USER'S MANUAL

Of

MCP68S
Platform Processor Chipset

M/B for Socket AM3 Series Quad Core

AMD Processor

NO. G03-M28GT4-D3-F

Rev: 1.0

Release date: February, 2011

Trademark:
* Specifications and Information contained in this documentation are furnished for information use only, and are
subject to change at any time without notice, and should not be construed as a commitment by manufacturer.
 Environmental Safety Instruction
z Avoid the dusty, humidity and temperature extremes. Do not place the product in
any area where it may become wet.

z 0 to 40 centigrade is the suitable temperature. (The figure comes from the request
of the main chipset)

z Generally speaking, dramatic changes in temperature may lead to contact

malfunction and crackles due to constant thermal expansion and contraction from
the welding spots’ that connect components and PCB. Computer should go
through an adaptive phase before it boots when it is moved from a cold
environment to a warmer one to avoid condensation phenomenon. These water
drops attached on PCB or the surface of the components can bring about
phenomena as minor as computer instability resulted from corrosion and oxidation
from components and PCB or as major as short circuit that can burn the
components. Suggest starting the computer until the temperature goes up.

z The increasing temperature of the capacitor may decrease the life of computer.
Using the close case may decrease the life of other device because the higher
temperature in the inner of the case.

z Attention to the heat sink when you over-clocking. The higher temperature may
decrease the life of the device and burned the capacitor.

Environmental Protection Announcement

Do not dispose this electronic device into the trash while discarding. To minimize pollution
and ensure environment protection of mother earth, please recycle.

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 TABLE OF CONTENT
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION OF MCP68S MOTHERBOARD SERIES
1-1 FEATURES OF MOTHERBOARD ............................................................................. 1
1-1.1 SPECIAL FEATURES OF MOTHERBOARD ............................................... 2
1-2 SPECIFICATION ......................................................................................................... 3
1-3 ITEM CHECKLIST....................................................................................................... 3
1-4 LAYOUT DIAGRAM .................................................................................................. 4
CHAPTER 2 HARDWARE INSTALLATION
2-1 CPU INSTALLATION.................................................................................................. 5
2-2 INSTALL MEMORY .................................................................................................... 6
2-3 EXPANSION CARDS.................................................................................................. 7
CHAPTER 3 CONNCTORS, HEADERS & JUMPER SETTING
3-1 CONNECTORS ........................................................................................................... 8
3-2 HEADERS ................................................................................................................... 11
3-3 JUMPER SETTING...................................................................................................... 13
CHAPTER 4 USEFUL HELP
4-1 HOW TO UPDATE BIOS ............................................................................................ 14
4-2 TROUBLE SHOOTING ............................................................................................... 14
APPENDIX1.......................................................................................................................... 15

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 Chapter 1
Introduction of MCP68S Motherboard Series
1-1 Features of motherboard
The MCP68S Platform Processor Chipset motherboard series are based on the latest
MCP68S Platform Processor Chipset which supports the following AM3 CPU under the
95W: Phenom II x 4；Phenom II x 3；Phenom II x2；Athlon II x4；Athlon II x3；Athlon
II x2；Sempron.

The MCP68S Platform Processor Chipset motherboard series support stunning video
playback in all formats and with superb picture clarity that brings the best visual
experience and ultra-realistic effects to the users. MCP68S Platform Processor Chipset
motherboard series are the real cost-effective and powerful integrated multimedia
platform solutions and meet the demanding usage of computing now and future.

The MCP68S series motherboards support new generation Socket AM3 processors
with an integrated DDRIII memory controller for Dual channel DDRIII 800/DDRIII
1066/DDRIII 1333 module up to 4GB. And MCP68S it also accommodates ULTRA
ATA 133 connectors and Serial ATA2 with RAID 0,1,5,0+1 functions which support up
to two IDE and four Serial ATA2 devices to accelerate hard disk drives and guarantee
the data security without failure in advanced computing performance.

The MCP68S motherboards provide megabit PCI-E LAN chip which supports
10/100Mbps data transfer rate. And the embedded 6-channel HD Audio CODEC is fully
compatible with Sound Blaster Pro® standard that offer you with the home cinema
quality and satisfying software compatibility.

The MCP68S motherboard series offer one 16-LANE PCI-Express x16 graphics slot
of 4Gbyte/sec data transfer rate at each relative direction which get 3.5 times of
bandwidth more than AGP8X and it’s up to a peak concurrent bandwidth of
8Gbyte/sec at full speed to guarantee the performance and compatibility of GPU
graphics add-in cards. The MCP68S motherboards also carry two 32-bit PCI slots
guarantee the rich connectivity for the I/O peripheral devices.

Embedded USB controller as well as capability of expanding to 10 of USB2.0

functional ports delivering 480Mb/s bandwidth and rich connectivity, these
motherboards meet the future USB demands which are also equipped with hardware
monitor function on system to monitor and protect your system and maintain your
non-stop business computing.

Some special features---CPU Thermal Throttling/ CPU VID in this motherboard are
designed for power user to use the over-clocking function in more flexible ways. But
please be caution that the over-clocking maybe causes the fails in system reliabilities.
This motherboard provides the guaranteed performance and meets the demands of
the next generation computing. But if you insist to gain more system performance with

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variety possibilities of the components you choose, please be careful and make sure
to read the detailed descriptions of these value added product features, please get
them in the coming section.

1-1.1 Special Features of Motherboard

CPU Thermal Throttling Technology (The CPU Overheat Protection Technology)
To prevent the increasing heat from damage of CPU or accidental shutdown while at
high workload, the CPU Thermal Throttling Technology will force CPU to enter
partially idle mode from 87.5% to 12.5% according to preset CPU operating
temperature in BIOS (from 40℃ to 90℃). When the system senses the CPU
operating temperature reaching the preset value, the CPU operating bandwidth will be
decreased to the preset idle percentage to cool down the processor. When at
throttling mode the beeper sound can be optionally selected to indicate it is in working.

CPU VID—Shift to Higher Performance

The CPU voltage can be adjusted for the precisely over-clocking of extra demanding
computing performance.
.

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1-2 Specification
Spec Description
Design z Micro u-ATX form factor;
z PCB size: 24.5cm*19.5cm
Chipset z MCP68S Chipset
z Support Phenom II x 4；Phenom II x 3；Phenom II x2；
CPU Socket AM2 Athlon II x4；Athlon II x3；Athlon II x2；Sempron series AM3
CPU under 95W;
z Support for HTT 1000MHz
Memory Socket z 240-pin DDRIII module slot x 2
z Support 2 pcs DDRIII 800 / DDRIII 1066 / DDRIII 1333
modules expandable to 4GB
z Dual channel supported
Expansion Slot z 1pcs PCI-Express 1.0x16(by 16 lane) slot
z 2pcs 32-bit PCI slots
Integrate IDE and z One IDE controllers support PCI Bus Mastering, ATA
Serial ATA2 RAID PIO/DMA and the ULTRA DMA 33/66/100/133 functions
that deliver the data transfer rate up to 133 MB/s for 2 IDE
Devices and for four Serial ATA2 ports provide 300 MB/sec
data transfer rate with RAID 0, 1, 5, 0+1 functions.
LAN Chip z Integrated 10/100 LAN chip
z Supports Fast Ethernet LAN function provide 10/100Mb /s
data transfer rate
6-CH Audio Chip z 6-channel High Definition Audio CODEC on board
z Audio driver and utility included
BIOS z AMI 8MB SMT Flash ROM
Multi I/O z PS/2 keyboard and PS/2 mouse connectors
z Serial Port x1
z VGA Connector x1
z USB2.0 port x 4 and headers x3
z RJ-45 LAN Connector x1
z Audio connector x1
z Hard disk driver connector x1/ SATA connector x 4
z Front panel Audio headerx1
z HDMI-SPDIF header x1

1-3 Item Checklist

5 MCP68S Platform Processor Chipset based motherboard
5 DVD for motherboard utilities
5 User’s Manual
5 SATA Cable

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1-4 Layout Diagram
RJ-45 LAN
Line-IN
COM Port
PS/2 Mouse
VGA Connector Line-OUT

PS/2 Keyboard MIC-IN

USB Connectors

ATX 12V Power Connector

KBMS/USB Power on Jumper (JP1)
CPUFAN1

PS2 KB/Mouse Port

Serial Port DDRIII Slot x 2

CPU Socket AM2

ATX Power Conn.
VGA Connector

USB Port

RJ45 Over
USB Connector
Audio Connector
ATA 133 IDE
Conn.(IDE1)
Megabit LAN Chip
SYSFAN1
MCP68S Chipset
8MBit SMT Flash ROM BIOS
PCI Express x16
By 16lane
HDMI-SPDIF Clear CMOS
(JBAT1)
PCI Slot
Serial-ATAII Connectors
6-CH HD SATA1, 2, 3, 4 Speaker Header
Audio Codec Power LED Header

Front Panel Header

Front Panel Audio USB Headers

(USB1, USB3, USB2)

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 Chapter 2
Hardware Installation
WARNING! Turn off your power when adding or removing expansion cards or
other system components. Failure to do so may cause severe
damage to both your motherboard and expansion cards.
2-1 CPU Installation
This motherboard provides a socket AM2 surface mount, Zero Insertion Force (ZIF)
socket, referred to as the mPGA940 socket supports AMD AM3 processors.
The CPU that comes with the motherboard should have a cooling FAN attached to
prevent overheating. If this is not the case, then purchase a correct cooling FAN
before you turn on your system.
WARNING! Be sure that there is sufficient air circulation across the processor’s
heatsink and CPU cooling FAN is working correctly, otherwise it may
cause the processor and motherboard overheat and damage, you
may install an auxiliary cooling FAN, if necessary.

To install a CPU, first turn off your system and remove its cover. Locate the ZIF
socket and open it by first pulling the level sideways away from the socket then
upward to a 90-degree angle. Insert the CPU with the correct orientation as shown
below. The notched corner should point toward the end of the level. Because the
CPU has a corner pin for two of the four corners, the CPU will only fit in the orientation
as shown.

Colden Arrow
Socket AM2

CPU ZIF mPGAB Socket

When you put the CPU into the ZIF socket, do not require force to insert of the CPU,
and then press the level to locate position slightly without any extra force.

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2-2 Install Memory
The motherboards provide two 240-pin DDRIII DUAL INLINE MEMORY MODULES
(DIMM) sites for DDRIII memory expansion to maximum memory size of 4GB DDRIII
SDRAM.
Valid Memory Configurations
Bank 240-Pin DIMM PCS Maximum Capacity
DIMM1 DDRIII 800/DDRIII 1066/DDRIII 1333 X1 2GB
DIMM2 DDRIII 800/DDRIII 1066/DDRIII 1333 X1 2GB
Total System Memory (Max. 2GB) 2 4GB
Recommend DIMM Module Combination
1. One DIMM Memory Module ----Plug in DIMM1
2. Two DIMM Memory Modules---Plug in DIMM1 and DIMM2 for Dual channel
function

Dual channel Limited!

1. Dual channel function only supports when 2 DIMM Modules plug in both DIMM1 &
DIMM2.
2. Memory modules plugged in DIMM1 & DIMM2 must be of the same type, same size,
and same frequency for dual channel function.
Generally, installing DDRIII modules to your motherboard is very easy, you can refer
to figure 2-4 to see what a 240-Pin DDRIII800 / 1066/ 1333 SDRAM module looks
like.
DIMM1 (BANK0+BANK1)

DIMM2 (BANK2+BANK3)

Figure 2-4
DDRIII1&DDRIII2
Dual Channel

NOTE! When you install DIMM module fully into the DIMM socket the eject
tab should be locked into the DIMM module very firmly and fit into its
indention on both sides.

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2-3 Expansion Cards
MCP68S series motherboards offer one 16-LANE PCI-Express 1.0 x16 graphics slot of
4Gbyte/sec data transfer rate at each relative direction which gets 3.5 times of
bandwidth more than AGP8X and it’s up to a peak concurrent bandwidth of
8Gbyte/sec at full speed to guarantee the performance and compatibility of GPU
graphics add-in cards. The whole series carry two 32-bit PCI slots guarantee the rich
connectivity for the I/O peripheral devices.

32-bit PCI Slots

PCI-E x 16 by 16 Slot

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 Chapter 3
Connectors, Headers & Jumper Setting
3-1 Connectors
(1) Power Connector (24-pin block): ATXPWR
ATX Power Supply connector:
This is a new defined 24-pins ROW1 ROW2
connector that usually comes ROW1 ROW2 PIN ROW1 ROW2
1 3.3V 3.3V
with ATX case. The ATX Power 2 3.3V -12V

Supply allows using soft power 3 GND GND

4 5V Soft Power On
on momentary switch that 5 GND GND

connect from the front panel 6

7
5V
GND
GND
GND
switch to 2-pins Power On jumper 8 Power OK -5V
9 +5V (for Soft Logic) +5V
pole on the motherboard. When 10 +12V +5V
the power switch on the back of 11 +12V +5V
12 +3V GND
the ATX power supply turned on,
the full power will not come into
the system board until the front Pin 1 Pin 1

panel switch is momentarily 20-Pin 24-Pin

pressed. Press this switch again will turn off the power to the system board.
** We recommend that you use an ATX 12V Specification 2.0-compliant power
supply unit (PSU) with a minimum of 350W power rating. This type has 24-pin
and 4-pin power plugs.
** If you intend to use a PSU with 20-pin and 4-pin power plugs, make sure that the
20-pin power plug can provide at least 15A on +12V and the power supply unit
has a minimum power rating of 350W. The system may become unstable or may
not boot up if the power is inadequate.
** Please refer to Figure 1 for 20-pin power plug connection. Power plug and
motherboard power connectors has adopted key design to avoid installation
mistake through connection can be made easily if in the proper direction. If the
installation direction is incorrect and you make the connection by force both the
board and the power supply can be burned. Please see to it that the direction is
correct during installation.

Figure 1: 20-pin power plug Figure2: 24-pin power plug

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(2) ATX 12V Power Connector (4-pin block) : ATX12V
This is a new defined 4-pins connector that usually comes with ATX Power
Supply. The ATX Power Supply which fully supports AM3 processor must
including this connector for support extra 12V voltage to maintain system power
consumption. Without this connector might cause system unstable because the
power supply can not provide sufficient current for system.

Pin1 2
GND GND
+12V +12V
3 4

ATX12V

(3) PS/2 Mouse & PS/2 Keyboard Connector: KB1

The connector is for PS/2 keyboard and PS/2 Mouse.
(4) USB Port connector: USB 4/ULI for USB
The connectors are 4-pin connector that connects USB devices to the system
board.
(5) LAN Port connector: UL1 for RJ-45 LAN
This connector is standard RJ-45 connector for Network. The USBLAN1 support
10M/100Mb data transfer rate
(6) Audio Line-In, Lin-Out, MIC Connector: CN1
This Connector is 3 phones Jack for LINE-OUT, LINE-IN, and MIC Audio
connectors
Line-in: (BLUE) Audio input to sound chip
Line-out: (GREEN) Audio output to speaker
MIC: (PINK) Microphone Connector

PS/2
Mouse RJ-45 LAN
Line-IN
COM Port
Line-OUT
MIC-IN

PS/2 VGA Connector

Keyboard USB

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(7)Primary IDE Connector (40-pin block): IDE1
This connector connects to the next set of Master and Slave hard disks. Follow
the same procedure described for the primary IDE connector. You may also
configure two hard disks to be both Masters using one ribbon cable on the
primary IDE connector and another ribbon cable on the secondary IDE
connector.
IDE1

Pin 1

Primary IDE Connector

• Two hard disks can be connected to each connector. The first HDD is referred to
as the “Master” and the second HDD is referred to as the “Slave”.
• For performance issues, we strongly suggest you don’t install a CD-ROM or
DVD-ROM drive on the same IDE channel as a hard disk. Otherwise, the system
performance on this channel may drop.
(8) Serial-ATAII Port connector: SATA1 / SATA2/SATA3/SATA4
This connector supports the provided Serial ATA and Serial ATA2 IDE hard disk
cable to connecting the motherboard and serial ATA hard disk.

SATA1 SATA2

SATA3 SATA4

Serial-ATA1,2,3,4 Compatible Connectors

(9) Serial COM Port: COM1
COM1 is the 9-pin block pin-header.
(10) D-Sub 15-pin Connector: VGA
VGA is the 15-pin D-Subminiature female connector; it is for the display devices,
such as the CRT monitor, LCD monitor and so on.

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3-2 Headers
(1) Line-Out/MIC Header for Front Panel (9-pin): AUDIO
These headers connect to Front Panel Line-out, MIC connector with cable.

Audio-GND
Audio-JD

LINE2-JD
MIC2-JD
KEY
AUDIO 2 10
Pin 1 9

MIC2-L
MIC2 -R
Lineout2 -R
Sense-FB
Lineout2-L
Line-Out, MIC Headers

(2) USB Port Headers (9-pin) :USB1/USB2 / USB3

These headers are used for connecting the additional USB port plug. By
attaching an option USB cable, your can be provided with two additional USB
plugs affixed to the back panel.

-DATA
+DATA
-DATA
+DATA

USB1 USB3

-DATA
+DATA
GND
GND

VCC

USB2
VCC

OC

GND
OC

VCC

OC
Pin 1 Pin 1 Pin 1
-DATA
+DATA
-DATA
+DATA

-DATA
+DATA
GND
GND

VCC
VCC

GND
VCC

USB Port Headers

(3) Speaker connector: SPEAK

This 4-pin connector connects to the case-mounted speaker. See the figure
below.
(4) Power LED: PWR LED
The Power LED is light on while the system power is on. Connect the Power
LED from the system case to this pin.
(5) IDE Activity LED: HD LED
This connector connects to the hard disk activity indicator light on the case.
(6) Reset switch lead: RESET
This 2-pin connector connects to the case-mounted reset switch for rebooting
your computer without having to turn off your power switch. This is a preferred
method of rebooting in order to prolong the lift of the system’s power supply.
See the figure below.
(7)Power switch: PWR BTN
This 2-pin connector connects to the case-mounted power switch to power
ON/OFF the system.

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 PWR LED

PWRBTN
PWRLED
PWRBTN
VCC5

GND
PWRLED
Pin 1
JW FP
SPEAK
Pin 1 Pin 1

HDDLE

RSTSW
VCC5

GND
SPKR

VCC5

NC
GND
NC

HDLED

RESET
System Case Connections

(8)FAN Power Headers: SYSFAN1 (3-pin), CPUFAN1 (4-pin)

These connectors support cooling fans of 350mA (4.2 Watts) or less, depending
on the fan manufacturer, the wire and plug may be different. The red wire
should be positive, while the black should be ground. Connect the fan’s plug to
the board taking into consideration the polarity of connector.
CPUFAN IN
CPUFAN
OUT
+12V
GND

CPUFAN1
1 4

3
SYSFAN1
1

FAN Power Headers

(9) HDMI-SPDIF Out header: HDMI_SPDIF

The SPDIF output is capable of providing digital audio to external speakers or
compressed AC3 data to an external Dolby digital decoder. Use this feature only
when your stereo system has digital input function.

HDMI_SPDIF OUT GND

1 2
HDMI_SPDIF Header

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3-3 Jumper Setting
(1) Keyboard/USB function Enabled/Disabled: JP1

JP1 JP1

1-2 Closed KB/USB Power ON Disable (Default) 2-3 Closed KB/USB Power ON Enabled

Keyboard/Mouse & USB Power On Setting

(2) CMOS RAM Clear (3-pin): JBAT1

A battery must be used to retain the motherboard configuration in CMOS RAM short
1-2 pins of JBAT to store the CMOS data.
To clear the CMOS, follow the procedure below:
1. Turn off the system and unplug the AC power
2. Remove ATX power cable from ATX power connector
3. Locate JBAT and short pins 2-3 for a few seconds
4. Return JBAT to its normal setting by shorting pins 1-2
5. Connect ATX power cable back to ATX power connector
Note: When should clear CMOS
1. Troubleshooting
2. Forget password
3. After over clocking system boot fail

JBAT JBAT

1-2 Closed Normal 2-3 Closed Clear CMOS

CMOS RAM Clear Setting

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 Chapter 4
Useful Help
4-1 How to Update Bios
Step 1. Prepare a boot disc. (You may make one by click START click RUN type
SYS A: click OK)
Step 2. Download upgrade tools and the latest BIOS files of the motherboard from
official website and then make a copy of it to your bootable floppy disk after
decompressing these files
Step 3. Insert the disk into A: start your computer and then type in “A:\xxxxxx.BAT”
(xxxxxxx being the file name of the latest BIOS)
Step 4. Type Enter to update and flash the BIOS. The system will restart
automatically when BIOS is upgraded.

4-2 Trouble Shooting

Problem Solution
No power to the system to the all 1. Make sure power cable is security
power light don’t illuminate, fan inside plugged in. 2. Replace cable. 3.
power supply doesn’t turn on. Contact technical support.
System inoperative. Keyboard lights Using ever pressure on both ends of
are on, power indicator lights are lit, the DIMM, press down firmly until the
and hard drive is spinning. module snaps into places.
System doesn’t boot from hard disk 1. Check cable running from disk to
drive, can be booted from optical drive. disk controller board. .Make sure both
ends are securely plugged in, check
the drive type in the standard CMOS
setup. 2. Backing up the hard drive is
extremely important .All hard disks are
capable of breaking down at any time.
System only boots from optical 1. Back up date and applications files.
drive .Hard disk can be read and 2. Reformat the hard drive. Reinstall
applications can be used but booting applications and date using backup
from hard disk is impossible. disks.
Screen message says “Invalid Review system’s equipment .Make
Configuration” or “CMOS Failure” sure correct information on is in setup.
Can not boot system after installing 1. Set master /slave jumpers correctly.
second hard drive. 2. Run SETUP program and select
correct drive types. Call the drive
manufacture for compatibility with
other drives.

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 Appendix I
Subject 1: Regarding the Application of 3-Phase or 3+1 Phase
Power Supply Mold
As a result of the increasing power consumption demand from
many AMD CPUs in current market, we suggest not to use a CPU
that demands more than 65W power consumption at work for an
AMD CPU compliant board that comes with power supply design
as 3 phase or 3+1 phase mold and MOSFET design as working in
High SideX1 and Low SideX1 mold so as to avoid MOSFET getting
burned or other phenomena like a halted system or system
instability. So please take notice of the CPU you are using and make sure that it is one
that demand not more than 65 W to ensure long-term working order.
Note：
1. The relation between CPU Power Consumption Amount and Power Phase:
depending on difference in voltage rating, one-phase of power can provide
25~30W to the motherboard.
2. 3- Phase Power Supply Mold: motherboard with 3 inductances for CPU power
supply, and each inductance carries with it 2 MOSFET (6 MOSFETs in total)
(Figure1);3+1–Phase Power Supply Mold: motherboard with 4 inductances for
CPU power supply, and each inductance carries with it 2 MOSFET (8 MOSFETs
in total) (Figure2)

Figure 1

Figure 2

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Solution：
We recommend users choose motherboards with power design of 4-phase, 4+1
phase or more for CPUs that demand 89W or 95W power consumption.
We recommend users choose motherboards with power design of 5-phase, 5+1
phase or more for CPUs that demand 125W or 140W power consumption.
Subject 2: Suggestion on choosing electric fan

Both the amount of electric current to MOSFET and the heat

produced from the motherboard go up as AMD’s CPU power
consumption increases. In this case we recommend users select a
CPU fan with air outlet towards MOSFET so that CPU fan can carry
away heat produced by MOSFET, for better heat dissipation effects.
At the same time we suggest using well-ventilated cases to maintain temperature as
38℃ approximately inside.( 38℃ is recommended by CPU manufactures)

Cool air flowing in

Hot air flowing out

Figure 1---- CPU Fan can not blow off the heat produced by MOSFET. We suggest
not to using fans of this kind

Cool air flowing in

Hot air flowing out

Figure 2---- CPU Fan can blow off the heat produced by MOSFET. We suggest using
fans of this kind

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