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Asus A8N32-SLI - Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce SPP 100 ATX AMD Motherboard Deluxe User Manual

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Summary of Contents for Asus A8N32-SLI - Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce SPP 100 ATX AMD Motherboard Deluxe

  • Page 1 A8N-SLI...
  • Page 2 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.

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    Contents Notices ......................vi Safety information ..................vii A8N-SLI specifications summary ............viii Chapter 1: Hardware information 1 . 1 Before you proceed ..............1 - 2 1 . 2 Motherboard overview ............... 1 - 3 1.2.1 Placement direction ............ 1 - 3 1.2.2 Screw holes ..............
  • Page 4 Contents Chapter 2: BIOS setup 2 . 1 Managing and updating your BIOS ........... 2 - 2 2.1.1 Creating a bootable floppy disk ........ 2 - 2 2.1.2 AwardBIOS Flash Utility ..........2 - 3 2 . 2 BIOS Setup program ..............2 - 8 2.2.1 BIOS menu bar .............
  • Page 5 ASUS Certified SLI Graphics cards ......3 - 2 3 . 2 Dual graphics card setup ............3 - 4 3.2.1 Setting the ASUS EZ selector card ......3 - 4 3.2.2 Installing SLI-ready graphics cards ......3 - 6 3.2.3 Installing the device drivers ........

  • Page 6: Notices

    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.

  • Page 7: Safety Information

    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 the system, ensure that the power cables for the devices are unplugged before the signal cables are connected.

  • Page 8: A8N-Sli Specifications Summary

    - 2 x IEEE 1394a ports Supports up to 10 USB 2.0 ports 4 Mb Flash ROM, Phoenix-Award BIOS, LPC, Green, PnP, BIOS features DMI2.0, WfM2.0, SM BIOS 2.3, ACPI 2.0a ASUS EZ Flash Special features (continued on the next page) v i i i...
  • Page 9 A8N-SLI specifications summary Rear panel 1 x PS/2 mouse port 1 x Parallel port 1 x IEEE 1394a port 1 x LAN (RJ-45) port 4 x USB 2.0 ports 1 x Coaxial S/PDIF Out port 1 x Optical S/PDIF Out port 1 x PS/2 keyboard port 8-Channel audio ports I n t e r n a l...

  • Page 11: Hardware Information

    This chapter lists the hardware setup procedures that you have to perform when installing system components. It includes description of the jumpers and connectors on the motherboard. Hardware information...

  • Page 12: Before You Proceed

    The red warning LED lights up when you installed two graphics cards but did not connect the ASUS EZ Plug™. The illustration below shows the location of the onboard LEDs. SLI_WARN_LED...

  • Page 13: Motherboard Overview

    Place nine screws into the holes indicated by circles to secure the motherboard to the chassis. Do not overtighten the screws! Doing so can damage the motherboard. Place this side towards the rear of the chassis A8N-SLI ASUS A8N-SLI 1 - 3...

  • Page 14: Motherboard Layout

    1 . 2 . 3 Motherboard layout 24.5cm (9.6in) P S /2K B MS T: Mous e C P U_FAN B : Keyboard AT X12V S P DIF _O S P DIF _O2 US B 12 LAN1_US B 34 Top:R ear S peaker Out C enter: S ide S peaker Out B elow:...

  • Page 15: Layout Contents

    1 - 1 9 12. IEEE 1394a port 1 - 1 9 13. Optical S/PDIF Out port 1 - 1 9 14. Coaxial S/PDIF Out port 1 - 1 9 15. PS/2 keyboard port 1 - 1 9 ASUS A8N-SLI 1 - 5...
  • Page 16 Internal connectors P a g e 1. Floppy disk drive connector (34-1 pin FLOPPY1) 1-20 2. Serial port connector (10-1 pin COM1) 1-20 3. IDE connectors (40-1 pin PRI_IDE, SEC_IDE) 1-21 4. Serial ATA connectors (7-pin SATA1, SATA2, SATA3, SATA4) 1-22 5.

  • Page 17: Central Processing Unit (Cpu)

    Gold triangle 1 . 3 . 1 Installing the CPU To install a CPU: Locate the CPU socket on the motherboard. A8N-SLI ® A8N-SLI CPU Socket 939 ASUS A8N-SLI 1 - 7...
  • Page 18 Unlock the socket by pressing the lever sideways, then lift it up to a 90°-100° angle. Socket lever Make sure that the socket lever is lifted up to 90°-100° angle; otherwise the CPU does not fit in completely. Position the CPU above the socket such that the CPU corner with the gold triangle matches the socket corner with a small...

  • Page 19: Installing The Heatsink And Fan

    Your boxed CPU heatsink and fan assembly should come with installation instructions for the CPU, heatsink, and the retention mechanism. If the instructions in this section do not match the CPU documentation, follow the latter. ASUS A8N-SLI 1 - 9...
  • Page 20 Attach one end of the retention bracket to the retention module base. Align the other end of the retention bracket (near the retention bracket lock) to the retention module base. A clicking sound denotes that the retention bracket is in place. Make sure that the fan and heatsink assembly perfectly fits the retention mechanism...
  • Page 21 CPU_FAN. CPU_FAN A8N-SLI ® A8N-SLI CPU fan connector Do not forget to connect the CPU fan connector! Hardware monitoring errors can occur if you fail to plug this connector. ASUS A8N-SLI 1 - 1 1...

  • Page 22: System Memory

    System memory 1 . 4 . 1 Overview The motherboard comes with four 184-pin Double Data Rate (DDR) Dual Inline Memory Modules (DIMM) sockets. The following figure illustrates the location of the sockets: A8N-SLI ® A8N-SLI 184-pin DDR DIMM sockets C h a n n e l Sockets Channel A...

  • Page 23: Installing A Dimm

    DIMM. DDR DIMM notch Support the DIMM lightly with your fingers when pressing the retaining clips. The DIMM might get damaged when it flips out with extra force. Remove the DIMM from the socket. ASUS A8N-SLI 1 - 1 3...

  • Page 24: Expansion Slots

    Expansion slots In the future, you may need to install expansion cards. The following sub-sections describe the slots and the expansion cards that they support. Make sure to unplug the power cord before adding or removing expansion cards. Failure to do so may cause you physical injury and damage motherboard components.

  • Page 25: Standard Interrupt Assignments

    When using PCI cards on shared slots, ensure that the drivers support “Share IRQ” or that the cards do not need IRQ assignments; otherwise, conflicts will arise between the two PCI groups, making the system unstable and the card inoperable. ASUS A8N-SLI 1 - 1 5...

  • Page 26: Pci Slots

    1 . 5 . 3 PCI slots The PCI slots support cards such as a LAN card, SCSI card, USB card, and other cards that comply with PCI specifications. The figure shows a LAN card installed on a PCI slot. 1 .

  • Page 27: Jumper

    You do not need to clear the RTC when the system hangs due to overclocking. For system failure due to overclocking, use the C.P.R. (CPU Parameter Recall) feature. Shut down and reboot the system so the BIOS can automatically reset parameter settings to default values. ASUS A8N-SLI 1 - 1 7...

  • Page 28: Connectors

    Connectors 1 . 7 . 1 Rear panel connectors PS/2 mouse port (green). This port is for a PS/2 mouse. Parallel port. This 25-pin port connects a parallel printer, a scanner, or other devices. ® LAN 2 (RJ-45) port. Supported by the Marvell 88E81111 Gigabit LAN controller, this port allows Gigabit connection to a Local Area Network (LAN) through a network hub.
  • Page 29 1 4 . Coaxial S/PDIF Out port. This port connects an external audio output device via a coaxial S/PDIF cable. 1 5 . PS/2 keyboard port (purple). This port is for a PS/2 keyboard. ASUS A8N-SLI 1 - 1 9...

  • Page 30: Internal Connectors

    1 . 7 . 2 Internal connectors Floppy disk drive connector (34-1 pin FLOPPY) This connector is for the provided floppy disk drive (FDD) signal cable. Insert one end of the cable to this connector, then connect the other end to the signal connector at the back of the floppy disk drive. The Pin 5 on the connector is removed to prevent incorrect cable connection when using an FDD cable with a covered Pin 5.
  • Page 31 IDE cable. • Use the 80-conductor IDE cable for UltraDMA133/100/66 IDE devices. A8N-SLI NOTE: Orient the red markings (usually zigzag) on the IDE ® ribbon cable to PIN 1. PIN 1 A8N-SLI IDE connectors ASUS A8N-SLI 1 - 2 1...
  • Page 32 Serial ATA connectors (7-pin SATA1, SATA2, SATA3, SATA4) Supported by the NVIDIA ® nForce™4 SLI chipset, these connectors are for the Serial ATA signal cables for Serial ATA hard disk drives that allow up to 3Gb/s of data transfer rate. If you installed Serial ATA hard disk drives, you can create a RAID 0, RAID 1, or RAID 1+0 configuration that span across the Parallel ATA drives.
  • Page 33 A 8N-S L I G ND +12V C HIP _FAN R otation ® C HIP _FAN C HA1_FAN A 8N-S L I F an c onnec tors C HA1_FAN G ND +12V R otation ASUS A8N-SLI 1 - 2 3...
  • Page 34 USB connectors (10-1 pin USB78, USB56, USB910) These connectors are for USB 2.0 ports. Connect the USB/GAME module cable to any of these connectors, then install the module to a slot opening at the back of the system chassis. These USB connectors comply with USB 2.0 specification that supports up to 480 Mbps connection speed.

  • Page 35: Power Supply Requirements

    Ground A8N-SLI EZ_PLUG Ground +5 Volts Ground Ground ® -5 Volts Power OK EZ_DET +5 Volts +5V Standby +12V +5 Volts +12 Volts +5 Volts +12 Volts A8N-SLI ATX power connectors Ground +3 Volts ASUS A8N-SLI 1 - 2 5...
  • Page 36 Internal audio connectors (4-pin AUX, 4-pin CD) These connectors allow you to receive stereo audio input from sound sources such as a CD-ROM, TV tuner, or MPEG card. (black) (white) Right Audio Channel Ground A8N-SLI Ground Left Audio Channel ® A8N-SLI Internal audio connectors 1 0 .
  • Page 37 By default, the pins labeled “Chassis Signal” and “Ground” are shorted with a jumper cap. Remove the jumper caps only when you intend to use the chassis intrusion detection feature. A8N-SLI ® CHASSIS (Default) A8N-SLI Chassis alarm lead ASUS A8N-SLI 1 - 2 7...

  • Page 38: System Panel Connector

    1 2 . System panel connector (10-1 pin F_PANEL) This connector supports several chassis-mounted functions. PLED PWRSW F_PANEL A8N-SLI ® IDE_LED RESET Requires an ATX power supply. A8N-SLI System panel connector • System power LED (2-pin PLED) This 3-pin connector is for the system power LED. Connect the chassis power LED cable to this connector.

  • Page 39: Bios Setup

    This chapter tells how to change the system settings through the BIOS Setup menus. Detailed descriptions of the BIOS parameters are also provided. BIOS setup...

  • Page 40: Managing And Updating Your Bios

    AwardBIOS Flash Utility (Updates the BIOS using a floppy disk during POST.) ASUS CrashFree BIOS 2 Utility (Updates the BIOS using a bootable floppy disk when the BIOS gets corrupted.) Refer to the corresponding section for details on these utilities.

  • Page 41: Awardbios Flash Utility

    Copy the AwardBIOS Flash Utility (awdflash.exe) from the Software folder of the support CD to the floppy disk with the latest BIOS file. Boot the system in DOS mode using the bootable floppy disk you created earlier. ASUS A8N-SLI 2 - 3...
  • Page 42 When the A:> appears, replace the bootable floppy disk with the floppy disk containing the new BIOS file and the Award BIOS Flash Utility. At the prompt, type AwardBIOS Flash Utility for ASUS V1.09 awdflash then press (C) Phoenix Technologies Ltd. All Rights Reserved <Enter>. The Award...
  • Page 43 The utility verifies the AwardBIOS Flash Utility for ASUS V1.09 BIOS file in the floppy (C) Phoenix Technologies Ltd. All Rights Reserved disk and starts flashing For NF-KC804-A8N-SLI-00 DATE: 11/30/2004 the BIOS file. Flash Type - SST 49LF004A/B /3.3V File Name to Program: 1001-001.bin...

  • Page 44: Saving The Current Bios File

    To save the current BIOS file using the AwardBIOS Flash Utility: Follow steps 1 to 6 of the previous section. Press <Y> when the AwardBIOS Flash Utility for ASUS V1.09 utility prompts you to (C) Phoenix Technologies Ltd. All Rights Reserved...

  • Page 45: Recovering The Bios From A Floppy Disk

    Reading file “A8N-SLI.ROM”. Completed. Start flashing... DO NOT shut down or reset the system while updating the BIOS! Doing so can cause system boot failure! Restart the system after the utility completes the updating process. ASUS A8N-SLI 2 - 7...

  • Page 46: Bios Setup Program

    BIOS Setup program This motherboard supports a programmable Flash ROM that you can update using the provided utility described in section “2.1 Managing and updating your BIOS.” Use the BIOS Setup program when you are installing a motherboard, reconfiguring your system, or prompted to “Run Setup.” This section explains how to configure your system using this utility.

  • Page 47: Bios Menu Bar

    Moves the cursor to the first field <End> or <PgDn> Moves the cursor to the last field < F 5 > Resets the current screen to its Setup Defaults < F 1 0 > Saves changes and exits Setup ASUS A8N-SLI 2 - 9...
  • Page 48 General help In addition to the Item Specific Help window, the BIOS setup program also provides a General Help screen. You may launch this screen from any menu by simply pressing <F1>. The General Help screen lists the legend keys and their corresponding functions.

  • Page 49: Main Menu

    Thu, Mar 17 2005 Item Specific Help Legacy Diskette A [1.44M, 3.5 in.] Change the internal clock. Primary IDE Master [ST320410A] Primary IDE Slave [ASUS CD--S520/] Secondary IDE Master [None] Secondary IDE Slave [None] First SATA Master [None] Second SATA Master [None]...

  • Page 50: Primary And Secondary Ide Master/Slave

    2 . 3 . 5 Primary and Secondary IDE Master/Slave Select Menu Primary IDE Master Item Specific Help Auto Acoustic Management Disabled Press [Enter] to select. Primary IDE Master [Auto] Access Mode [Auto] Capacity 13579 MB Cylinder 26310 Head Sector PIO Mode [Auto] UDMA Mode...

  • Page 51: Pio Mode

    FDISK, to partition and format new IDE hard disk drives. This is necessary so that you can write or read data from the hard disk. Make sure to set the partition of the Primary IDE hard disk drives to active. ASUS A8N-SLI 2 - 1 3...

  • Page 52: First, Second, Third, And Fourth Sata Master

    2 . 3 . 6 First, Second, Third, and Fourth SATA Master First SATA Master Select Menu Auto Acoustic Management Disabled Item Specific Help Extended IDE Drive [Auto] Sets the type of fixed Access Mode [Auto] disk connected to the system.

  • Page 53: Installed Memory

    This is necessary so that you can write or read data from the hard disk. Make sure to set the partition of the Primary IDE hard disk drives to active. 2 . 3 . 7 Installed Memory Shows the size of installed memory. ASUS A8N-SLI 2 - 1 5...

  • Page 54: Advanced Menu

    Advanced Menu The Advanced menu items allow you to change the settings for the CPU and other system devices. Take caution when changing the settings of the Advanced menu items. Incorrect field values may cause the system to malfunction. Select Menu CPU Configuration Chipset Item Specific Help...

  • Page 55: Cpu Configuration

    Cache RAM 512K Cool`n’Quiet function. AMD K8 Cool ‘n’ Quiet control [Enabled] AMD K8 Cool ‘n’ Quiet control [Enabled] Enables or disables the AMD K8 Cool `n’ Quiet™ feature. Configuration options: [Enabled] ~ [Disabled] ASUS A8N-SLI 2 - 1 7...

  • Page 56: Dram Configuration

    2 . 4 . 2 Chipset configuration The items in this menu show the chipset configuration settings. Select an item then press <Enter> to display a pop-up menu with the configuration options. Chipset Select Menu Item Specific Help DRAM Configuration [Press Enter] Errata 94 Enhanced [Enabled]...
  • Page 57 Allows you to se the minumum and maximum limits of the 32-bit memory-mapped IO location. DRAM Over 4G Remapping [Disabled] Enables or disables DRAM remapping when using 4 GB of system memory. Configuration options: [Disabled] [Enabled] ASUS A8N-SLI 2 - 1 9...

  • Page 58: Pcipnp

    MTRR mapping mode [Continuous] Sets the MTRR mapping mode. Configuration options: [Continuous] [Discrete] Errata 94 Enhanced [Auto] Configuration options: [Auto] [Disabled] 2 . 4 . 3 PCIPnP The items in this menu show the PCIPnP configuration settings. Select an item then press <Enter> to display a pop-up menu with the configuration options.

  • Page 59: Irq Resources

    Some non-standard VGA cards, like graphics accelerators or MPEG video cards, may not show colors properly. Setting this field to [Enabled] corrects this problem. If you are using standard VGA cards, leave this field to the default setting [Disabled]. Configuration options: [Disabled] [Enabled] ASUS A8N-SLI 2 - 2 1...

  • Page 60: Onboard Device Configuration

    2 . 4 . 4 Onboard device configuration The items in this menu show the onboard device configuration settings. Select an item then press <Enter> to display a pop-up menu with the configuration options. Select Menu Onboard Device Configuration Item Specific Help IDE Function Setup NVRAID Configuration USB Configuration...

  • Page 61: Ide Function Setup

    Allows you to enable or disable the Serial ATA 1 port. Configuration options: [Disabled] [Enabled] SATA DMA transfer [Enabled] Allows you to enable or disable the SATA DMA transfer access. Configuration options: [Disabled] [Enabled] ASUS A8N-SLI 2 - 2 3...

  • Page 62: Nvraid Configuration

    Serial-ATA 2 [Enabled] Allows you to enable or disable the Serial ATA 2 port. Configuration options: [Disabled] [Enabled] SATA2 DMA transfer [Enabled] Allows you to enable or disable the SATA2 DMA transfer access. Configuration options: [Disabled] [Enabled] IDE Prefetch Mode [Enabled] Allows you to enable or disable the IDE prefetch mode.

  • Page 63: Usb Configuration

    Allows you to enable or disable the USB 2.0 controller. Configuration options: [Disabled] [Enabled] USB Legacy Support [Enabled] Allows you to enable or disable support for USB devices on legacy operating systems (OS). Configuration options: [Disabled] [Enabled] ASUS A8N-SLI 2 - 2 5...
  • Page 64 Onboard LAN [Enabled] Allows you to enable or disable the onboard LAN controller. Keep the default [Enabled] if you wish to use the onboard LAN feature. Set to [Disabled] if you installed a PCI LAN card. Configuration options: [Disabled] [Enabled] Onboard LAN Boot ROM [Disabled] Setting to [Enabled] allowed the BIOS to invoke the boot ROM of the onboard LAN chip.

  • Page 65: Sli Configuration

    SLI configuration SLI Configuration Select Menu EZ-Plug Warning [Enabled] Item Specific Help EZ-Plug Warning [Enabled] Allows you to enable or disable the EZ-Plug warning feature. Configuration options: [Disabled] [Enabled] ASUS A8N-SLI 2 - 2 7...

  • Page 66: Power Menu

    Power Menu The Power menu allows you to reduce power consumption. This feature turns off the video display and shuts down the hard disk after a period of inactivity. Select Menu ACPI Suspend Type [S3(STR)] ACPI APIC Support [Enabled] Item Specific Help APM Configuration Hardware Monitor Select the ACPI state...

  • Page 67: Apm Configuration

    WOR (RI#) From Soft-Off [Enabled] Allows you to enable or disable the Wake-On-Ring feature. This feature requires an ATX power supply that provides at least 1A on the +5VSB lead. Configuration options: [Disabled] [Enabled] ASUS A8N-SLI 2 - 2 9...
  • Page 68 Power-On By Alarm [Disabled] Allows you to enable or disable RTC to generate a wake event. When this item is set to Enabled, the items Date of Month Alarm and Time (hh:mm:ss) Alarm items become user-configurable with set values. Configuration options: [Disabled] [Enabled] The two succeeding items become configurable only when the Power-On By RTC Alarm item is set to [Enabled].

  • Page 69: Hardware Monitor

    The onboard hardware monitor automatically detects and displays the Chassis, CPU, and Chip fan speeds in rotations per minute (RPM). If the fan is not connected to the motherboard, the field shows 0. These items are not user-configurable. ASUS A8N-SLI 2 - 3 1...

  • Page 70: Boot Menu

    CPU Target Temperature [66ºC] Allows you to set the CPU temperature threshold. When the CPU temperature reaches the value you set, the CPU fan runs at full speed. Configuration options: [51ºC] [54ºC] [57ºC] [60ºC] [63ºC] [66ºC] [69ºC] [72ºC] [75ºC] [78ºC] [81ºC] This item becomes configurable only when the Q-Fan Controller item is set to [Enabled].

  • Page 71: Boot Device Priority

    2. Bootable Add-in Cards Use <up> or <down> arrow to select a device, then press <+> to move it up, or <-> to move it down the list. Press <ESC> to exit this menu. ASUS A8N-SLI 2 - 3 3...

  • Page 72: Boot Settings Configuration

    2 . 6 . 3 Boot settings configuration Boot Settings Configuration Select Menu Item Specific Help Case Open Warning [Disabled] Quick Boot [Enabled] Press [Enter] to enable Boot Up Floppy Seek [Enabled] or disable. Bootup Num-Lock [On] OS Select for DRAM > 64MB [Non-OS2] Full Screen Logo [Enabled]...
  • Page 73 Allows you to enable or disable the full screen logo display feature. Configuration options: [Disabled] [Enabled] Set this item to [Enabled] to use the ASUS MyLogo™ feature. Halt On [No Errors] Sets the system to halt on errors according to the system functions specified in each option.

  • Page 74: Security

    2 . 6 . 4 Security Security Select Menu Supervisor Password Clear Item Specific Help User Password Clear Password Check [Setup] Supervisor password controls full access. <Enter> to change password. Supervisor Password [Clear] User Password [Clear] These fields allow you to set passwords. To set a password: Highlight an item then press <Enter>.

  • Page 75: Exit Menu

    When a confirmation window appears (with a blinking [Y]): • press <Enter> to save and exit • type [N], then press <Enter>, or simply press <Esc>, to cancel the command and return to the Exit menu ASUS A8N-SLI 2 - 3 7...
  • Page 76 Exit & Discard Changes Select this option only if you do not want to save the changes that you made to the Setup program. If you made changes to fields other than system date, system time, and password, the BIOS asks for a confirmation before exiting.
  • Page 77 This chapter tells how to install SLI-ready PCI Express graphics cards. NVIDIA SLI™ ® technology support...

  • Page 78: Chapter 3: Nvidia® Sli™ Technology Support

    Visit the NVIDIA website for the supported 3D applications and the latest graphics card drivers. 3 . 1 . 2 ASUS Certified SLI Graphics cards Use only ASUS certified PCI Express x16 SLI graphics cards to ensure optimum peformance. GeForce 6800 Ultra models V e n d o r...
  • Page 79 NX66T128D Leadtek WinFast PX6600GT MS-8983 NX6600GT-VTD128E/NX6600GT-TD128E Palit GeForce 6600GT Prolink PV-NV43E(128LD) Sparkle SPPX43 XFX/Pine XFX GeForce 6600GT PCI-E ( PV-T43G-ND ) Visit the NVIDIA zone website (http://www.nzone.com/object/ nzone_sli_certified.html) for the latest certified graphics card list. ASUS A8N-SLI 3 - 3...

  • Page 80: Dual Graphics Card Setup

    Dual graphics card setup 3 . 2 . 1 Setting the ASUS EZ selector card Your motherboard package comes with pre-installed ASUS selector card. default, card single graphics card. ASUS graphics cards this s e l e c t o r...
  • Page 81 Invert the selector card and insert the edge labeled Dual Video Cards. Push down the selector card until the retention clips snap into place. Make sure to completely insert the selector card into the slot. ASUS A8N-SLI 3 - 5...

  • Page 82: Installing Sli-Ready Graphics Cards

    3 . 2 . 2 Installing SLI-ready graphics cards ® Install only identical SLI-ready graphics cards that are NVIDIA certified. Different types of graphics cards will not work together properly. To install the graphics cards: Prepare two graphics cards. Each graphics card should have goldfingers for the SLI connector.
  • Page 83 Insert the second graphics card into the black slot labeled PCIEX16_2. Make sure that the card is properly seated on the slot. If required, connect an auxiliary power source to the PCI Express graphics cards. ASUS A8N-SLI 3 - 7...
  • Page 84 Make sure to connect a 4-pin ATX power cable to the EZ Plug; otherwise, the system will be unstable. ASUS EZ Plug™ The onboard red warning LED lights up if you do not plug a 4-pin ATX power cable to the EZ Plug.
  • Page 85 Make sure that the retention bracket firmly supports the two graphics cards. Retention bracket Connect a VGA cable or a DVI-I cable to the graphics card installed on the blue PCI Express slot. ASUS A8N-SLI 3 - 9...

  • Page 86: Installing The Device Drivers

    3 . 2 . 3 Installing the device drivers Refer to the documentation that came with your graphics card package to install the device drivers. Make sure that your PCI Express graphics card driver supports the NVIDIA SLI technology. Download the latest driver from the NVIDIA website (www.nvidia.com).
  • Page 87 From the nView Desktop Manager window, select the Desktop Management tab. Click Properties to display the Display Properties dialog box. From the Display Properties dialog box, select the Settings tab then click Advanced. Select the NVIDIA GeForce tab. ASUS A8N-SLI 3 - 1 1...
  • Page 88 Click the slider to display the following screen, then select the SLI multi-GPU item. S l i d e r Click the Enable SLI multi-GPU check box. Click OK when done. ® 3 - 1 2 Chapter 3: NVIDIA SLI™ technology support...

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