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A88XM-A
Motherboard
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E8512 First Edition July 2013 Copyright © 2013 ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. All Rights Reserved. No part of this manual, including the products and software described in it, may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any language in any form or by any means, except documentation kept by the purchaser for backup purposes, without the express written permission of ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. (“ASUS”). Product warranty or service will not be extended if: (1)
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Contents Safety information ...................................................................................... iv About this guide ......................................................................................... iv Package contents ....................................................................................... vi A88XM-A specifications summary ............................................................ vi Product introduction 1.1 Before you proceed .........................
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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. If possible, disconnect all power cables from the existing system before you add a device. • Before connecting or removing signal cables from the motherboard, ensure that all power
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Where to find more information Refer to the following sources for additional information and for product and software updates. 1. ASUS websites The ASUS website provides updated information on ASUS hardware and software products. Refer to the ASUS contact information. 2. Optional documentation Your product package may include optional documentation, such as warranty flyers, that may have been added by your dealer. These documents are not part of the standard package. Conventions used in this
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Package contents Check your motherboard package for the following items. Motherboard ASUS A88XM-A motherboard Cables 2 x Serial ATA 6.0 Gb/s cables Accessories 1 x I/O Shield Application DVD Support DVD Documentation User Guide If any of the above items is damaged or missing, contact your retailer. A88XM-A specifications summary ® ® APU AMD FM2+ socket for AMD A-Series / Athlon™ processors Supports CPU up to 4 cores ® AMD Turbo Core Technology 3.0 support ® • The AMD Turbo Core Technology 3.0 s
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A88XM-A specifications summary ® Storage AMD A88X FCH: - 6 x Serial ATA 6 Gb/s connectors with RAID 0, RAID 1,RAID 5,RAID 10 and JBOD support ® LAN Realtek 8111G PCIe Gigabit LAN controller ® Audio Realtek ALC887-VD 8-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC • Use a chassis with HD audio module in the front panel to support an 8- channel audio output. ® USB AMD A88X FCH: - 4 x USB 3.0 ports* (2 ports at the back panel [blue], 2 ports at mid- board) - 6 x USB 2.0 ports (2 ports at the back panel, 4
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A88XM-A specifications summary Back panel I/O ports 1 x PS/2 keyboard port 1 x PS/2 mouse port 1 x HDMI port 1 x DVI port 1 x D-Sub output port 1 x LAN (RJ-45) port 2 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports 2 x USB 3.0 ports (blue) 8-channel audio I/O ports (3 jacks) Internal I/O 1 x USB 3.0 connector supports additional 2 USB 3.0 ports (19-pin) connectors 2 x USB 2.0 connectors support additional 4 USB 2.0 ports 6 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors 1 x System panel connector 1 x Internal Speaker connector 1 x CPU fan connec
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Product introduction 1 1.1 Before you proceed Take note of the following precautions before you install motherboard components or change any motherboard settings. • Unplug the power cord from the wall socket before touching any component. • Before handling components, use a grounded wrist strap or touch a safely grounded object or a metal object, such as the power supply case, to avoid damaging them due to static electricity. • Hold components by the edges to avoid touching the ICs on them. •
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1.2 Motherboard overview Before you install the motherboard, study the configuration of your chassis to ensure that the motherboard fits. Unplug the power cord before installing or removing the motherboard. Failure to do so can cause you physical injury and damage to motherboard components. 1.2.1 Placement direction When installing the motherboard, place it into the chassis in the correct orientation. The edge with external ports goes to the rear part of the chassis as indicated in the image
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USBPWF COM 1.2.3 Motherboard layout 1 2 3 4 2 5 20.8cm(8.2in) CPU_FAN KBMS DIGI +VRM ATX12V HDMI 2 USB3_12 LAN_USB12 CHA_FAN AUDIO A88XM-A 6 PCIEX16 RTL 7 8111G BATTERY PCIEX1_1 ® AMD SATA6G_5 SATA6G_6 Super A88X I/O 64Mb PCI1 BIOS SB_PWR 8 ALC 887 SATA6G_3 SATA6G_4 CLRTC SPEAKER SPDIF_OUT USB3_34 SATA6G_1 SATA6G_2 F_PANEL AAFP USB56 USB34 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 ASUS A88XM-A 1-3 KB_USBWB DVI_VGA SOCKET FM2+ DDR3 DIMM_A1 (64bit, 240-pin module) DDR3 DIMM_A2 (64bit, 240-pin module) DDR3 DIMM_B1 (6
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1.2.4 Layout contents Connectors/Jumpers/Slots/LED Page 1. Keyboard wake-up (3-pin KB_USBPWB) 1-13 2. CPU and chassis fan connectors (4-pin CPU_FAN, and 4-pin CHA_FAN) 1-16 3. ATX power connectors (24-pin EATXPWR, 4-pin ATX12V) 1-17 4. AMD FM2+ socket 1-4 5. DDR3 DIMM slots 1-8 6. Clear RTC RAM (3-pin CLRTC) 1-12 7. Standby power LED (SB_PWR) 1-1 8. SATA 6.0 Gb/s connectors (7-pin SATA6G_1~6) 1-18 9. Speaker connector (4-pin SPEAKER) 1-19 10. System panel connector (10-1 pin F_PANEL) 1-19 11. U
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1.3.1 APU installation 1 2 3 4 ASUS A88XM-A 1-5
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1.3.2 APU heatsink and fan assembly installation Apply the Thermal Interface Material to the APU heatsink and APU before you install the heatsink and fan if necessary. To install the APU heatsink and fan assembly 1 2 3 4 5 1-6 Chapter 1: Product introduction
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To uninstall the APU heatsink and fan assembly 1 2 3 4 5 ASUS A88XM-A 1-7
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1.4 System memory 1.4.1 Overview This motherboard comes with two Double Data Rate 3 (DDR3) Dual Inline Memory Modules (DIMM) sockets. A DDR3 module has the same physical dimensions as a DDR2 DIMM but is notched differently to prevent installation on a DDR2 DIMM socket. DDR3 modules are developed for better performance with less power consumption. The figure illustrates the location of the DDR3 DIMM sockets: Channel Sockets A88XM-A Channel A DIMM_A1 Channel B DIMM_B1 A88XM-A 240-pin DDR3 DIM
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• The default memory operation frequency is dependent on its Serial Presence Detect (SPD), which is the standard way of accessing information from a memory module. Under the default state, some memory modules for overclocking may operate at a lower frequency than the vendor-marked value. To operate at the vendor-marked or at a higher frequency, refer to section 2.5 Ai Tweaker menu for manual memory frequency adjustment. • For system stability, use a more efficient memory cooling system to s
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To remove a DIMM B A A 1.5 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. Unplug the power cord before adding or removing expansion cards. Failure to do so may cause you physical injury and damage motherboard components. 1.5.1 Installing an expansion card To install an expansion card: 1. Before installing the expansion card, read the documentation that came with it and make the ne
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1.5.3 PCI slot The PCI slot supports cards such as a LAN card, SCSI card, USB card, and other cards that comply with PCI specifications. 1.5.4 PCI Express 2.0 x1 slot This motherboard supports PCI Express x1 network cards, SCSI cards, and other cards that comply with the PCI Express specifications. 1.5.5 PCI Express x16 slot This motherboard supports PCI Express x16 network cards, SCSI cards, and other cards that comply with the PCI Express specifications. IRQ assignments for this motherboar
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1.6 Jumpers 1. Clear RTC RAM (3-pin CLRTC) This jumper allows you to clear the Real Time Clock (RTC) RAM in CMOS. You can clear the CMOS memory of date, time, and system setup parameters by erasing the CMOS RTC RAM data. The onboard button cell battery powers the RAM data in CMOS, which include system setup information such as system passwords. CLRTC A88XM-A 1 2 2 3 Normal Clear RTC (Default) A88XM-A Clear RTC RAM To erase the RTC RAM: 1. Turn OFF the computer and unplug the power cord. 2. Mo
