MSI K9N4 SLI Series User Manual
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MSI K9N4 SLI Series User Manual

MSI K9N4 SLI Series User Manual

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K9N4 SLI Series
MS-7325 (V1.X) Mainboard
G52-73251X1
i

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Summary of Contents for MSI K9N4 SLI Series

  • Page 1 K9N4 SLI Series MS-7325 (V1.X) Mainboard G52-73251X1...

  • Page 2: Copyright Notice

    If a problem arises with your system and no solution can be obtained from the user’s manual, please contact your place of purchase or local distributor. Alternatively, please try the following help resources for further guidance. Visit the MSI website for FAQ, technical guide, BIOS updates, driver updates, and other information: http://www.msi.com.tw/program/service/faq/ faq/esc_faq_list.php...

  • Page 3: Safety Instructions

    Safety Instructions Always read the safety instructions carefully. Keep this User’s Manual for future reference. Keep this equipment away from humidity. Lay this equipment on a reliable flat surface before setting it up. The openings on the enclosure are for air convection hence protects the equip- ment from overheating.

  • Page 4: Fcc-B Radio Frequency Interference Statement

    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.

  • Page 5: Weee (Waste Electrical And Electronic Equipment) Statement

    WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) Statement...

  • Page 8: Table Of Contents

    CONTENTS Copyright Notice ......................ii Trademarks ........................ii Revision History ......................ii Technical Support ......................ii Safety Instructions ......................iii FCC-B Radio Frequency Interference Statement ............iv W EEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) Statement ........v Chapter 1. Getting Started ..................1-1 Mainboard Specifications ...................
  • Page 9 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 ....... 2-20 NV SLI Technology ..................2-21 PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) Slots ........2-23 PCI Interrupt Request Routing ..............2-23 Chapter 3.
  • Page 10 DOT (Dynamic OverClocking) ................B-5 Clock ........................B-6 Voltage ......................... B-7 FAN Speed ......................B-8 Temperature ......................B-9 User Profile ......................B-10 Appendix C. nVidia RAID ..................C-1 Introduct ion ......................C-2 System Requirement ................... C-2 RAID Arrays ....................C-2 Summary of RAID Configurations ...............

  • Page 11: Chapter 1. Getting Started

    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 op- timal system efficiency. Designed to fit the advanced ®...

  • Page 12: Mainboard Specifications

    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. php) Supported FSB - HyperTransport supporting speed up to 1 GHz (2000MT/s) Chipset ®...
  • Page 13 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...

  • Page 14: Mainboard Layout

    T:RS-Out M:CS-Out B:SS-Out PCI_E1 VSC8601 PCI_E2 Nvidia NBFAN1 nForc e500 SLI PCI_E3 PCI_E4 PCI1 BIOS ALC850 BATT PCI2 JFP2 JAUD1 J SP DO1 SYSFAN2 JUSB2 JU SB1 JUSB3 JFP1 JD B1 J CD1 K9N4 SLI Series (MS-7325 v1.X) ATX Mainboard...

  • Page 15: Packing Checklist

    Getting Started Packing Checklist MSI Driver/Utility CD SLI Video Link Card MSI motherboard Standard Cable for IDE Devices (Optional) SATA Cable Power Cable 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...
  • Page 16 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.

  • Page 17: Quick Components Guide

    M S-7325 M ainboard Quick Components Guide CPUFAN1, CPU, p.2-3 DDRII DIMMs, p.2-6 p.2-14 SYSFAN1, JPW1, p.2-14 JPWR1, JCI1, p.2-14 p.2-8 p.2-8 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 NBFAN1, p.2-14 slots, p.2-20 SATA1~4, p.2-13 PCI Slots,...

  • Page 18: Cpu (Central Processing Unit)

    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.msi.com.tw/program/ products/mainboard/mbd/pro_mbd_cpu_support.php Important 1.

  • Page 19: Cpu Installation Procedures For Socket Am2

    M S-7325 M ainboard CPU Installation Procedures for Socket AM2 1. Please turn off the power and unplug the power cord before Open Lever installing the CPU. Sliding 2. Pull the lever s ideways away 90 degree Plate from the socket. Make sure to raise the lever up to a 90-de- gree angle.

  • Page 20: Installing Amd Socket Am2 Cpu Cooler Set

    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.

  • Page 21: Memory

    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, 1.8V 56x2=112 pin 64x2=128 pin Dual-Channel Memory Population Rules...

  • Page 22: Installing Ddrii Modules

    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.

  • Page 23: Power Supply

    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 pin 13 power supply is inserted in the proper orientation and the pins are aligned.

  • Page 24: Important Notification About Power Issue

    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.

  • Page 25: Back Panel

    M S-7325 M ainboard Back Panel RS-Out L-In Parallel Port M ou se L-Out CS-Out Keyboard USB Ports Serial Port 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.
  • Page 26 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.

  • Page 27: Connectors

    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.

  • Page 28: Serial Ata Connectors: Sata1~Sata4

    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 con- nector can connect to 1 hard disk device. SATA3 SATA4 SATA1 SATA2 Serial ATA cable...

  • Page 29: Fan Power Connectors: Cpufan1, Sysfan1, Nbfan1 & Sysfan2

    M S-7325 M ainboard Fan Power Connectors: CPUFAN1, SYSFAN1, NBFAN1 & SYSFAN2 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.

  • Page 30: Front Panel Audio Connector: Jaud1

    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. JAUD1 Pin Definition SIGNAL DESCRIPTION AUD_MIC Front panel microphone input signal AUD_GND Ground used by analog audio circuits AUD_MIC_BIAS...

  • Page 31: Front Usb Connectors: Jusb1, Jusb2 & Jusb3

    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.

  • Page 32: Front Panel Connectors: Jfp1/ Jfp2

    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. Power Power Switch JFP1 Reset Switch...

  • Page 33: D-Bracket™ 2 Connector: Jdb1

    M S-7325 M ainboard D-Bracket™ 2 Connector: JDB1 The mainboard comes with a JDB1 connector for you to connect to D-Bracket™ 2. D- Bracket™ 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 vari- ous combinations of LED signals.

  • Page 34: Button

    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.

  • Page 35: Slots

    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 pur- pose I/O.

  • Page 36: Nv Sli Technology

    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.
  • Page 37 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) .

  • Page 38: Pci (Peripheral Component Interconnect) Slots

    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...

  • Page 39: Chapter 3. Bios Setup

    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.

  • Page 40: Entering Setup

    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 <DEL> 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.

  • Page 41: Control Keys

    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 <Enter> Select the item Jumps to the Exit menu or returns to the main menu from a <Esc>...

  • Page 42: The Main Menu

    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.
  • Page 43 BIOS Setup Load Optimized Defaults Use this menu to load the default values set by the mainboard manufacturer specifi- cally 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.

  • Page 44: Standard Cmos Features

    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 <PgUp> or <PgDn> 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).
  • Page 45 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 con- nector . Type Define the HDD parameters. LBA/Large M ode This allows you to enable or disable the LBA Mode.
  • Page 46 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.

  • Page 47: Advanced Bios Features

    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.
  • Page 48 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 <Enter>...

  • Page 49: Advanced Chipset Features

    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. 3-11...

  • Page 50: Integrated Peripherals

    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.
  • Page 51 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.
  • Page 52 M S-7325 M ainboard SATA Devices Configuration Press <Enter> 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.

  • Page 53: Power Management Setup

    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].
  • Page 54 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 short- ened when you disable the function, but system will need an VGA driver to initialize the VGA card.
  • Page 55 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.

  • Page 56: Pnp/Pci Configurations

    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.
  • Page 57 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 avail- able IRQs passed to devices that are configurable by the system BIOS. The available IRQ pool is determined by reading the ESCD NVRAM.

  • Page 58: H/W Monitor

    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.

  • Page 59: Cell Menu

    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 ac- tivated and will be working properly, it is required to double confirm that: 1.
  • Page 60 CPU Dynamic OverClocking Dynamic Overclocking Technology is the automatic overclocking function, included in ’s newly developed CoreCell the MSI Technology. It is designed to detect the load balance of CPU while running programs, and to adjust the best CPU frequency automatically.
  • Page 61 BIOS Setup CPU Frequency Configuration Press <Enter> 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.
  • Page 62 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.
  • Page 63 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.

  • Page 64: Cpu And Memory Clock Overclocking

    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.

  • Page 65: Load Optimized Defaults

    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.

  • Page 66: Bios Setting Password

    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 <Enter>. The password typed now will replace any previously set password from CMOS memory. You will be prompted to confirm the password.

  • Page 67: Appendix A Realtek Alc850 Audio

    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.

  • Page 68: Installing The Audio Driver

    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 ®...
  • Page 69 Realtek ALC850 Audio 3. Click Next to install the AC’97 Audio software. Click here 4. Click Finish to restart the system. S el ec t t hi s option Click here...

  • Page 70: Software Configuration

    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.

  • Page 71: Sound Effect

    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.
  • Page 72 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”...

  • Page 73: Speaker Configuration

    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.
  • Page 74 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 speak- ers with good ones.

  • Page 75: 3D Audio Demo

    Realtek ALC850 Audio 3D Audio Demo In this tab you may adjust your 3D positional audio before playing 3D audio applica- tions like gaming. You may also select different environment to choose the most suitable environment you like.

  • Page 76: General

    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.

  • Page 77: Spdif

    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.

  • Page 78: Hardware Setup

    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.
  • Page 79 Realtek ALC850 Audio n 4-Channel M ode for 4-Speaker Output Back Panel 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.
  • Page 80 M S-7325 M ainboard n 6-Channel M ode for 6-Speaker Output Back Panel Description: Connect two speakers to back panel’s Line Out connector, two speakers to the rear-channel Line out connec tor and two s p e a k e r s t o t h e c e n t e r / subwoofer-channel Line Out 6-Channel Analog Audio Output connector.
  • Page 81 Realtek ALC850 Audio n 8-Channel M ode for 8-Speaker Output Description: Connect two speakers to back panel’s Line Out connector, two speakers to the rear-channel Line out connector, two speak- ers to the center/subwoofer- channel Line Out connector and 8-Channel Analog Audio Output two speakers to the side-chan- nel Line Out connector.

  • Page 82: Appendix B Dual Core Center

    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 hard- ware status of MSI Mainboard & MSI Graphics card in windows, such as CPU/GPU clock, voltage, fan speed and temperature.

  • Page 83: Activating Dual Core Center

    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”...

  • Page 84: Main

    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.
  • Page 85 M S-7325 M ainboard 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.

  • Page 86: Dot (Dynamic Overclocking

    Dynamic Overclocking Technology is an automatic overclocking function, included in ’s newly developed Dual CoreCenter Technology. It is designed to detect the the MSI 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.

  • Page 87: Clock

    M S-7325 M ainboard 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.

  • Page 88: Voltage

    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.

  • Page 89: Fan Speed

    M S-7325 M ainboard 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.

  • Page 90: Temperature

    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.

  • Page 91: User Profile

    M S-7325 M ainboard 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...
  • Page 92 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.

  • Page 93: Appendix C Nvidia Raid

    nVidia RAID Appendix C nVidia RAID NVIDIA brings Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) technology—which is used by the world’s lead- ing businesses—to the common PC desktop. This tech- nology 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.

  • Page 94: Introduct Ion

    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.

  • Page 95: Raid Configuration

    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 Chan- nel in SATA Devices Configuration of Integrated Peripherals in BIOS.) 2.
  • Page 96 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.
  • Page 97 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].
  • Page 98 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.

  • Page 99: Installing The Raid Driver (For Bootable Raid Array

    Please follow the instruction below to make an nVIDIA Serial ATA RAID driver for yourself. 1. Insert the MSI CD into the CD-ROM drive. 2. Click the “Browse CD” on the Setup screen. 3. Copy all the contents in the :\\nVidia \System \CK804 \IDE \Win XP or Win2K \SATARAID to a formatted floppy disk.
  • Page 100 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.

  • Page 101: Nvidia Raid Utility Installation

    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).

  • Page 102: Initializing And Using The Disk Array

    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”.
  • Page 103 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.

  • Page 104: Raid Drives Management

    M S-7325 M ainboard RAID Drives Management There is an application called NVRAIDMAN which helps you perform the following tasks of nVDIA RAID. • Viewing RAID Array Configurations View an array configuration (mirrored, striped, mirror-striped, JBOD, or any sup- ported combination) •...

  • Page 105: Setting Up A Spare Raid Disk

    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: •...
  • Page 106 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.
  • Page 107 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.
  • Page 108 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...”.

  • Page 109: Morphing From One Raid Array To Another

    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.

  • Page 110: Hot Plug Array

    M S-7325 M ainboard From New Array Disk Requirements m >= n2 m > n RAID 0 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 RAID 0+1 ** Not a valid combination **...

  • Page 111: Initializing A Raid Array

    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.
  • Page 112 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.
  • Page 113 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.

  • Page 114: Rebuilding A Raid Array

    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.
  • Page 115 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.
  • Page 116 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.

  • Page 117: Synchronizing A Raid Array

    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, •...

  • Page 118: Appendix D Nvidia System Driver

    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 work-...

  • Page 119: Nvidia System Driver Installation

    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.
  • Page 120 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.
  • Page 121 CD for yourself. 1. Insert the MSI CD into the CD-ROM drive. 2. Ignore the Setup screen and use “Explorer” to browse the CD.

  • Page 122: Nvidia Utility Installaion

    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.

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