screws (ie
the #1 and the #2 screws) and
tighten them until just snug (-do
not fully tighten the screws to
avoid possible damage to the
CPU.)

Screw#1

Screw#1

Install Screw#1

Screw#2

Screw#2

4. Finish the installation by fully
tightening all four screws.

2-5

X8DA3/X8DAi User's Manual

Removing the Heatsink

Warni ng: We do not recommend that the CPU or the heatsink be re ­moved. However, if you do need to remove the heatsink, please follow
the inst ructions be low to uninstall th e heatsink and prevent da mage to
the CPU or ot her co mpone nts.

Unplug the power cord from the 1.
power supply.

If you are using an active heat-2.
sink, disconnect the heatsink
fan wires from the CPU fan
header.

Using a screwdriver, loosen and 3.
remove the heatsink screws
from the motherboard in the se­quence as show in the picture
on the right.

Using a screwdriver to
remove Screw#1

Hold the heatsink as shown 4.
in the picture on the right and
gently wriggle the heatsink to
loosen it from the CPU. (Do not
use excessive force when wrig­gling the heatsink.)

Once the heatsink is loosened, 5.
remove it from the CPU socket.

To reinstall the CPU and the 6.
heatsink, clean the surface of
the CPU and the heatsink to get
rid of the old thermal grease.
Reapply the proper amount of
thermal grease on the surface
before reinstalling them on the
motherboard.

Remove Screw#2

2-6

Chapter 2: Installation

2-4 Memory Installation

Note: Check the S uper micro we b site for r ecom mende d memor y mo dules .

CAUTION

Exercise extreme care when installing or removing DIMM

module s to prevent any po ssib le damag e. Also n ote that th e

memor y is i nterl eaved to imp rove per fo rman ce (See ste p 1).

DIMM Installation

Insert the desired number of DIMMs into the memory slots, starting with 1.
P1-DIMM 1A. For best memory performance, please install memory modules
of the same type and same speed on the memory slots as indicated on the
tables below. (See the Memory Installation Table Below.)

Insert each DIMM module vertically into its slot. Pay attention to the notch 2.
along the bottom of the module to prevent inserting the DIMM module incor­rectly.

Gently press down on the DIMM module until it snaps into place in the slot. 3.
Repeat for all modules.

Memory Population for Optimal Performance

-For a motherboard with One CPU (CPU1) installed

Branch 0 Branch 1 Branch 2

3 DIMMs P1 DIMM1A P1 DIMM2A P1 DIMM3A
6 DIMMs P1 DIMM1A P1 DIMM1B P1 DIMM2A P1 DIMM2B P1 DIMM3A P1 DIMM3B

Memory Population for Optimal Performance

-For a motherboard with One CPU (CPU2) installed

Branch 0 Branch 1 Branch 2

3 DIMMs P2 DIMM1A P2 DIMM2A P2 DIMM3A
6 DIMMs P2 DIMM1A P2 DIMM1B P2 DIMM2A P2 DIMM2B P2 DIMM3A P2 DIMM3B

Memory Population for Optimal Performance

-For a motherboard with Two CPUs installed

CPU1 CPU2

Branch 0 Branch 1 Branch 3 Branch 0 Branch 1 Branch 3

6 DIMMs 1A 2A 3A 1A 2A 3A
12

DIMMs

1A 1B 2A 2B 3A 3B 1A 1B 2A 2B 3A 3B

2-7

X8DA3/X8DAi User's Manual

Memory Support

The X8DA3/X8DAi supports up to 96 GB Registered ECC DDR3 1333 MHz/1066
MHz/800 MHz in 12 DIMMs. Memory speed support is dependent on the type of
CPU used on the board.

DIMM Module Population Confi guration

For memor y to wor k pro perl y, follow the tab les be low for me mor y inst allati on:

DIMM Population Table

DIMM
Slots per
Channel

2 1 Reg. DDR3 ECC 800,1066,1333 SR or DR
2 1 Reg. DDR3 ECC 800,1066 QR
2 2 Reg. DDR3 ECC 800,1066 Mixing SR, DR
2 2 Reg. DDR3 ECC 800 Mixing SR, DR,QR

DIMMs
Populated
per Channel

DIMM Type (Reg.=
Registered)

Speeds (in MHz) Ranks per DIMM

(any combination;
SR=Single Rank,
DR=Dual Rank,
QR=Quad Rank)

Note 1: Due to OS limitations, some operating systems may not show

more than 4 GB of memory.
Note 2: Due to memory allocation to system devices, the amount of

memory that remain s availa ble f or o per ati ona l use w ill b e re duc ed w hen
4 GB of R A M is us ed. T he re duc tio n in me mor y ava ilab ili ty i s disp rop or­tiona l. (See the fo llowi ng Mem or y Availabi lity Table.)

Possible System Memory Allocation & Availability

System Device Size Physical Memory

Firmware Hub fl ash memory (System
BIOS)

Local APIC 4 KB 3.99 GB
Area Reserved for the chipset 2 MB 3.99 GB
I/O APIC (4 Kbytes) 4 KB 3.99 GB
PCI Enumeration Area 1 256 MB 3.76 GB
PCI Express (256 MB) 256 MB 3.51 GB
PCI Enumeration Area 2 (if needed)

-Aligned on 256-MB boundary­VGA Memory 16 MB 2.85 GB
TSEG 1 MB 2.84 GB
Memory available for the OS & other

applications

1 MB 3.99 GB

512 MB 3.01 GB

Remaining (-Available) (4 GB Total System
Memory)

2.84 GB

2-8

Installing and Removing DIMMs

Chapter 2: Installation

X8DA3/i

To Remove:

Use your thumbs
to gently push
the release tabs
near both ends of
the module. This
should release it
from the slot.

Notch

Release

Tab

DIMM DDR3

Note: Notch

should align

with the

receptive point

on the slot

To In s t al l : Inse r t modu le ver ti cal ly and p res s down u ntil i t
snaps in to plac e. Pay at tent ion to t he ali gnme nt notc h at
the bottom.

3

Release Tab

Notch

Release

Tab

Release Tab

2-9

X8DA3/X8DAi User's Manual

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

2-5 Control Panel Connectors/IO Ports

The I/O p ort s are col or cod ed in co nforma nce wit h the PC 9 9 speci fi cation. See
the pic ture be low for t he co lors a nd loc atio ns of the var ious I /O por t s.

1. Back Panel Connectors/IO Ports

13

16

10

X8DA3/i

12

15

14

11

Back Panel I/O Port Locations and Defi nitions

Back Panel Connectors

Keyboard (Purple)1.
PS/2 Mouse (Green)2.
Back Panel USB Port 03.
Back Panel USB Port 14.
Back Panel USB Port 25.
Back Panel USB Port 36.
COM Port 1 (Turquoise)7.
COM Port 2 (Turquoise)8.
Gigabit LAN 19.
Gigabit LAN 210.

Side_Surround (Grey)11.
Back_Surround (Black)12.
CEN/LFE (Orange)13.
Microphone-In (Pink)14.
Front (Green)15.
Line-In (Blue)16.

(See Section 2-5 for details.)

2-10

Chapter 2: Installation

2. Front Control Panel

JF1 contains header pins for various buttons and indicators that are normally lo­cated on a control panel at the front of the chassis. These connectors are designed
specifi cally for use with Supermicro server chassis. See the fi gure below for the
descriptions of the various control panel buttons and LED indicators. Refer to the
following section for descriptions and pin defi nitions.

JF1 Header Pins

1920

Ground

X8DA3/i

X

NMI

X

Power LED

HDD LED

NIC1 LED

NIC2 LED

OH/Fan Fail LED

PWR Fail LED

Ground

Ground

Vcc

Vcc

Vcc

Vcc

Vcc

Vcc

Reset

PWR

2

1

Reset Button

Power Button

2-11

X8DA3/X8DAi User's Manual

3. Front Control Panel Pin Defi nitions

NMI Button

The non-maskable interrupt button
header is located on pins 19 and 20
of JF1. Refer to the table on the right
for pin defi nitions.

Power LED

The Power LED connection is located
on pins 15 and 16 of JF1. Refer to the
table o n the ri ght for p in defi nitions.

NMI Button

Pin Defi nitions (JF1)

Pin# Defi nition
19 Control
20 Ground

Power LED

Pin Defi nitions (JF1)

Pin# Defi nition
15 +5V
16 Ground

X8DA3/i

2-12

A. NMI
B. PWR LED

Ground

Power LED

B

HDD LED

NIC1 LED

NIC2 LED

OH/Fan Fail LED

PWR Fail LED

Ground

Ground

1920

NMI

A

X

2

X

Vcc

Vcc

Vcc

Vcc

Vcc

Vcc

Reset

Reset Button

Power Button

PWR

1

HDD LED

Chapter 2: Installation

The HDD LED connection is located
on pins 13 and 14 of JF1. Attach a
hard drive LED cable here to display
disk activity (for any hard drive ac­tivities on the system, including SAS,
Serial ATA and IDE). See the table on
the right for pin defi nitions.

NIC1/NIC2 LED Indicators

The NIC (Network Interface Control­ler) LED connection for GLAN port 1 is
located on pins 11 and 12 of JF1, and
the LED connection for GLAN Port 2
is on Pins 9 and 10. Attach the NIC
LED cables to display network activity .
Refer to the table on the right for pin
defi nitions.

HDD LED

Pin Defi nitions (JF1)

Pin# Defi nition
13 +5V
14 HD Active

GLAN1/2 LED

Pin Defi nitions (JF1)

Pin# Defi nition
9/11 Vcc
10/12 Ground

X8DA3/i

2-13

A. HDD LED
B. NIC1 LED
C. NIC2 LED

Ground

X

Power LED

HDD LED

A

NIC1 LED

B

NIC2 LED

C

OH/Fan Fail LED

PWR Fail LED

Ground

Ground

1920

NMI

X

Vcc

Vcc

Vcc

Vcc

Vcc

Vcc

Reset

Reset Button

Power Button

PWR

2

1

X8DA3/X8DAi User's Manual

Overheat (OH)/Fan Fail LED

Connect an LED Cable to the OH/
Fan Fail conn ection o n pins 7 and 8
of JF1 to provide ad vanc ed wa rn ing s
of chass is overhe ating or fa n failure.
Refer to the t able o n the ri ght for p in
defi nitions.

Power Fail LED

The Power Supply Fail LED connec­tion is located on pins 5 and 6 of JF1.
Refer to the table on the right for pin
defi nitions.

OH/Fan Fail LED

Pin Defi nitions (JF1)

Pin# Defi nition
7 Vcc
8 Ground

OH/Fan Fail Indicator

Status

State Defi nition
Off Normal
On Overheat
Flash-

ing

Fan Fail

PWR Fail LED

Pin Defi nitions (JF1)

Pin# Defi nition
5 Vcc
6 Ground

X8DA3/i

A

2-14

A. OH/Fan Fail LED
B. PWR Supply Fail

Ground

X

Power LED

HDD LED

NIC1 LED

NIC2 LED

OH/Fan Fail LED

PWR Fail LED

B

Ground

Ground

1920

NMI

X

Vcc

Vcc

Vcc

Vcc

Vcc

Vcc

Reset

Reset Button

Power Button

PWR

2

1

Chapter 2: Installation

Reset Button

The Reset Button connection is located
on pins 3 and 4 of JF1. Attach it to a
hardware reset switch on the computer
case. Refer to the table on the right for
pin defi nitions.

Power Button

The Power Button connection is located
on pins 1 and 2 of JF1. Momentarily
contacting both pins will power on/off the
system. This button works in conjunction
with the Power-Off setting in the BIOS
Advanced submenu.Refer to the tables
on the right for pin defi nitions.

Reset Button

Pin Defi nitions (JF1)

Pin# Defi nition
3 Reset
4 Ground

Power Button

Pin Defi nitions (JF1)

Pin# Defi nition
1 Signal
2 Ground

Power Button

Power On/Off Settings

PWR_Off Setting
in the BIOS:

When PWR_Off is
set to Instant_Off

When PWR_Off
is set to 4_second
suspend

PWR Activity on the
motherbaord:

To power-on: Power is
turned on immediately
To pwer-off: PWR is
turned off immediately

To power-on: Power is
turned on immediately
To pwer-off: Short both
pins for 4 seconds or
longer to turn off the
power.

X8DA3/i

A. Reset Button
B. PWR Button

OH/Fan Fail LED

2-15

Ground

X

Power LED

HDD LED

NIC1 LED

NIC2 LED

PWR Fail LED

Ground

Ground

1920

NMI

X

Vcc

Vcc

Vcc

Vcc

Vcc

Vcc

Reset

PWR

2

1

A

Reset Button

B

Power Button

X8DA3/X8DAi User's Manual

2-6 Connecting Cables

ATX Power Connector

There are a 24-pin main power
supply connector(JPW3) and two
8-pin CPU PWR connectors (JPW1/
JPW2) on the motherboard. These
power connectors meet the SSI EPS
12V specifi cation. For the 8-pin PWR
(JPW1/JPW2), please refer to the item
listed below.

Processor Power Connector

In addition to the Primary ATX power
connector, the 12V 8-pin CPU PWR
connectors at JPW1/JPW2 must also
be connected to your power supply.
See the table on the right for pin
defi nitions.

ATX Power 24-pin Connector

Pin Defi nitions

Pin# Defi nition Pin # Defi nition
13 +3.3V 1 +3.3V
14 -12V 2 +3.3V
15 COM 3 COM
16 PS_ON 4 +5V
17 COM 5 COM
18 COM 6 +5V
19 COM 7 COM
20 Res (NC) 8 PWR_OK
21 +5V 9 5VSB
22 +5V 10 +12V
23 +5V 11 +12V
24 COM 12 +3.3V

12V 8-pin Power Con-

nector

Pin Defi nitions

Pins Defi nition
1 through 4 Ground
5 through 8 +12V

0/1
USB

COM1

COM2

LAN1

JC2

82573V

LAN
CTRL

82573L

LAN
CTRL

CD1

KB/Mouse

2/3
USB

Fan8/CPU2 Fan

LAN2

AUDIO

JPL2

Warning: To prevent damage to your power supply or mother­board, please use a power supply that contains a 24-pin and
two 8-pin power connectors. Be sure to connect these power
connectors to the 24-pin and the two 8-pin power connectors on
your motherboard for adequate power supply to your system.
Failure to do so will void the manufacturer warranty on your
power supply and motherboard.

C

Fan5

Fan6

JPW2

P2 DIMM3A

P2 DIMM3B

P2 DIMM2A

P2 DIMM2B
P2 DIMM1A

P2 DIMM1B

Slot6 PCI-E x16

1

JPL1

Slot5 PCI 33MH

Slot4 PCI 33MH

JI2C1
JI2C2

Slot3 PCI-E X16

1394_2

Slot2 PCI-E X4

Slot1 PCI 33MH

Slot0 SIMLC

JI2C3

1394_1

X8DA3/i

CPU2

JI2C4

A

USB6/7

JUSB3

JBT1

SPI BIOS

USB4/5

JUSB2

ICH10R
Intel
South
Bridge

USB9

J6

CPU1

P1 DIMM1B

P1 DIMM1A

P1 DIMM2B

P1 DIMM2A

P1 DIMM3B

P1 DIMM3A

Intel IOH-36D

(North Bridge)

I-Button

T-SGPIO1

T-SGPIO2

I-SATA3

I-SATA2

I-SATA1

I-SATA0

I-SATA5

USB8

I-SATA4

JPW3

JPI1

1394
CTRL

Battery

LES2

1068E

SAS CTRL

JWD1

B

JPW1

A. 24-pin ATX PWR
B/C.8-pin Processor PWR

Fan1

(Required)

Fan7/CPU1

SP1

JD1

JOH1

Fan2

LE1

JF1

Fan3

Floppy

S I/O

LES1

JL1

JFDD1

J5

JSM2

SAS 4~7

JSM1

SAS 0~3

JWOL1

JPS1

JPS2

Fan4

2-16

Chapter 2: Installation

D

E

F

Universal Serial Bus (USB)

There are ten USB 2.0 (Universal
Serial Bus) ports/headers on the
mother bo ard. Ba ck Pan el US B Por t s
0/1/2/3 are located at JUSB1. The
other six a re Front Panel Acc essibl e
USB headers. USB 4/5 (JUSB 2),
USB 6/ 7 (JUSB 3), USB 8 (J24) and
USB 9 (J23) provid e fr ont p ane l US B
access. See the tables on the right
for pin de fi nitions.

Chassis Intrusion

A Chassis Intrusion header is located
at JL1 on the motherboard. Attach an
appropriate cable from the chassis to
inform you of a chassis intrusion when
the chassis is opened.

Back Panel USB

(USB0/1/2/3)

Pin# Defi nitions
1 +5V
2 PO­3 PO+
4 Ground
5 N/A

Front Panel USB

(USB8/9)

Pin# Defi nition
1 Vcc
2 Data­3 Data+
4 Ground
5NA

Front Panel USB

Pin Defi nitions (USB4/5/6/7)

USB4/6
Pin # Defi nition

1 +5V 1 +5V
2 PO- 2 PO­3 PO+ 3 PO+
4 Ground 4 Ground
5 Key 5 No connection

USB5/7
Pin # Defi nition

Chassis Intrusion

Pin Defi nitions (JL1)

Pin# Defi nition
1 Intrusion Input
2 Ground

A. Backpanel USB

Fan1

0/1/2/3
B. Front Panel USB 4/5
C. Front Panel USB 6/7
D. Front Panel USB 8

JD1

JOH1

E. Front Panel USB 9

Fan2

F. Chassis Intrusion

JF1

Fan3

Floppy

JFDD1

SAS 4~7

SAS 0~3

Fan4

0/1

COM1

COM2

LAN1

Fan5

Fan6

KB/Mouse

USB

Fan8/CPU2 Fan

AUDIO

82573V

LAN
CTRL

82573L

LAN
CTRL

JC2

CD1

JPW2

2/3
USB

P2 DIMM3A

P2 DIMM3B

A

P2 DIMM2A

P2 DIMM2B
P2 DIMM1A

P2 DIMM1B

LAN2

Slot6 PCI-E x16

1

JPL1

Slot5 PCI 33MH

JPL2

Slot4 PCI 33MH

JI2C1
JI2C2

Slot3 PCI-E X16

1394_1

1394_2

Slot2 PCI-E X4

Slot1 PCI 33MH

Slot0 SIMLC

X8DA3/i

CPU2

JI2C3
JI2C4

JPW3

JPI1

1394
CTRL

Battery

C

USB6/7

JUSB3

SPI BIOS

JBT1

USB4/5

B

JUSB2

ICH10R
Intel
South
Bridge

USB9

J6

CPU1

P1 DIMM1B

P1 DIMM1A

P1 DIMM2B

P1 DIMM2A

P1 DIMM3B

P1 DIMM3A

Intel IOH-36D

(North Bridge)

LES2

I-Button

T-SGPIO1

T-SGPIO2

I-SATA3

I-SATA2

I-SATA1

I-SATA0

I-SATA5

USB8

I-SATA4

1068E

SAS CTRL

JWD1

JPW1

Fan7/CPU1

SP1

LE1

S I/O

LES1

J5

JSM2

JSM1

JWOL1

JL1

JPS1

JPS2

2-17

X8DA3/X8DAi User's Manual

F

E

D

G

Fan Headers

The X8DA3/X8DAi has six chassis/system fan
headers (Fan1 to Fan6) and two CPU fans
(Fan7/Fan8) on the motherboard. All these
4-pin fans headers are backward compatible
with the traditional 3-pin fans. However, fan
speed control is available for 4-pin fans only.
The fan speeds are controlled by a Hardware
Monitoring setting in the BIOS. (The Default
setting is Disabled.) See the table on the right
for pin defi nitions.

Speaker/Power LED Header

Fan Header

Pin Defi nitions

Pin# Defi nition
1 Ground
2 +12V
3 Tachometer
4 PWR Modulation

On the JD1 header, pins 1-3 are used for
power LED indication, and pins 4-7 are for
the speaker. See the table on the right for
speaker pin defi nitions. Please note that the
speaker connector pins (4-7) are for use with
an external speaker. If you wish to use the
onboard speaker, you should close pins 6-7
with a jumper.

0/1

COM1

COM2

LAN1

Fan5

Fan6

KB/Mouse

USB

Fan8/CPU2 Fan

AUDIO

82573V

LAN

CTRL

82573L

LAN
CTRL

JC2

CD1

JPW2

2/3
USB

P2 DIMM3A

P2 DIMM3B

P2 DIMM2A

P2 DIMM2B
P2 DIMM1A

P2 DIMM1B

H

LAN2

Slot6 PCI-E x16

1

JPL1

Slot5 PCI 33MH

JPL2

Slot4 PCI 33MH

JI2C1
JI2C2

Slot3 PCI-E X16

1394_2

Slot2 PCI-E X4

Slot1 PCI 33MH

Slot0 SIMLC

1394_1

JI2C3
JI2C4

X8DA3/i

CPU2

JPW3

JPI1

1394
CTRL

Battery

USB6/7

JUSB3

SPI BIOS

JBT1

USB4/5

JUSB2

ICH10R
Intel
South
Bridge

USB9

J6

CPU1

P1 DIMM1B

P1 DIMM1A

P1 DIMM2B

P1 DIMM2A

P1 DIMM3B

P1 DIMM3A

Intel IOH-36D

(North Bridge)

LES1

LES2

1068E

I-Button

I-SATA3

I-SATA2

I-SATA1

I-SATA0

SAS CTRL

JWD1

JL1

T-SGPIO1

T-SGPIO2

I-SATA5

USB8

I-SATA4

Speaker/Power LED Con-

nector

Pin Setting Defi nition
Pins 6-7 Internal Speaker
Pins 4-7 External Speaker

A. Fan 1

JPW1

A

Fan1

B. Fan 2
C. Fan 3

Fan7/CPU1

SP1

LE1

JD1

JOH1

Fan2

B

JF1

D. Fan 4
E. Fan 5

I

F. Fan 6
G. Fan 7 (CPU1 Fan)
H. Fan 8 (CPU2 Fan)

Fan3

C

Floppy

S I/O

JFDD1

J5

JSM2

SAS 4~7

JSM1

SAS 0~3

JWOL1

JPS1

JPS2

Fan4

I. PWR LED/Speaker

2-18

Chapter 2: Installation

ATX PS/2 Keyboard and PS/2
Mouse Ports

The ATX PS/2 keyboard and the PS/2
mouse are located on the back panel.
See the table on the right for pin defi -
nitions. (The mouse port is above the
keyboard port. See the table on the
right for pin defi nitions.)

Serial Ports

COM1 and COM2 are serial connec­tors located on the I/O Backpanel.
See the table on the right for pin
defi nitions.

PS/2 Keyboard and

Mouse Port Pin

Defi nitions

Pin# Defi nition
1 Data
2NC
3 Ground
4 VCC
5 Clock
6NC

Serial Port Pin Defi nitions

(COM1/COM2)

Pin # Defi nition Pin # Defi nition
1 CDC 6 DSR
2 RXD 7 RTS
3 TXD 8 CTS
4 DTR 9 RI
5 Ground 10 NC

0/1

COM1

COM2

LAN1

(NC: No Connection.)

Fan5

Fan6

JPW2

A

KB/Mouse

2/3

USB

USB

B

P2 DIMM3A

P2 DIMM3B

P2 DIMM2A

P2 DIMM2B
P2 DIMM1A

P2 DIMM1B

JPW3

X8DA3/i

C

Fan8/CPU2 Fan

Slot6 PCI-E x16

JPL1

Slot5 PCI 33MH

Slot4 PCI 33MH

Slot3 PCI-E X16

1394_2

Slot2 PCI-E X4

Slot1 PCI 33MH

Slot0 SIMLC

1

1394_1

CPU2

JI2C3
JI2C4

JPI1

1394
CTRL

Battery

LAN2

AUDIO

82573V

LAN
CTRL

JPL2

82573L

LAN
CTRL

JI2C1
JI2C2

JC2

CD1

USB6/7

JUSB3

SPI BIOS

JBT1

USB4/5

JUSB2

ICH10R
Intel
South
Bridge

USB9

J6

CPU1

P1 DIMM1B

P1 DIMM1A

P1 DIMM2B

P1 DIMM2A

P1 DIMM3B

P1 DIMM3A

Intel IOH-36D

(North Bridge)

LES2

I-Button

T-SGPIO1

T-SGPIO2

I-SATA3

I-SATA2

I-SATA1

I-SATA0

I-SATA5

USB8

I-SATA4

1068E

SAS CTRL

JWD1

JPW1

Fan1

Fan7/CPU1

SP1

JD1

JOH1

Fan2

LE1

JF1

Fan3

Floppy

S I/O

LES1

JL1

JFDD1

J5

JSM2

SAS 4~7

JSM1

SAS 0~3

JWOL1

JPS1

JPS2

Fan4

A. Keyboard/Mouse
B. COM1
C. COM2

2-19

X8DA3/X8DAi User's Manual

Wake-On-LAN

The Wake-On-LAN header is located
at JWOL1 on the motherboard. You
must also have a LAN card with a
Wake-On-LAN connector and a cable
to use this feature. See the table on
the right for pin defi nitions.

Overheat LED/Fan Fail (JOH1)

The JOH1 header is used to connect
an LED indi c ato r to p rov i de wa r ni ng s
of chass is overhe ating or fa n failure.
This LED will blink when a fan failure
occu r s. Refe r to th e t abl e on r i ght f or
pin defi nitions.

Wake-On-LAN

Pin Defi nitions

Pin# Defi nition
1 +5V Standby
2 Ground
3 Wake-up

Overheat LED

Pin Defi nitions

Pin# Defi nition
1 5vDC
2 OH Active

OH/Fan Fail LED

Pin Defi nitions

State Message
Solid Overheat
Blinking Fan Fail

0/1

COM1

COM2

LAN1

Fan5

Fan6

KB/Mouse

USB

JPW2

2/3
USB

P2 DIMM3A

P2 DIMM3B

P2 DIMM2A

P2 DIMM2B
P2 DIMM1A

P2 DIMM1B

JPW3

X8DA3/i

Fan8/CPU2 Fan

Slot6 PCI-E x16

JPL1

Slot5 PCI 33MH

Slot4 PCI 33MH

Slot3 PCI-E X16

1394_2

Slot2 PCI-E X4

Slot1 PCI 33MH

Slot0 SIMLC

1

1394_1

CPU2

JI2C3
JI2C4

JPI1

1394
CTRL

Battery

LAN2

AUDIO

82573V

LAN

CTRL

JPL2

82573L

LAN
CTRL

JI2C1
JI2C2

JC2

CD1

USB6/7

JUSB3

SPI BIOS

JBT1

USB4/5

JUSB2

ICH10R
Intel
South
Bridge

USB9

J6

CPU1

P1 DIMM1B

P1 DIMM1A

P1 DIMM2B

P1 DIMM2A

P1 DIMM3B

P1 DIMM3A

Intel IOH-36D

(North Bridge)

I-Button

T-SGPIO1

T-SGPIO2

I-SATA3

I-SATA2

I-SATA1

I-SATA0

I-SATA5

USB8

I-SATA4

LES2

SAS CTRL

1068E

JPW1

Fan1

Fan7/CPU1

SP1

JOH1

Fan2

LE1

JF1

Fan3

Floppy

S I/O

LES1

JWD1

JL1

JFDD1

J5

JSM2

SAS 4~7

JSM1

SAS 0~3

A

JWOL1

JPS1

JPS2

Fan4

A. Keyboard/Mouse
B. Overheat/Fan Fail
LED

B

JD1

2-20

Chapter 2: Installation

GLAN 1/2 (Giga-bit Ethernet Ports)

Two G-bit Ethernet ports are located
on the I/O backplane. These ports
accept RJ45 type cables.

T-SGPIO Headers

Two SGPIO (Serial-Link General
Purpose Input/Output) headers (T­SGPIO-1/T-SGPIO-2) are located at
J14/J15 on the motherboard. These
headers support serial link interfaces
for the onboard SATA and SAS con­nectors. See the table on the right
for pin defi nitions. Refer to the board
layout below for the location.

GLAN2

GLAN1

T-SGPIO

Pin Defi nitions

Pin# Defi nition Pin Defi nition
1NC 2 NC
3 Ground 4 Data

5 Load 6 Ground
7NC 8 NC

Note: NC= No Connections

0/1
USB

COM1

COM2

LAN1

JC2

82573V

LAN

CTRL

82573L

LAN

CTRL

CD1

Fan5

KB/Mouse

2/3
USB

Fan8/CPU2 Fan

LAN2

AUDIO

JPL2

A

Fan6

JI2C1
JI2C2

JPW2

P2 DIMM3A

P2 DIMM3B

P2 DIMM2A

P2 DIMM2B
P2 DIMM1A

P2 DIMM1B

Slot6 PCI-E x16

JPL1

Slot5 PCI 33MH

Slot4 PCI 33MH

Slot3 PCI-E X16

1394_2

Slot2 PCI-E X4

Slot1 PCI 33MH

Slot0 SIMLC

1

1394_1

X8DA3/i

CPU2

JI2C3
JI2C4

A. GLAN1/2
B. T-SGPIO-1
C. T-SGPIO-2

JD1

USB6/7

JUSB3

SPI BIOS

JBT1

USB4/5

JUSB2

ICH10R
Intel
South
Bridge

USB9

J6

CPU1

P1 DIMM1B

P1 DIMM1A

P1 DIMM2B

P1 DIMM2A

P1 DIMM3B

P1 DIMM3A

Intel IOH-36D

(North Bridge)

LES2

C

B

I-Button

T-SGPIO1

T-SGPIO2

I-SATA3

I-SATA2

I-SATA1

I-SATA0

I-SATA5

USB8

I-SATA4

1068E

SAS CTRL

JWD1

JPW1

Fan1

Fan7/CPU1

SP1

JOH1

Fan2

LE1

JF1

Fan3

Floppy

S I/O

LES1

JL1

JFDD1

J5

JSM2

SAS 4~7

JSM1

SAS 0~3

JWOL1

JPS1

JPS2

Fan4

JPW3

JPI1

1394
CTRL

Battery

2-21

X8DA3/X8DAi User's Manual

Power SMB (I2C) Connector

Power System Management Bus

2

(I

C) Connector (J6) monitors power
supply, fan and system temperatures.
See the table on the right for pin
defi nitions.

SMB

A System Management Bus header is
located at J5. Connect the appropriate
cable here to use the SMB I

2

C con-

nection on your system.

PWR SMB

Pin Defi nitions

Pin# Defi nition
1 Clock
2 Data

3 PWR Fail
4 Ground
5 +3.3V

SMB Header

Pin Defi nitions

Pin# Defi nition
1 Data
2 Ground
3 Clock
4 No Connection

0/1

COM1

COM2

LAN1

A

Fan5

Fan6

KB/Mouse

USB

JPW2

2/3
USB

P2 DIMM3A

P2 DIMM3B

P2 DIMM2A

P2 DIMM2B
P2 DIMM1A

P2 DIMM1B

JPW3

X8DA3/i

Fan8/CPU2 Fan

Slot6 PCI-E x16

JPL1

Slot5 PCI 33MH

Slot4 PCI 33MH

Slot3 PCI-E X16

1394_2

Slot2 PCI-E X4

Slot1 PCI 33MH

Slot0 SIMLC

1

1394_1

CPU2

JI2C3
JI2C4

JPI1

1394
CTRL

Battery

LAN2

AUDIO

82573V

LAN

CTRL

JPL2

82573L

LAN
CTRL

JI2C1
JI2C2

JC2

CD1

USB6/7

JUSB3

SPI BIOS

JBT1

USB4/5

JUSB2

ICH10R
Intel
South
Bridge

USB9

J6

CPU1

P1 DIMM1B

P1 DIMM1A

P1 DIMM2B

P1 DIMM2A

P1 DIMM3B

P1 DIMM3A

Intel IOH-36D

(North Bridge)

I-Button

T-SGPIO1

T-SGPIO2

I-SATA3

I-SATA2

I-SATA1

I-SATA0

I-SATA5

USB8

I-SATA4

LES2

SAS CTRL

1068E

JPW1

Fan1

Fan7/CPU1

SP1

JD1

JOH1

Fan2

LE1

JF1

Fan3

Floppy

S I/O

B

LES1

JWD1

JL1

JFDD1

J5

JSM2

SAS 4~7

JSM1

SAS 0~3

JWOL1

JPS1

JPS2

Fan4

A. PWR SMB
B. SMB

2-22

High Defi nition Audio (HD Audio)

Chapter 2: Installation

This motherboard features a 7.1+2 Chan­nel High Defi nition Audio (HDA) codec that
provide 10DAC channels, simultaneously
supporting 7.1 sound playback with 2 chan­nels of independent stereo sound outputs.
The multiple_streaming outputs are routed
through the front panel stereo out for front
L&R, rear L&R, center and subwoofer speak­ers. Use the software included in the CD-ROM
that came with your motherboard to enable
this function.

CD Header/Front Panel Audio

A 4-pin CD header (CD1) and a Front Panel
Audio header (JC2) are also located on the
motherboard. These headers allow you to use
the onboard sound for audio CD playback.
Connect an audio cable from your CD drive to
the CD header that fi ts your cable's connector.
Only one CD header can be used at a time.
See the tables at right for pin defi nitions.

0/1

COM1

COM2

LAN1

Fan5

Fan6

KB/Mouse

USB

Fan8/CPU2 Fan

AUDIO

82573V

LAN
CTRL

82573L

LAN
CTRL

JC2

CD1

JPW2

2/3
USB

P2 DIMM3A

P2 DIMM3B

P2 DIMM2A

P2 DIMM2B
P2 DIMM1A

P2 DIMM1B

LAN2

A

Slot6 PCI-E x16

1

JPL1

Slot5 PCI 33MH

JPL2

Slot4 PCI 33MH

JI2C1
JI2C2

Slot3 PCI-E X16

1394_1

1394_2

Slot2 PCI-E X4

Slot1 PCI 33MH

B

Slot0 SIMLC

X8DA3/i

CPU2

JI2C3
JI2C4

JPW3

JPI1

1394
CTRL

Battery

USB6/7

JUSB3

SPI BIOS

JBT1

USB4/5

JUSB2

ICH10R
Intel
South
Bridge

USB9

J6

CPU1

P1 DIMM1B

P1 DIMM1A

P1 DIMM2B

P1 DIMM2A

P1 DIMM3B

P1 DIMM3A

Intel IOH-36D

(North Bridge)

LES1

LES2

1068E

I-Button

I-SATA3

I-SATA2

I-SATA1

I-SATA0

SAS CTRL

JWD1

JL1

T-SGPIO1

T-SGPIO2

I-SATA5

USB8

I-SATA4

Orange:
CEN/LFE

Black: Back
Surround

Grey: Side
Surround

Blue: Line-In

Green:Front

Pink: Mic-In

CD1

Pin Defi nition

Pin# Defi nition
1 Left
2 Ground
3 Ground
4 Right

HD Audio (Rev. 1.2)

FP_Audio Pin Defi nition

Pin Defi nition

Pin# Defi nition
1 MIC left channel
2 Ground
3 MIC right channel
4 Front panel audio detect
5 Line_out right channel
6 MIC jack detect
7 Front audio jack detect
8 Key
9 Line_out left channel
10 Line_out jack detect

JPW1

Fan1

Fan7/CPU1

SP1

JD1

A. HD Audio

JOH1

Fan2

LE1

Floppy

S I/O

J5

JSM2

SAS 4~7

JSM1

SAS 0~3

JWOL1

JPS1

JPS2

Fan4

B. CD

JF1

Fan3

JFDD1

2-23

X8DA3/X8DAi User's Manual

Connector

Pins

Jumper

Cap

Setting

2-7 Jumper Settings

Explanation of Jumpers

To modify the operation of the mother­board, jumpers can be used to choose
between optional settings. Jumpers cre­ate shorts between two pins to change
the function of the connector. Pin 1
is identifi ed with a square solder pad
on the printed circuit board. See the
motherboard layout pages for jumper
locations.

Note: On two pin jumpers,
"Closed" means the jumper
is on and "Open" means the
jumper i s of f the pin s.

GLAN Enable/Disable

JPL1 / JPL2 enable or disable the GLAN
Port1/GLAN Port2 on the mother­board. See the table on the right for
jumper s ettings. The d efault settin g is

Enabled.

3 2 1

3 2 1

Pin 1-2 short

GLAN Enable

Jumper Settings

Pin# Defi nition
1-2 Enabled (default)
2-3 Disabled

0/1

COM1

COM2

LAN1

Fan5

Fan6

KB/Mouse

USB

JPW2

2/3
USB

P2 DIMM3A

P2 DIMM3B

P2 DIMM2A

P2 DIMM2B
P2 DIMM1A

P2 DIMM1B

JPW3

J6

CPU1

JPW1

X8DA3/i

Fan8/CPU2 Fan

Slot6 PCI-E x16

JPL1

Slot5 PCI 33MH

Slot4 PCI 33MH

Slot3 PCI-E X16

1394_2

Slot2 PCI-E X4

Slot1 PCI 33MH

Slot0 SIMLC

1

1394_1

CPU2

JI2C3
JI2C4

ICH10R

SPI BIOS

JPI1

JBT1

1394
CTRL

Battery

USB6/7

JUSB3

USB4/5

JUSB2

Intel
South
Bridge

USB9

LAN2

AUDIO

82573V

A

LAN

CTRL

B

JPL2

82573L

LAN
CTRL

JI2C1
JI2C2

JC2

CD1

P1 DIMM1B

P1 DIMM1A

P1 DIMM2B

P1 DIMM2A

P1 DIMM3B

P1 DIMM3A

Intel IOH-36D

(North Bridge)

LES2

1068E

I-Button

I-SATA3

I-SATA2

I-SATA1

I-SATA0

SAS CTRL

JWD1

T-SGPIO1

T-SGPIO2

I-SATA5

USB8

I-SATA4

S I/O

LES1

JSM2

JSM1

JL1

JPS1

JPS2

A. GLAN Port 1 Enable

Fan1

B. GLAN Port 2 Enable

Fan7/CPU1

SP1

JD1

JOH1

Fan2

LE1

JF1

Fan3

Floppy

JFDD1

J5

SAS 4~7

SAS 0~3

JWOL1

Fan4

2-24

Chapter 2: Installation

CMOS Clear

JBT1 is used to clear CMOS. Instead of pins, this "jumper" consists of contact pads
to prevent the accidental clearing of CMOS. To clear CMOS, use a metal object such
as a small screwdriver to touch both pads at the same time to short the connection.
Always remove the AC power cord from the system before clearing CMOS.

Note: For an ATX power supply, you must completely shut down the sys­tem, remove the AC power cord and then short JBT1 to clear CMOS.

Watch Dog Enable/Disable

Watch Dog (JWD1) is a system monitor that
can reboot the system when a software ap­plication hangs. Close Pins 1-2 to reset the
system if an application hangs. Close Pins
2-3 to generate a non-maskable interrupt
signal for the application that hangs. See the
table on the right for jumper settings. Watch
Dog must also be enabled in the BIOS.

0/1

COM1

COM2

LAN1

Fan5

Fan6

KB/Mouse

USB

JPW2

2/3
USB

P2 DIMM3A

P2 DIMM3B

P2 DIMM2A

P2 DIMM2B
P2 DIMM1A

P2 DIMM1B

JPW3

X8DA3/i

Fan8/CPU2 Fan

Slot6 PCI-E x16

JPL1

Slot5 PCI 33MH

Slot4 PCI 33MH

Slot3 PCI-E X16

1394_2

Slot2 PCI-E X4

Slot1 PCI 33MH

Slot0 SIMLC

1

1394_1

CPU2

JI2C3
JI2C4

JPI1

1394
CTRL

Battery

LAN2

AUDIO

82573V

LAN
CTRL

JPL2

82573L

LAN
CTRL

JI2C1
JI2C2

JC2

CD1

USB6/7

JUSB3

SPI BIOS

JBT1

USB4/5

JUSB2

A

ICH10R
Intel
South
Bridge

USB9

J6

CPU1

P1 DIMM1B

P1 DIMM1A

P1 DIMM2B

P1 DIMM2A

P1 DIMM3B

P1 DIMM3A

Intel IOH-36D

(North Bridge)

LES1

LES2

1068E

I-Button

I-SATA3

I-SATA2

I-SATA1

I-SATA0

SAS CTRL

B

JWD1

T-SGPIO1

T-SGPIO2

I-SATA5

USB8

I-SATA4

Watch Dog

Jumper Settings (JWD1)

Jumper Setting Defi nition
Pins 1-2 Reset

(default)
Pins 2-3 NMI
Open Disabled

JPW1

Fan1

Fan7/CPU1

SP1

JD1

JOH1

Fan2

LE1

JF1

Fan3

Floppy

S I/O

JFDD1

J5

JSM2

SAS 4~7

JSM1

SAS 0~3

JWOL1

JL1

JPS1

JPS2

Fan4

A. Clear CMOS
B. Watch Dog Enable

2-25

X8DA3/X8DAi User's Manual

D

I2C Bus to PCI-Exp. Slots

Jumpers JI

2

C1 and JI2C2 allow you to

connect the System Management Bus

2

(I

C) to PCI-Express slots. The default
setting is Open to disable the connec­tion. See the table on the right for jumper
settings.

I2C to PCI-Exp

Jumper Settings

Jumper Setting Defi nition
1-2 Enabled
2-3 Disabled (Default)

I2C Bus to PCI-X Slots

Jumpers JI

2

C3, and JI2C4 allow you to

connect the System Management Bus

2

(I

C) to PCI-X slots. The default setting is
Open to disable the connection. See the
table on the right for jumper settings.

0/1

COM1

COM2

LAN1

Fan5

Fan6

KB/Mouse

USB

Fan8/CPU2 Fan

AUDIO

82573V

LAN

CTRL

82573L

LAN
CTRL

JC2

CD1

JPW2

2/3
USB

P2 DIMM3A

P2 DIMM3B

P2 DIMM2A

P2 DIMM2B
P2 DIMM1A

P2 DIMM1B

LAN2

Slot6 PCI-E x16

1

JPL1

Slot5 PCI 33MH

JPL2

Slot4 PCI 33MH

A

JI2C1
JI2C2

Slot3 PCI-E X16

B

1394_2

Slot2 PCI-E X4

Slot1 PCI 33MH

Slot0 SIMLC

C

1394_1

JI2C3
JI2C4

X8DA3/i

CPU2

JPW3

JPI1

1394
CTRL

Battery

USB6/7

JUSB3

SPI BIOS

JBT1

USB4/5

JUSB2

ICH10R
Intel
South
Bridge

USB9

J6

CPU1

P1 DIMM1B

P1 DIMM1A

P1 DIMM2B

P1 DIMM2A

P1 DIMM3B

P1 DIMM3A

Intel IOH-36D

(North Bridge)

I-Button

T-SGPIO1

T-SGPIO2

I-SATA3

I-SATA2

I-SATA1

I-SATA0

I-SATA5

USB8

I-SATA4

LES2

SAS CTRL

1068E

I2C to PCI-X

Jumper Settings

Jumper Setting Defi nition
1-2 Enabled
2-3 Disabled (Default)

2

A. JI
B. JI

C1

2

C2

JPW1

Fan1

C. JI2C3

Fan7/CPU1

SP1

JD1

JOH1

Fan2

LE1

JF1

Fan3

Floppy

S I/O

LES1

JWD1

JL1

JFDD1

J5

JSM2

SAS 4~7

JSM1

SAS 0~3

JWOL1

JPS1

JPS2

Fan4

D. JI

2

C4

2-26

Chapter 2: Installation

SAS Enable/Disable

Jumper JPS1 allows you to enable or
disable the onboard SAS connections.
The default setting is Pins 1-2 to enable
the connection. See the table on the right
for jumper settings.

SAS RAID Select

Jumper JPS2 allows you to select RAID
Confi guration settings for the onboard
SAS connections. The default setting is
the SR mode. To use the IT mode, you
will need to fl ash your fi rmware fi rst.
To obtain the correct fi rmware, please
contact tech_support at Supermicro. For
jumper settings, please refer to the table
on the right.

SAS Enable

Jumper Settings

Jumper Setting Defi nition
1-2 SAS Enabled (Default)
2-3 SAS Disabled

SAS RAID Confi g. Select

Jumper Settings

Jumper Setting Defi nition
Open Integrated Target Mode (IT)
Closed

Software RAID (SR)

(Default)

0/1

COM1

COM2

LAN1

Fan5

Fan6

KB/Mouse

USB

JPW2

2/3
USB

P2 DIMM3A

P2 DIMM3B

P2 DIMM2A

P2 DIMM2B
P2 DIMM1A

P2 DIMM1B

JPW3

X8DA3/i

Fan8/CPU2 Fan

Slot6 PCI-E x16

JPL1

Slot5 PCI 33MH

Slot4 PCI 33MH

Slot3 PCI-E X16

1394_2

Slot2 PCI-E X4

Slot1 PCI 33MH

Slot0 SIMLC

1

1394_1

CPU2

JI2C3
JI2C4

JPI1

1394
CTRL

Battery

LAN2

AUDIO

82573V

LAN
CTRL

JPL2

82573L

LAN
CTRL

JI2C1
JI2C2

JC2

CD1

USB6/7

JUSB3

SPI BIOS

JBT1

USB4/5

JUSB2

ICH10R
Intel
South
Bridge

USB9

J6

CPU1

P1 DIMM1B

P1 DIMM1A

P1 DIMM2B

P1 DIMM2A

P1 DIMM3B

P1 DIMM3A

Intel IOH-36D

(North Bridge)

LES2

I-Button

T-SGPIO1

T-SGPIO2

I-SATA3

I-SATA2

I-SATA1

I-SATA0

I-SATA5

USB8

I-SATA4

1068E

SAS CTRL

JWD1

JPW1

Fan1

Fan7/CPU1

SP1

JD1

JOH1

Fan2

LE1

JF1

Fan3

Floppy

S I/O

LES1

JL1

JFDD1

J5

JSM2

SAS 4~7

JSM1

SAS 0~3

B

A

JWOL1

JPS1

JPS2

Fan4

A. SAS Enable
B. SAS RAID Confi g.

Select

2-27

X8DA3/X8DAi User's Manual

1394_1/1394_2 Enable

Jumper JPI1 allows you to enable or
disable 1394_1/1394_2. The default
setting is Pins 1-2 to enable the con­nection. See the table on the right for
jumper settings.

1394 Enable

Jumper Settings

Jumper Setting Defi nition
1-2 Normal (Default)
2-3 1394 Disabled

0/1

COM1

COM2

LAN1

Fan5

Fan6

KB/Mouse

USB

JPW2

2/3
USB

P2 DIMM3A

P2 DIMM3B

P2 DIMM2A

P2 DIMM2B
P2 DIMM1A

P2 DIMM1B

JPW3

X8DA3/i

Fan8/CPU2 Fan

Slot6 PCI-E x16

JPL1

Slot5 PCI 33MH

Slot4 PCI 33MH

Slot3 PCI-E X16

1394_2

Slot2 PCI-E X4

Slot1 PCI 33MH

Slot0 SIMLC

1

1394_1

CPU2

JI2C3
JI2C4

JPI1

1394
CTRL

Battery

LAN2

AUDIO

82573V

LAN

CTRL

JPL2

82573L

LAN
CTRL

JI2C1
JI2C2

JC2

CD1

USB6/7

JUSB3

SPI BIOS

A

JBT1

USB4/5

JUSB2

ICH10R
Intel
South
Bridge

USB9

J6

JPW1

Fan1

A. 1394_1/1394_2 En-

able

CPU1

Fan7/CPU1

SP1

JD1

P1 DIMM1B

P1 DIMM1A

P1 DIMM2B

P1 DIMM2A

P1 DIMM3B

P1 DIMM3A

JOH1

Fan2

LE1

JF1

Fan3

Intel IOH-36D

(North Bridge)

LES1

LES2

1068E

I-Button

I-SATA3

I-SATA2

I-SATA1

I-SATA0

SAS CTRL

JWD1

JL1

T-SGPIO1

T-SGPIO2

I-SATA5

USB8

I-SATA4

Floppy

S I/O

JFDD1

J5

JSM2

SAS 4~7

JSM1

SAS 0~3

JWOL1

JPS1

JPS2

Fan4

2-28

Chapter 2: Installation

2-8 Onboard Indicators

GLAN LEDs

There are two GLAN ports on the moth­erboard. Each Gigabit Ethernet LAN port
has two LEDs. The green LED indicates
activity , while the Link LED may be green,
amber or off to indicate the speed of the
connection. See the tables at right for
more information.

Onboard Power LED

An Onboard Power LED is located at LE1
on the motherboard. When this LED is on,
the system is on. Be sure to turn off the
system and unplug the power cord before
removing or installing components. See
the tables at right for more information.

Link
LED

Activity
LED

Rear View (when facing the
rear side of the chassis)

GLAN Activity Indicator

LED Settings

Color Status Defi nition
Green Flashing Active

GLAN Link Indicator

LED Settings

LED Color Defi nition
Off No Connection or 10 Mbps
Green 100 Mbps
Amber 1 Gbps

Onboard PWR LED Indicator (LE1)

LED Color Defi nition
Off System Off (PWR cable

Green System On
Green:

Flashing
Quickly

Green:
Flashing
Slowly

LED Settings

not connected)

ACPI S1 State

ACPI S3 (STR) State

0/1

COM1

COM2

LAN1

Fan5

Fan6

KB/Mouse

USB

Fan8/CPU2 Fan

AUDIO

82573V

LAN

CTRL

82573L

LAN
CTRL

JC2

CD1

JPW2

2/3

USB

P2 DIMM3A

P2 DIMM3B

P2 DIMM2A

P2 DIMM2B
P2 DIMM1A

P2 DIMM1B

A

LAN2

Slot6 PCI-E x16

1

JPL1

Slot5 PCI 33MH

JPL2

Slot4 PCI 33MH

JI2C1
JI2C2

Slot3 PCI-E X16

1394_2

Slot2 PCI-E X4

Slot1 PCI 33MH

Slot0 SIMLC

1394_1

X8DA3/i

CPU2

JI2C3
JI2C4

JPW3

JPI1

1394
CTRL

Battery

USB6/7

JUSB3

SPI BIOS

JBT1

USB4/5

JUSB2

ICH10R
Intel
South
Bridge

USB9

J6

CPU1

P1 DIMM1B

P1 DIMM1A

P1 DIMM2B

P1 DIMM2A

P1 DIMM3B

P1 DIMM3A

Intel IOH-36D

(North Bridge)

I-Button

T-SGPIO1

T-SGPIO2

I-SATA3

I-SATA2

I-SATA1

I-SATA0

I-SATA5

USB8

I-SATA4

LES2

1068E

SAS CTRL

JWD1

JPW1

Fan1

Fan7/CPU1

SP1

JOH1

B

Fan2

LE1

JF1

Fan3

Floppy

S I/O

LES1

JL1

JFDD1

J5

JSM2

SAS 4~7

JSM1

SAS 0~3

JWOL1

JPS1

JPS2

Fan4

A. GLAN Port LEDs
B. Onboard Power LED

JD1

2-29

X8DA3/X8DAi User's Manual

SAS LED Indicators

Two Onboard SAS LED are located at
LES1/LES2 on the motherboard. When
this LES1 is on, SAS Connections are
active. When this LES2 is on, SAS con­nections work properly. See the tables at
right for more information.

Onboard SAS LED Indicators

(LES1/LES2) Settings

LED# Color Defi nition
LES1 Activity LED Green SAS: Active
LES2 Heartbeat

Yellow SAS: Normal

LED

0/1
USB

COM1

COM2

LAN1

JC2

82573V

CTRL

82573L

LAN

LAN
CTRL

CD1

Fan5

KB/Mouse

2/3
USB

Fan8/CPU2 Fan

LAN2

AUDIO

JPL2

Fan6

JI2C1
JI2C2

JPW2

P2 DIMM3A

P2 DIMM3B

P2 DIMM2A

P2 DIMM2B
P2 DIMM1A

P2 DIMM1B

Slot6 PCI-E x16

JPL1

Slot5 PCI 33MH

Slot4 PCI 33MH

Slot3 PCI-E X16

1394_2

Slot2 PCI-E X4

Slot1 PCI 33MH

Slot0 SIMLC

1

1394_1

X8DA3/i

CPU2

JI2C3

JI2C4

JPW3

J6

JPW1

Fan1

A. GLAN Port LEDs
B. Onboard Power LED

CPU1

Fan7/CPU1

SP1

JD1

P1 DIMM1B

P1 DIMM1A

P1 DIMM2B

P1 DIMM2A

P1 DIMM3B

P1 DIMM3A

JOH1

Fan2

LE1

JF1

Fan3

Intel IOH-36D

(North Bridge)

ICH10R

SPI BIOS

JPI1

JBT1

1394
CTRL

Battery

USB6/7

JUSB3

USB4/5

JUSB2

Intel
South
Bridge

USB9

I-Button

T-SGPIO1

T-SGPIO2

I-SATA5

I-SATA3

USB8

I-SATA2

I-SATA4

I-SATA1

I-SATA0

B

LES2

1068E

SAS CTRL

JWD1

A

LES1

JL1

Floppy

S I/O

JFDD1

J5

JSM2

SAS 4~7

JSM1

SAS 0~3

JWOL1

JPS1

JPS2

Fan4

2-30

Chapter 2: Installation

2-9 Floppy Drive, SIMLP, Serial ATA and Hard Disk Drive
Connections

Note the fo llowi ng when c onne cting t he fl oppy and hard disk drive cables:

•

The fl oppy disk drive cable has seven twisted wires.

A red mark on a wire typically designates the location of pin 1.•

A single fl oppy disk drive ribbon cable has 34 wires and two connectors to •
provide for two fl oppy disk drives. The connector with twisted wires always
connects to drive A, and the connector that does not have twisted wires always
connects to drive B.

Floppy Connector

The fl oppy connector is located close
to the Front Panel Control on the
motherboard. See the table on the
right for pin defi nitions.

Pin# Defi nition Pin # Defi nition
1 Ground 2 FDHDIN
3 Ground 4 Reserved
5 Key 6 FDEDIN
7 Ground 8 Index
9 Ground 10 Motor Enable
11 Ground 12 Drive Select B
13 Ground 14 Drive Select B
15 Ground 16 Motor Enable
17 Ground 18 DIR
19 Ground 20 STEP
21 Ground 22 Write Data
23 Ground 24 Write Gate
25 Ground 26 Track 00
27 Ground 28 Write Protect
29 Ground 30 Read Data
31 Ground 32 Side 1 Select
33 Ground 34 Diskette

Floppy Drive Connector

Pin Defi nitions

Fan5

Fan6

JPW2

KB/Mouse

0/1

USB

COM1

COM2

Fan8/CPU2 Fan

LAN1

AUDIO

82573V

LAN
CTRL

82573L

LAN
CTRL

JC2

CD1

P2 DIMM3A

2/3

P2 DIMM3B

USB

P2 DIMM2A

P2 DIMM2B
P2 DIMM1A

P2 DIMM1B

X8DA3/i

JI2C1
JI2C2

Slot6 PCI-E x16

JPL1

Slot5 PCI 33MH

Slot4 PCI 33MH

Slot3 PCI-E X16

1394_2

Slot2 PCI-E X4

Slot1 PCI 33MH

Slot0 SIMLC

CPU2

JI2C3

1

JI2C4

JPI1

1394_1

1394
CTRL

LAN2

JPL2

J6

JPW3

CPU1

P1 DIMM1B

P1 DIMM1A

P1 DIMM2B

P1 DIMM2A

P1 DIMM3B

P1 DIMM3A

Intel IOH-36D

(North Bridge)

ICH10R

SPI BIOS

JBT1

Intel
South
Bridge

Battery

USB9

USB6/7

USB4/5

JUSB2

JUSB3

I-Button

T-SGPIO1

T-SGPIO2

I-SATA1

I-SATA5

I-SATA3

USB8

I-SATA2

I-SATA4

I-SATA0

LES2

1068E

SAS CTRL

JPW1

Fan1

Fan7/CPU1

SP1

JD1

JOH1

Fan2

LE1

JF1

Fan3

A

Floppy

S I/O

LES1

JWD1

JL1

JFDD1

J5

JSM2

SAS 4~7

JSM1

SAS 0~3

JWOL1

JPS1

JPS2

Fan4

A. Floppy

2-31

X8DA3/X8DAi User's Manual

G

F

E

D

H

Serial ATA (SATA) Ports

Six Serial ATA Ports (I-SATA0~I­SATA 5) are located at JS1~JS6
on the motherboard. These ports
provide serial-link signal transmis­sion, which is faster than that of the
traditional Parallel A T A. See the table
on the r ight for p in defi nitions.

Serial-Attached SCSI (SAS) Ports
(For X8DA3 only)

In addition to SATA connections, an
LSI 1068 E SAS Co ntroller a nd eight
SAS connectors are located on the
X8DA3. To confi gure LSI SAS R AID
sett ings , ple ase ref er to t he LSI S AS
RAID User Guide posted on our Web
site @http://www.supermicro.com/
support/manuals/.

Serial ATA

Pin Defi nitions

Pin# Defi nition
1 Ground
2 TX_P
3 TX_N
4 Ground
5 RX_N
6 RX_P
7 Ground

See the layout below for the locations
of SATA and SAS Connections.

Fan5

Fan6

JPW2

KB/Mouse

0/1

2/3

USB

USB

COM1

COM2

Fan8/CPU2 Fan

LAN1

AUDIO

82573V

LAN
CTRL

82573L

LAN
CTRL

JC2

CD1

P2 DIMM3A

P2 DIMM3B

P2 DIMM2A

P2 DIMM2B
P2 DIMM1A

P2 DIMM1B

LAN2

Slot6 PCI-E x16

JPL1

Slot5 PCI 33MH

JPL2

Slot4 PCI 33MH

JI2C1
JI2C2

Slot3 PCI-E X16

1394_2

Slot2 PCI-E X4

Slot1 PCI 33MH

Slot0 SIMLC

1

1394_1

X8DA3/i

CPU2

JI2C3
JI2C4

JPW3

JPI1

1394
CTRL

Battery

USB6/7

J6

CPU1

P1 DIMM1B

P1 DIMM1A

P1 DIMM2B

P1 DIMM2A

P1 DIMM3B

P1 DIMM3A

Intel IOH-36D

(North Bridge)

ICH10R

SPI BIOS

JBT1

Intel
South
Bridge

USB9

USB4/5

JUSB2

JUSB3

I-Button

T-SGPIO1

T-SGPIO2

I-SATA5

USB8

I-SATA4

I-SATA3

I-SATA2

I-SATA0

B

I-SATA1

C

JPW1

Fan1

A. I-SATA0
B. I-SATA1
C. I-SATA2

Fan7/CPU1

SP1

LE1

JD1

JOH1

Fan2

JF1

D. I-SATA3
E. I-SATA4
F. I-SATA5
G. SAS 0~3
H. SAS 4~7

Fan3

Floppy

S I/O

LES2

1068E

SAS CTRL

JWD1

LES1

JL1

JFDD1

J5

JSM2

SAS 4~7

JSM1

SAS 0~3

JWOL1

JPS1

JPS2

Fan4

A

2-32

SIMLC IPMI Slot

The SIMLC IPMI (Supermicro Intel­ligent Management) slot is located
at Slot 0 on the motherboard. This
slot supp orts the SM C SIM LC (IP MI)
Add-On card. To use IPMI 2.0, in­stall Supermicro's SIMLC Add-On
card on this slot and download the
IPMIV iew Utilit y to your system. For
IPMI confi guration instructions and
SIMLC Add-On Card information,
please refer to the SIMLC User Guide
posted on our Web site @http://www.
supermicro.com/products/accesso­ries/addon/SIM.cfm.

Chapter 2: Installation

Fan5

Fan6

JPW2

KB/Mouse

0/1

2/3

USB

USB

COM1

P2 DIMM3A

P2 DIMM3B

P2 DIMM2A

P2 DIMM2B

P2 DIMM1A

P2 DIMM1B

JPW3

X8DA3/i

COM2

Fan8/CPU2 Fan

LAN1

LAN2

AUDIO

82573V

LAN

CTRL

JPL2

82573L

LAN
CTRL

JI2C1
JI2C2

JC2

CD1

Slot6 PCI-E x16

JPL1

Slot5 PCI 33MH

Slot4 PCI 33MH

Slot3 PCI-E X16

1394_2

Slot2 PCI-E X4

Slot1 PCI 33MH

A

Slot0 SIMLC

CPU2

JI2C3

1

JI2C4

JPI1

1394_1

1394

CTRL

Battery

USB6/7

JUSB3

SPI BIOS

JBT1

USB4/5

JUSB2

ICH10R
Intel
South
Bridge

USB9

J6

CPU1

P1 DIMM1B

P1 DIMM1A

P1 DIMM2B

P1 DIMM2A

P1 DIMM3B

P1 DIMM3A

Intel IOH-36D

(North Bridge)

I-Button

T-SGPIO1

T-SGPIO2

I-SATA1

I-SATA5

I-SATA3

USB8

I-SATA2

I-SATA4

I-SATA0

LES2

1068E

SAS CTRL

JWD1

JPW1

Fan1

Fan7/CPU1

SP1

JD1

JOH1

Fan2

LE1

JF1

Fan3

Floppy

S I/O

LES1

JL1

JFDD1

J5

JSM2

SAS 4~7

JSM1

SAS 0~3

JWOL1

JPS1

JPS2

Fan4

A. SIMLC

2-33

X8DA3/X8DAi User's Manual

Notes

2-34

Chapter 3: Troubleshooting

Chapter 3

Troubleshooting

3-1 Troubleshooting Procedures

Use the following procedures to troubleshoot your system. If you have followed all
of the procedures below and still need assistance, refer to the ‘Technical Support
Procedures’ and/or ‘Returning Merchandise for Service’ section(s) in this chapter.
Note: Always disconnect the power cord before adding, changing or installing any
hardware components.

Before Power On

Make sure that there are no short circuits between the motherboard and 1.
chassis.

Disconnect all ribbon/wire cables from the motherboard, including those for 2.
the keyboard and mouse.

Remove all add-on cards.3.

Install CPU 1 fi rst (making sure it is fully seated) and connect the chassis 4.
speaker and the power LED to the motherboard. (Check all jumper settings
as well.)

No Power

Make sure that no short circuits between the motherboard and the chassis.1.

Make sure that all jumpers are set to their default positions.2.

Check that the 115V/230V switch on the power supply is properly set.3.

Turn the power switch on and off to test the system.4.

The battery on your motherboard may be old. Check to verify that it still sup-5.
plies ~3VDC. If it does not, replace it with a new one.

3-1

X8DA3/X8DAi User's Manual

No Video

If the power is on but you have no video, remove all the add-on cards and 1.
cables.

Use the speaker to determine if any beep codes exist. Refer to the Appendix 2.
for details on beep codes.

Losing the System’s Setup Confi guration

Make sure that you are using a high quality power supply. A poor quality 1.
power supply may cause the system to lose the CMOS setup information.
Refer to Section 1-5 for details on recommended power supplies.

The battery on your motherboard may be old. Check to verify that it still sup-2.
plies ~3VDC. If it does not, replace it with a new one.

If the above steps do not fi x the Setup Confi guration problem, contact your 3.
vendor for repairs.

Memory Errors

When a No_Memory_Beep_Code is issued by the system, check the following:

Make sure that the DIMM modules are properly and fully installed. 1.

Check if different speeds of DIMMs have been installed. It is strongly recom-2.
mended to use the same RAM speed for all DIMMs in the system.

Make sure you are using the correct type of DDR3 Registered ECC 1333 3.
MHz/1066 MHz/800 MHz SDRAM (recommended by the manufacturer.)

Check for bad DIMM modules or slots by swapping a single module between 4.
all memory slots and check the results.

Make sure that all memory modules are fully seated in their slots. Make sure 5.
to follow the instructions given in Section 2-4 in Chapter 2.

Check the position of the 115V/230V switch on the power supply.6.

Please follow the instructions given in the DIMM Population Tables listed on 7.
Page 2-7 to install your memory modules.

3-2

Chapter 3: Troubleshooting

3-2 Technical Support Procedures

Before contacting Technical Support, please take the following steps. Also, please
note that as a motherboard manufacturer, Supermicro does not sell directly to end­users, so it is best to fi rst check with your distributor or reseller for troubleshooting
services. They should know of any possible problem(s) with the specifi c system
confi guration that was sold to you.

Please go through the ‘Troubleshooting Procedures’ and 'Frequently Asked 1.
Question' (FAQ) sections in this chapter or see the FAQs on our Web site
(

http://www.supermicro.com/support/faqs/) before contacting Technical Sup-

port.

BIOS upgrades can be downloaded from our web site at 2.

supermicro.com/support/bios/

If you still cannot resolve the problem, include the following information when 3.
contacting Supermicro for technical support:

Motherboard model and PCB revision number

•

BIOS release date/version (this can be seen on the initial display when your •
system fi rst boots up)

System confi guration

•

An example of a Technical Support form is on our web site at • (http://www.

supermicro.com/support/contact.cfm).

Distributors: For immediate assistance, please have your account number ready

•

when placing a call to our technical support department. We can be reached by
e-mail at [e-mail] or by fax at: [phone], option 2.

).

(http://www.

3-3 Frequently Asked Questions

Que sti on: Wh at a re th e var iou s t ype s of m emo r y th at my mo th er boa rd c an
support?

Answer: The X8DA3/X8DAi has 12 240-pin DIMM slots that support DDR3 Regis-

tered ECC 1333 MHz/1066 MHz/800 MHz SDRAM modules. It is strongly recom­mended that you do not mix memory modules of different speeds and sizes. Please
follow all memory installation instructions given on Section 2-4 in Chapter 2.

Que stio n: How do I u pda te my BI OS?

3-3

X8DA3/X8DAi User's Manual

Answer: It is recommended that you do not upgrade your BIOS if you are not
experiencing any problems with your system. Updated BIOS fi les are located
on our web site at
BIOS warning message and the information on how to update your BIOS on
our web site. Select your motherboard model and download the BIOS fi le to
your computer. Also, check the current BIOS revision and make sure that it
is newer than your BIOS before downloading. You can choose from the zip

fi le and the .exe fi le. If you choose the zip BIOS fi le, please unzip the BIOS
fi le onto a bootable USB device. Run the batch fi le using the format fl ash.bat
fi lename.rom from your bootable USB device to fl ash the BIOS. Then, your

system will automatically reboot. Please note that this process may take a
few minutes to complete. Do not be concerned if the screen is paused for
a few minutes.

Warning: Do not shut down o r re set t he sy ste m wh il e upd at in g th e BI OS t o
prevent possible system boot failure!)

Note: The SPI BIOS chip used on this motherboard cannot be removed.
Send your motherboard back to Supermicro for repair.

http://www.supermicro.com/support/bios/. Please check our

Question: What's on the CD that came with my motherboard?
Answer: The supplied compact disc has quite a few drivers and programs that will

greatl y enhanc e your sys tem. We rec omme nd that you r eview th e CD and in stall
the appl icat ions you n eed. Ap plic ation s on the C D inclu de chip set dri vers fo r the
Window s OS, sec uri ty and a udio dr ivers.

3-4 Returning Merchandise for Service

A receipt or copy of your invoice marked with the date of purchase is required
before any warranty service will be rendered. You can obtain service by calling
your vendor for a Returned Merchandise Authorization (RMA) number. You can
also request a RMA authorization online (http://www.supermicro.com/support/rma/).
When returning the motherboard to the manufacturer, the RMA number should be
prominently displayed on the outside of the shipping carton, and mailed prepaid or
hand-carried. Shipping and handling charges will be applied for all orders that must
be mailed when service is complete.

This warranty only covers normal consumer use and does not cover damages in­curred in shipping or from failure due to the alternation, misuse, abuse or improper
maintenance of products.

During the warranty period, contact your distributor fi rst for any product problems.

3-4

Chapter 4: AMI BIOS

Chapter 4

BIOS

4-1 Introduction

This chapter describes the AMI BIOS Setup Utility for the X8DA3/X8DAi. The AMI
ROM BIOS is stored in a Flash EEPROM and can be easily updated. This chapter
describes the basic navigation of the AMI BIOS Setup Utility setup screens.

Starting BIOS Setup Utility

To enter the AMI BIOS Setup Utility screens, press the <Delete> key while the
system is booting up.

Note: In most cases, the <Delete> key is used to invoke the AMI BIOS
setup screen. There are a few cases when other keys are used, such as
<F1>, <F2>, etc.

Each main BIOS menu option is described in this manual. The Main BIOS setup
menu screen has two main frames. The left frame displays all the options that can
be confi gured. Grayed-out options cannot be confi gured. Options in blue can be
confi gured by the user. The right frame displays the key legend. Above the key
legend is an area reserved for a text message. When an option is selected in the
left frame, it is highlighted in white. Often a text message will accompany it. (Note:
the AMI BIOS has default text messages built in. Supermicro retains the option to
include, omit, or change any of these text messages.)

The AMI BIOS Setup Utility uses a key-based navigation system called "hot keys".
Most of the AMI BIOS setup utility "hot keys" can be used at any time during the
setup navigation process. These keys include <F1>, <F10>, <Enter>, <ESC>, ar­row keys, etc.

Note: Options printed in Bold are default settings.

How To Change the Confi guration Data

The confi guration data that determines the system parameters may be changed by
entering the AMI BIOS Setup utility. This Setup utility can be accessed by pressing
<Del> at the appropriate time during system boot.

4-1

X8DA3/X8DAi User’s Manual

Starting the Setup Utility

Normally, the only visible Power-On Self-Test (POST) routine is the memory test.
As the memory is being tested, press the <Delete> key to enter the main menu of
the AMI BIOS Setup Utility. From the main menu, you can access the other setup
screens. An AMI BIOS identifi cation string is displayed at the left bottom corner of
the screen below the copyright message.

Warning! Do not upgrade the BIOS unless your system has a BIOS-related
issue. Flashing the wrong BIOS can cause irreparable damage to the
system. In no event shall Supermicro be liable for direct, indirect, special,
incidental, or consequential damages arising from a BIOS update. If you
have to update the BIOS, do not shut down or reset the system while the
BIOS is updating. This is to avoid possible boot failure.

4-2 Main Setup

When you fi rst enter the AMI BIOS Setup Utility , you will enter the Main setup screen.
You can always return to the Main setup screen by selecting the Main tab on the
top of the screen. The Main BIOS Setup screen is shown below.

Main Advanced

System Overview

System Time [09:20:40]

System Date [Wed 03/04/2009]

Supermicro X8DA3/X8DAi

BIOS Build Ver : 0.60
BIOS Build Date : 02/28/09
AMIBIOS Core Ver : 08.00.15

Processor

Intel(R) Xeon (R) CPU X5550 @ 2.67GHz
Speed : 2666MHz
Physical Count : 1
Logical Count : 8
Microcode Rev : 9

System Memory

Size : 4088MB

Security

vXX.XX (C) Copyright 1985-2009, American Megatrends, Inc.

BIOS SETUP UTILITY

Boot

Exit

Use [ENTER], [TAB]
or [SHIFT-TAB] to
select a field.

Use [+] or [-] to
configure system time.

 Select Screen
 Select Item

+- Change Field
Tab Select Field
F1 General Help
F10 Save and Exit
ESC Exit

System Overview: The following BIOS information will be displayed:

System Time/System Date

Use this option to change the system time and date. Highlight System Time or Sys­tem Date using the arrow keys. Key in new values through the keyboard and press

<Enter>. Press the <Tab> key to move between fi elds. The date must be entered in
Day MM/DD/YY format. The time is entered in HH:MM:SS format. (Note: The time
is in the 24-hour format. For example, 5:30 P.M. appears as 17:30:00.)

Supermicro X8DA3/X8DAi

BIOS Build Version: This item displays the BIOS revision used in your system.

4-2

Chapter 4: AMI BIOS

BIOS Build Date: This item displays the date when this BIOS was completed.
AMI BIOS Core Version: This item displays the revision number of the AMI BIOS

Core upon which your BIOS was built.

Processor

The AMI BIOS will automatically display the status of the processor used in your
system:

CPU Type: This item displays the type of CPU used in the motherboard.

•

Speed: This item displays the speed of the CPU detected by the BIOS.•

Physical Count: This item displays the number of processors installed in your •
system as detected by the BIOS.

Logical Count: This item displays the number of CPU Cores installed in your

•

system as detected by the BIOS.

Micro_code Revision: This item displays the revision number of the BIOS Mi-

•

cro_code used in your system.

System Memory

This displays the size of memory available in the system:

Size: This item displays the memory size detected by the BIOS.

•

4-3

X8DA3/X8DAi User’s Manual

4-3 Advanced Setup Confi gurations

Use the arrow keys to select Boot Setup and hit <Enter> to access the submenu
items:

Main Advanced

Advanced Settings

WARNING: Setting the wrong values in the sections below
may cause the system to malfunction.

 Boot Features

 Processor & Clock Options
 Advanced Chipset Control
 IDE/SATA Configuration
 PCI/PnP Configuration
 Super IO Device Configuration
 Remote Access Configuration
 System Health Monitor
 ACPI Configuration
 Trusted Computing
 DMI Event Logging

Security

vXX.XX (C) Copyright 1985-2009, American Megatrends, Inc.

BIOS SETUP UTILITY

Boot

Exit

Select Boot Features

 Select Screen
 Select Item

+- Change Field
Tab Select Field
F1 General Help
F10 Save and Exit
ESC Exit

XBOOT Features

Quick Boot

If Enabled, this option will skip certain tests during POST to reduce the time needed
for system boot. The options are Enabled and Disabled.

Quiet Boot

This option allows the bootup screen options to be modifi ed between POST mes-
sages or the OEM logo. Select Disabled to display the POST messages. Select
Enabled to display the OEM logo instead of the normal POST messages. The op­tions are Enabled and Disabled.

AddOn ROM Display Mode

This sets the display mode for the Option ROM. Select Keep Current to use the cur­rent AddOn ROM Display setting. Select Force BIOS to use the Option ROM display
mode set by the system BIOS. The options are Force BIOS and Keep Current.

Bootup Num-Lock

This feature selects the Power-on state for Numlock key. The options are Off
and On.

Wait For 'F1' If Error

This for ce s the sys tem to wai t until t he ' F1' key is pressed i f an er ror o cc urs . The
option s are Dis able d and Enabled.

4-4

Chapter 4: AMI BIOS

Hit 'Del' Message Display

This feature displays "Press DEL to run Setup" during POST. The options are

Enabled and Disabled.

Interrupt 19 Capture

Interrupt 19 is the software interrupt that handles the boot disk function. When this
item is set to Enabled, the ROM BIOS of the host adaptors will "capture" Interrupt
19 at boot and allow the drives that are attached to these host adaptors to function
as bootable disks. If this item is set to Disabled, the ROM BIOS of the host adap­tors will not capture Interrupt 19, and the drives attached to these adaptors will not
function as bootable devices. The options are Enabled and Disabled.

Power Confi guration

Power Button Function

If set to Instant_Off, the system will power off immediately as soon as the user hits
the power button. If set to 4_Second_Override, the system will power off when the
user presses the power button for 4 seconds or longer. The options are Instant_Off
and 4_Second_Override.

Restore on AC Power Loss

Use this feature to set the power state after a power outage.

Select Power-Off for the system power to remain off after a power loss.

•

Select Power-On for the system power to be turned on after a power loss. •

Select Last State to allow the system to resume its last state before a power •
loss.

The options are Power-On, Power-Off and Last State.

Watch Dog Timer

If enable d, the Watch Dog Timer will allow the system to r e boot when it is inactive
for more t han 5 minu tes. The o ption s are Enabl ed and Disabled.

XProcessor and Clock Options

This submenu allows the user to confi gure the Processor and Clock settings.

CPU Ratio

Select Manual to manually confi gure the CPU Ratio. Select Auto to allow the BIOS
to automatically confi gure the CPU Ratio. The options are Auto and Manual.

4-5

X8DA3/X8DAi User’s Manual

C1E Support

Select Enabled to use the feature of Enhanced Halt State. C1E signifi cantly reduces
the CPU's power consumption by reducing the CPU's clock cycle and voltage during
a "Halt State." The options are Disabled and Enabled.

Hardware Prefetcher (Available when supported by the CPU)

If set to Enabled, the hardware pre fetcher will pre fetch streams of data and instruc­tions from the main memory to the L2 cache in the forward or backward manner to
improve CPU performance. The options are Disabled and Enabled.

Adjacent Cache Line Prefetch (Available when supported by the CPU)

The CPU fetches the cache line for 64 bytes if this option is set to Disabled. The
CPU fetches both cache lines for 128 bytes as comprised if Enabled.

Intel® Virtualization Technology (Available when supported by the CPU)

Select Enabled to use the feature of Virtualization Technology to allow one platform
to run multiple operating systems and applications in independent partitions, creat­ing mult iple " vi r tu al" sy stems i n one p hysic al c o mput er. The opti ons ar e Enabled
and Dis abled. Not e: If there is any change to this setting, you will need to power
off an d restart t he system for the cha nge to take effec t. Please refer to Inte l’s web
site for detailed information.

Execute-Disable Bit Capability (Available when supported by the OS and
the CPU)

Set to Enabled to enable the Execute Disable Bit which will allow the processor
to designate areas in the system memory where an application code can execute
and where it cannot, thus preventing a worm or a virus from fl ooding illegal codes
to overwhelm the processor or damage the system during an attack. The default is

Enabled. (Refer to Intel and Microsoft Web Sites for more information.)

Simultaneous Multi-Threading (Available when supported by the CPU)

Set to Enabled to use the Simultaneous Multi-Threading Technology, which will
result in increased CPU performance. The options are Disabled and Enabled.

Active Processor Cores

Set to Enabled to use a processor's Second Core and beyond. (Please refer to
Intel's web site for more information.) The options are All, 1 and 2.

Intel® Speed_Step™ Technology

EIST (Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology) allows the system to automatically
adjust processor voltage and core frequency in an effort to reduce power consump­tion and heat dissipation. Please refer to Intel’s web site for detailed information.
The options are Disable (Disable GV3) and Enable (Enable GV3).

4-6

Chapter 4: AMI BIOS

Intel® Turbo Mode Technology

Select Enabled to use the Turbo Mode to boost system performance. The options
are Enabled and Disabled.

Intel® C-STATE Tech

If enabled, C-State is set by the system automatically to either C2, C3 or C4 state.
The options are Disabled and Enabled.

C-State package limit setting

If set to Auto, the AMI BIOS will automatically set the limit on the C-State package
register. The options are Auto, C1, C3, C6 and C7.

C1 Auto Demotion

When enabled, the CPU will conditionally demote C3, C6 or C7 requests to C1 based
on un-core auto-demote information. The options are Disabled and Enabled.

C3 Auto Demotion

When enabled, the CPU will conditionally demote C6 or C7 requests to C3 based
on un-core auto-demote information. The options are Disabled and Enabled.

Clock Spread Spectrum

Select Enable to use the feature of Clock Spectrum, which will allow the BIOS to
monitor and attempt to reduce the level of Electromagnetic Interference caused by
the components whenever needed. The options are Disabled and Enabled.

XAdvanced Chipset Control

The items included in the Advanced Settings submenu are listed below:

XCPU Bridge Confi guration

QPI Links Speed

This feature selects QPI's data transfer speed. The options are Slow-mode, and

Full Speed.
QPI Frequency

This selects the desired QPI frequency. The options are Auto, 4.800 GT,

5.866GT, 6.400 GT.

QPI L0s and L1

This enables the QPI power state to low power. L0s and L1 are automatically
selected by the motherboard. The options are Disabled and Enabled.

4-7

X8DA3/X8DAi User’s Manual

Memory Frequency

This feature forces a DDR3 frequency slower than what the system has de­tected. The available options are Auto, Force DDR-800, Force DDR-1066,
Force DDR-1333.

Memory Mode

The options are Independent, Channel Mirror, Lockstep and Sparing.
Independent - All DIMMs are available to the operating system.
Channel Mirror - The motherboard maintains two identical copies of all data in

memory for redundancy.
Lockstep - The motherboard uses two areas of memory to run the same set of

operations in parallel.
Sparing - A preset threshold of correctable errors is used to trigger fail-over.

The spare memory is put online and used as active memory in place of the
failed memory.

Demand Scrubbing

A memory error-correction scheme where the Processor writes corrected data
back into the memory block from where it was read by the Processor. The op­tions are Enabled and Disabled.

Patrol Scrubbing

A memory error-correction scheme that works in the background looking for and
correcting resident errors. The options are Enabled and Disabled.

Throttling - Closed Loop/Throttling - Open Loop

Throttling improves reliability and reduces power in the processor by automatic
voltage control during processor idle states. Available options are Disabled and
Enabled. If Enabled, the following items will appear:

Hysteresis Temperature (Closed Loop Only)

Temperature Hysteresis is the temperature lag (in degrees Celsius) after the
set DIMM temperature threshold is reached before Closed Loop Throttling
begins. The options are Disabled, 1.5oC, 3.0

o

C, and 6.0oC.

Guardband Temperature (Closed Loop Only)

This is the temperature which applies to the DIMM temperature threshold.
Each step is in 0.5

o

C increment. The default is [006]. Press "+" or "-" on

your keyboard to change this value.

4-8

Chapter 4: AMI BIOS

Inlet Temperature

This is the temperature detected at the chassis inlet. Each step is in 0.5

o

C
increment. The default is [070]. Press "+" or "-" on your keyboard to change
this value.

Temperature Rise

This is the temperature rise to the DIMM thermal zone. Each step is in

o

0.5

C increment. The default is [020]. Press "+" or "-" on your keyboard to

change this value.

Air Flow

This is the air fl ow speed to the DIMM modules. Each step is one mm/
sec. The default is [1500]. Press "+" or "-" on your keyboard to change
this value.

Altitude

This feature defi nes how many meters above or below sea level the system
is located. The options are Sea Level or Below, 1~300, 301~600, 601~900,
901~1200, 1201~1500, 1501~1800, 1801~2100, 2101~2400, 2401~2700,
2701~3000.

DIMM Pitch

This is the physical space between each DIMM module. Each step is in
1/1000 of an inch. The default is [400]. Press "+" or "-" on your keyboard
to change this value.

XNorth Bridge Confi guration

This feature allows the user to confi gure the settings for the Intel North Bridge
chip.

Crystal Beach/DMA (Direct Memory Access)

This feature works in conjunction with the Intel I/O AT (Acceleration Technology)
to accelerate the performance of TOE devices. (Note: A TOE device is a special­ized, dedicated processor that is installed on an add-on card or a network card to
handle some or all packet processing of this add-on card.) When this feature is set
to Enabled, it will enhance overall system performance by providing direct memory
access for data transferring. The options are Enabled and Disabled.

Crystal Beach/DCA (Direct Cache Access)

This feature works in conjunction with the Intel I/O AT (Acceleration Technology) to
accelerate the performance of the TOE device. When this feature set to Enabled, it

4-9

X8DA3/X8DAi User’s Manual

will enhance overall system performance by providing direct cache access for data
transferring. The options are Enabled and Disabled.

NUMA Support

Select Enabled to use the feature of Non-Uniform Memory Access to improve CPU
performance. The options are Enabled and Disabled.

Intel VT-d

Select Enabled to enable Intel's Virtualization Technology support for Direct I/O VT-d
by reporting the I/O device assignments to VMM through the DMAR ACPI Tables.
This feature offers fully-protected I/O resource-sharing across the Intel platforms,
providing the user with greater reliability, security and availability in networking and
data-sharing. The settings are Enabled and Disabled.

XSouthBridge Confi guration

This feature allows the user to confi gure the settings for the Intel ICH South Bridge
chipset.

USB Functions

This feature allows the user to decide the number of onboard USB ports to be en­abled. The Options are: Disabled, 2 USB ports, 4 USB ports, 6 USB ports, 8 Ports,
10 Ports and 12 USB ports.

Legacy USB Support

Select Enabled to use Legacy USB devices. If this item is set to Auto, Legacy USB
support will be automatically enabled if a legacy USB device is installed on the
motherboard, and vise versa. The settings are Disabled, and Enabled.

USB 2.0 Controller

Select Enabled to activate the onboard USB 2.0 controller. The options are Enabled
and Disabled. (The manufacturer's default setting is Enabled. This setting cannot
be changed by the user.)

USB 2.0 Controller Mode

This setting allows you to select the USB 2.0 Controller mode. The options are

Hi-Speed (480 Mbps) and Full Speed (12 Mbps).

BIOS EHCI Hand-Off

Select Enabled to enable BIOS Enhanced Host Controller Interface support to
provide a workaround solution for an operating system that does not have EHCI
Hand-Off support. When enabled, the EHCI Interface will be changed from the BIOS­controlled to the OS-controlled. The options are Disabled and Enabled.

4-10

Chapter 4: AMI BIOS

HDA Controller

Select Enabled to activate the onboard High-Defi nition Audio controller. The options
are Enabled and Disabled.

XIDE/SATA Confi guration

When this submenu is selected, the AMI BIOS automatically detects the presence
of the IDE devices and displays the following items:

SATA#1 Confi guration

If Compatible is selected, it sets SATA#1 to legacy compatibility mode, while se­lecting Enhanced sets SATA#1 to native SATA mode. The options are Disabled,
Compatible and Enhanced.

Confi gure SATA#1 as

This feature allows the user to select the drive type for SATA#1. The options are

IDE, RAID and AHCI.

SATA#2 Confi guration

Selecting Enhanced will set SA T A#2 to native SA TA mode. The options are Disabled,
and Enhanced.

Primary IDE Master/Slave, Secondary IDE Master/Slave, Third IDE Master,
and Fourth IDE Master

These settings allow the user to set the parameters of Primary IDE Master/Slave,
Secondary IDE Master/Slave, Third and Fourth IDE Master slots. Hit <Enter> to
activate the following submenu screen for detailed options of these items. Set the
correct confi gurations accordingly. The items included in the submenu are:

Type

Select the type of device connected to the system. The options are Not Installed,

Auto, CD/DVD and ARMD.

LBA/Large Mode

LBA (Logical Block Addressing) is a method of addressing data on a disk drive.
In the LBA mode, the maximum drive capacity is 137 GB. For drive capacities
over 137 GB, your system must be equipped with a 48-bit LBA mode addressing.
If not, contact your manufacturer or install an ATA/133 IDE controller card that
supports 48-bit LBA mode. The options are Disabled and Auto.

Block (Multi-Sector Transfer)

Block Mode boosts the IDE drive performance by increasing the amount of data
transferred. Only 512 bytes of data can be transferred per interrupt if Block Mode

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X8DA3/X8DAi User’s Manual

is not used. Block Mode allows transfers of up to 64 KB per interrupt. Select
Disabled to allow data to be transferred from and to the device one sector at
a time. Select Auto to allow data transfer from and to the device occur multiple
sectors at a time if the device supports it. The options are Auto and Disabled.

PIO Mode

The IDE PIO (Programmable I/O) Mode programs timing cycles between the
IDE drive and the programmable IDE controller. As the PIO mode increases, the
cycle time decreases. The options are Auto, 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4.

Select Auto to allow the AMI BIOS to automatically detect the PIO mode. Use
this value if the IDE disk drive support cannot be determined.

Select 0 to allow the AMI BIOS to use PIO mode 0. It has a data transfer rate
of 3.3 MBs.

Select 1 to allow the AMI BIOS to use PIO mode 1. It has a data transfer rate
of 5.2 MBs.

Select 2 to allow the AMI BIOS to use PIO mode 2. It has a data transfer rate
of 8.3 MBs.

Select 3 to allow the AMI BIOS to use PIO mode 3. It has a data transfer rate
of 11.1 MBs.

Select 4 to allow the AMI BIOS to use PIO mode 4. It has a data transfer band­width of 32-Bits. Select Enabled to enable 32-Bit data transfer.

DMA Mode

Select Auto to allow the BIOS to automatically detect IDE DMA mode when the
IDE disk drive support cannot be determined.

Select SWDMA0 to allow the BIOS to use Single Word DMA mode 0. It has a
data transfer rate of 2.1 MBs.

Select SWDMA1 to allow the BIOS to use Single Word DMA mode 1. It has a
data transfer rate of 4.2 MBs.

Select SWDMA2 to allow the BIOS to use Single Word DMA mode 2. It has a
data transfer rate of 8.3 MBs.

Select MWDMA0 to allow the BIOS to use Multi Word DMA mode 0. It has a
data transfer rate of 4.2 MBs.

Select MWDMA1 to allow the BIOS to use Multi Word DMA mode 1. It has a
data transfer rate of 13.3 MBs.

Select MWDMA2 to allow the BIOS to use Multi-Word DMA mode 2. It has a
data transfer rate of 16.6 MBs.

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Chapter 4: AMI BIOS

Select UDMA0 to allow the BIOS to use Ultra DMA mode 0. It has a data transfer
rate of 16.6 MBs. It has the same transfer rate as PIO mode 4 and Multi Word
DMA mode 2.

Select UDMA1 to allow the BIOS to use Ultra DMA mode 1. It has a data transfer
rate of 25 MBs.

Select UDMA2 to allow the BIOS to use Ultra DMA mode 2. It has a data transfer
rate of 33.3 MBs.

Select UDMA3 to allow the BIOS to use Ultra DMA mode 3. It has a data transfer
rate of 66.6 MBs.

Select UDMA4 to allow the BIOS to use Ultra DMA mode 4. It has a data transfer
rate of 100 MBs.

Select UDMA5 to allow the BIOS to use Ultra DMA mode 5. It has a data transfer
rate of 133 MBs.

Select UDMA6 to allow the BIOS to use Ultra DMA mode 6. It has a data transfer
rate of 133 MBs. The options are Auto, SWDMAn, MWDMAn, and UDMAn.

S.M.A.R.T. For Hard disk drives

Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology (SMART) can help predict
impending drive failures. Select Auto to allow the AMI BIOS to automatically de­tect hard disk drive support. Select Disabled to prevent the AMI BIOS from using
the S.M.A.R.T. Select Enabled to allow the AMI BIOS to use the S.M.A.R.T. to
support hard drive disk. The options are Disabled, Enabled, and Auto.

32Bit Data Transfer

Select Enable to enable the function of 32-bit IDE data transfer. The options are

Enabled and Disabled.
IDE Detect Timeout (sec)

Use this feature to set the time-out value for the BIOS to detect the ATA, ATAPI
devices installed in the system. The options are 0 (sec), 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30,
and 35.

XPCI/PnP Confi guration

Clear NVRAM
This feature clears the NVRAM during system boot. The options are No and Yes.

Plug & Play OS

Selecting Yes allows the OS to confi gure Plug & Play devices. (This is not required
for system boot if your system has an OS that supports Plug & Play.) Select No to
allow the AMI BIOS to confi gure all devices in the system.

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X8DA3/X8DAi User’s Manual

PCI Latency Timer

This feature sets the latency Timer of each PCI device installed on a PCI bus. Select
64 to set the PCI latency to 64 PCI clock cycles. The options are 32, 64, 96, 128,
160, 192, 224 and 248.

PCI IDE Bus Master

When enabled, the BIOS uses PCI bus mastering for reading/writing to IDE drives.
The options are Disabled and Enabled.

Slot 1 Option ROM~Slot 6 Option ROM

Select Enabled to enable Slot 1 Option ROM~Slot 6 Option ROM, which will allow
you to boot the computer from a PCI device installed on a PCI slot. The options
are Disabled and Enabled.

LAN1 PXE (i82573V)/LAN2 PXE (i82573L) PXE Option ROM

Select Enabled to enable the onboard LAN1/LAN2 PXE Option ROMs. This is
to boot computers using a network interface. The options are Enabled and Dis-
abled.

XSuper IO Device Confi guration

Onboard Floppy Controller

Select Enable to enable the onboard Floppy Controller. The options are Enabled
and Disabled.

Floppy A/Floppy B

This feature allows the user to select the type of fl oppy drive connected to the sys-
tem as specifi ed. The options are Disabled, 360KB 5 1/4", 1.2MB 5 1/4", 720KB 3
1/2", 1.44MB 3 1/2" and 2.88MB 3 1/2". The default setting for Floppy A is 1.44MB

3 1/2", and for Floppy B is Disabled.

Serial Port1 Address/ Serial Port2 Address

This option specifi es the base I/O port address and the Interrupt Request address
of Serial Port 1 and Serial Port 2. Select Disabled to prevent the serial port from
accessing any system resources. When this option is set to Disabled, the serial port
physically becomes unavailable. Select 3F8/IRQ4 to allow the serial port to use 3F8
as its I/O port address and IRQ 4 for the interrupt address. The options for Serial
Port1 are Disabled, 3F8/IRQ4, 3E8/IRQ4, 2E8/IRQ3. The options for Serial Port2
are Disabled, 2F8/IRQ3, 3E8/IRQ4, and 2E8/IRQ3.

4-14

Chapter 4: AMI BIOS

Serial Port 2 Mode

Use this feature to confi gure Serial Port 2 mode. The options are Normal, IrDA
and ASK IR. IrDA (Infrared Data) is an industry standard for remote control de­vices. ASK IR (Amplitude Shifted Keying Infrared) is a protocol compatible with
Sharp® branded PDAs and other infrared devices.

Watch Dog Timer

If enabled, the Watch Dog Timer will allow the system to reboot when it is inactive
for more than 5 minutes. The options are Enabled and Disabled.

XRemote Access Confi guration

Remote Access
This allows the user to enable the Remote Access feature. The options are Dis-

abled and Enabled.

If Remote Access is set to Enabled, the following items will display:

Serial Port Number

This feature allows the user decide which serial port to be used for Console
Redirection. The options are COM 1 and COM 2.

Serial Port Mode

This feature allows the user to set the serial port mode for Console Redirection.
The options are 115200 8, n 1; 57600 8, n, 1; 38400 8, n, 1; 19200 8, n, 1; and
9600 8, n, 1.

Flow Control

This feature allows the user to set the fl ow control for Console Redirection. The
options are None, Hardware, and Software.

Redirection After BIOS POST

Select Disabled to turn off Console Redirection after Power-On Self-Test
(POST). Select Always to keep Console Redirection act ive all the time af ter
POST. (Note: This settin g may not be sup por ted by so me oper ating sys tems.)
Select Boot Loader to keep Console Redirection active during POST and Boot
Loader. The opti ons are D isabl ed, Boot L oader, and Always.

Terminal Type

This feature allows the user to select the target terminal type for Console Redi­rection. The options are ANSI, VT100, and VT-UTF8.

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X8DA3/X8DAi User’s Manual

VT-UTF8 Combo Key Support

A terminal keyboard defi nition that provides a way to send commands from a
remote console. Available options are Enabled and Disabled.

Sredir Memory Display Delay

This feature defi nes the length of time in seconds to display memory information.
The options are No Delay, Delay 1 Sec, Delay 2 Sec, and Delay 4 Sec.

XSystem Health Monitor

This feature allows the user to monitor system health and review the status of each
item as displayed.

CPU Overheat Alarm

This option allows the user to select the CPU Overheat Alarm setting which de­termines when the CPU OH alarm will be activated to provide warning of possible
CPU overheat.

Warning!

1. Any temperature that exceeds the CPU threshold temperature pre-

defi ned by the CPU manufacturer may result in CPU overheat or system
instability. When the CPU temperature reaches this predefi ned threshold,
the CPU and system cooling fans will run at full speed.

2. To avoid possible system overheating, please be sure to provide ad­equate airfl ow to your system.

The options are:

The Early Alarm: Select this setting if you want the CPU overheat alarm (includ-

•

ing the LED and the buzzer) to be triggered as soon as the CPU temperature
reaches the CPU overheat threshold as predefi ned by the CPU manufacturer.

The Default Alarm

• : Select this setting if you want the CPU overheat alarm

(including the LED and the buzzer) to be triggered when the CPU temperature
reaches about 5
manufacturer to give the CPU and system fans additional time needed for CPU
and system cooling. In both the alarms above, please take immediate action
as shown below.

o

C above the threshold temperature as predefi ned by the CPU

CPU Temperature/System Temperature

This feature displays current temperature readings for the CPU and the System.
The following items will be displayed for your reference only:

4-16

Chapter 4: AMI BIOS

CPU Temperature

The CPU thermal technology that reports absolute temperatures (Celsius/Fahr­enheit) has been upgraded to a more advanced feature by Intel in its newer
processors. The basic concept is each CPU is embedded by unique temperature
information that the motherboard can read. This ‘Temperature Threshold’ or ‘Tem­perature Tolerance’ has been assigned at the factory and is the baseline on which
the motherboard takes action during different CPU temperature conditions (i.e., by
increasing CPU Fan speed, triggering the Overheat Alarm, etc). Since CPUs can
have different ‘Temperature Tolerances’, the installed CPU can now send informa­tion to the motherboard what its ‘Temperature Tolerance’ is, and not the other way
around. This results in better CPU thermal management.

Supermicro has leveraged this feature by assigning a temperature status to certain
thermal conditions in the processor (Low, Medium and High). This makes it easier
for the user to understand the CPU’s temperature status, rather than by just simply
seeing a temperature reading (i.e., 25

o

C). The CPU Temperature feature will display

the CPU temperature status as detected by the BIOS:
Low – This level is considered as the ‘normal’ operating state. The CPU temperature

is well below the CPU ‘Temperature T olerance’. The motherboard fans and CPU will
run normally as confi gured in the BIOS (Fan Speed Control).

User intervention: No action required.
Medium – The processor is running warmer. This is a ‘precautionary’ level and

generally means that there may be factors contributing to this condition, but the CPU
is still within its normal operating state and below the CPU ‘Temperature T olerance’.
The motherboard fans and CPU will run normally as confi gured in the BIOS. The
fans may adjust to a faster speed depending on the Fan Speed Control settings.

User intervention: No action is required. However, consider checking the CPU fans
and the chassis ventilation for blockage.

High – The processor is running hot. This is a ‘caution’ level since the CPU’s ‘Tem­perature Tolerance’ has been reached (or has been exceeded) and may activate
an overheat alarm.

User intervention: If the system buzzer and Overheat LED has activated, take action
immediately by checking the system fans, chassis ventilation and room temperature
to correct any problems.

Notes: 1. The system may shut down if it continues for a long period to
prevent damage to the CPU.

2. The information provided above is for your reference only. For more
information on thermal management, please refer to Intel’s Web site at
www.Intel.com.

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X8DA3/X8DAi User’s Manual

System Temperature: The system temperatu re will b e displayed ( in degre es in
Celsiu s and Fahrenh eit) as it is detec ted by the BI OS.

System Fan Monitor

This feature allows the user to decide how the system controls the speeds of the
onboard fans. The CPU temperature and the fan speed are correlative. When
the CPU on-die temperature increases, the fan speed will also increase, and vice
versa. Select Workstation if your system is used as a Workstation. Select Server if
your system is used as a Server. Select “Disabled, (Full Speed @12V)” to disable
the fan speed control function and allow the onboard fans to constantly run at the
full speed (12V). The Options are: Disabled (@full-speed), 4-pin (Server), 4-pin
(Workstation), 4-pin (Quiet) and , 4-pin (Super Quiet).

Fan1 ~ Fan 8 Reading

This feature displays the fan speed readings from fan interfaces Fan1 through
Fan5.

Voltage Monitoring

Vcore, 3.3Vcc, 12V, V_DIMM, 5V, -12V, 3.3VSB, and VBAT

XACPI Confi guration

Use this feature to confi gure Advanced Confi guration and Power Interface (ACPI)
power management settings for your system.

ACPI Version Features

The options are ACPI v1.0, ACPI v2.0 and ACPI v3.0. Please refer to ACPI's website
for further explanation: http://www.acpi.info/.

ACPI Suspend Mode

This option is used to select the ACPI State that is used for system suspend. The
options are S1 (POS), S3 (STR) and Auto.

S1 (POS) - All processor caches are erased, and stops executing instructions.
Power to the CPU(s) and RAM is maintained, but RAM is refreshed.

S3 (STR) - The CPU has no power and the power supply goes on reduced power
mode. However, main memory (RAM) is still powered.

ACPI APIC Support

Select Enabled to include the ACPI APIC Table Pointer in the RSDT (Root System
Description Table) pointer list.The options are Enabled and Disabled.

4-18

Chapter 4: AMI BIOS

APIC ACPI SCI IRQ

When this item is set to Enabled, APIC ACPI SCI IRQ is supported by the system.
The options are Enabled and Disabled.

Headless Mode

This feature is used to enable system to function without a keyboard, monitor or
mouse attached The options are Enabled and Disabled.

USB Device Wakeup from S3/S4

Select to Enabled to allow USB devices to wakeup from S3/S4 state. The options
are Enabled and Disabled.

High Performance Event Timer

Select Enabled to activate the High Performance Event Timer (HPET) that produces
periodic interrupts at a much higher frequency than a Real-time Clock (RTC) does in
synchronizing multimedia streams, providing smooth playback and reducing the de­pendency on other timestamp calculation devices, such as an x86 RDTSC Instruc­tion embedded in the CPU. The High Performance Event Timer is used to replace
the 8254 Programmable Interval Timer. The options are Enabled and Disabled.

XTrusted Computing

TCG/TPM (Trusted Platform Module) Support

Select Yes on this item and enable the TPM jumper on the motherboard to enable
TCG (TPM 1.1/1.2)/TPM support in order to improve data integrity and network
security. The options are No and Yes.

If this feature is set to Yes, the following items will display:

TPM Enable/Disable Status

This item displays the status of TPM Enabled/Disabled state.

TPM Owner Status

This item displays the status of TPM Ownership.

XDMI Event Log

View Event Log

Use this option to view the System Event Log.

Mark all events as read

This option marks all events as read. The options are OK and Cancel.

4-19

X8DA3/X8DAi User’s Manual

Clear event log

This option clears the Event Log memory of all messages. The options are OK
and Cancel.

4-4 Security Settings

The AMI BIOS provides a Supervisor and a User password. If you use both pass­words, the Supervisor password must be set fi rst.

Supervisor Password

This item indicates if a Supervisor password has been entered for the system. "Not
Installed" means a Supervisor password has not been used.

Main Advanced

Security Settings

Supervisor Password : Not Installed
User Password : Not Installed

Change Supervisor Password

Change User Password

Boot Sector Virus Protection [Disabled]

Security

vXX.XX (C) Copyright 1985-2009, American Megatrends, Inc.

BIOS SETUP UTILITY

Boot

Exit

Install or Change the
password.

 Select Screen
 Select Item

+- Change Field
Tab Select Field
F1 General Help
F10 Save and Exit
ESC Exit

User Password

This item indicates if a user password has been entered for the system. "Not I n­stalle d" means that a u ser password has not been used.

Change Supervisor Password

Select this feature and press <Enter> to access the submenu, and then enter a
new Supervisor Password.

User Access Level (Available when Supervisor Password is set as above)
Use this feature to set the user's access level. The options are:

Full Access

• : grants full User read and write access to the Setup Utility,

View Only: allows access to the Setup Utility, but cannot change the fi leds,

•

Limited: allows only limited fi elds to be changed such as Date and Time, •

No Access: prevents User access to the Setup Utility.•

4-20

Chapter 4: AMI BIOS

Change User Password

Select this feature and press <Enter> to access the submenu, and then enter a
new User Password.

Clear User Password (Available only if User Password has been set)
This item allows you to clear a user password after it has been entered.

Password Check

This item allows you to check a password after it has been entered. The options
are Setup and Always.

Boot Sector Virus Protection

When Enabled, the AMI BOIS displays a warning when any program (or virus) is­sues a Disk Format command or attempts to write to the boot sector of the hard
disk drive. The options are Enabled and Disabled.

4-5 Boot Confi guration

Use this feature to confi gure boot settings.

Main Advanced

Boot Settings

 Boot Device Priority

 Hard Disk Drives
 Removable Drives

Security

vXX.XX (C) Copyright 1985-2009, American Megatrends, Inc.

XBoot Device Priority

This feature allows the user to specify the sequence of priority for the Boot Device.
The settings are 1st boot device, 2nd boot device, 3rd boot device, 4th boot device,
5th boot device and Disabled.

BIOS SETUP UTILITY

Boot

Exit

Specifies the
Boot Device
Priority sequence.

 Select Screen
 Select Item

+- Change Field
Tab Select Field
F1 General Help
F10 Save and Exit
ESC Exit

1st Boot Device - 1st Floppy Drive

•

2nd Boot Device - [USB: XXXXXXXXX]•

4-21

X8DA3/X8DAi User’s Manual

XHard Disk Drives

This feature allows the user to specify the boot sequence from all available hard
disk drives. The settings are Disabled and a list of all hard disk drives that have
been detected (i.e., 1st Drive, 2nd Drive, 3rd Drive, etc).

XRemovable Drives

This feature allows the user to specify the boot sequence from available Removable
Drives. The settings are 1st boot device, 2nd boot device, and Disabled.

1st Drive

•

2nd Drive - [USB: XXXXXXXXX]•

XCD/DVD Drives

This feature allows the user to specify the boot sequence from available CD/DVD
Drives (i.e., 1st Drive, 2nd Drive, etc).

4-22

Chapter 4: AMI BIOS

4-6 Exit Options

Select the Exit tab from the AMI BIOS Setup Utility screen to enter the Exit BIOS
Setup screen.

Main Advanced

Boot Settings

Save Changes and Exit

Discard Changes and Exit
Discard Changes

Load Optimal Defaults
Load Failsafe Defaults

vXX.XX (C) Copyright 1985-2009, American Megatrends, Inc.

Save Changes and Exit

Security

BIOS SETUP UTILITY

Boot

Exit

Exit system setup
after saving the
changes.

F10 key can be used
for this operation.

 Select Screen
 Select Item

+- Change Field
Tab Select Field
F1 General Help
F10 Save and Exit
ESC Exit

When you have completed the system confi guration changes, select this option
to leave the BIOS Setup Utility and reboot the computer, so the new system con­fi guration parameters can take effect. Select Save Changes and Exit from the Exit
menu and press <Enter>.

Discard Changes and Exit

Select this option to quit the BIOS Setup without making any permanent changes
to the system confi guration, and reboot the computer. Select Discard Changes and
Exit from the Exit menu and press <Enter>.

Discard Changes

Select this option and press <Enter> to discard all the changes and return to the
AMI BIOS Utility Program.

Load Optimal Defaults

To set this feature, select Load Optimal Defaults from the Exit menu and press
<Enter>. Then, select OK to allow the AMI BIOS to automatically load Optimal De­faults to the BIOS Settings. The Optimal settings are designed for maximum system
performance, but may not work best for all computer applications.

Load Fail-Safe Defaults

To set this feature, select Load Fail-Safe Defaults from the Exit menu and press
<Enter>. The Fail-Safe settings are designed for maximum system stability, but not
for maximum performance.

4-23

X8DA3/X8DAi User’s Manual

Notes

4-24

Appendix A: BIOS POST Error Codes

Appendix A

BIOS Error Beep Codes

During the POST (Power-On Self-Test) routines, which are performed each time
the system is powered on, errors may occur.

Non-fatal errors are those which, in most cases, allow the system to continue the
boot-up process. The error messages normally appear on the screen.

Fatal errors are those which will not allow the system to continue the boot-up pro­cedure. If a fatal error occurs, you should consult with your system manufacturer
for possible repairs.

A-1 BIOS Error Beep Codes

BIOS Error Beep Codes

Beep Code Error Message Description

1 beep Refresh Circuits have been reset.

(Ready to power up)

5 short beeps + 1 long
beep

8 beeps Display memory

1 continuous beep
(with the front panel
OH LED on)

Memory error No memory detected in the

system
Video adapter missing or with

read/write error
System Overheat 1 continuous beep with the

faulty memory

front panel OH LED on

A-1

X8DA3/X8DAi User's Manual

Notes

A-2

Appendix B: Installing the Windows OS

Appendix B

Installing the Windows OS

After all hardware components have been installed, you must fi rst confi gure Intel
South Bridge RAID Settings before you install the Windows OS and other software
drivers. T o confi gure RAID settings, please refer to RAID Confi guration User Guides
posted on our web site at www.supermicro.com/support/manuals.

B-1 Installing the Windows OS to a RAID System

Insert Microsoft's Windows XP/2003/2008/Vista Setup CD in the CD Driver, 1.
and the system will start booting up from CD.

Press the <F6> key when the message-" Press F6 if you need to install a 2.
third party SCSI or RAID driver" displays.

When the Windows XP/2003/2008/Vista Setup screen appears, press "S" to 3.
specify additional device(s).

Insert the driver diskette-"Intel AA RAID XP/2003/2008/Vista Driver for 4.
ICH10R" into Drive A: and press the <Enter> key.

Choose the Intel(R) ICH10R SATA RAID Controller from the list indicated in 5.
the XP/2003/2008/Vista Setup Screen, and press the <Enter> key.

Press the <Enter> key to continue the installation process. (If you need to 6.
specify any additional devices to be installed, do it at this time.) Once all
devices are specifi ed, press the <Enter> key to continue with the installation.

From the Windows XP/2003/2008/Vista Setup screen, press the <Enter> key. 7.
The XP/2003/2008/Vista Setup will automatically load all device fi les and
then, continue the Windows XP/2003/2008/Vista installation.

After the Windows XP/2003/2008/Vista OS Installation is completed, the sys-8.
tem will automatically reboot.

B-1

X8DA3/X8DAi User's Manual

B-2 Installing the Windows OS to a Non-RAID System

Insert Microsoft's Windows XP/2003/2008/Vista Setup CD in the CD Driver, 1.
and the system will start booting up from CD.

Continue with the OS installation. The Windows OS Setup screen will display.2.

From the Windows XP/2003/2008/Vista Setup screen, press the <Enter> key. 3.
The XP/2003/2008/Vista/2008/Vista Setup will automatically load all device
fi les and then continue with the Windows XP/2003/2008/Vista installation.

After the Windows XP/2003/2008/Vista OS Installation is completed, the sys-4.
tem will automatically reboot.

Insert the Supermicro Setup CD that came with your motherboard into the CD 5.
Drive during system boot, and the main screen will display.

B-2

Appendix C: Software Installation Instructions

Appendix C

Software Installation Instructions

C-1 Installing Software Programs

After you've installed the Windows Operating System, a screen as shown below
will appear. You are ready to install software programs and drivers that have not
yet been installed. To install these software programs and drivers, click the icons
to the right of these items.

Driver/Tool Installation Display Screen

Note: Click the icons showing a hand writing on the paper to view the

readme fi les for each item. Click on a computer icon to the right of an item
to install an item (from top to the bottom) one at a time. After installing
each item, you must re-boot the system before proceeding with the next
item on the list. The bottom icon with a CD on it allows you to view the
entire contents of the CD.

C-1

X8DA3/X8DAi User's Manual

C-2 Confi guring Supero Doctor III

The Supero Doctor III program is a Web-base management tool that supports
remote management capability. It includes Remote and Local Management tools.
The local management is called the SD III Client. The Supero Doctor III program
included on the CDROM that came with your motherboard allows you to monitor
the environment and operations of your system. Supero Doctor III displays crucial
system information such as CPU temperature, system voltages and fan status. See
the Figure below for a display of the Supero Doctor III interface.

Note: 1 The default user name and password are ADMIN.
Note 2: In the Windows OS environment, the Supero Doctor III settings

take precedence over the BIOS settings. When fi rst installed, Supero Doc-
tor III adopts the temperature threshold settings previously set in BIOS. Any
subsequent changes to these thresholds must be made within Supero Doc­tor, since the SD III settings override the BIOS settings. For the Windows
OS to adopt the BIOS temperature threshold settings, please change the
SDIII settings to be the same as those set in BIOS.

Supero Doctor III Interface Display Screen-I (Health Information)

C-2

Appendix C: Software Installation Instructions

Supero Doctor III Interface Display Screen-II (Remote Control)

Note: SD III Software Revision 1.0 can be downloaded from our Web

site at: f tp://ft p.superm icro.co m/utilit y/Supero _D octor_I II/. Yo u can also
download SDIII User's Guide at: http://www.supermicro.com/PRODUCT/
Manuals/SDIII/UserGuide.pdf. For Linux, we will still recommend that you
use Supero Doctor II.

C-3

X8DA3/X8DAi User's Manual

Notes

C-4

(Disclaimer Continued)

The products sold by Supermicro are not intended for and will not be used in life support systems, medical equipment, nuclear facilities or systems, aircraft, aircraft devices,
aircraft/emergency communication devices or other critical systems whose failure to perform be reasonably expected to result in signifi cant injury or loss of life or catastrophic
property damage. Accordingly, Supermicro disclaims any and all liability, and should buyer use or sell such products for use in such ultra-hazardous applications, it does so
entirely at its own risk. Furthermore, buyer agrees to fully indemnify, defend and hold Supermicro harmless for and against any and all claims, demands, actions, litigation, and
proceedings of any kind arising out of or related to such ultra-hazardous use or sale.