ASRock 970DE3__U3S3: 1. Introduction

4

ASRock  970DE3/U3S3  Motherboard

English

1.  Introduction

Thank you for purchasing ASRock 

970DE3/U3S3 

motherboard, a reliable mother-

board produced under ASRock’s consistently stringent quality control. It delivers 

excellent performance with robust design conforming to ASRock’s commitment to 

quality and endurance.

This Quick Installation Guide contains introduction of the motherboard and step-by-

step installation guide. More detailed information of the motherboard can be found 

in the user manual presented in the Support CD. 

Because the motherboard speci

fi

 cations and the BIOS software might  

be updated, the content of this manual will be subject to change without  

notice. In case any modi

fi

 cations of this manual occur, the updated ver-

sion will be available on ASRock website without further notice. You may  

fi

 nd the latest VGA cards and CPU support lists on ASRock website as   

well.  ASRock website    http://www.asrock.com

If you require technical support related to this motherboard, please visit 

our website for speci

fi

 c information about the model you are using.

www.asrock.com/support/index.asp

1.1  Package Contents

ASRock 

970DE3/U3S3

 Motherboard 

(ATX Form Factor: 12.0-in x 7.5-in, 30.5 cm x 19.1 cm)

ASRock 

970DE3/U3S3

 Quick Installation Guide

ASRock 

970DE3/U3S3 

Support CD

2 x Serial ATA (SATA) Data Cables (Optional)

1 x I/O Panel Shield

 ASRock Reminds You...

To get better performance in Windows

®

 7 / 7 64-bit / Vista

TM

 / Vista

TM

 64  

bit, it is recommended to set the BIOS option in Storage Con

fi

 guration 

to  AHCI mode. For the BIOS setup, please refer to the “User Manual” in  

our support CD for details.

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ASRock  970DE3/U3S3  Motherboard

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1.2  Specifications

 Platform

- ATX Form Factor: 12.0-in x 7.5-in, 30.5 cm x 19.1 cm

- All Solid Capacitor design 

 CPU

- Support for Socket AM3+ processors

- Support for Socket AM3 processors: AMD Phenom

TM

 II X6 /  

  X4 / X3 / X2 (except 920 / 940) / Athlon II X4 / X3 / X2 /    

  Sempron processors 

- Supports 8-Core CPU 

- Digi Power Design

- Supports CPU up to 140W

- Supports AMD OverDrive

TM

 with ACC feature (Advanced 

  Clock Calibration)

- Supports AMD’s Cool ‘n’ Quiet

TM

 Technology 

- FSB 2600 MHz (5.2 GT/s)

- Supports Untied Overclocking Technology (see 

CAUTION 1

)

- Supports Hyper-Transport 3.0 (HT 3.0) Technology

 Chipset 

- Northbridge: AMD 770

- Southbridge: AMD SB710

 Memory 

- Dual Channel DDR3 Memory Technology (see 

CAUTION 2

)    

- 4 x DDR3 DIMM slots

- Support DDR3 1866(OC)/1600(OC)/1333/1066/800 

  non-ECC, un-buffered memory (see 

CAUTION 3

) 

- Max. capacity of system memory: 32GB (see 

CAUTION 4

) 

 Expansion Slot 

- 1 x PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot (PCIE3 @ x16 mode)

- 3 x PCI Express 2.0 x1 slots

- 2 x PCI slots

 Audio 

- 5.1 CH HD Audio (Realtek ALC662 Audio Codec) 

- Supports THX TruStudio

TM

 LAN 

- PCIE x1 Gigabit LAN 10/100/1000 Mb/s

- Realtek RTL8111E

- Supports Wake-On-LAN

- Supports LAN Cable Detection

- Supports Energy Ef

fi

 cient Ethernet 802.3az

- Supports PXE

 Rear Panel I/O 

I/O Panel

- 1 x PS/2 Mouse Port 

- 1 x PS/2 Keyboard Port

- 1 x Serial Port: COM1

- 4 x Ready-to-Use USB 2.0 Ports

- 2 x Ready-to-Use USB 3.0 Ports

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ASRock  970DE3/U3S3  Motherboard

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- 1 x RJ-45 LAN Port with LED (ACT/LINK LED and SPEED 

   LED)

- HD Audio Jack: Line in / Front Speaker / Microphone

 SATA3

- 2 x SATA3 6.0 Gb/s connectors by ASMedia ASM1061, 

  support NCQ, AHCI and “Hot Plug” functions

 USB 3.0

- 2 x USB 3.0 ports by ASMedia ASM1042, support 

  USB 1.0/2.0/3.0 up to 5Gb/s

Connector

- 6 x SATA2 3.0 Gb/s connectors, support RAID (RAID 0, 

  RAID 1, RAID 10 and JBOD), NCQ, AHCI and “Hot Plug” 

  functions

- 2 x SATA3 6.0Gb/s connectors

- 1 x ATA133 IDE connector (supports 2 x IDE devices) 

- 1 x Floppy connector

- 1 x IR header

- 1 x HDMI_SPDIF header

- 1 x Power LED header

- CPU/Chassis/Power FAN connector

- 24 pin ATX power connector

- 8 pin 12V power connector

- CD in header

- Front panel audio connector

- 3 x USB 2.0 headers (support 6 USB 2.0 ports)

 BIOS Feature

- 8Mb AMI Legal BIOS

- Supports “Plug and Play”

- ACPI 1.1 Compliance Wake Up Events

- Supports jumperfree

- SMBIOS 2.3.1 Support

- CPU, VCCM, NB Voltage Multi-adjustment

 Support CD 

- Drivers, Utilities, AntiVirus Software (Trial Version), AMD 

  OverDrive

TM

 Utility, CyberLink MediaEspresso 6.5 Trial, 

  ASRock MAGIX Multimedia Suite - OEM

 Unique Feature

- ASRock OC Tuner (see 

CAUTION 5

)

- ASRock Intelligent Energy Saver (see 

CAUTION 6

)

- ASRock Instant Boot  

- ASRock Instant Flash (see 

CAUTION 7

) 

- ASRock OC DNA (see 

CAUTION 8

) 

- ASRock APP Charger (see 

CAUTION 9

)

- ASRock SmartView (see 

CAUTION 10

) 

- ASRock XFast USB (see 

CAUTION 11

)

- ASRock XFast LAN (see 

CAUTION 12

)

- ASRock XFast RAM (see 

CAUTION 13

)

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ASRock  970DE3/U3S3  Motherboard

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- Hybrid Booster:

    - CPU Frequency Stepless Control (see 

CAUTION 14

) 

    - ASRock U-COP (see 

CAUTION 15

)

    - Boot Failure Guard (B.F.G.)

Hardware 

- CPU Temperature Sensing

Monitor

- Chassis Temperature Sensing

- CPU/Chassis/Power Fan Tachometer

- CPU Quiet Fan

- CPU/Chassis/Power Fan Multi-Speed Control

- Voltage Monitoring: +12V, +5V, +3.3V, Vcore 

 OS

 - 

Microsoft

® 

Windows

® 

7 / 7 64-bit / Vista

TM 

/ Vista

TM

 64-bit / XP

   / XP Media Center / XP 64-bit compliant

 Certi

fi

 cations

- FCC, CE, WHQL

- ErP/EuP Ready (ErP/EuP ready power supply is required) 

  (see 

CAUTION 16

)

 * For detailed product information, please visit our website: http://www.asrock.com

WARNING

Please realize that there is a certain risk involved with overclocking, including adjusting the 

setting in the BIOS, applying Untied Overclocking Technology, or using the third-party over-

clocking tools. Overclocking may affect your system stability, or even cause damage to the 

components and devices of your system. It should be done at your own risk and expense. 

We are not responsible for possible damage caused by overclocking.

8

ASRock  970DE3/U3S3  Motherboard

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CAUTION!

1.  This motherboard supports Untied Overclocking Technology. Please read 

“Untied Overclocking Technology” on page 23 for details.

2.  This motherboard supports Dual Channel Memory Technology. Before 

you implement Dual Channel Memory Technology, make sure to read the 

installation guide of memory modules on page 13 for proper installation.

3.  Whether 1866/1600MHz memory speed is supported depends on the 

AM3/AM3+ CPU you adopt. If you want to adopt DDR3 1866/1600 mem-

ory module on this motherboard, please refer to the memory support list 

on our website for the compatible memory modules. 

ASRock website: http://www.asrock.com

4.  Due to the operating system limitation, the actual memory size may be 

less than 4GB for the reservation for system usage under Windows

®

 7 / 

Vista

TM

 / XP. For Windows

®

 64-bit OS with 64-bit CPU, there is no such 

limitation. 

5.  It is a user-friendly ASRock overclocking tool which allows you to surveil

your system by hardware monitor function and overclock your hardware

devices to get the best system performance under Windows

®

 environ-

ment. Please visit our website for the operation procedures of ASRock 

OC Tuner. ASRock website: http://www.asrock.com

6.  Featuring an advanced proprietary hardware and software design, Intel-

ligent Energy Saver is a revolutionary technology that delivers unparal-

leled power savings. The voltage regulator can reduce the number of out-

put phases to improve ef

fi

 ciency when the CPU cores are idle. In other 

words, it is able to provide exceptional power saving and improve power 

ef

fi

 ciency without sacri

fi

 cing computing performance. To use Intelligent 

Energy Saver function, please enable Cool ‘n’ Quiet option in the BIOS 

setup in advance. Please visit our website for the operation procedures 

of Intelligent Energy Saver. ASRock website: http://www.asrock.com

7.  ASRock Instant Flash is a BIOS 

fl

 ash utility embedded in Flash ROM. 

This convenient BIOS update tool allows you to update system BIOS 

without entering operating systems 

fi

 rst like MS-DOS or Windows

®

. With 

this utility, you can press <F6> key during the POST or press <F2> key to 

BIOS setup menu to access ASRock Instant Flash. Just launch this tool 

and save the new BIOS 

fi

 le to your USB 

fl

 ash drive, 

fl

 oppy disk or hard 

drive, then you can update your BIOS only in a few clicks without prepar-

ing an additional 

fl

 oppy diskette or other complicated 

fl

 ash utility. Please 

be noted that the USB 

fl

 ash drive or hard drive must use FAT32/16/12 

fi

 le 

system. 

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ASRock  970DE3/U3S3  Motherboard

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8.  The software name itself – OC DNA literally tells you what it is capable of.

OC DNA, an exclusive utility developed by ASRock, provides a conve-

nient way for the user to record the OC settings and share with others. It

helps you to save your overclocking record under the operating system 

and simpli

fi

 es the complicated recording process of overclocking settings.

With OC DNA, you can save your OC settings as a pro

fi

 le and share with

your friends! Your friends then can load the OC pro

fi

 le to their own system

to get the same OC settings as yours! Please be noticed that the OC

 pro

fi

 le can only be shared and worked on the same motherboard.

9.  If you desire a faster, less restricted way of charging your Apple devices, 

such as iPhone/iPod/iPad Touch, ASRock has prepared a wonderful solu-

tion for you - ASRock APP Charger. Simply installing the APP Charger 

driver, it makes your iPhone charged much quickly from your computer 

and up to 40% faster than before. ASRock APP Charger allows you to 

quickly charge many Apple devices simultaneously and even supports 

continuous charging when your PC enters into Standby mode (S1), Sus-

pend to RAM (S3), hibernation mode (S4) or power off (S5). With APP 

Charger driver installed, you can easily enjoy the marvelous charging 

experience than ever.

 ASRock 

website: 

http://www.asrock.com/Feature/AppCharger/index.asp

10.  ASRock SmartView, a new function of internet browser, is the smart start 

page for IE that combines your most visited web sites, your history, your 

Facebook friends and your real-time newsfeed into an enhanced view for 

a more personal Internet experience. ASRock motherboards are exclu-

sively equipped with the ASRock SmartView utility that helps you keep in 

touch with friends on-the-go. To use ASRock SmartView feature, please 

make sure your OS version is Windows

®

 7 / 7 64 bit / Vista

TM

 / Vista

TM

 64 

bit, and your browser version is IE8. 

ASRock website: http://www.asrock.com/Feature/SmartView/index.asp

11.  ASRock XFast USB can boost USB storage device performance. The 

performance may depend on the property of the device.

12.  ASRock XFast LAN provides a faster internet access, which includes be-

low bene

fi

 ts. LAN Application Prioritization: You can con

fi

 gure your appli-

cation priority ideally and/or add new programs. Lower Latency in Game: 

After setting online game priority higher, it can lower the latency in game. 

Traffic Shaping: You can watch Youtube HD video and download files 

simultaneously. Real-Time Analysis of Your Data: With the status window, 

you can easily recognize which data streams you are currently transfer-

ring. 

13.  ASRock XFast RAM fully utilizes the memory space that cannot be used 

under Windows

®

 OS 32-bit CPU. ASRock XFast RAM shortens the load-

ing time of previously visited websites, making web sur

fi

 ng faster than 

ever. And it also boosts the speed of Adobe Photoshop 5 times faster. An-

other advantage of ASRock XFast RAM is that it reduces the frequency of 

accessing your SSDs or HDDs in order to extend their lifespan.

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ASRock  970DE3/U3S3  Motherboard

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14.  Although this motherboard offers stepless control, it is not recommended 

to perform over-clocking. Frequencies other than the recommended CPU 

bus frequencies may cause the instability of the system or damage the 

CPU.  

15.  While CPU overheat is detected, the system will automatically shutdown.

Before you resume the system, please check if the CPU fan on the moth-

erboard functions properly and unplug the power cord, then plug it back 

again. To improve heat dissipation, remember to spray thermal grease 

between the CPU and the heatsink when you install the PC system.

16.  EuP, stands for Energy Using Product, was a provision regulated by Eu-

ropean Union to de

fi

 ne the power consumption for the completed system. 

According to EuP, the total AC power of the completed system shall be 

under 1.00W in off mode condition. To meet EuP standard, an EuP ready 

motherboard and an EuP ready power supply are required. According to 

Intel’s suggestion, the EuP ready power supply must meet the standard 

of 5v standby power ef

fi

 ciency is higher than 50% under 100 mA current 

consumption. For EuP ready power supply selection, we recommend you 

checking with the power supply manufacturer for more details.