Supero X7DCX User Manual

SUPER

X7DCX

®

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 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. 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: November 23, 2008
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 © 2008 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

X7DCX motherboard.

About This Motherboard

The X7DCX supports dual Intel Xeon Quad-Core/Dual-Core
5400/5300/5200/5100 Sequence processors with a front side bus speed of up to
1333 MHz. With mul ti- co re processors, cos t-ef fec tive Inte l 5100 chipset and l ow­power nat ive DDR 2 memor y built in, the X 7DCX deliver s superb p roces sing ca ­pacity without sacrifi cing affordability. This motherboard offers powerful business
capabilities with optimal power effi ciency, ideal for complex application computing
in a multi - user e nviro nment . Please refer to the motherboard specifi cations pages
on our web site (http://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/) for updates.
This product is intended to be professionally installed.

Preface

Manual Organization

Chapter 1 introduces the motherboard, providing information on the layout, con-

nectors/jumpers, features, specifi cations and the chipset.
Chapter 2 provides hardware installation instructions. Read this chapter when

installing the processor, memory modules and other hardware components into
the system.

Chapter 3 includes an introduction to the BIOS and provides detailed information
on running the CMOS Setup utility.

If you encounter any problems, see Chapter 4, which describes troubleshooting
procedures for the video, the memory and the system setup stored in the CMOS.

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

iii

X7DCX User's Manual

Note: Additional Information given to differentiate various models or to
ensure 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

X7DCX User's Manual

Table of Contents

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

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

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

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

X7DCX Quick Reference ................................................................................1-4

X7DCX Jumpers ............................................................................................1-4

X7DCX Connectors/Headers ..........................................................................1-5

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

1-2 Chipset and Processor Features Overview ....................................................1-9

The 5100 Memory Controller Hub (MCH) .......................................................1-9

The Ninth Generation I/O Controller Hub (ICH9R) ......................................... 1-9

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

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

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

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

Main Switch Override Mechanism ................................................................ 1-12

External Modem Ring-On ............................................................................. 1-12

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

1-7 Super I/O ....................................................................................................... 1-13

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

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

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

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

2-2 Mounting the Motherboard in the Chassis ...................................................... 2-2

Installation Procedures ....................................................................................2-2

2-3 Installing a Processor and Heatsink Fans ...................................................... 2-4

Installing the LGA771 Processor .................................................................... 2-4

Loading the Processor into the Socket ...........................................................2-5

Installing the Heatsink ..................................................................................... 2-6

Uninstalling the Heatsink ................................................................................2-6

2-4 Installing DIMMs ..............................................................................................2-8

DIMM Installation ............................................................................................2-8

Memory Support ..............................................................................................2-8

Possible System Memory Allocation & Availability ..................................... 2-9

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

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

vi

Table of Contents

Front Control Panel ........................................................................................2-11

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

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

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

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

2-6 Connecting to the Headers and Connectors ................................................ 2-16

Power Connectors .........................................................................................2-16

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

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

Fan Headers ................................................................................................. 2-17

Fan Headers .............................................................................................2-17

I/O Connections ............................................................................................2-18

ATX PS/2 Keyboard and PS/2 Mouse Ports ............................................2-18

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

Universal Serial Bus (USB) ...................................................................... 2-19

GLAN 1/2 (Giga-bit Ethernet Ports) ......................................................... 2-19

VGA Connector ........................................................................................ 2-20

Serial ATA Ports........................................................................................ 2-20

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

Onboard Headers ..........................................................................................2-22

Wake-On-Ring ..........................................................................................2-22

Wake-On-LAN ..........................................................................................2-22

Power LED/Speaker ................................................................................. 2-23

Chassis Intrusion ...................................................................................... 2-23

SMB ..........................................................................................................2-24

Power I

2

C Connector ................................................................................2-24

2-7 Jumper Settings ............................................................................................ 2-25

Explanation of Jumpers ................................................................................ 2-25

GLAN Enable/Disable ..............................................................................2-25

CMOS Clear ............................................................................................. 2-26

Watch Dog Enable/Disable ...................................................................... 2-26

VGA Enable/Disable .................................................................................2-27

2

I

C Bus to PCI Slots ................................................................................. 2-27

2-8 Onboard Indicators ........................................................................................ 2-28

vii

X7DCX User's Manual

GLAN LEDs .............................................................................................. 2-28

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

2-9 Floppy, SIMSO IPMI and HDD Connections ................................................ 2-29

Floppy Connector ..................................................................................... 2-29

IDE Connector .......................................................................................... 2-30

SIMSO IPMI Slot ..................................................................................... 2-30

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

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

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

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

System BIOS ...................................................................................................4-1

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

Starting the Setup Utility ................................................................................. 4-1

4-2 Running Setup ................................................................................................ 4-2

4-3 Main BIOS Setup ............................................................................................ 4-2

4-4 Advanced Setup .............................................................................................. 4-7

4-5 Security .........................................................................................................4-23

4-6 Boot ...............................................................................................................4-24

4-7 Exit ................................................................................................................4-25

Appendix A BIOS POST Error Codes .....................................................A-1

A-1 Recoverable POST Errors ..............................................................................A-1

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

B-1 Installing the Windows XP/2003 OS for systems with RAID Functions .........B-1

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

Appendix C Installing Other Software Programs and Drivers ............ C-1

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

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

All the following items are included in the retail box.

One (1) Super mic ro Main board

•

One (1) fl oppy cable (CBL-0 022L)•

One (1) IDE c able (CB L-036 L-03)•

Six (6) SATA cables (CBL-0044L)•

One (1) I/O Bac kpla ne (CSE- PT07L))•

One (1) Super micr o CD co ntaini ng drive rs and ut iliti es•

One (1) User 's/ BIOS M anual ( MNL-1029)•

1-1

X7DCX User's Manual

X7DCX 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

X7DCX Motherboard Layout

Chapter 1: Introduction

USB0/1

COM1

VGA

LAN1

LAN2

LAN

CTRL

JPL2

S I/O

X7DCX

COM2

KB/MS

JWOR

Fan6

JPL1

LAN

CTRL

JPG1

JI2C2

Fan5

Slot7 PCI-Ex4(inx8 slot)

Slot6 PCI-Ex8

Slot5 PCI-Ex8(in x16slot)

Slot4 PCI-Ex8

Slo3 PCI-Ex8

Slo2 PCI-Ex8

Slot1 PCI 33MHz

JI2C1

CH1_DIMM0

CH0_DIMM0

CH1_DIMM1

CH0_DIMM1

CH1_DIMM2

CH0_DIMM2

JWOL

JPW3

SMBus1

JSMB1

JPW2

DIMM1B

DIMM1A

DIMM2B

DIMM2A

DIMM3B

DIMM3A

Intel

North Bridge

PLX
PCI-Exp.
Switch

USB6

JUSB4

Fan7

CPU1 Fan

BIOS

JBT1

IDE
CTRL

USB7

JUSB5

PWR I2C

South Bridge

JUSB3

Intel

USB4/5

JUSB2

USB2/3

CPU1

CPU2

T-SGPIO1

T-SGPIO2

I-SATA5

VGA
CTRL

I-SATA4

JPW1

Fan1

JF1

Fan2

JD1

DP1

SP1

Fan3

Fan8

CPU2 Fan

JBAT1

JWD1

SIMSO

I-SATA0

I-SATA2

I-SATA1

I-SATA3

JL1

Fan4

Floppy

IDE

Notes:

Jumpers not indicated are for test purposes only.

•

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

" " indicates the location of Pin 1.

•

1-3

X7DCX User's Manual

X7DCX Quick Reference

10
11

12

13

14

15

565758

Fan5

1
2

3

COM1

4

VGA

Fan6

KB/MS

USB0/1

JPW3

CH1_DIMM0

CH0_DIMM0

CH1_DIMM1

CH0_DIMM1

CH1_DIMM2

CH0_DIMM2

JPW2

DIMM1B

DIMM1A

DIMM2B

DIMM2A

DIMM3B

DIMM3A

5455

Fan7

CPU1 Fan

53

PWR I2C

CPU1

5
6

7

8

9

LAN

CTRL

JPL2

S I/O

LAN1

LAN2

JPL1

LAN

CTRL

Slot7 PCI-Ex4(inx8 slot)

Slot6 PCI-Ex8

Slot5 PCI-Ex8(in x16slot)

Slot4 PCI-Ex8

Slo3 PCI-Ex8

X7DCX

Slo2 PCI-Ex8

COM2

16

Slot1 PCI 33MHz

JWOL

JPG1

JWOR

JI2C1

JI2C2

1718192021 22

SMBus1

JSMB1

Intel

North Bridge

PLX
PCI-Exp.
Switch

BIOS

JBT1

IDE
CTRL

USB6

USB7

JUSB5

JUSB4

232425

Intel

South Bridge

USB2/3

USB4/5

JUSB3

JUSB2

26 27 28

CPU2

T-SGPIO1

T-SGPIO2

VGA
CTRL

I-SATA4

I-SATA5

293031

I-SATA3

52

JPW1

JBAT1

I-SATA0

I-SATA2

I-SATA1

JL1

32333435

SIMSO

Fan4

36

Fan1

JF1

Fan2

DP1

SP1

Fan3

Fan8

CPU2 Fan

JWD1

IDE

Floppy

JD1

51

50

49

48
47

46

45
44

43
42

41
40

39
38

37

Jumper Label Description Default Setting

JBT1 26 CMOS Clear (See Chapter 2)

2

JI

C1/JI2C2 19/20 SMB to PCI slots Connect Enable Off (Disabled)
JPL1/JPL2 5/11 LAN1/2 Enable/Disable Pins 1-2 (Enabled)
JPG1 18 VGA Enable/Disable Pins 1-2 (Enabled)
JWD1 40 Watch Dog Pins 1-2 (Reset)

X7DCX Jumpers

1-4

Chapter 1: Introduction

X7DCX Connectors/Headers

Connector Label Description

BIOS Chip 24 Phoenix BIOS SPI Chip
COM1/COM2 3/16 COM1/COM2 Serial Port/Header

Fan1: 51, Fan2: 49,

Fans 1~6

Fan5: 57, Fan6: 58

Fans 7~8 Fan7: 54, Fan8: 44 CPU Fans
Floppy 38 Floppy Drive Connector

IDE 37 IDE Connector
I-SATA0 ~5 34/33/32/31/30/29 Intel (South Bridge) SATA Ports 0~5

JBAT1 43 Onboard Battery
JD1 47 Onboard Speaker/Power LED
JF1 50 Front Panel Control Connector
JL1 35 Chassis Intrusion Header
JPW1 52 12V 8-Pin Auxiliary PWR Connector
JPW2 55 ATX 24-pin Main Power Connector
JPW3 56 4-Pin CPU PWR Connector
JWOL 21 Wake-On-LAN Header
JWOR 17 Wake-On-Ring Header
LAN1/2 6/7 Gigabit Ethernet (RJ45) Ports
KB/MS 1 Keyboard/Mouse (JKM1)
PWR I

2

C 53 Power Supply SMBus I2C Header
SIMSO 39 SIMSO (Remote Management) IPMI
SMBus1 (JSMB1) 22 System Management Bus
SP1 46 Internal Buzzer/Speaker
T-SGPIO1/2 42/41 SATA General Purpose I/O Headers
USB 0~1 2 Back Panel Universal Serial Bus (USB)

Fans 1~6: Chassis/System FansFan3: 45, Fan4: 36,

USB 2~3, 4~5 USB2/3:28, 4/5: 27 Front Panel USB Headers #2~3, #4~5
USB 6~7 USB 6: 23, 7: 25 FP USB Connectors #6~7

VGA 4 VGA Connector

LED Label Description

DP1 48 Power LED

X7DCX LED Indicators

1-5

X7DCX User's Manual

Motherboard Features

CPU

Dual Intel•
Sequence processors at a front side bus speed of 1333 MHz/1066 MHz

®

64-bit Xeon LGA 771 Quad-Core/Dual-Core 5400/5300/5200/5100

Memory

Six 240-pin DIMM sockets with support up to 48 GB ECC Buffered (Registered) •
DDR2 667/533 MHz Memory (See Section 2-4 in Chapter 2 for DIMM Slot
Population.)

Chipset

Intel 5100 chipset, including: the 5100 Memory Control Hub (MCH), and the •
ICH9R South Bridge

Expansion Slots

Six PCI-Exp.x8 slots (Slots 2~6, one in x16 slot: Slot5)•
One PCI-Exp. x4 in x8 slot (Slot7)•
One PCI 33MHz slot (Slot1)•
One SIMSO IPMI slot (with full KVM support if a SIMSO+ Add-on Card is •

installed)

BIOS

16 Mb Phoenix•
DMI 2.3, PCI 2.2, APM 1.2, ACPI 1.0/2.0, Plug and Play (PnP), USB Keyboard

•

support, Hardware BIOS Virus Protection, and SMBIOS 2.3

®

SPI Flash EEPROM

PC Health Monitoring

Onboard voltage monitors for CPU core, Memory, Chipset, +1.8V, +3.3V, +5V, •
+12V, −12V, +3.3V standby, +5V standby and VBAT)

Fan status monitor with fi rmware control

•

CPU/chassis temperature monitors•
Low noise fan speed control •
Fan status monitor for on-off control•
CPU fan auto-off in sleep mode•
Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) fan control•
I• 2C temperature sensing logic
Thermal Monitor 2 (TM2) support

•

PECI Ready (Platform Environment Control Interface)•
CPU slow-down on temperature overheat•

1-6

CPU thermal trip support for processor protection•
Power-up mode control for recovery from AC power loss•
Chassis intrusion detection•
System resource alert via Supero Doctor III•

ACPI Features

Slow blinking LED for suspend state indicator•
Main switch override mechanism•
ACPI Power Management•
Power-on mode for power recovery•

Onboard I/O

Six SATA 2 ports (supporting RAID0, 1,10 and 5 in the Windows OS environ-•
ment)

One SIMSO IPMI socket

•

Two Intel 82573V and 82573L LAN chips support two Giga-bit LAN ports•

Chapter 1: Introduction

One EIDE Ultra DMA/100 bus master interface supports UDMA Mode 5 and •
PIO Mode 4

One fl oppy port interface

•

Two COM ports(1 header, 1 port) supports Fast UART 16550 connections•
Up to eight USB 2.0 (Universal Serial Bus) (two ports, two headers and two •

Type A connectors)
Super I/O: Winbond W83627DHG

•

XGI Z9s 32 MB Controller supports one VGA port•

Other

External modem ring-on•
Wake-on-LAN (WOL)•
Wake-on-Ring (WOR)•
Console redirection•
Onboard Fan Speed Control by Thermal Management via BIOS•

CD/Diskette Utilities•

BIOS fl ash upgrade utility and device drivers•

Dimensions

Extended ATX 13.0" (L) x 12" (W) (330.2 mm x 304.8 mm)•

1-7

X7DCX User's Manual

PCI-E x8

PCI-E x8

PCI-E x8

VGA

CONN

PCI-E x8

PCI-E Bridge

PCI-E x8

PEX8532

PCI-E x8

LAN1
RJ45

LAN2
RJ45

DDR2 SDRAM 32MB

LAN

82573V

LAN

82573L

VGA

Volari/Z9S

VRD

PCI-E X16

PCI-E x8

PCI-E x1

PCI-E x1

PCI-E x4

PCI-E x8

PCI 33MMz

Porcessor#2

1067/1333

MT/S

PCI-E x8

PCI-E x8

PCI-E x8

Lane 5

Lane 6

Lanes1/2/3/4

Ports

#6,7

Ports

#4,5

Ports

#2,3

Porcessor#1

Intel 5100

MCH

Port

#0

DMI

ICH9R

1067/1333

MT/S

PCIE x4

#0-3

#0-2

#0-1

DDR2 667

3.0 Gb/S

USB 2.0

VRD

#0

#0

#1

#1-1

#2

#1

#3

#2

#3

#1-3

#1-2

DDR2 667

#5

#4

SATA

#7

#6

#5

#4

USB

PCI Slot

IT8213F

IDE

CONN

SIMSO

LPC

SIO

W83627DHG

MS

KB

COM1

External

SPI

COM2

Internal/SOL

Block Diagram

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

tures pages for details on the features of each motherboard.

1-8

Chapter 1: Introduction

1-2 Chipset and Processor Features Overview

Built upon the functionality and the capability of the Intel 5100 chipset, the
X7DCX motherboard provides the performance and feature set required for dual
processor-based high-end computer systems with confi guration options optimized
for intensive computing, high energy-effi ciency and complex business applications.
The 5100 chipset supports single or dual Intel Xeon 64-bit Quad-Core/Dual-Core
5400/5300/5200/5100 Sequence processors with front side bus speeds of up to
1333 MHz. The chipset consists of the 5100 Memory Controller Hub (MCH), Intel
I/O Controller Hub (ICH9R) and the I/O subsystem.

The 5100 Memory Controller Hub (MCH)

The Intel 5100 MCH chip is designed for symmetric multiprocessing across two
independent front side bus interfaces. Each front side bus uses a 64-bit wide,
1333/1066 MTS data bus capable of transferring data at 8.5/10.6 GB/s for a total
bandwidth of 17/21.3 GB/s. The MCH supports a 36-bit wide address bus and up
to four DDR2 667 MHz/533 MHz DIMM modules, providing a total memory capacity
of up to 48 GB.

The 5100 MCH also provides three x8 PCI-Express interfaces and one x4 DMI
Interface to the ICH9R. Each PCI Express port on the MCH provides 4 GB/s bi­directional bandwidth if confi gured as a x8 port, or 2 GB/s bi-directional bandwidth
if confi gured as a x4 port.

The Ninth Generation I/O Controller Hub (ICH9R)

The I/O Controller ICH9R provides the data buffering and interface arbitration re­quired for the system to operate effi ciently. It also provides the bandwidth needed
for the system to maintain its peak performance. The Direct Media Interface (DMI)
provides the connection between the MCH and the ICH9R. The ICH9R supports up
to one PCI-Express x16 slot, six Serial ATA ports and six USB 2.0 ports. In addition,
the ICH9R offers the Intel Matrix Storage Technology which provides various RAID
options for data protection and rapid data access. It also supports the next genera­tion of client management through the use of PROActive technology in conjunction
with Intel's next generation Gigabit Ethernet controllers.

1-9

X7DCX User's Manual

1-3 Special Features

Recovery from AC Power Loss

BIOS pr ovides a set ting fo r you to determi ne how the syst em will res pond whe n
AC power is lo st an d the n re sto red t o the sy ste m. You can cho os e for t he sy stem
to remain powered off (in which case you must hit the power switch to turn it
back on) or for it to aut omat ic all y retur n to a p ower- on state. S ee t he Power Lo st
Contr ol setting i n the Advanc ed BIOS Setup s ection to c hange this s etting. Th e
default set tin g is Last State.

1-4 PC Health Monitoring

This section describes the PC health monitoring features of the X7DCX. All have an
onboard System Hardware Monitor chip that supports PC health monitoring.

Voltage Monitoring

An onboard voltage monitor will scan the CPU Core, Chipset, +1.8V, +3.3V, +5V,
+12V, -12V, +3.3V Standby, +5V Standby and VBAT voltages continuously. 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 via BIOS (under
Hardware Monitoring in the Advanced Setting).

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.

1-10

Chapter 1: Introduction

CPU Overheat LED and Control

This feature is available when the user enables the CPU overheat warning function
in the BIOS. This allows the user to defi ne an overheat temperature. When the CPU
temperature reaches the pre-defi ned overheat threshold, both the overheat fan and
the warning LED are triggered.

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
notif y the user of cer tain system events. For example, if the system is running
low on vir tual memor y and there is insuffi cient hard drive space for saving the
data, you c an be a lerted of t he pote ntia l pro ble m. You can also c onfi gure Supero
Docto r to provide yo u with warn ings when t he system tempe rature goe s beyond
a pre- de fi ned range.

1-5 ACPI Features

ACPI stands for Advanced Confi guration and Power I nter face. T he ACPI spe cifi -
cation defi nes a fl exible and ab st rac t ha rd ware i nterfac e t hat p rovi de s a st an dar d
way to integrate powe r manage ment featur es throu ghout a PC sys tem, inclu ding
its hardware, operating system and application software. This enables the system
to automat ically turn o n and off peri pherals such as C D-RO Ms, network c ards,
hard disk dr ives and p rinter s. This al so incl udes co nsumer d evices c onne cted to
the PC suc h as VCRs, T Vs, teleph ones and s tereos.

In addition to enabling operating system-directed power management, ACPI
provid es a gener ic system eve nt mecha nism for Pl ug and Play an d an oper ating
system-independent interface for confi guration control. ACPI leverages the Plug
and Play BIO S dat a str uc ture s whi le pr ovid ing a pr oc es sor a rch itec tur e- in dep en ­dent implementation that is compatible with Windows 2000, Windows XP and
Windows 2003 Servers.

Slow Blinking LED for Suspend-State Indicator

When the CPU goes into a suspend state, the chassis power LED will start blinking
to indic ate t hat t he C PU i s in s usp e nd m od e. W he n th e us er p re s se s any key, the
CPU will wake -u p and the L ED will auto matic ally st op blink ing and r emain on.

1-11

X7DCX User's Manual

Main Switch Override Mechanism

When an ATX power supply is used, the power button can function as a system
suspend button to make the system enter a SoftOff state. The monitor will be
suspended and the hard drive will spin down. Pressing the power button again
will cause the whole system to wake-up. During the SoftOff state, the ATX power
supply provides power to keep the required circuitry in the system alive. In case
the system malfunctions and you want to turn off the power, just press and hold
the power button for 4 seconds. This option can be set in the Power section of the
BIOS Setup routine.

External Modem Ring-On

Wake-up events can be triggered by a device such as the external modem ringing
when the system is in the Standby or Off state. The external modem ring-on can
only be used with an ATX 2.01 (or above) compliant power supply.

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.

1-6 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 X7DCX can only accommodate 24-pin ATX power supply. Although most power
supplies generally meet the specifi cations required by the motherboard, some are
inadequate. You should use one that will supply at least 400W of power, depend­ing on your system confi guration. In addition, the 12V 8-pin is also required for
adequate power supply to the CPU. Also your power supply must supply 1.5A for
the Ethernet ports.

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 (info
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.

1-12

Chapter 1: Introduction

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). 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 Supe r I/O provides fun ction s that com ply with AC PI (A d va n ced Confi guration
and Power Interfa ce), which incl u d e s su p por t o f l e g a c y and ACPI power ma n a g e-

1-13

X7DCX User's Manual

Notes

1-14

Chapter 2: Installation

Chapter 2

Installation

2-1 Static-Sensitive Devices

Electro-Static-Discharge (ESD) can damage electronic com ponents. To 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 shipped in antist atic packag i n g t o avo id static da mage. When
unpacking the board, make sure the person handling it is static protected.

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X7DCX User's Manual

2-2 Mounting the Motherboard in the Chassis

For proper installation, please follow the instructions below to mount the mother­board into the chassis before installing the CPU on the motherboard.

Tools needed

Phillips screwdriver•

#6 32 x5mm pan head screw as shown below.•

Installation Procedures

Locate the mounting holes on the motherboard. Refer to the layout below for •
the locations of the mounting holes. (The holes marked with arrows are the
mounting holes on this motherboard.)

X7DCX

Locate the mounting holes on the chassis.•

Align the mounting holes on the motherboard against the mounting holes on •
the chassis.

Insert a #6 pan head screw into a pair of mounting holes on the motherboard

•

and on the chassis.

Using a Phillips screwdriver, tighten the screw. Make sure that the standoffs on

•

the chassis click in or are screwed in tightly.

Repeat the step above until the motherboard is securely installed into the

•

chassis.

2-2

Chapter 2: Installation

Notes

1. 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.

2. Some components are very close to the mounting holes. Please take
precautionary measures to avoid damaging the components when install­ing the motherboard into the chassis.

2-3

X7DCX User's Manual

!

2-3 Installing a Processor and Heatsink Fans

Warning: When handling the processor package, avoid placing

direct pressure on the label area of the fan.

Notes:

Always c onnec t the powe r cor d last and al ways remove it b efore ad ding, 1.
removin g or chan ging any c ompon ents. M ake sure that yo u insta ll the pr o­cess or into the C PU soc ket before you i nstall t he CPU he atsink .

Intel's boxed Xeon CPU 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 fan.

When purchasing a motherboard with an LGA 771 CPU Socket, make sure 4.
that the CPU plastic cap is in place, and none of the CPU Socket pins are
bent; otherwise, contact the retailer immediately.

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

Installing the LGA771 Processor

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

Gently lift the load lever to open 2.
the load plate.

Use your thumb and your index 3.
finger to hold the CPU at the
North Center Edge and the South
Center Edge of the CPU.

PnP Cap on
top of the
Load Plate

Load Lever

Load Plate
(with PnP Ca p
attach ed)

2-4

Loading the Processor into the Socket

!

Chapter 2: Installation

Align CPU Pin1 (the CPU corner 1.
marked with a triangle) against the
socket corner that is marked with a
triangle cutout.

Align the CPU key that is the 2.
semi-circle cutout below a gold dot
against the socket key, the notch
on the same side of the triangle
cutout on the socket.

Once aligned, carefully lower the 3.
CPU straight down to the socket.
(Do not drop the CPU on the
socket. Do not move the CPU
horizontally or vertically. Do not
rub the CPU against the surface
or against any pins of the socket
to avoid damage to the CPU or
the socket.)

North
Center
Edge

South
Center
Edge

Socket Key
(Socket Notch)

CPU Key (semi­circle cutout)
below the circle.

Corner with a
triangle cutout

Load Lever

CPU in the
CPU socket

gold dot

CPU Pin1

With the CPU installed in the 4.
socket, inspect the four corners of
the CPU to make sure that the CPU
is properly installed. Then, close
the load plate.

Use your thumb to gently push the 5.
load lever down to lock it.

Plastic cap is

If the CPU is properly installed into 6.
the soc ket, the plastic c ap will be
automatically released from the
load plate wh en th e cli p is pus hed
in the clip lock. Remove the plastic

released from
the load plate
if the CPU
properly in­stalled.

cap fr om the mo ther board.

Warning: Please save t he plast ic PnP c ap. The mot herb oard mu st

be shipp ed with t he PnP ca p prope rly in stalle d to protec t the CP U

socket pins . Shipm ent with out the Pn P cap pr oper ly insta lled wi ll

cause da mage to t he soc ket pins.

2-5

X7DCX User's Manual

!

Installing the Heatsink

CEK Heatsink Installation

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

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

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

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

CEK Passive Heatsink

Screw#1 Screw#2

Screw#1

Uninstalling the Heatsink

Warning: We do not recommend that the CPU or the heatsink be

removed. However, if you do need to uninstall the heatsink, please

follow the instructions on the next page to uninstall the heatsink to

prevent damage done to the CPU or the CPU socket.

Screw#2

2-6