Supero C7X58 User Manual

USER’S MANUAL

Revision 1.1c

X8SAX
C7X58

Manual Revision 1.1c

Release Date: May 10, 2010

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 © 2010 by Super Micro Computer, Inc.
All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

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

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

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

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

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

FCC Statement: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class 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.

Preface

Thi s m a nua l i s wr i tt e n f or s yst em i nte gra t or s , P C te chn ici a ns and

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

X8SAX/C7X58 motherboard.

About This Motherboard

The X8SAX/C7X58 supports the Intel® Core™ i7 / i7 Extreme Edition, and

Intel® Xeon® 5500/3500 series processors. It is the rst platform that supports the

Intel QuickPath Interconnect technology, providing the next generation point-to-point

system interface, replacing the current Front Side Bus. With the Intel X58 Express

Chipset platform built-in, the X8SAX/C7X58 offers substantial enhancement in sys-

tem performance with increased bandwidth and unprecedented scalability, optimized

for intensive-applications and high-end workstations. 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.

Manual Organization

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

board and provides detailed information about the chipset.

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

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

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

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

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

on running the CMOS Setup utility.

Appendix A provides BIOS Error Beep Codes.

Appendix B lists Other Software Program Installation

Appendix C provides BIOS Recovery Instructions.

Preface

iii

X8SAX/C7X58 User’s Manual

Conventions Used in the Manual:

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

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

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

system failure or to avoid bodily injury

Warning: Important information given to ensure proper system installation

or to prevent damage to the components

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

vides information for correct system setup.

iv

Contacting Supermicro

v

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-Pacic

Address: Super Micro Computer, Inc.

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

Chung-Ho 235, Taipei County

Taiwan, R.O.C.

Tel: [phone]

Fax: [phone]

Web Site: www.supermicro.com.tw

Technical Support:

Email: [e-mail]

Tel: [phone], ext.132 or 139

vi

X8SAX/C7X58 User’s Manual

Table of Contents

Preface

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

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

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

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

Chapter 1 Introduction

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

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

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

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

Features of the LGA 1366 Processor and the X58 .......................................1-11

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

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

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

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

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

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

Slow Blinking LED for Suspend-State Indicator ........................................... 1-13

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

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

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

1-6 Super I/O ....................................................................................................... 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 Active Fan CPU Heatsink ........................................................... 2-4

Installing a Passive CPU Heatsink ................................................................. 2-6

2-3 Mounting the Motherboard into the Chassis ................................................... 2-8

Tools Needed .................................................................................................. 2-8

2-4 Installing and Removing the Memory Modules ............................................... 2-9

Installing & Removing DIMMs ......................................................................... 2-9

2-5 Connectors/IO Ports ...................................................................................... 2-12

Back Panel Connectors and IO Ports ........................................................... 2-12

ATX PS/2 Keyboard and PS/2 Mouse Ports ............................................ 2-13

vii

Table of Contents

Universal Serial Bus (USB) ...................................................................... 2-14

Ethernet Ports .......................................................................................... 2-15

High Denition Audio (HDA) ..................................................................... 2-16

CD-Input and FP Audio Headers ............................................................. 2-16

Front Panel Audio Control ........................................................................ 2-17

S/PDIF_Out Connector ............................................................................ 2-17

Serial Ports ............................................................................................... 2-18

Serial ATA Ports........................................................................................ 2-18

Front Control Panel ....................................................................................... 2-19

Front Control Panel Pin Denitions............................................................... 2-20

NMI Button ............................................................................................... 2-20

HDD LED .................................................................................................. 2-21

NIC1/NIC2 LED Indicators ....................................................................... 2-21

Overheat (OH)/Fan Fail LED.................................................................... 2-22

Power Fail LED ........................................................................................ 2-22

Reset Button ........................................................................................... 2-23

Power Button ........................................................................................... 2-23

2-6 Connecting Cables ........................................................................................ 2-24

4-Pin Auxiliary Power Connector.............................................................. 2-24

Fan Headers ............................................................................................. 2-25

Internal Buzzer ......................................................................................... 2-26

Speaker .................................................................................................... 2-26

Overheat/Fan Fail LED (JOH1) ........................................................ 2-27

Chassis Intrusion ..................................................................................... 2-27

Power Supply I2C Connector.................................................................... 2-28

Onboard Power LED ................................................................................ 2-28

1394a_1/1394a_2 Connections................................................................ 2-29

T-SGPIO 0/1 Headers .............................................................................. 2-29

Wake-On-Ring .......................................................................................... 2-30

Wake-On-LAN .......................................................................................... 2-30

2-7 Jumper Settings ............................................................................................ 2-31

Explanation of Jumpers ................................................................................ 2-31

LAN Port Enable/Disable ......................................................................... 2-31

CMOS Clear ............................................................................................. 2-32

Watch Dog Enable/Disable ...................................................................... 2-32

SMB to PCI-X/PCI-E Slots Speeds .......................................................... 2-33

IEEE 1394a Enable ................................................................................. 2-33

Audio Enable ........................................................................................... 2-34

X8SAX/C7X58 User’s Manual

viii

USB Wake-Up ......................................................................................... 2-34

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

Onboard Power LED

............................................................................................................ 2-35

2-9 Serial ATA and Floppy Drive Connections .................................................... 2-36

SATA Connectors ..................................................................................... 2-36

Floppy Connector ..................................................................................... 2-37

Chapter 3 Troubleshooting

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Chapter 4 BIOS

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

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

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

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

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

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

4-4 Security Settings ........................................................................................... 4-22

4-5 Boot Conguration ........................................................................................4-23

4-6 Exit Options ................................................................................................... 4-24

Appendix A POST Error Beep Codes

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

Appendix B Software Installation Instructions

B-1 Installing Drivers ..............................................................................................B-1

B-2 Conguring Supero Doctor III .........................................................................B-2

Appendix C - BIOS Recovery

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

C-2 Recovery Process from an IDE/SATA ATAPI Disc Driv ......................................C-2

Chapter 1: Introduction

1-1

Chapter 1

Introduction

1-1 Overview

Checklist

Thank you for 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.

All the following items are included in the retail box only.

One (1) Supermicro Mainboard•

Six (6) SATA cables (CBL-0044L)•

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

One (1) 1394a connector, Internal header to external back panel cable (CBL-•

0173L)

One (1) I/O shield (MCP-260-00030-0N)•

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

One (1) SLI Bridge (AOC-SLIB) (C7X58 Only)•

One (1) User's/BIOS Manual (MNL-1063)•

1-2

X8SAX/C7X58 User’s Manual

X8SAX 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.

Chapter 1: Introduction

1-3

Motherboard Layout

Important Notes to the User

Jumpers not indicated are for testing only. •

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

panel connections.

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

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

the power cable before installing or removing any components.

T-SGPIO0

T-SGPIO1

JF1

JWOL

JWD

JPUSB1

JPAC

JPL2
JPL1

JLED

JPI1

JPUSB2

SPKR1

B1

Fan4

Fan5

Fan6

Fan1 - CPU

Fan3

LE1

JWOR

JL1

JI2C2

JI2C1

JOH

JPW1

COM2

COM1

JPW2

SMBUS_PS1

JD1

1

JPW3

I-SATA5

I-SATA4

I-SATA3

I-SATA2

I-SATA1

I-SATA0

DIMM3A

DIMM3B

JBT1

USB 10/11

HD Audio (7.1)

S/PDIF

LAN2/USB6~7

USB 0~3

1394_1

USB9

USB8

Audio FP

LAN1/USB4~5

Slot6 PCI-E x16 Gen2

Slot5 PCI-E x4 in x8 Gen1

Slot4 PCI-E x16 Gen2

Slot2 PCI-X 133/100 MHz

CD-In

KB/Mouse

Floppy

X8SAX

DIMM2B

DIMM2A

DIMM1B

DIMM1A

LAN CTRL

LAN CTRL

S I/O

1394_2

Slot3 PCI 33MHz

Slot1 PCI-X 133/100 MHz

Fan2

Audio CTRL

CPU

Intel

North Bridge

Intel ICH10R

South Bridge

Battery

Intel PXH-V

1394a

CTRL

BIOS

X58

1-4

X8SAX/C7X58 User’s Manual

T-SGPIO0

T-SGPIO1

JF1

JWOL

JWD

JPUSB1

JPAC

JPL2
JPL1

JLED

JPI1

JPUSB2

SPKR1

B1

Fan4

Fan5

Fan6

Fan1 - CPU

Fan3

LE1

JWOR

JL1

JI2C2

JI2C1

JOH

JPW1

COM2

COM1

JPW2

SMBUS_PS1

JD1

1

JPW3

I-SATA5

I-SATA4

I-SATA3

I-SATA2

I-SATA1

I-SATA0

DIMM3A

DIMM3B

JBT1

USB 10/11

HD Audio (7.1)

S/PDIF

LAN2/USB6~7

USB 0~3

1394_1

USB9

USB8

Audio FP

LAN1/USB4~5

Slot6 PCI-E x16 Gen2

Slot5 PCI-E x4 in x8 Gen1

Slot4 PCI-E x16 Gen2

Slot2 PCI-X 133/100 MHz

CD-In

KB/Mouse

Floppy

X8SAX

DIMM2B

DIMM2A

DIMM1B

DIMM1A

LAN CTRL

LAN CTRL

S I/O

1394_2

Slot3 PCI 33MHz

Slot1 PCI-X 133/100 MHz

Fan2

Audio CTRL

CPU

Intel

North Bridge

Intel ICH10R

South Bridge

Battery

Intel PXH-V

1394a

CTRL

BIOS

X58

9

5

4

3

10

11

8

7

6

1

2

12
13

15

21 23

24 25

26 27

28 29

46

47

48

50

51

54

5556

57

X8SAX Quick Reference

22

X8SAX/C7X58 Quick Reference

Jumper Label Description Default Setting

JBT1 #45 CMOS Clear (See Chpt. 2)

JI

2

C1/JI2C2 #27, 28 SMB to PCI Slots (See Chpt. 2)

JPAC #14 Audio Enable 1-2 (Enabled)

JPI1 #30 1394a_1/2 Enable 1-2 (Enabled)

JPL1/JPL2 #18, 17 LAN 1/2 Enable Pins 1-2 (Enabled)

JPUSB1 #57 Backplane USB Wake-up Enable Pins 1-2 (Enabled)

JPUSB2 #38 Front Panel USB Wake-up Enable Pins 1-2 (Enabled)

JWD #49 Watch Dog Timer Enable Pins 1-2 (Reset)

14

16
17
18
19

20

30

32

33

34

35

36

37

39

40

41

42

43

44

45

58

52

53

38

49

Chapter 1: Introduction

1-5

Connector Label Description

1394a_1/2 #25, 26 IEEE 1394a connection headers

Audio FP #12 Front panel audio header

(HD) Audio #6 (BP) High Denition Audio (7.1) header

Battery #48 Onboard battery (B1)

CD-In #15 Audio CD Input header

COM1/COM2 #22, 21 COM1/2 Serial connection headers

Fans 1~6 #8, 47, 36, 35,

54, 9

System/CPU fan headers (Fan 1: CPU fan)

Floppy #24 Floppy Disk Drive connector

JD1 #46 Speaker header (Pins 3/4: Internal,3~4:Ext.)

JF1 #51 Front Panel Control header

JL1 #37 Chassis Intrusion header

JLED #53 Power LED Indicator header

JOH1 #50 Overheat LED header

JPW1 #55 24-pin ATX main power connector

JPW2 #56 +12V 8-pin CPU power connector

JPW3 #7 +12V 4-pin Secondary power connector (this is rec-

ommended, but not required for normal operation)

JWOL #29 Wake-On-LAN header

JWOR #23 Wake-On-Ring header

KB/Mouse #1 Keyboard/mouse connectors

LAN1/LAN2 #4, 5 Gigabit Ethernet (RJ45) ports

I-SATA 0~5 #44, 43, 42 (Intel South Bridge) SATA ports 0/1, 2/3, 4/5

Slot 1/Slot 2 #20, 19 PCI-X 133/100 MHz slots (X8SAX only)

Slot 3 #16 PCI 33 MHz slot

Slot 4/ Slot 6 #13, 10 PCI-Express x16 Generation 2 slots

Slot 5 # 11 PCI-E x4 x8 slot

SMB_PS #58 PWR supply (I

2

C) System Management Bus

S/PDIF #3 Digital audio/video interface connector

SPKR1 #33 Internal speaker/buzzer

T-SGPIO-0/1 #41, 39 Serial General Purpose Input/Output headers

USB0~3,

USB4/5, 6/7

#2, 4, 5 (Backpanel) Universal Serial Bus (USB) ports

USB8, USB9,

USB10/11

#32, 34, 40 Front panel accessible USB headers

LED Label Description

LE1 #52 Onboard Standby PWR warning LED Indicator

1-6

X8SAX/C7X58 User’s Manual

Motherboard Features

CPU

Single Intel•

®

Core™ i7 / i7 Extreme Edition, and Intel® Xeon® 5500/3500 series

processors in an LGA1366 socket

Memory

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

supported by CPU) or non ECC 1333/1066/800 MHz memory.
Supports non ECC 1600 MHz XMP memory when an Extreme Edition CPU is •

installed (This feature is supported on the C7X58 motherboard only, see pages

2-10, 3-3, 3-4 and 4-11 for more information.)
Supports 3-channel memory bus•
DIMM sizes of 256 MB, 512 MB, 1 GB, 2 GB, and 4 GB are supported•

Chipset

Intel® X58 Express Chipset (IOH) •
Intel ICH10R (South Bridge) •
Intel PXH/V (I/O Bridge) for PCI-X slots (X8SAX only)•

Expansion Slots

Two (2) PCI-Express x16 Gen2 slots (Slot 6/Slot 4)•
One PCI-Express x4 in x8 slot (Slot 5)•
Two (2) PCI-X 133/100 MHz slots (Slot 1/Slot 2) (X8SAX only)•
One (1) 32-bit PCI 33MHz slot (Slot 3)•

Audio

The HD ALC883 Audio Controller supports 7.1 channel High Denition audio •

interface
One HD Audio connector on the IO backplane supports 8-channel (7.1) audio •

with Line-in/Line-out/Microphone built-in
One S/PDIF connector on the IO backplane supports Digital Audio/Video In-•

terface
One additional onboard audio header (Audio FP) and a CD input header (CD-•

In) for front access

Graphics

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

®

CrossFireX™ Technology

Supports nVidia•

®

SLi™ Technology (C7X58 only)

Chapter 1: Introduction

1-7

Network Connections

Two Intel 82574L Gigabit (10/100/1000 Mb/s) Ethernet Controllers with two •

Gigabit LAN ports

Two (2) RJ-45 backplane connectors with Link and Activity LEDs built-in

•

I/O Devices

SATA Connections

Six (6) SATA ports supported by the Intel ICH10R SATA Controller•
Supports RAID 0, 1, 5, 10 under the Windows OS environment •

Floppy Drive

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

•

USB Devices

Eight (8) USB ports (USB 0~3, USB 4/5, USB 6/7) on the IO backplane

•

for rear access

Four (4) USB connections for front access (Two Type A connectors and

•

one header)

Keyboard/Mouse

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

Serial (COM) Ports

Two (2) Fast UART 16550 headers•

Super I/O

Winbond Super I/O 83627DHG•

BIOS

32Mb SPI AMI BIOS•

®

SM Flash BIOS

DMI 2.3, PCI 2.3, ACPI 1.0/2.0/3.0, and SMBIOS 2.5

•

PowerConguration

ACPI/ACPM Power Management•
Main switch override mechanism•
Keyboard Wake-up from Soft-Off•
Power-on mode for AC power recovery•
External modem ring-on•
Suspend to RAM (STR)•

1-8

X8SAX/C7X58 User’s Manual

PC Health Monitoring

CPU Monitoring

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

•

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

CPU 6-Phase-switching voltage regulator

•

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

Fan Control

Fan status monitoring with rmware 4-pin PWM (Pulse Width Modulation)

•

fan speed control

Low noise fan speed control

•

System Management

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

System resource alert via • Doctor III

• Doctor III, Watch Dog, NMI

I

•

2

C temperature sensing logic

Chassis Intrusion Header and Detection•
Pb Free•

CD Utilities

BIOS ash upgrade utility•

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

Dimensions

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

Chapter 1: Introduction

1-9

Notes

1-10

X8SAX/C7X58 User’s Manual

X8SAX/C7X58 System Block Diagram

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

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

actual specications of each motherboard.

W83795ADG
H/W Monitor

Intel

VRD 11.1

Intel

Intersil

Intel 82574L

QPI: Up to 6.40 GT/s

PCIE_x16

PCI_E x16 Slot

Realtek ALC883

HDA

PCIE_X4

W83627DHG

PCI 32 X 1 Slot

TI TSB43AB22A

COM1
COM2

Floppy

KB.
MS.

SPI

SPI EEPROM

FAN
x 6

ICH10R

LPC I/O

X8SAX / C7X58 Block Diagram

PCI_32_BUS

DMI

INTEL 82574L

PCIE_X1

PCIE_X1

RJ45

RJ45

PCI_E x16 Slot

PCIE_x16

PCIE_x4

SATAII /300

USB x 12

SATA x6

USB2.0

DIMM_CH2

DIMM_CH1

DIMM_CH3

PCI_E x4 in x8 Slot

PHX-V PCIX 2 Slot

X58

South Bridge

Intel

North Bridge

(X8SAX Only)

(1600XMP is supported on the C7X58 motherboard only,
see page 3-3 for more information)

DDR3:1600XMP/1333/1066/800

Chapter 1: Introduction

1-11

1-2 Chipset Overview

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

X8SAX/C7X58 motherboard provides the performance and feature set required

for dual-processor systems with conguration options optimized for intensive ap-

plication and high-end workstation platforms.

The main architecture of the X8SAX/C7X58 consists of an LGA 1366 processor

socket, the Intel X58 Express North Bridge chipset, the ICH10R South Bridge, and

the PXH/V IO Bridge. With Intel QuickPath Interconnect technology built in, the

X8SAX/C7X58 is one of the rst motherboards on the market that 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 to increase bandwidth and scalability.

Features of the LGA 1366 Processor and the X58

Intel QuickPath Interconnect link, 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 trafc

Error detection via CRC and Error correction via Link level retry•

1-12

X8SAX/C7X58 User’s Manual

1-3 PC Health Monitoring

This section describes the PC health monitoring features of the X8SAX/C7X58.

The motherboard has an onboard System Hardware Monitor chip that supports

PC health monitoring.

Recovery from AC Power Loss

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

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

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

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

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

ting is Last State.

Onboard Voltage Monitoring

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

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

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

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

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

Fan Status Monitor with Software

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

Doctor III.

CPU Overheat LED and Control

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

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

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

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

time, the CPU speed will be decreased.

1-4 PowerCongurationSettings

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

power settings.

Chapter 1: Introduction

1-13

Slow Blinking LED for Suspend-State Indicator

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

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

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

and remain on.

BIOS Support for USB Keyboard

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

keyboard during system boot-up.

Main Switch Override Mechanism

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

power will be provided to the motherboard.

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 X8SAX/C7X58 accommodates ATX12V standard power supplies.

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

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

strongly recommended.

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

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

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

ever, the 12V 4-pin power connection (JPW3) is optional, but may be necessary

when increased power to the installed peripheral cards is needed. In areas where

noisy power transmission is present, you may choose to install a line lter to shield

the computer from noise. It is recommended that you also install a power surge

protector to help avoid problems caused by power surges.

1-14

X8SAX/C7X58 User’s Manual

1-6 Super I/O

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

500 Kb/s or 1 Mb/s.

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

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

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

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

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

higher speed modems.

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

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

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

to reduce power consumption.

Chapter 2: Installation

2-1

Chapter 2

Installation

2-1 Static-Sensitive Devices

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

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

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

Precautions

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

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

bag.

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

chips, memory modules or gold contacts.

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

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

use.

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

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

the motherboard.

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

upside down battery to avoid possible explosion.

Unpacking

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

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

2-2

X8SAX/C7X58 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-certi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 MB Features Section for more details on CPU support.5.

Press the socket clip to release 1.

the load plate, which covers the

CPU socket, from its locking

position.

Socket Clip

!

Load Plate

Gently lift the socket clip to 2.

open the load plate.

Hold the plastic cap at its north 3.

and south center edges to re-

move it from the CPU socket.

Plastic Cap

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

Installing an LGA 1366 Processor

Note: The photos on this page and
succeeding pages 2-3 through 2-9
are for illustration purposes only.

They do not necessarily reect the

exact product(s) described in this
manual.

Chapter 2: Installation

2-3

After removing the plastic cap, 4.

using your thumb and the index

nger, hold the CPU at the

north and south center edges.

Align the CPU key, the semi-5.

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 6.

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 dam-

aging the CPU or the socket.)

With the CPU inside the socket, 7.

inspect the four corners of the

CPU to make sure that the CPU

is properly installed.

Once the CPU is securely 8.

seated on the socket, lower the

CPU load plate to the socket.

Use your thumb to gently push 9.

the socket clip down to the clip

lock.

Warning: Please save the

plastic cap. The mother-

board must be shipped

with the plastic cap prop-

erly installed to protect the

CPU socket pins. Ship-

ment without the plastic

cap properly installed will

cause damage to the sock-

et pins.

CPU

CPU Socket

Load Plate

CPU

Align CPU keys with socket keys.

2-4

X8SAX/C7X58 User's Manual

Fan Wires

Thermal Grease

CPU

Heatsink

Fastener

Heatsink Fins

1. Locate the CPU Fan power con-

nector on the motherboard. (Refer to

the layout on the right for the CPU

Fan location.)

2. Position the heatsink so that the

heatsink fan wires are closest to the

CPU fan power connector and are not

interfered with other components.

3. Inspect the CPU Fan wires to

make sure that the wires are routed

through the bottom of the heatsink.

4. Remove the thin layer of the

protective lm from the copper core of

the heatsink.

(Warning: CPU may overheat if the

protective lm is not removed from

the heatsink.)

5. Apply the proper amount of thermal

grease on the CPU. (Note: if your

heatsink came with a thermal pad,

please ignore this step.)

6. If necessary, rearrange the wires

to make sure that the wires are not

pinched between the heatsink and the

CPU. Also make sure to keep clear-

ance between the fan wires and the

ns of the heatsink.

Installing an Active Fan CPU Heatsink

Chapter 2: Installation

2-5

Narrow end of the groove

should point outward

1. Unplug the power cord from the power

supply.

2. Disconnect the heatsink fan wires from

the CPU fan header.

3. Use your nger tips to gently press on the

fastener cap and turn it counterclockwise

to make a 1/4 (900) turn, and then pull the

fastener upward to loosen it.

4. Repeat Step 3 to loosen all fasteners

from the mounting holes.

5. With all fasteners loosened, remove the

heatsink from the CPU.

Active Heatsink Removal

Removing the Heatsink

Warning: 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 instructions below to uninstall the heatsink and prevent damage to

the CPU or other components.

7. Align the four heatsink fasten-

ers with the mounting holes on the

motherboard. Gently push the pairs of

diagonal fasteners (#1 & #2, and #3 &

#4) into the mounting holes until you

hear a click. (Note: Make sure to orient

each fastener so that the narrow end

of the groove is pointing outward.)

8. Repeat Step 7 to insert all four heat-

sink fasteners into the mounting holes.

9. Once all four fasteners are securely

inserted into the mounting holes and

the heatsink is properly installed on the

motherboard, connect the heatsink fan

wires to the CPU Fan connector.

1

2

3

4

2-6

X8SAX/C7X58 User's Manual

Installing a Passive CPU Heatsink

Heatsink Mounting Holes (4) on the
motherboard. Mount the optional
heatsink bracket here

Optional Heatsink Bracket
Part# BKT-0023L

Locate the four heatsink mounting 1.

holes on the reverse side of the

motherboard and four heatsink

lock alignments on the heatsink

bracket.

Align the four bracket lock align-2.

ments on the heatsink bracket

against the four mounting holes

on the back of the motherboard.

Place the heatsink bracket on the

motherboard.

Do not apply any thermal grease 3.

to the heatsink or the CPU be-

cause the required amount has

already been applied.

Place the heatsink on top of the 4.

CPU so that the four mounting

holes are aligned with those on

the bracket now located under-

neath.

WARNING: Befor e p r oceeding

through this section, please make

sure the optional bracket for the

heatsink is attached underneath

the motherboard.

Note: Passive CPU Heatsinks

that have been purchased from

Supermicro will include the optional

heatsink bracket. Heatsinks pur-

chased elsewhere may not include

this bracket, but is available sepa-

rately from Supermicro.

Optional heatsink bracket mounted

Align the Heatsink Mounting Holes
(4) on the motherboard with the
screw holes of the heatsink bracket

Chapter 2: Installation

2-7

Unplug the power cord from the 1.

power supply.

Using a screwdriver, loosen and 2.

remove the heatsink screws

from the motherboard in the se-

quence as shown in the picture

on the right.

Hold the heatsink as shown and 3.

gently loosen it from the CPU

by moving it from side to side.

(Do not use excessive force)

Once it is loosened, remove the 4.

heatsink from the CPU socket.

To reinstall the CPU and the 5.

heatsink, clean the surface of

the CPU and the heatsink to

remove the old thermal grease.

Reapply the proper amount of

thermal grease on the surface

before reinstalling them on the

motherboard.

Using a screwdriver to

remove Screw#1

Remove Screw#2

Passive Heatsink Removal

Screw in two diagonal screws 5.

(i.e., the #1 and the #2 screws)

until secure. However, leave

each loosely tightened until all

four screws are in place.

Finish the installation by fully 6.

tightening all four screws. Do

not over-tighten to avoid pos-

sible damage to the CPU.

Screw#1

Screw#2

2-8

X8SAX/C7X58 User's Manual

REV 1.01

X8SAX

2-3 Mounting the Motherboard into the Chassis

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

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

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

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

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

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

layout on the right for mounting hole locations.)

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

all necessary precautionary measures to avoid damaging these compo-

nents when installing the motherboard into the chassis.

Tools Needed

1. Philips Screwdriver

2. (9) Pan head #6 screws

Installation Instructions

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

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

Place Standoffs on the chassis 3.
as needed.

Place the motherboard inside 4.
the chassis.

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

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

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

Location of Mounting Holes

Caution: To avoid damag-

ing the motherboard and

its components, please do

not use a force greater than 8 lb/

inch on each mounting screw dur-

ing motherboard installation.