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Chapter 1:
Product introduction
Chapter 2:
Hardware information
Chapter 3:
BIOS setup
Chapter 4:
Software support
Chapter 5:
Multiple GPU technology support
Federal Communications Commission Statement
Canadian Department of Communications Statement
REACH
Electrical safety
Operation safety
How this guide is organized
Where to find more information
Conventions used in this guide
Typography
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Chapter
1.3.1Product highlights
Intel® Socket 2011 for 2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7 Process Extreme Edition
Intel® X79 Express Chipset
Quad-GPUSLI™ and Quad-GPUCrossFireX™ Support
Quad-ChannelDDR3 1866/1600/1333/1066 MHz support
1.3.2“Ultimate COOL!” Thermal Solutions
TUF Thermal Armor
TUF Thermal Radar
1.3.3“TUF ENGINE!” Power Design
New DIGI+ Power Control
1.3.4“Safe & Stable!” Guardian Angel
MemOK
ESD Guards
1.3.5ASUS EZ DIY
UEFI BIOS (EZ Mode)
1.3.6ASUS Exclusive Features
ASUS SSD Caching
USB 3.0 Boost
USB BIOS Flashback
1.3.7Other special features
ErP Ready
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2.2.1Motherboard layout
Layout contents
2.2.2Central Processing Unit (CPU)
2.2.3System memory
Recommended memory configurations
Memory configurations
SABERTOOTH X79 Motherboard Qualified Vendors Lists (QVL)
DDR3 1333 MHz capability
DDR3 1333 MHz capability (continued)
DDR3 1600 MHz capability
DDR3 1600 MHz capability (continued)
DDR3 1600 MHz capability
DDR3 1866 MHz capability
DDR3 1866 MHz capability
DDR3 1866 MHz capability* (continued)
DDR3 2133 MHz capability
DDR3 2133 MHz capability
DDR3 2400 MHz capability
2.2.4Expansion slots
IRQ assignments for this motherboard
2.2.5Jumper
2.2.6Onboard switch
2.2.7Onboard LEDs
2.2.8Internal connectors
2.Intel® X79 Serial ATA 3Gb/s connectors (7-pin SATA3G_3–6[black])
3.Marvell® Serial ATA 6Gb/s connectors (7-pinSATA6G_E1/E2 [gray])
4.Serial port connector (10-1pin COM1)
5.USB 3.0 connector (20-1pin USB3_56)
SABERTOOTH X79 USB3.0 connector
6.USB 2.0 connectors (10-1pin USB78, USB910, USB1112, USB1314)
SABERTOOTH X79 USB2.0 connectors
7.Digital audio connector (4-1pin SPDIF_OUT)
SABERTOOTH X79 Digital audio connector
8.CPU, chassis, and assistant fan connectors
(4-pinCPU_FAN; 4-pinCPU_OPT FAN; 4-pin CHA_FAN1-4; 4-pinASST_FAN)
9.Front panel audio connector (10-1pin AAFP)
10.ATX power connectors (24-pinEATXPWR; 8-pinEATX12V)
11.System panel connector (20-8pin PANEL)
•System power LED (2-pinPLED)
•Hard disk drive activity LED (2-pinIDE_LED)
•System warning speaker (4-pinSPEAKER)
•ATX power button/soft-offbutton (2-pinPWRSW)
2.3.1Additional tools and components to build a PC system
2.3.2CPU installation
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2.3.3CPU heatsink and fan assembly installation
To install the CPU heatsink and fan assembly
2.3.4DIMM installation
To remove a DIMM
2.3.5Motherboard installation
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2.3.6Thermal Armor for ASUS SABERTOOTH
ASST_FAN
2.3.7ATX Power connection
OROR
2.3.8SATA device connection
2.3.9Front I/O Connector
To install ASUS Q-Connector
To install USB 2.0 Connector
To install USB 3.0 Connector
2.3.10Expension Card installation
To install PCIe x16 cards
To install PCIe x1 cards
2.3.11Rear panel connection
*LAN ports LED indications
** Audio 2, 4, 6, or 8-channelconfiguration
2.3.12Audio I/O connections
Audio I/O ports
Connect to Headphone and Mic
Connect to Stereo Speakers
Connect to 2.1 channel Speakers
Connect to 4.1 channel Speakers
Connect to 5.1 channel Speakers
Connect to 7.1 channel Speakers
2.3.13USB BIOS Flashback
BIOS Beep
We recommend that you not change the default BIOS settings
EZ Mode
Advanced Mode
Exit
Exit/Advanced Mode
3.2.1EZ Mode
3.2.2Advanced Mode
Menu bar
Menu items
Back button
Submenu items
Pop-upwindow
Scroll bar
Security
Administrator Password
User Password
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Ai Overclock Tuner [Auto]
CPU Clock Gen Filter [Auto]
Memory Frequency [Auto]
EPU Power Saving Mode [Disabled]
OC Tuner
DRAM Timing Control
Secondary Timings
Third Timings
DIGI+ Power Control
CPU Voltage Frequency
CPU Performance Settings
CPU VCORE Voltage [Offset Mode]
Offset Mode Sign [+]
CPU VCCSA Voltage [Offset Mode]
DRAM Voltage (CHA, CHB) [Auto]
DRAM Voltage (CHC, CHD) [Auto]
CPU PLL Voltage [Auto]
VTTCPU Voltage [Auto]
PCH 1.1v Voltage [Auto]
PCH 1.5v Voltage [Auto]
VTTDDR Voltage (CHA, CHB) [Auto]
VTTDDR Voltage (CHC, CHD) [Auto]
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3.5.1CPU Configuration
Intel Adaptive Thermal Monitor [Enabled]
Hyper-threading[Enabled]
Active Processor Cores [All]
Limit CPUID Maximum [Disabled]
Execute Disable Bit [Enabled]
Intel Virtualization Tech [Enabled]
CPU Power Management Configuration
3.5.2PCH Configuration
High Precision Timer [Enabled]
3.5.3SATA Configuration
SATA Mode [AHCI Mode]
Serial-ATAController 0 [Enhanced]
Serial-ATAController 1 [Enhanced]
S.M.A.R.T. Status Check [Enabled]
Hot Plug [Disabled]
3.5.4USB Configuration
Legacy USB Support [Enabled]
Legacy USB3.0 Support [Enabled]
EHCI Hand-off[Disabled]
3.5.5Onboard Devices Configuraton
Azalia HD Audio [Enabled]
Front Panel Type [HD]
SPDIF Out Type [SPDIF]
Intel LAN Controller [Enabled]
VIA 1394 Controller [Enabled]
PCI Express x1_1 Slot Configuration [Auto]
Asmedia USB 3.0 Controller [Enabled]
Marvell Storage Controller [Enabled]
Marvell Storage OPROM [Enabled]
3.5.6APM
Restore AC Power Loss [Power Off]
Power On By Keyboard [Disabled]
Power On By Mouse [Disabled]
Power On By PCIE/PCI [Disabled]
CPU Temperature / MB Temperature �������������[xxxºC/xxxºF]
CPU Q-FanControl [Enabled]
CPU Fan Speed Low Limit [600 RPM]
Chassis 1/2/3/4 Q-FanControl [Enabled]
Chassis 1/2/3/4 Fan Speed Low Limit [600 RPM]
Assistant/PCH Q-FanControl [Enabled]
Assistant/PCH Fan Speed Low Limit [600 RPM]
CPU Voltage, 3.3V Voltage, 5V Voltage, 12V Voltage
Anti Surge Support [Enabled]
Bootup NumLock State [On]
Full Screen Logo [Enabled]
Wait For ‘F1’ If Error [Enabled]
Option ROM Messages [Force BIOS]
Setup Mode [EZ Mode]
Boot Option Priorities
Boot Override
3.8.1ASUS EZ Flash 2 Utility
3.8.2ASUS DRAM SPD Information
3.8.3ASUS O.C. Profile
Label
Save to Profile
Load from Profile
3.8.4ASUS Drive Xpert
Drive Xpert Mode
Drive Xpert Device(s) List:
Load Optimized Defaults
Save Changes & Reset
Discard Changes & Exit
ASUS EZ Mode
Launch UEFI Shell from filesystem device
3.10.1ASUS Update utility
Launching ASUS Update
Updating the BIOS through the Internet
Updating the BIOS through a BIOS file
3.10.2ASUS EZ Flash 2 utility
3.10.3ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3 utility
Recovering the BIOS
3.10.4ASUS BIOS Updater
Before updating BIOS
Booting the system in DOS environment
Backing up the current BIOS
Updating the BIOS file
4.2.1Running the support DVD
4.2.2Obtaining the software manuals
4.3.1AI Suite
Installing AI Suite
Using AI Suite
4.3.2ASUS TUF Thermal Radar
Launching Thermal Radar
Using the Thermal Radar main screen
Configuring system fan settings
Loading default fan profiles
Configuring user-customizablefan settings
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4.3.3TurboV EVO
TurboV
Using Advanced Mode
CPU Ratio
CPU Strap
4.3.4DIGI+ Power Control
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4.3.5Sensor Recorder
Launching Sensor Recorder
Using Sensor Recorder
Using History Record
4.3.6USB 3.0 Boost
Launching USB 3.0 Boost
Configuring USB 3.0 Boost
4.3.7ASUS SSD Caching
Launching ASUS SSD Caching
Configuring ASUS SSD Caching
4.3.8ASUS Update
Using ASUS Update
4.3.9MyLogo2
Using MyLogo
Auto Tune
4.3.10Audio configurations
A.Realtek HD Audio Manager for Windows® Vista™
B.Realtek HD Audio Manager for Windows XP
4.4.1RAID definitions
4.4.2Installing Serial ATA hard disks
4.4.3Setting the RAID item in BIOS
4.4.4Intel® Rapid Storage Technology Option ROM utility
Creating a RAID set
Create Volume
CREATE VOLUME
Deleting a RAID set
Exiting the Intel® Rapid Storage Technology Option ROM utility
4.4.5Marvell RAID utility
Create a RAID Array
RAID Level:
Name:
Delete an existing RAID Array
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4.5.1Creating a RAID driver disk without entering the OS
4.5.2Creating a RAID driver disk in Windows®
4.5.3Installing the RAID driver during Windows® OS installation
4.5.4Using a USB floppy disk drive
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5.1.1Requirements
5.1.2Before you begin
5.1.3Installing two CrossFireX™ graphics cards
5.1.4Installing the device drivers
5.1.5Enabling the AMD® CrossFireX™ technology
Launching the AMD VISION Engine Control Center
Enabling Dual CrossFireX technology
5.2.1Requirements
5.2.2Installing two SLI-readygraphics cards
5.2.3Installing the device drivers
5.2.4Enabling the NVIDIA® SLI™ technology
Launching the NVIDIA Control Panel
Personalize
Advanced Settings
Enabling SLI settings
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