Asus M2N-E SLI 6.1Overview

6.1Overview

The motherboard supports the NVIDIA® SLI™ (Scalable Link Interface) ‑ Intel ® Edition technology that allows you to install two identical PCI Express™ x16 graphics cards. Follow the installation procedures in this section.

Requirements

•You should have two identical SLI-ready graphics cards that are NVIDIA® certified.

•Make sure that your graphics card driver supports the NVIDIA SLI technology. Download the latest driver from the NVIDIA website (www.nvidia.com).

•Make sure that your power supply unit (PSU) can provide at least the minimum power required by your system. See “9. ATX power connectors” on page 2-28 for details.

•The NVIDIA SLI technology supports Windows® XP™ 32-bit/64bit operating system only.

•Visit the NVIDIA zone website (http://www.nzone.com) for the latest certified graphics card and supported 3D application list.

ASUS M2N-E SLI

Contents

Page E2830 First Edition October Copyright © 2006 ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. All Rights Reserved Chapter 1: Product introduction Chapter 2: Hardware information Chapter 3: Powering up Chapter 4: BIOS setup Chapter 5: Software support Chapter 6: NVIDIA® SLI™ technology support Federal Communications Commission Statement Canadian Department of Communications Statement Electrical safety Operation safety About this guide How this guide is organized Where to find more information 1.ASUS websites 2.Optional documentation Conventions used in this guide IMPORTANT: Instructions that you MUST follow to complete a task M2N-ESLI specifications summary CPU Chipset System bus Memory Special features Rear panel Internal connectors BIOS features Manageability Page Chapter summary 1.1Welcome Thank you for buying an ASUS® M2N-ESLImotherboard 1.2Package contents Check your motherboard package for the following items Motherboard 1.3.1Product highlights Latest processor technology Scalable Link Interface (SLI™) technology AMD Cool ‘n’ Quiet!™ Technology Gigabit LAN Serial ATA 3Gb/s RAID PCI Express™ interface S/PDIF digital sound ready USB 2.0 technology IEEE 1394a support 1.3.2ASUS Special features ASUS Two-slotthermal design ASUS CrashFree BIOS ASUS EZ Flash ASUS Q-Connector Hardware2 information Page Onboard LED 2.2.1Placement direction 2.2.2Screw holes 2.2.3Motherboard layout 2.2.4Layout Contents 2.3.1Installing the CPU Page 2.3.2Installing the heatsink and fan 2.Attach one end of the retention bracket to the retention module base M2N-ESLI CPU Fan Connector 2.4.1Overview 2.4.2Memory configurations *For dual-channelmemory configuration (2), you may: •install identical DIMMs in all four sockets OR Always use identical DDR2 DIMM pairs for Important notice on installing Windows® XP 32-bitversion http://support.asus.com/faq/faq Qualified Vendors List DDR2-800 DDR2-667 DDR2-533 2.4.3Installing a DIMM 2.4.4Removing a DIMM 2.5.1Installing an expansion card 2.5.2Configuring an expansion card 2.5.3Interrupt assignments Standard interrupt assignments IRQ assignments for this motherboard 2.5.4PCI slots 2.5.5PCI Express x1 slot 2.5.6PCI Express x16 slots Recommended PCI Express x16 configurations 2.6Jumpers 1.Clear RTC RAM (CLRTC) To erase the RTC RAM: 1.Turn OFF the computer and unplug the power cord 2.Remove the onboard battery 2.USB device wake-up (3-pinUSBPW12, USBPW34, USBPW56, USBPW78) USBPW12 USBPW34 USBPW5-8 M2N-ESLI USB Device Wake Up 3.Keyboard power (3-pinKBPWR) M2N-ESLI Keyboard Power Setting 2.7.1Rear panel connectors LAN port LED indications Audio 2, 4, 6, or 8-channelconfiguration 2.7.2Internal connectors M2N-ESLI IDE Connectors SEC IDE PRI IDE 3.Serial ATA connectors (7-pinSATA1, SATA2, SATA3, SATA4) 4.CPU, Chassis, and Power fan connectors (3-pinCPU_FAN, 3-pinPWR_FAN, 3-pinCHA_FAN) The ASUS PWR_FAN CHA_FAN 5.USB connectors (10-1pin USB56, USB78) M2N-ESLI USB 2.0 Connectors The USB module is purchased separately 5.IEEE 1394a port connector (10-1pin IE1394_1) IE1394_1 6.ATX power connectors (24-pin EATXPWR1,4-pinATX12V) M2N-ESLI CPU ATX Power Connector 7.Internal audio connectors (4-pinCD) M2N-ESLI CPU Internal Audio Connector 8.Front panel audio connector (10-1pin FP_AUDIO) M2N-ESLI Front panel audio connector 9.Digital audio connector (4-1pin SPDIF) M2N-ESLI Digital Audio Connector 10.System panel connector (20-pinPANEL) This connector supports several chassis-mountedfunctions PA NEL M2N-ESLI System Panel Connector •System power LED (2-pinPLED) Q-Connector(System panel) Step Carefully connect the ASUS Q-Connectorto the System panel connector Page sequence and ways of shutting down the system ASUS M2N-ESLI 3.1Starting up for the first time 3.2.1Using the OS shut down function 3.2.2Using the dual function power switch Page Managing and updating your BIOS 4.1.1 Creating a bootable floppy disk 4.1.2 Updating the BIOS 6.Type the BIOS file name in the FileName to Program field, then press <Enter 7.Press <N> when the utility prompts you to save the current BIOS file The following screen appears Do not turn off or reset the system during the flashing process 4.1.3 Saving the current BIOS file 4.1.4 ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3 utility Recovering the BIOS from the support CD Recovering the BIOS from the USB flash disk Recovering the BIOS from a floppy disk 4.1.5 ASUS EZ Flash 2 utility 4.1.6 ASUS Update utility Installing ASUS Update Updating the BIOS through the Internet Updating the BIOS through a BIOS file 4.2BIOS setup program 4.2.1 BIOS menu screen 4.2.2 Menu bar 4.2.3 Legend bar 4.2.4 Menu items 4.2.5 Sub-menu items 4.2.6 Configuration fields 4.2.7 Pop-upwindow 4.2.8 Generalhelp 4.3.1 System Time [xx:xx:xx] 4.3.2 System Date [Day, xx/xx/xxxx] 4.3.3 Legacy Diskette A [1.44M, 3.5 in.] 4.3.5 Primary and Secondary IDEMaster/Slave Primary IDEMaster/Slave [Auto]; Secondary IDEMaster/Slave [Auto] Access Mode [Auto] PIO Mode UDMA Mode Transfer Mode 4.3.6 SATA 1, 2, 3 Extended IDEDrive [Auto] Landing Zone 4.3.7 HDD SMART Monitoring [Disabled] 4.3.8 Installed Memory 4.4.1 JumperFree Configuration Overclock Profile [Auto] CPU Frequency [XXX](value is auto-detected) PCIExpress Clock [100MHz] DDR2 Voltage [Auto] CPU Multiplier [Auto] CPU Voltage [Auto] PCIClock Synchronization Mode [Auto] 4.4.3 CPU Configuration DRAM Configuration Page Page Hyper Transport Frequency [Auto] AMD Live! [Disabled] AMD Cool’n’Quiet Function [Disabled] 4.4.4 PCIPnP Plug & Play O/S[No] Primary Display Adapter[PCI] 4.4.5 Onboard Device Configuration IDEFunction Setup Page NVRAID Configuration USB Configuration Onboard nVidia LAN[Enabled] Onboard LAN Boot ROM[Disabled] Onboard USB Audio[Enabled] Onboard 1394[Enabled] SerialPort1 Address [3F8/IRQ4] ParallelPort Address [378/IRQ7] ParallelPort Mode [EPP] 4.4.6 SLIConfiguration AI -Selector[Auto] 4.5.1 ACPISuspend Type [S1&S3] 4.5.2 ACPIAPIC Support [Enabled] 4.5.3 APM Configuration Restore on AC PowerLoss[ Power-Off] PWR Button < 4 secs [I nstant-Off] Power On By PCI/PCIEDevices [Disabled] Power On By ExternalModems [Disabled] Power On By RTC Alarm [Disabled] Date of Month Alarm [Disabled] Time (hh:mm) Alarm [Disabled] HPETSupport [Enabled] Power Up By PS/2 Mouse [Disabled] 4.5.4 Hardware Monitor CPU/Chassis Q-FanControl[Disabled] CPU/Chassis Q-FanProfile [Performance] VCOREVoltage[1.36V] 3.3V Voltage[3.31V] 12V Voltage[11.90V] CPU Temperature, M/B Temperature CPU FAN Speed, CHASSIS FAN Speed, POWER Fan Speed CPU Fan Speed warning [800 RPM] 4.6.1 Boot Device Priority 1st ~xxth Boot Device [Removable] 4.6.2 Removable Drives 1. Floppy Disks 2. Netac OnlyDisk 4.6.3 Boot Settings Configuration Case Open Warning [Enabled] Quick Boot [Enabled] Boot Up Floppy Seek [Disabled] Bootup Num-Lock [On] Typematic Rate Setting [Disabled] Typematic Rate (Chars/Sec) [6] Typematic Delay (Msec) [250] 4.6.4 Security Supervisor Password User Password Password Check ASUSEZFlash Exit & Save Changes Exit & Discard Changes Load Setup Defaults Discard Changes Software5 support Installing an operating system 5.2.1 Running the support CD 5.2.2 Drivers menu NVIDIA nForce Chipset Driver C-Media CM6501 Audio Driver AMD Cool’n’Quiet Driver USB 2.0 Driver 5.2.3 Utilities menu ASUS PC Probe ASUS Update ASUS AMD Cool‘n’ Quiet Utility ADOBEAcrobat Reader 5.2.4 Make Disk menu Make NV SATA/RAID 32bit 2000 Driver Make NV SATA/RAID 32bit XP Driver Make NV SATA/RAID 32bit 2003 Driver Make NV SATA/RAID 64bit XP Driver 5.2.5 Manuals menu NVIDIA RAID User’s Guide 5.2.6 ASUS Contact information 5.2.7 Other information Motherboard Info Browse this CD Technicalsupport Form Filelist 5.3.1 Cool‘n’ Quiet!™ Technology Enabling Cool‘n’ Quiet!™ Technology Windows® 2000/XP Launching the Cool‘n’ Quiet!™ software 5.3.2 ASUS PC Probe Installing PC Probe Launching PC Probe Using PC Probe Preferences Hardware monitor panels WMIbrowser DMIbrowser PCIbrowser Usage Configuring PC Probe 5.4RAID configurations (Data mirroring data striping data mirroring JBOD 5.4.1 Installing hard disks Installing ParallelATA hard disks Installing SerialATA (SATA) hard disks 5.4.2 NVIDIA® RAID configurations Setting the BIOS RAID items Entering the NVIDIA® RAID utility Creating a RAID Volume •8 /16 KB - low disk usage •64 KB - typical disk usage •128 KB - performance disk usage 4.Press <F7> to create RAID set. The following message box appears Rebuilding a RAID array Page Deleting a RAID array Clearing a disk data 5.5Creating a RAID driver disk To create a RAID driver disk: 1.Place the motherboard support CD into the CD-ROMdrive When the Drivers menu appears, select the RAID driver disk you want to create: •Click Make NVIDIA RAID Driver to create an NVIDIA® RAID driver disk Page Page 6.1Overview 6.2Dual graphics card setup Page Page After installing your graphics cards and the device drivers, enable the Multi‑Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) feature in the NVIDIA nView properties To enable the multi-GPUfeature: 6.Select the NVIDIA GeForce tab 8.Click the Enable SLI multi-GPUcheck box 9.Click OK when done