ASRock Z87 OC Owner's Manual

User Manual

Version 1.0

Published May 2013

Copyright©2013 ASRock INC. All rights reser ved.

Copyright Notice:

No part of this documentation may be reproduced, transcribed, transmitted, or
translated in any language, in any form or by any means, except duplication of
documentation by the purchaser for backup purpose, without written consent of
ASRock Inc.

Products and corporate names appearing in this documentation may or may not
be registered trademarks or copyrights of their respective companies, and are used
only for identication or explanation and to the owners’ benet, without intent to

infringe.

Disclaimer:

Specications and information contained in this documentation are furnished for
informational use only and subject to change without notice, and should not be
constructed as a commitment by ASRock. ASRock assumes no responsibility for
any errors or omissions that may appear in this documentation.

With respect to the contents of this documentation, ASRock does not provide
warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, including but not limited to
the implied warranties or conditions of merchantability or tness for a particular
purpose.

In no event shall ASRock, its directors, ocers, employees, or agents be liable for
any indirect, special, incidental, or consequential damages (including damages for
loss of prots, loss of business, loss of data, interruption of business and the like),
even if ASRock has been advised of the possibility of such damages arising from any
defect or error in the documentation or product.

is device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following
two conditions:
(1) this device may not cause harmful interference, and
(2) this device must accept any interference received, including interference that

may cause undesired operation.

CALIFORNIA, USA ONLY

e Lithium battery adopted on this motherboard contains Perchlorate, a toxic substance
controlled in Perchlorate Best Management Practices (BMP) regulations passed by the
California Legislature. When you discard the Lithium battery in California, USA, please
follow the related regulations in advance.
“Perchlorate Material-special handling may apply, see ww w.dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/
perchlorate”

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

e terms HDMI™ and HDMI High-Denition Multimedia Interface, and the HDMI
logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of HDMI Licensing LLC in the United
States and other countries.

Manufactured under license under U.S. Patent Nos: 5,956,674; 5,974,380; 6,487,535;

7,003,467 & other U.S. and worldwide patents issued & pending. DTS, the Symbol, &

DTS and the Symbol together is a registered trademark & DTS Connect, DTS Interactive,

DTS Neo:PC are trademarks of DTS, Inc. Product includes soware.

© DTS, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction 1

1.1 Package Contents 1

1.2 Specications 2

1.3 Unique Features 7

1.4 Motherboard Layout 11

1.5 I/O Panel 15

1.6 WiFi-802.11n Module and ASRock WiFi 2.4GHz Antenna
(for Z87 OC Formula/ac only ) 17

Chapter 2 Installation 20

2.1 Installing the CPU 21

2.2 Installing the CPU Fan and Heatsink 24

2.3 Installing Memory Modules (DIMM) 25

2.4 Expansion Slots (PCI and PCI Express Slots) 27

2.5 Jumpers Setup 28

2.6 Onboard Headers and Connectors 29

2.7 Smart Switches 35

2.8 Status OLED 37

2.9 Front USB 3.0 Panel Installation Guide 40

2.10 Rear USB 3.0 Bracket Installation Guide 42

2.11 Using the HDMI-In Port 43

2.12 SL I

2.12.1 Installing Two SLI

TM

and Quad SLITM Operation Guide 46

TM

-Ready Graphics Cards 46

2.12.2 Driver Installation and Setup 48

2.13 CrossFireXTM, 3-Way CrossFireXTM and Quad CrossFireXTM
Operation Guide 49

2.13.1 Installing Two CrossFireX

2.13.2 Installing Three CrossFireX

2.13.3 Installing Four CrossFireX

TM

-Ready Graphics Cards 49

TM

-Ready Graphics Cards 50

TM

-Ready Graphics Cards 51

2.13.4 Driver Installation and Setup 52

Chapter 3 Software and Utilities Operation 53

3.1 Installing Drivers 53

3.2 Formula Drive 54

3.3 Intel® Rapid Start Technology 58

3.4 Intel® Smart Connect Technology 63

3.5 Intel® Remote Wake Technology 68

3.5.1 Conguring and Using MeshCentral 68

3.5.2 Conguring and Using Splashtop 73

3.6 Start8 76

Chapter 4 UEFI SETUP UTILITY 79

4.1 Introduction 79

4.1.1 UEFI Menu Bar 79

4.1.2 Navigation Keys 80

4.2 Main Screen 81

4.3 OC Tweaker Screen 82

4.4 Advanced Screen 92

4.4.1 CPU Conguration 93

4.4.2 Chipset Conguration 95

4.4.3 Storage Conguration 97

4.4.4 Intel® Rapid Start Technology 99

4.4.5 Intel® Smart Connect Technology 100

4.4.6 Super IO Conguration 101

4.4.7 ACPI Conguration 102

4.4.8 USB Conguration 104

4.5 Tools 105

4.6 Hardware Health Event Monitoring Screen 108

4.7 Boot Screen 110

4.8 Security Screen 113

4.9 Exit Screen 114

English

Z87 OC Formula/ac / Z87 OC Formula

Chapter 1 Introduction

ank you for purchasing ASRock Z87 OC Formula/ac / Z87 OC Formula

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.

In this documentation, Chapter 1 and 2 contains the introduction of the

motherboard and step-by-step installation guides. Chapter 3 contains the operation

guide of the soware and utilities. Chapter 4 contains the conguration guide of

the BIOS setup.

Becau se the motherboard specications and the BIOS soware might be updated, the
content of this documentation will be subject to change without notice. In case any modi­cations of this documentation occur, the updated version will be available on ASRock’s
website w ithout further notice. If you require technical support relate d to this mother­board, please visit our website for specic information about the model you are using. You
may nd the l atest VGA cards and CPU support list on ASRock ’s website a s well. ASRock
website http://www.asrock.com.

1.1 Package Contents

ASRock Z87 OC Formula/ac / Z87 OC Formula Motherboard (EATX Form Factor)

•

ASRock Z87 OC Formula/ac / Z87 OC Formula Quick Installation Guide

•

ASRock Z87 OC Formula/ac / Z87 OC Formula Support CD

•

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

•

2 x SATA 1 to 1 Power Cables (Optional)

•

1 x I/O Panel Shield

•

1 x ASRock Flexible SLI Bridge Connector Cable

•

1 x Front USB 3.0 Panel with 2.5” HDD/SSD Rack

•

4 x HDD Screws

•

6 x Chassis Screws

•

1 x Rear USB 3.0 Bracket

•

10 x OC Stands

•

GELID Solutions GC-Extreme ermal Compound

•

1 x ASRock WiFi 2.4/5GHz Antenna (for Z87 OC Formula/ac only)

•

2 x SMA Wi-Fi Antenna Cables (for Z87 OC Formula/ac only)

•

1 x WiFi Module Screw (for Z87 OC Formula only)

•

English

1.2 Specications

Platform

A-Style

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

EATX Form Factor (12.0-in x 10.5-in, 30.5 cm x 26.7 cm)

Premium Gold Capacitor design (100% Japan-made high-

quality Conductive Polymer Capacitors)

Home Cloud

Conformal Coating

Purity Sound

802.11ac WiFi (for Z87 OC Formula/ac only)

HDMI-In

TM

OC
Formula
Kit

OC Formula Power Kit

12 Power Phase Design

•

Digi Power

•

Dual-Stack MOSFET (DSM)

•

Multiple Filter Cap (MFC) (Filter dierent noise by 3 dierent

•

capacitors: DIP solid cap, POSCAP and MLCC)

Premium Alloy Choke (Reduce 70% core loss compare to iron

•

powder choke)

OC Formula Connector Kit

Hi-Density Power Connector (8 pin)

•

15μGold Finger (CPU sockets, memory sockets and PCIE x16

•

slots)

Distortion-Free Slot

•

OC Formula Cooling Kit

Twin-Power Cooling (Combine active air cooling and water

•

cooling)

8 Layer PCB

•

4 x 2oz copper

•

GELID Solutions GC-Extreme ermal Compound

•

OC Formula Monitor Kit

Status OLED

•

Multi ermal Sensor

•

Supports 4th Generation Intel® CoreTM i7 / i5 / i3 / Xeon® /

CPU

2 3

•

Pentium® / Celeron® in LGA1150 Package

12 Power Phase Design

•

Supports Intel® Turbo Boost 2.0 Technology

•

Supports Intel® K-Series unlocked CPU

•

Supports ASRock BCLK Full-range Overclocking

•

English

Z87 OC Formula/ac / Z87 OC Formula

Chipset

Memory

Expansion
Slot

Graphics

Intel® Z87

•

Dual Channel DDR3 memory technolog y

•

4 x DDR3 DIMM slots

•

Supports DDR3 3000+(OC)/2933(OC)/2800(OC)/2400(OC)

•

/2133(OC)/1866(OC)/1600/1333/1066 non-ECC, un-buered

memory

Max. capacity of system memory: 32GB

•

Supports Intel® Extreme Memory Prole (XMP) 1.3 / 1.2

•

Distortion-Free Slot

•

3 x PCI Express 3.0 x16 slots (PCIE1/PCIE2/PCIE4: single

•

at x16 (PCIE1); dual at x8 (PCIE1) / x8 (PCIE2); triple at x8

(PCIE1) / x4 (PCIE2) / x4 (PCIE4))

1 x PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot (PCIE6: x4 mode)

•

2 x PCI Express 2.0 x1 slots

•

1 x mini-PCI Express slot: For WiFi + BT module

•

*mini-PCI Express slot is shared with PCIE5 slot

PLX8605 embedded

•

Supports AMD Quad CrossFireX

•

3-Way CrossFireX

Supports NVIDIA® Quad SLITM and SLI

•

Intel® HD Graphics Built-in Visuals and the VGA outputs can

•

TM

and CrossFireXTM

TM

, 4-Way CrossFireXTM,

TM

be supported only with processors which are GPU integrated.

Supports Intel® HD Graphics Built-in Visuals : Intel® Quick

•

Sync Video with AVC, MVC (S3D) and MPEG-2 Full

TM

HW Encode1, Intel® InTru

3D, Intel® Clear Video HD

Technology, Intel® InsiderTM, Intel® HD Graphics 4400/4600

Pixel Shader 5.0, DirectX 11.1

•

Max. shared memory 1792MB

•

Supports HDMI Technology with max. resolution up to 4K ×

•

2K (4096x2304) @ 24Hz

Supports Auto Lip Sync, Deep Color (12bpc), xvYCC and

•

HBR (High Bit Rate Audio) with HDMI (Compliant HDMI

monitor is required)

Supports HDCP function with HDMI port

•

Supports Full HD 1080p Blu-ray (BD) playback with HDMI

•

port

English

Audio

LAN

Rear Panel
I/O

7.1 CH HD Audio with Content Protection (Realtek ALC1150

•

Aud io Codec)

Premium Blu-ray audio support

•

Supports Purity Sound ™

•

- 115dB SNR DAC with dierential amplier

- TI® NE5532 Premium Headset Amplier (supports up to

600 Ohms headsets)

- Direct Drive Technology

- EMI shielding cover

- PCB isolate shielding

Supports DTS Connect

•

Gigabit LAN 10/100/10 00 Mb/s

•

Giga PHY Intel® I217V

•

Supports Intell® Remote Wake Technology

•

Supports Wake-On-LAN

•

Supports Energy Ecient Ethernet 802.3az

•

Supports PXE

•

1 x PS/2 Mouse/Keyboard Port

•

1 x HDMI-Out Port

•

1 x HDMI-In Port

•

1 x Optica l SPDIF Out Port

•

2 x USB 2.0 Ports

•

4 x USB 3.0 Ports (Intel Z87)

•

* USB3_10_11 is shared with PCIE6. If the PCIE6 slot is

occupied, USB3_10_11 shis to USB 2.0.

4 x USB 3.0 Ports (Etron EJ188H)

•

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

•

LED)

1 x Clear CMOS Button

•

HD Audio Jack: Rear Speaker / Centra l / Bass / Line in / Front

•

Speaker / Microphone

4 5

Storage

Connector

Z87 OC Formula/ac / Z87 OC Formula

6 x SATA3 6.0 Gb/s connectors by Intel® Z87, support RAID

•

(RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 10, Intel Rapid Storage

Technology 12 and Intel Smart Response Technology), NCQ,

AHCI and Hot Plug

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

•

port NCQ, AHCI and Hot Plug

1 x COM port header

•

1 x Power LED header

•

2 x CPU Fan connectors (1 x 4-pin, 1 x 3-pin)

•

4 x Chassis Fan connectors (1 x 4-pin, 3 x 3-pin)

•

1 x Power Fan connector (3-pin)

•

1 x MOS Fan connector (3-pin)

•

1 x 24 pin ATX power connector

•

2 x 8 pin 12V power connectors (Hi-Density Power Connec-

•

tor)

1 x SLI/XFire power connector

•

1 x Front panel audio connector

•

2 x USB 2.0 headers (support 6 USB 2.0 ports)

•

1 x Vertical Type A USB 3.0

•

2 x USB 3.0 headers (support 4 USB 3.0 ports) (ASMedia Hub)

•

1 x Power Switch with LED

•

1 x Reset Switch with LED

•

1 x Clear CMOS Switch

•

V-ProbeTM: 2 x 7-set of onboard voltage measurement points

•

laid

Rapid OC Button: +/- buttons to adjust OC frequency

•

1 x PCIe ON/OFF Switch

•

1 x Post Status Checker (PSC)

•

1 x Slow Mode Switch

•

1 x LN2 Mode Switch

•

1 x BIOS Selection Switch

•

BIOS
Feature

2 x 64Mb AMI UEFI Legal BIOS with Multilingual GUI sup-

•

port (1 x Main BIOS and 1 x Backup BIOS)

Supports Secure Backup UEFI Technology

•

ACPI 1.1 Compliance Wake Up Events

•

SMBIOS 2.3.1 Support

•

CPU, DRAM, PCH 1.05V, PCH 1.5V Voltage Multi-adjust-

•

ment

English

English

Drivers, Utilities, AntiVirus Soware (Tria l Version), Cyber-

Support
CD

•

Link MediaEspresso 6.5 Trial, Google Chrome Browser and

Toolbar, Start8, MeshCentral, Splashtop Streamer

CPU/Chassis/Power/MOS Temperature Sensing

Hardware

•

CPU/Chassis/Power/MOS Fan Tachometer

•

CPU/Chassis/MOS Quiet Fan (Allows Chassis Fan Speed

•

Auto-Adjust by CPU Temperature)

CPU/Chassis/MOS Fan Multi-Speed Control

•

Multi ermal Sensor

•

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

•

1 x Status OLED

•

Microso® Windows® 8 / 8 64-bit / 7 / 7 64-bit compliant

OS

Certica­tions

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

Please realize that the re is a certain r isk involved with overclo cking, including adju sting
the setting in the BIOS, applying Untied Overclocking Technolog y, or using third-party
overclocking to ols. O verclocking may aect your system’s stability, or even cause damage to
the components and devices of your system. It should be done at your ow n risk and expense.
We are not responsibl e for possible damage caused by overclo cking.

•

FCC, CE, WHQL

•

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

•

Due to limitation, the actual memory size may be less than 4GB for the reservation for sys­tem usage under Windows® 32-bit ope rating systems. Windows® 64-bit operating systems
do not have s uch limitation s. You can use ASRock XFast RAM to utilize the memory that
Windows® cannot use.

6 7

English

Z87 OC Formula/ac / Z87 OC Formula

1.3 Unique Features

ASRock Formula Drive

Formula Drive is ASRock’s multi purpose soware suite with a new interface, more

new features and improved utilities, including XFast RAM, Dehumidier, Good

Night LED, FAN-Tastic Tuning, OC Tweaker and a whole lot more.

ASRock Instant Flash

ASRock Instant Flash is a BIOS ash utility embedded in Flash ROM. is conve-

nient BIOS update tool allows you to update the system BIOS in a few clicks without

preparing an additional oppy diskette or other complicated ash utility. Just save

the new BIOS le to your USB storage and launch this tool by pressing <F6> or

<F2> during POST to enter the BIOS setup menu to access ASRock Instant Flash.

Please be noted that the USB ash drive or hard drive must use FAT32/16/12 le

system.

ASRock APP Charger

Simply by installing the ASRock APP Charger makes your iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch

charge up to 40% faster than before on your computer. 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), Suspend to RAM

(S3), hibernation mode (S4) or power o (S5).

ASRock XFast USB

ASRock XFast USB can boost the performance of your USB storage devices. e

performance may depend on the properties of the device.

ASRock XFast LAN

ASRock XFast LAN provides faster internet access, which includes the benets

listed below. LAN Application Prioritization: You can congure your application’s

priority ideally and add new programs to the list. Lower Latency in Game: Aer

setting online game’s priority higher, it can lower the latency in games. Trac

Shaping: You can watch Youtube HD videos and download simultaneously. Real-

Time Analysis of Your Data: With the status window, you can easily recognize

which data streams you are currently transferring.

English

ASRock XFast RAM

ASRock XFast RAM is included in A-Tuning. It fully utilizes the memory space

that cannot be used under Windows® 32-bit operating systems. 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 lifespan.

ASRock Crashless BIOS

ASRock Crashless BIOS allows users to update their BIOS without fear of failing. If

power loss occurs during the BIOS updating process, ASRock Crashless BIOS will

automatically nish the BIOS update procedure aer regaining power. Please note

that BIOS les need to be placed in the root director y of your USB disk. Only USB 2.0

ports support this feature.

ASRock OMG (Online Management Guard)

Administrators are able to establish an internet curfew or restrict internet access

at specied times via OMG. You may schedule the starting and ending hours of

internet access granted to other users. In order to prevent users from bypassing

OMG, guest accounts without permission to modify the system time are required.

ASRock Internet Flash

ASRock Internet Flash downloads and updates the latest UEFI rmware version

from our servers for you without entering Windows® OS. Please setup network

conguration before using Internet Flash.

ASRock UEFI System Browser

ASRock System Browser shows the overview of your current PC and the devices

connected.

ASRock Dehumidier Function

Users may prevent motherboard damages due to dampness by enabling

“Dehumidier Function”. When enabling Dehumidier Function, the computer

will power on automatically to dehumidify the system aer entering S4/S5 state.

ASRock Easy RAID Installer

ASRock Easy RAID Installer can help you to copy the RAID driver from the

support CD to your USB storage device. Aer copying the RAID driver to your

USB storage device, please change “SATA Mode” to “RAID”, then you can start

installing the OS in RAID mode.

8 9

English

Z87 OC Formula/ac / Z87 OC Formula

ASRock Easy Driver Installer

For users that don’t have an optical disk drive to install the drivers from our support

CD, Easy Driver Installer is a handy tool in the UEFI that installs the LAN driver

to your system via an USB storage device, then downloads and installs the other

required drivers automatically.

ASRock Interactive UEFI

ASRock Interactive UEFI is a blend of system conguration tools, cool sound eects

and stunning visuals. e unprecedented UEFI provides a more attractive interface

and more amusment.

ASRock Fast Boot

With ASRock’s exclusive Fast Boot technolog y, it takes less than 1.5 seconds to

logon to Windows 8 from a cold boot. No more waiting! e speedy boot will

completely change your user experience and behavior.

ASRock Restart to UEFI

Windows® 8 brings the ultimate boot up experience. e lightning boot up speed

makes it hard to access the UEFI setup. ASRock Restart to UEFI allows users to

enter the UEFI automatically when turning on the PC. By enabling this function,

the PC will enter the UEFI directly aer you restart.

NickShih’s OC Prole

Have you ever wondered how the global OC champion overclocks his

motherboards? Now you’ve got a chance to learn a few tricks from the champion

with NickShih’s OC Prole. It doesn’t matter whether you’re using a K-Series or

No-K Series CPU, NickShih’s OC Prole will automatically detect your CPU and

oer you dierent levels of overclocking. Have a taste of Nick’s secret recipe for

overclocking this motherboard instantly.

Fine-Tuning V-Controller

Fine-Tuning V-Controller is a new collection of voltage ne tuning options in

ASRock UEFI Setup Utility. It provides more than enough voltage conguration

options for overclockers who wish to pursuit extremes.

Timing Congurator

Timing Congurator is a fast and easy tool that provides users with an abundant

collection of subtle DRAM settings for professional tweaking. You won’t even

have to waste time on entering into the UEFI or restarting the system, Timing

Congurator is an independent application that runs under Windows® OS and your

changes will take eect immediately.

ASRock Good Night LED

ASRock Good Night LED technology oers you a better sleeping environment by

extinguishing the unessential LEDs. By enabling Good Night LED in the BIOS, the

Power/HDD LEDs will be switched o when the system is powered on. Good night

LED will automatically switch o the Power and Keyboard LEDs when the system

enters into Standby/Hibernation mode as well.

ASRock USB Key

In a world where time is money, why waste precious time ever yday typing

usernames to log in to Windows? Why should we even bother memorizing those

foot long passwords? Just plug in the USB Key and let your computer log in to

windows automatically!

ASRock Conformal Coating

Conductive liquids such as water pretty much destroy all kinds of electronics

on contact. at’s why ASRock has implemented a special layer of Conformal

Coating on our motherboards, which makes the motherboards invulnerable to

conductive liquids, corrosion and dust. Users won’t have to worry about spilling

liquid nitrogen, liquid helium or even clam chowder over their motherboards while

overclocking.

*Conformal Coating may protect t he motherboard against conduct ive liquids, but on ly to a
certain ex tent. To avoid damaging your computer and other components, we sti ll advise users

to keep liquids a safe distance away.

ASRock Home Cloud

is motherboard supports remote wake with the onboard Intel LAN, so you can connect

with your PC from anywhere in the world. You will be able to power your PC on or turn it

o, monitor and take control of it remotely with another smartphone, tablet or computer.

Status OLED

Status OLED shows various information of the system on a new high resolution

OLED screen. Now you can use three buttons to toggle between information of the

power on self test, debug codes, the current time, temperatures, frequencies and

voltages of various points on the motherboard.

ASRock FAN-Tastic Tuning

English

ASRock FAN-Tastic Tuning is included in Formula Drive. Congure up to ve dif-

ferent fan speeds using the graph. e fans will automatically shi to the next speed

level when the assigned temperature is met.

ASRock Distortion-Free Slot

ASRock's new pin design for the memory slots may appear to be the same as former

designs, but actually eectively reduces distortion and promotes performance,

10 11

because we strive for perfection even in the most trivial details.

English

Z87 OC Formula/ac / Z87 OC Formula

1.4 Motherboard Layout

Intel

Z87

DDR 3_A1 (6 4 bit, 24 0-pin m odule )

DDR 3_A2 (6 4 bit, 24 0-pin m odule )

DDR 3_B1 (6 4 bit, 24 0-pin m odule )

DDR 3_B2 (6 4 bit, 24 0-pin m odule )

ATXP WR1

USB3_8_9

SATA3_A3 _A4 SATA3_ A1_A2 S ATA3_0_1 S ATA3_2_ 3 SATA3_4_ 5

Reset Power

PCIE3

Supe r

I/O

Stat us

OLED

HDLED RESET

PLED PWRBTN

PANEL1

1

SPEAKER1

1

PLED1

1

SLI/XFIRE_PWR1

CHA_FAN2

CHA_FAN1

USB2_3

1

1

HD_AUDIO1

COM1

1

CLRCBTN2

Z87 OC Formula

CPU_FAN2

CHA_FAN4MOS_FAN1

ATX12V1

RoHS

8-La yer PCB

Top:

Central/B ass

Top:

LINE IN

USB 3.0
T: USB4
B: USB5

Clr

CMOS

HDMI1

USB 3.0
T: USB0
B: USB1

Top:
RJ-45

USB 3.0
T: USB2
B: USB3

USB 3.0
T: USB6
B: USB7

Center:

REAR SPK

Center:

FRONT

Bottom:

Optical

SPDIF

Bottom:

MIC IN

+

2

CPU_FAN1

3

5

6

-

8

10

11

12

15

20

21

22

23

24

25

2829333437

39

3840

42

43

44

USB 2.0

T: USB0

B: USB1

HDMI2

CMOS

Battery

PCIE2

PCIE4

PCIE5

Purity
Sound

TM

PCIE6

1

ATX12V3

31

4

7

Vertic al

Type A USB

USB3_12

ON

1 2 3 4

ON

OFF

USB3_10_11

13

14

CHA_FAN3

19

PWR_FAN1

41

27

26

30

32

USB4_5

1

36

CLRCMOS1

1

SLOWMODE1

35

16
17

18

LAN

BIOS_SEL1

AB

BIOS_B_LED

64Mb
BIOS

BIOS_B

64Mb
BIOS

BIOS_A

BIOS_A_LED

PS2

Keybo ard

/Mous e

9

MENU

PCIE1

MINI_PCIE1

WiFi-802.11n

Module

LN2MODE1

ON

OFF

Z87 OC Formula/ac

English

Intel

Z87

DDR 3_A1 (6 4 bit, 24 0-pin m odule )

DDR 3_A2 (6 4 bit, 24 0-pin m odule )

DDR 3_B1 (6 4 bit, 24 0-pin m odule )

DDR 3_B2 (6 4 bit, 24 0-pin m odule )

ATXP WR1

USB3_8_9

SATA3_A3 _A4 SATA3_ A1_A2 S ATA3_0_1 S ATA3_2_ 3 SATA3_4_ 5

Reset Power

PCIE3

Supe r

I/O

Stat us

OLED

HDLED RESET

PLED PWRBTN

PANEL1

1

SPEAKER1

1

PLED1

1

SLI/XFIRE_PWR1

CHA_FAN2

CHA_FAN1

USB2_3

1

1

HD_AUDIO1

COM1

1

CLRCBTN2

Z87 OC Formula

CPU_FAN2

CHA_FAN4MOS_FAN1

ATX12V1

RoHS

8-La yer PCB

Top:

Central/B ass

Top:

LINE IN

USB 3.0
T: USB4
B: USB5

Clr

CMOS

HDMI1

USB 3.0
T: USB0
B: USB1

Top:
RJ-45

USB 3.0
T: USB2
B: USB3

USB 3.0
T: USB6
B: USB7

Center:

REAR SPK

Center:

FRONT

Bottom:

Optical

SPDIF

Bottom:

MIC IN

+

2

CPU_FAN1

3

5

6

-

8

10

11

12

15

20

21

22

23

24

25

2829333437

39

3840

PCIE1

42

43

44

USB 2.0

T: USB0

B: USB1

HDMI2

CMOS

Battery

PCIE2

PCIE4

PCIE5

Purity
Sound

TM

PCIE6

1

ATX12V3

31

4

7

Vertic al

Type A USB

USB3_12

ON

1 2 3 4

ON

OFF

USB3_10_11

13

14

CHA_FAN3

19

PWR_FAN1

41

27

26

30

32

USB4_5

1

36

CLRCMOS1

1

SLOWMODE1

35

16
17

18

LN2MODE1

MINI _PCIE 1

LAN

BIOS_SEL1

AB

BIOS_B_LED

64Mb
BIOS

BIOS_B

64Mb
BIOS

BIOS_A

BIOS_A_LED

PS2

Keybo ard

/Mous e

9

MENU

ON

OFF

Z87 OC Formula

12 13

No. Description

1 ATX 12V Power Connector (ATX12V1)

2 ATX 12V Power Connector (ATX12V3)

3 CPU Fan Connector (CPU_FAN1)

4 CPU Fan Connector (CPU_FAN2)

5 2 x 240-pin DDR3 DIMM Slots (DDR3_A1, DDR3_B1)

6 2 x 240-pin DDR3 DIMM Slots (DDR3_A2, DDR3_B2)

7 Rapid OC Button (+)

8 Rapid OC Button (–)

9 Menu Button (MENU1)

10 Post Status Checker (PSC)

11 V-ProbeTM (VOL _CON1, VOL _CON2)

12 ATX Power Connector (ATXPWR1)

13 Vertical Type A USB 3.0 (USB3_12)

14 PCIe ON/OFF Switch

15 USB 3.0 Header (USB3_8_9) (ASMedia Hub)

16 USB 3.0 Header (USB3_10_11) (ASMedia Hub)

17 Slow Mode Switch

18 LN2 Mode Switch(LN2MODE1)

19 Chassis Fan Connector (CHA _FAN3)

20 SATA3 Con ne ctors (SATA3_A3_A4)

21 SATA3 Connectors (SATA3_A1_A2)

22 SATA3 Connectors (SATA3_0_1)

23 SATA3 Connectors (SATA3_2 _3)

24 SATA3 Connectors (SATA3_4_5)

25 Chassis Speaker Header (SPEAKER1)

26 Power LED Header (PLED1)

27 System Panel Header (PANEL1)

28 Power Switch (PWRBTN1)

29 Reset Switch (RSTBTN1)

30 Clear CMOS Switch

31 Status OLED

32 BIOS Selection Switch (BIOS_SEL1)

33 USB 2.0 Header (USB2_3)

Z87 OC Formula/ac / Z87 OC Formula

English

English

No. Description

34 Chassis Fan Connector (CHA_FAN2)

35 Clear CMOS Jumper (CLRCMOS1)

36 USB 2.0 Header (USB4_5)

37 Chassis Fan Connector (CHA_FAN1)

38 COM Port Header (COM1)

39 SLI/XFIRE Power Connector (SLI/XFIRE_PWR1)

40 Front Panel Audio Header (HD_AUDIO1)

41 Power Fan Connector (PWR _FAN1)

42 Chassis Fan Connector (CHA_FAN4)

43 MOS Fan Connector (MOS_FAN1)

44 Twin-Power Cooling

14 15

English

Z87 OC Formula/ac / Z87 OC Formula

1.5 I/O Panel

1 2 3 547

No. Description No. Description

1 USB 2.0 Ports (USB01) 9 Optica l SPDIF Out Port

2 USB 3.0 Ports (USB3_01) 10 USB 3.0 Ports (USB3_67)

3 LAN RJ-45 Port 11 USB 3.0 Ports (USB3_45)

4 Central / Bass (Orange) 12 Clear CMOS Switch (CLRCBTN)

5 Rear Speaker (Black) 13 USB 3.0 Ports (USB3_23)

6 Line In (Light Blue) 14 HDMI-Out Port

7 Front Speaker (Lime)** 15 HDMI-In Port

8 Microphone (Pink) 16 PS/2 Mouse/Keyboard Port

6

8910111213141516

English

* ere are two LEDs on each LAN port. Please refer to the table below for the LAN port LED indications .

ACT/LINK LED

SPEED LED

LAN Por t

Activity / Link LED Speed LED

Status Description Status Description

O No Link O 10Mbps connection
Blinking Data Activity Orange 100Mbps connection
On Link Green 1Gbps connection

** If you use a 2- channel speaker, plea se connect the speake r’s plug into “Front Speaker Jack”. See th e table below

for connection d etails in accordance w ith the type of speaker you use.

Audio Output

Channels

Front Speaker

(No. 7)

Rear Speaker

(No. 5)

Central / Bass

(No. 4)

2 V -- -- --
4 V V -- --
6 V V V --
8 V V V V

To enable Multi-Streaming, you need to connect a front panel audio cable to the front
panel au dio header. Aer re starting your computer, you will nd the “Mixe r” tool on your
system. Plea se sele ct “Mixe r ToolBox” , click “Enabl e playba ck multi-streaming”, and
click “ok”. Choose “2CH”, “4CH”, “6CH”, or “8CH” and then you are a llowed to select
“Realtek HDA Primary output” to use the Rear Spea ker, Cent ral/Ba ss, and Front Speaker,
or select “Realtek HDA Audio 2nd output” to use the front panel audio.

*** e eSATA connector supports SATA3 with cables within 1 meters.

Line In

(No. 6)

16 17

English

Z87 OC Formula/ac / Z87 OC Formula

1.6 WiFi-802.11n Module and ASRock WiFi 2.4GHz Antenna (for Z87 OC Formula/ac only )

WiFi + BT Module

is motherboard comes with an exclusive WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac + BT v4.0

module that oers support for WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac connectivity standards and

Bluetooth v4.0. WiFi + BT module is an easy-to-use wireless local area network

(WLAN) adapter to support WiFi + BT. Bluetooth v4.0 standard features Smart

Ready technology that adds a whole new class of functionality into the mobile

devices including Apple’s most recent iPhone 4S. BT 4.0 also includes Low Energy

Technology and ensures extraordinary low power consumption for PCs. e

2T2R WiFi solution sets a WiFi high speed standard and oers max link rate up to

867Mbps.

* e transmission speed may vary according to the environment.

* e WiFi + BT module is supported under Windows® 8 / 8 64-bit / 7 / 7 64-bit

only.

ASRock WiFi 2.4GHz Antenna

English

Installing the SMA Wi-Fi Antenna Cables

Step 1

Prepare the SMA Wi-Fi Antenna Cables that

come with the package.

Step 2

Locate the WiFi Module that is insta lled on the

motherboard's mini-PCIe slot. en attach the

SMA Wi-Fi Antenna Cables to the WiFi Module.

Step3

Insert the RP-SMA Wi-Fi Antenna Connectors

to the antenna ports on the I/O shield

18 19

English

Z87 OC Formula/ac / Z87 OC Formula

Step 4

Fasten the screw nuts to secure the connec-

tors.

Chapter 2 Installation

is is an EATX form factor motherboard. Before you install the motherboard,

study the conguration of your chassis to ensure that the motherboard ts into it.

Pre-installation Precautions

Take note of the following precautions before you install motherboard components

or change any motherboard settings.

Make sure to unplug the power cord before installing or removing the motherboard.

•

Failure to do so may cause physical injuries to you and damages to motherboard

components.

In order to avoid damage from static electricity to the motherboard’s components,

•

NEVER place your motherboard directly on a carpet. Also remember to use a grounded

wrist strap or touch a safety grounded object before you handle the components.

Hold components by the edges and do not touch the ICs.

•

Whenever you uninstall any components, place them on a grounded anti-static pad or

•

in the bag that comes with the components.

When placing screws to secure the motherboard to the chassis, please do not over-

•

tighten the screws! Doing so may damage the motherboard.

20 21

English

Z87 OC Formula/ac / Z87 OC Formula

2.1 Installing the CPU

1. Before you insert the 1150-Pin CPU into the sock et, please check if the P nP cap is on the
socket, if the CPU surface is unclean, or if there are any bent pins in the socket. Do not
force to in sert the CPU into the socket if above situation is found. Otherwise, the CPU
will be seriously damaged.

2. Unplug all power c ables before in stalling the CPU.

1

A

B

2

English

3

5

4

22 23

English

Z87 OC Formula/ac / Z87 OC Formula

Please save and replace the cover if the processor i s removed. e cover must be placed if
you wish to return the motherboard for aer service.

English

2.2 Installing the CPU Fan and Heatsink

1 2

FAN

CPU_

24 25

English

Z87 OC Formula/ac / Z87 OC Formula

2.3 Installing Memory Modules (DIMM)

is motherboard provides four 240-pin DDR3 (Double Data Rate 3) DIMM slots,

and supports Dual Channel Memory Technology.

1. For dual channel cong uration , you always need to in stall identical (the same b rand,

speed , size and chip-type) DDR3 DI MM pairs.

2. It is unable to activate Dual Channel Memor y Technolog y with only one or three memory
module installed.

3. It is not allowed to install a DDR or DDR2 memory module into a DDR3 slot; otherwise,
this motherboard and DIMM may be dam aged.

Dual Channel Memory Conguration

Priority DDR3_A1 DDR3_A2 DDR3_B1 DDR3_B2

1 Populated Populated
2 Populated Populated
3 Populated Populated Populated Populated

e DIMM only ts in one correct orientation. It will cause permanent dam age to the
motherboard and the DIMM if you force the DIMM into the slot at incorrect orientation.

English

1

2

3

26 27

English

Z87 OC Formula/ac / Z87 OC Formula

2.4 Expansion Slots (PCI and PCI Express Slots)

ere are 6 PCI Express slots and 1 mini-PCI Express slot on the motherboard.

Before installing an ex pansion card, please make sure that the power supply is switched o
or the power cord is unplug ged. Pl ease read the documentation of the expansion card and
make necessary hardware settings for the card before you start the installation.

PCIE slots:

PCIE1 (PCIE 3.0 x16 slot) is used for PCI Express x16 lane width graphics cards.

PCIE2 (PCIE 3.0 x16 slot) is used for PCI Express x8 lane width graphics cards.

PCIE3 (PCIE 2.0 x1 slot) is used for PCI Express x1 lane width cards.

PCIE4 (PCIE 3.0 x16 slot) is used for PCI Express x4 lane width graphics cards.

PCIE5 (PCIE 2.0 x1 slot) is used for PCI Express x1 lane width cards.

PCIE6 (PCIE 2.0 x16 slot) is used for PCI Express x4 lane width graphics cards.

mini-PCIe slots:

MINI_PCIE1 (mini-PCIe slot) is used for WiFi module.

PCIE Slot Congurations

PCIE1 PCIE2 PCIE4 PCIE6

Single Graphics Card x16 N/A N/A N/A

Two Graphics Cards in

CrossFireX

TM

or SLITM Mode

ree Graphics Cards in

3-Way CrossFireX

TM

Mode

Four Graphics Cards in

4-Way CrossFireX

For a better ther mal environment, ple ase connect a ch assi s fan to the motherboard’s chas­sis fan connector (CHA_ FAN1, CHA_ FAN2, CHA_FAN3 or CH A_FAN4) when using
multiple graphics cards.

TM

Mode

x8 N/A x8 N/A

x8 x4 x4 N/A

x8 x4 x4 x4

English

2.5 Jumpers Setup

e illustration shows how jumpers are setup. When the jumper cap is placed on

the pins, the jumper is “Short”. If no jumper cap is placed on the pins, the jumper

is “Open”. e illustration shows a 3-pin jumper whose pin1 and pin2 are “Short”

when a jumper cap is placed on these 2 pins.

Clear CMOS Jumper

(CLRCMO S1)

(see p.11 or 12, No. 35)

CLRCMOS1 allows you to clear the data in CMOS. To clear and reset the system

parameters to default setup, please turn o the computer and unplug the power

cord from the power supply. Aer waiting for 15 seconds, use a jumper cap to

short pin2 and pin3 on CLRCMOS1 for 5 seconds. However, please do not clear

the CMOS right aer you update the BIOS. If you need to clear the CMOS when

you just nish updating the BIOS, you must boot up the system rst, and then shut

it down before you do the clear-CMOS action. Please be noted that the password,

date, time, and user default prole will be cleared only if the CMOS battery is

removed.

Default

Clear CMOS

e Clear CMOS Switch has the same function a s the Clear CMOS jumper.

28 29

English

Z87 OC Formula/ac / Z87 OC Formula

2.6 Onboard Headers and Connectors

1

Onboard headers and connectors are NOT jumpers. Do NOT place jumper caps over these
heade rs and connectors. Placing jumper caps over the headers and connectors will cause
permanent damage to the motherboard.

System Panel Header

(9-pi n PANEL1)

(see p.11 or 12, No. 27)

PWRBTN (Power Switch):

Connec t to the power switch on the chassi s front panel. You may congure the way to tur n
o your system using the power switch.

RESET (Reset Switch):
Connec t to the reset switch on the chassi s front panel. P ress the reset sw itch to restart the
computer if the computer f reezes and fails to perform a normal restar t.

PLED (Syste m Power LED):
Connec t to the power status indicator on the chassis front panel. e LED i s on when the
system is operating. e LED keeps blinking when the system is in S1/S3 sleep state. e
LED is o when the system is in S4 sleep state or powered o (S5).

HDLED (Ha rd Drive Activity LED):
Connec t to the hard drive ac tivity LED on the chassis front panel. e LED is on when the
hard drive is reading or wr iting data.

e front panel de sign may dier by chassis. A front pane l module mainly consists of power
switch, reset switch , power LED, hard dr ive activity LED, speaker and etc. When connect­ing your ch assi s front panel module to thi s header, make sure the wire a ssignments and the
pin assignments are matched correctly.

PLED+

PLED-

HDLED-

HDLED+

PWRBTN#

GND

RESET#

GND

GND

Connect the power

switch, reset switch and

system status indicator on

the chassis to this header

according to the pin

assignments below. Note

the positive and negative

pins before connecting

the cables.

English

Power LED Header

1

PLED+

PLED+

PLED-

DUMMY

GND

GND

P+

P-

USB_PWR

P+

P-

USB_PWR

1

(3-p in PL E D1)

(see p.12, No. 17)

Please connect the chassis

power LED to this header

to

indicate the system’s

power status.

Serial ATA3 Connectors

(SATA3_0_1:

see p.11 or 12, No. 22)

(SATA1_2_3:

see p.11 or 12, No. 23)

(SATA3_4_5:

see p.11 or 12, No. 24)

(SATA3_A1_A2:

see p.11 or 12, No. 21)

(SATA3_A3_A4:

see p.11 or 12, No. 20)

USB 2.0 Headers

(9-pin USB2_3)

(see p.11 or 12, No. 33)

(9-pin USB4_5)

(see p.11 or 12, No. 36)

ese ten SATA3

connectors support SATA

data cables for internal

storage devices with up to

6.0 Gb/s data transfer rate.

To minimize the boot

time, use Intel® Z87 SATA

ports (SATA3_0) for your

bootable devices.

SATA3_0_1 SATA3_4_5SATA3_2_3

SATA3_A3_A4 SATA3_A1_A2

Besides two USB 2.0 ports

on the I/O panel, there

are two headers on this

motherboard. Each USB

2.0 header can support

two ports.

30 31

English

Z87 OC Formula/ac / Z87 OC Formula

USB 3.0 Headers

J_SENSE

OUT2_L

1

MIC_RET

PRESENCE#

GND

OUT2_R

MIC2_R

MIC2_L

OUT_RET

SPEAKER

(19-pin USB3_8_9)

(see p.11 or 12, No. 15)

(19-pin USB3_10_11)

(see p.11 or 12, No. 16)

(USB3_12)

(see p.11 or 12, No. 13)

Vbus

IntA_PA_SSRX-

IntA_PA_SSRX+

IntA_PA_SSTX-

IntA_PA_SSTX+

IntA_PA_D-

IntA_PA_D+

VbusVbus

IntA_PB_SSRX-

IntA_PB_SSRX+

GND

IntA_PB_SSTX-

GND

IntA_PB_SSTX+

GND

IntA_PB_D-

GND

IntA_PB_D+

Dummy

1

Besides four USB 3.0 ports

on the I/O panel, there

are two headers and one

port on this motherboard.

Each USB 3.0 header can

support two ports.

Front Panel Audio Header

(9-pin HD_ AUDIO1)

(see p.11 or 12, No. 40)

is header is for

connecting audio devices

to the front audio panel.

1. High Denition Audio support s Jack Sensing , but the panel wire on the cha ssis must sup ­port HDA to function correctly. Ple ase fol low the instructions in our manual and chassis
manual to install your system.

2. If you use an AC’97 audio panel , please install it to the front panel audio head er by the
steps below:
A. Connect Mic_IN (MIC) to MIC2_ L.
B. Conne ct Audio_R (RIN) to OUT2_R and Audio_ L (LIN) to OUT2_ L.
C. Connect Ground (GND) to Ground (GND).
D. MIC_ RET and OUT_RET are for the HD audio panel only. You don’t need to conn ect
them for the AC’97 audio panel .
E. To activate the front mic, go to the “FrontMic” Tab in the Realtek Control panel and
adjust “Recording Volume”.

Chassis Speaker Header

(4-p i n SPEAKER1)

(see p.11 or 12, No. 25)

DUMMY

1

+5V

DUMMY

Please connect the chassis

speaker to this header.

English

Chassis, Power and MOS

GND

OL

N_SPEED

GND

FAN_SPEED

CPU_FAN_SPEED

N_SPEED

FA

Fan Connectors

(4-pin CHA_FAN1)

(see p.11 or 12, No. 37)

(3-pi n CHA_FAN2)

(see p.11 or 12, No. 34)

+12V

CHA_FAN_SPEED

FAN_SPEED_CONTR

Please connect fan cables

to the fan connectors and

match the black wire to

the ground pin.

(3-pi n CHA_FAN3)

(see p.11 or 12, No. 19)

(3-pi n CHA_FAN4)

(see p.11 or 12, No. 42)

(3-p in PW R_ FA N1)

(see p.11 or 12, No. 41)

(3-p in MOS _ FA N1)

(see p.11 or 12, No. 43)

CPU Fan Connectors

(4-pin CPU_FAN1)

(see p.11 or 12, No. 3)

(3-pin CPU_FAN2)

(see p.11 or 12, No. 4)

ATX Power Connector

(24-p i n ATX PWR1)

(see p.11 or 12, No. 12)

+

12V

GND
+ 12V
CHA_FA

GND

+12V
MOS_FAN_SPEED

4 3 2 1

+12V

+12V

GND

12

1

CPU_FA

N_SPEED_CONTROL

is motherboard pro-

GN D

vides a 4-Pin CPU fan

(Quiet Fan) connector.

If you plan to connect a

3-Pin CPU fan, please

connect it to Pin 1-3.

24

is motherboard pro-

vides a 24-pin ATX power

connector. To use a 20-pin

ATX power supply, please

plug it along Pin 1 and Pin

13

13.

32 33

English

Z87 OC Formula/ac / Z87 OC Formula

4

8

ATX 12V Power

RRXD1

RRI#1

Connector

(8-pin ATX12V1)

(see p.11 or 12, No. 1)

(8-pin ATX12V3)

(see p.11 or 12, No. 2)

5

is motherboard pro-

vides an 8-pin ATX 12V

1

power connector. To use a

4-pin ATX power supply,

please plug it along Pin 1

and Pin 5.

SLI/XFIRE Power

Connector

(4-pin SLI/XFIRE_

PW R1)

(see p.11 or 12, No. 39)

Serial Port Header

(9-p in CO M1)

(see p.11 or 12, No. 38)

1

DDTR#1

TTXD1

DDCD#1

DDSR#1

CCTS#1

RRTS#1

GND

Please connect this

connector with a hard

disk power connector

when two graphics cards

are installed on this

motherboard.

is COM1 header

supports a serial port

module.

English

TM

V-Probe

(7-pin VOL _

CON1, 7-pin VOL_

CON2)

(see p.11 or 12, No.

11)

GFX

RING

VCOMP

CORE0

GND

IO

SA

PCH_IREF

VCOMP2

1.5VPCH

1.05PCH

VCCM

VCCin

GND

Users are able to measure

onboard components

voltage.

PCH_IREF:

PCH1.5V IREF voltage

VCOMP2:

CPU 2nd COMP voltage

1.5VPCH:

PCH 1.5V voltage

1.05PCH:

PCH 1.05V voltage

VCCM:

DRAM voltage

VCC-in

:

CPU input voltage

IO:

CPU IO voltage

GFX:

CPU GFX (Graphics)

voltage

SA:

CPU system agent voltage

RING:

CPU Ring (cache) voltage

VCOM P:

CPU COMP voltage

CORE0:

CPU CORE0 voltage

34 35

English

Z87 OC Formula/ac / Z87 OC Formula

2.7 Smart Switches

+

-

e motherboard has three smart switches: Power Switch, Reset Switch and Clear

CMOS Switch, allowing users to quick ly turn on/o the system, reset the system or

clear the CMOS values.

Power Switch

(PWRBTN)

(see p.11 or 12, No. 28)

Reset Switch

(RSTBTN)

(see p.11 or 12, No. 29)

Clear CMOS Switch

(CLRCBTN)

(see p.11 or 12, No. 30)

is function i s workable only when you power o your computer and unplug the powe r
supply.

+ / - Rapid OC But-

tons

(MINUS1: see p.11 or

12, No. 7)

(PLUS1: see p.11 or

12, No. 8)

Power

Reset

Power Switch allows users to

quickly turn on/o the system.

Reset Switch allows users to

quickly reset the system.

Clear CMOS Switch allows

users to quickly clear the

CMOS values.

+ / - Rapid OC Buttons allow

users to quickly and easily

adjust OC frequency in Rapid

OC.

is overclocking behavior depends on the system conguration, such as memory capabil­ity, ther mal solution, etc. Ove rclocking may aect your system stability, or even c ause dam­age to the components and device s. We are not responsible for possible damage c aused by
overclocking.

Menu Button

(MENU1: see p.11 or

12, No. 9)

MENU

MENU Button allow users to

quickly toogle among Date/

Time, Temperature, and Volt-

age information shown on

Stat us OLED.

English

PCIe ON/OFF

1 2 3 4

AB

Switch

(SWITC H1)

(see p.11 or 12 No.

14)

ON

1: PCIE1

2: PCIE2

3: PCIE4

4: PCIE6

PCIe ON/OFF Switch allows

you to enable and disable the

corresponding PCIE x16 slots.

When one of the installed

PCIE x16 cards is out of order,

you can use PCIe ON/OFF

Switch to nd out the faulty

one just with a single click

without removing the cards.

1. Make sure that you power o the system before changing the sw itch.

2. When you turn o PCIe ON/OFF switch, your PCIE card could be burnt if it was poorly
desig ned. For more information about your card’s specications plea se contact the card’s
vendor.

3. PCIe ON/OFF switch is for debug only. If you do not want to use your PCIE c ard, please
remove it f rom the motherboard.

Slow Mode Switch

(SLOWMODE 1)

OFF

ON

If Slow Mode is on, the proces-

sor runs at lowest frequency.

(see p.11 or 12 No.

17)

BIOS Selection

Switch

(BIOS_SEL1)

BIOS Selection Switch allows

the system to boot from either

BIOS A or BIOS B.

(see p.11 or 12 No.

32)

is motherboard has two BIOS chips, a primar y BIOS (BIOS_A) and a ba ckup BIOS (BIOS_
B), which enhances the safety and stability of your system. Nor mally, the s ystem w ill work
on the primary BIOS. However, if the primary BIOS is corrupted or damaged, ju st ip the
BIOS Sele ction Sw itch to “B”, then the backup BIOS will take over on the next system boot.
Aer that, use “Secure Backup U EFI” in the UEFI Setup Utility to duplicate a working copy
of the BIOS les to the primar y BIOS to ensure normal system operation. For safety issues,
users are not able to update the backup BIOS manu ally. Users may refer to the BIOS LEDs
(BIOS_ A_LED or BIOS_B_ LED) to identif y which BIOS i s currently activated .

LN2 Mode Switch

(L N2MODE1)

(see p.11 or 12, No. 18)

OFF

ON

36 37

e LN2 mode aids in

eliminating the cold-boot bug

issues in processors during

extreme overclocking with

Liquid Nitrogen.

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Z87 OC Formula/ac / Z87 OC Formula

2.8 Status OLED

+

-

+

-

+

-

+

-

Status OLED shows various information of the system on a new high resolution

OLED screen. Now you can use three buttons to toggle between information of the

power on self test, debug codes, the current time, temperatures, frequencies and

voltages of various points on the motherboard

Before Entering Windows

• Use on the motherboard to quickly toogle among the types of informa-

• When the Status OLED displays Temp eartu res, use and on the

• When the Status OLED displays Volt ages, use and on the mother-

• e arrow key next to “Dr. Debug” appears as shown below when you press

MENU

tion shown on the Status OLED, including Date/Time,

Temperature, and Voltage.

motherboard to toogle among the temperatures of PCIE 1, PCIE 4 , VCCM,

CPU, IO and PCH

board to toogle among the voltages of VCCM and Vcore.

and hold for 1.5 seconds. e arrow indicates that the PC will enter the

UEFI directly aer you restart. Press and hold for 1.5 seconds again to

disable this function.

MENU

MENU

Under Windows

• Use on the motherboard to quickly toogle between Rapid OC and OC

• When the Status OLED displays

• When the Status OLED displays

MENU

proles.

the motherboard to

Ratio, Core Volt, and Cache Volt .

erboard to

toogle among three preset NickShih’s OC Proles.

toogle among the frequencies of BCLK, CPU Ratio, Cache

Rapid OC

OC Proles

information, use and on

, use and on the moth-

English

Debug Codes

Code Description

00 Please check if the CPU is installed correctly and then clear

CMOS.

0d Problem related to memory, VGA card or other devices.

Please clear CMOS, re-install the memory and VGA card,

and remove other USB, PCI devices.

01 - 54

(exce pt 0 d),

5A- 60

55 e Memory could not be detected. Please re-install the

61 - 91 Chipset initialization error. Please press reset or clear

92 - 99 Problem related to PCI-E devices. Please re-install PCI-E

A0 - A7 Problem related to IDE or SATA devices. Please re-install

b0 Problem related to memor y. Please re-install the CPU and

Problem related to memory. Please re-install the CPU and

memory then clear CMOS. If the problem still exists, please

install only one memory module or try using other memory

modules.

memory and CPU. If the problem still exists, please install

only one memory module or try using other memory

modules.

CMOS.

devices or try insta lling them in other slots. If the problem

still exists, please remove all PCI-E devices or try using

another VGA card.

IDE and SATA devices. If the problem still exists, please

clear CMOS and try removing all SATA devices.

memory. If the problem still exists, please install only one

memory module or try using other memory modules.

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Z87 OC Formula/ac / Z87 OC Formula

b4 Problem related to USB devices. Please try removing all

USB devices.

b7 Problem related to memory. Please re-install the CPU and

memory then clear CMOS. If the problem still exists, please

install only one memory module or try using other memory

modules.

d6 e VGA could not be recognized. Please clear CMOS and

try re-installing the VGA card. If the problem still exists,

please try installing the VGA card in other slots or use other

VGA c ards.

d7 e Keyboard and mouse could not be recognized. Please

try re-installing the keyboard and mouse.

d8 Invalid Password.

FF Please check if the CPU is installed correctly and then clear

CMOS.

English

2.9 Front USB 3.0 Panel Installation Guide

Step 1

Prepare the bundled Front USB 3.0 Pa nel

with 2 .5” HDD/SSD Rack, four HDD

screws, and six chassis screws.

.0

3

B

US

0

3.

B

S

U

Step 2

Screw the 2.5” HDD/SSD to the Front USB

3.0 Panel w ith 2. 5” HDD/SSD Rack with

four HDD screws.

Step3

Intall the Front USB 3. 0 Panel with 2. 5”

HDD/SSD Rack into the 2.5” drive bay of

the chassis.

0
.

3

USB
0
.
3

SB
U

Step 4

Screw the Front USB 3.0 Panel with 2 .5”

HDD/SSD Rack to the drive bay with six

chassis screws.

0
.
3
B
S
U

0
.
3
B
S
U

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Z87 OC Formula/ac / Z87 OC Formula

Step 5

Plug the Front USB 3.0 cable into the USB

3.0 header (USB3_4_5 or USB3_6_7) on

the motherboard.

Step 6

e Front USB 3.0 Panel with 2 .5”

HDD/SSD Rack is ready to use.

0

.
3

USB

0
.
3

SB

U

English

2.10 Rear USB 3.0 Bracket Installation Guide

Step 1

Unscrew the two screws from the Front

USB 3.0 Panel w ith 2.5” HDD/SSD R ack.

Step 2

Put the USB 3.0 cable and the bundled rear

USB 3.0 bracket together.

3.0

3.0

USB

USB

3.0

3.0

USB

USB

Step3

3.0

3.0

USB

USB

3.0

3.0

USB

USB

Screw the two screws into the rear USB 3.0

bracket.

Step 4

Put the rear USB 3.0 bracket into the

chassis.

US

US

B

B

3.0

3.0
USB

USB

3.0

3.0

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Z87 OC Formula/ac / Z87 OC Formula

2.11 Using the HDMI-In Port

e HDMI-In port on this motherboard lets you easily switch between PC screen

(on-board VGA) and external video source on the same monitor. is function

saves you the hassle of switching cables back and forth when you want to display

the screen of another device, such as smartphone, tablet, camcorder, DVD player, or

another PC, onto the PC monitor.

Another useful feature of this function is that external video source can be viewed

even when your PC is in standby mode or powered o. For example, you can play

smartphone games or watch tablet video on your PC screen.

0
.

3

USB
0
.
3

USB

English

0
.
3

USB
0
.
3

USB

Connection Diagram

HDMI

Adapter

Power Sourc e

44 45

English

Z87 OC Formula/ac / Z87 OC Formula

Step 1

Connect your monitor to the HDMI-Out port on the motherboard via an HDMI

cable.

Step 2

Connect an external devices with HDMI output to the HDMI-In port on the

motherboard via an HDMI cable.

Step 3

Double-click the “Formula Drive“ icon on the desktop and nd "HDMI-IN"

function in "Tools" tab.

Step 4

Click the textbox and enter the action to set a hotkey. en click Apply to apply the

setting.

Step 5

Use the hotkey to switch between on-board PC screen or HDMI-In Source.

1. If there is no video dis played on your monitor, make sure that the cables are prope rly
connec ted and make sure that “Deep S5” option in BIOS SETU P is set to [Di sable].

2. If required, connect a power source to the ad apter that lets the smar tphone/tablet output
HDMI signal.

English

2.12 SLITM and Quad SLITM Operation Guide

is motherboard supports NVIDIA® SLITM and Quad SLITM (Scalable Link

Interface) technology that allows you to install up to three identical PCI Express

x16 graphics cards. Currently, NVIDIA® SLITM and Quad SLITM technology supports

Windows® 7 / 7 64-bit / 8 / 8 64-bit OS.

Requirements

TM

1. You should only use identic al SLI

2. Make sure that your graphics card driver supports NVIDIA
the drivers from the NVIDIA

3. Make sure that your power supply unit (PSU) can provide at least the minimum power
your system requires. It is recommended to use a NV IDIA
the NVIDIA

®

website for details.

-ready g raphics cards that are NVIDIA® certied.

®

website: www.nvidia.com

®

SLITM technology. Download

®

certied PSU. Please refer to

2.12.1 Installing Two SLITM-Ready Graphics Cards

Step 1

Insert one graphics card into PCIE1 slot

and the other graphics card to PCIE4 slot.

Make sure that the cards are properly

seated on the slots.

Step 2

If required, connect the auxiliary power

source to the PCI Express graphics cards.

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Z87 OC Formula/ac / Z87 OC Formula

M

u

V

l

t

i

i

d

-

G

e

o

P

L

U

i

n

S

k

L

C

I

a

r

d

Step 3

Align and insert the ASRock Flexible SLI

Bridge Connector Cable to the goldngers

on each graphics card. Make sure the

ASRock Flexible SLI Bridge Connector

Cable is rmly in place.

Multi-GPU SLI
Video Link Card

ASRock Flexible SLI Bridge Connector Cable

M

u

Vi

l
t
i

d

­G

e
o

P

L

U
i
n

S

k

L

C

I
a
r

d

Step 4

Connect a VGA cable or a DVI cable to the

monitor connector or the DVI connector of

the graphics card that is inserted to PCIE1

slot.

English

2.12.2 Driver Installation and Setup

Install the graphics card drivers to your system. Aer that, you can enable the

Multi-Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) in the NVIDIA® nView system tray utility.

Please follow the below procedures to enable the multi-GPU.

For SLITM and Quad SLITM mode

Step 1

Double-click the NVIDIA Control Panel

icon in the Windows

Step 2

In the le pane, click Set SLI and PhysX

conguration. en select Maximize 3D

performance and click Apply.

Step 3

Reboot your system.

Step 4

You can freely enjoy the benets of SLI

or Quad SLITM.

®

sy stem tray.

TM

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2.13 CrossFireXTM, 3-Way CrossFireXTM and Quad CrossFireXTM Operation Guide

is motherboard supports CrossFireXTM, 3-way CrossFireXTM and Quad

CrossFireXTM that allows you to install up to three identical PCI Express

x16 graphics cards. Currently CrossFireXTM, 3-way CrossFireXTM and Quad

CrossFireXTM are supported with Windows® 7 / 7 64-bit / 8 / 8 64-bit OS.

1. You should only use identical CrossFireXTM-ready g raphics cards that are AM D certied.

2. Make sure that your graphics card driver supports AMD CrossFireX
Download the drivers from the A MD’s website: www.amd.com

3. Make sure that your power supply unit (PSU) can provide at least the minimum power
your system requires. It is recommended to use a AMD certied PSU. Ple ase refer to the
AMD’s website for details.

4. If you pair a 12-pipe CrossFireX
ate as 12-pipe card s while in CrossFireX

5. Dierent CrossFireX
Please refer to A MD graphics card manuals for de tailed installation guide.

TM

Edition card with a 16-pipe card, both cards will oper-

TM

TM

cards may require dierent method s to enable CrossFireXTM.

mode.

TM

technology.

2.13.1 Installing Two CrossFireXTM-Ready Graphics Cards

Step 1

Insert one graphics card into PCIE1 slot

and the other graphics card to PCIE4 slot.

Make sure that the cards are properly

seated on the slots.

Step 2

Connect two graphics cards by installing

CrossFire Bridge

a CrossFire Bridge on the CrossFire Bridge

Interconnects on the top of the graphics

cards. (e CrossFire Bridge is provided

with the graphics card you purchase, not

bundled with this motherboard. Please

refer to your graphics card vendor for

deta ils .)

English

Step 3

Connect a VGA cable or a DVI cable to the

monitor connector or the DVI connec-

tor of the graphics card that is inserted to

PCIE1 slot.

2.13.2 Installing Three CrossFireXTM-Ready Graphics Cards

Step 1

Insert one graphics card into PCIE1 slot,

another graphics card to PCIE2 slot, and

the other graphics card to PCIE4 slot.

Make sure that the cards are properly

seated on the slots.

Step 2

Use one CrossFire Bridge to connect

CrossFire Bridge

the graphics cards on PCIE1 and PCIE2

slots, and use the other CrossFire Bridge

to connect the graphics cards on PCIE4

and PCIE4 slots. (e CrossFire Bridge

is provided with the graphics card

you purchase, not bundled with this

motherboard. Please refer to your graphics

card vendor for details.)

Step 3

Connect a VGA cable or a DVI cable to the

monitor connector or the DVI connec-

tor of the graphics card that is inserted to

PCIE1 slot.

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2.13.3 Installing Four CrossFireXTM-Ready Graphics Cards

Step 1

Insert one graphics card into PCIE1 slot,

another graphics card into PCIE2 slot, the

third graphics card into PCIE4 slot and the

last graphics card into PCIE6 slot. Make

sure that the cards are properly seated on

the slots.

Step 2

Use one CrossFire

CrossFire Bridge

the graphics cards on PCIE1 and PCIE2

slots, another CrossFireTM Bridge to

connect the graphics cards on PCIE2 and

PCIE4 slots, and use the third CrossFire

Bridge to connect the graphics cards on

PCIE4 and PCIE6 slots. (e CrossFireTM

Bridge is provided with the graphics

card you purchase, not bundled with this

motherboard. Please refer to your graphics

card vendor for details.)

TM

Bridge to connect

TM

Step 3

Connect a VGA cable or a DVI cable to the

monitor connector or the DVI connec-

tor of the graphics card that is inserted to

PCIE1 slot.

English

2.13.4 Driver Installation and Setup

Step 1

Power on your computer and boot into OS.

Step 2

Remove the AMD drivers if you have any VGA drivers installed in your system.

e Catalyst Unins talle r is an optional download. We recommend using this utility
to uninstall any previously installed Catalyst drivers prior to installation. Pl ease check
AMD’s website for AMD driver updates.

Step 3

Install the required drivers and CATALYST Control Center then restart your

computer. Please check AMD’s website for details.

Step 4

AMD Catalyst Control Center

Double-click the AMD Catalyst Control

Center icon in the Windows

Step 5

In the le pane, click Performance and

then AMD CrossFireX

Enable AMD CrossFireX and click Apply.

Select the GPU number according to your

graphics card and click Apply.

®

sy stem tray.

TM

. en select

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Z87 OC Formula/ac / Z87 OC Formula

Chapter 3 Software and Utilities Operation

3.1 Installing Drivers

e Support CD that comes with the motherboard contains necessary drivers and

useful utilities that enhance the motherboard’s features.

Running The Support CD

To begin using the support CD, insert the CD into your CD-ROM drive. e CD

automatically displays the Main Menu if “AUTORUN” is enabled in your computer.

If the Main Menu does not appear automatically, locate and double click on the le

“ASRSETUP.EXE” in the Support CD to display the menu.

Drivers Menu

e drivers compatible to your system will be auto-detected and listed on the

support CD driver page. Please click Install All or follow the order from top to

bottom to install those required drivers. erefore, the drivers you install can work

properly.

Utilities Menu

e Utilities Menu shows the application soware that the motherboard supports.

Click on a specic item then follow the installation wizard to insta ll it.

To improve Windows 7 compatibility, please download and install the following hot x
provided by Microso.
“KB2720599”: http://support.microso.com/kb/2720599/en-us

English

3.2 Formula Drive

Formula Drive is ASRock’s multi purpose soware suite with a new interface, more

new features and improved utilities, including XFast RAM, Dehumidier, Good

Night LED, FAN-Tastic Tuning, OC Tweaker and a whole lot more.

3.2.1 Installing Formula Drive

When you install the all-in-one driver to your system from ASRock’s support

CD, Formula Drive will be auto-installed as well. Aer the installation, you will

nd the icon “Formula Drive“ on your desktop. Double-click the “Formula Drive“

icon, Formula Drive main menu will pop up.

3.2.2 Using Formula Drive

ere are ve sections in Formula Drive main menu: Operation Mode, Tools, OC

Tweaker, System Info and Tech Service.

Operation Mode

Choose an operation mode for your computer.

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Z87 OC Formula/ac / Z87 OC Formula

Tool s

Various tools and utilities.

XFast RAM

Boost the system’s performance and extend the HDD’s or SDD’s lifespan! Create a

hidden partition, then assign which les should be stored in the RAM drive.

Good Night LED

Switch o the Power/HDD/LAN LEDs when the system is on, and automatically

switch o the Power and Keyboard LEDs when the system enters into Standby/

Hibernation mode.

FAN-Tastic Tuning

Congure up to ve dierent fan speeds using the graph. e fans will automatically

shi to the next speed level when the assigned temperature is met.

Dehumidier

Prevent motherboard damages due to dampness. Enable this function and

congure the period of time until the computer powers on, and the duration of the

dehumidifying process.

HDMI-IN

Connect two dierent devices to one monitor and toggle between the primary and

secondary screen without replugging the connectors every time. Please set a hotkey

for switching between the two devices.

English

OC Tw eaker

Congurations for overclocking the system.

System Info

View information about the system.

System Browser

System Browser shows the overview of your current PC and the devices connected.

Multi ermal Sensor

It provides users the temperature of various parts of the motherboard graphically,

so that users may precisely keep track and control of the temperature of each parts

of their motherboard when overclocking.

Hardware Monitor

Shows the major readings of your system.

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Z87 OC Formula/ac / Z87 OC Formula

Tech Ser vice

Contact Tech Service.

English

3.3 Intel® Rapid Start Technology

Intel® Rapid Start Technolog y enables your system to wake up faster from deep

sleep, saving time and power consumption. Feel secure to know that your system

will resume to working condition even if an unexpected power loss happens while

the PC is in sleep mode.

3.3.1 System Requirements

• Conrm whether your motherboard supports this feature.

• Operating system: Microso Windows 8/7 (32- or 64-bit edition)

• Set the SATA mode to AHCI. If Windows 8/7 is already installed under IDE

mode, directly changing the SATA mode to AHCI may cause Windows 8/7

to crash while booting. If your system is not in AHCI mode, please follow the

instructions below.

ere are certa in risks. Please backup any important data before oper ating to avoid loss.

1. Press Win + R simultaneously in Windows 8/7, type "Regedit" into the word

box then click OK.

2. Enter into HKEY_LOCAL _MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\

msahci in Windows Registry Editor. Double click on the value Start and

change the value from 3 into 0. Click on OK.

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3. Exit the Registry Editor window and restart the computer.

4. Press F2 to enter BIOS, then go to Advanced ‐> Storage Conguration and

change SATA Mode to AHCI. Press F10 to save changes and exit.

5. Enter Windows 8/7. Windows will discover the new device and install AHCI

drivers automatically.

3.3.2 Setup Guide

Conguring Rapid Start

Step 1

Run ASRock Rapid Start utility from Start -> All Programs -> ASRock Utility.

Step 2

If you have more than one hard drives in your system, you must select one, then

choose the Partition Size desired for your hidden partition and click on Create. e

system will automatically create a hidden partition according to your settings. If

there are SSD’s installed into your system, it is recommended to create the partition

on the SSD.

English

Step 3

When prompted to restart aer the setup, click Ye s to reboot.

Step 4

Double-click the Intel® Rapid Start Technology Manager icon in the Windows

sy stem tray.

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Step 5

Make sure Rapid Start is on. Drag the slider to congure the time. For example, if

the timer value is set to ten minutes, the system will enable Rapid Start mode aer

entering sleep state for ten minutes. If the timer is set to 0 minutes, Windows will

immediately enable Rapid Start mode as it enters sleep state.

Using Rapid Start

1. You may shut down the computer without terminating the applications or les

you are executing currently. Click on Windows Start ‐> the arrow next to Shut

down, and click on Sleep.

2. Windows system will enter sleep state.

3. According to your settings in Rapid Start Technology Manager, the system

will automatically wake up and enable Rapid Start mode aer entering sleep

English

state for a period of time. e power of the computer in Rapid Start mode can

be cut o, it will not cause data loss of the programs or les you were executing

before entering sleep state.

4. When you wish to continue to use the computer just hit the power button, the

system will rapidly return to Windows, the programs and les which you were

using before entering sleep state will be accessible immediately.

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3.4 Intel® Smart Connect Technology

Intel® Smart Connect Technology is a feature that periodically wakes your computer

from Windows® sleep state to refresh email or social networking applications. It

saves your waiting time and keeps the content always up-to-date.

3.4.1 System Requirements

• Conrm whether your motherboard supports this feature.

• Operating system: Microso Windows 8/7 (32- or 64-bit edition)

• Set the SATA mode to AHCI. If Windows 8/7 is already installed under IDE

mode, directly changing the SATA mode to AHCI may cause Windows 8/7

to crash while booting. If your system is not in AHCI mode, please follow the

instructions below.

ere are certa in risks. Please backup any important data before oper ating to avoid loss.

1. Press Win + R simultaneously in Windows 8/7, type "Regedit" into the word

box then click OK.

2. Enter into HKEY_LOCAL _MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\

msahci in Windows Registry Editor. Double click on the value Start and

change the value from 3 into 0. Click on OK.

English

3.4.2 Setup Guide

Installing ASRock Smart Connect Utility

Step 1

Install ASRock Smart Connect Utility, which is located in the folder at the following

path of the Support CD: \ ASRock Utility > Smart Connect.

Step 2

Once installed, run ASRock Smart Connect from your desktop or go to Windows

Start -> All Programs -> ASRock Utility.

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Step 3

Click the Add button. Take Foxmail as an example, add Foxmail to the Application

list.

Step 4

Select Foxmail from the Application List, then click the arrow pointing right to add

this application to the Smart Connect List.

Step 5

Click Apply to enable Smart Connect.

English

Step 6

Double-click the Intel® Smart Connect Technology Manager icon in the

Windows system tray.

Step 7

Drag the slider to congure how oen the system will connect to the network to

download updates. Shorter durations will provide more frequent updates, but may

cause more power consumption.

Using Smart Connect

1. Keep the applications which you wish to connect to the internet and receive

updates while the system is in sleep state running. Foxmail for instance, keep

Foxmail running.

2. Click on Windows Start -> the arrow next to Shut down, and click on Sleep.

3. Windows system will enter sleep state.

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4. e system will wake up from sleep state periodically, and then start to update

Foxmail. e screen will not display anything so the computer can maintain

minimum power usage. Aerwards, the system will automatically return to

sleep state again.

5. Upon waking up the system, you will nd the new mail that were sent to you

during sleep state are already updated and ready to be read in Foxmail.

English

3.5 Intel® Remote Wake Technology

Intel® Remote Wake Technolog y allows you to use programs or services over the

Internet to wake up your home computer from energy ecient sleep mode.

Before conguring this feature, verify the following.

• Remote Wake has been enabled in "Intel® Smart Connect Technolog y

Manager".

• Make sure that the "PCI Device Power On" is enabled in UEFI SETUP

UTILITY > Advanced > ACPI Conguration.

3.5.1 Conguring and Using MeshCentral

MeshCentral allows you to remotely wake up a PC from any network using a single

web site. Just download and install the mesh agent on your computers and your

computers will show up in the "My Devices" section of MeshCentral.com.

Creating a Mesh

Step 1

Login to Meshcentral.com.

If you have not created a MeshCentral acount, go to MeshCentra l.com and create a

new account.

Step 2

Click the "My Account" tab. en click on "New" to create a new mesh.

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Step 3

A new mesh window will pop up. Enter a mesh name and password.

Step 4

Select all the checkboxes and click Create Mesh.

Downloading and Installing Mesh Agent

Step 1

Click Install on the My Account page.

Step 2

Select the mesh and download both les. Make sure both les are in the same

di rec to ry.

Step 3

Right-click on MeshAgent.exe and select Run as administrator.

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Step 4

Click Install / Update.

Step 5

Wait a minute for the New Machine to appear in "My Device".

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Step 6

Check whether "Intel Remote Wake" appeared or not.

Waking up Your PC using PC

Step 1

On the "My Devices" page, click on Power Actions.

Step 2

Click on Wa ke or Sleep.

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Waking up Your PC Using Mobile Device

Before waking up your home computer using a mobile dev ice, please log out of MeshCentral
on other previously used computers or devices.

Step 1

Login to meshcentral.com/m.

Step 2

Select a Machine.

Step 3

Click on Wa ke or Sleep.

Tutorial Video

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3.5.2 Conguring and Using Splashtop

Splashtop is a remote desktop access soware that lets you remotely access your

home computer from your mobile device.

Before conguring this feature, verify that "Remote Wake" has been enabled in

"Intel® Smart Connect Technology Manager".

Setup Guide

Step 1

Download and install the Streamer on your home computer, which is located in

the folder at the following path of the Support CD: \ ASRock Utilit y > Splashtop

Streamer. en enter your Splashtop Account. If you have not created a Splashtop

acount, create one.

Step 2

Download and install “Splashtop 2” on your mobile device and log into the app.

Using Remote Wakeup

Step 1

In "Splashtop 2”, tap the edit button next to an oine machine from the list.

Step 2

Tap "Wake up this computer".

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Using Remote Control

Step 1

In "Splashtop 2”, tap an online machine from the list to connect to your home

computer.

Step 2

Start remotely accessing your home computer.

e func tionality and price of the Splashtop APP a nd subscription fee is subject to
change . Please check www.splashtop.com for for deta ils.

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Accessing Data

Playing Video

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3.6 Start8

For those Windows 8 users who miss the Start Menu, Start8 is an ideal solution that

brings back the familiar Start Menu along with added customizations for greater

eciency.

3.6.1 Installing Start8

Install Start8, which is located in the folder at the following path of the Support CD:

\ ASRock Uti lity > Start8.

3.6.2 Conguring Start8

Style

Select between the Windows 7 style and Windows 8 style Start Menu. en select

the theme of the Start Menu and customize the style of the Start icon.

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Congure

Congure provides conguration options, including icon sizes, which shortcuts you

want Start Menu to display, quick access to recently used apps, the functionality of

the power button, and more.

Control

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Control lets you congure what a click on the start button or a press on the

Windows key does.

Desktop

Desktop a llows you to disable the hot corners when you are working on the desktop.

It also lets you choose whether or not the system boots directly into desktop mode

and bypass the Metro user interface.

About

Displays information about Start8.

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Chapter 4 UEFI SETUP UTILITY

4.1 Introduction

ASRock Interactive UEFI is a blend of system conguration tools, cool sound eects

and stunning visuals. Not only will it make BIOS setup less dicult but also a lot

more amusing. is section explains how to use the UEFI SETUP UTILITY to

congure your system. You may run the UEFI SETUP UTILITY by pressing <F2>

or <Del> right aer you power on the computer, otherwise, the Power-On-Self-Test

(POST) will continue with its test routines. If you wish to enter the UEFI SETUP

UTILITY aer POST, restart the system by pressing <Ctl> + <Alt> + <Delete>, or

by pressing the reset button on the system chassis. You may also restart by turning

the system o and then back on.

Becau se the UEFI soware is constantly being upd ated, the following UEFI setup screens
and descriptions are for reference purpose only, and they may not ex actly match what you
see on your screen .

4.1.1 UEFI Menu Bar

e top of the screen has a menu bar with the following selections:

Main

OC Tweaker

Advanced

Tool

H/W Monitor

Boot

Security

Exit

For setting system time/date information

For overclocking congurations

For advanced system congurations

Useful tools

Displays current hardware status

For conguring boot settings and boot priority

For security settings

Exit the current screen or the UEFI Setup Utility

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4.1.2 Navigation Keys

Use < > key or < > key to choose among the selections on the menu bar, and

use < > key or < > key to move the cursor up or down to select items, then

press <Enter> to get into the sub screen. You can also use the mouse to click your

required item.

Please check the following table for the descriptions of each navigation key.

Navigation Key(s) Description

+ / -

<Tab>

<PGUP>

<PGDN>

<HOME>

<END>

<F1>

<F4>

<F7>

<F9>

<F10>

<F12>

<ESC>

To change option for the selected items

Switch to next function

Go to the previous page

Go to the next page

Go to the top of the screen

Go to the bottom of the screen

To display the General Help Screen

Toggle sound on/o

Discard changes and exit the SETUP UTILITY

Load optimal default values for all the settings

Save changes and exit the SETUP UTILITY

Print screen

Jump to the Exit Screen or exit the current screen

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4.2 Main Screen

When you enter the UEFI SETUP UTILITY, the Main screen will appear and

display the system overview.

Active Page on Entry

Select the default page when entering the UEFI setup utility.

UEFI Guide

UEFI Guide is a quick tutorial for ASRock 's UEFI setup Utility. You may abort the

tutorial by pressing "esc".

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4.3 OC Tweaker Screen

In the OC Tweaker screen, you can set up overclocking features.

Becau se the UEFI soware is constantly being upd ated, the following UEFI setup screens
and descriptions are for reference purpose only, and they may not ex actly match what you
see on your screen .

User OC Prole

In this option, you are allowed to load and save ten user defaults according to your

own requirements.

OC Tw eaking

Enable this option for better 3Dmark performance.

Load Optimized CPU OC Setting

You can use this option to load optimized CPU overclocking setting. Please note

that overclocking may cause damage to your CPU and motherboard. It should

be done at your own risk and expense. is option appears only when you adopt

K-Series CPU.

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Load Optimized GPU OC Setting

You can use this option to load optimized GPU overclocking setting. Please note that

overclocking may cause damage to your GPU and motherboard. It should be done at your

own risk and expense. is option appears only when you adopt K-Series CPU.

Advanced Turbo

You can use this option to increase your system performance. is option appears

only when your CPU supports this function. is option appears only when you

adopt K-Series CPU.

CPU Conguration

CPU Ratio

e CPU speed is determined by the CPU Ratio multiplied with the BCLK.

Increasing the CPU Ratio will increase the internal CPU clock speed without

aecting the clock speed of other components.

CPU Cache Ratio

e CPU Interna l Bus Speed Ratio. e maximum should be the same as the CPU

Ratio.

BCLK/PEG Frequency

e CPU speed is determined by the CPU Ratio multiplied with the BCLK.

Increasing the BCLK will increase the internal CPU clock speed but also aect the

clock speed of other components.

BCLK Ratio

Congure BCLK Ratio to prevent the PC from crashing when the internal CPU

clock speed and clock speed of other components are too high.

Spread Spectrum

Enable Spread Spectrum to reduce electromagnetic interference for passing EMI

tests. Disable to achieve higher clock speeds when overclocking.

Intel SpeedStep Technology

Intel SpeedStep technology allows processors to switch between multiple frequen-

cies and voltage points for better power saving and heat dissipation.

Intel Turbo Boost Technology

Intel Turbo Boost Technology enables the processor to run above its base operating

frequency when the operating system requests the highest performance state.

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Filter PLL Frequency

CPU BCLK Filter Frequency. Choose 1.6 for better overclocking capabilities.

Internal PLL Overvoltage

Enable for better stability when overclocking.

PCIE PLL Selection

Select SB PLL when overclocking.

Long Duration Power Limit

Congure Package Power Limit 1 in watts. When the limit is exceeded, the CPU

ratio will be lowered aer a period of time. A lower limit can protect the CPU and

save power, while a higher limit may improve performance.

Long Duration Maintained

Congure the period of time until the CPU ratio is lowered when the Long

Duration Power Limit is exceeded.

Short Duration Power Limit

Congure Package Power Limit 2 in watts. When the limit is exceeded, the CPU

ratio will be lowered immediately. A lower limit can protect the CPU and save

power, while a higher limit may improve performance.

Primary Plane Current Limit

Congure the current limit of the CPU under Turbo Mode in ampere. A lower

limit can protect the CPU and save power, while a higher limit may improve

performance.

GT Frequency

Congure the frequency of the integrated GPU.

GT Voltage Mode

Auto: For optimized settings.

Adaptive: Add voltage to the integrated GPU when the system is under heavy load.

Override: e voltage is xed.

GT Adaptive Voltage

Congure the xed voltage added to the integrated GPU.

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GT Voltage Oset

Congure the voltage added to the integrated GPU when the system is under heavy load.

DRAM Timing Conguration

Load XMP Setting

Load XMP settings to overclock the DDR3 memory and perform beyond standard

specications.

DRAM Reference Clock

Select Auto for optimized settings.

DRAM Frequency

If [Auto] is selected, the motherboard will detect the memory module(s) inserted

and assign the appropriate frequency automatically.

DRAM Conguration

DRAM Tweaker

Fine tune the DRAM settings by leaving marks in checkboxes. Click OK to conrm and

apply your new settings.

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CAS# Latency (tCL)

e time between sending a column address to the memory and the beginning of the data

in response.

RAS# to CAS# Delay (tRCD)

e number of clock cycles required between the opening of a row of memory and

accessing columns within it.

Row Precharge Time (tRP)

e number of clock cycles required between the issuing of the precharge command

and opening the next row.

RAS# Active Time (tRAS)

e number of clock cycles required between a bank active command and issuing the

precharge command.

Command Rate (CR)

e delay between when a memor y chip is selected and when the rst active command can

be issued.

Write Recovery Time (tWR)

e amount of delay that must elapse aer the completion of a valid write operation,

before an active bank can be precharged.

Refresh Cycle Time (tRFC)

e number of clocks from a Refresh command until the rst Activate command to

the same rank.

RAS to RAS Delay (tRRD)

e number of clocks between two rows activated in dierent banks of the same

rank.

Write to Read Delay (tWTR)

e number of clocks between the last valid write operation and the next read

command to the same internal bank.

Read to Precharge (tRTP)

e number of clocks that are inserted between a read command to a row pre-

charge command to the same rank.

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Four Activate Window (tFAW)

e time window in which four activates are allowed the same rank.

CAS Write Latency (tCWL)

Congure CAS Write Latency.

tREFI

Congure refresh cycles at an average periodic interval.

tCKE

Congure the period of time the DDR3 initiates a minimum of one refresh

command internally once it enters Self-Refresh mode.

tRDRD

Congure between module read to read delay.

tRDRDDR

Congure between module read to read delay from dierent ranks.

tRDRDDD

Use this to change DRAM tRWSR Auto/Manual settings. e default is [Auto].

tWRRD

Congure between module write to read delay.

tWRRDDR

Congure between module write to read delay from dierent ranks.

tWRRDDD

Use this to change DRAM tRRSR Auto/Manual settings. e default is [Auto].

Congure between module write to read delay from dierent DIMMs.

tWRWR

Congure between module write to write delay.

tWRWRDR

Congure between module write to write delay from dierent ranks.

tWRWRDD

Congure between module write to write delay from dierent DIMMs.

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tRDWR

Congure between module read to write delay.

tRDWRDR

Congure between module read to write delay from dierent ranks.

tRDWRDD

Congure between module read to write delay from dierent DIMMs.

RTL (CHA)

Congure round trip latency for channel A.

RTL (CHB)

Congure round trip latency for channel B.

IO-L (CHA)

Congure IO latency for channel A.

IO-L (CHB)

Congure IO latency for channel B.

ODT WR (CHA)

Congure the memory on die termination resistors' WR for channel A.

ODT WR (CHB)

Congure the memory on die termination resistors' WR for channel B.

ODT NOM (CHA)

Use this to change ODT (CHA) Auto/Manual settings. e default is [Auto].

ODT NOM (CHB)

Use this to change ODT (CHB) Auto/Manual settings. e default is [Auto].

Command Tri State

Enable for DRAM power saving.

MRC Fast Boot

Enable Memory Fast Boot to skip DRAM memory training for booting faster.

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DIMM Exit Mode

Select Slow Exit to reduce power consumption, or Fast Exit for better performance.

FIVR Conguration

FIVR Switch Frequency Signature

Select whether to boost or lower the FIVR Switch Frequency.

FIVR Switch Frequency Oset

Congure the percentage of frequency boost or deduction.

CPU Integrated VR Faults

Disable FIVR Faults to raise the threshold to trigger CPU over current protection

and over voltage protection for better overclocking capabilities.

CPU Integrated VR Eciency Mode

Enable FIVR Eciency Management for power saving. Disable for better performance and

overclocking capabilities.

Voltage Conguration

Extreme Voltage

Choose Disabled to set the CPU input voltage threshold to +2.3V, or choose Enabled

to set the threshold to +2.7V. Please note that overclocking may cause damage to

your CPU and motherboard. It should be done at your own risk and expense.

Power Saving Mode

Enable Power Saving Mode to reduce power consumption.

SVID Support

Disable Serial Voltage Identication support for better system stability.

CPU Input Voltage

Congure the voltage for the CPU.

CPU Load-Line Calibration

CPU Load-Line Calibration helps prevent CPU voltage droop when the system is

under heav y load.

CPU Switching Frequency

Setting to higher frequencies may improve the system's overclocking ability under

heavy loading.

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PWM Current Threshold

Congure the threshold to trigger CPU over current protection for better

overclocking capabilities.

PWM Phase Control

Enable all PWM Phases for better overclocking capabilities.

DRAM Voltage

Use this to congure DRAM Voltage. e default value is [Auto].

DRAM Switching Frequency

Since the default value is already optimized for overclocking, we recommend keep-

ing the default settings.

VTT DDR Voltage

Congure the VTT DDR Voltage for the DRAM channels.

PCH 1.05V Voltage

Chipset 1.05V Voltage. Use default settings for best performance.

PCH 1.5V Voltage

I/O 1.5V Voltage. Use default settings for best performance.

PCH IREF 1.5 Voltage

Congure the PCH 1.5V reference voltage.

VCOMP Voltage

Congure the CPU compensation voltage.

CPU Voltage Mode

Auto: For optimized settings.

Adaptive: Add voltage to the CPU when the system is under heavy load.

Override: e voltage is xed.

CPU Override Voltage

Congure the voltage added to the CPU when the system is under heavy load.

CPU Voltage Oset

Congure the dynamic CPU voltage added to the CPU.

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CPU Cache Override Voltage

Add voltage to the CPU Cache when the system is under heavy load.

CPU Cache Adaptive Voltage

Congure the voltage added to the CPU Cache when the system is under heavy

load.

CPU Cache Voltage Oset

Congure the voltage for the CPU Cache. Setting the voltage higher may increase

system stability when overclocking.

System Agent Voltage Oset

Congure the voltage for the System Agent. Setting the voltage higher may increase system

stability when overclocking.

CPU Analog IO Voltage Oset

CPU I/O Analog Voltage.

CPU Digital IO Voltage Oset

CPU I/O Digital Voltage.

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4.4 Advanced Screen

In this section, you may set the congurations for the following items: CPU

Conguration, Chipset Conguration, Storage Conguration, Intel® Rapid Start

Technology, Intel® Smart Connect Technology, Super IO Conguration, ACPI Con-

guration and USB Conguration.

Setting wrong values in this sec tion may cause the system to malfunction.

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4.4.1 CPU Conguration

Intel Hyper Threading Technology

Intel Hyper reading Technology allows multiple threads to run on each core, so

that the overall performance on threaded soware is improved.

Active Processor Cores

Select the number of cores to enable in each processor package.

CPU C States Support

Enable CPU C States Support for power saving. It is recommended to keep C3, C6

and C7 all enabled for better power saving.

Enhanced Halt State (C1E)

Enable Enhanced Halt State (C1E) for lower power consumption.

CPU C3 State Support

Enable C3 sleep state for lower power consumption.

CPU C6 State Support

Enable C6 deep sleep state for lower power consumption.

CPU C7 State Support

Enable C7 deep sleep state for lower power consumption.

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Package C State Support

Enable CPU, PCIe, Memory, Graphics C State Support for power saving.

CPU Thermal Throttling

Enable CPU internal thermal control mechanisms to keep the CPU from overheat-

ing.

No-Execute Memory Protection

Processors with No-Execution Memory Protection Technology may prevent certain

classes of malicious buer overow attacks.

Intel Virtualization Technology

Intel Virtualization Technology allows a platform to run multiple operating systems

and applications in independent partitions, so that one computer system can

function as multiple virtual systems.

Hardware Prefetcher

Automatically prefetch data and code for the processor. Enable for better

performance.

Adjacent Cache Line Prefetch

Automatically prefetch the subsequent cache line while retrieving the currently

requested cache line. Enable for better performance.

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