MSI MEG Z590 UNIFY-X User manual

1
Quick Start
Quick Start
Thank you for purchasing the MSI® MEG Z590 UNIFY-X 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® LGA1200 CPU
CPU Fan
DDR4 Memory
Graphics Card
SATA Hard Disk Drive SATA DVD Drive
Phillips Screwdriver
Chassis
Power Supply Unit
A Package of Screws
Thermal Paste

2Quick Start
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.

3
Quick Start
Case stand-off notification
Before installing the motherboard into the case, install first the necessary mounting
stand-off required for a motherboard on the mounting plate in the case.
To prevent damage to the motherboard, any unnecessary mounting stand-off between
the motherboard circuits and the computer case is prohibited. The Case standoff keep
out zone signs will be marked on the backside of motherboard (as shown below) to
serve as a warning to user.

4Quick Start
Installing a Processor
⚽
https://youtu.be/4ce91YC3Oww
1
2
3
6
45
7
8
9

5
Quick Start
Installing DDR4 memory
http://youtu.be/T03aDrJPyQs
⚽
DIMMB1 DIMMA1
DIMMB1

6Quick Start
HDD LED
RESET SW
Connecting the Front Panel Header
http://youtu.be/DPELIdVNZUI
JFP1
HDD LED HDD LED -
HDD LED +
POWER LED -
POWER LED +
POWER LED
1
2 10
9
+
+
+- -- -
+
Power LED
HDD LED Reset Switch
Reserved
Power Switch
JFP1
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
RESET SW
POWER SW
POWER LED+
POWER LED-
HDD LED
⚽

7
Quick Start
Installing the Motherboard
1
2
https://youtu.be/wWI6Qt51Wnc
⚽
Torque:
3 kgf·cm*
*3 kgf·cm
= 0.3 N·m
= 2.6 lbf·in

8Quick Start
Connecting the Power Connectors
http://youtu.be/gkDYyR_83I4
ATX_PWR1
CPU_PWR1 PCIE_PWR1
⚽
CPU_PWR2

9
Quick Start
Installing SATA Drives
http://youtu.be/RZsMpqxythc
1
23
4
5
⚽

10 Quick Start
1
Installing a Graphics Card
http://youtu.be/mG0GZpr9w_A
2
3
4
5
6
⚽

11
Quick Start
Connecting Peripheral Devices

12 Quick Start
Power On
4
3
12

13
Contents
Contents
Quick Start ............................................................................................................. 1
Preparing Tools and Components.......................................................................... 1
Safety Information.................................................................................................. 2
Case stand-off notification ..................................................................................... 3
Installing a Processor ............................................................................................ 4
Installing DDR4 memory ........................................................................................ 5
Connecting the Front Panel Header ...................................................................... 6
Installing the Motherboard..................................................................................... 7
Connecting the Power Connectors ........................................................................ 8
Installing SATA Drives............................................................................................ 9
Installing a Graphics Card.................................................................................... 10
Connecting Peripheral Devices............................................................................ 11
Power On .............................................................................................................. 12
Specifications....................................................................................................... 16
JCORSAIR1 Connector Specification.................................................................... 23
Package contents ................................................................................................ 24
Block Diagram .................................................................................................... 25
Rear I/O Panel ..................................................................................................... 26
LAN Port LED Status Table .................................................................................. 26
Audio Ports Configuration.................................................................................... 26
Realtek Audio Console ......................................................................................... 27
Installing Antennas............................................................................................... 29
Overview of Components .................................................................................... 30
CPU Socket ........................................................................................................... 32
DIMM Slots............................................................................................................ 33
PCI_E1~4: PCIe Expansion Slots.......................................................................... 34
M2_1~4: M.2 Slots (Key M) ................................................................................... 36
SATA1~6: SATA 6Gb/s Connectors....................................................................... 38
JFP1, JFP2: Front Panel Connectors................................................................... 39
JAUD1: Front Audio Connector ............................................................................ 39
CPU_PWR1~2, ATX_PWR1, PCIE_PWR1: Power Connectors ............................. 40
JSLOW1: Slow Mode Booting Jumper.................................................................. 41
JLN1~2: Low Temperature Booting Jumper ....................................................... 41
JOC_FS1: Safe Boot Jumper................................................................................ 42
JOC_RT1: OC Retry Jumper ................................................................................. 42
JTBT1: Thunderbolt Add-on Card Connector ...................................................... 42

14 Contents
V-Check Points Lite .............................................................................................. 43
T_SEN1: Thermal Sensor Connectors................................................................. 43
JDASH1 : Tuning Controller connector................................................................ 44
JUSB4: USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C Connector............................................................ 46
JUSB3: USB 3.2 Gen 1 Connector ........................................................................ 46
JUSB1~2: USB 2.0 Connectors............................................................................. 47
JTPM1: TPM Module Connector........................................................................... 47
CPU_FAN1, PUMP_FAN1, SYS_FAN1~6: Fan Connectors.................................. 48
JCI1: Chassis Intrusion Connector....................................................................... 49
POWER1, RESET1: Power Button, Reset Button ................................................. 49
JBAT1: Clear CMOS (Reset BIOS) Jumper........................................................... 50
BIOS_SW1: Multi-BIOS Switch ............................................................................. 50
JRGB1: RGB LED connector................................................................................. 51
JRAINBOW1~2: Addressable RGB LED connectors ............................................ 52
JCORSAIR1: CORSAIR Connector ........................................................................ 53
Onboard LEDs...................................................................................................... 54
EZ Debug LED....................................................................................................... 54
XMP LED ............................................................................................................... 54
Debug Code LED................................................................................................... 54
Hexadecimal Character Table.............................................................................. 55
Boot Phases.......................................................................................................... 55
Debug Code LED Table......................................................................................... 55
ACPI States Codes................................................................................................ 59
CPU Temperature................................................................................................. 59
Installing OS, Drivers & MSI Center.................................................................... 60
Installing Windows® 10......................................................................................... 60
Installing Drivers .................................................................................................. 60
MSI Center............................................................................................................ 60
UEFI BIOS............................................................................................................. 61
BIOS Setup............................................................................................................ 62
Entering BIOS Setup............................................................................................. 62
BIOS User Guide ................................................................................................... 62
Resetting BIOS...................................................................................................... 63
Updating BIOS....................................................................................................... 63
Nahimic 3 ............................................................................................................. 65
Installation and Update ........................................................................................ 65
Audio Tab .............................................................................................................. 65
Microphone Tab.................................................................................................... 66

15
Contents
Sound Tracker Tab ............................................................................................... 67
Settings Tab.......................................................................................................... 67
RAID Configuration.............................................................................................. 68
Intel® Optane™ Memory Configuration.............................................................. 69
Troubleshooting ................................................................................................. 70

16 Specifications
Specifications
CPU
∙Supports 10th Gen Intel® Core ™ Processors, 11th Gen
Intel® Core ™ Processors, Pentium® Gold and Celeron®
Processors*
∙Processor socket LGA1200
* Please go to intel.com for compatibility information
Chipset Intel® Z590 Chipset
Memory
∙2x DDR4 memory slots, support up to 64GB*
∙Supports 1R 2133/ 2666/ 2933 MHz for 10th Gen Intel®
CPU (by JEDEC & POR)*
∙Supports 1R 2133/ 2666/ 2933/ 3200 MHz for 11th Gen
Intel® CPU (by JEDEC & POR)*
∙Max overclocking frequency:
▪1DPC 1R Max speed up to 5600 MHz
▪1DPC 2R Max speed up to 4800+ MHz
∙Supports Dual-Channel mode
∙Supports non-ECC mode, un-buffered memory
∙Supports Intel® Extreme Memory Profile (XMP)
* Please refer www.msi.com for more information on compatible memory.
Expansion Slot
∙1x PCIe x16 slot (PCI_E2, from CPU)
▪Supports up to PCIe 4.0 x16 with11th Gen CPU*
▪Supports up to PCIe 3.0 x16 with10th Gen CPU*
∙1x PCIe 3.0 x4 slot (PCI_E4, from Z590 chipset)**
∙2x PCIe 3.0 x1 slots (from Z590 chipset)
* PCI_E2 will only support x8 speed, when M2_2 and M2_3 are from CPU by BIOS
selection.
** PCI_E4 and M2_4 share the same bandwidth, if you want to use both of them
simultaneously, the PCI_E4 will only support x1 speed and the M2_4 will only
support x2 speed. But if you want to install and enable the graphics card in
PCI_E4 slot, the M2_4 slot should be empty.
Multi-GPU ∙Supports 2-Way AMD® CrossFire™ Technology
Onboard Graphics
∙1x HDMI 2.0b with HDR port, supports a maximum
resolution of 4K 60Hz */**
* Available for the processor with integrated graphics.
** Graphics specifications may vary depending on the CPU installed.
Continued on next page

17
Specifications
Continued from previous page
Storage
∙6x SATA 6Gb/s ports (from Z590 chipset)
∙4x M.2 slots (Key M)
▪M2_1 (from CPU)
▫Available only on 11th Gen Intel® CPU
▫Supports up to PCIe 4.0 x4
▫Supports 2242/ 2260/ 2280/ 22110 storage devices
▪M2_2* & M2_3** slots
▫Support up to PCIe 3.0 x4 and SATA 6Gb/s (from
Z590 chipset, default)***
▫Support up to PCIe 4.0 x4 (from CPU, by BIOS
selection), it is available only on 11th Gen Intel® CPU
▫M2_2 supports 2242/ 2260/ 2280 storage devices
▫M2_3 supports 2242/ 2260/ 2280/ 22110 storage
devices
▪M2_4 slot (from Z590 chipset)***/****
▫Supports up to PCIe 3.0 x4, 2242/ 2260/ 2280 storage
devices
∙Supports Intel® Smart Response Technology for Intel®
Core™ processors
* SATA2 will be unavailable when installing M.2 SATA SSD in the M2_2 slot.
** SATA5 & SATA6 will be unavailable when installing M.2 SATA/ PCIe SSD in
the M2_3 slot.
*** Intel® Optane™ Memory Ready. Before using Intel® Optane™ memory
modules, please ensure that you have updated the drivers and BIOS to the latest
version from MSI website.
**** PCI_E4 and M2_4 share the same bandwidth, if you want to use both of
them simultaneously, the PCI_E4 will only support x1 speed and the M2_4 will
only support x2 speed. But if you want to install and enable the graphics card in
PCI_E4 slot, the M2_4 slot should be empty.
RAID
∙Supports RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5 and RAID 10 for SATA
storage devices
∙Supports RAID 0 and RAID 1 for M.2 NVMe storage devices
Continued on next page

18 Specifications
Continued from previous page
USB
∙Intel® Z590 Chipset
▪1x USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 20Gbps Type-C port on the back
panel
▪2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps ports (1 Type-A port on the
back panel and 1 Type-C internal connector)
▪10x USB 3.2 Gen 1 5Gbps ports (8 Type-A ports on the
back panel, 2 ports are available through internal USB
3.2 Gen 1 connector)
▪2x USB 2.0 ports on the back panel
∙Hub-GL850G
▪4x USB 2.0 ports through internal USB 2.0 connectors
Audio
Realtek® ALC4080 Codec
∙7.1-Channel High Definition Audio
∙Supports S/PDIF output
LAN 1x Intel® I225-V 2.5Gbps LAN controller
Wireless LAN &
Bluetooth®
Intel® WiFi 6E AX210
∙The Wireless module is pre-installed in the M.2 (Key-E)
slot
∙Supports MU-MIMO TX/RX, 2.4GHz/ 5GHz/ 6GHz*
(160MHz) up to 2.4Gbps
∙Supports 802.11a/ b/ g/ n/ ac/ ax
∙Supports Bluetooth® 5.2**, FIPS, FISMA
* Wi-Fi 6E 6GHz may depend on every country’s regulations and will be ready in
WIN10 21H1.
** Bluetooth 5.2 will be ready in WIN10 21H1.
Continued on next page

19
Specifications
Continued from previous page
Internal Connectors
∙1x 24-pin ATX main power connector
∙2x 8-pin ATX 12V power connectors
∙1x 6-pin ATX PCIE power connector
∙6x SATA 6Gb/s connectors
∙4x M.2 slots (M-Key)
∙1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps Type-C port
∙1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 5Gbps connector (supports additional 2
USB 3.2 Gen 1 5Gbps ports)
∙2x USB 2.0 connectors (supports additional 4 USB 2.0
ports)
∙1x 4-pin CPU fan connector
∙1x 4-pin water-pump fan connector
∙6x 4-pin system fan connectors
∙1x Front panel audio connector
∙2x System panel connectors
∙1x Chassis Intrusion connector
∙1x 2-pin Thermal Sensors connector
∙1xTPM module connector
∙1x Tuning Controller connector
∙1x TBT connector (Supports RTD3)
Jumper
∙1x Slow mode jumper
∙2x Low Temperature Booting jumpers
∙1x Clear CMOS jumper
∙1x Safe boot jumper
∙1x OC Retry jumper
LED Features
∙1x 2-Digit Debug Code LED
∙4x EZ Debug LED
∙1x 4-pin RGB LED connector
∙2x 3-pin RAINBOW LED connectors
∙1x 3-pin CORSAIR LED connector
Internal Buttons ∙1x Power button
∙1x Reset button
Switches ∙1x Multi-BIOS switch
Continued on next page

20 Specifications
Continued from previous page
Back Panel
Connectors
∙1x Clear CMOS button
∙1x Flash BIOS button
∙2x USB 2.0 Type-A ports
∙1x HDMI port
∙8 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 5Gbps Type-A ports
∙1 x LAN (RJ45) port
∙1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps Type-A ports
∙1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 20Gbps Type-C ports
∙2 x Wi-Fi Antenna connectors
∙5 x OFC audio jacks
∙1 x Optical S/PDIF Out connector
I/O Controller NUVOTON NCT6687D-M Controller Chip
Hardware Monitor
∙CPU/ System/ Chipset temperature detection
∙CPU/ System/ Pump fan speed detection
∙CPU/ System/ Pump fan speed control
Form Factor ∙ATX Form Factor
∙12 in. x 9.6 in. (30.5 cm x 24.4 cm)
BIOS Features
∙Dual BIOS
∙2x 256 Mb flash
∙UEFI AMI BIOS
∙ACPI 6.2, SMBIOS 3.0
∙Multi-language
Continued on next page