SUPER MICRO Computer X8STI-LN4, X8STI-3F, X8STI, X8STI-F User Manual

X8STi

X8STi-F

X8STi-3F
X8STi-LN4

USER’S MANUAL

Revision 1.0a

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 SUPER MICRO COMPUTER, INC. BE LIABLE FOR DIRECT, INDIRECT,
SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, SPECULATIVE OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING FROM THE
USE OR INABILITY TO USE THIS PRODUCT OR DOCUMENTATION, EVEN IF ADVISED OF
THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. IN PARTICULAR, SUPER MICRO COMPUTER, INC.
SHALL NOT HAVE LIABILITY FOR ANY HARDWARE, SOFTWARE, OR DATA STORED OR USED
WITH THE PRODUCT, INCLUDING THE COSTS OF REPAIRING, REPLACING, INTEGRATING,
INSTALLING OR RECOVERING SUCH HARDWARE, SOFTWARE, OR DATA.

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

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

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

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

Manual Revision 1.0a
Release Date: March 3, 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

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

X8STi/X8STi-F/X8STi-3F/X8STi-LN4 motherboard.

About This Motherboard

The X8STi/X8STi-F/X8STi-3F/X8STi-LN4 supports the Intel® Core™ i7
processor and future Nehalem family processors in the LGA 1366 socket. These
processors support the Intel QuickPath Interconnect (QPI) technology, providing
the next generation point-to-point system interface which replaces the current Front
Side Bus. With the Intel X58 Express chipset built-in, the X8STi/X8STi-F/X8STi-3F/
X8STi-LN4 offers substantial enhancement in system performance with increased
bandwidth and unprecedented scalability, optimized for intense-computing and
high-end server platforms. Please refer to our web site (http://www.supermicro.
com/products/) for updates on supported processors. This product is intended to
be 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 the BIOS and provides detailed information
on running the CMOS Setup utility.

Appendix A provides BIOS Error Beep Codes.
Appendix B lists the Windows OS Installation Instructions.
Appendix C lists Other Software Program Installation Instructions.

iii

X8STi/X8STi-F/X8STi-3F/X8STi-LN4 User’s Manual

Conventions Used in the Manual:

Special attention should be given to the following symbols for proper installation and
to prevent damage done to the components or injury to yourself:

Danger/Caution: Instructions to be strictly followed to prevent catastrophic
system failure or to avoid bodily injury

Warning: Important information given to ensure proper system installation
or to prevent damage to the components

Note: Additional Information given to differentiate various models or pro­vides information for correct system setup.

iv

Contacting Supermicro

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

v

X8STi/X8STi-F/X8STi-3F/X8STi-LN4 User’s Manual

Table of Contents

Preface

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

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

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

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

Chapter 1 Introduction

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

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

Motherboard Features .....................................................................................1-7

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

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

1-4 Power Confi guration Settings........................................................................ 1-12

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

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

1-7 Overview of the Winbond WPCM450 Controller (For X8STi-F/ X8STi-3F Only)

......................................................................................................................1-14

Chapter 2 Installation

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

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

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

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

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

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

Removing the Heatsink ................................................................................... 2-5

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Front Control Panel Pin Defi nitions............................................................... 2-17

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

vi

Table of Contents

Power LED ..............................................................................................2-17

HDD LED/UID Switch ...............................................................................2-18

NIC1/NIC2/NIC3*/NIC4* LEDs (*NIC3/NIC4: X8STi-LN4) .......................2-18

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Chassis Intrusion .....................................................................................2-22

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

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

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

NIC3_LED/NIC4_LED (X8STi-LN4 Only) ................................................. 2-24

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

Power Supply I

2

C Connector....................................................................2-25

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

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

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

I-Button (X8STi-3F only) ........................................................................... 2-27

Power Supply Failure ...............................................................................2-28

Unit Identifi er Switches .............................................................................2-28

2-7 Jumper Settings ............................................................................................ 2-29

Explanation of Jumpers ................................................................................ 2-29

LAN Port Enable/Disable ......................................................................... 2-29

CMOS Clear .............................................................................................2-30

Watch Dog Enable/Disable ...................................................................... 2-30

PCI Slot_SMB Enable ..............................................................................2-31

VGA Enable .............................................................................................. 2-31

USB Wake-Up ......................................................................................... 2-32

SAS Enable/Disable (X8STi-3F Only) ...................................................... 2-33

SAS RAID Mode Select (X8STi-3F Only) ................................................2-33

Jumper JBMC1 (X8STi-F/X8STi-3F) ........................................................ 2-34

2-8 Onboard Indicators ........................................................................................2-35

LAN 1/LAN 2 LEDs .................................................................................. 2-35

IPMI Dedicated LAN LEDs (X8STi-F/X8STi-3F Only).............................. 2-35

SAS Activity LED (X8STi-3F Only) ...........................................................2-36

SAS Heartbeat LED (X8STi-3F Only) ......................................................2-36

vii

X8STi/X8STi-F/X8STi-3F/X8STi-LN4 User’s Manual

Onboard Power LED ............................................................................................................ 2-37

BMC Heartbeat LED ................................................................................ 2-37

UID-LED ..................................................................................................2-38

2-9 SATA/SAS and Floppy Drive Connections....................................................2-39

SATA/SAS Connections (SAS: for X8STi-3F only) ..................................2-39

Floppy Connector .....................................................................................2-40

Chapter 3 Troubleshooting

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Chapter 4 BIOS

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

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

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

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

4-5 Boot Confi guration ........................................................................................4-24

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

Appendix A POST Error Beep Codes
Appendix B Installing the Windows OS

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

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

Please check that the following items have all been included with your motherboard.
If anything listed here is damaged or missing, contact your retailer.

The following items are included in the retail box.

One (1) Supermicro Mainboard

•

Six (6) SATA cables (CBL-0044L)•

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

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

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

One (1) User's Manual (MNL-1068)•

1-1

X8STi/X8STi-F/X8STi-3F/X8STi-LN4 User’s Manual

Motherboard (X8STi-3F) Image

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

Revision available at the time of publishing of the manual. The motherboard
you've received may or may not look exactly the same as the graphics
shown in this manual.

1-2

NIC4 LED

Chapter 1: Introduction

Motherboard Layout

LSI 1068E

JBMC1

Important Notes to the User

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

" " indicates the location of "Pin 1".

•

Jumpers not indicated are for testing only. •

JBMC1 is reserved for internal testing only. • Do not change the jumper setting
pre-set by the manufacturer.

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

•

the power cable before installing or removing any components.

1-3

X8STi/X8STi-F/X8STi-3F/X8STi-LN4 User’s Manual

X8STi/X8STi-F/X8STi-3F/X8STi-LN4 Quick Reference

NIC4 LED

LSI 1068E

JBMC1

X8STi/X8STi-F/X8STi-3F/X8STi-LN4 Jumpers

Jumper Description Default Setting

JBMC1 BMC Jumper (X8STi-F/-3F Only) Pins 1-2 (Default) (Note Below)
JBT1 CMOS Clear (See Chpt. 2)

2

C1/JI2C2 SMB to PCI Slots (See Chpt. 2)

JI
JPG1 Onboard VGA Enable Pins 1-2 (Enabled)
JPL1/JPL2 LAN 1/2 Enable Pins 1-2 (Enabled)
JPL3/JPL4 LAN 3/4 Enable (X8STi-LN4) Pins 1-2 (Enabled)
JPS1 SAS Enable (X8STi-3F) Pins 1-2 (Enabled)
JPS2 SAS RAID Mode Select (X8STi-3F) Closed (Software RAID)

Note: JBMC1 is reserved for internal testing only . Do not change the jumper
setting pre-set by the manufacturer.

1-4

Chapter 1: Introduction

X8STi/X8STi-F/X8STi-3F/X8STi-LN4 Jumpers

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

JPUSB2 FP USB 2/3, 4/5 Wake-up Pins 2-3 (Disabled)

JPUSB3 FP USB 6, 7 Wake-up Pins 2-3 (Disabled)

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

X8STi/X8STi-F/X8STi-3F/X8STi-LN4 Headers/Connectors

Connector Description

COM1/COM2 COM1/2 Serial connection headers

Fans 1~6 System/CPU fan headers

Floppy Floppy Disk Drive connector

I-Button (For X8STi-3F) I-Button for RAID data storage (See P. 2-27 for more info.)

JAR Alarm Reset

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

JF1 Front Panel Control header

JL1 Chassis Intrusion header

JLED Power LED Indicator header

JOH Overheat LED header

JPW1 24-pin ATX main power connector (required)

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

JPWF Power-Fail indication header

JWOL Wake-On-LAN header

KB/Mouse Keyboard/mouse connectors

LAN1~LAN4 Gigabit Ethernet (RJ45) ports (LAN3/4: X8STi-LN4)

(IPMI) LAN IPMI Dedicated LAN (X8STi-F/-3F only)

NIC3_LED, NIC4_LED LAN 3/LAN 4 LED Connectors for front access (X8STi-LN4)

I-SATA 0~5 Serial_ATA ports

SAS 0~3, 4~7 SAS Ports (X8STi-3F only)

2

SMB_PS1 PWR supply (I

SPKR1 Internal speaker/buzzer

3-SGPIO-0/1 Serial_link IO headers for SAS (X8STi-3F)

T-SGPIO-0/1 Serial General Purpose IO headers (for SATA)

C) System Management Bus

UID Switch Unit Identifi er Switch (used in conjunction w/UID LEDs)

USB0/1, USB 2/3, 4/5,

USB6, 7

VGA Onboard Video Port

Back plan e USB 0 /1, Front pane l acc ess ibl e USB 2 /3 , 4/5,
USB 6, USB 7

1-5

X8STi/X8STi-F/X8STi-3F/X8STi-LN4 User’s Manual

X8STi/X8STi-F/X8STi-3F/X8STi-LN4 LED Indicators

LED Description Color/State Status

DP1 BMC Heartbeat LED Indicator Green: Blinking BMC: Normal
LE1 Onbo ard St and by PWR L ED Indi cat or Green: Solid on PWR On
LE2 UID LED Indicator (used with UID Switch) Blue: Solid on Unit is Identifi ed
LES1 SAS Activity (X8STi-3F only) Green: Blinking SAS: Active
LES2 SAS Heartbeat (X8STi-3F only) Yellow: Blinking SAS: Normal

Differences between Main Features of the X8STi/X8STi-F/ X8STi-3F/

X8STi-LN4 Models

X8STi X8STi-F X8STi-3F X8STi-LN4
LAN3/LAN4 No No No Yes
NIC3(LAN3)_LED/ NIC4(LAN4)_LED No No No Yes
JPL3/JPL4 (LAN3/4 Enable) No No No Yes
IPMI 2.0 Support/IPMI Jumper (JBMC1) No Yes Yes No
IPMI Dedicated_LAN No Yes Yes No
I-Button No No Yes No
SAS Ports 0~7 No No Yes No
3-GPIO1/2 (Serial_Link IO) No No Yes No
SAS LEDs (LES1/LES2) No No Yes No

1-6

Motherboard Features

CPU

Single Intel® Core™ i7 and future Nehalem Family processors in the LGA1366 •
socket

Memory

Six 240-pin, DDR3 SDRAM DIMM sockets with support for unbuffered ECC or •
non ECC 1333/1066/800 MHz memory.

Note: Both Unbuffered ECC and Non-ECC DIMM modules are supported
by the motherboard. Using ECC or Non-ECC memory on your motherboard
depends on the CPU installed.

Supports 3-channel memory bus

•

Supports DIMM sizes of 256 MB, 512 MB, 1 GB, 2 GB, and 4 GB •

Chipset

Chapter 1: Introduction

Intel® X58 Express Chipset•
Intel ICH10R •

Expansion Slots

One (1) (PCI-Express x16 Gen2 + PCI-Express x8 in x4) slot•
One (1) 32-bit PCI 33MHz slot (Slot 1)•

Integrated Graphics

Matrox G200ew with 8 MB Video Memory •

Network Connections

Two Intel 82574L Gigabit (10/100/1000 Mb/s) Ethernet Controllers for LAN 1 •
and LAN 2 ports, additional two 82574L for LAN 3 and LAN 4 ports on the
X8STi-LN4 model

Two (2) or four (4)* RJ-45 Rear IO Panel Connectors with Link and Activity LEDs

•

(*Four RJ-45 ports are available on the X8STi-LN4 only)
Single Realtek RTL8201N PHY for the Dedicated IPMI 2.0LAN for the X8STi-

•

F/-3F
One (1) RJ45 Rear I/O Panel Dedicated IPMI 2.0 Connector for the X8STi-F/-

•

3F

I/O Devices•

SATA Connections

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

•

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

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X8STi/X8STi-F/X8STi-3F/X8STi-LN4 User’s Manual

SAS Connections (for the X8STi-3F only)

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

•

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

*RAID 5 is supported when the I-Button (AOC-IButton68) is installed on
the motherboard. (I-Button is available on the X8STi-3F only) For more
information on the AOC-IButton68, please refer to http://www.supermicro.
com/products/accessories/addon/AOC-IButton68.cfm.

**For the LSI 1068 Controller User's Guide, please refer to http://www.
supermicro.com/support/manuals/.

Integrated IPMI 2.0 (for the X8STi-F/X8STi-3F only)

IPMI 2.0 supported by the WPCM450 Server BMC

•

Note: For IPMI Confi guration Instructions, please refer to the Embedded
IPMI Confi guration User's Guide available @ http://www.supermicro.com/
support/manuals/.

Floppy Drive

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

USB Devices

Two (2) USB ports (USB 0~1) on the rear IO panel

•

Six (6) USB connections for front access (Two Type A connectors: USB 6, •
USB 7 and two headers: USB 2/3, 4/5)

Keyboard/Mouse

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

•

Serial (COM) Ports

Fast UART 16550 Connections: one COM port and one header

•

Super I/O

Winbond Super I/O 83627DHG

•

BIOS

32 Mb SPI AMI BIOS•
DMI 2.3, PCI 2.3, ACPI 1.0/2.0/3.0, USB Keyboard and SMBIOS 2.5

•

®

SM Flash BIOS

Power Confi guration

ACPI/ACPM Power Management•
Main switch override mechanism•
Keyboard Wake-up from Soft-Off•

1-8

USB Wake-up from Soft-Off•
Wake-on-LAN•
Power-on mode for AC power recovery•

PC Health Monitoring

CPU Monitoring

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

•

+1.8V, +3.3V, +3.3V standby, +5V, +5V, Standby, VBat and ±12V
CPU 6-Phase switching voltage regulator

•

CPU/System overheat LED and control•
CPU Thermal Trip support•
Thermal Monitor 2 (TM2) support•

Fan Control

Fan status monitoring with fi rmware 4-pin (Pulse Width Modulation) fan

•

speed control

Chapter 1: Introduction

Low noise fan speed control

•

System Management

PECI (Platform Environment Confi guration Interface) 2.0 support•
System resource alert via Supero Doctor III •
SuperoDoctor III, Watch Dog, NMI•
I• 2C temperature sensing logic
Chassis Intrusion Header and Detection

•

Pb Free•

CD Utilities

BIOS fl ash upgrade utility•
Drivers and software for Intel® X58 Express chipset utilities •

Dimensions

ATX form factor, 12" x 9.6" (304.8 x 243.8 mm)•

1-9

X8STi/X8STi-F/X8STi-3F/X8STi-LN4 User’s Manual

DDR3:1333/1066/800

Intersil

VRD 11.1

LGA1366_Socket CPU

QPI: Up to 6.40 GT/s

Intel

(2 DIMMs per Channel, 6 DIMMs total)

DIMM_CHA
DIMM_CHB
DIMM_CHC

(6 DIMMs)

SAS x8
(X8STi-3F)

RJ45
RJ45

RJ45

RJ45

SAS1068E
(X8STi-3F)

Intel 82574L

Intel 82574L

Intel 82574L

(X8STi-LN4 only)

Intel 82574L

(X8STi-LN4 only)

FloppyKeyboard

Mouse

PCIE_x8

PCIE_x1

PCIE_x1

PCIE_x1

PCIE_x1

W83627DHG

LPC I/O

Intel

X58

North Bridge

DMI

Intel

ICH10R

South Bridge

COM1
COM2

PCIE_x16

PCIE_x8

SATAII /3.0G

PCI_32_BUS

SPI

SPI BIOS

USB2.0

IPMI LAN

( for X8STi­F/3F only)

PCI-E Gen2 x16

PCI-E Gen1 x8 in x4

SATA x6

USB x 8

PCI 32 X 1 Slots

BMC WPCM450

Onboard
VGA

X8STi/X8STi-F/X8STi-3F/X8STi-LN4 System Block Diagram

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

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

actual specifi cations of each motherboard.

1-10

Chapter 1: Introduction

1-2 Chipset Overview

Built upon the functionality and the capability of the Intel X58 Express chipset, the
X8STi/X8STi-F/X8STi-3F/X8STi-LN4 motherboard provides the performance and
feature set r equ ire d fo r sin gl e - pr oc e ss or-b ase d hi gh - e nd sy stem s wit h c on fi gura-
tion opt ions opt imized fo r intensive ap plicat ion and h igh- end s er ver platf orms.

The X8STi/X8STi-F/X8STi-3F/X8STi-LN4 supports Intel® Core™ i7 or a Nehalem
Family processor in the LGA1366 socket, the Intel X5 8 Expre ss chips et, and the
ICH10R. Wit h Intel QuickPat h Interconne ct (QPI) technolo gy built in, the X8ST i/
X8STi-F/X8ST i -3F/X8 STi -LN4 i s on e of th e fi rst motherboards on the market that
offers the next generation point-to -point system interconnect interface, replacing
the cur re nt Front S ide B us te ch nol og y, providin g sub st anti al sys tem pe rfor man c e
enhancement by utilizing serial link interconnections to increase bandwidth and
scalability.

Features of the LGA 1366 Processor and the X58 Chipset

Intel QuickPath Interconnect link, up to 6.4 GT/s of data transfer rate in each •
direction

Virtualization Technology, Integrated Management Engine support

•

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

•

1-11

X8STi/X8STi-F/X8STi-3F/X8STi-LN4 User’s Manual

1-3 PC Health Monitoring

This section describes the PC health monitoring features of the X8STi/X8STi-F/
X8STi-3F/X8STi-LN4. These features are supported by an onboard System Hard­ware Monitor chip.

Recovery from AC Power Loss

BIOS provides a setting for you to determine how the system will respond when
AC power is lost and then restored to the system. You can choose for the system
to remain powered off (in which case you must hit the power switch to turn it back
on) or for it to automatically return to a power on state. See the Power Lost Control
setting in the BIOS chapter of this manual to change this setting. The default set­ting is Last State.

Onboard Voltage Monitoring

The onboard voltage monitor will scan the following voltages continuously: CPU
Core, Chipset Voltage, Memory Voltage, +1.8V, +3.3V, +3.3V standby, +5V, +5V
Standby, Vbat and ±12V. Once a voltage becomes unstable, it will give a warning
or send an error message to the screen. Users can adjust the voltage thresholds
to defi ne the sensitivity of the voltage monitor by using SD III.

Fan Status Monitor with Software

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

CPU Overheat LED and Control

This feature is available when the user enables the CPU overheat warning feature
in the BIOS. This allows the user to defi ne an overheat temperature. When this tem-
perature reaches this pre-defi ned overheat threshold, the CPU thermal trip feature
will be activated and it will send a signal to the buzzer and, at the same time, the
CPU speed will be decreased.

1-4 Power Confi guration Settings

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

1-12

Chapter 1: Introduction

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 the suspend mode. When the user presses any
key, the CPU will wake-up and the LED indicator will automatically stop blinking
and remain on.

BIOS Support for USB Keyboard

If the USB keyboard is the only keyboard in the system, it will function like a normal
keyboard during system boot-up.

Main Switch Override Mechanism

When an ATX power supply is used, the power button can function as a system
suspend button. When the user presses the power button, the system will enter
a SoftOff state. The monitor will be suspended and the hard drive will spin down.
Pressing the power button again to wake-up the whole system. During the SoftOff
state, the ATX power supply provides power the system to keep the required cir­cuitry "alive". In case the system malfunctions and you want to turn off the power,
just press and hold the power button for 4 seconds. The power will turn off and no
power will be provided to the motherboard.

Wake-On-LAN (WOL)

Wake-On-LAN is 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.

1-5 Power Supply

As with all computer products, a stable power source is necessary for proper and
reliable operation. It is even more important for processors that have high CPU
clock rates of 1 GHz and faster.

The
dard power supplies. Although most power supplies generally meet the specifi ca-

X8STi/X8STi-F/X8STi-3F/X8STi-LN4 accommodates ATX12V stan-

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X8STi/X8STi-F/X8STi-3F/X8STi-LN4 User’s Manual

tions required by the CPU, some are inadequate. A 2-Amp of current supply on a
5V Standby rail is strongly recommended.

It is strongly recommended that you use a high quality power supply that meets
ATX12V standard power supply Specifi cation 1.1 or above. It is also required that
the 12V 8-pin power connection (JPW2) be used for adequate power supply. In
areas where noisy power transmission is present, you may choose to install a line
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.

1-6 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 two 360 K,
720 K, 1.2 M, 1.44 M or 2.88 M disk drives and data transfer rates of 250 Kb/s,
500 Kb/s or 1 Mb/s.

It also provides two high-speed, 16550 compatible serial communication ports
(UARTs). Each UART includes a 16-byte send/receive FIFO, a programmable baud
rate generator, complete modem control capability and a processor interrupt 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 a SMI or SCI function pin. It also features auto power management
to reduce power consumption.

1-7 Overview of the Winbond WPCM450 Controller (For
X8STi-F/ X8STi-3F Only)

The Winbond WPCM450, a Baseboard Management Controller (BMC), supports
the 2D/VGA-compatible Graphics Core with the PCI interface, Virtual Media, and
Keyboard/Video/Mouse (KVM) Redirection modules.

The WPCM450 BMC interfaces with the host system via a PCI interface to com­municate with the graphics core. It supports USB 2.0 and 1.1 for remote keyboard/
mouse/virtual media emulation. It also provides LPC interface to control Super IO
functions. The WPCM450 is connected to the network via an external Ethernet
PHY module.

1-14

Chapter 1: Introduction

The WPCM450 communicates with onboard components via six SMBus interfaces,
fan control, Platform Environment Control Interface (PECI) buses, and General
Purpose I/O (3SGPIO) ports.

The WPCM450 also includes the following features:

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

•

Three ADC inputs, Analog and Digital Video outputs•

Two serial for boundary scan and debug•

Note: For more information on IPMI confi guration, please refer to the
Embedded IPMI User's Guide posted on our website @ http://www.super­micro.com/support/manuals/.

1-15

X8STi/X8STi-F/X8STi-3F/X8STi-LN4 User’s Manual

Notes

1-16

Chapter 2: Installation

Chapter 2

Installation

2-1 Static-Sensitive Devices

Electrostatic-Discharge (ESD) can damage electronic com ponents. 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. Do not install the onboard
upside down battery to avoid possible explosion.

Unpacking

The motherboard is shipped in antistatic packaging to avoid static damage. When
unpacking the board, make sure the person handling it is static protected.

2-1

X8STi/X8STi-F/X8STi-3F/X8STi-LN4 User's Manual

!

2-2 Processor and Heatsink Installation

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

Notes:

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.

Intel's boxed processor package contains the CPU fan and heatsink assem-2.
bly. If you buy a CPU separately, make sure that you use only Intel-certifi ed
multi-directional heatsink and fan.

Make sure to install the motherboard into the chassis before you install the 3.
CPU heatsink and heatsink fans.

When purchasing an LGA 1366 processor or when receiving a motherboard 4.
with an LGA 1366 processor pre-installed, make sure that the CPU plastic
cap is in place, and none of the CPU pins are bent; otherwise, contact the
retailer immediately.

Refer to the M B Features S ecti on for mo re deta ils on CPU s uppor t.5.

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.

Note: The photos on this
page and succeeding pag­es 2-3 through 2-9 are for
illustration purposes only.
They do not necessarily
refl ect the exact product(s)
described in this manual.

Socket Clip

Plastic Cap

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

Load Plate

2-2

Chapter 2: Installation

After removing the plastic cap, using 4.
your thumb and the index fi nger,
hold the CPU at the north and south
center edges.

Align the CPU key, the semi-circle 5.
cutout, against the socket key, the
notch below the gold color dot on
the side of the socket.

Once both the CPU and the socket 6.
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.)

With the CPU inside the socket, in-7.
spect the four corners of the CPU to
make sure that the CPU is properly
installed.

CPU

CPU Socket

CPU

Align CPU keys with socket keys.

Once the CPU is securely seated 8.
on the socket, lower the CPU load
plate to the socket.

Use your thumb to gently push the 9.
socket clip down to the clip lock.

Warning: Please save the plas­tic ca p. The mot her board m ust
be shipped with the plastic cap
properly installed to protect the
CPU socket pins. Shipment
without the plastic cap properly
installed will cause damage to
the socket pins.

Load Plate

2-3

X8STi/X8STi-F/X8STi-3F/X8STi-LN4 User's Manual

Installing a Passive CPU Heatsink (#SNK-P0037)

Notes:

•

A heatsink bracket (BKT_0023L) is
required for a screw_type heatsink
(-which is a non-pushpin heatskink
as shown on the right.) The required
heatsink bracket (BKT_0023L) can
be purchased from Supermicro.

Do not apply any thermal grease to

•

the heatsink or the CPU die because
the required amount has already
been applied.

If you use a screw_type heatsink, 1.
please install a heatsink bracket
(BKT_0023L) on the reverse side
of the motherboard before installing
the heatsink. (To install the heatsink
bracket, please insert four screws
to the mounting holes to secure the
bracket on the motherboard.) If you
do not use a screw_type heatsink,
please skip this step.

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

Screw#1

Heatsink Bracket (BKT_0023L)
(for a Screw-Type Heatsink only)

Install a Heatsink Bracket on
the reverse side of the board

Screw#1

Install Screw#1

Screw#4

Screw#3

Screw#2

Screw#2

Install two diagonal screws (ie the 3.
#1 and the #2 screws) and tighten
them until just snug (-do not fully
tighten t he sc rews to avo id po ssib le
damage to the CPU.)

Finish the installation by fully tight-4.
ening all f our scr ews.

2-4

Screw#1

Install Screw#2

Chapter 2: Installation

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.

Disconnect the heatsink fan 2.
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

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X8STi/X8STi-F/X8STi-3F/X8STi-LN4 User's Manual

2-3 Mounting the Motherboard into the Chassis

All motherboards have standard mounting holes to fi t different types of chassis.
Make sure that the locations of all mounting holes for the motherboard and the 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. (See the
layout on the right for mounting hole locations.)

Note: Some components are very close to the mounting holes. Please take
all necessary precautionary measures to avoid damaging these compo­nents when installing the motherboard into the chassis.

Tools Needed

Philips Screwdriver

•

(9) Pan head #6 screws•

Installation Instructions

Install the I/O shield in your chassis. This 1.
is provided with your motherboard.

Locate the mounting holes on the mother-2.
board. Refer to the layout on the right for
mounting hole locations.

Place Standoffs on the chassis as 3.
needed.

Place the motherboard inside the chassis. 4.

Location of Mounting Holes

Locate the matching mounting holes on 5.
the chassis. Align the mounting holes on
the motherboard against the mounting
holes on the chassis.

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

Repeat Step 6 until all mounting holes 7.
are secured.

2-6