Asus P8Z68 DELUXE User Manual - Page 17

ASUS P8Z68 Deluxe

1-5

Chapter 1

1.3.5

ASUS EZ DIY

ASUS UEFI BIOS (EZ Mode)

ASUS UEFI BIOS offers a user-friendly interface that goes beyond traditional keyboard-only

BIOS controls to enable more flexible and convenient mouse input. Users can easily navigate

the UEFI BIOS with the smoothness of their operating system. Quick and simple overclocking

and setup sharing is facilitated by the F12 hotkey BIOS snapshot feature. The exclusive EZ

Mode displays frequently-accessed setup info, while the Advanced Mode is for experienced

performance enthusiasts that demand far more intricate system control, including detailed

DRAM information.

Supports hard drives over 2.2TB

ASUS UEFI BIOS natively supports hard drives larger than 2.2TB in 64-bit, with full storage

space utilization helping deliver far more exciting computing than traditional BIOS versions.

ASUS Q-Design

ASUS Q-Design enhances your DIY experience. All of Q-LED, Q-Slot, Q-Code and Q-DIMM

design speed up and simplify the DIY process!

ASUS Q-Shield

The specially designed ASUS Q-Shield does without the usual "fingers" - making it

convenient and easy to install. With better electric conductivity, it ideally protects your

motherboard against static electricity and shields it against Electronic Magnetic Interference

(EMI).

ASUS Q-Connector

ASUS Q-Connector allows you to easily connect or disconnect the chassis front panel cables

to the motherboard. This unique module eliminates the trouble of connecting the system

panel cables one at a time and avoiding wrong cable connections.

ASUS EZ-Flash 2

ASUS EZ Flash 2 is a user-friendly utility that allows you to update the BIOS without using a

bootable floppy disk or an OS-based utility.

1.3.6

Other special features

LucidLogix

®

Virtu

LucidLogix

®

Virtu is designed for the Intel

®

Sandy Bridge platform's powerful integrated

graphics. Its GPU virtualization dynamically assigns tasks to the best available graphics

resources based on power, performance and system load on Windows

®

7 based PCs.

It

allows users to fully utilize the unique capabilities of advanced Sandy Bridge multimedia

features alongside the high end 3D rendering performance provided by installed graphics

cards. When no discrete graphics are needed, the graphics card is put in idle mode to lower

utilization, heat, fan speed and power draw down to near zero, making the system more

environmentally-friendly. For users with diverse needs, LucidLogix

®

Virtu GPU virtualization

provides great flexibility and efficiency.

Section	Page
Contents	3
Notices	6
Safety information	7
About this guide	8
P8Z68 Deluxe specifications summary	10
Chapter 1: Product introduction	13
1.1 Welcome!	13
1.2 Package contents	13
1.3 Special features	14
1.3.1 Product highlights	14
1.3.2 Dual Intelligent Processors 2 with DIGI+ VRM	15
1.3.3 ASUS Exclusive Features	16
1.3.4 ASUS Quiet Thermal Solution	16
1.3.5 ASUS EZ DIY	17
1.3.6 Other special features	17
Chapter 2: Hardware information	19
2.1 Before you proceed	19
2.2 Motherboard overview	20
2.2.1 Motherboard layout	20
2.2.2 Central Processing Unit (CPU)	22
2.2.3 System memory	23
2.2.4 Expansion slots	31
2.2.5 Onboard switches	33
2.2.6 Onboard LEDs	37
2.2.7 Internal connectors	43
2.3 Building your computer system	52
2.3.1 Additional tools and components to build a PC system	52
2.3.2 CPU installation	53
2.3.3 CPU heatsink and fan assembly installation	55
2.3.4 DIMM installation	57
2.3.5 Motherboard installation	58
2.3.6 ATX Power connection	60
2.3.7 SATA device connection	61
2.3.8 Front I/O Connector	62
2.3.9 Expension Card installation	63
2.3.10 Rear panel connection	64
2.3.11 Audio I/O connections	66
2.4 Starting up for the first time	68
2.5 Turning off the computer	68
Chapter 3: BIOS setup	69
3.1 Knowing BIOS	69
3.2 BIOS setup program	69
3.2.1 EZ Mode	70
3.2.2 Advanced Mode	71
3.3 Main menu	73
3.4 Ai Tweaker menu	75
3.5 Advanced menu	82
3.5.1 CPU Configuration	83
3.5.2 System Agent Configuration	85
3.5.3 PCH Configuration	85
3.5.4 SATA Configuration	86
3.5.5 USB Configuration	88
3.5.6 Onboard Devices Configuration	89
3.5.7 APM	92
3.6 Monitor menu	93
3.7 Boot menu	96
3.8 Tools menu	97
3.8.1 ASUS EZ Flash 2 Utility	97
3.8.2. ASUS O.C. Profile	98
3.9 Exit menu	99
3.10 Updating BIOS	100
3.10.1 ASUS Update utility	100
3.10.2 ASUS EZ Flash 2 utility	103
3.10.3 ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3 utility	104
3.10.4 ASUS BIOS Updater	105
Chapter 4: Software support	109
4.1 Installing an operating system	109
4.2 Support DVD information	109
4.2.1 Running the support DVD	109
4.2.2 Obtaining the software manuals	110
4.3 Software information	111
4.3.1 AI Suite II	111
4.3.2 DIGI+ VRM	112
4.3.3 BT GO!	113
4.3.4 TurboV EVO	114
4.3.5 EPU	118
4.3.6 FAN Xpert	119
4.3.7 Probe II	120
4.3.8 Audio configurations	121
4.4 RAID configurations	122
4.4.1 RAID definitions	122
4.4.2 Installing Serial ATA hard disks	123
4.4.3 Setting the RAID item in BIOS	123
4.4.4 Intel® Rapid Storage Technology Option ROM utility	123
4.4.5 Marvell RAID utility	127
4.5 Creating a RAID driver disk	133
4.5.1 Creating a RAID driver disk without entering the OS	133
4.5.2 Creating a RAID driver disk in Windows®	133
4.5.3 Installing the RAID driver during Windows® OS installation	134
4.5.4 Using a USB floppy disk drive	135
Chapter 5: Multiple GPU technology support	137
5.1 ATI® CrossFireX™ technology	137
5.1.1 Requirements	137
5.1.2 Before you begin	137
5.1.3 Installing two CrossFireX™ graphics cards	138
5.1.4 Installing the device drivers	139
5.1.5 Enabling the ATI® CrossFireX™ technology	139
5.2 NVIDIA® SLI™ technology	140
5.2.1 Requirements	140
5.2.2 Installing two SLI-ready graphics cards	140
5.2.3 Installing the device drivers	141

Asus P8Z68 DELUXE User Manual - Page 17

ASUS EZ DIY, 1.3.6 Other special features, ASUS UEFI BIOS EZ Mode, ASUS Q-Design, ASUS Q-Shield - how to update

Page 17 highlights