MSI Z170A KRAIT GAMING User manual

1
Unpacking
Unpacking
Thank you for buying the MSI®Z170A KRAIT GAMING/ Z170 KRAIT GAMING
motherboard. Check to make sure your motherboard box contains the following items.
If something is missing, contact your dealer as soon as possible.
SATA Cable SLI Bridge
Connector
Drivers & Utilities
Disc
Motherboard User
Guide
I/O Shield
Motherboard

2Safety Information
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
Intel®LGA 1151 CPU
DDR4 Memory
Graphics Card
SATA Hard Disk Drive
SATA DVD Drive
A Package of Screws
Phillips Screwdriver
Chassis
Power Supply Unit
CPU Fan Thermal Paste
Quick Start
Preparing Tools and Components

4Quick Start
http://youtu.be/bf5La099urI
Installing a Processor
1
2
3
6
45
7
8
9

5
Quick Start
1
1
2
2
3
3
Installing DDR4 memory
http://youtu.be/T03aDrJPyQs

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

7
Quick Start
Installing the Motherboard
1
2

8Quick Start
Installing SATA Drives
http://youtu.be/RZsMpqxythc 1
2
3
4
5

9
Quick Start
1
4
5
Installing a Graphics Card
http://youtu.be/mG0GZpr9w_A
2
3

10 Quick Start
Connecting Peripheral Devices

11
Quick Start
Connecting the Power Connectors
JPWR1 JPWR2
http://youtu.be/gkDYyR_83I4

12 Quick Start
Power On
1
4
2
3

13
Contents
Contents
Unpacking ................................................................................................................1
Safety Information...................................................................................................2
Quick Start................................................................................................................3
Preparing Tools and Components....................................................................... 3
Installing a Processor .......................................................................................... 4
Installing DDR4 memory...................................................................................... 5
Connecting the Front Panel Header.................................................................... 6
Installing the Motherboard................................................................................... 7
Installing SATA Drives......................................................................................... 8
Installing a Graphics Card ................................................................................... 9
Connecting Peripheral Devices ......................................................................... 10
Connecting the Power Connectors.................................................................... 11
Power On........................................................................................................... 12
Specifications ........................................................................................................15
Block Diagram ......................................................................................................20
Z170A KRAIT GAMING..................................................................................... 20
Z170 KRAIT GAMING ....................................................................................... 21
Rear I/O Panel ........................................................................................................22
LAN Port LED Status Table............................................................................... 22
Audio Ports Configuration.................................................................................. 22
Realtek HD Audio Manager............................................................................... 23
Overview of Components ....................................................................................25
CPU Socket ....................................................................................................... 27
DIMM Slots ........................................................................................................ 28
PCI_E1~6, PCI1: PCIe/ PCI Expansion Slots.................................................... 29
SATA1~6: SATA 6Gb/s Connectors.................................................................. 31
SE1_21: SATAe Connector............................................................................... 31
M2_1: M.2 Slots................................................................................................. 32
JPWR1~2: Power Connectors........................................................................... 33
JFP1, JFP2: Front Panel Connectors................................................................ 34
JAUD1: Front Audio Connector......................................................................... 34
JTPM1: TPM Module Connector ....................................................................... 34
JUSB3: USB 3.1 Gen1 Connector..................................................................... 35
JUSB1~2: USB 2.0 Connectors......................................................................... 35
CPUFAN1~2, SYSFAN1~3: Fan Connectors.................................................... 36
JCI1: Chassis Intrusion Connector.................................................................... 37

14 Contents
JBAT1: Clear CMOS (Reset BIOS) Jumper ...................................................... 38
EZ Debug LED: Debug LED indicators ............................................................ 38
BIOS Setup.............................................................................................................39
Entering BIOS Setup ......................................................................................... 39
Resetting BIOS.................................................................................................. 40
Updating BIOS................................................................................................... 40
EZ Mode ............................................................................................................ 41
Advanced Mode ................................................................................................ 43
SETTINGS......................................................................................................... 44
Advanced........................................................................................................... 44
Boot ................................................................................................................... 50
Security.............................................................................................................. 50
Save & Exit........................................................................................................ 52
OC ..................................................................................................................... 53
M-FLASH........................................................................................................... 60
OC PROFILE..................................................................................................... 61
HARDWARE MONITOR.................................................................................... 62
Software Description............................................................................................63
Installing Windows®7/ 8.1/ 10 ........................................................................... 63
Installing Drivers ................................................................................................ 63
Installing Utilities................................................................................................ 63
COMMAND CENTER........................................................................................ 64
LIVE UPDATE 6 ................................................................................................ 68
GAMING APP.................................................................................................... 70
M-CLOUD.......................................................................................................... 74
RAMDISK .......................................................................................................... 77
GAMING LAN MANAGER................................................................................. 78
Intel®Extreme Tuning Utility .............................................................................. 80
RAID Configuration ..............................................................................................81
Using Intel®Rapid Storage Technology Option ROM ....................................... 81
Degraded RAID Array........................................................................................ 84
Troubleshooting ...................................................................................................86
Regulatory Notices ...............................................................................................87

15
Speci󰄈cations
Specifications
CPU Supports 6th Gen Intel®Core™i3/i5/i7 processors, and Intel®
Pentium®and Celeron®processors for Socket LGA1151
Chipset Intel® Z170 Express Chipset
Memory
●4x DDR4 memory slots, support up to 64GB
▶Supports DDR4 3600(OC)/ 3200(OC)/ 3000(OC)/
2800(OC)/ 2600(OC)/ 2400/ 2133 MHz
●Dual channel memory architecture
●Supports ECC, un-buffered memory
●Supports Intel®Extreme Memory Profile (XMP)
Expansion Slots
●3x PCIe 3.0 x16 slots (support x16/x0/x4 or x8/x8/x4
modes)
●3x PCIe 3.0 x1 slots
●1x PCI slot
Onboard Graphics
●1x HDMI™port, support a maximum resolution of
4096x2160@24Hz, 2560x1600@60Hz
●1x DVI-D port, support a maximum resolution of
1920x1200@60Hz
Multi-GPU ●Supports 3-Way AMD®CrossFire™ Technology
●Supports 2-Way NVIDIA®SLI™ Technology
Storage
Intel®Z170 Express Chipset
●6x SATA 6Gb/s ports* (2 ports reserved for SATA Express
port)
●1x M.2 slot*
▶Supports PCIe 3.0 x4 and SATA 6Gb/s standards,
4.2cm/ 6cm/ 8cm length M.2 SSD cards
▶Supports PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe Mini-SAS SSD with Turbo
U.2 Host Card**
●1x SATAe port (PCIe 3.0 x2)***
●Supports Intel®Smart Response Technology for Intel
Core™ processors
* SATA5 and SATA6 ports will be unavailable when installing the M.2 module
in M.2 slot.
** The Turbo U.2 Host Card is not included, please purchase separately.
*** SATAe port is backward compatible with SATA. SATA and SATAe ports
maximum support 6x SATAs or 1x SATAe + 4x SATAs.
Continued on next page

16 Speci󰄈cations
Continued from previous page
RAID
Intel®Z170 Express Chipset
●Supports RAID 0, RAID1, RAID 5 and RAID 10 for SATA
storage devices
USB
●ASMedia®ASM1142 Chipset (Z170A KRAIT GAMING)
▶2x USB 3.1 Gen2 (SuperSpeed USB 10Gbps) ports on
the back panel
●Intel®Z170 Express Chipset
▶6x USB 3.1 Gen1 (SuperSpeed USB) ports (4 ports on
the back panel, 2 ports available through the internal
USB 3.1 Gen1 connector)
▶6x USB 2.0 (High-speed USB) ports (2 ports on the back
panel, 4 ports available through the internal USB 2.0
connectors) (Z170A KRAIT GAMING)
▶8x USB 2.0 (High-speed USB) ports (4 ports on the back
panel, 4 ports available through the internal USB 2.0
connectors) (Z170 KRAIT GAMING)
Audio
●Realtek®ALC1150 Codec
●7.1-Channel High Definition Audio
●Supports S/PDIF output
LAN 1x Intel®I219-V Gigabit LAN controller
Back Panel
Connectors
●1x PS/2 keyboard/ mouse port
●2x USB 2.0 ports (Z170A KRAIT GAMING)
●4x USB 2.0 ports (Z170 KRAIT GAMING)
●1x DVI-D port
●2x USB 3.1 Gen2 ports (Z170A KRAIT GAMING)
●4x USB 3.1 Gen1 ports
●1x HDMI™port
●1x LAN (RJ45) port
●1x Optical S/PDIF OUT connector
●5x OFC audio jacks
Continued on next page

17
Speci󰄈cations
Continued from previous page
Internal Connectors
●1x 24-pin ATX main power connector
●1x 8-pin ATX 12V power connector
●6x SATA 6Gb/s connectors (2 ports reserved for SATA
Express port)
●1x SATAe connector
●2x USB 2.0 connectors (supports additional 4 USB 2.0
ports)
●1x USB 3.1 Gen1 connector (supports additional 2 USB
3.1 Gen1 ports)
●2x 4-pin CPU fan connectors
●3x 4-pin system fan connectors
●1x Front panel audio connector
●2x Front panel connectors
●1x TPM module connector
●1x Chassis Intrusion connector
●1x Clear CMOS jumper
I/O Controller NUVOTON NCT6793 Controller Chip
Hardware Monitor
●CPU/System temperature detection
●CPU/System fan speed detection
●CPU/System fan speed control
Form Factor ●ATX Form Factor
●12 in. x 9.25 in. (30.5 cm x 23.4 cm)
BIOS Features
●1x 128 Mb flash
●UEFI AMI BIOS
●ACPI 5.0, PnP 1.0a, SM BIOS 2.8
●Multi-language
Continued on next page

18 Speci󰄈cations
Continued from previous page
Software
●Drivers
●COMMAND CENTER
●LIVE UPDATE 6
●FAST BOOT
●SUPER CHARGER
●GAMING APP
●M-CLOUD
●RAMDISK
●GAMING LAN MANAGER
●Open Broadcaster Software
●Intel®Extreme Tuning Utility
●Norton™Internet Security Solution
●Google Chrome™,Google Toolbar, Google Drive
●SteelSeries Engine 3
●CPU-Z
Performance
GAMING Features
●AUDIO BOOST 3
▶Isolated Audio PCB
▶EMI Shielding
▶Dual Headphone Amplifiers
▶High Quality Audio Capacitors
▶Golden Audio Connectors
●GAME BOOST
▶Easy Overclocking
●GAMING LAN
▶Intel I219-V Gigabit Ethernet
▶MSI Network Manager
▶Electric Wave Surge
●GAMING APP
▶System Mode Switching: OC/Gaming/Silent
▶Gaming Hotkey
▶Gaming Mouse Master
●GAMING CERTIFIED
●Open Broadcaster Software
▶Encoding using H264 (x264) and AAC.
▶Support for Intel Quick Sync Video (QSV) and NVENC.
▶Unlimited number of scenes and sources.
▶Live RTMP streaming to Twitch, YouTube, DailyMotion,
Hitbox and more.
Continued on next page

19
Speci󰄈cations
Continued from previous page
MSI Exclusive
Features
●CLICK BIOS 5
▶EZ Mode & Advanced Mode Switching
▶Board Explorer
▶Hardware Monitor
●MILITARY CLASS 5
▶Military Class Component
▶Military Class Stability and Reliability
- ESD Protection
- EMI Protection
- Humidity Protection
- Circuit Protection
- High Temperature Protection
- Steel Armor PCIe Slots
●COMMAND CENTER
▶System Monitor
▶Smart Fan Control
●RAMDISK
●LIVE UPDATE 6
●M-CLOUD
●CPU-Z
●EZ Debug LED
Specification
Highlights
●DDR4 Boost Support
▶Dual-Channel DDR4 Memory Support
▶Isolated DDR4 Circuit Design
▶DDR4 XMP Ready
●PCI Express 3.0 Support
▶2-Way Nvidia SLITM Support
▶3-Way AMD CrossFireTM Support
●USB 3.1 Gen2 Ready (Z170A KRAIT GAMING)
▶USB 3.1 Gen2 (10 Gb/s) Type-A Ready
●Turbo M.2 Ready
▶PCIe 3.0 x4 (32 Gb/s) Support
▶PCIe / SATA Dual Mode Support
●SATA Express Support
●NVMe / AHCI Driver Support
●U.2 Support (Optional)

20 Block Diagram
Block Diagram
LPC Bus
2 x USB 3.1 Gen2
(10 Gbps)
Dual Channel DDR4 Memory
6 x USB 3.1 Gen1
(5 Gbps)
4 x SATA 6Gb/s
6 x USB 2.0
PCI Express Bus
PCI Express Bus
PCI Express Bus
P/S2 Mouse / Keyboard Audio Jacks
DMI 3.0
Z170
CPU
NV6793
Super I/O
Realtek
ALC1150
ASMEDIA
ASM1142
x1
x1
x2
x2
PCI Express
Bus
HDMI DVI-D
x1 PCIe x1
PCIe x1
PCIe x1
x4
1 x SATA Express
(2 x SATA 6Gb/s)
1 x M.2
PCI Express Bus
PCI Bus PCI
Z170A KRAIT GAMING