MSI Z270 XPOWER GAMING TITANIUM User manual

1
Unpacking
1 to 2 RGB LED Extension
Y Cable 80cm x1
Unpacking
Thank you for buying the MSI®Z270 XPOWER GAMING TITANIUM 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 x6
Modular Screws
Package
SLI Bridge
Connector
Drivers & Utilities
Disc Motherboard User
Guide
I/O Shield
OC DASHBOARD OC DASHBOARD Cable
Motherboard
V-Check Cable x6
Continued on next page

2Unpacking
USB Xpander
USB Xpander Cable SATA Cable Labels

3
Safety Information
Safety Information
yThe components included in this package are prone to damage from electrostatic
discharge (ESD). Please adhere to the following instructions to ensure successful
computer assembly.
yEnsure that all components are securely connected. Loose connections may cause
the computer to not recognize a component or fail to start.
yHold the motherboard by the edges to avoid touching sensitive components.
yIt 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.
yStore the motherboard in an electrostatic shielding container or on an anti-static
pad whenever the motherboard is not installed.
yBefore turning on the computer, ensure that there are no loose screws or metal
components on the motherboard or anywhere within the computer case.
yDo not boot the computer before installation is completed. This could cause
permanent damage to the components as well as injury to the user.
yIf you need help during any installation step, please consult a certified computer
technician.
yAlways turn off the power supply and unplug the power cord from the power outlet
before installing or removing any computer component.
yKeep this user guide for future reference.
yKeep this motherboard away from humidity.
yMake sure that your electrical outlet provides the same voltage as is indicated on
the PSU, before connecting the PSU to the electrical outlet.
yPlace the power cord such a way that people can not step on it. Do not place
anything over the power cord.
yAll cautions and warnings on the motherboard should be noted.
yIf 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.
yDo not leave this motherboard in an environment above 60°C (140°F), it may damage
the motherboard.

4Quick 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

5
Quick Start
Installing a Processor
1
2
3
6
45
7
8
9
https://youtu.be/4ce91YC3Oww

6Quick Start
Installing DDR4 memory
http://youtu.be/T03aDrJPyQs
DIMMB2 DIMMB2
DIMMB1
DIMMA2 DIMMA2 DIMMA2
DIMMA1
1
1
2
2
3
3

7
Quick 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

8Quick Start
Installing the Motherboard
1
2

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
Connecting the Power Connectors
http://youtu.be/gkDYyR_83I4
ATX_PWR1 CPU_PWR1
PCIE_PWR1
CPU_PWR2

13
Quick Start
Power On
1
4
2
3

14 Contents
Contents
Unpacking .............................................................................................................. 1
Safety Information................................................................................................. 3
Quick Start ............................................................................................................. 4
Preparing Tools and Components.......................................................................... 4
Installing a Processor............................................................................................. 5
Installing DDR4 memory ........................................................................................ 6
Connecting the Front Panel Header....................................................................... 7
Installing the Motherboard..................................................................................... 8
Installing SATA Drives............................................................................................. 9
Installing a Graphics Card .................................................................................... 10
Connecting Peripheral Devices............................................................................ 11
Connecting the Power Connectors....................................................................... 12
Power On............................................................................................................... 13
Specifications....................................................................................................... 17
Block Diagram .................................................................................................... 22
Rear I/O Panel ..................................................................................................... 23
LAN Port LED Status Table................................................................................... 23
Audio Ports Configuration.................................................................................... 23
Realtek HD Audio Manager .................................................................................. 24
Overview of Components .................................................................................... 26
CPU Socket ........................................................................................................... 28
DIMM Slots............................................................................................................ 29
PCI_E1~6: PCIe Expansion Slots.......................................................................... 30
PEGSW1: PCIe CeaseFire Switch ......................................................................... 32
J1: OC DASHBOARD Connector ........................................................................... 32
OC1: GAME BOOST Knob ..................................................................................... 33
OC_RT1: OC Retry Connector............................................................................... 34
JSLOW_1: Slow Mode Booting Jumper................................................................ 34
FV1: V-Check Points Connectors ......................................................................... 35
M2_1~3: M.2 Slots (Key M) ................................................................................... 36
U2_1: U.2 Connector............................................................................................. 37
SATA1~8: SATA 6Gb/s Connectors ....................................................................... 38
JFP1, JFP2: Front Panel Connectors ................................................................... 40
CPU_PWR1~2, ATX_PWR1, PCIE_PWR1: Power Connectors.............................. 41
JUSB1~2: USB 2.0 Connectors............................................................................. 42
JUSB3~4: USB 3.1 Gen1 Connectors ................................................................... 43

15
Contents
CPU_FAN1, PUMP_FAN1, SYS_FAN1~4: Fan Connectors................................... 44
JAUD1: Front Audio Connector ............................................................................ 45
JCI1: Chassis Intrusion Connector....................................................................... 45
JTPM1: TPM Module Connector........................................................................... 46
JBAT1: Clear CMOS (Reset BIOS) Jumper........................................................... 46
BIOS_SW1: Multi-BIOS Switch............................................................................. 47
FLASHB1: BIOS FLASHBACK+ Button................................................................. 47
POWER1, RESET1: Power Button, Reset Button ................................................. 48
JLED1: RGB LED connector ................................................................................. 48
Onboard LEDs ...................................................................................................... 49
XMP LED ............................................................................................................... 49
PCIe x16 slot LEDs................................................................................................ 49
DIMM LEDs ........................................................................................................... 49
Fan LEDs............................................................................................................... 50
BIOS FLASHBACK+ LED....................................................................................... 50
Multi-BIOS LEDs................................................................................................... 50
GAME BOOST LEDs .............................................................................................. 50
Debug Code LED................................................................................................... 51
Hexadecimal Character Table .............................................................................. 51
Boot Phases.......................................................................................................... 51
Debug Code LED Table ......................................................................................... 51
ACPI States Codes................................................................................................ 53
CPU Temperature ................................................................................................. 53
BIOS Setup ........................................................................................................... 54
Entering BIOS Setup............................................................................................. 54
Resetting BIOS...................................................................................................... 55
Updating BIOS....................................................................................................... 55
EZ Mode ................................................................................................................ 57
Advanced Mode .................................................................................................... 59
SETTINGS.............................................................................................................. 60
Advanced............................................................................................................... 60
Boot....................................................................................................................... 66
Security................................................................................................................. 67
Save & Exit............................................................................................................ 68
OC.......................................................................................................................... 69
M-FLASH .............................................................................................................. 80
OC PROFILE.......................................................................................................... 81
HARDWARE MONITOR.......................................................................................... 82
Software Description........................................................................................... 83

16 Contents
Installing Windows®7/ 8.1/ 10.............................................................................. 83
Installing Drivers .................................................................................................. 83
Installing Utilities ................................................................................................. 83
LIVE UPDATE 6...................................................................................................... 84
COMMAND CENTER ............................................................................................. 86
GAMING APP......................................................................................................... 90
RAMDISK............................................................................................................... 95
X-BOOST ............................................................................................................... 96
MSI SMART TOOL ................................................................................................. 98
GAMING LAN MANAGER .................................................................................... 100
DRAGON EYE ...................................................................................................... 102
Nahimic 2............................................................................................................ 103
XSplit Gamecaster V2 ......................................................................................... 107
Intel®Extreme Tuning Utility.............................................................................. 111
SteelSeries Engine 3 .......................................................................................... 112
CPU-Z.................................................................................................................. 114
RAID Configuration............................................................................................ 115
Using Intel®Rapid Storage Technology Option ROM ......................................... 115
Degraded RAID Array ......................................................................................... 118
M.2 PCIe SSD RAID............................................................................................. 120
Troubleshooting ................................................................................................ 122
Regulatory Notices............................................................................................ 123

17
Specifications
Specifications
CPU
Supports 7th/6th Gen Intel®Core™i3/i5/i7 processors,
and Intel®Pentium®and Celeron®processors for Socket
LGA1151
Chipset Intel® Z270 Chipset
Memory
y4x DDR4 memory slots, support up to 64GB
7th Gen processors support DDR4 4000(OC)/ 3800(OC)/
3600(OC)/ 3200(OC)/ 3000(OC)/ 2800(OC)/ 2600(OC)/
2400/ 2133 MHz*
6th Gen processors support DDR4 3600(OC)/ 3200(OC)/
3000(OC)/ 2800(OC)/ 2600(OC)/ 2400(OC)/ 2133 MHz*
yDual channel memory architecture
ySupports Intel®Extreme Memory Profile (XMP)
* Please refer www.msi.com for more information on compatible memory.
Expansion Slots
y4x PCIe 3.0 x16 slots (support x16/x0/x0/x4, x8/x0/x8/x4,
x8/x4/x4/x4 modes)
y2x PCIe 3.0 x1 slots
Onboard Graphics
y1x HDMI™ port, supports a maximum resolution of
4096x2160@30Hz(7th CPU), 4096x2160@24Hz(6th CPU),
2560x1600@60Hz
y1x DisplayPort, supports a maximum resolution of
4096x2304@24Hz, 2560x1600@60Hz, 3840x2160@60Hz,
1920x1200@60Hz
Multi-GPU ySupports 2-Way NVIDIA®SLI™Technology
ySupports 4-Way AMD®CrossFire™Technology
Storage
yASMedia®ASM1061 Chipset
2x SATA 6Gb/s ports*
yIntel®Z270 Chipset
6x SATA 6Gb/s ports*
1x U.2 port
Supports PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe storage
3x M.2 slots (Key M)
Support up to PCIe 3.0 x4 and SATA 6Gb/s
M2_1 slot supports 2242/ 2260 /2280/ 22110 storage
devices
M2_2 & M2_3 slots support 2242/ 2260 /2280 storage
devices
Intel®Optane™ Memory Ready for all M.2 slots
Supports Intel®Smart Response Technology for Intel
Core™ processors
* M.2 and SATA ports maximum support 3x M.2 PCIe SSDs + 6x SATA HDDs or
2x M.2 PCIe SSDs + 8x SATA HDDs. Please refer to page 39 for M.2 slots
with examples of various combination possibilities.
Continued on next page

18 Specifications
Continued from previous page
RAID
Intel®Z270 Chipset
ySupports RAID 0, RAID1, RAID 5 and RAID 10 for SATA
storage devices
ySupports RAID for M.2 PCIe storage devices*
* M.2 PCIe RAID volume can be created with M.2 GENIE. Please refer to page
58 for details about M.2 GENIE.
USB
yASMedia®ASM2142 Chipset
1x USB 3.1 Gen2 (SuperSpeed USB 10Gbps) Type-C port
on the back panel
1x USB 3.1 Gen2 (SuperSpeed USB 10Gbps) Type-A port
on the back panel
yASMedia®ASM1042 Chipset
2x USB 3.1 Gen1 (SuperSpeed USB) ports available
through the internal USB connector)
yIntel®Z270 Chipset
6x USB 3.1 Gen1 (SuperSpeed USB) ports (4 Type-A
ports on the back panel, 2 ports available through the
internal USB connector)
7x USB 2.0 (High-speed USB) ports (3 Type-A ports on
the back panel, 4 ports available through the internal
USB connectors)
Audio
yRealtek®ALC1220 Codec
y7.1-Channel High Definition Audio
ySupports S/PDIF output
LAN
y1x Intel®I219-V Gigabit LAN controller
y1x Intel®I211AT Gigabit LAN controller
ySupport Intel LAN Teaming Technology
Back Panel
Connectors
y1x PS/2 keyboard/ mouse combo port
y1x Clear CMOS button
y3x USB 2.0 Type-A ports
y2x LAN (RJ45) ports
y4x USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-A ports
y1x DisplayPort
y1x HDMI™port
y1x USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-A port
y1x USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C port
y5x OFC audio jacks
y1x Optical S/PDIF OUT connector
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19
Specifications
Continued from previous page
Internal Connectors
y1x 8-pin ATX 12V power connector
y1x 4-pin ATX 12V power connector
y1x 6-pin ATX 12V power connector
y8x SATA 6Gb/s connectors
y2x USB 2.0 connectors (support additional 4 USB 2.0 ports)
y2x USB 3.1 Gen1 connectors (support additional 4 USB 3.1
Gen1 ports)
y1x 4-pin CPU fan connector
y1x 4-pin water-pump-fan connector
y4x 4-pin system fan connectors
y1x 4-pin RGB LED connector
y1x 2-pin Slow mode connector
y1x 2-pin OC retry connector
y1x TPM module connector
y1x Front panel audio connector
y2x System panel connectors
y1x Chassis Intrusion connector
Internal Buttons
y1x Power button
y1x Reset button
y1x GAME BOOST button
y1x Flash BIOS button
Switches y1x PCIe CeaseFire switch
y1x Multi-BIOS switch
Jumper y1x Clear CMOS jumper
Debug LED y1x 2-Digit Debug Code LED
I/O Controller NUVOTON NCT6795D Controller Chip
Hardware Monitor
yCPU/System temperature detection
yCPU/System fan speed detection
yCPU/System fan speed control
Form Factor yATX Form Factor
y12 in. x 9.6 in. (30.5 cm x 24.4 cm)
BIOS Features
y2x 128 Mb flash
yUEFI AMI BIOS
yACPI 5.0, PnP 1.0a, SM BIOS 2.8
yMulti-language
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20 Specifications
Continued from previous page
Software
yDrivers
yCOMMAND CENTER
yLIVE UPDATE 6
yFAST BOOT
ySUPER CHARGER
yGAMING APP
yRAMDISK
yX-BOOST
yMSI SMART TOOL
Software
yGAMING LAN MANAGER
yNahimic Audio
yXSplit Gamecaster V2
yIntel®Extreme Tuning Utility
yNorton™Internet Security Solution
yGoogle Chrome™,Google Toolbar, Google Drive
ySteelSeries Engine 3
yCPU-Z MSI GAMING
yDRAGON EYE
Continued on next page