Supero X8DAL-3, X8DAL-i User Manual

X8DAL-3
X8DAL-i

USER’S MANUAL

Revision 1.1b

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 website 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
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 1.1b
Release Date: Aug. 16, 2011

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 © 2011 by Super Micro Computer, Inc.
All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

Preface

About this Manual

This manual is written for system integrators, PC technicians and knowledgeable PC
users. It provides information for the installation and use of the
X8DAL-i motherboard.

About this Motherboard

The X8DAL-3/X8DAL-i supports the Intel® 5500/5600 Series Proces­sor platform, the fi rst dual-processing platform that supports the Intel QuickPath
Interconnect (QPI) Technology, providing the next generation point-to-point system
interface to replace the current Front Side Bus. With the Intel 5500 chipset built in,
the X8DAL-3/X8DAL-i substantially enhances system performance with increased
bandwidth and scalability, optimized for CAD workstations or graphic intensive
systems. Please refer to our web site (http://www.supermicro.com/products/) for
processor and memory support updates. This product is intended to be installed
and serviced by professional technicians.

X8DAL-3/

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

Conventions Used in the Manual

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

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

iii

X8DAL-3/X8DAL-i User's Manual

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

Note: Additional Information given to differentiate various models or to
ensure correct system setup.

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]

v

X8DAL-3/X8DAL-i User's Manual

Table of Contents

Preface
Chapter 1 Introduction

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

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

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

1-4 PC Health Monitoring (w/SDII or SDIII) ........................................................ 1-10

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

1-6 Power Supply .................................................................................................1-11

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

Chapter 2 Installation

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2-5 Control Panel Connectors/IO Ports................................................................2-11

1. Back Panel Connectors/IO Ports ...............................................................2-11

ATX PS/2 Keyboard and PS/2 Mouse Ports ............................................ 2-12

Universal Serial Bus (USB) ...................................................................... 2-13

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

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

(Back_Panel) High Defi nition Audio (HD Audio) .....................................2-16

CD Header ............................................................................................... 2-16

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

2. Front Control Panel ...................................................................................2-18

3. Front Control Panel Pin Defi nitions .......................................................... 2-19

NMI Button ............................................................................................... 2-19

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

HDD LED .................................................................................................. 2-20

NIC1/NIC2 LED Indicators .......................................................................2-20

Overheat (OH)/Fan Fail ............................................................................2-21

Power Fail LED ........................................................................................ 2-21

vi

Contacting Supermicro

Reset Button ........................................................................................... 2-22

Power Button ........................................................................................... 2-22

2-6 Connecting Cables ........................................................................................ 2-23

Power Connectors ...................................................................................2-23

Fan Headers ............................................................................................. 2-24

Chassis Intrusion .....................................................................................2-24

Internal Speaker .......................................................................................2-25

Power LED/Speaker ................................................................................. 2-25

Overheat LED/Fan Fail (JOH1) ................................................................2-26

Power SMB (I

2

C) Connector .................................................................... 2-26

T-SGPIO 1/2 & 3-SGPIO 1/2 Headers .....................................................2-27

I-Button .....................................................................................................2-27

2-7 Jumper Settings ............................................................................................2-28

Explanation of Jumpers ................................................................................ 2-28

GLAN Enable/Disable .............................................................................. 2-28

CMOS Clear .............................................................................................2-29

Watch Dog Enable/Disable ...................................................................... 2-29

2

I

C Bus to PCI-Exp. Slots ........................................................................ 2-30

Audio Enable ............................................................................................2-30

SAS Enable/Disable (X8DAL-3 only) ....................................................... 2-31

SAS RAID Mode Select (X8DAL-3) ......................................................... 2-31

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

2-8 Onboard LED Indicators ............................................................................... 2-33

GLAN LEDs .............................................................................................. 2-33

Onboard Power LED ............................................................................... 2-34

SAS Heartbeat LED (X8DAL-3) ............................................................... 2-34

2-9 Serial ATA and SAS Connections .................................................................2-35

Serial ATA Ports........................................................................................2-35

SAS Ports (X8DAL-3 only) ....................................................................... 2-35

Chapter 3 Troubleshooting

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

vii

X8DAL-3/X8DAL-i User's Manual

Chapter 4 BIOS

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

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

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

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

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

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

Appendix A BIOS Error Beep Codes

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

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

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

viii

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 1

Introduction

1-1 Overview

Checklist

Congratulations on purchasing your computer motherboard from an acknowledged
leader in the industry. Supermicro boards are designed with the utmost attention
to detail to provide the highest standards in quality and performance. Check that
the following items have all been included with your motherboard. If anything listed
here is damaged or missing, contact your retailer.

The following items are included in the retail box.

One (1) Supermicro Mainboard

•

Six (6) Serial ATA cables (CBL-0044L) (For X8DAL-i)•

Eight (8) Serial ATA cables (CBL-0044L) (For X8DAL-3)•

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

One (1) Supermicro CD containing drivers and utilities•

One (1) User's/BIOS Manual•

1-1

X8DAL-3/X8DAL-i User's Manual

X8DAL-3/X8DAL-i 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 like the
graphics shown in the manual.

1-2

Chapter 1: Introduction

COM1

KB/Mouse

USB 0/1/2/3

LAN2

JPUSB1

FAN6

FAN5

Audio

P1-DIMM3A

P1-DIMM2A

P1-DIMM1A

JPL1

LAN1

JPL2

LAN
CTRL

LAN
CTRL

X8DAL-3/X8DAL-i Layout

JPI2C

JPW3

JPW2

JPW1

FAN1

FAN2

X8DAL-3/i Rev.2.0

P2-DIMM1A

P2-DIMM2A

P2-DIMM3A

Slot6 PCI-E 2.0x16

FAN3

JPS5

JC1

FP Audio

HW
Monitor

Slot5 PCI 33MHz

Slot4 PCI 33MHz

3

SIO

CD1

Audio
CTRL

SPKR

SP1

COM2

4

JI2C2
JI2C1

Slot2 PCI-E x4(in x 8 Slot)

JD1

JPAC

JWD

JPUSB2

1

4

Slot3 PCI-E 2.0x4 (in x16 Slot)

USB6/7

USB8/9

1

T-SGPIO1

BIOS

T-SGPIO2

I-SATA5

Intel

ICH10R

South Bridge

I-SATA3

I-SATA4

I-SATA2

Intel

5500

IOH-24D

JBT1

I-SATA1

JPS2

LE1

FP CTRL
JF1

3-SGPIO1

3-SGPIO2

SAS7

1

JOH1

LES2

JPS1

LES1

JL1

FAN4

I-Button

3

LSI 1068

SAS CTRL

Battery

SAS2

SAS3

SAS4

SAS1

SAS0

I-SATA0

SAS5

SAS6

Differences between X8DAL-3/X8DAL-i

X8DAL-3 X8DAL-i

SATA (ICH10R) Yes Yes

SAS (1068E) Yes No

3-SGPIO 1/2 Yes No
T-SGPIO 1/2 Yes Yes

Note

SAS Ports, SAS jumpers, and the LSI 1068E chip are available on the
X8DAL-3 only. For SAS RAID confi guration, refer to the LSI User Guide
posted on our website @ http://www.supermicro.com/support/manuals/

1-3

X8DAL-3/X8DAL-i User's Manual

X8DAL-3/X8DAL-i Quick Reference

KB/Mouse

USB 0/1/2/3

COM1

LAN2

JPS5

JC1

FP Audio

Notes

Jumpers not indicated are for test purposes only. 1.

HW
Monitor

JPUSB1

SIO

Audio

CD1

FAN6

FAN5

COM2

P1-DIMM3A

P1-DIMM2A

P1-DIMM1A

JPL1

LAN1

Audio
CTRL

LAN
CTRL

SPKR

SP1

JPL2

LAN
CTRL

4

JD1

JWD

1

Slot6 PCI-E 2.0x16

Slot5 PCI 33MHz

Slot4 PCI 33MHz

3

Slot3 PCI-E 2.0x4 (in x16 Slot)

JI2C2
JI2C1

Slot2 PCI-E x4(in x 8 Slot)

JPAC

JPUSB2

1

4

X8DAL-3/i Rev.2.0

P2-DIMM1A

P2-DIMM2A

P2-DIMM3A

BIOS

USB6/7

T-SGPIO1

USB8/9

T-SGPIO2

Intel

ICH10R

South Bridge

I-SATA4

I-SATA5

FAN1

JPW3

JPW2

FAN2

JPI2C

Intel

5500

IOH-24D

JBT1

Battery

SAS2

SAS1

JPS2

SAS0

I-SATA0

I-SATA2

I-SATA3

I-SATA1

SAS3

SAS4

JPW1

3

LSI 1068

SAS CTRL

SAS5

I-Button

SAS6

LE1

3-SGPIO1

3-SGPIO2

SAS7

FAN3

FP CTRL
JF1

1

JOH1

LES2

JPS1

LES1

JL1

FAN4

" " indicates the location of Pin 1.2.
When LE1 is on, the onboard power connection is on. Make sure to unplug 3.

the power cables before removing or installing components.

Warning! 1. To prevent damage to the power supply or motherboard,
please use a power supply that contains a 24-pin and two 8-pin power
connectors. Be sure to connect these connectors to the 24-pin (JPW1)
and the two 8-pin (JPW2,JPW3) power connectors on the motherboard.
Failure in doing so will void the manufacturer warranty on your power
supply and motherboard.

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

1-4

Chapter 1: Introduction

X8DAL-3/X8DAL-i Quick Reference

Jumper Description Default Setting

JBT1 CMOS Clear Open (Normal)

2

C1/JI2C2 SMB to PCI/PCI-E Slots Open/Open (Disabled)

JI
JPAC1 Audio Enabled Pins 1-2 (Enabled)
JPL1/JPL2 LAN1/2 Enable Pins 1-2 (Enabled)
JPS1 SAS Enable Pins 1-2 (Enabled) (X8DAL-3)
JPS2 SAS RAID Mode Select Closed (SR RAID) (X8DAL-3)
JPUS B1 Back pane l US B Wake- U p Pins 1-2 (En abl ed)
JPUS B2 Front Ac ces s US B Wake- U p Pins 2-3 ( Dis abl ed)
JWD Watch Dog Pins 1-2 (Reset)

Connector Description

Audio/CD1/JC1 Audio Input_Output_Mic/CD-ROM/HD Audio Headers
COM1/COM2 COM1/COM2 Serial Port/Header
FAN 1-6 System/CPU Fan Headers (Fans 1~2: CPU Fans)
I-Button I-Button for HostRAID Storage (X8DAL-3)
JD1 PWR LED/Speaker Header (Pins 4~7: Speaker)
JF1 Front Panel Connector
JL1 Chassis Intrusion Header
JOH1 Overheat LED Header

2

JPI

C Power Supply SMBbus I2C Header
JPW1, JPW2/JPW3 24-pin ATX PWR, 8-pin Secondary PWR (See Page 1-4)
LAN1/LAN2 G-LAN (RJ45) Ports
SAS 0~7 SAS Ports 0~7 (X8DAL-3 only)
I-SATA0 ~ I-SATA5 (Intel South Bridge) SATA Ports
SP1 Speaker/Internal Buzzer
3-SGPIO-1/3-SGPIO-2 Serial General Purpose I/O Headers for SAS (X8DAL-3)
T-SGPIO-1/T-SGPIO-2 Serial General Purpose I/O Headers for SATA
USB 0~3 Backplane Universal Serial Bus (USB) Ports
USB 6/7, 8/9 Front Panel USB Connections

LED Description

LE1 Onbo ard St and by LED Ind ica tor
LES2 SAS Heartbeat LED (X8DAL-3)

1-5

X8DAL-3/X8DAL-i User's Manual

Motherboard Features

CPU

Two Intel•
two full-width Intel QuickPath Interconnect (QPI) @6.4 GT/s with a total of up
to 51.2 GB/s Data Transfer Rate (6.4 GB/s per direction)

®

5500/5600 Series (LGA 1366) processors, each processor supporting

Memory

Six 240-pin DIMM sockets support up to 96 GB of Registered ECC or 24 GB •
Unbuffered ECC/Non-ECC DDR3 1333 MHz/1066 MHz/800 MHz Memory (See
Section 2-4 in Chapter 2 for DIMM Slot Population.)

Chipset

Intel 5500 chipset, including: the 5500 North Bridge and the ICH10R South •
Bridge.

Expansion Slots

One PCI-E 2.0 x16 slot (Slot 6)•
One PCI-E 2.0 x4 slot in x16 slot (Slot 3)•
One PCI-E x4 (in x8) slots (Slot 2)•
Two 32-bit PCI 33 slots (Slot 4 and Slot 5)•

BIOS

4 MB AMI SPI Flash ROM•
PCI 2.2, DMI 2.3, ACPI 1.0/2.0/3.0, Plug and Play (PnP), DMI 2.3, USB Keyboard •

support, and SMBIOS 2.3

PC Health Monitoring

Onboard voltage monitors for Vcore1, Vcore2, 1.5V, 5VDD, 5VSB, 12V, -12V, •

3.3Vcc, 3.3VSB, VBAT and Vtt.
Fan status monitor with fi rmware control

•

Tachometer Monitoring •
Pulse Wi dth Mo dulatio n (PWM) f an cont rol.•
Low-n oise fa n speed c ontr ol•
CPU/chass is temper ature moni torin g•
Platfo rm Enviro nment Co ntrol Inte rf ace (PECI) read y•
Ther mal Mo nitor 2 ( TM2) supp or t•
CPU fan auto - of f in sle ep mode•
CPU slow- dow n on tempe rature over heat•
CPU ther mal tr ip supp or t for pro ces sor pr otecti on, power L ED•
Power-up mod e cont rol for r ecover y fr om AC power l oss•
Auto- switc hing vol tage r egulato r for CPU c ore s•

1-6

Chapter 1: Introduction

System over heat /Fan Fail LED I ndic ator and c ontr ol•
Chassis i ntrus ion detec tion /hea der•
System re sourc e aler t vi a Super o Doc tor III•

ACPI Features

Slow blinking LED for suspend state indicator•
Main switch override mechanism•
ACPI/ACPM Power M anagem ent•

Onboard I/O

Intel ICH10R supports six SATA2 ports (with RAID0, RAID1, RAID10, RAID5 •
supported in the Windows OS Environment, and RAID0, RAID1, RAID10 sup­ported in the Linux platforms) (Note 1)

LSI 1068E supports eight SAS ports with RAID 5 support optional w/AOC-

•

ibutton68 (For X8DAL-3) (Note 2)
Dual 82574LGigabi t Ether net cont roll ers sup por t t wo Giga -b it L AN por t s

•

HD ALC883 Audio Controller supports High Defi nit ion 7.1 Audio with L ine- in, •
Line-out and Microphone

One CO M por t and o ne Ser ial Hea der

•

PS/2 mo use and PS /2 keyboa rd por ts•
Up to Eight USB 2.0 connections (4 Backp anel USB Ports, and 2 Headers w/4 •

connections supported)
Super I/ O: Winbo nd W83 627DH G -P

•

Other

Console redirection•
Onboa rd Fan Spee d Contr ol by Ther mal Ma nagem ent via BI OS•

CD/Diskette Utilities

BIOS fl ash upgrade utility and device drivers•

Dimensions

Ext . ATX 12.00" (L) x 10.00 " (W ) (30 4.80 m m x 254. 20 mm)•

Note 1: For more information on SATA HostRAID confi guration, please
refer to the Intel SATA HostRAID User's Guide posted on our website @
http://www.supermicro.com/support/manuals/.

Note 2: For more information on LSI SAS RAID confi guration, please refer
to the LSI MegaRAID User's Guide posted on our website @ http://www.
supermicro.com/support/manuals/.

1-7

X8DAL-3/X8DAL-i User's Manual

C

DDR3 DIMM

DDR3 DIMM

Ports

SAS

0~3

SAS

Ports
4~7

B

DDR3 DIMM

SAS CTRL

A

B

C

Gen2

PCI-E x16 Slot5

Gen2

PCI-E x16 Slot6

LSI 1068E

B3

Gen1

CPU 1

LGA1366

Port 1

x4

Ports

Ports

x16

7,8,9,10

Gen2

x4

Ports
1~4

1,2

Port

x4

3

CSI

Intel

5500

ESI

DMI

CPU 2

LGA1366

Port 0

CLINK

CLINK

Intel

ICH10R

D

E

E

F

DDR3 DIMM

PCI32bit/33MHz

SST

25VF016

SPI

PCI

Port 5

Port 6

F

DDR3 DIMM

DDR3 DIMM

PCI32/33 Slot1

PCI32/33 Slot2

Intel

x1

82574L

Intel

x1

82574L

RJ45

RJ45

PCI-Ex8 Slot3

SATA

SATA 1
SATA 2
SATA 3
SATA 4
SATA 5
SATA 6

USB

USB 0/1
USB 2/3
USB 4/5
USB 6

LPC

SIO

W83627DHG

PS2 KB/MS

COM1

COM2

Block Diagram of the Intel 5500 Chipset Platform

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

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

1-8

Chapter 1: Introduction

1-2 Chipset Overview

Built upo n the funct ionalit y and the cap ability of t he Intel 550 0 chipset pl atform ,
the X8DA L- 3/X8DA L-i m otherboa rd provides t he perf ormance r equired for dua l­processor-based CAD workstatio n s o r g r a p hi c-intensi ve syst em s . T h e 5500 chip­set con sist s of the 5 50 0 (LGA 136 6) proc es sor, the 55 00 ( Nor t h Br idge), and th e
South Bridge (ICH10R). With the Intel QuickPath interconnect (QPI) controller built
in, the 55 0 0/5 60 0 Ser ie s Proc ess or plat fo rm is t he fi r st dual - proc ess ing plat fo rm
that offers the next generation point-to-point system interconnect interface, replac­ing the current Front Side Bus Technology that substantially enhances system
per for manc e with in creas ed band widt h and sc alabil ity.

The 55 0 0 Nor t h Br idg e con nec ts to ea ch pr oc ess or th roug h an ind epen dent Q PI
link. Each link consists of 20 pairs of unidirectional differential lanes for transmis­sion an d receiving in a ddition to a dif ferential f orwarde d clock. A ful l-width Q PI
link pair provides 84 signals. Each processor supports two QPI links, one going
to the othe r proc esso r and the ot her to the N or th Br idge.

The 55 00 C hipse t suppo r ts up to 24 P CI Ex pre ss Ge n2 lane s, pee r-to -pe er rea d
and write transactions. The ICH10R provides up to six PCI-Express ports, six
SATA por ts a nd eigh t USB c onnec tion s.

In addition, the 5500 platform also supports a wide range of RAS (Reliability,
Availability and Ser vi c e ab ili t y) featu re s. T he s e feat ur es i nc l ud e me mo ry interf ac e
ECC, x4/x8 Single Device Data Correction (SDDC), Cyclic Redundancy Check
(CRC), parity pr otec tio n, out- o f- band re gist er ac ces s via S M Bus, me mory mirror­ing, memo ry s pari ng, and Ho t-pl ug suppo rt o n the PCI - Ex press I nter face.

Main Features of the 5500/5600 Series Processor and the
5500 Chipset

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

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

Virtualization Technology, Integrated Management Engine supported

•

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

Error detection via CRC and Error correction via Link level retry

•

1-9

X8DAL-3/X8DAL-i User's Manual

1-3 Special Features

Recovery from AC Power Loss

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

1-4 PC Health Monitoring (w/SDII or SDIII)

This section describes the PC health monitoring features of the X8DAL-3/X8DAL-i.
All have an onboard System Hardware Monitor chip that supports PC health monitor­ing via SuperO Doctor II or III. An onboard voltage monitor will scan these onboard
voltages continuously: Vcore1, Vcore2, 1.5V, 5VDD, 5VSB, 12V, -12V, 3.3Vcc,

3.3VSB, VBAT and Vtt. 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 cool down the system, effectively preventing CPU overheating. The
onboard chassis thermal circuitry can monitor the overall system temperature and
alert users when the chassis temperature is too high.

Note: To avoid system overheating, be sure to provide adequate airfl ow
to the system.

System Resource Alert

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

1-10

Chapter 1: Introduction

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

1-5 ACPI Features

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

In addition to enabling operating system-directed power management, ACPI
provides a generic system event mechanism for Plug and Play and an operating
system-independent interface for confi guration control. ACPI leverages the Plug
and Play BIOS data structures while providing a processor architecture-independent
implementation that is compatible with both Windows 2000 and Windows 2003
Operating Systems.

Slow Blinking LED for Suspend-State Indicator

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

Main Switch Override Mechanism

When an ATX power supply is used, the power button may function as a system
suspend button, allowing the system to 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 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 BIOS Setup utility.

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 X8DAL-3/X8DAL-i can accommodate 24-pin ATX power supplies. Although
most power supplies generally meet the specifi cations required by the CPU, some

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X8DAL-3/X8DAL-i User's Manual

are inadequate. In addition, the two 12V 8-pin power connections are also required
to ensure adequate power supply to the system. Also your power supply must sup­ply 1.5A for the Ethernet ports.

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

Warning: To prevent damage to the power supply or motherboard, please
use a power supply that contains a 24-pin and two 8-pin power connectors.
Be sure to connect these connectors to the 24-pin (JPW1) and the two
8-pin (JPW2,JPW3) power connectors on the motherboard for adequate
power supply to your system. Failure in doing so will void the manufacturer
warranty on your power supply and motherboard.

1-7 Super I/O

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. It also
provides two high-speed, 16550 compatible serial communication ports (UARTs).
Each UART includes a 16-byte send/receive FIFO, a programmable baud rate
generator, complete modem control capability and a processor interrupt system.
Both UARTs provide legacy speed with baud rate of up to 115.2 Kbps as well as
an advanced speed with baud rates of 250 K, 500 K, or 1 Mb/s, which support
higher speed modems.

The Super I/O provides functions that comply with ACPI (Advanced Confi guration
and Power Interface), which includes support of legacy and ACPI power manage­ment through an SMI or SCI function pin. It also features auto power management
to reduce power consumption.

1-12

Chapter 2: Installation

Chapter 2

Installation

2-1 Static-Sensitive Devices

Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) can damage electronic com ponents. T o prevent dam­age to your motherboard, it is important to handle it very carefully. The following
instructions 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 motherboard from the •
antistatic bag.

Handle the motherboard by its edges only; do not touch its components, periph-

•

eral 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 that your computer chassis provides excel-

•

lent conductivity between different components, including the power supply, the
chassis, mounting fasteners and the motherboard.

Use only the correct type of onboard CMOS battery as specifi ed by the

•

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

Unpacking

The motherboard is ship ped in antistatic p ackaging to avoid static damage. When
unpacking the board, make sure that the person handling it is static protected.

2-1

X8DAL-3/X8DAL-i User's Manual

2-2 Motherboard Installation

All motherboards have standard mounting holes to fi t different types of chassis.
Make sure that the locations of all the mounting holes for both motherboard and
chassis match. Although a chassis may have both plastic and metal mounting
fasteners, metal ones are highly recommended because they ground the mother­board to the chassis. Make sure that the metal standoffs click in or are screwed in
tightly. Then use a screwdriver to secure the motherboard onto the motherboard
tray. Note: Some components are very close to the mounting holes. Please take
precautionary measures to prevent damage to these components when installing
the motherboard to the chassis.

Tools Needed

1. Phillips Screwdriver

Locations of Mounting Holes

2. Pan head #6 screws

Installation Instructions

Install the IO shield into the chassis. 1.

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

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

Install standoffs in the chassis as needed.4.

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

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

X8DAL-3/i Rev.2.0

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

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

Make sure that the motherboard is securely installed in the chassis.8.

2-2

2-3 Processor and Heatsink Installation

!

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

Notes:

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

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

When purchasing a motherboard without a 5500/5600 Series processor pre-3.
installed, make sure that the CPU socket plastic cap is in place, and none of
the CPU socket 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.4.

Chapter 2: Installation

Installing an LGA 1366 Processor

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

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

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

Socket Clip

Load Plate

Plastic Cap

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

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X8DAL-3/X8DAL-i User's Manual

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

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

When both CPU and the socket are 6.
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.)

Socket Keys CPU CPU SocketLoad Plate

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 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: Be sure to save the
plastic cap. The motherboard
must be shipped with the p las­tic cap properly installed to
protect the CPU socket pins.
Shipment without the plastic
cap properly installed on the
CPU will cause damage to the
socket pins.

CPU Keys

2-4

Installing a CPU Heatsink

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

Chapter 2: Installation

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

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

Screw#1

Screw#1

Install Screw#1

Screw#2

Screw#2

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

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X8DAL-3/X8DAL-i User's Manual

Removing the Heatsink

Warni ng: We do not recommend that the CPU or the heatsink be re­moved. However, if you do need to remove the heatsink, please follow
the instructions below to remove the heatsink and prevent damage to the
CPU or othe r comp onents.

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

2-6

Chapter 2: Installation

2-4 Memory Installation

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

CAUTION

Exercise extreme care when installing or removing DIMM
module s to prevent any po ssib le damag e. Also n ote that th e
memor y is i nterl eaved to imp rove per fo rman ce (See ste p 1).

DIMM Installation

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

Press down the release tabs

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

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

Memory Support

Installing and Removing DDR3 Memory

Notch

X8DAL-3/i Rev.2.0

Front View

Insert & press down a
DIMM module into the slot

Notch

To Remove:

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

Release Tab

Note: Notch should align
with the receptive key
point on the slot.

Release Tab

Top View of DDR3 Slot

To In s ta l l : Ins er t mod ule ver t ica lly an d pres s dow n until i t snap s into
place. Pay a tte ntio n to the a lign ment n otch at t he bo tto m.

2-7

X8DAL-3/X8DAL-i User's Manual

The X8DAL-3/X8DAL-i supports up to 96 GB of Registered ECC or 24 GB Unbuf­fered ECC/Non-ECC DDR3 1333 MHz/1066 MHz/800 MHz in six DIMMs.

Note: Memory speed support is dependent on the type of CPU used.

DIMM Module Population Confi guration

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

Memory Population for Optimal Performance

-For a motherboard with One CPU (CPU1) installed

Branch 0 Branch 1 Branch 2

3 DIMMs P1 DIMM1A P1 DIMM2A P1 DIMM3A

Memory Population for Optimal Performance

-For a motherboard with One CPU (CPU2) installed

Branch 0 Branch 1 Branch 2

3 DIMMs P2 DIMM1A P2 DIMM2A P2 DIMM3A

Memory Population for Optimal Performance

-For a motherboard with Two CPUs installed

CPU1 CPU2

Branch 0 Branch 1 Branch 2 Branch 0 Branch 1 Branch 2

6 DIMMs P1-DIMM1A P1-DIMM2A P1-DIMM3A P2-DIMM1A P2-DIMM2A P2-DIMM3A

Memory Support for the Motherboard with the 5500 Series
Processor(s) Installed

RDIMM Population for Motherboard with the 5500

Processor Installed

RDIMM (Reg. DIMM/
Registered DIMM)

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

UDIMM Population for Motherboard with the 5500

UDIMM (Unb. DIMM/
Unbuffered DIMM)

Unb. DDR3 ECC/
Non-ECC

Speeds (in MHz) Ranks per DIMM

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

Processor Installed

Speeds (in MHz) Ranks per DIMM (any

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

800,1066,1333 SR, or DR

2-8