ASROCK Z270M-STX MXM User manual

Version 1.0
Published May 2017
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 www.dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/
perchlorate”

AUSTRALIA ONLY
Our goods come with guarantees that cannot be excluded under the Australian Consumer
Law. You are entitled to a replacement or refund for a major failure and compensation for
any other reasonably foreseeable loss or damage caused by our goods. You are also entitled
to have the goods repaired or replaced if the goods fail to be of acceptable quality and the
failure does not amount to a major failure.
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.

Contents
Chapter 1 Introduction 1
1.1 Package Contents 1
1.2 Specications 2
1.3 Motherboard Layout 7
1.4 Front Panel 10
1.5 Rear Panel 11
Chapter 2 Installation 12
2.1 Installing the CPU 13
2.2 Installing the CPU Fan and Heatsink 16
2.3 Installing Memory Modules (SO-DIMM) 17
2.4 Installing Mobile PCI Express Module (MXM) 19
2.5 Onboard Headers and Connectors 29
2.6 M.2 WiFi/BT Module Installation Guide 32
2.7 M.2_SSD (NGFF) Module Installation Guide (M2_1, M2_3) 34
2.8 M.2_SSD (NGFF) Module Installation Guide (M2_2) 37
2.9 RGB LED 41
Chapter 3 Software and Utilities Operation 42
3.1 Installing Drivers 42
Chapter 4 UEFI SETUP UTILITY 43
4.1 Introduction 43
4.2 EZ Mode 44
4.3 Advanced Mode 45

4.3.1 UEFI Menu Bar 45
4.3.2 Navigation Keys 46
4.4 Main Screen 47
4.5 OC Tweaker Screen 48
4.6 Advanced Screen 57
4.6.1 CPU Conguration 58
4.6.2 Chipset Conguration 60
4.6.3 Storage Conguration 63
4.6.4 ACPI Conguration 64
4.6.5 USB Conguration 65
4.6.6 Trusted Computing 66
4.7 Tools 67
4.8 Hardware Health Event Monitoring Screen 70
4.9 Security Screen 71
4.10 Boot Screen 72
4.11 Exit Screen 74

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1
Z270M-STX MXM / B250M-STX MXM
Chapter 1 Introduction
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.
1.1 Package Contents
• Z270M-STX MXM / B250M-STX MXM Motherboard (Micro-STX Form Factor)
• Z270M-STX MXM / B250M-STX MXM Quick Installation Guide
• Z270M-STX MXM / B250M-STX MXM Support CD
• 1 x I/O Panel Shield
• 2 x Serial ATA (SATA) Data with Power Cables (Optional)
• 4 x Screws for M.2 Socket (Optional)
• 2 x Screws for MXM Slot (Optional)
Because the motherboard specications and the BIOS soware might be updated, the
content of this documentation will be subject to change without notice.

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1.2 Specications
Platform • Micro-STX Form Factor
CPU • Supports 7th and 6th Generation Intel® CoreTM i7/i5/i3/
Pentium®/Celeron® Processors (Socket 1151)
• 3+1 Power Phase design
• Supports Intel® Turbo Boost 2.0 Technology
• Supports Intel® K-Series unlocked CPUs (for Z270M-STX
MXM only)
Chipset • Intel® Z270 (for Z270M-STX MXM)
• Intel® B250 (for B250M-STX MXM)
Memory Z270M-STX MXM:
• Dual Channel DDR4 Memory Technology
• 2 x DDR4 SO-DIMM Slots
• Supports DDR4 3200+(OC)/2933(OC)/2800(OC) /2400*/2133
non-ECC, un-buered memory
* 7th Gen Intel® CPU supports DDR4 up to 2400; 6th Gen Intel®
CPU supports DDR4 up to 2133.
• Supports ECC memory modules (operate in non-ECC mode)
• Max. capacity of system memory: 32GB
• Supports Intel® Extreme Memory Prole (XMP) 2.0
B250M-STX MXM:
• Dual Channel DDR4 Memory Technology
• 2 x DDR4 SO-DIMM Slots
• Supports DDR4 2400/2133 non-ECC, un-buered memory*
* 7th Gen Intel® CPU supports DDR4 up to 2400; 6th Gen Intel®
CPU supports DDR4 up to 2133.
• Supports ECC memory modules (operate in non-ECC mode)
• Max. capacity of system memory: 32GB
• Supports Intel® Extreme Memory Prole (XMP) 2.0
Expansion
Slot
• 1 x Mobile PCI Express Module (MXM) Slot
• 1 x M.2 Socket (Key E), supports type 2230 WiFi/BT module

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Z270M-STX MXM / B250M-STX MXM
Onboard
Graphics
• Intel® HD Graphics Built-in Visuals and the VGA outputs can
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
HW Encode1, Intel® InTruTM 3D, Intel® Clear Video HD
Technology, Intel® InsiderTM, Intel® HD Graphics
• Gen9 LP, DX11.3, DX12
• HWAEncode/Decode: VP8, HEVC 8b, VP9, HEVC 10b (For
7th Gen Intel® CPU)
• HWA Encode/Decode: VP8 , HEVC 8b; GPU/SWEncode/
Decode: VP9, HEVC 10b (For 6th Gen Intel® CPU)
• Max. shared memory 1024MB
* e size of maximum shared memory may vary from dierent
operating systems.
• Supports HDMI with max. resolution up to 4K x 2K
(4096x2160) @ 24Hz / (3840x2160) @ 30Hz (on HDMI1)
• Supports Auto Lip Sync, Deep Color (12bpc), xvYCC and
HBR (High Bit Rate Audio) with HDMI Port (Compliant
HDMI monitor is required)
• Supports HDCP with HDMI Port
• Supports Full HD 1080p Blu-ray (BD) playback with HDMI
Port
External
Graphics
• Supports HDMI with max. resolution up to 4K x 2K
(4096x2160) @ 60Hz (on HDMI)*
• Supports DisplayPort 1.2 with max. resolution up to 4K x 2K
(4096x2304) @ 60Hz*
• Supports Mini DisplayPort 1.2 with max. resolution up to 4K
x 2K (4096x2304) @ 60Hz*
* e HDMI, DisplayPort and Mini DisplayPort ports are only
available when a MXM graphics card is installed.
* e resolution of HDMI, DisplayPort and Mini DisplayPort
may vary based on dierent graphics cards.
Audio • Realtek ALC283 Audio Codec
• 1 x Headphone/Headset Jack
• 1 x MIC-In

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LAN • Gigabit LAN 10/100/1000 Mb/s
• Giga PHY Intel® I219V
• Supports Wake-On-LAN
• Supports Lightning/ESD Protection
• Supports Energy Ecient Ethernet 802.3az
• Supports PXE
Front
Panel I/O
• 1 x Headphone/Headset Jack
• 1 x USB 3.0 Type-A Port (Supports ESD Protection)
• 1 x USB 3.0 Type-C Port (Supports ESD Protection)
• 1 x Microphone Input Jack
Rear Panel
I/O
• 1 x DC Power Din Jack (Compatible with the 19V power
adapter)
• 2 x HDMI Ports
• 1 x DisplayPort
• 1 x Mini DisplayPort
• 2 x USB 3.0 Ports (Supports ESD Protection)
• 1 x RJ-45 LAN Port with LED (ACT/LINK LED and SPEED
LED)
Storage Z270M-STX MXM:
• 2 x SATA3 6.0 Gb/s with Power Connectors, support RAID
(RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 10, Intel Rapid Storage
Technology 15 and Intel Smart Response Technology), NCQ,
AHCI and Hot Plug
• 2 x Ultra M.2 Sockets (M2_1 and M2_3), supports M Key
type 2260/2280 M.2 SATA3 6.0 Gb/s module and M.2 PCI
Express module up to Gen3 x4 (32 Gb/s)*
• 1 x Ultra M.2 Socket (M2_2), supports M Key type
2242/2260/2280 M.2 PCI Express module up to Gen3 x4 (32
Gb/s)*

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Z270M-STX MXM / B250M-STX MXM
* Supports Intel® OptaneTM Technology
* Supports NVMe SSD as boot disks
B250M-STX MXM:
• 2 x SATA3 6.0 Gb/s with Power Connectors, support NCQ,
AHCI and Hot Plug
• 1 x Ultra M.2 Socket (M2_1), supports M Key type 2260/2280
M.2 SATA3 6.0 Gb/s module and M.2 PCI Express module up
to Gen3 x4 (32 Gb/s)*
• 1 x M.2 Socket (M2_3), supports M Key type 2260/2280 M.2
SATA3 6.0 Gb/s module*
• 1 x Ultra M.2 Socket (M2_2), supports M Key type
2242/2260/2280 M.2 PCI Express module up to Gen3 x4 (32
Gb/s)*
* Supports Intel® OptaneTM Technology (on M2_2)
* Supports NVMe SSD as boot disks
Connector • 1 x RGB LED Header
* Supports up to 12V/3A, 36W LED Strip
• 2 x CPU Fan Connectors (4-pin)
* e CPU Fan Connector supports the CPU fan of maximum
1A (12W) fan power.
• 1 x GPU Fan Connector (5-pin)
• 1 x Front Panel Audio Connector
• 2 x USB 2.0 Headers (Support 4 USB 2.0 ports) (Supports ESD
Protection)
BIOS
Feature
• AMI UEFI Legal BIOS with multilingual GUI support
• ACPI 6.0 Compliant wake up events
• SMBIOS 2.7 Support
• DRAM Voltage, VCORE Multi-adjustment
Hardware
Monitor
• CPU temperature sensing
• CPU Tachometer
• CPU Quiet Fan (Auto adjust chassis fan speed by CPU tem-
perature)
• Voltage monitoring: +12V, +5V, +3.3V, CPU Vcore, DRAM

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OS • Microso® Windows® 10 64-bit (For 7th Gen Intel® CPU)
• Microso® Windows® 10 64-bit / 8.1 64-bit / 7 32-bit / 7 64-bit
(For 6th Gen Intel® CPU)
Certica-
tions
• FCC, CE, RCM, BSMI
• ErP/EuP ready (ErP/EuP ready power supply is required)
Please realize that there is a certain risk involved with overclocking, including adjusting
the setting in the BIOS, applying Untied Overclocking Technology, or using third-party
overclocking tools. Overclocking 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 own risk and expense.
We are not responsible for possible damage caused by overclocking.

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Z270M-STX MXM / B250M-STX MXM
1.3 Motherboard Layout
Top View
RoHS
13
2
Audio
CODEC
USB_2_3
1
4
5
6
7
PANEL1
1
HDL ED R ES ET
PLE D PW RB TN
Mic In
USB 3.0
USB_8
USB 3.0
USB_1
Headphone
/ Headset
DDR4_A1DDR4_A1 DDR4_B1
DC Jack
Super
I/O
BIOS
ROM
CPU_FAN1 CPU_FAN2
RGB_LED1
1
USB_4_5
1
CLRCMOS1
MXM1
GPU_FAN1
9
HDMI
DP_1
DP2
USB 3.0
T: USB6
B: USB7
HDMI1
LAN1
8

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11
SATA2
CMOS
Battery
10
SATA1
M2_2M2_3M2_1
M2_4
CT2CT3CT1
CT2CT1
CT2CT1
CT1
Intel
Chipset
CLRCMOS2
12
Bottom View

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Z270M-STX MXM / B250M-STX MXM
No. Description
1 CPU Fan Connector (CPU_FAN1)
2 2 x 260-pin DDR4 SO-DIMM Slots (DDR4_A1, DDR4_B1)
3 CPU Fan Connector (CPU_FAN2)
4 RGB LED Header (RGB_LED1)
5 USB 2.0 Header (USB_2_3)
6 USB 2.0 Header (USB_4_5)
7 System Panel Header (PANEL1)
8 Clear CMOS Pad (CLRCMOS1)
9 5-Pin GPU Fan Connector (GPU_FAN1)
10 SATA3 Connector (SATA1)
11 SATA3 Connector (SATA2)
12 Clear CMOS Pad (CLRCMOS2)

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1.4 Front Panel
No. Description No. Description
1Headphone/Headset Jack (AUDIO1) 3 USB 3.0 Type-C Port (USB_8)
2 USB 3.0 Type-A Port (USB_1) 4 Microphone Input (AUDIO2)
1234

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Z270M-STX MXM / B250M-STX MXM
1.5 Rear Panel
No. Description No. Description
1 LAN RJ-45 Port* 4 USB 3.0 Ports (USB_6_7)
2HDMI Port (HDMI1) 5HDMI Port (HDMI)
3 DC Power Din Jack 6 Mini DisplayPort (DP2)
(Supports 19V Power Adapters) 7 DisplayPort (DP_1)
* ere are two LEDs on each LAN port. Please refer to the table below for the LAN port LED indications.
Activity / Link LED Speed LED
Status Description Status Description
O No Link O 10Mbps connection
Blinking Data Activity O 100Mbps connection
On Link Orange 1Gbps connection
ACT/LINK LED
SPEED LED
LAN Port
1 2 3 4 5 6
7

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is is an Micro-STX 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
components. Failure to do so may cause physical injuries 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.
Chapter 2 Installation

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Z270M-STX MXM / B250M-STX MXM
2.1 Installing the CPU
1. Before you insert the 1151-Pin CPU into the socket, please check if the PnP 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 insert the CPU into the socket if above situation is found. Otherwise, the CPU
will be seriously damaged.
2. Unplug all power cables before installing the CPU.
1
2
A
B

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4
5
3

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15
Z270M-STX MXM / B250M-STX MXM
Please save and replace the cover if the processor is removed. e cover must be placed if
you wish to return the motherboard for aer service.