Msi MEG X299 User Manual

Quick Start

Thank you for purchasing the MSI® MEG X299 CREATION 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

Thermal Paste

Phillips Screwdriver

Power Supply Unit

SATA Hard Disk Drive

Graphics Card

SATA DVD Drive

A Package of Screws

Quick Start

Safety Information

y 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.

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

y Hold the motherboard by the edges to avoid touching sensitive components.

y 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.

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

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

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

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

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

y Keep this user guide for future reference.

y Keep this motherboard away from humidity.

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

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

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

y 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.

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

Safety Information

Installing a Processor

https://youtu.be/ecdkLMmkya4

789

Safety Information

Installing DDR4 memory

http://youtu.be/T03aDrJPyQs

Safety Information

DIMMC1

Connecting the Front Panel Header

RESET SW

POWER SW

POWER LED+

POWER LED-

HDD LED

http://youtu.be/DPELIdVNZUI

Power LED

JFP1

Power Switch

+++-

2 10 1

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

HDD LED

POWER LED

HDD LED

HDD LED HDD LED +

POWER LED POWER LED +

Safety Information

RESET SW

JFP1

Installing the Motherboard

Safety Information

Installing SATA Drives

http://youtu.be/RZsMpqxythc

Safety Information

Installing a Graphics Card

http://youtu.be/mG0GZpr9w_A

Safety Information

Connecting Peripheral Devices

Safety Information

Connecting the Power Connectors

http://youtu.be/gkDYyR_83I4

Safety Information

ATX_PWR1

CPU_PWR3

CPU_PWR1 CPU_PWR2

PCIE_PWR1

Power On

Safety Information

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

Installing SATA Drives............................................................................................. 7

Installing a Graphics Card ...................................................................................... 8

Connecting Peripheral Devices .............................................................................. 9

Connecting the Power Connectors ....................................................................... 10

Power On............................................................................................................... 11

Specifications ....................................................................................................... 15

ThunderboltM3 Card Specification ....................................................................... 21

JCORSAIR1 Connector Specification .................................................................... 21

Package contents................................................................................................. 22

Block Diagram .................................................................................................... 23

Rear I/O Panel ...................................................................................................... 24

2.5G LAN Port LED Status Table .......................................................................... 24

1G LAN Port LED Status Table ............................................................................. 24

Audio Ports Configuration .................................................................................... 25

Realtek Audio Console ......................................................................................... 26

Installing Antennas ............................................................................................... 27

Overview of Components .................................................................................... 28

CPU Socket ........................................................................................................... 30

DIMM Slots ............................................................................................................ 31

PCI_E1~5: PCIe Expansion Slots .......................................................................... 34

PCIe and M2_3 slot bandwidth table .................................................................... 34

U2_1: U.2 Connector ............................................................................................. 37

M2_1~3: M.2 Slots (Key M) ................................................................................... 38

Installing M.2 XPANDER-AERO Card ................................................................... 39

SATA1~8: SATA 6Gb/s Connectors ....................................................................... 41

VRAID1: Virtual RAID on CPU Connector ............................................................. 41

JFP1, JFP2: Front Panel Connectors ................................................................... 42

JAUD1: Front Audio Connector ............................................................................42

CPU_PWR1~3, ATX_PWR1, PCIE_PWR1: Power Connectors .............................. 43

OC1: GAME BOOST Knob ..................................................................................... 44

Contents

OC_RT1: OC Retry Jumper ................................................................................... 46

OC_FS1: OC Force Enter BIOS Jumper ................................................................ 46

JSLOW1: Slow Mode Booting Jumper .................................................................. 46

CPU_FAN1, PUMP_FAN1, SYS_FAN1~4, EXS_FAN1~2: Fan Connectors ........... 47

W_FLOW1: Water Flow Meter Connector ............................................................. 48

T_SEN1: Thermal Sensor Connector ................................................................... 48

JTBT1: Thunderbolt Add-on Card Connector ...................................................... 48

Installing ThunderboltM3 Card ............................................................................ 49

JUSB3~4: USB 3.1 Gen1 Connectors ................................................................... 50

JUSB1~2: USB 2.0 Connectors ............................................................................. 51

JUSB5: USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C Connector ............................................................. 51

POWER1, RESET1: Power Button, Reset Button ................................................. 52

JBAT1: Clear CMOS (Reset BIOS) Jumper ........................................................... 52

JCI1: Chassis Intrusion Connector ....................................................................... 53

BIOS_SW1: Multi-BIOS Switch ............................................................................. 54

JRGB1, JRAINBOW1~2: RGB LED connectors ..................................................... 55

JCORSAIR1: CORSAIR Connector ........................................................................ 56

Onboard LEDs ...................................................................................................... 57

EZ Debug LED ....................................................................................................... 57

DIMM LEDs ........................................................................................................... 57

XMP LED ............................................................................................................... 57

Multi-BIOS LEDs ................................................................................................... 58

JPWRLED1: LED power input ............................................................................... 58

Debug Code LED ................................................................................................... 59

Hexadecimal Character Table .............................................................................. 59

Boot Phases .......................................................................................................... 59

Debug Code LED Table ......................................................................................... 59

ACPI States Codes ................................................................................................ 64

CPU Temperature ................................................................................................. 64

Installing OS, Drivers & Utilities ......................................................................... 65

Installing Windows® 10 ......................................................................................... 65

Installing Drivers .................................................................................................. 65

Installing Utilities ................................................................................................. 65

MYSTIC LIGHT ...................................................................................................... 66

Device LED effect control screen ......................................................................... 66

Nahimic 3 ............................................................................................................. 69

Installation and Update ........................................................................................ 69

Audio Tab ..............................................................................................................69

Microphone Tab .................................................................................................... 70

Sound Tracker Tab ................................................................................................ 71

Contents

Settings Tab .......................................................................................................... 71

BIOS Setup ........................................................................................................... 72

Entering BIOS Setup ............................................................................................. 72

Resetting BIOS ...................................................................................................... 73

Updating BIOS ....................................................................................................... 73

EZ Mode ................................................................................................................ 75

Advanced Mode .................................................................................................... 77

SETTINGS .............................................................................................................. 78

Advanced ............................................................................................................... 78

Boot ....................................................................................................................... 84

Security ................................................................................................................. 85

Save & Exit ............................................................................................................ 86

OC .......................................................................................................................... 87

M-FLASH .............................................................................................................. 94

OC PROFILE .......................................................................................................... 95

HARDWARE MONITOR .......................................................................................... 96

RAID Configuration .............................................................................................. 97

Enabling Intel® Rapid Storage Technology........................................................... 97

Creating RAID Volume ......................................................................................... 98

Removing a RAID Volume .................................................................................... 99

Resetting Disks to Non-RAID ............................................................................. 100

Rebuilding RAID Array ........................................................................................ 101

Installing RAID Driver ......................................................................................... 102

Installing Intel

Rapid Storage Technology Software ........................................ 102

Intel® Optane™ Memory Configuration ............................................................ 103

System Requirements ....................................................................................... 103

Installing the Intel Removing the Intel

Optane™ memory .............................................................. 103

Optane™ memory ............................................................. 105

Troubleshooting ................................................................................................ 106

Contents

Specifications

CPU

Chipset Intel

Memory

Expansion Slot

Supports Intel LGA2066 Socket

supports up to 4-channels DDR4**

supports up to 2-channels DDR4**

* Please refer www.msi.com for more information on compatible memory. ** Please refer the DIMM Slots section for more details.

* Please refer to page 34 for PCIe 3.0 bandwidth table.

Core™ X-Series Processor Family for

X299 Chipset

y 8x DDR4 memory slots y Quad channel memory architecture with the CPU that

 Quad channel support up to 128GB

 X-series processor support DDR4 4200(OC)/ 4100(OC)/ 4000(OC)/ 3800(OC)/ 3733(OC)/ 3600(OC)/ 3466(OC)/ 3400(OC)/ 3333(OC)/ 3200(OC)/ 3000(OC)/ 2933(OC)/ 2800(OC)/ 2666/ 2400/ 2133 MHz*

y Dual channel memory architecture with the CPU that

 Dual channel support up to 64GB

 X-series processor support DDR4 4133(OC)/ 4000(OC)/ 3866(OC)/ 3800(OC)/ 3733(OC)/ 3600(OC)/ 3466(OC)/ 3400(OC)/ 3333(OC)/ 3200(OC)/ 3000(OC)/ 2933(OC)/ 2800(OC)/ 2666/ 2400/ 2133 MHz*

y Supports Intel

Extreme Memory Profile (XMP)

y 4x PCIe 3.0 x16 slots

 Support x16/x0/x16/x8, x8/x8/x16/x8 mode with the 44-lane CPU.*

 Support x16/x0/x8/x4, x8/x8/x8/x4 mode with the 28- lane CPU.*

 Support x8/x0/x4/x4 mode with the 16-lane CPU.*

y 1x PCIe 3.0 x1 slot

Multi-GPU

LAN

Wirsless LAN & Bluetooth

y Supports NVIDIA y Supports AMD

SLI™ Technology

CrossFire™ Technology

y 1x Intel I219-V Gigabit LAN controller y 1x Realtek RTL8125-CG 2.5G LAN controller

Intel® Wireless-AC 9260

y Supports 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, MU-MIMO Rx, 2.4GHz/ 5GHz

(160MHz) up to 1.73Gbps

y Supports Bluetooth

2.1, 2.1+EDR, 3.0,4.0, 5

Continued on next page

Speciﬁcations

Storage

RAID

USB

Continued from previous page

X299 Chipset

Intel

y 8x SATA 6Gb/s ports* y 3x M.2 slots (Key M)

 M2_1 & M2_2 support up to PCIe 3.0 x4 and SATA 6Gb/s, 2242/ 2260/ 2280/ 22110 storage devices

 M2_3 supports up to PCIe 3.0 x4, 2242/ 2260/ 2280 storage devices**

 Intel

Optane™ Memory Ready for M2_1, M2_2 slots ***

y 1x U.2 port

 Supports PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe storage

* The SATA1 connector will be unavailable when a SATA M.2 SSD has been installed in the M.2_1 slot.

* The SATA2 connector will be unavailable when a SATA M.2 SSD has been installed in the M.2_2 slot.

** M2_3 slot and PCIe slots share the bandwidth. Please refer to page 34 for details.

*** Before using Intel updated the drivers and BIOS to the latest version from MSI website.

X299 Chipset

Intel

Optane™ memory modules, please ensure that you have

y Supports RAID 0, RAID1, RAID 5 and RAID 10 for SATA

storage devices

y Supports RAID 0 and RAID 1 for M.2 PCIe storage devices

y Intel

X299 Chipset

 4x USB 3.1 Gen1 (SuperSpeed USB) ports available through the internal USB connectors

 6x USB 2.0 (High-speed USB) ports(2 ports on the back panel, 4 ports available through the internal USB connectors)

y ASMedia

ASM3142 Chipset

 3x USB 3.1 Gen2 (SuperSpeed USB 10Gbps) ports (1 Type-C and 1 Type-A port on the back panel, 1 Type-C internal connector)

y ASMedia

ASM1074 Chipset

 6x USB 3.1 Gen1 (SuperSpeed USB) ports on the back panel

Speciﬁcations

Audio

y 1x Realtek

ALC1220 Codec  7.1-Channel High Definition Audio  Supports S/PDIF output

Continued on next page

Back Panel Connectors

Internal Connectors

Continued from previous page

y 1x BIOS FlashBack button y 1x Clear CMOS button y 1x PS/2 keyboard/ mouse combo port y 2x USB 2.0 Type-A ports y 6x USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-A ports y 1x 2.5G LAN (RJ45) port y 1x 1G LAN (RJ45) port y 1x USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-A port y 1x USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C port y 2x Wi-Fi Antenna connectors y 5x OFC audio jacks y 1x Optical S/PDIF OUT connector

y 1x 24-pin ATX main power connector y 3x 8-pin ATX 12V power connectors y 1x flat 4-pin ATX 12V power connector* y 8x SATA 6Gb/s connectors y 1x U.2 port y 2x USB 2.0 connectors (supports additional 4 USB 2.0

ports)

y 2x USB 3.1 Gen1 connectors (supports additional 4 USB 3.1

Gen1 ports)

y 1x USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C port y 1x 4-pin CPU fan connector y 1x 4-pin Water Pump connector y 4x 4-pin system fan connectors y 2x 4-pin extend system fan connectors y 1x 3-pin Water Flow connector y 1x Front panel audio connector y 2x System panel connectors y 1x TPM module connector y 1x Chassis Intrusion connector y 1x 2-pin Thermal Sensors connector y 1x Virtual RAID on CPU connector y 1x Thunderbolt Add-on Card Connector

* Provides additional power to PCIe x16 slots

Continued on next page

Speciﬁcations

Continued from previous page

y 1x 4-pin RGB LED connector

LED Connectors

OC Connectors

Internal Buttons

Switches y 1x Multi-BIOS switch

Jumper

Debug LED

I/O Controller NUVOTON NCT6797 Controller Chip

Hardware Monitor

y 2x 3-pin RAINBOW LED connectors y 1x 3-pin CORSAIR LED connector y 1x OC retry connector y 1x OC force enter BIOS connector y 1x GAME BOOST knob y 1x Power button y 1x Reset button

y 1x Slow mode jumper y 1x Clear CMOS jumper y 1x 2-Digit Debug Code LED y 4x EZ Debug LED

y CPU/System temperature detection y CPU/System fan speed detection y CPU/System fan speed control

Speciﬁcations

Form Factor

BIOS Features

y E-ATX Form Factor y 12 in. x 10.7 in. (30.5 cm x 27.2 cm)

y Dual BIOS y 2x 128 Mb flash y UEFI AMI BIOS y ACPI 6.1, SMBIOS 3.0 y Multi-language

Continued on next page

Software

Dragon Center Features

Special Features

Continued from previous page

y Drivers y DRAGON CENTER y MYSTIC LIGHT y Nahimic Audio y CPU-Z MSI GAMING y MSI App Player (BlueStacks)

y Intel

Extreme Tuning Utility y Google Chrome™, Google Toolbar, Google Drive y Norton™ Internet Security Solution

y GAME OPTIMIZATION y OC Performance y Hardware Monitor y Eyerest y LAN Manager y Live Update

Please refer to http://download.msi. com/manual/mb/DRAGONCENTER2. pdf for more details.

y Audio

 Audio Boost 4  Nahimic 3

y Network

 GAMING LAN with Gaming LAN Manager  Dual LAN (2.5G+1G)  Intel WiFi

y Storage

 Turbo U.2  3 x Turbo M.2

y Fan

 Pump Fan  Smart Fan Control

y Performance

 Multi GPU – SLI Technology  Multi GPU – CrossFire Technology

Continued on next page

Speciﬁcations

Special Features

Continued from previous page

y LED

 Mystic Light 3  Mystic Light Extension (RGB)  Mystic Light Extension (RAINBOW)  Mystic Light Extension (CORSAIR)  Mystic Light Sync  EZ DEBUG LED

y Protection

 DDR4 Steel Armor  M.2 FORZR  PCI-E Steel Armor  U.2 Steel Armor

y DDR4 Boost

 GAME Boost(go to 11)  OC Engine(Clock gen)  Lightning USB(3142)  Front Lightning USB(20PIN)

y Stability

 7000+ Quality Test

y VR

 VR Ready

y Gamer Experience

 GAMING HOTKEY  GAMING MOUSE Control

y BIOS

 Click BIOS 5  BIOS FLASHBACK+  Dual BIOS

y Certification

 Quadro SLI Ready  Quadro Ready  GAMING Certified

Speciﬁcations

ThunderboltM3 Card Specification

Chipset Intel Thunderbolt 3 controller

y 2 x thunderbolt 3 port (type C)

 up to 40 Gbps for Thunderbolt devices

External connector

Interface PCIe 3.0 x4 (depends on MB supportive slot)

Capabilities Supports DisplayPort 1.2 with max, 4K x 2K @60/24 Hz

Form factor 3.35 inch x 4.11 inch (8.5 cm x 10.4 cm)

 up to 10 Gbps for USB 3.1 devices y 1 x 5 pin TB header y 2 x DisplayPort input ports

 DisplayPort 1.2 specification

JCORSAIR1 Connector Specification

Supporting CORSAIR RGB Products Maximum connection

Lighting Node PRO LED Strip

HD120 RGB Fan 6 SP120 RGB Fan 6 LL120 RGB Fan 6

20*

* In the case of 20% brightness

Speciﬁcations

Package contents

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

Motherboard MEG X299 CREATION

Documentation

Application DVD Driver DVD 1

Cable

Accessories

User Manual 1 Quick Installation Guide 1

SATA 6Gb/s Cables 4 1 to 2 RGB LED Extension Y Cable 80cm 1 CORSAIR RGB LED Extension Cable 50cm 1 RAINBOW RGB LED Extension Cable 80cm 1 Thermistor Cable 1 Thunderbolt Cable 1 M.2 Xpander-AERO 1 SLI HB BRIDGE L 1 ThunderboltM3 1 Antenna Set 1 Case Badge 1 SATA cable Labels 1 VIP Card 1 IO Shielding 1 M.2 Screw 3

Important

If any of the above items are damaged or missing, please contact your retailer.

Package contents

Block Diagram

2/ 4 Channel DDR4 Memory

Processor

1x M.2

2x M.2

8x SATA 6Gb/s

1x U.2

4x USB 3.1 Gen1

6x USB 2.0

SwitchSwitch

PCI Express Bus

Switch

P/S2 Mouse / Keyboard

NV6797

Super I/O

DMI 3.0

PCIE Bus

X299 PCH

PCIE Bus

Realtek

ALC1220

(Rear + Front)

Audio Jacks

PCIe x1 slot

Wi-Fi / Bluetooth

Realtek 8125

Intel I219

ASMEDIA

ASM3142

ASMEDIA ASM1074

3x USB 3.1 Gen2

6x USB 3.1 Gen1

Block Diagram

Rear I/O Panel

USB 3.1 Gen1

PS/2

Clear CMOS

2.5G LAN 1G LAN

WiFi antenna connectors

Audio Ports

BIOS FLASHBACK+ button

USB 2.0/ BIOS FLASHBACK+

USB 2.0

USB 3.1 Gen1

USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C

Optical S/PDIF-Out

USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-A

port

y 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.

y BIOS FLASHBACK+ button/port - Please refer to page 74 for Updating BIOS with

BIOS FLASHBACK+.

2.5G LAN Port LED Status Table

Link/ Activity LED

Status Description

Off No link

Yellow Linked

Blinking Data activity

Speed LED

Status Description

Off 10 Mbps connection

Green 1 Gbps/ 100 Mbps connection

Orange 2.5 Gbps connection

1G LAN Port LED Status Table

Link/ Activity LED

Status Description

Off No link

Yellow Linked

Blinking Data activity

Speed LED

Status Description

Off 10 Mbps connection

Green 100 Mbps connection

Orange 1 Gbps connection

Rear I/O Panel

Audio Ports Configuration

Audio Ports

Center/ Subwoofer Out ● ●

Rear Speaker Out ● ● ●

Line-In/ Side Speaker Out ●

Line-Out/ Front Speaker Out ● ● ● ●

Mic In

(●: connected, Blank: empty)

Audio jacks to headphone and microphone diagram

Channel

2 4 6 8

Audio jacks to 7.1-channel speakers diagram

AUDIO INPUT

Rear Front

Side Center/

Subwoofer

Rear I/O Panel

Realtek Audio Console

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

Device Selection

Application Enhancement Advanced Settings

Main Volume

Connector Settings

Jack Status

y Device Selection - allows you to select a audio output source to change the related

options. The check sign indicates the devices as default.

y Application Enhancement - the array of options will provide you a complete guidance

of anticipated sound effect for both output and input device.

y 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.

y Advanced Settings - provides the mechanism to deal with 2 independent audio

streams.

y Jack Status - depicts all render and capture devices currently connected with your

computer.

y 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.

Rear I/O Panel

Installing Antennas

1. Combine the antenna with the base.

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

3. Place the antenna as high as possible.

Rear I/O Panel

Overview of Components

JRAINBOW1

SYS_FAN1

PCI_E1

M2_1

PCI_E2

M2_2

PCI_E3

M2_3

PCI_E4

PCI_E5

DIMMB1

CPU_FAN1

DIMMA1

DIMMB2

CPU Socket

CPU_PWR1

CPU_PWR3

CPU_PWR2

DIMMC1

DIMMC2

DIMMD1DIMMA2

DIMMD2

PUMP_FAN1

SYS_FAN4 VRAID1 JCORSAIR1

ATX_PWR1

JUSB5

JUSB4

SATA▼1▲2

SATA▼3▲4

SATA▼5▲6

SATA▼7▲8

U2_1 JRAINBOW2

JUSB3

Overview of Components

JAUD1

JRGB1

PCIE_PWR1

T_SEN1

JTPM1

JFP2

EXS_FAN1

W_FLOW1

EXS_FAN2

JFP1

SYS_FAN2

JUSB2

JUSB1

BIOS_SW1

SYS_FAN3

POWER1

RESET1

JPWRLED1

JTBT1

JBAT1

JCI1

JSLOW1

Component Contents

Port Name Port Type Page

BIOS_SW1 Multi-BIOS Switch 54 CPU_FAN1, PUMP_FAN1,

SYS_FAN1~4, EXS_FAN1~2 CPU_PWR1~3, ATX_PWR1,

PCIE_PWR1 CPU Socket LGA2066 CPU Socket 30 JAUD1 Front Audio Connector 42 JBAT1 Clear CMOS (Reset BIOS) Jumper 52 JCI1 Chassis Intrusion Connector 53 JCORSAIR1 CORSAIR Connector 56 JFP1, JFP2 Front Panel Connectors 42 JPWRLED1 LED power input 58 JRGB1, JRAINBOW1~2 RGB LED connectors 55 JSLOW1 Slow Mode Booting Jumper 46 JTBT1 Thunderbolt Add-on Card Connector 48 JUSB1~2 USB 2.0 Connectors 51 JUSB3~4 USB 3.1 Gen1 Connectors 50 JUSB5 USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C Connector 51 M2_1~3 M.2 Slots (Key M) 38 OC1 GAME BOOST Knob 44 OC_FS1 OC Force Enter BIOS Jumper 46 OC_RT1 OC Retry Jumper 46 PCI_E1~5 PCIe Expansion Slots 34 POWER1, RESET1 Power Button, Reset Button 52 SATA1~8 SATA 6Gb/s Connectors 41 T_SEN1 Thermal Sensor Connector 48 U2_1 U.2 Connector 37 VRAID1 Virtual RAID on CPU Connector 41 W_FLOW1 Water Flow Meter Connector 48

Fan Connectors 47

Power Connectors 43

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 operation beyond product specifications.

does not guarantee the damages or risks caused by inadequate

Overview of Components

+ 80 hidden pages

Msi MEG X299 User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Quick Start

Preparing Tools and Components

Safety Information

Installing a Processor

Installing DDR4 memory

Connecting the Front Panel Header

Installing the Motherboard

Installing SATA Drives

Installing a Graphics Card

Connecting Peripheral Devices

Connecting the Power Connectors

Power On

Specifications

ThunderboltM3 Card Specification

JCORSAIR1 Connector Specification

Package contents

Block Diagram

Rear I/O Panel

2.5G LAN Port LED Status Table

1G LAN Port LED Status Table

Audio Ports Configuration

Realtek Audio Console

Installing Antennas

Overview of Components

CPU Socket