ASROCK Z97 Extreme4 User manual

Version 1.2
Published October 2014
Copyright©2014 ASRock INC. All rights reserved.
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 www.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 Motherboard Layout 7
1.4 I/O Panel 10
Chapter 2 Installation 12
2.1 Installing the CPU 13
2.2 Installing the CPU Fan and Heatsink 16
2.3 Installing Memory Modules (DIMM) 17
2.4 Expansion Slots (PCI Express Slots) 19
2.5 Jumpers Setup 20
2.6 Onboard Headers and Connectors 21
2.7 Smart Switches 26
2.8 Dr. Debug 27
2.9 SLITM and Quad SLITM Operation Guide 29
2.9.1 Installing Two SLITM-Ready Graphics Cards 29
2.9.2 Driver Installation and Setup 31
2.10 CrossFireXTM, 3-Way CrossFireXTM and Quad CrossFireXTM
Operation Guide 32
2.10.1 Installing Two CrossFireXTM-Ready Graphics Cards 32
2.10.2 Installing Three CrossFireXTM-Ready Graphics Cards 33
2.10.3 Driver Installation and Setup 34
2.11 M.2_SSD (NGFF) Module Installation Guide 35

2.12 HDD Saver Cable Installation Guide 38
Chapter 3 Software and Utilities Operation 39
3.1 Installing Drivers 39
3.2 A-Tuning 40
3.2.1 Installing A-Tuning 40
3.2.2 Using A-Tuning 40
3.3 Intel® Rapid Start Technology 46
3.3.1 System Requirements 46
3.3.2 Setup Guide 47
3.4 Intel® Smart Connect Technology 51
3.4.1 System Requirements 51
3.4.2 Setup Guide 52
3.5 ASRock APP Shop 56
3.5.1 UI Overview 56
3.5.2 Apps 57
3.5.3 BIOS & Drivers 60
3.5.4 Setting 61
3.6 Start8 62
3.6.1 Installing Start8 62
3.6.2 Conguring Start8 62
Chapter 4 UEFI SETUP UTILITY 65
4.1 Introduction 65
4.1.1 UEFI Menu Bar 65
4.1.2 Navigation Keys 66

4.2 Main Screen 67
4.3 OC Tweaker Screen 68
4.4 Advanced Screen 77
4.4.1 CPU Conguration 78
4.4.2 Chipset Conguration 80
4.4.3 Storage Conguration 82
4.4.4 Intel® Rapid Start Technology 84
4.4.5 Intel® Smart Connect Technology 85
4.4.6 Super IO Conguration 86
4.4.7 ACPI Conguration 87
4.4.8 USB Conguration 89
4.5 Tools 91
4.6 Hardware Health Event Monitoring Screen 95
4.7 Boot Screen 96
4.8 Security Screen 99
4.9 Exit Screen 100

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Z97 Extreme4
Chapter 1 Introduction
ank you for purchasing ASRock Z97 Extreme4 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.
1.1 Package Contents
•ASRock Z97 Extreme4 Motherboard (ATX Form Factor)
•ASRock Z97 Extreme4 Quick Installation Guide
•ASRock Z97 Extreme4 Support CD
•4 x Serial ATA (SATA) Data Cables (Optional)
•1 x HDD Saver Cable
•1 x I/O Shield
•1 x ASRock SLI_Bridge_2S Card
•1 x Screw for M.2_SSD (NGFF) Socket 3
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. In case any modi-
cations of this documentation occur, the updated version will be available on ASRock’s
website without further notice. If you require technical support related to this mother-
board, please visit our website for specic information about the model you are using. You
may nd the latest VGA cards and CPU support list on ASRock’s website as well. ASRock
website http://www.asrock.com.

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1.2 Specications
Platform •ATX Form Factor
•High Density Glass Fabric PCB
CPU •Supports 5th Generation, New 4th and 4th Generation Intel®
Core™ i7/i5/i3/Pentium®/Celeron® Processors (Socket 1150)
•Digi Power design
•12 Power Phase design
•Supports Intel® Turbo Boost 2.0 Technology
•Supports Intel® K-Series unlocked CPUs
•Supports ASRock BCLK Full-range Overclocking
Chipset •Intel® Z97
Memory •Dual Channel DDR3 Memory Technology
•4 x DDR3 DIMM Slots
•Supports DDR3 3200+(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
•15 Gold Contact in DIMM Slots
Expansion
Slot
•3 x PCI Express 3.0 x16 Slots (PCIE2/PCIE5/PCIE6: single
at x16 (PCIE2); dual at x8 (PCIE2) / x8 (PCIE5); triple at x8
(PCIE2) / x4 (PCIE5) / x4 (PCIE6)
•3 x PCI Express 2.0 x1 slots
•Supports AMD Quad CrossFireXTM, 3-Way CrossFireXTM and
CrossFireXTM
•Supports NVIDIA® Quad SLITM and SLITM
•15 Gold Contact in VGA PCIe Slot (PCIE2)

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Z97 Extreme4
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 4400/4600
•Pixel Shader 5.0, DirectX 11.1
•Max. shared memory 1792MB
•Four graphics output options: D-Sub, DVI-D, HDMI and
DisplayPort 1.2
•Supports Triple Monitor
•Supports HDMI with max. resolution up to 4K x 2K
(4096x2304) @ 24Hz
•Supports DVI-D with max. resolution up to 1920x1200 @
60Hz
•Supports D-Sub with max. resolution up to 1920x1200 @
60Hz
•Supports DisplayPort 1.2 with max. resolution up to 4K x 2K
(4096x2304) @ 24Hz or 4K x 2K (3840x2160) @ 60Hz
•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 DVI-D, HDMI and DisplayPort 1.2
Ports
•Supports Full HD 1080p Blu-ray (BD) playback with DVI-D,
HDMI and DisplayPort 1.2 Ports
Audio •7.1 CH HD Audio with Content Protection (Realtek ALC1150
Audio Codec)
•Premium Blu-ray Audio support
•Supports Surge Protection (ASRock Full Spike Protection)
•Supports Purity SoundTM 2
- Nichicon Fine Gold Series Audio Caps
- 115dB SNR DAC with Dierential Amplier
- TI® NE5532 Premium Headset Amplier (Supports up to
600 Ohm headsets)
- Direct Drive Technology
- EMI Shielding Cover|
- PCB Isolate Shielding|
•Supports DTS Connect

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LAN •Gigabit LAN 10/100/1000 Mb/s
•Giga PHY Intel® I218V
•Supports Intel® Remote Wake Technology
•Supports Wake-On-LAN
•Supports Lightning/ESD Protection (ASRock Full Spike
Protection)
•Supports Energy Ecient Ethernet 802.3az
•Supports PXE
Rear Panel
I/O
•1 x PS/2 Mouse/Keyboard Port
•1 x D-Sub Port
•1 x DVI-D Port
•1 x HDMI Port
•1 x DisplayPort 1.2
•1 x Optical SPDIF Out Port
•2 x USB 2.0 Ports (Supports ESD Protection (ASRock Full
Spike Protection))
•2 x USB 3.0 Ports (ASMedia ASM1042AE) (Supports ESD
Protection (ASRock Full Spike Protection))
•4 x USB 3.0 Ports (Intel® Z97) (Supports ESD Protection
(ASRock Full Spike Protection))
•1 x RJ-45 LAN Port with LED (ACT/LINK LED and SPEED
LED)
•HD Audio Jacks: Rear Speaker / Central / Bass / Line in /
Front Speaker / Microphone
Storage •6 x SATA3 6.0 Gb/s Connectors by Intel® Z97, support RAID
(RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 10, Intel Rapid Storage
Technology 13 and Intel Smart Response Technology), NCQ,
AHCI, Hot Plug and ASRock HDD Saver Technology
•2 x SATA3 6.0 Gb/s Connectors by ASMedia ASM1061, sup-
port NCQ, AHCI, Hot Plug and ASRock HDD Saver Technol-
ogy
•1 x SATA Express Connector (shared with SATA3_4,
SATA3_5 and M.2 Socket)
*Support to be announced
•1 x M.2_SSD (NGFF) Socket 3, supports M.2 SATA3 6.0 Gb/s
module and M.2 PCI Express module up to Gen2 x2 (10 Gb/s)

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Z97 Extreme4
Connector •1 x COM Port Header
•1 x TPM Header
•1 x Power LED Header
•2 x CPU Fan Connectors (1 x 4-pin, 1 x 3-pin)
•3 x Chassis Fan Connectors (1 x 4-pin, 2 x 3-pin)
•1 x Power Fan Connector (3-pin)
•1 x 24 pin ATX Power Connector
•1 x 8 pin 12V Power Connector (Hi-Density Power
Connector)
•1 x HDD Saver Connector
•1 x PCIe Power Connector
•1 x Front Panel Audio Connector
•2 x USB 2.0 Headers (support 4 USB 2.0 ports) (Supports ESD
Protection (ASRock Full Spike Protection))
•1 x USB 3.0 Header (support 2 USB 3.0 ports) (Supports ESD
Protection (ASRock Full Spike Protection))
•1 x Dr. Debug with LED
•1 x Power Switch with LED
•1 x Reset Switch with LED
•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 Compliant wake up events
•SMBIOS 2.3.1 Support
•CPU, DRAM, PCH 1.05V, PCH 1.5V Voltage Multi-adjust-
ment
Hardware •CPU/Chassis temperature sensing
•CPU/Chassis/Power Fan Tachometer
•CPU/Chassis Quiet Fan (Auto adjust chassis fan speed by
CPU temperature)
•CPU/Chassis Fan multi-speed control
•Voltage monitoring: +12V, +5V, +3.3V, CPU Vcore, CPU
Input Voltage, CPU Internal Voltages

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OS •Microso® Windows® 8.1 32-bit / 8.1 64-bit / 8 32-bit / 8 64-
bit / 7 32-bit / 7 64-bit
Certica-
tions
•FCC, CE, WHQL
•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.
* For detailed product information, please visit our website: http://www.asrock.com
Due to limitation, the actual memory size may be less than 4GB for the reservation for sys-
tem usage under Windows® 32-bit operating systems. Windows® 64-bit operating systems
do not have such limitations. You can use ASRock XFast RAM to utilize the memory that
Windows® cannot use.

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Z97 Extreme4
Intel
Z97
DDR3_A2 (64 bit, 240-pin module)
DDR3_A1 (64 bit, 240-pin module) DDR3_B2 (64 bit, 240-pin module)
DDR3_B1 (64 bit, 240-pin module)
ATX12V1
Super
I/O
USB 2.0
T: USB0
B:USB1
ATXPWR1
1
USB3_0_1
PCIE2
Top:
Central/Bass
Center :
REAR SPK
Top:
LINE IN
Center :
FRONT
Bottom :
Optica l
SPDIF
Bottom :
MIC IN
PCIE5
PLED1
1
1
SPEAKER1
HDLED RESET
PLED PWRBTN
PANEL1
1
USB2_3
11
USB4_5
COM1
1
1
HD_AUDIO1
Z97 Extreme4
PCIE6
CPU_FAN1
CPU_FAN2
PWR_FAN1
RoHS
6
7
24
25
21
26
30
Top:
RJ-45
USB 3.0
T: USB6
B: USB7
19
12
35
4
27
33
Dr.
Debug
Purity
SoundTM 2
20
Power
BIOS_SE L1
A B
BIOS_B_LED
64Mb
BIOS
BIOS_B
64Mb
BIOS
BIOS_A
BIOS_A_LED
PS2
Keyboard
/Mous e
1
TPMS1
CMOS
Battery
CLRMOS1
1
NUT1
NUT2NUT3NUT4NUT5
M2_1
9
31
Front USB 3.0
CHA_FAN1
1
SATA_PWR_1
SATA3 _0
SATA3 _3
SATA3 _A 0
SATA3 _A 1
SATA3 _2
SATA3 _5
SATA3 _1
SATA3 _4
SATAE _1
Reset
CLRCBTN1
PCIE3
PCIE4
PCIE1
PCIE_PWR1
CHA_FAN3 CHA_FAN2
VGA1
DVI1
USB 3.0
T: USB4
B: USB5
HDMI1
USB 3.0
T: USB2
B: USB3
DISPLAY1
11
13
15
17
18
22
28
10
12
14
16
8
34
35
32
23
29
PCI Express 3.0
1.3 Motherboard Layout

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No. Description
1 ATX 12V Power Connector (ATX12V1)
2 CPU Fan Connector (CPU_FAN1)
3 CPU Fan Connector (CPU_FAN2)
4 2 x 240-pin DDR3 DIMM Slots (DDR3_A1, DDR3_B1)
5 2 x 240-pin DDR3 DIMM Slots (DDR3_A2, DDR3_B2)
6 ATX Power Connector (ATXPWR1)
7 USB 3.0 Header (USB3_0_1)
8 HDD Saver Connector (SATA_PWR_1)
9 Chassis Fan Connector (CHA_FAN1)
10 SATA3 Connector (SATA3_A0)
11 SATA3 Connector (SATA3_A1)
12 SATA3 Connector (SATA3_0)
13 SATA3 Connector (SATA3_3)
14 SATA3 Connector (SATA3_1)
15 SATA3 Connector (SATA3_4)
16 SATA3 Connector (SATA3_2)
17 SATA3 Connector (SATA3_5)
18 SATA Express Connector (SATAE_1)
19 BIOS Selection Switch (BIOS_SEL1)
20 Power Switch (PWRBTN1)
21 Reset Switch (RSTBTN1)
22 Clear CMOS Switch
23 Power LED Header (PLED1)
24 System Panel Header (PANEL1)
25 Chassis Speaker Header (SPEAKER1)
26 USB 2.0 Header (USB4_5)
27 USB 2.0 Header (USB2_3)
28 Clear CMOS Jumper (CLRMOS1)
29 Power Fan Connector (PWR_FAN1)
30 COM Port Header (COM1)
31 Front Panel Audio Header (HD_AUDIO1)
32 TPM Header (TPMS1)
33 PCIe Power Connector (PCIE_PWR1)

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Z97 Extreme4
No. Description
34 Chassis Fan Connector (CHA_FAN3)
35 Chassis Fan Connector (CHA_FAN2)

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1.4 I/O Panel
No. Description No. Description
1 USB 2.0 Ports (USB01) 10 Microphone (Pink)
2D-Sub Port 11 Optical SPDIF Out Port
3 USB 3.0 Ports (USB3_45) (Intel® Z97) 12 USB 3.0 Ports (USB3_67)
4 USB 3.0 Ports (USB3_23) (Intel® Z97) (ASMedia ASM1042AE)
5 LAN RJ-45 Port* 13 DisplayPort 1.2
6 Central / Bass (Orange) 14 HDMI Port
7 Rear Speaker (Black) 15 DVI-D Port
8 Line In (Light Blue) 16 PS/2 Mouse/Keyboard Port
9 Front Speaker (Lime)**
10
11
12
13
14
1 2 3 754
6
9
8
1516

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Z97 Extreme4
* 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 Orange 100Mbps connection
On Link Green 1Gbps connection
** If you use a 2-channel speaker, please connect the speaker’s plug into “Front Speaker Jack”. See the table below
for connection details in accordance with the type of speaker you use.
Audio Output
Channels
Front Speaker
(No. 9)
Rear Speaker
(No. 7)
Central / Bass
(No. 6)
Line In
(No. 8)
2V -- -- --
4V V -- --
6V V V --
8VVVV
To enable Multi-Streaming, you need to connect a front panel audio cable to the front
panel audio header. Aer restarting your computer, you will nd the “Mixer” tool on your
system. Please select “Mixer ToolBox” , click “Enable playback multi-streaming”, and
click “ok”. Choose “2CH”, “4CH”, “6CH”, or “8CH” and then you are allowed to select
“Realtek HDA Primary output” to use the Rear Speaker, Central/Bass, and Front Speaker,
or select “Realtek HDA Audio 2nd output” to use the front panel audio.
ACT/LINK LED
SPEED LED
LAN Port

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is is an ATX 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 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.
Chapter 2 Installation

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Z97 Extreme4
2.1 Installing the CPU
1. Before you insert the 1150-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.
2
1
A
B

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4
5
3