MSI Z97A GAMING 6 Series, Manual

Page 1: ...Z97A GAMING 6 Motherboard G52 79171X5 Preface...

Page 2: ...ademarks of Intel Corporation Windows is registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation AMI is registered trademark of American Megatrends Inc Award is a registered trademark of Phoenix Technologies L...

Page 3: ...als within minutes Better yet the power calculator provides accurate estimates of power unit capacity for DIY users Technical Support If a problem arises with your system and no solution can be obtain...

Page 4: ...Do not place anything over the power cord Always Unplug the Power Cord before inserting any add on card or module All cautions and warnings on the equipment should be noted Never pour any liquid into...

Page 5: ...which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the measures listed below Reorient or relocate the receiving ant...

Page 6: ...ent and its antenna must not be co located or operating in conjunction with any other antenna or transmitter European Community Compliance Statement The equipment complies with the RF Exposure Require...

Page 7: ...ld not be disposed of as unsorted household waste Please use the public collection system to return recycle or treat them in compliance with the local regulations Battery Information Chemical Substanc...

Page 8: ...ronik Altger te nicht mehr als kommunale Abf lle entsorgt werden MSI hat europaweit verschiedene Sammel und Recyclingunternehmen beauftragt die in die Europ ische Union in Verkehr gebrachten Produkte...

Page 9: ...de producten die de merknaam MSI dragen en verkocht zijn in de EU Deze goederen kunnen geretourneerd worden op lokale inzamelingspunten SRPSKI Da bi za titili prirodnu sredinu i kao preduze e koje vo...

Page 10: ...h sb rn ch MAGYAR Annak rdek ben hogy k rnyezet nket megv dj k illetve k rnyezetv d k nt fell pve az MSI eml kezteti nt hogy Az Eur pai Uni EU 2005 augusztus 13 n hat lyba l p az elektromos s elektron...

Page 11: ...mium polybrominated biphenyls or polybrominated diphenyl ethers in concentrations exceeding 0 1 weight and 0 01 weight for cadmium except for the exemptions set in Schedule 2 of the Rule T rkiye EEE y...

Page 12: ...Slots 1 18 Video Graphics Cards 1 19 Single Video Card Installation 1 19 Internal Connectors 1 20 SATA1 6 SATA Connectors 1 20 M2_1 M 2 Port 1 21 SATA_EXP1 SATA Express Port 1 21 CPUFAN1 2 SYSFAN1 3 F...

Page 13: ...Connector Installation 2 11 Peripheral Connector Installation 2 12 USB2 0 Connector Installation 2 12 USB3 0 Connector Installation 2 12 Graphics Card Installation 2 13 Chapter 3 BIOS Setup 3 1 Enter...

Page 14: ...Preface Preface Appendix B Intel RAID B 1 Introduction B 2 Using Intel Rapid Storage Technology Option ROM B 3 Degraded RAID Array B 10 System Acceleration optional B 12 RST Synchronization optional B...

Page 15: ...v2 X ATX motherboard The Z97A GAMING 6 Series motherboards are based on Intel Z97 chipset for optimal system efficiency Designed to fit the advanced Intel LGA1150 processor the Z97A GAMING 6 Series m...

Page 16: ...ting Started Packing Contents SATA Cable Drivers Utilities Disc Motherboard User Guide I O Shield Motherboard These pictures are for reference only and may vary without notice SLI Cable M Connector Au...

Page 17: ...n handling the motherboard to prevent electrostatic damage If an ESD wrist strap is not available discharge yourself of static electricity by touching another metal object before handling the motherbo...

Page 18: ...Intel Z97 Express Chipset 6x SATA 6Gb s ports 2x ports reserved for SATA Express port SATA1 6 support RAID 0 RAID 1 RAID 5 and RAID 10 1x SATA Express port 1x M 2 port supports up to 10Gb s speed M 2...

Page 19: ...nnectors 3x 4 pin system fan connectors 1x TPM module connector 1x Serial port connector 1x Front panel audio connector 1x Direct audio power connector 2x System panel connectors 1x Chassis Intrusion...

Page 20: ...Extreme Tuning Utility Norton Internet Security Solution Sound Blaster Cinema 2 XSplit Gamecaster V2 Killer Network Manager Form Factor ATX Form Factor 12 in x 9 6 in 30 5 cm x 24 4 cm For the latest...

Page 21: ...AN1 PCI_E1 PCI_E2 PCI_E3 PCI_E4 PCI_E5 PCI_E6 PCI_E7 JPWR1 JUSB3 SYSFAN3 SATA3_4_5_6 SATA_EXP1 JPWR2 CPU Socket Back Panel M2_1 JTPM1 SYSFAN1 DIMM1 DIMM2 DIMM3 DIMM4 CPUFAN2 JUSB4 JCI1 JBAT1 JFP1 JFP2...

Page 22: ...emory slots 1 15 JAUD1 Front Panel Audio Connector 1 25 JBAT1 Clear CMOS Jumper 1 28 JCI1 Chassis Intrusion Connector 1 25 JCOM1 Serial Port Connector 1 27 JFP1 JFP2 System Panel Connectors 1 23 JPWR1...

Page 23: ...t connector is provided for digital audio transmission to external speakers through an optical fiber cable HDMI Port The High Definition Multimedia Interface HDMI is an all digital audio video interfa...

Page 24: ...Orange 1 Gbps connection USB 3 0 Port USB 3 0 port is backward compatible with USB 2 0 devices It supports data transfer rate up to 5 Gbit s SuperSpeed Important In order to use USB 3 0 devices you m...

Page 25: ...s power cord to ensure the safety of the CPU Overclocking This motherboard is designed to support overclocking Before attempting to overclock please make sure that all other system components can tol...

Page 26: ...nk installation Wrong installation can damage both the CPU and the motherboard 1 Push the load lever down to unclip it and lift to the fully open position 2 The load plate will automatically lift up a...

Page 27: ...under the retention knob Close and engage the load lever Alignment Key CPU notches Retention knob 5 When you press down the load lever the PnP cap will automatically pop up from the CPU socket Do not...

Page 28: ...CPU fan connector on the motherboard 8 Place the heatsink on the motherboard with the fan s cable facing towards the fan connector and the fasteners matching the holes on the motherboard CPU fan conne...

Page 29: ...ling Dual Channel mode can enhance system performance The following illustrations explain the population rules for Dual Channel mode DIMM2 DIMM4 DIMM1 DIMM2 DIMM3 DIMM4 Important DDR3 memory modules a...

Page 30: ...cure the motherboard with the screws provided with your computer case The locations of the screw holes on the motherboard are shown below For more information please refer to the manual that came with...

Page 31: ...clip on the power cable should be hooked on the motherboard s power connector 1 3 3 3 V 1 3 3 V 1 4 1 2 V 2 3 3 V 1 5 G r o u n d 3 G r o u n d 1 6 P S O N 4 5 V 1 7 G r o u n d 5 G r o u n d 1 8 G r...

Page 32: ...PCIe Expansion Slots The PCIe slot supports the PCIe interface expansion card PCIe x1 Slot PCIe x16 Slot Important When adding or removing expansion cards always turn off the power supply and unplug...

Page 33: ...type of expansion slot s the video card will use Locate the expansion slot s on the motherboard Remove any protective expansion slot covers from the computer case 2 Line up the video card on top of th...

Page 34: ...also need a power cable from the power supply Such devices include disk drives HDD solid state drives SSD and optical drives CD DVD Blu Ray Please refer to the device s manual for further information...

Page 35: ...e M 2 SSD with Legacy ROM M 2 PCIe interface does not support RAID 0 RAID1 RAID 5 and RAID 10 Always turn off the power supply and unplug the power cord from the power outlet before installing or remo...

Page 36: ...n connector 1 G r o u n d 2 S p e e d C o n t r o l 3 S e n s e 4 N C 1 G r o u n d 2 1 2 V 3 S e n s e 4 S p e e d C o n t r o l CPUFAN1 CPUFAN2 SYSFAN1 SYSFAN2 SYSFAN3 Important Please refer to your...

Page 37: ...nstration Watch the video to learn how to Install front panel connectors http youtu be DPELIdVNZUI 1 3 1 0 N o P i n 5 R e s e t S w i t c h H D D L E D P o w e r S w i t c h P o w e r L E D 7 9 R e s...

Page 38: ...kwards compatible with USB 2 0 devices It supports data transfer rates up to 5Gbits s SuperSpeed 5 U S B 3 _ T X _ C _ D N 4 G r o u n d 3 U S B 3 _ R X _ D P 2 U S B 3 _ R X _ D N 1 P o w e r 1 0 G r...

Page 39: ...clear the warning you must enter the BIOS utility and clear the record 2 C I N T R U 1 G r o u n d JAUD1 Front Panel Audio Connector This connector allows you to connect the front audio panel located...

Page 40: ...e that you have to enable the Direct Audio Power by adjusting the audio power switch AUD_SW1 JTPM1 TPM Module Connector This connector connects to a TPM Trusted Platform Module Please refer to the TPM...

Page 41: ...Serial Port Connector This connector is a 16550A high speed communication port that sends receives 16 bytes FIFOs You can attach a serial device 1 D C D 3 S O U T 1 0 N o P i n 5 G r o u n d 7 R T S 9...

Page 42: ...S RAM the system can automatically boot into the operating system OS every time it is turned on If you want to clear the system configuration set the jumpers to clear the CMOS RAM Keep Data Clear Data...

Page 43: ...ack panel audio ports Direct Power mode Onboard Power mode Default Important Before switching to Direct Power mode please make sure the Direct Audio Power Connector AUDPWR1 has been connected to the p...

Page 44: ...Chapter 1 1 30 Getting Started Debug Code LED LED Status Indicators MSI LED LED Status Table The following table describes the status of LED indicators LED LED Status Description MSI LED On Debug...

Page 45: ...e Initialization 19 1C 3B 3E Early South Bridge Initialization 1D 2F 31 3F 4E 50 55 Early Memory Initialization 63 67 D0 Late CPU Initialization 69 6F D1 Late North Bridge Initialization 70 77 D2 Late...

Page 46: ...ity program The bundle also includes a variety of powerful and creative utilities Driver Utilities Installation Please follow the steps below to install drivers and utilities for your new computer 1 I...

Page 47: ...er Some of the installations also provide video demonstrations Please link to the URL to watch it with the web browser on your phone or tablet You may have even link to the URL by scanning the QR code...

Page 48: ...Chapter 2 2 2 Quick Installation CPU Installation 1 2 3 4 5 6 http youtu be bf5La099urI...

Page 49: ...Chapter 2 2 3 Quick Installation 7 8 9...

Page 50: ...Chapter 2 2 4 Quick Installation Memory Installation 1 2 3 http youtu be 76yLtJaKlCQ...

Page 51: ...Chapter 2 2 5 Quick Installation Motherboard Installation 1 2...

Page 52: ...Chapter 2 2 6 Quick Installation 3...

Page 53: ...7 Quick Installation Power Connectors Installation E6 88 MSI MC4 E6 88 MSI MC4 E6 88 MSI MC4 E6 88 MSI MC4 E6 88 MSI MC4 E6 88 MSI MC4 E6 88 MSI MC4 E6 88 MSI MC4 E6 88 MSI MC4 or 1 2 http youtu be g...

Page 54: ...hapter 2 2 8 Quick Installation E6 88 MSI MC4 E6 88 MSI MC4 E6 88 MSI MC4 E6 88 MSI MC4 E6 88 MSI MC4 E6 88 MSI MC4 E6 88 MSI MC4 E6 88 MSI MC4 E6 88 MSI MC4 E6 88 MSI MC4 E6 88 MSI MC4 E6 88 MSI MC4...

Page 55: ...outu be RZsMpqxythc E6 88 MS I MC 4 E68 8 MSI MC4 E68 8 MSI MC4 E68 8 MSI MC4 E68 8 MSI MC4 E6 88 MS I MC 4 E6 88 MS I MC 4 E6 88 MS I MC 4 E6 88 MS I MC 4 E68 8 MSI MC4 E68 8 MSI MC4 E68 8 MSI MC4 E6...

Page 56: ...Chapter 2 2 10 Quick Installation M 2 module Installation 1 30 2 3 http youtu be JCTFABytrYA...

Page 57: ...MC4 E68 8 MSI MC4 E68 8 MSI MC4 E68 8 MSI MC4 E6 88 MS I MC 4 E6 88 MS I MC 4 E6 88 MS I MC 4 HD_LED HD_LED RST_SW RST_SW RSVD_DNU HD_LED HD_LED RST_SW RST_SW RSVD_DNU PWR_SW PWR_SW FP PWR SLP FP PWR...

Page 58: ...MSI MC4 USB E6 88 MSI MC4 E68 8 MSI MC4 E68 8 MSI MC4 E68 8 MSI MC4 E68 8 MSI MC4 E68 8 MSI MC4 E68 8 MSI MC4 E68 8 MSI MC4 E68 8 MSI MC4 E6 88 MSI MC4 USB E6 88 MSI MC4 E68 8 MSI MC4 E68 8 MSI MC4 E...

Page 59: ...Chapter 2 2 13 Quick Installation Graphics Card Installation http youtu be mG0GZpr9w_A 1 2...

Page 60: ...Chapter 2 2 14 Quick Installation 3 4 5...

Page 61: ...ault settings if the system becomes unbootable after changing BIOS settings Refer to the Clear CMOS jumper button section to clear the CMOS data select the Restore Defaults and press Enter in BIOS to...

Page 62: ...or failure booting due to inappropriate BIOS configuration Entering BIOS Setup Power on the computer and the system will start the Power On Self Test POST process When the message below appears on th...

Page 63: ...or chipset and boot devices OC This menu contains the frequency and voltage adjustments Increasing the frequency can get better performance however high frequency and heat can cause instability we do...

Page 64: ...Boot device priority bar You can move the device icons to change the boot priority High priority Low priority System information Shows the time date CPU name CPU frequency DRAM frequency DRAM capacity...

Page 65: ...the mouse cursor to highlight a BIOS item on the Favorite 1 5 menu 2 Right click or press F2 key and then click Delete to delete the BIOS item Click Delete to delete the BIOS item Changing the order o...

Page 66: ...utton Select Icon Field Esc Click the right button Jump to the Exit menu or return to the previous from a submenu Increase the numeric value or make changes Decrease the numeric value or make changes...

Page 67: ...2 NTFS format USB flash disk supports updating BIOS by M FLASH Updating BIOS 1 Insert the USB flash disk that contains the BIOS update file into the computer 2 Restart the system and then press Del ke...

Page 68: ...justed by users System Time Sets the system time Use tab key to switch between time elements The time format is hour minute second SATA Port Show the information of connected SATA device Important If...

Page 69: ...Sets shining behaviors of the onboard Power LED Dual Color The power LED turns to another color to indicate the S3 state Blinking The power LED blinks to indicate the S3 state Integrated Peripherals...

Page 70: ...upport for the SATA ports Disabled Disables hot plug support for the SATA ports HD Audio Controller Enabled Enables or disables the onboard High Definition Audio controller HPET Enabled Enables or dis...

Page 71: ...t partition size is less than the system DRAM size Enabled Enables the additional partition size of SSD for iRST Disabled Disables this function Active Memory Threshold Sets Rapid Start partition size...

Page 72: ...nables or disables EHCI hand off support for the operating system without EHCI hand off feature Legacy USB Support Enabled Sets Legacy USB function support Auto The system will automatically detect if...

Page 73: ...es the system in power off state after restoring AC power Power On Boot up the system after restoring AC power Last State Restores the system to the previous state power on power off before AC power l...

Page 74: ...ized accessing Press Enter to enter the sub menu This sub menu will appear when Windows 8 8 1 Feature is enabled Secure Boot Support Disabled Enables or disables secure boot support Enabled Enables th...

Page 75: ...bles this function Resume From S3 S4 S5 by PS 2 Mouse Disabled Disables or enables the system wake up by PS 2 mouse Enabled Enables the system to be awakened from S3 S4 S5 state when activity of PS 2...

Page 76: ...n selecting the Administrator User Password items a password box will appear on the screen Type the password then press Enter The password typed now will replace any previous set password from CMOS me...

Page 77: ...all changes and reboot the system Save Changes This item is used to save current changes Discard Changes This item is used to discard current all changes and restore to the previous values Restore De...

Page 78: ...e symbol for the OC settings of Advanced mode CPU Setting CPU Ratio Auto Sets the CPU ratio that is used to determine CPU clock speed This item can only be changed if the processor supports this funct...

Page 79: ...Selects the memory timing mode Auto DRAM timings will be determined based on SPD Serial Presence Detect of installed memory modules Link Allows user to configure the DRAM timing manually for all memor...

Page 80: ...l power phase profile for CPU it could provide a stable system performance and effective power saving capability Optimized Sets the optimum power phase profile for CPU it could provide the system with...

Page 81: ...Compensation Level Auto Sets the current compensation level for CPU PWM when the MOS phases are changed If set to Auto BIOS will configure this setting automatically Higher compensation level provides...

Page 82: ...s and reduces end user response times Intel Hyper Threading technology treats the multi cores inside the processor as multi logical processors that can execute instructions simultaneously In this way...

Page 83: ...performance to the specific application Disabled Enables the requested cache line only CPU AES Instructions Enabled Enables or disables the CPU AES Advanced Encryption Standard New Instructions suppo...

Page 84: ...disables the Intel Turbo Boost This item is for Simple mode and appears when the installed CPU supports this function Enabled Enables this function to boost CPU performance automatically above rated...

Page 85: ...isabled Disables this function Internal VR Switching Frequency Auto Sets offset percentage of Internal VR Switching Frequency If set to Auto BIOS will configure this setting automatically This item on...

Page 86: ...ows you to update BIOS from USB flash disk FAT32 NTFS format only Select one file to update BIOS and ME Selects a BIOS file includes the ME management settings in the USB flash disk NTFS FAT32 format...

Page 87: ...s the current overclocking profile Load Overclocking Profile 1 2 3 4 5 6 Loads the current overclocking profile Clear Overclocking Profile 1 2 3 4 5 6 Clears the current overclocking profile OC Profil...

Page 88: ...erature and to keep it with a specific operating speed When the current CPU temperature is over under the setting temperature the CPU system fan will run at the corresponding speed In this field you c...

Page 89: ...udio The Realtek audio provides 10 channel DAC that simultaneously supports 7 1 sound playback and 2 channels of independent stereo sound output multiple streaming through the Front Out Left and Front...

Page 90: ...ght of the screen You may double click the icon and the GUI will pop up accordingly double click the icon It is also available to enable the audio driver by clicking the Realtek HD Audio Manager from...

Page 91: ...the bar Application Enhancement The array of options will provide you a complete guidance of anticipated sound effect for both output and input device Jack status panel This panel depicts all render a...

Page 92: ...altek Audio Hardware Default Setting The following diagrams are audio back panel default setting Backpanel audio jacks to 2 channel speakers diagram Front Backpanel audio jacks to 4 channel speakers d...

Page 93: ...ppendix A A 5 Realtek Audio Backpanel audio jacks to 6 channel speakers diagram Rear Front Center Subwoofer Backpanel audio jacks to 8 channel speakers diagram Rear Front Center Subwoofer Side Surroun...

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Page 95: ...Appendix B Intel RAID This appendix will assist users in configuring and enabling RAID functionality and accelerating system on platforms...

Page 96: ...t the byte level and also stripe error correction information This results in excellent performance and good fault tolerance Level 5 is one of the most popular implementations of RAID RAID 10 Not one...

Page 97: ...TA RAID volume may be configured using the RAID Configuration utility stored within the Intel RAID Option ROM During the Power On Self Test POST the following message will appear for a few seconds Imp...

Page 98: ...CREATE VOLUME MENU HELP Name RAID 1 Mirrors data redundancy Change TAB Next ESC Previous Menu ENTER Select RAID Level Disks Strip Size Capacity Sync Volume0 RAID1 Mirror Select Disks N A XXX X GB N A...

Page 99: ...ailable according to the selected RAID level 5 Then select the capacity of the volume in the Capacity field The default value is the maximum volume capacity of the selected disks CREATE VOLUME MENU HE...

Page 100: ...0 RAID1 Mirror Select Disks N A XXX X GB N A Create Volume WARNING ALL DATA ON SELECTED DISKS WILL BE LOST Are you sure you want to create this volume Y N DISK VOLUME INFORMATION 4 Recovery Volume Opt...

Page 101: ...RAID volume for deletion Then press Delete key to delete the selected RAID volume The following screen appears DELETE VOLUME MENU HELP Deleting a volume will reset the disks to non RAID Select ESC Pre...

Page 102: ...structures and revert it to a non RAID disk RESET RAID DATA WARNING Resetting a disk causes all data on the disk to be lost This does not apply to Recovery volumes Select the disks that should be res...

Page 103: ...bles recovery disk if available and disables master disk Enable Only Master Disk enables master disk if available and disables recovery disk Actions will result in change from Continuous Update mode t...

Page 104: ...destination disk for rebuilding and then press ENTER RAID Volumes ID Name Level Strip Size Status Bootable 0 Volume0 RAID 1 Mirror N A XXX XGB Degraded Yes Physical Disks Port Device Model Serial Size...

Page 105: ...When prompted to rebuild the RAID volume click Yes 7 The Intel Rapid Storage Technology application will be launched Right click the new hard drive and select Rebuild to this Disk The Rebuild Wizard w...

Page 106: ...tel Rapid Storage Technology Intel Rapid Storage Technology can only work with RAID mode Even though there is only one hard drive you must set the SATA Mode to RAID in BIOS The OS must be installed in...

Page 107: ...nce tab Click here 11 Select the acceleration mode options 12 Click OK and reboot the system The page refreshes and reports the new acceleration configuration in the Acceleration View Important You ca...

Page 108: ...ONS HELP Name Press s to synchronize data from the cache device to the Accelerated Disk Volume Press r to remove the Disk Volume Acceleration WARNING IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT YOU ERFORM A SYNCHRONIZATIO...