ASRock A55M-DGS: 1. Introduction

1. Introduction

Thank you for purchasing ASRock A55M-DGS motherboard, a reliable motherboard

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cations and the BIOS software might be

updated, the content of this manual will be subject to change without no-

tice. In case any modications of this manual occur, the updated version

will be available on ASRock website without further notice. You may 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c information about the model you are using.

www.asrock.com/support/index.asp

1.1 Package Contents

ASRock A55M-DGS Motherboard

(Micro ATX Form Factor: 8.8-in x 6.8-in, 22.4 cm x 17.3 cm)

ASRock A55M-DGS Quick Installation Guide

ASRock A55M-DGS Support CD

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

1 x I/O Panel Shield

ASRock Reminds You...

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To get better performance in Windows

7 / 7 64-bit / Vista

/ Vista

64-

bit, it is recommended to set the BIOS option in Storage Con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 A55M-DGS Motherboard

1.2 Specifications

Platform - Micro ATX Form Factor: 8.8-in x 6.8-in, 22.4 cm x 17.3 cm

- Solid Capacitor for CPU power

CPU - Support for Socket FM1 100W processors

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- Supports AMD’s Cool ‘n’ Quiet

Technology

- UMI-Link GEN2

Chipset - AMD A55 FCH (Hudson-D2)

Memory - Dual Channel DDR3 Memory Technology (see CAUTION 1)

- 2 x DDR3 DIMM slots

- Support DDR3 2400+(OC)/1866/1600/1333/

1066/800 non-ECC, un-buffered memory (see CAUTION 2)

- Max. capacity of system memory: 16GB (see CAUTION 3)

Expansion Slot - 1 x PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot

- 1 x PCI slot

- Supports AMD Dual Graphics

Graphics - AMD Radeon HD 65XX/64XX graphics

- DirectX 11, Pixel Shader 5.0

- Max. shared memory 512MB (see CAUTION 4)

- Dual VGA Output: support DVI-D and D-Sub ports by

independent display controllers

- Supports DVI with max. resolution up to 1920x1200 @ 60Hz

- Supports D-Sub with max. resolution up to 1920x1600 @

60Hz

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- Supports AMD Steady Video

: New video post processing

capability for automatic jutter reduction on home/online

video

- Supports HDCP function with DVI port

- Supports Full HD 1080p Blu-ray (BD) / HD-DVD playback

with DVI port

Audio - 5.1 CH HD Audio (Realtek ALC662 Audio Codec)

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

- Realtek RTL8111E

- Supports Wake-On-LAN

- Supports LAN Cable Detection

- Supports Energy Efcient Ethernet 802.3az

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- Supports PXE

Rear Panel I/O I/O Panel

- 1 x PS/2 Mouse Port

- 1 x PS/2 Keyboard Port

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ASRock A55M-DGS Motherboard

- 1 x D-Sub Port

- 1 x DVI-D Port

- 4 x Ready-to-Use USB 2.0 Ports

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

LED)

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

Connector - 4 x SATA2 3.0 Gb/s connectors, support RAID (RAID 0,

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

- 1 x IR header

- 1 x CIR header

- 1 x Print port header

- 1 x COM port header

- 1 x CPU Fan connector (4-pin)

- 1 x Chassis Fan connector (4-pin)

- 1 x Power Fan connector (3-pin)

- 24 pin ATX power connector

- 4 pin 12V power connector

- Front panel audio connector

- 2 x USB 2.0 headers (support 4 USB 2.0 ports)

BIOS Feature - 32Mb AMI UEFI Legal BIOS with GUI support

- Supports “Plug and Play”

- ACPI 1.1 Compliance Wake Up Events

- Supports jumperfree

- SMBIOS 2.3.1 Support

- CPU, DRAM, VDDP, SB Voltage Multi-adjustment

Support CD - Drivers, Utilities, AntiVirus Software (Trial Version),

CyberLink MediaEspresso 6.5 Trial

Unique Feature - ASRock Extreme Tuning Utility (AXTU) (see CAUTION 5)

- ASRock Instant Boot

- ASRock Instant Flash (see CAUTION 6)

- ASRock APP Charger (see CAUTION 7)

- ASRock XFast USB (see CAUTION 8)

- ASRock XFast LAN (see CAUTION 9)

- ASRock XFast RAM (see CAUTION 10)

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- Hybrid Booster:

- ASRock U-COP (see CAUTION 11)

Hardware - CPU Temperature Sensing

Monitor - Chassis Temperature Sensing

- CPU/Chassis/Power Fan Tachometer

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ASRock A55M-DGS Motherboard

- CPU Quiet Fan

- CPU/Chassis Fan Multi-Speed Control

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

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OS - Microsoft

Windows

7 / 7 64-bit / Vista

/ Vista

64-bit / XP

SP3 / XP 64-bit compliant (see CAUTION 12)

Certications - FCC, CE, WHQL

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

(see CAUTION 13)

* 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.

CAUTION!

1. 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 12 for proper installation.

2. Whether 2400/1866/1600MHz memory speed is supported depends on

the CPU you adopt. If you want to adopt DDR3 2400/1866/1600 memory

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

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

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

7 /

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Vista

/ XP. For Windows

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

limitation. You can use ASRock XFast RAM to utilize the memory that

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Windows

cannot use.

4. The maximum shared memory size is dened by the chipset vendor and

is subject to change. Please check AMD website for the latest informa-

tion.

5. ASRock Extreme Tuning Utility (AXTU) is an all-in-one tool to ne-tune

different system functions in a user-friendly interface, which is including

Hardware Monitor, Fan Control and IES. In Hardware Monitor, it shows

the major readings of your system. In Fan Control, it shows the fan speed

and temperature for you to adjust. In IES (Intelligent Energy Saver), the

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voltage regulator can reduce the number of output phases to improve

efficiency when the CPU cores are idle without sacrificing computing

performance. Please visit our website for the operation procedures of

ASRock Extreme Tuning Utility (AXTU).

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

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ASRock A55M-DGS Motherboard

6. ASRock Instant Flash is a BIOS ash utility embedded in Flash ROM.

This convenient BIOS update tool allows you to update system BIOS

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without entering operating systems 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 le to your USB ash drive, oppy disk or hard

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

ing an additional oppy diskette or other complicated ash utility. Please

be noted that the USB ash drive or hard drive must use FAT32/16/12 le

system.

7. 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

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

performance may depend on the property of the device.

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

low benets. LAN Application Prioritization: You can con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.

10. ASRock XFast RAM is a new function that is included into ASRock Ex-

treme Tuning Utility (AXTU). It fully utilizes the memory space that cannot

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be used under Windows

OS 32-bit CPU. ASRock XFast RAM shortens

the loading time of previously visited websites, making web surng faster

than ever. And it also boosts the speed of Adobe Photoshop 5 times

faster. Another advantage of ASRock XFast RAM is that it reduces the

frequency of accessing your SSDs or HDDs in order to extend their lifes-

pan.

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11. 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.

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ASRock A55M-DGS Motherboard

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12. ASRock XFast RAM is not supported by Microsoft

Windows

XP / XP

64-bit.

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

ropean Union to de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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.

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ASRock A55M-DGS Motherboard