K9N4 SLI Series MS-7325 (V1.
Copyright Notice T he material in this doc ument is the intellec tual property of M ICRO-STAR INTERNATIONAL. We take every care in the preparation of this document, but no guarantee is given as to the correctness of its contents. Our products are under continual improvement and we reserve the right to make changes without notice. Trademarks All trademarks are the properties of their respective owners.
Safety Instructions 1. Always read the safety instructions carefully. 2. Keep this User’s Manual for future reference. 3. Keep this equipment away from humidity. 4. Lay this equipment on a reliable flat surface before setting it up. 5. The openings on the enclosure are for air convection hence protects the equipment from overheating. DO NOT COVER THE OPENINGS. 6. Make sure the voltage of the power source and adjust properly 110/220V before connecting the equipment to the power inlet. 7.
FCC-B Radio Frequency Interference Statement T h is eq uip men t h as been tested and found to c omply 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 instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications.
WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) Statement v
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CONTENTS Copyright Notice .............................................................................................................. ii Trademarks ....................................................................................................................... ii Revision History .............................................................................................................. ii Technical Support .........................................................................................
D-Bracket™ 2 Connector: JDB1 ............................................................... 2-18 Button ................................................................................................................. 2-19 Clear CMOS Button : SW1 ......................................................................... 2-19 Slots .................................................................................................................... 2-20 PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) Express Slots ...
DOT (Dynamic OverClocking) ............................................................................. B-5 Clock ..................................................................................................................... B-6 Voltage ................................................................................................................. B-7 FAN Speed ........................................................................................................... B-8 Temperature ...............
Getting Started Chapter 1 Getting Started Thank you for choosing the K9N4 SLI Series (MS-7325 v1.X) ATX mainboard. The K9N4 SLI Series mainboards are based on nVidia® nForce500 SLI chipsets for optimal system efficiency. Designed to fit the advanced AM D ® Ath l o n 64 X 2 / At h l o n 6 4 & S em p r o n processor, the K9N4 SLI Series deliver a high performance and professional desktop platform solution.
M S-7325 M ainboard Mainboard Specifications Processor Support - AMD® Athlon 64/ X2 and Sempron in the socket AM2 package (For the latest information about CPU, please visit http://www.msi. com.tw/program/products/mainboard/mbd/pro_mbd_cpu_support.
Getting Started Connectors Back panel - 1 PS/2 mouse port - 1 PS/2 keyboard port. - 1 Serial port - 1 Parallel port supporting SPP/EPP/ECP mode - 4 USB 2.0 Ports. - 1 LAN jack - 6 audio jacks On-Board Pinheaders - 1 D-Bracket 2 pinheader - 1 IrDA pinheader - 3 USB 2.0 pinheaders - 1 SPDIF-Out pinheader Slots - 2 PCI Express x 16 slots, compatible with PCI Express x 8 speed (Support SLI technology) - 2 PCI Express x 1 slots - 2 PCI slots, support 3.3V/ 5V PCI bus Interface Form Factor - ATX (30.5 cm X 24.
M S-7325 M ainboard SYSFAN1 Mainboard Layout JPW1 Winbond I/O JIR1 Top : mouse Bottom: keyboard JC I1 Top : Parallel Port FDD1 Bottom: Com Port VSC8601 IDE1 IDE2 DIMM2 DIMM1 PCI_E1 DIMM4 DIMM3 CPUFAN1 T: Line-In M:Line-Out B: Mic T:RS-Out M:CS-Out B:SS-Out JPWR 1 Top: LAN Jack Bottom: USB ports PCIE_PW1 USB ports PCI_E2 Nvidia nForc e500 SLI NBFAN1 PCI1 ALC850 BIOS SW1 BATT + PCI2 JFP2 JAUD1 J SP DO1 J CD1 SYSFAN2 JD B1 JUSB2 JU SB1 K9N4 SLI Series (MS-7325 v1.
Getting Started Packing Checklist MSI motherboard Power Cable MSI Driver/Utility CD SATA Cable SLI Video Link Card Standard Cable for IDE Devices (Optional) D-Bracket 2 Back IO Shield (Optional) User’s Guide * The pictures are for reference only and may vary from the packing contents of the product you purchased.
Hardware Setup Chapter 2 Hardware Setup This chapter provides you with the information about hardware setup procedures. While doing the installation, be careful in holding the components and follow the installation procedures. For some components, if you install in the wrong orientation, the components will not work properly. Use a grounded wrist strap before handling computer c om ponen ts . S tatic elec tric ity m ay damage the components.
M S-7325 M ainboard Quick Components Guide CPUFAN1, p.2-14 JPWR1, p.2-8 CPU, p.2-3 JPW1, p.2-8 DDRII DIMMs, p.2-6 SYSFAN1, p.2-14 JCI1, p.2-14 JIR1, p.2-15 FDD1, p.2-12 Back Panel I/O, p.2-10 IDE1/2, p.2-12 PCIE_PW1, p.2-8 PCI Express slots, p.2-20 NBFAN1, p.2-14 SATA1~4, p.2-13 PCI Slots, SW1, p.2-19 p.2-23 JFP2, p.2-17 JFP1, p.2-17 JAUD1, p.2-15 JCD1, p.2-14 SYSFAN2, p.2-14 JUSB1~3, p.2-16 JDB1, p.2-18 JSPDO1, p.
Hardware Setup CPU (Central Processing Unit) The mainboard supports AMD ® Athlon64/ X2 & Sempron processors. The mainboard uses a CPU socket called Socket AM2 for easy CPU installation. W hen you are installing the CPU, make sure the CPU has a heat sink and a cooling fan attached on the top to prevent overheating. If you do not have the heat sink and cooling fan, contact your dealer to purchase and install them before turning on the computer. For the latest information about CPU, please visit http://www.
M S-7325 M ainboard CPU Installation Procedures for Socket AM2 1. Please turn off the power and unplug the power cord before installing the CPU. 2. Pull the lever s ideways away from the socket. Make sure to raise the lever up to a 90-degree angle. 3. Look for the gold arrow of the CPU. T he gold arrow s hould point as shown in the picture. The CPU can only fit in the correct orientation. 4. If the CPU is correctly installed, the pins should be completely embedded into the socket and can not be seen.
Hardware Setup Installing AMD Socket AM2 CPU Cooler Set W hen you are installing the CPU, make sure the CPU has a heat sink and a cooling fan attached on the top to prevent overheating. If you do not have the heat sink and cooling fan, contact your dealer to purchase and install them before turning on the computer. Important Mainboard photos shown in this section are for demonstration of the cooler installation for Socket AM2 CPUs only.
M S-7325 M ainboard Memory The mainboard provides four 240-pin non-ECC DDRII DIMMs and supports up to 8GB system memory. For more information on compatible components, please visit http://www.msi.com.tw/ program/products/mainboard/mbd/pro_mbd_trp_list.php DDRII 240-pin, 1.
Hardware Setup Installing DDRII Modules 1. The memory module has only one notch on the center and will only fit in the right orientation. 2. Insert the memory module vertically into the DIMM slot. Then push it in until the golden finger on the memory module is deeply inserted in the DIMM slot. Important You can barely see the golden finger if the module is properly inserted in the DIMM slot. 3. The plastic clip at each side of the DIMM slot will automatically close.
M S-7325 M ainboard Power Supply ATX 24-Pin Power Connector: JPWR1 This connector allows you to connect an ATX 24-pin power supply. To connect the ATX 24-pin power supply, make sure the plug of the power supply is inserted in the proper orientation and the pins are aligned. Then push down the power supply firmly into the connector. pin 13 You may use the 20-pin ATX power supply as you like.
Hardware Setup Important Notification about Power Issue NForce chipset is very sensitive to ESD (Electrostatic Discharge), therefore this issue mostly happens while the users intensively swap memory modules under S5 (power-off) states, and the power code is plugged while installing modules. Due to several pins are very sensitive to ESD, so this kind of memory-replacement actions might cause system chipset unable to boot. Please follow the following solution to avoid this situation.
M S-7325 M ainboard Back Panel L-In RS-Out Parallel Port M ou se LAN USB Ports Keyboard Serial Port L-Out CS-Out Mic SS-Out M ouse/Keyboard Connector The standard PS/2® mouse/keyboard DIN connector is for a PS/2® mouse/keyboard. Parallel Port Connector A parallel port is a standard printer port that supports Enhanced Parallel Port (EPP) and Extended Capabilities Parallel Port (ECP) mode.
Hardware Setup USB Connectors The OHCI (Open Host Controller Interface) Universal Serial Bus root is for attaching USB devices such as keyboard, mouse, or other USB-compatible devices. Audio Port Connectors These audio connectors are used for audio devices. You can differentiate the color of the audio jacks for different audio sound effects. Blue audio jack - Line In, is used for external CD player, tapeplayer or other audio devices. Green audio jack - Line Out, is a connector for speakers or headphones.
M S-7325 M ainboard Connectors Floppy Disk Drive Connector: FDD1 This standard FDD connector supports 360K, 720K, 1.2M, 1.44M and 2.88M floppy disk types. FDD1 ATA133 Hard Disk Connectors: IDE1/ IDE2 The mainboard has a 32-bit Enhanced PCI IDE and Ultra DMA 66/100/133 controller that provides PIO mode 0~4, Bus Master, and Ultra DMA 66/ 100/133 function. You can connect hard disk drives, CD-ROM and other IDE devices.
Hardware Setup Serial ATA Connectors: SATA1~SATA4 SATA1~SATA4 are high-speed SATAII interface ports. Each supports data rates of 300 MB/s and is fully compliant with Serial ATA specifications. Each Serial ATA connector can connect to 1 hard disk device. SATA3 SATA4 SATA1 SATA2 Serial ATA cable Take out the dust cover and connect to the hard disk devices Connect to SATA connector Important Please do not fold the Serial ATA cable into 90-degree angle. Otherwise, data loss may occur during transmission.
M S-7325 M ainboard Fan Power Connectors: CPUFAN1, SYSFAN1, NBFAN1 & SYSFAN2 GND +12V SENSOR Control CPUFAN1 NC +1 2V GND The fan power connectors support system cooling fan with +12V. W hen connecting the wire to the connectors, always take note that the red wire is the positive and should be connected to the +12V, the black wire is Ground and should be connected to GND.
Hardware Setup Front Panel Audio Connector: JAUD1 The JAUD1 front panel audio connector allows you to connect the front panel audio and is compliant with Intel® Front Panel I/O Connectivity Design Guide.
M S-7325 M ainboard Front USB Connectors: JUSB1, JUSB2 & JUSB3 The mainboard provides USB 2.0 pinheaders (optional USB 2.0 bracket available) that are compliant with Intel® I/O Connectivity Design Guide. USB 2.0 technology increases data transfer rate up to a maximum throughput of 480Mbps, which is 40 times faster than USB 1.1, and is ideal for connecting high-speed USB interface peripherals such as USB HDD, digital cameras, M P3 players, printers, modems and the like.
Hardware Setup Front Panel Connectors: JFP1/ JFP2 The mainboard provides two front panel connectors for electrical connection to the front panel switches and LEDs. The JFP1 is compliant with Intel® Front Panel I/O Connectivity Design Guide.
M S-7325 M ainboard D-Bracket™ 2 Connector: JDB1 DBR1 DBR2 DBR3 DBR4 NC The mainboard comes with a JDB1 connector for you to connect to D-Bracket™ 2. DBracket™ 2 is an external USB Bracket that supports both USB1.1 & 2.0 specs. It integrates four LEDs and allows users to identify system problems through 16 various combinations of LED signals.
Hardware Setup Button The motherboard provides the following button for you to set the computer’s function. This section will explain how to change your motherboard’s function through the use of button. Clear CMOS Button : SW1 There is a CMOS RAM on board that has a power supply from external battery to keep the system configuration data. With the CMOS RAM, the system can automatically boot OS every time it is turned on.
M S-7325 M ainboard Slots PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) Express Slots PCI Express architecture provides a high performance I/O infrastructure for Desktop Platforms with transfer rates starting at 2.5 Giga transfers per second over a PCI Express x1 lane for Gigabit Ethernet, TV Tuners, 1394 controllers, and general purpose I/O. Also, desktop platforms with PCI Express Architecture will be designed to deliver highest performance in video, graphics, multimedia and other sophisticated applications.
Hardware Setup NV SLI Technology NVIDIA SLI (Scalable Link Interface) technology allows two GPUs to run in tandem within a system to achieve up to twice the performance of a single graphics card. To utilize this technology, the two GPU cards must be connected by an SLI Video Link card. SLI Video Link Card If you intend to use the SLI mode for better graphics performance, please refer to the following instructions. 1.Install two graphics cards on PCI Express x16 slots.
M S-7325 M ainboard 2. After the hardware installation is completed, restart the system and install the NV SLI driver/utility. A configuration panel will be provided for Multi-GPU control. Check the Enable multi-GPU box to enable the SLI function for the onboard graphics cards (concerning the details of multi-GPU settings, please refer to your graphics card manual) . Check the box 3. Restart your system and a pop-up will show in the system tray confirming that M ulti-GPU has been enabled.
Hardware Setup PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) Slots The PCI slots support LAN cards, SCSI cards, USB cards, and other add-on cards that comply with PCI specifications. At 32 bits and 33 MHz, it yields a throughput rate of 133 MBps. 32-bit PCI Slot PCI Interrupt Request Routing The IRQ, acronym of interrupt request line and pronounced I-R-Q, are hardware lines over which devices can send interrupt signals to the microprocessor.
BIOS Setup Chapter 3 BIOS Setup This chapter provides information on the BIOS Setup program and allows you to configure the system for optimum use. You may need to run the Setup program when: ² An error message appears on the screen during the system booting up, and requests you to run SETUP. ² You want to change the default settings for customized features.
M S-7325 M ainboard Entering Setup Power on the computer and the system will start POST (Power On Self Test) process. W hen the message below appears on the screen, press key to enter Setup. Press DEL to enter SETUP If the message disappears before you respond and you still wish to enter Setup, restart the system by turning it OFF and On or pressing the RESET button. You may also restart the system by simultaneously pressing , , and keys. Important 1.
BIOS Setup Control Keys < ↑> Move to the previous item < ↓> Move to the next item < ←> Move to the item in the left hand < →> Move to the item in the right hand Select the item Jumps to the Exit menu or returns to the main menu from a submenu <+/PU> Increase the numeric value or make changes <-/PD> Decrease the numeric value or make changes Load Optimized Defaults Save all the CMOS changes and exit Getting Help After entering the Setup menu, the first menu you w
M S-7325 M ainboard The Main Menu Standard CM OS Features Use this menu for basic system configurations, such as time, date etc. Advanced BIOS Features Use this menu to setup the items of AMI® special enhanced features. Advanced Chipset Features Use this menu to change the values in the chipset registers and optimize your system’s performance. Integrated Peripherals Use this menu to specify your settings for integrated peripherals.
BIOS Setup Load Optimized Defaults Use this menu to load the default values set by the mainboard manufacturer specifically for optimal performance of the mainboard. BIOS Setting Password Use this menu to set the password for BIOS. Save & Exit Setup Save changes to CMOS and exit setup. Exit Without Saving Abandon all changes and exit setup.
M S-7325 M ainboard Standard CMOS Features The items in Standard CMOS Features Menu includes some basic setup items. Use the arrow keys to highlight the item and then use the or keys to select the value you want in each item. Date (MM:DD:YY) This allows you to set the system to the date that you want (usually the current date). The format is . day Day of the week, from Sun to Sat, determined by BIOS. Read-only. mon th The month from Jan. through Dec.
BIOS Setup Device/ Vender/ Size/ LBA Mode/ Block M ode/ PIO Mode/ Async DM A/ Ultra DMA/ S.M.A.R.T. It will showing the device information that you connected to the IDE/SATA connector . Type Define the HDD parameters. LBA/Large M ode This allows you to enable or disable the LBA Mode. Setting to Auto enables LBA mode if the device supports it and the devices is not already formatted with LBA mode disabled. DM A M ode Select DMA Mode. Hard Disk S.M.A.R.T. This allows you to activate the S.M.A.R.T.
M S-7325 M ainboard Floppy Drive A This item allows you to set the type of floppy drives installed. Available options: [None], [360K, 5.25 in.], [1.2M, 5.25 in.], [720K, 3.5 in.], [1.44M, 3.5 in.], [2.88M, 3.5 in.]. Halt On The setting determines whether the system will stop if an error is detected at boot. Available options are: [No Errors] The system doesn’t stop for any detected error. [All, But Keyboard] The system doesn’t stop for a keyboard error.
BIOS Setup Advanced BIOS Features Quick Boot Setting the item to [Enabled] allows the system to boot within 10 seconds since it will skip some check items. Full Screen LOGO Display This item enables you to show the company logo on the bootup screen. Settings are: [Enabled] Shows a still image (logo) on the full screen at boot. [Disabled] Shows the POST messages at boot. Boot Sector Protection This item allows you to choose the virus warning feature for IDE Hard Disk boot sector protection.
M S-7325 M ainboard IOAPIC Function This field is used to enable or disable the APIC (Advanced Programmable Interrupt Controller). Due to compliance with PC2001 design guide, the system is able to run in APIC mode. Enabling APIC mode will expand available IRQ resources for the system. Boot Sequence Press to enter the sub-menu and the following screen appears: 1st/2nd Device The items allow you to set the sequence of boot devices where BIOS attempts to load the disk operating system.
BIOS Setup Advanced Chipset Features Hyper Transport nFocre500 SLI Configuration NF500 to AM2 (CPU) Freq Auto [Enabled] Auto Detect HT frequency. [Disabled] Manual to setting HT frequency. NF500 to AM2 (CPU) LinkWidth This item allows you to select the HT width between SB and CPU.
M S-7325 M ainboard Integrated Peripherals USB Controller This setting allows you to enable/disable the onboard USB 1.1/ 2.0 controller. USB Device Legacy Support Select [Auto] if you need to use a USB-interfaced device in the operating system. Onboard Audio Controller This setting is used to enable/disable the onboard audio controller. Onboard LAN Controller These items are used to enable/disable the onboard LAN controller.
BIOS Setup Onboard Floppy Controller Select [Enabled] if your system has a floppy disk controller (FDD) installed on the system board and you wish to use it. If you install add-on FDC or the system has no floppy drive, select [Disabled] in this field. COM Port 1 Select an address and corresponding interrupt for the first serial port. IR Function This setting allows you to enable or disable the IR function.
M S-7325 M ainboard SATA Devices Configuration Press to enter the sub-menu and the following screen appears: Serial-ATA 0/ 1 These items allow users to enable or disable the SATA controllers. S nVidia RAID Controller This item is used to enable/disable the nVidia RAID function for SATA devices. SATA 0/ SATA 1 Primary/ Secondary Channel W hen the nVidia RAID Controller sets to “Enable”, these items will appear.
BIOS Setup Power Management Setup Important S3-related functions described in this section are available only when your BIOS supports S3 sleep mode. ACPI Function This item is to activate the ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Management Interface) Function. If your operating system is ACPI-aware, such as W indows 2000/ XP, select [Enabled]. ACPI Standby State This item specifies the power saving modes for ACPI function.
M S-7325 M ainboard Re-Call VGA BIOS From S3 W hen ACPI Standby State is set to [S3/STR], users can select the options in this field. Selecting [Yes] allows BIOS to call VGABIOS to initialize the VGA card when system wakes up (resumes) from S3 sleep state. The system resume time is shortened when you disable the function, but system will need an VGA driver to initialize the VGA card.
BIOS Setup Resume by PCIE Device W hen set to [Enabled], the feature allows your system to be awakened from the power saving modes through any event on PCIE device. Resume by RTC Alarm The field is used to enable or disable the feature of booting up the system on a scheduled time/date.
M S-7325 M ainboard PNP/PCI Configurations This section describes configuring the PCI bus system and PnP (Plug & Play) feature. PCI, or Peripheral Component Interconnect, is a system which allows I/O devices to operate at speeds nearing the speed the CPU itself uses when communicating with its special components. This section covers some very technical items and it is strongly recommended that only experienced users should make any changes to the default settings.
BIOS Setup IRQ 3/4/5/7/9/10/11/14/15 These items specify the bus where the specified IRQ line is used. The settings determine if AMIBIOS should remove an IRQ from the pool of available IRQs passed to devices that are configurable by the system BIOS. The available IRQ pool is determined by reading the ESCD NVRAM. If more IRQs must be removed from the IRQ pool, the end user can use these settings to reserve the IRQ by assigning an [Reserved] setting to it. Onboard I/O is configured by AMIBIOS.
M S-7325 M ainboard H/W Monitor Chassis Intrusion The field enables or disables the feature of recording the chassis intrusion status and issuing a warning message if the chassis is once opened. To clear the warning message, set the field to [Reset]. The setting of the field will automatically return to [Enabled] later. CPU FAN PIN Select This item is available for you to choose the CPU fan pin number of your system.
BIOS Setup Cell Menu Cool’n’Quiet The Cool’n’ Quiet technology can effectively and dynamically lower CPU speed and power consumption. Important To ensure that Cool’n’Quiet function is activated and will be working properly, it is required to double confirm that: 1. Run BIOS Setup, and select Cell Menu. Under Cell M enu, find Cool’n’Quiet, and set this item to “Enable.” 2. Enter Windows , and select [Start]-> [Settings]->[Control Pannel]->[Power Options].
M S-7325 M ainboard Important Change these settings only if you are familiar with the chipset. Current CPU Clock/ FSB M ultiplier/ Memory Speed/ CPU Voltage These items show the current CPU Clock/ FSB Multiplier/ Memory Speed/ CPU Voltage. Read-only. Adjust Extra CPU Voltage (V) This item allows you to overclock the CPU voltage. CPU Frequency (MHz) This item allows you to select the CPU Front Side Bus clock frequency (in MHz).
BIOS Setup CPU Frequency Configuration Press to enter the sub-menu and the following screen appears. Adjust CPU Ratio This item allows you to set the CPU ratio. CPU Voltage This item allows you to set the CPU voltage. M emclock M ode Setting to Auto, the system will auto detect the memory clock. Setting to Manual, the “Memory Value” item will appear and allows you to select the memory clock. M emory Value This item allows you to select the memory clock.
M S-7325 M ainboard Min RAS# Active Time (TRAS) W hen the M CT Timing Mode sets to [Manual], the field is adjustable. This setting determines the time RAS takes to read from and write to a memory cell. RAS# Precharge Time (TRP) W hen the MCT Timing Mode sets to [Manual], the field is adjustable. This item controls the number of cycles for Row Address Strobe (RAS) to be allowed to precharge.
BIOS Setup Important The settings shown in different color in Adjust chipset Voltage item helps to verify if your setting is proper for your system. G ray: Default setting. Yellow: High performance setting. Red: Not recommended setting and the system may be unstable. Changing any Voltage item may result in the instability of the system; therefore, it is NOT recommended to change the default setting for long-term usage. PCIE Frequency (MHz) This item allows you to select the PCIE frequency (in MHz).
M S-7325 M ainboard CPU and Memory Clock Overclocking The CPU Frequency / CPU Dynamic OverClocking / Adjust CPU Ratio/ Memory Clock are the items for you to overclock the CPU and the Memory. Please refer to the descriptions of these fields for more information. Important 1. CPU Speed = CPU Frequency * CPU Ratio 2. This motherboard supports overclocking greatly. However, please make sure your peripherals and components are bearable for some special s ettings .
BIOS Setup Load Optimized Defaults The option on the main menu allow users to restore all of the BIOS settings to the default Optimized values. The Optimized Defaults are the default values set by the mainboard manufacturer specifically for optimal performance of the mainboard. W hen you select Load Optimized Defaults, a message as below appears: Pressing Y loads the default factory settings for optimal system performance.
M S-7325 M ainboard BIOS Setting Password W hen you select this function, a message as below will appear on the screen: Type the password, up to six characters in length, and press . The password typed now will replace any previously set password from CMOS memory. You will be prompted to confirm the password. Retype the password and press . You may also press to abort the selection and not enter a password.
Realtek ALC850 Audio Appendix A Realtek ALC850 Audio The Realtek ALC850 supports 8-channel audio output, including 2 Front, 2 Rear, 1 Center and 1 Subwoofer channel. It enables connection to 2, 4, 6 or 8 speakers for better surround sound effect. This section tells you how to install and use 2-, 4-, 6- or 8-channel audio function on the board.
M S-7325 M ainboard Installing the Audio Driver You need to install the driver for Realtek ALC850 codec to function properly before you can get access to 2-, 4-, 6- or 8- channel audio operations. Follow the procedures described below to install the drivers for different operating systems. Installation for Windows 2000/XP For W indows ® 2000, you must install W indows ® 2000 Service Pack2 or later before installing the driver.
Realtek ALC850 Audio 3. Click Next to install the AC’97 Audio software. Click here 4. Click Finish to restart the system.
M S-7325 M ainboard Software Configuration After installing the audio driver, you are able to use the 2-, 4-, 6- or 8- channel audio feature now. Click the audio icon from the system tray at the lower-right corner of the screen to activate the AC97 Audio Configuration. It is also available to enable the audio driver by clicking the Sound Effect M anager from the Control Panel.
Realtek ALC850 Audio Sound Effect Here you can select a sound effect you like from the Environment list. You may also edit the properties for an environment as you wish by clicking the “Edit” button, then just scroll the bar in the bottom for each property to adjust.
M S-7325 M ainboard You may choose the provided sound effects, and the equalizer will adjust automatically. If you like, you may also load an equalizer setting or make an new equalizer setting to save as an new one by using the “Load EQ Setting” and “Save Preset” button, click “Reset EQ Setting” button to use the default value, or click “Delete EQ Setting” button to remove a preset EQ setting. There are also other pre-set equalizer models for you to choose by clicking “Others” under the Equalizer part.
Realtek ALC850 Audio Speaker Configuration In this tab, you can easily configure your multi-channel audio function and speakers. 1. First you have to select the audio configuration below which is identical to the audio jack on your mainboard. In this model it uses Realtek ALC850 codec which supports 8-channel, therefore you should choose 8CH audio out. 2 1 3 2. Select a desired multi-channel operation here. a. Headphone for the common headphone b. 2CH Speaker for Stereo-Speaker Output c.
M S-7325 M ainboard Select the speaker by clicking it to test its functionality. The one you select will light up and make testing sound. If any speaker fails to make sound, then check whether the cable is inserted firmly to the connector or replace the bad speakers with good ones. Or you may click the “Auto Test” button to test the sounds of each speaker automatically. Center Front Left Front Right Subwoof er Side Left Rear Left Side Right Rear Right 3.
Realtek ALC850 Audio 3D Audio Demo In this tab you may adjust your 3D positional audio before playing 3D audio applications like gaming. You may also select different environment to choose the most suitable environment you like.
M S-7325 M ainboard General In this tab it provides some information about this AC97 Audio Configuration utility, including Audio Driver Version, DirectX Version, Audio Controller & AC97 Codec. You may also select the language of this utility by choosing from the Language list. Also there is a selection Show icon in system tray. Switch it on and an icon will show in the system tray.
Realtek ALC850 Audio SPDIF In this tab it provides options about SPDIF-Out for you to configure. † No Output: W ith this option, there is no S/PDIF output signal while playing analog and digital audio. † Output digital only: W ith this option, only digital audio will be allowed to play via SPDIF out while playing analog and digital audio. † Output digital and analog: W ith this option, both digital and analog audio will be allowed to play via SPDIF out while playing analog and digital audio.
M S-7325 M ainboard Hardware Setup Connecting the Speakers W hen you have set the Multi-Channel Audio Function mode properly in the software utility, connect your speakers to the correct phone jacks in accordance with the setting in software utility. n 2-Channel M ode for Stereo-Speaker Output Refer to the following diagram and caption for the function of each phone jack on the back panel when 2-Channel Mode is selected.
Realtek ALC850 Audio n 4-Channel M ode for 4-Speaker Output Back Panel 1 4 2 5 3 6 Description: Connect two speakers to back panel’s front-channel Line Out connector and two speakers to t he r eal- c h an n el L in e O u t connector.
M S-7325 M ainboard n 6-Channel M ode for 6-Speaker Output Back Panel 1 2 4 5 3 6 6-Channel Analog Audio Output Description: Connect two speakers to back panel’s Line Out connector, two speakers to the rear-channel Line out connec tor and two s peaker s t o t he c ent er / subwoofer-channel Line Out connector.
Realtek ALC850 Audio n 8-Channel M ode for 8-Speaker Output 1 4 2 5 3 6 8-Channel Analog Audio Output 1 Line In 2 Line Out (Front channels) 3 MIC 4 Line Out (Rear surround channels) 5 Line Out (Center and Subwoofer channel) 6 Line Out (Side channels) Description: Connect two speakers to back panel’s Line Out connector, two speakers to the rear-channel Line out connector, two speakers to the center/subwooferchannel Line Out connector and two speakers to the side-channel Line Out connector
Dual Core Center Appendix B Dual Core Center Dual CoreCenter, the most useful and powerful utility that MSI has spent muc h researc h and ef forts to develop, helps users to monitor or configure the hardware status of MSI Mainboard & MSI Graphics card in windows, such as CPU/GPU clock, voltage, fan speed and temperature. Before you install the Dual CoreCenter, please make sure the system has meet the following requirements: 1.
M S-7325 M ainboard 25 Activating Dual Core Center Once you have your Dual Core Center installed (locate the setup source file in the setup CD accompanying with your mainboard, path: Utility --> MSI Utility --> Dual Core Center), it will have an icon in the system tray, a short cut icon on the desktop, and a short cut path in your “Start-up” menu. You may double-click on each icon to enable Dual Core Center.
Dual Core Center Main Before using this utility, we have to remind you: only when installing the MSI V044 (V044 has to install with the version 8.26 or newer driver)/ V046 or V060 graphics card can activate the full function of this utility. If you install a graphics card of other brand, only hardware status of the MSI mainboard would be available. Introduction: Click each button appearing above to enter sub-menu to make further configuration or to execute the function.
M S-7325 M ainboard 25 AV/ Game/ Office/ Silence/ Cool MSI provides five common settings for different environments. The settings had been set to optimal values to reac h better performanc e in eac h environment. Click the button you need. Important Before clicking the AV/ Game/ Office/ Silence or Cool button, select Smooth mode or Sharp mode to decide whether you want the system to reach the optimal values smoothly or quickly.
Dual Core Center DOT (Dynamic OverClocking) Dynamic Overclocking Technology is an automatic overclocking function, included in the MSITM ’s newly developed Dual CoreCenter Technology. It is designed to detect the loading of CPU/ GPU while running programs, and to over-clock automatically. When the motherboard detects that the loading of CPU is exceed the default threshold for a time, it will speed up the CPU and fan automatically to make the system run smoother and faster.
M S-7325 M ainboard 25 Clock In the Clock sub-menu, you can see clock status (including FSB/ CPU clock of mainboard and GPU/ memory clock of graphics card) of your system. And you can select desired value for overclocking. There will be several items for you to select for overclocking after you click button. You can click the plus sign button to increase the clock, or click the minus sign button to decrease the clock. And finally, click the Apply button to apply the values adjusted.
Dual Core Center Voltage In the Voltage sub-menu, you can see voltage status (including Vcore, memory, GPU voltage... etc.) of your system, and you can select desired value for overclocking. It will show several items to select for overclocking after you click the button. You can click the plus sign button to increase the voltage, or click the minus sign button to decrease. And finally, click the Apply button to apply the adjustments.
M S-7325 M ainboard 25 FAN Speed In the FAN Speed sub-menu, you can read fan status of your system. Select higher speed for better cooling effect. There are several sections for you to change the fan speed to a section after clicking button. Click the plus sign button to increase the fan speed to a section, or click the minus sign button to decrease. Or click the Default button to restore the default values. On the underside, it shows the graphs of the fan speed.
Dual Core Center Temperature In the Temperature sub-menu, you can see temperature status of your system. On the underside, it shows the graphs of the temperatures. Only the curves of the item which the button is lit up with red color will be shown.
M S-7325 M ainboard 25 User Profile In the User Profile sub-menu, click the setting button that besides the user profile bar, and the next screen will appear. Here you can define the clock/ fan speed/ voltage by your need, click the button to choose a value quickly, or click the plus / minus sign button to increase/ decrease the value.
Dual Core Center Use the draw bar to set the max system temperature. W hen the system temperature exceeds the threshold you defined, the system will pop up a warning message and shut down the system. Use the draw bar to set the minimal fan speed. When the fan speed is lower than the threshold you defined, the system will pop up a warning message. After setting all values you need, you can change the user profile name in the box then click the save button to save all changes in a profile.
nVidia RAID Appendix C nVidia RAID NVIDIA brings Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) technology—which is used by the world’s leading businesses—to the common PC desktop. This technology uses multiple drives to either increase total disk space or to offer data protection. For all levels, RAID techniques optimize storage solutions by using multiple disks grouped together and treating them as a single storage resource.
M S-7325 M ainboard Introduct ion System Requirement Operating System Support NVRAID supports the following operating systems: W indows XP RAID Arrays NVRAID supports the following types of RAID arrays described in this section: RAID 0: RAID 0 defines a disk striping scheme that improves the disk read and write times for many applications. RAID 1: RAID 1 defines techniques for mirroring data. RAID 0+1: RAID 0+1 combines the techniques used in RAID 0 and RAID 1 arrays.
nVidia RAID RAID Configuration Basic Configuration Instructions The following are the basic steps for configuring NVRAID: Non-Bootable RAID Array 1. Choose the hard disks that are to be RAID enabled in the system BIOS. (To enable the OnChip RAID Controller and SATA0/ SATA1 Primary/ Secondary Channel in SATA Devices Configuration of Integrated Peripherals in BIOS.) 2.
M S-7325 M ainboard Understanding the “Define a New Array” Window Use the Define a New Array window to • Select the RAID Mode • Set up the Striping Block • Specify which disks to use for the RAID Array Depending on the platform used, the system can have one or more channels. In a typical system there is usually one controller and multiple channels, and each channel has a slave and a master.
nVidia RAID Using the Define a New Array Window If necessary, press the tab key to move from field to field until the appropriate field is highlighted. • Selecting the RAID Mode By default, this is set to [Mirroring]. To change to a different RAID mode, press the down arrow key until the mode that you want appears in the RAID Mode box—either [Mirroring], [Striping], [RAID5], [Spanning], or [Stripe Mirroring].
M S-7325 M ainboard Completing the RAID BIOS Setup 1. After assigning your RAID array disks, press F7. The Clear disk data prompt appears. 2. Press Y if you want to wipe out all the data from the RAID array, otherwise press N. You must choose Yes if the drives were previously used as RAID drives. The Array List window appears, where you can review the RAID arrays that you have set up. 3. Use the arrow keys to select the array that you want to set up, then press Enter. The Array Detail window appears. 4.
nVidia RAID Installing the RAID Driver (for bootable RAID Array) 1. After you complete the RAID BIOS setup, boot from the W indows CD, and the W indows Setup program starts. 2. Press F6 and wait for the W indows Setup screen to appear. 3. Specify the NVIDIA drivers: (1) Insert the floppy that has the RAID driver, press S, then press Enter. The W indows Setup screen appears as below: Important Please follow the instruction below to make an nVIDIA Serial ATA RAID driver for yourself. 1.
M S-7325 M ainboard 4. Press Enter to continue with W indows XP Installation. Be sure to leave the floppy disk inserted in the floppy drive until the blue screen portion of W indows XP installation is completed, then take out the floppy. 5. Follow the instructions on how to install W indows XP. After W indows XP is completely installed, it is recommended that you install the the RAID management tool.
nVidia RAID NVIDIA RAID Utility Installation Installing the NVIDIA RAID Software Under Windows (for Non-bootable RAID Array) The existing W indows IDE Parallel ATA driver (as well as the Serial ATA driver if SATA is enabled) must be upgraded to use the NVIDIA IDE Parallel ATA driver (as well as the NV Serial ATA driver if SATA is enabled). This section describes how to run the setup application and install the RAID software which will upgrade the W indows IDE driver and install the RAID software. 1.
M S-7325 M ainboard Initializing and Using the Disk Array The RAID array is now ready to be initialized under W indows. 1. Launch Computer Management by clicking “Start” --> “Settings” --> “Control Panel” then open the “Administrative Tools” folder and double click on “Computer Management”. 2. Click “Disk Management” (under the “Storage” section). The Initialize and Convert Disk W izards appears. 3. Click Next. The Select Disks to Initialize window appears.
nVidia RAID 5. Check the disk in the list if you want to make the array a dynamic disk, then click Next. The Completing the Initialize and Convert Disk W izard window appears. 6. Click Finish. The “Computer Management” window appears. The actual disks listed will depend on your system, and the unallocated partition is the total combined storage of two hard disks. You must format the unallocated disk space in order to use it. 7. Format the unallocated disk space.
M S-7325 M ainboard RAID Drives Management There is an application called NVRAIDMAN which helps you perform the following tasks of nVDIA RAID.
nVidia RAID Setting Up a Spare RAID Disk You can designate a hard drive to be used as a spare drive for a RAID 1, RAID 0+1 or RAID 5 array. The spare drive can take over for a failed disk. NVRAID supports two types of spare drives: • Free Disk A free disk is a disk that is not part of any RAID array, but can be used by any available RAID 1 or RAID 0+1 array that requires a particular disk when one of its disks crashes or becomes unusable. The process is automatic and doesn’t require any user interaction.
M S-7325 M ainboard Assigning a Dedicated Disk To mark a disk as dedicated, or reserve it for use by a specific array, Step 1: Mark the Disk as a Free Disk 1. Enter the system BIOS setup and make sure that the drive that you want to mark as free is RAID enabled. 2. Boot into W indows and run the NVRAIDMAN program. If the disk is not part of any RAID array, then it will appear under the Free Disk section of the RAID GUI.
nVidia RAID 3. Click Next. The RAID Array Selection page appears. 4. From the Free Disk Selection page, select one of the two free disks available. This would be the disk that will be designated to the mirror array. 5. Click Next. The Completing the NVIDIA Spare Disk Allocation page appears. 6. Click Finish. As shown in figure below, the ST380011A drive is now a dedicated free disk in the mirrored array.
M S-7325 M ainboard Removing a Dedicated Disk Once a dedicated disk has been assigned to a particular array, it can be removed at any time. To remove the disk, right click on the dedicated disk and select “Remove Disk...” to remove it. In the previous example, simply right click on the ST380011A drive and select “Remove Disk...”.
nVidia RAID Morphing From One RAID Array to Another In a traditional RAID environment, when a user wants to change the current state of a disk or a current array to a new RAID configuration, the process of reconfiguring the new array involves multiple steps. The user must back up the data, delete the array, re-boot the PC, and then reconfigure the new array. NVIDIA RAID allows the end user to change the current state of the disk or array to another with a one-step process called .Morphing..
M S-7325 M ainboard From RAID 0+1 To New Array Disk Requirements RAID 0 m >= > nn2 Number of RAID 0 disks must be equal to or greater than half the number of RAID 0+1 disks. RAID 1 ** Not a valid combination ** RAID 0+1 ** Not a valid combination ** RAID 5 m >= (n/2 + 1) RAID 0 m >= n - 1 RAID 1 ** Not a valid combination ** RAID 0+1 m >= 2 x (n -1) ; where m is an even number of disks.
nVidia RAID 2 Click Next and the following screen shot will appear: 3 Connect the RAID disk that you want to use with any given RAID array. 4 Click Next and the following screen shot will appear: 5 Click Finish. Initializing a RAID Array Initializing a RAID array erases all the data that is stored on that array, and writes all zeros to the disks.
M S-7325 M ainboard 1 From the NVRAIDMAN window, right click on any available free disk and select Create Array as show in Figure below. 2 The Create Array W izard opens. Follow the W izard to create a Mirror array. 3 At the Create Array W izard Welcome screen, click Next. 4 At the RAID Array Selection page, make sure that RAID Mode is set to “Mirroring” and Stripe Size is set to its default value of 64K, then click Next.
nVidia RAID 8 Click OK. The Clearing System Data screen appears again with the Initialize Array check box checked as shown below. 9 Click Next, then click Finish at the Completing the NVIDIA Create Array W izard screen. The NVRAIDMAN windows shows the created RAID array as shown below. The Initialization Process As you can see from the screen shot above, the initialization process has started and it will be completed in a short period of time.
M S-7325 M ainboard Rebuilding a RAID Array Rebuilding is the process of restoring data to a hard drive from other drives in the array. This applies only to fault tolerant arrays such as RAID 1, RAID 0+1, as well as a RAID 5. For example, assuming you have a three disk RAID 5 array, and one of the drives fail, then you need the lost data on the newly added drive. Rebuilding Instructions After creating a mirrored array, you can rebuild the array using the following steps: 1.
nVidia RAID 4. Click Next. The Disk Selection page appears. 5. Select the drive that you want to rebuild by clicking it from the list, then click Next. The Completing the NVIDIA Rebuild Array page appears. 6. Click Finish. The array rebuilding starts after a few seconds, and a small pop-up message appears towards the bottom right corner of the screen as shown in the figure below. W hen the rebuilding process is finished you will see the pop up box shown in Figure below.
M S-7325 M ainboard During the rebuilding process, the NVRAID Management utility screen shows the status under the System Tasks and Details sections. M ore About Rebuilding Arrays • Rebuilding Occurs in the Background The rebuilding process is very slow (it can take up to a day) and occurs in the background so as not to affect the performance of the system. • Rebuilding Applies Only to RAID 1/ RAID 0+1 or RAID 5 Arrays Rebuilding an array works only when using RAID 1 , RAID 0+1, or RAID 5.
nVidia RAID Synchronizing a RAID Array Synchronizing an array will force a rebuild of redundancy or parity. The operation is applicable to any fault tolerant array such as RAID 1, 0+1 and RAID 5. • For RAID1 and RAID 0+1, “sync” results in copying the data to the redundancy disk, • For RAID 5, “sync” results in rebuilding the parity To sync an array, do the following (This example assumes you have already created a fault tolerant array such as RAID 1): 1.
Installation of nVidia System Driver Appendix D nVidia System Driver MSI provides a setup CD along with your mainboard, which contains the required drivers for your system, and many other useful and powerful utility to bring you the best experience for your office professional working and for your home leisure entertainment.
M S-7325 M ainboard nVidia System Driver Installation Click on the Driver tab and the screen below will display. NVIDIA System Driver This driver is only available for W indows 2000 and W indows XP operating system. Please follow the following step to install the driver correctly. 1. Click on the NVIDIA nForce4 System Driver button to install the NVIDIA System Drivers for your Windows OS. Then the welcome dialogue will display. Click Next to continue.
Installation of nVidia System Driver 2. Then the following screen displays the available components to install. All the components shown here will be selected to be installed by default. Then click Next. 3. The system will start installing the selected driver components automatically. 4. Then the following screen displays the information for the NVIDIA IDE SW Driver installation. Click Next to continue.
M S-7325 M ainboard 5. Then the following screen displays the installation of NVIDIA IDE SW Driver. Click Yes to continue. Important The installation of NVIDIA Firewall and ForceWare Network Access Manager. It is a software firewall to protect the softwares from hacking. However, it is strongly suggested that you do not install this component.Please follow the instruction below to make a software firewall CD for yourself. 1. Insert the MSI CD into the CD-ROM drive. 2.
Installation of nVidia System Driver nVidia Utility Installaion 1. Click on the Utility tab and the screen below will display. 2. Then click on the NVIDIA Utility tab and the screen below will display. 3. Click the nTune Utility icon to install it. nTune Utility - provides a safe and easy way to optimize PC performance.
