EVGA X299 Micro ATX 2 User manual

EVGA X299 Micro ATX 2 (121-SX-E296)
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User Guide
EVGA X299 MICRO ATX 2
Specs and Initial Installation

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Table of Contents
User Guide...............................................................................................................- 1 -
EVGA X299 MICRO ATX 2......................................................................................- 1 -
Specs and Initial Installation.....................................................................................- 1 -
Before You Begin… .................................................................................................- 4 -
Parts NOT in the Kit............................................................................................................. - 5 -
Intentions of the Kit.............................................................................................................. - 5 -
Motherboard Specifications.................................................................................................. - 6 -
Unpacking and Parts Descriptions........................................................................................ - 8 -
EVGA X299 MICRO ATX 2 Motherboard LED reference................................................. - 9 -
EVGA X299 MICRO ATX 2 Motherboard Component Legend....................................... - 11 -
PCIe Slot Breakdown (Skylake-X)..................................................................................... - 22 -
M.2 Slot Breakdown (Skylake-X)...................................................................................... - 22 -
Preparing the Motherboard....................................................................................- 23 -
Installing the CPU .............................................................................................................. - 23 -
Installing the CPU Cooling Device .................................................................................... - 26 -
Installing System Memory.................................................................................................. - 26 -
Installing the I/O Shield and I/O Cover.............................................................................. - 27 -
Installing the Motherboard......................................................................................- 27 -
Securing the Motherboard into a System Case................................................................... - 29 -
Installing M.2 devices.............................................................................................- 31 -
Installing M.2 Key-M Socket 3 Devices ............................................................................ - 31 -
Incorrect M.2 Installation Example: ................................................................................... - 33 -
Installing M.2 Key-E Socket 1 Devices.............................................................................. - 34 -
Tested CPU and Memory ................................................................................................... - 34 -
Tested M.2 Key-M ............................................................................................................. - 35 -

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Tested M.2 Key-E............................................................................................................... - 35 -
Connecting Cables.............................................................................................................. - 36 -
Onboard Buttons................................................................................................................. - 46 -
First Boot................................................................................................................- 47 -
M.2 SSD, PCIe SSD, and NVMe SSD Installation steps ................................................... - 49 -
Internal RAID Controller.........................................................................................- 51 -
Fan Header DC and PWM setup ...........................................................................- 88 -
Setting Up SLI and PhysX......................................................................................- 92 -
Realtek HD Audio Manager ............................................................................................... - 97 -
Installing Drivers and Software ............................................................................- 121 -
Windows 10 Driver Installation........................................................................................ - 121 -
Warranty and Overclocking.............................................................................................. - 123 -
Troubleshooting ...................................................................................................- 124 -
Flashing the BIOS ............................................................................................................ - 124 -
Flashing the BIOS Without a CPU................................................................................... - 127 -
SSD / HDD is not detected ............................................................................................... - 128 -
System does not POST, and POST code indicator reads “C”........................................... - 131 -
System does not POST, and POST code indicator reads “55” or “b7”............................. - 132 -
System does not POST, and POST code indicator reads “d7” ......................................... - 132 -
Have a question not covered above, or want some online resources? .............................. - 133 -
POST Beep codes............................................................................................................. - 134 -
POST Port Debug LED .................................................................................................... - 135 -
POST Codes........................................................................................................- 136 -
EVGA Glossary of Terms ................................................................................................ - 141 -
Compliance Information.......................................................................................- 144 -

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Before You Begin…
The X299 MICRO ATX 2 is a reimagined mATX board designed to support
the power, performance, and cooling necessary to power Intel®’s most powerful
i9 CPUs for the X299 Chipset. With a 14 Phase power design, a thick VRM
heatsink/fan, two 8pin EPS power connectors, an additional 6pin PCIe power
connector, and external BCLK, this motherboard was born for the enthusiast
desiring maximum power in a small form factor. The X299 MICRO ATX 2
supports current storage standards, including M.2 NVMe, Intel®Optane™,
Intel®VROC and SATA 6Gb/s to give you blazing fast access to your data,
while Intel®Dual-Band WiFi/BT and an Intel®i219V NIC keeps you
connected. If you need a small motherboard capable of pure performance, the
X299 MICRO ATX 2 strikes the perfect balance for features and power.
Furthermore, this board is designed not ONLY for overclockers, but also for
gamers with NVIDIA®2-Way SLI, blazing-fast networking featuring an Intel
i219V Gigabit NIC, M.2 Key-M, 6 SATA 6Gbps ports and much more!
Lastly, a motherboard is only as good as its BIOS, and the EVGA X299
MICRO ATX 2 features an updated UEFI\BIOS GUI with a focus on
overclocking and functionality in a lean, straight-forward package. You won’t
need to be an expert to configure your motherboard, but if you are, you’ll find
features unavailable anywhere else.
Combining the best of current technology with the latest innovations, EVGA is
further refining motherboard performance!

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Parts NOT in the Kit
This kit contains all the hardware necessary to install and connect your new
EVGA X299 MICRO ATX 2 Motherboard. However, it does NOT contain the
following items, which must be purchased separately in order to make the
system fully functional and install an Operating System:
Intel®Socket 2066 Processor
DDR4 System Memory
CPU Cooling Device
PCI Express Graphics Card
Power Supply
Hard Drive or SSD
Keyboard / Mouse
Monitor
(Optional) Optical Drive
EVGA assumes you have purchased all the necessary parts needed to allow for
proper system functionality. For a full list of supported CPUs on this
motherboard, please visit www.evga.com/support/motherboard
Intentions of the Kit
When replacing a different model motherboard in a PC case, you may need to
reinstall your operating system, even though the current HDD/SSD may
already have one installed. Keep in mind, however, you may sometimes also
need to reinstall your OS after a RMA even if your motherboard remains the
same due to issues that occurred prior to replacing the motherboard.

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Motherboard Specifications
Size:
mATX form-factor of 9.6 inches x 9.6 inches (243.8x243.8mm)
Microprocessor support:
Intel®Socket 2066 Processor (Skylake-X only)
Operating Systems:
Supports Windows 10 64bit
System Memory support:
Supports Quad-Channel DDR4 up to 4000MHz+ (OC)
Supports up to 64GB of DDR4 memory.
USB 2.0 Ports:
4x from Intel®X299 PCH –4x internal via 2 FP headers
Supports transfer speeds up to 480 Mbps with full backwards compatibility
USB 3.1 Gen 1 Ports:
8x from Intel®X299 PCH –6x external, 2x internal via 1 FP headers
Supports transfer speeds up to 5Gbps with full backwards compatibility
USB 3.1 Gen 2 Ports:
2x from ASMedia ASM3142 –2x external Type-A
Supports transfer speeds up to 10Gbps with full backwards compatibility
SATA Ports:
Intel®X299 PCH Controller
6x SATA 3/6 Gbit/s (600 MB/s) data transfer rate
- Support for RAID0, RAID1, RAID5, AND RAID10
- Supports hot plug
Onboard Audio:
Realtek Audio (ALC1220)
Supports 7.1 Channel HD Audio with Optical Out
Onboard LAN:
1x Intel®i219V Gigabit (10/100/1000) Ethernet PHY
WiFi/BT:
Dual-Band Intel® AC-8265 WiFi + BT

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Power Functions:
Supports ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface)
Supports S0 (normal), S3 (suspend to RAM), S4 (Suspend to disk - depends
on OS), and S5 (soft - off)
PCIe Expansion Slots:
2x PCIe x16 slot 2x16*
1x PCIe x4 slot
*LANES PER SLOT DEPEND UPON YOUR CPU, PLEASE SEE
PAGE 22 FOR LANE BREAKDOWN BASED ON CPU.
PCIe 3.0 Support:
Low power consumption and power management features
SLI and Crossfire Support:
2-Way SLI
3-Way Crossfire
Additional Expansion Slots:
1x M.2 Key-M 80mm slot PCIe/NVMe
1x M.2 Key-E slot (contains WiFi/BT module)
Fan Headers:
6x 4-pin PWM controlled headers
ALL FAN HEADERS HAVE A MAXIMUM POWER LIMIT OF 1 AMP
@ 12 VOLTS (12 WATTS). EXCEEDING THIS LIMIT WILL CAUSE
IRREPARABLE DAMAGE TO THE BOARD.

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Unpacking and Parts Descriptions
The following accessories are included with the EVGA X299 MICRO ATX 2
Motherboard:

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EVGA X299 MICRO ATX 2 Motherboard LED reference
The EVGA X299 MICRO ATX 2 Motherboard has several LEDs indicating power,
connectivity, and activity. Below is the location of the LEDs and their function.

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1. +5VSB
a. White: Voltage present (Does not mean PSU is outputting in-spec, only
that this specific voltage is detected)
2. CATERR
a. CATERR stands for Catastrophic Error on the processor.
b. RED: Processor error has occurred.
c. Off: No error state detected in the CPU.
3. POST Code Indicator
a. After bootup, this will display the CPU temperature.
b. During boot, this LED will cycle through many different hexadecimal
POST codes with a range of 00-FF to indicate which aspect of the Power
On Self Test (POST) is currently running.
i. For list of POST Codes, please see Page 130.
1. 5VSB_LED 2. CATERR_LED 3. POSTCODE Indicator
LED Legend

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EVGA X299 MICRO ATX 2 Motherboard Component
Legend
The EVGA X299 MICRO ATX 2 Motherboard with the Intel®X299 and PCH
Chipset.
Figure 1 shows the motherboard and Figure 2 shows the back panel connectors
FIGURE 1. X299 MICRO ATX 2 Motherboard Layout

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**For a FULL description of the above legend, please see Page 14.
1. CPU Socket 2066 9. Intel Sata 6G RAID Ports 17. USB 2.0 Headers
2. Intel X299 Southbridge 10. M.2 Socket 3 Key-M 80mm 18. Front Panel Audio Connector
3. Fan Headers (1 amp DC/PWM) 11. PCI-E Slot 16x/8x 19. Front Panel Connectors
4. RBG LED Controller Header 12. PCI-E Slot 4x 20. CMOS Battery
5. DDR4 Memory DIMM Slots 1-4 13. Power Button 21. PC Speaker
6. 24-pin ATX power connector 14. Reset Button 22. VROC Header
7. 8 pin EPS Connectors 15. Debug LED / CPU Temp Monitor 23. Rear Panel Connectors (Figure 2)
8. Supplemental PCIe 6pin Power Connector 16. USB 3.1 Gen 1 Headers
Component Legend

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Figure 2. Chassis Rear Panel Connectors
Note: The USB 3.1 Gen1 port + BIOS Flash shown above may be used to flash the
BIOS, even without an installed CPU. For further information about flashing
your BIOS using this port, please see Page 119.
1. BIOS/CMOS Reset 4. USB 3.1 Gen 1 Port + BIOS Flash 7. Optical Out
2. Intel® AC-8265 WiFi/BT 5. Intel i219V NIC 8. Analog Audio Jacks
3. USB 3.1 Gen 1 Ports 6. USB 3.1 Gen 2
I/O Hub
Speed/Link LED Status Description Activity LED Status Description
Orange 1000 Mbps data rate Off No Data Transmission
Green 100 Mbps data rate Blinking (Green) Data Transmission
Off 10 Mbps data rate
Blue Line in Line In Line in * Rear Speaker Out
Pink Mic In Mic In Mic In Mic In
Black Side Speaker Out Side Speaker Out Side Speaker Out
Orange Center/Sub Out Center/Sub Out
*7.1 output is enabled via Realtek Software from within Windows
3.5mm Audio Jack Legend
Analog Audio
Port Breakdown
2/2.1 Channel
4.0/4.1 Channel
5.1 Channel
7.1 Channel
Green
Front Speaker Out/
Front Speaker + Sub
Front Speaker Out/
Front Speaker + Sub
Front Speaker
Out
Front Speaker Out

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Component Legend Descriptions
1. CPU Socket 2066
This is the interface for the Central Processing Unit (CPU), and supports Core™
X-Series i7 and i9 models compatible with the Intel®LGA2066 Socket, based
on Skylake-X architecture.
2. Intel®X299 PCH (Southbridge)
The Platform Controller Hub (PCH) handles the role that was previously held
by the South Bridge. On X299 motherboards, the CPU and PCH are directly
linked via DMI 3.0, which uses 4 lanes to provide transfer rates at up to 8 GT/s
per lane. From there, the PCH allocates bandwidth to smaller PCIe slots and
devices, such as M.2 Key-E, USB, audio, etc. In simplified terms, the PCH
works as a hub for peripherals that are less bandwidth-intensive.
3. PWM Fan Headers
4-pin fan headers that control the fan speed based on a configurable curve or
static percentage. PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation) works by pulsing power to
the fan at a constant rate and sending the RPM signal to the fan’s controller via
a Sense cable, rather than adjusting fan speed by increasing and decreasing
voltage. This method is preferable because it eliminates voltage-based fan stall
points. Please see Page 85 for more in-depth PWM breakdown and PWM
controls within BIOS/UEFI.
4. RGB LED Controller Header
The RBG header is a 4 pin header that allows a software based control within
windows for RGB devices via ELEET-X. Please see Page 40 for control
specifics.
5. DDR4 Memory Slots
The memory slots support up to four 288-pin DDR4 DIMMs in Quad-Channel
mode with Skylake-X processors.
Skylake-X processors are certified for Quad-Channel mode, and will be enabled
only upon using four sticks of supported memory, according to the installation
guide on Page 26. Skylake-X supports up to 64GB (4x16GB) up to
4000MHz+. 32GB and larger RDIMM modules are *NOT* supported on this
platform. Triple/Dual-Channel kit configurations are also possible but provide
reduced potential memory bandwidth of Skylake-X processors.

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Using 1, 2, or 3 DIMMs may significantly lower performance depending on the
application; for best use, use a 4 stick kit of RAM, subject to your CPU’s
limitations noted above.
The speeds listed above cannot be guaranteed because Intel®only certifies the
speed of the memory controller up to 2667MHz Skylake-X platforms and all
speeds above Intel®’s certified speeds require overclocking, including XMP
automatic operation.
6. 24-pin ATX power connector
The main power for the motherboard is located on the right side of the board
and perpendicular to the PCB; this is also described as a “Vertical” connector
(See Page 36 for more specifics to the connector itself, and associated
wiring/pinouts). The 24-pin connector is directional and the connector needs
the tab on the socket to line up with the release clip located on the 24-pin
connector from the power supply. This connector pulls the bulk of the power
for all components; other connectors, such as CPU +12V EPS, PCIe (video
card AND motherboard sides), have been added to reduce the load and increase
longevity due to wiring and trace limitations.
7. Dual 8-pin EPS Connectors
The +12V EPS is dual dedicated power input for the CPU (See Page 37 for
more specifics to the connector itself, and associated wiring/pinouts). Carefully
choose the correct power cable by consulting with the installation manual for
your power supply. This connector is designed only to work with an EPS or
CPU cable. System builders may make the mistake of plugging in a PCIe 8-pin
or 6+2-pin connector, which will prevent the board from POSTing and
possibly short or damage the board. Although the cables appear similar, they
are wired differently and attaching a PCIe cable to an EPS connector may cause
damage to the motherboard.
Alternatively, if no power cable is connected or detected, the system will not
POST and will hang at POST code “C.”
For optimal performance with Intel®Core™X-series i9 Skylake-X processors,
BOTH connectors must be plugged in with CPU power cables.
8. Supplemental PCIe 6-pin Power Connector
There is a 6-pin PCIe connector at the bottom of the motherboard (See Page 36
for more specifics to the connector itself, and associated wiring/pinouts). This
connector provides dedicated power to the PCIe x16 slots, augmenting the
+12V power provided by the 24-pin and the GPU directly.

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This is optional for a single card solution, but is recommended for SLI, CFX,
and dual-processor video cards.
9. Intel®SATA 6Gbit/s Ports
The Intel®X299 PCH has a 6-port SATA 3/6 Gbit/s controller (See Page 44
for specifics on the connectors). This controller is backwards compatible with
SATA and SATA II devices, and supports SSDs, HDDs and various types of
optical devices (CDROM, DVDROM, BD-ROM, etc). The controller also
supports NCQ, TRIM, hot swap capability (provided the proper HDD/SSD
bays/racks are installed), and RAID levels 0/1/5/10.
10. M.2 Socket 3 Key-M 80mm
M.2 is an SSD standard, which uses up to four PCIe lanes and utilizes Gen3
speeds. Most popularly paired with NVMe SSDs, this standard offers
substantially faster transfer speeds and seek time than SATA interface
standards. All M.2 devices are designed to connect via a card-bus style
connector and be bolted into place and powered by the connector, rather than
by a dedicated data cable and power cable.
This socket will support Key-M devices of 80mm, 60mm, and 42mm length.
This connector can utilize only PCIe/NVMe-based M.2 SSDs.
11. PCIe Slot x16/x8*
PCIe x16/x8 slots are primarily used for video cards. These full-length slots
will provide 8 or 16 lanes of bandwidth to a full-size card, and are backwards-
compatible with x8, x4, and x1-length cards.
Skylake-X Socket LGA2066 processors have 44 or 28 PCIe lanes available for
routing.
12. PCIe Slot x4*
PCIe x4 slot PE5 uses up to 4 Gen 3 lanes from the PCH. This slot is typically
used for sound cards, WiFi, USB, LAN or other peripheral cards.
Using this slot will have *NO EFFECT* on the bandwidth or throughput of
the x16 slots used for SLI because this slot uses only PCH bandwidth.
This slot supports Intel® Optane™ devices; Intel®Optane™M.2 devices may be
used in this slot, but will require a PCIe to M.2 adapter (not included).
13. Power Button
This is an onboard power button, and may be used in place of, or in
conjunction with, a front panel power button wired to the board.

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Benching systems, or test benches before final assembly, are best served by
using the onboard power because it removes the need to wire a Power/Reset
button or cross posts with a screwdriver, which is a semi-common practice.
This button provides a safer and easier option than jumpering the Power posts.
14. Reset Button
This is an onboard system reset button, and may be used in place of, or in
conjunction with, a front panel system reset button wired to the board.
Benching systems, or test benches before final assembly, are best served by
using the onboard power because it removes the need to wire a Power/Reset
button or cross posts with a screwdriver, which is a semi-common practice.
This button provides a safer and easier option than jumpering the Power posts.
15. Debug LED / CPU Temp
This is a two-digit POST code reader, which displays in sets of 7-digit LED.
The display can be configured to show data in regular decimal format, or
hexadecimal, which means the characters available (when working as intended)
are 0-9, A-F and has a cap of 255 characters.
During POST, the LEDs will display the various POST codes as they cycle
through the Power On Self-Test. The POST codes are listed in the
troubleshooting section on Page 130.
After the system boots, it will display the temperature in Celsius. This
temperature is specifically for the CPU socket, which will typically read slightly
higher than a given CPU core. To read this temperature in Fahrenheit, take the
value in Celsius, multiply by 9/5 (or 1.8) and add 32.
16. USB 3.1 Gen 1 Header
The USB 3.1 Gen 1 headers are used to connect additional USB interface plugs
to the motherboard; these headers are most often used to connect the
motherboard to the chassis to enable the USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports on the chassis.
These will function the same as the USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports found on the
motherboard’s hardwired I/O hub, but the Header can be used to attach to
front panel USB, auxiliary ports that mount in the card slots, and also some
devices that directly connect to the header.
USB 3.1 Gen 1 standard available current is 900mA @ 5V for unpowered
devices. If your USB device requires more power than this, it is recommended
to attach a powered USB Hub.
USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A (found on the I/O Hub) shares the power limit of USB
3.1 Gen 1 at 900mA @ 5V.

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17. USB 2.0 Headers
The USB 2.0 headers are used to connect additional USB interface plugs to the
motherboard; these headers are most often used to connect the motherboard to
the chassis to enable the USB 2.0 ports on the chassis. These will function the
same as the USB 2.0 ports found on the motherboard’s hardwired I/O hub, but
these can be used to attach to front panel USB, auxiliary ports that mount in the
card slots, and also some devices that directly connect to the header.
USB 2.0 standard is 500mA @ 5V per port (header total is 1000mA) for
unpowered devices. If your USB device requires more power than this, it is
recommended to attach a powered USB Hub.
18. Front Panel Audio Connector
This is a motherboard header, which is used to plug in the audio cable
originating from most PC chassis to allow audio to be recorded from or played
through the audio connectors on the chassis. This header has a connector that
looks similar to USB2 and will use the standard “HD Audio” jack. Some
systems may have two headers: one labeled HD Audio, and one labeled AC’97
–this header is not compatible with AC’97.
19. Front Panel Connectors
The Front panel connectors are the four main chassis connections. These
include the Power Switch, Power LED, Reset Switch, and HDD LED. The
Power and Reset switches are both designed to use “Momentary Switches,”
rather than “Latching Switches,” which means the connection between the two
posts needs to be made just briefly for it to work, as opposed to being held in
place. This is why the Power and Reset switches can be triggered with a screw
driver by simultaneously touching the + and - posts.
Power LED will power on with the system, indicating the system is on and can
blink with CPU activity.
HDD LED will blink during access to the SATA ports. M.2 SSDs will also
activate this LED.
20. CMOS Battery
The +3V CMOS battery backup provides uninterruptable power to the
BIOS/UEFI to keep all of the settings; otherwise, each boot would behave like
you just reset the BIOS. These batteries typically last several years and rarely
need to be replaced.

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21. PC Speaker
This is a small mono low-fidelity speaker permanently attached to the
motherboard used mainly for debugging purposes. A POST beep may indicate
a successful POST, various tones for USB initialization, and other beeps to
indicate an issue during the post process. Please see Page 128 for more details.
22. VROC Header
VROC stands for Virtual RAID On CPU. The VROC header works in
conjunction with Intel®PCIe SSDs. The header is used to provide an Intel®
hardware key that will unlock advanced RAID functions, such as RAID5.
SATA RAID does not require a VROC key.
At the time of print, VROC is only bootable with Intel®SSDs. VROC is only
compatible with Core™X-series Skylake-X CPUs.
23. Rear Panel IO (Figure 2)
This is the section referred to as the I/O Hub. This panel contains the
hardwired USB, Sound, and Ethernet connections. Please see Page 13 for a
component level breakdown.
CMOS Reset Button (On I/O Panel)
This button has two main uses: the first is standard practice to clear BIOS and
power on before updating the BIOS, and the second is standard practice when
troubleshooting instances when the motherboard fails to POST, such as after
upgrading RAM or CPU, installing new hardware, a failed overclock, etc. This
button provides a much faster means of resetting than the previous method of
removing power from the board, removing the CMOS battery, and discharging
power to the board. In rare occasions the older method can help; pressing the
clear CMOS button will normally allow you and your system back into the
default BIOS.
M.2 Socket 1 Key-E 32mm
M.2 Key-E is used for WiFi and Bluetooth cards. Key-E and Key-M
connectors are mechanically different, meaning that devices are not
interchangeable between sockets.
* There are two numeric references for PCIe: one is mechanical, which is the actual slot-
length footprint, and the second is electrical, which is a reference of how many PCIe
lanes are routed to the slot.
Because PCI Express is designed to be a universal architecture, you can install x1 cards,
such as sound cards or USB controllers into an x16 slot. Many types of cards can use

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different amounts of PCIe lanes, while some applications use only certain parts of a
card, such as compute apps that allow a card to run off a single PCIe lane. This is why
there are x16 mechanical slots with an x1 electrical PCIe lane. Using the entire length of
a PCIe slot is unnecessary, nor does it cause an adverse effect to use a shorter form-
factor bus card in a slot that physically can hold a larger form-factor bus card.