Motherboard M2N4-SLI E2670 First Edition July 2006 Copyright © 2006 ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. All Rights Reserved. No part of this manual, including the products and software described in it, may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any language in any form or by any means, except documentation kept by the purchaser for backup purposes, without the express written permission of ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. ("ASUS"). Product warranty or service will not be extended if: (1) the product is repaired, modified or altered, unless such repair, modification of alteration is authorized in writing by ASUS; or (2) the serial number of the product is defaced or missing. ASUS PROVIDES THIS MANUAL "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT SHALL ASUS, ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES OR AGENTS BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, LOSS OF BUSINESS, LOSS OF USE OR DATA, INTERRUPTION OF BUSINESS AND THE LIKE), EVEN IF ASUS HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES ARISING FROM ANY DEFECT OR ERROR IN THIS MANUAL OR PRODUCT. SPECIFICATIONS AND INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS MANUAL ARE FURNISHED FOR INFORMATIONAL USE ONLY, AND ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE AT ANY TIME WITHOUT NOTICE, AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSTRUED AS A COMMITMENT BY ASUS. ASUS ASSUMES NO RESPONSIBILITY OR LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS OR INACCURACIES THAT MAY APPEAR IN THIS MANUAL, INCLUDING THE PRODUCTS AND SOFTWARE DESCRIBED IN IT. Products and corporate names appearing in this manual may or may not be registered trademarks or copyrights of their respective companies, and are used only for identification or explanation and to the owners' benefit, without intent to infringe. ii Contents Notices ................................................................................................vii Safety information .............................................................................viii About this guide .................................................................................. ix Typography .......................................................................................... x M2N4-SLI specifications summary....................................................... xi Chapter 1: Product introduction 1.1 1.2 1.3 Welcome! .............................................................................. 1-1 Package contents ................................................................. 1-1 Special features .................................................................... 1-2 1.3.1 1.3.2 2.1 2.2 Product highlights ................................................... 1-2 ASUS Special features............................................. 1-4 Chapter 2: Hardware information Before you proceed .............................................................. 2-1 Motherboard overview .......................................................... 2-2 2.2.1 2.2.2 2.2.3 2.2.4 2.3 2.3.1 2.3.2 2.4 2.4.1 2.4.2 2.4.3 2.4.4 2.5 2.5.1 2.5.2 2.5.3 2.5.4 2.5.5 2.5.6 Placement direction ................................................ 2-2 Screw holes ............................................................. 2-2 Motherboard layout ................................................ 2-3 Layout Contents ..................................................... 2-4 Installing the CPU .................................................... 2-5 Installing the heatsink and fan ................................ 2-7 Overview ............................................................... 2-10 Memory configurations ......................................... 2-10 Installing a DIMM ................................................... 2-15 Removing a DIMM .................................................. 2-15 Installing an expansion card .................................. 2-16 Configuring an expansion card .............................. 2-16 Interrupt assignments ........................................... 2-17 PCI slots ................................................................ 2-17 PCI Express x1 slot ............................................... 2-18 PCI Express x16 slots............................................ 2-18 Central Processing Unit (CPU) .............................................. 2-5 System memory.................................................................. 2-10 Expansion slots ................................................................... 2-16 iii Contents 2.6 2.7 Jumpers .............................................................................. 2-19 Connectors ......................................................................... 2-22 2.7.1 2.7.2 3.1 3.2 Rear panel connectors .......................................... 2-22 Internal connectors ............................................... 2-24 Chapter 3: Powering up Starting up for the first time ................................................ 3-1 Powering off the computer ................................................... 3-2 3.2.1 3.2.2 4.1 Using the OS shut down function ........................... 3-2 Using the dual function power switch ..................... 3-2 Chapter 4: BIOS setup Managing and updating your BIOS ........................................ 4-1 4.1.1 4.1.2 4.1.3 4.1.4 4.1.5 4.1.6 4.2 4.2.1 4.2.2 4.2.3 4.2.4 4.2.5 4.2.6 4.2.7 4.2.8 4.3 4.3.1 4.3.2 4.3.3 4.3.5 4.3.6 4.3.7 Creating a bootable floppy disk .............................. 4-1 Updating the BIOS ................................................... 4-2 Saving the current BIOS file .................................... 4-4 ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3 utility ................................ 4-5 ASUS EZ Flash 2 utility............................................ 4-7 ASUS Update utility ................................................ 4-8 BIOS menu screen ................................................. 4-12 Menu bar ............................................................... 4-12 Legend bar ............................................................ 4-13 Menu items ........................................................... 4-13 Sub-menu items .................................................... 4-13 Configuration fields ............................................... 4-13 Pop-up window ...................................................... 4-14 General help .......................................................... 4-14 System Time ........................................................ 4-15 System Date ........................................................ 4-15 Legacy Diskette A ............................................... 4-15 Primary and Secondary IDE Master/Slave ............. 4-16 SATA 1, 2, 3, 4..................................................... 4-18 HDD SMART Monitoring ......................................... 4-19 BIOS setup program ............................................................ 4-11 Main menu........................................................................... 4-15 iv Contents 4.3.8 4.4 4.4.1 4.4.3 4.4.4 4.4.5 4.4.6 4.5 4.5.1 4.5.2 4.5.3 4.5.4 4.6 4.6.1 4.6.2 4.6.3 4.6.4 4.6.5 4.7 4.8 5.1 5.2 Installed Memory ................................................... 4-19 JumperFree Configuration ..................................... 4-20 CPU Configuration ................................................. 4-23 PCIPnP ................................................................... 4-25 Onboard Device Configuration .............................. 4-26 SLI Configuration................................................... 4-31 ACPI Suspend Type .............................................. 4-32 ACPI APIC Support ............................................... 4-32 APM Configuration ................................................ 4-33 Hardware Monitor.................................................. 4-35 Boot Device Priority .............................................. 4-37 Removable Drives.................................................. 4-38 Hard Disk Drives .................................................... 4-38 Boot Settings Configuration ................................ 4-39 Security ................................................................. 4-41 Advanced menu .................................................................. 4-20 Power menu ........................................................................ 4-32 Boot menu .......................................................................... 4-37 Tools menu ......................................................................... 4-43 ASUS EZ Flash 2.................................................................. 4-43 Exit menu ............................................................................ 4-44 Installing an operating system .............................................. 5-1 Support CD information ........................................................ 5-1 5.2.1 5.2.2 5.2.3 5.2.4 5.2.5 5.2.6 Running the support CD .......................................... 5-1 Drivers menu ........................................................... 5-2 Utilities menu .......................................................... 5-3 Manuals menu ......................................................... 5-4 ASUS Contact information ...................................... 5-5 Other information ................................................... 5-5 Cool `n' Quiet!TM Technology ................................... 5-8 ASUS PC Probe II ................................................... 5-10 Chapter 5: Software support 5.3 Software information ............................................................ 5-8 5.3.1 5.3.2 5.4 RAID configurations ............................................................ 5-16 v Contents 5.4.1 5.4.2 5.5 6.1 6.2 Installing hard disks ............................................... 5-17 NVIDIA® RAID configurations ................................. 5-18 Creating a RAID driver disk ................................................. 5-25 Overview ............................................................................... 6-1 Requirements ........................................................................ 6-1 Dual graphics card setup ...................................................... 6-2 6.2.1 6.2.2 6.2.3 Installing SLI-ready graphics cards .......................... 6-2 Installing the device drivers .................................... 6-5 Enabling the multi-GPU feature in Windows ............ 6-5 Chapter 6: NVIDIA® SLITM technology support vi Notices Federal Communications Commission Statement This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions: · This device may not cause harmful interference, and · This device must accept any interference received including interference that may cause undesired operation. 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 manufacturer's instructions, may cause harmful interference to 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, the user is 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 receiver. · Connect the equipment to an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected. · Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help. The use of shielded cables for connection of the monitor to the graphics card is required to assure compliance with FCC regulations. Changes or modifications to this unit not expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance could void the user's authority to operate this equipment. Canadian Department of Communications Statement This digital apparatus does not exceed the Class B limits for radio noise emissions from digital apparatus set out in the Radio Interference Regulations of the Canadian Department of Communications. This class B digital apparatus complies with Canadian ICES-003. vii Safety information Electrical safety · To prevent electrical shock hazard, disconnect the power cable from the electrical outlet before relocating the system. · When adding or removing devices to or from ...