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

•

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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.

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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

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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.

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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

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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