MSI Creator X299 Manual

Quick Start

Thank you for purchasing the MSI® Creator X299 motherboard. This Quick Start section provides demonstration diagrams about how to install your computer. 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.

Preparing Tools and Components

Intel® LGA 2066 CPU

CPU Fan	Chassis

DDR4 Memory

Power Supply Unit	Graphics Card

Thermal Paste

SATA Hard Disk Drive	SATA DVD Drive

Phillips Screwdriver

A Package of Screws

Quick Start 1

Safety Information

∙∙The components included in this package are prone to damage from electrostatic discharge (ESD). Please adhere to the following instructions to ensure successful computer assembly.

∙∙Ensure that all components are securely connected. Loose connections may cause the computer to not recognize a component or fail to start.

∙∙Hold the motherboard by the edges to avoid touching sensitive components. ∙∙It is recommended to wear an electrostatic discharge (ESD) wrist strap when

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 motherboard.

∙∙Store the motherboard in an electrostatic shielding container or on an anti-static pad whenever the motherboard is not installed.

∙∙Before turning on the computer, ensure that there are no loose screws or metal components on the motherboard or anywhere within the computer case.

∙∙Do not boot the computer before installation is completed. This could cause permanent damage to the components as well as injury to the user.

∙∙If you need help during any installation step, please consult a certified computer technician.

∙∙Always turn off the power supply and unplug the power cord from the power outlet before installing or removing any computer component.

∙∙Keep this user guide for future reference. ∙∙Keep this motherboard away from humidity.

∙∙Make sure that your electrical outlet provides the same voltage as is indicated on the PSU, before connecting the PSU to the electrical outlet.

∙∙Place the power cord such a way that people can not step on it. Do not place anything over the power cord.

∙∙All cautions and warnings on the motherboard should be noted.

∙∙If any of the following situations arises, get the motherboard checked by service personnel:

▪▪Liquid has penetrated into the computer.

▪▪The motherboard has been exposed to moisture.

▪▪The motherboard does not work well or you can not get it work according to user guide.

▪▪The motherboard has been dropped and damaged. ▪▪The motherboard has obvious sign of breakage.

∙∙Do not leave this motherboard in an environment above 60°C (140°F), it may damage the motherboard.

2 Quick Start

Installing a Processor

3	1	https://youtu.be/ecdkLMmkya4
	2

4

	5
		6
9	8	7
	10	11

13	12

Quick Start 3

Installing DDR4 memory

http://youtu.be/T03aDrJPyQs

1

3

2

2

	B1	B2	A1	A2	CPU	C2	C1	D2	D1
1 DIMM					Intel® Core™ X-series
2 DIMMs
					10000/ 9000/ 78xx (above)
4 DIMMs
					processors
8 DIMMs

4 Quick Start

Connecting the Front Panel Header

http://youtu.be/DPELIdVNZUI

		-
		LED
	LED+		POWER
			POWER
	LED
SW		HDD
POWER
SW
RESET

		Power LED									Power Switch
				+ - -+
	JFP1				2											10
					1											9	Reserved
					+ - +-
			HDD LED									Reset Switch
1	HDD LED +								2								Power LED +
3	HDD LED -								4								Power LED -
5	Reset Switch								6								Power Switch
7	Reset Switch								8								Power Switch
9	Reserved								10								No Pin

HDDLED RESETSW

							HDD LED -
	HDD LED
							HDD LED +
							POWER LED -
	POWER LED						POWER LED +

Quick Start 5

Installing the Motherboard

1

2

BAT1

6 Quick Start

Connecting the Power Connectors

http://youtu.be/gkDYyR_83I4

ATX_PWR1

CPU_PWR1 CPU_PWR2

PCIE_PWR1

CPU_PWR3

Quick Start 7

Installing SATA Drives

http://youtu.be/RZsMpqxythc

1

2	3

5

4

8 Quick Start

Installing a Graphics Card

http://youtu.be/mG0GZpr9w_A

1

3

2

5

4

6

Quick Start 9

Connecting Peripheral Devices

10 Quick Start

Power On

1 2

3

4

Quick Start 11

Contents
Quick Start..............................................................................................................	1
Preparing Tools and Components..........................................................................	1
Safety Information...................................................................................................	2
Installing a Processor.............................................................................................	3
Installing DDR4 memory.........................................................................................	4
Connecting the Front Panel Header.......................................................................	5
Installing the Motherboard.....................................................................................	6
Connecting the Power Connectors.........................................................................	7
Installing SATA Drives.............................................................................................	8
Installing a Graphics Card......................................................................................	9
Connecting Peripheral Devices.............................................................................	10
Power On...............................................................................................................	11
Specifications.......................................................................................................	15
JCORSAIR1 Connector Specification ..................................................................	21
Package contents ................................................................................................	21
Block Diagram .....................................................................................................	22
Rear I/O Panel......................................................................................................	23
LAN Port LED Status Table...................................................................................	23
Audio Ports Configuration.....................................................................................	23
Realtek Audio Console..........................................................................................	24
Installing Antennas...............................................................................................	26
Overview of Components.....................................................................................	27
CPU Socket............................................................................................................	29
DIMM Slots............................................................................................................	30
PCI_E1~4: PCIe Expansion Slots..........................................................................	32
PCIe, M2_2 and M2_3 slots bandwidth table........................................................	32
VRAID1: Virtual RAID on CPU Connector..............................................................	34
U2_1: U.2 Connector.............................................................................................	35
M2_1~3: M.2 Slots (Key M)....................................................................................	36
SATA1~8: SATA 6Gb/s Connectors.......................................................................	40
JFP1, JFP2: Front Panel Connectors...................................................................	40
CPU_PWR1~3, ATX_PWR1, PCIE_PWR1: Power Connectors..............................	41
OC1: OC GENIE 4 Knob .........................................................................................	42
OC_RT1: OC Retry Jumper....................................................................................	44
OC_FS1: OC Force Enter BIOS Jumper................................................................	44

12 Contents

JSLOW1: Slow Mode Booting Jumper..................................................................	44
CPU_FAN1, PUMP_FAN1, SYS_FAN1~4, EXS_FAN1~2: Fan Connectors...........	45
W_FLOW1: Water Flow Meter Connector.............................................................	46
T_SEN1: Thermal Sensor Connector....................................................................	46
JTBT1: Thunderbolt Add-on Card Connector.......................................................	46
JUSB5: USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C Connector............................................................	47
JUSB3~4: USB 3.2 Gen1 Connector......................................................................	47
JUSB1~2: USB 2.0 Connectors.............................................................................	48
JTPM1: TPM Module Connector...........................................................................	48
JAUD1: Front Audio Connector.............................................................................	49
JCI1: Chassis Intrusion Connector.......................................................................	49
JBAT1: Clear CMOS (Reset BIOS) Jumper...........................................................	50
POWER1, RESET1: Power Button, Reset Button..................................................	50
BIOS_SW1: Multi-BIOS Switch..............................................................................	51
JRGB1: RGB LED connector.................................................................................	52
JRAINBOW1~2: Addressable RGB LED connectors.............................................	53
JCORSAIR1: CORSAIR Connector.........................................................................	54
Onboard LEDs.......................................................................................................	55
EZ Debug LED.......................................................................................................	55
JPWRLED1: LED power input...............................................................................	55
XMP LED................................................................................................................	55
Multi-BIOS LEDs...................................................................................................	56
Debug Code LED...................................................................................................	56
Hexadecimal Character Table..............................................................................	56
Boot Phases..........................................................................................................	56
Debug Code LED Table.........................................................................................	57
ACPI States Codes.................................................................................................	60
CPU Temperature.................................................................................................	60
Installing OS, Drivers & Utilities..........................................................................	61
Installing Windows® 10..........................................................................................	61
Installing Drivers...................................................................................................	61
Installing Utilities..................................................................................................	61
BIOS Setup............................................................................................................	62
Entering BIOS Setup.............................................................................................	62
Resetting BIOS......................................................................................................	63
Updating BIOS.......................................................................................................	63
EZ Mode.................................................................................................................	65
Advanced Mode ....................................................................................................	67

Contents 13

SETTINGS..............................................................................................................	68
Advanced...............................................................................................................	68
Boot.......................................................................................................................	73
Security..................................................................................................................	74
Save & Exit.............................................................................................................	75
OC..........................................................................................................................	77
M-FLASH...............................................................................................................	85
OC PROFILE...........................................................................................................	86
HARDWARE MONITOR..........................................................................................	87
Nahimic 3..............................................................................................................	88
Installation and Update.........................................................................................	88
Audio Tab...............................................................................................................	88
Microphone Tab.....................................................................................................	89
Sound Tracker Tab................................................................................................	90
Settings Tab...........................................................................................................	90
RAID Configuration..............................................................................................	91
Enabling Intel® Rapid Storage Technology............................................................	91
Creating RAID Volume ..........................................................................................	92
Removing a RAID Volume ....................................................................................	93
Resetting Disks to Non-RAID................................................................................	94
Rebuilding RAID Array..........................................................................................	95
Installing RAID Driver...........................................................................................	96
Intel® Optane™ Memory Configuration...............................................................	97
System Requirements ..........................................................................................	97
Installing the Intel® Optane™ memory.................................................................	97
Removing the Intel® Optane™ memory................................................................	99
Troubleshooting ................................................................................................	100

14 Contents

Specifications

	CPU	Supports Intel® Core™ X-series 10000/ 9000/ 78xx (above)
		processors for socket LGA2066
	Chipset	Intel® X299 Chipset
		∙∙8x DDR4 memory slots, support up to 256GB*
		▪▪Support DDR4 4266+(OC)/ 4133(OC)/ 4000(OC)/
		3866(OC)/ 3733(OC)/3600(OC)/ 3466(OC)/ 3400(OC)/
		3333(OC)/ 3300(OC)/ 3200(OC)/ 3000(OC)/ 2933/ 2666/
	Memory	2400/ 2133
		∙∙Quad channel memory architecture
		∙∙Supports non-ECC UDIMM memory
		∙∙Supports Intel® Extreme Memory Profile (XMP)
		* Please refer www.msi.com for more information on compatible memory.
		∙∙4x PCIe 3.0 x16 slots
		▪▪Support x8/ x8/ x16/ x8 and x16/ x0/ x16/ x8 modes
		with the 48-lane CPU.
		▪▪Support x8/ x8/ x16/ x8 and x16/ x0/ x16/ x8 modes
	Expansion Slots	with the 44-lane CPU.*
		▪▪Support x8/ x8/ x8/ x0 and x16/ x0/ x8/ x0 modes with
		the 28-lane CPU.**
		* The PCI_E4 slot will run 3.0 x4 speed with 44-lane CPU when installing M.2
		PCIe device into M2_3 slot.
		** The PCI_E4 slot is unavailable with 28-lane CPU.
	Multi-GPU	∙∙Supports 4-Way NVIDIA® SLI® Technology*
		∙∙Supports 4-Way AMD® CrossFire™ Technology*
		* Depends on the installed CPU.
	LAN	∙∙1x Intel® I219V Gigabit LAN controller
		∙∙1x Aquantia® AQC107 10-Gigabit LAN controller
		Intel® Wi-Fi 6 AX200
	Wireless LAN &	▪▪Supports 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax, MU-MINO Rx, 2.4GHz-
		5GHz (160MHz) up to 2.4Gbps
	Bluetooth®	▪▪Supports Bluetooth® 5
		▪▪The Wireless module is pre-install in the M2_4 (Key-E)
		slot
	Audio	Realtek® ALC1220 Codec
		∙∙7.1-Channel High Definition Audio
		∙∙Supports Optical S/PDIF output
		Continued on next page

Specifications 15

Continued from previous page

	Intel® X299 Chipset
	∙∙8x SATA 6Gb/s ports
	∙∙1x M.2 slot (M2_1, Key M)*
	▪▪Supports up to PCIe 3.0 x4 and SATA 6Gb/s, 2242/
	2260/ 2280/ 22110 storage devices
	▪▪Intel® Rapid Start Technology
Storage	▪▪Intel® Optane™ Memory Ready
	∙∙1x U.2 port, supports PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe storage
	∙∙Supports Intel® Smart Response Technology
	Intel® CPU
	∙∙2x M.2 slots (M2_2 & M2_3, Key M)*
	▪▪Support up to PCIe 3.0 x4, 2242/ 2260/ 2280/ 22110
	storage devices*
	* M2_3 slot is unavailable with 28-lane CPU.
	Intel® X299 Chipset
RAID	∙∙Supports RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5 and RAID 10 for SATA
	storage devices
	∙∙Supports RAID 0 and RAID 1 for M.2 PCIe storage devices
	ASMedia® ASM3242 Chipset
	▪▪1x USB 3.2 Gen2x2 (SuperSpeed USB 20 Gbps) Type-C
	port on the back panel
	ASMedia® ASM3142 Chipset
	▪▪1x USB 3.2 Gen2 (SuperSpeed USB 10 Gbps) Type-C
	port through the internal USB connector
USB	ASMedia® ASM1074 Chipset
	▪▪7x USB 3.2 Gen1 (SuperSpeed USB) Type-A ports on
	the back panel
	Intel® X299 Chipset
	▪▪4x USB 3.2 Gen1 (SuperSpeed USB) ports through the
	internal USB connectors
	▪▪6x USB 2.0 (High-speed USB) ports (2 Type-A ports
	on the back panel, 4 ports through the internal USB
	connectors)
	Continued on next page

16 Specifications

LED Connectors Switch

Internal Buttons

Jumpers

Debug LED

Continued from previous page

∙∙1x 24-pin ATX main power connector ∙∙3x 8-pin ATX 12V power connectors

∙∙1x flat 4-pin ATX 12V power connector (Provides additional power for PCIe x16 slots)

∙∙8x SATA 6Gb/s connectors ∙∙1x U.2 port

∙∙2x USB 2.0 connectors (support additional 4 USB 2.0 ports) ∙∙2x USB 3.2 Gen 1 connectors (support additional 4 USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports)

∙∙1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C Port ∙∙1x 4-pin CPU fan connector

Internal Connectors ∙∙4x 4-pin system fan connectors

∙∙2x 4-pin extend system fan connectors ∙∙1x 4-pin water-pump fan connector

∙∙1x 3-pin Water Flow connector ∙∙1x Front panel audio connector ∙∙2x System panel connectors

∙∙1x TPM module connector

∙∙1x Chassis Intrusion connector

∙∙1x 2-pin Thermal Sensors connector ∙∙1x Thunderbolt Add-on Card Connector ∙∙1x Virtual RAID on CPU connector

∙∙1x 4-pin RGB LED connector

∙∙2x 3-pin RAINBOW LED connectors ∙∙1x 3-pin CORSAIR connector

∙∙1x Multi-BIOS switch

∙∙1x Power button ∙∙1x Reset button

∙∙1x OC GENIE 4 knob ∙∙1x Clear CMOS jumper

∙∙1x Slow mode booting jumper ∙∙1x Debug Code LED

∙∙4x EZ Debug LEDs

Continued on next page

Specifications 17

Continued from previous page

		∙∙1x Clear CMOS Button
		∙∙1x Flash BIOS Button
		∙∙2x Wi-Fi Antenna connectors
		∙∙1x PS/2 keyboard/ mouse combo port
	Back Panel	∙∙2x USB 2.0 ports
		∙∙7x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports
	Connectors
		∙∙1x USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type-C port
		∙∙1x Gigabit LAN (RJ45) port
		∙∙1x 10-Gigabit LAN (RJ45) port
		∙∙5x OFC audio jacks
		∙∙1x Optical S/PDIF Out connector
	I/O Controller	NUVOTON NCT6797 Controller Chip
	Hardware Monitor	∙∙CPU/ System temperature detection
		∙∙CPU/ System fan speed detection
		∙∙CPU/ System fan speed control
	Form Factor	∙∙EATX Form Factor
		∙∙12 in. x 10.7 in. (30.5 cm x 27.2 cm)
		∙∙2x 128 Mb flash
	BIOS Features	∙∙UEFI AMI BIOS
		∙∙ACPI 6.1, SM BIOS 2.8
		∙∙Multi-language
		∙∙Drivers
		∙∙CREATOR CENTER
		∙∙Nahimic Audio
	Software	∙∙CPU-Z MSI GAMING
		∙∙MSI App Player (BlueStacks)
		∙∙Open Broadcaster Software (OBS)
		∙∙Google Chrome™ ,Google Toolbar, Google Drive
		∙∙Norton™ Internet Security Solution
		Continued on next page

18 Specifications

Continued from previous page

	∙∙Creator Optimization
	∙∙Creator Hotkey
	∙∙Mystic Light
Creator Center	∙∙Hardware Monitor
	∙∙True Color
Features
	∙∙Live update	Please refer to http://download.msi.
	∙∙Speed Up	com/manual/mb/CREATORCENTER.
	∙∙Smart Tool	pdf for more details.
	∙∙Super Charger
	∙∙Audio
	▪▪Audio Boost 4
	▪▪Nahimic 3
	▪▪Voice Boost
	∙∙Network
	▪▪10G Super LAN
	▪▪LAN Manager
	▪▪Dual LAN
	▪▪Intel WiFi
	∙∙Storage
	▪▪Triple Turbo M.2
Special Features	∙∙Cooling
	▪▪Extended Heatsink Design
	▪▪M.2 Shield Frozr
	▪▪Pump Fan
	▪▪Fan Control
	∙∙LED
	▪▪Mystic Light
	▪▪Mystic Light Extension (RGB)
	▪▪Mystic Light Extension (RAINBOW)
	▪▪Mystic Light Extension(CORSAIR)
	▪▪Mystic light SYNC
	▪▪Ambient Link
	▪▪EZ DEBUG LED
	Continued on next page

Specifications 19

Continued from previous page

∙∙Protection

▪▪DDR4 Steel Armor

▪▪M.2 Shield Frozr

▪▪PCI-E Steel Armor ▪▪Pre-installed IO shielding

∙∙Performance

▪▪Multi GPU-SLI Technology

▪▪Multi GPU-CrossFire Technology

▪▪DDR4 Boost

▪▪Core Boost

▪▪OC Engine (Clock gen) ▪▪USB with type A+C ▪▪Lightning USB

Special Features ▪▪Lightning USB 20G

▪▪Front Lightning USB (20PIN)

▪▪Triple CPU Power

∙∙User Experience ▪▪Creator CENTER ▪▪Creator HOTKEY ▪▪Speed Up ▪▪Total Fan control ▪▪Live Update ▪▪APP Player

∙∙BIOS

▪▪Click BIOS 5 ▪▪System saver ▪▪Dual BIOS

20 Specifications

JCORSAIR1 Connector Specification

Supporting CORSAIR RGB Products	Maximum connection
Lighting PRO RGB LED Strip	20*
	* 20% brightness is recommended when the number of
	LED strips exceeds 8.
HD120 RGB Fan	6
SP120 RGB Fan	6
LL120 RGB Fan	6

Package contents

Please check the contents of your motherboard package. It should contain:

Motherboard		Creator X299
Documentation		User manual		1
		Quick installation guide		1
Application		USB drive with drivers & utilities		1
		SATA 6Gb/s cable		4
		LED JRGB Y cable		1
Cables		LED JCORSAIR cable		1
		LED JRAINBOW cable		1
		Thermistor cable		1
		Thunderbolt cable		1
Expansion cards		M.2 XPANDER-AERO GEN4 card		1
		Thunderbolt card		1
		Wi-Fi antenna		1
Accessories		Case Badge		1
		SATA cable stickers		1
		Product registration card		1
If		M.2 screw		3
	Important
any of the above items are damaged or missing, please contact your retailer.

Specifications 21

Block Diagram

4 Channel DDR4 Memory

Processor

1x M.2	Switch	Switch

PCI Express Bus		DMI 3.0
			Wi-Fi /
1x M.2
			Bluetooth
1x M.2			Aquantia AQC107 (10-Gb LAN)
8x SATA 6Gb/s			Intel I219V
1x U.2	BusPCIE	PCIE Bus	ASM3242
			ASMEDIA
				1x USB 3.2 Gen2x2
		X299 PCH
		PCIE Bus	ASMEDIA
4x USB 3.2 Gen1			ASM3142	1x USB 3.2 Gen2

6x USB 2.0	ASMEDIA
	ASM1074	7x USB 3.2 Gen1
NV6797	Realtek
Super I/O	ALC1220
P/S2 Mouse / Keyboard	(Rear + Front)
	Audio Jacks

22 Block Diagram

Rear I/O Panel

Wi-Fi Antenna	PS/2 Combo port	1Gbps LAN	10 Gbps	Audio Ports
connectors
Clear CMOS			LAN
button

Flash BIOS Button					USB 3.2
						Optical S/PDIF-Out
		2.0 Type-A			Gen 2x2	USB 3.2 Gen 1
	USB
		USB 3.2 Gen 1			Type-C	Type-A
Flash BIOS Port		Type-A

∙∙Clear CMOS button - Power off your computer. Press and hold the Clear CMOS button for about 5-10 seconds to reset BIOS to default values.

∙∙Flash BIOS Port/ Button - Please refer to page 64 for Updating BIOS with Flash BIOS Button.

LAN Port LED Status Table

Link/ Activity LED

Status	Description
Off	No link
Yellow (1Gb LAN)	Linked
Green (10Gb LAN)
Blinking	Data activity

Audio Ports Configuration

Speed LED

Status	Gigabit LAN	10 Gbps LAN
Off	10 Mbps
Green	100 Mbps	100 Mbps / 1 Gbps
Orange	1 Gbps	10 Gbps

	Audio Ports		Channel
		2	4	6	8
	Center/ Subwoofer Out			●	●
	Rear Speaker Out		●	●	●
	Line-In/ Side Speaker Out				●
	Line-Out/ Front Speaker Out	●	●	●	●
	Mic In
	(●: connected, Blank: empty)

Rear I/O Panel 23

Realtek Audio Console

After Realtek Audio Console is installed. You can use it to change sound settings to get better sound experience.

Application Enhancement

Device

Selection

Main Volume

Connector Settings		Jack		Status

∙∙Device Selection - allows you to select a audio output source to change the related options. The check sign indicates the devices as default.

∙∙Application Enhancement - the array of options will provide you a complete guidance of anticipated sound effect for both output and input device.

∙∙Main Volume - controls the volume or balance the right/left side of the speakers that you plugged in front or rear panel by adjust the bar.

∙∙Jack Status - depicts all render and capture devices currently connected with your computer.

∙∙Connector Settings - configures the connection settings.

Auto popup dialog

When you plug into a device at an audio jack, a dialogue window will pop up asking you which device is current connected.

Each jack corresponds to its default setting as shown on the next page.

Important

The pictures above for reference only and may vary from the product you purchased.

24 Rear I/O Panel

Audio jacks to headphone and microphone diagram

Audio jacks to stereo speakers diagram

AUDIO INPUT

Audio jacks to 7.1-channel speakers diagram

AUDIO INPUT

Rear	Front
Side	Center/
	Subwoofer

Rear I/O Panel 25

Installing Antennas

1. Combine the antenna with the base.

2. Screw two antenna cables tight to the WiFi antenna connectors as shown.

2

1

3. Place the antenna as high as possible.

26 Rear I/O Panel

Overview of Components

SYS_FAN1

PCI_E1

M2_1

PCI_E2

M2_2

PCI_E3

M2_3 JOC_FS1 JOC_RT1 PCI_E4

DIMMA2		CPU Socket				DIMMD1
DIMMA1				CPU_PWR3		DIMMD2
DIMMB2			CPU_PWR2		DIMMC1
DIMMB1	CPU_PWR1				DIMMC2
CPU_FAN1
						OC1
						PUMP_FAN1
						SYS_FAN4
						JCORSAIR1
						JRAINBOW1
						ATX_PWR1
						VRAID1
						JUSB5
						JUSB4
						SATA▼1▲2
						SATA▼3▲4
				BAT1		SATA▼5▲6
						SATA▼7▲8
						U2_1
						JRAINBOW2
						JUSB3
JAUD1			JFP1			SYS_FAN3
JRGB1
PCIE_PWR1			SYS_FAN2		JUSB1
T_SEN1		W_FLOW1		JUSB2
JTPM1
	JFP2	EXS_FAN2				JPWRLED1
	EXS_FAN1
							JSLOW1
						BIOS_SW1POWER1	JTBT1
						RESET1 JBAT1
						JCI1

Overview of Components 27

Component Contents

Port Name	Port Type	Page
BIOS_SW1	Multi-BIOS Switch	51
CPU_FAN1, PUMP_FAN1,	Fan Connectors	45
SYS_FAN1~4, EXS_FAN1~2
CPU_PWR1~3, ATX_PWR1,	Power Connectors	41
PCIE_PWR1
CPU Socket	LGA2066 Socket	29
DIMMA1~D2	DIMM Slots	30
JAUD1	Front Audio Connector	49
JBAT1	Clear CMOS (Reset BIOS) Jumper	50
JCI1	Chassis Intrusion Connector	49
JCORSAIR1	CORSAIR Connector	54
JFP1, JFP2	Front Panel Connectors	40
JPWRLED1	LED power input	55
JRAINBOW1~2	Addressable RGB LED connectors	53
JRGB1	RGB LED connector	52
JSLOW1	Slow Mode Booting Jumper	44
JTBT1	Thunderbolt Add-on Card Connector	46
JTPM1	TPM Module Connector	48
JUSB1~2	USB 2.0 Connectors	48
JUSB3~4	USB 3.2 Gen1 Connector	47
JUSB5	USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C Connector	47
M2_1~3	M.2 Slots (Key M)	36
OC1	OC GENIE 4 Knob	42
OC_FS1	OC Force Enter BIOS Jumper	44
OC_RT1	OC Retry Jumper	44
PCI_E1~4	PCIe Expansion Slots	32
POWER1, RESET1	Power Button, Reset Button	50
SATA1~8	SATA 6Gb/s Connectors	40
T_SEN1	Thermal Sensor Connector	46
U2_1	U.2 Connector	35
VRAID1	Virtual RAID on CPU Connector	34
W_FLOW1	Water Flow Meter Connector	46

28 Overview of Components

CPU Socket

Distance from the center of the CPU to the nearest DIMM slot.

59.02 mm

59.02 mm

Introduction to the LGA 2066 CPU

The surface of the LGA 2066 CPU has four notches and a golden triangle to assist in correctly lining up the CPU for motherboard placement. The golden triangle is the Pin 1 indicator.

Important

∙∙Always unplug the power cord from the power outlet before installing or removing the CPU.

∙∙Please retain the CPU protective cap after installing the processor. MSI will deal with Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA) requests if only the motherboard comes with the protective cap on the CPU socket.

∙∙When installing a CPU, always remember to install a CPU heatsink. A CPU heatsink is necessary to prevent overheating and maintain system stability.

∙∙Confirm that the CPU heatsink has formed a tight seal with the CPU before booting your system.

∙∙Overheating can seriously damage the CPU and motherboard. Always make sure the cooling fans work properly to protect the CPU from overheating. Be sure to apply an even layer of thermal paste (or thermal tape) between the CPU and the heatsink to enhance heat dissipation.

∙∙Whenever the CPU is not installed, always protect the CPU socket pins by covering the socket with the plastic cap.

∙∙If you purchased a separate CPU and heatsink/ cooler, Please refer to the documentation in the heatsink/ cooler package for more details about installation. ∙∙This motherboard is designed to support overclocking. Before attempting to overclock, please make sure that all other system components can tolerate overclocking. Any attempt to operate beyond product specifications is not recommended. MSI® does not guarantee the damages or risks caused by inadequate operation beyond product specifications.

Overview of Components 29

DIMM Slots

B1B2A1A2

C2C1D2D1

Memory module installation recommendation

	B1	B2	A1	A2	CPU	C2	C1	D2	D1
1 DIMM
2 DIMMs
3 DIMMs					Intel® Core™ X-series
4 DIMMs
					10000/ 9000/ 78xx (above)
5 DIMMs
					processors
6 DIMMs
7 DIMMs
8 DIMMs

DIMMB1	DIMMB1
DIMMB2	DIMMB2
DIMMA1	DIMMA1
DIMMA2	DIMMA2
DIMMC2	DIMMC2
DIMMC1	DIMMC1
DIMMD2	DIMMD2
DIMMD1	DIMMD1

30 Overview of Components