MSI Z97 Gaming 3 Manual

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BIOS Setup3-3 BIOS Setup
Overview
After entering BIOS, the following screen is displayed.
BIOS menu 
selection
Temperature monitor
System
information
Boot device  priority bar
Menu display
BIOS menu  selection
Language
Virtual OC 
Genie Button
My Favorites 
 ▶BIOS menu selection
The following options are available:  
■
SETTINGS  - Uses this menu to specify the parameters for chipset and boot 
devices.
 
■
OC - This menu contains the frequency and voltage adjustments. Increasing \
the frequency can get better performance, however high frequency and heat 
can cause instability, we do not recommend general users to overclock. 
 
■
M-FLASH - This menu provides the way to update BIOS with a USB flash disk.
 
■
OC PROFILE -This menu is used to set various overclocking profiles.
 
■
HARDWARE MONITOR  - This menu is used to set the speeds of fans and 
monitor voltages of system.
 
■
BOARD EXPLORER - It provides the information of the installed devices on 
the motherboard. 
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BIOS Setup3-5 BIOS Setup
 ▶Virtual OC Genie Button
Enables or disables the OC Genie function by clicking on this button. When enabled, 
this button will be light. Enabling OC Genie function can automatically overclock with 
MSI optimized overclocking profile. 
 Important
We recommend that you do not to make any modification in OC menu mode and do  not to load defaults after enabling the OC Genie function.
 ▶Menu display
This area provides BIOS setting items and information to be configured.
 
▶Boot device priority bar
You can move the device icons to change the boot priority. 
High priority Low priority
 
 ▶System information
Shows the time, date, CPU name, CPU frequency, DRAM frequency, DRAM capa\
city 
and the BIOS version. 
 
▶Language
Allows you to select the language of the BIOS setup.
 
▶Temperature monitor
Shows the temperatures of the processor and the motherboard.
 
▶My Favorites
Allows you to create your personal BIOS menu  where you can save and access your 
favorite/ frequently-used BIOS setting items.
 
■
Default HomePage  - Allows you to select a BIOS menu (e.g. Settings, OC...,etc) 
as the BIOS home page. 
 
■
Favorite1~5  - Allows you to add the frequently-used/ favorite BIOS setting items 
in one page. 
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BIOS Setup3-5 BIOS Setup
Adding BIOS item to Favorite 1~5
1. Move the mouse cursor to highlight a BIOS setting item.
2.  Right-click (or press "F2" key) and then choose a favorite menu (Favo\
rite 1~5) to 
add the BIOS item.
Choose a favorite menu 
to add the BIOS item
Deleting BIOS item from Favorite 1~5
1. Move the mouse cursor to highlight a BIOS item on the Favorite 1~5 menu.\
2.  Right-click (or press "F2" key) and then click "Delete" to delete the \
BIOS item.
Click “Delete” to delete the BIOS item
Changing the order of BIOS items in Favorite 1~5
1. Enter the Favorite 1~5 menu.
2.  Right-click (or press "F2" key) and then click "Menu lock".
3.  Highlight an item and then click the arrow buttons (or press the up/ do\
wn arrow 
keys) to change the item order.
4.  Finally, click the lock button to fix the order.
Arrow buttons Lock button
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BIOS Setup3-7 BIOS Setup
Operation
You can control BIOS settings with the mouse and the keyboard. The follo\
wing table 
lists and describes the hot keys and the mouse operations.
Hot keyMouseDescription

.
Move the cursor Select Item

Click/ Double-click 
the left button Select Icon/ Field

Click the right button Jump to the Exit menu or return to the previous 
from a submenu
 Increase the numeric value or make changes
 Decrease the numeric value or make changes
 General Help
 Favorites assistant
 Enter My Favorites menu
 CPU Specifications
 Enter Memory-Z
 Load optimized defaults
 Load  Overclocking Profile
 Save Overclocking Profile
 Save Change and Reset
 Save a screenshot to a FAT/FAT32 USB drive
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BIOS Setup3-7 BIOS Setup
Updating BIOS
Updating the BIOS with M-FLASH
 ▶Before updating
Please download the latest BIOS file that matches your motherboard model from MSI 
website. And then save the BIOS file into the USB flash disk.
 Important
Only the FAT32/ NTFS format USB flash disk supports updating BIOS by M-FLASH. 
 ▶Updating BIOS
1.  Insert the USB flash disk that contains the BIOS update file into the computer.
2.  Restart the system, and then press "Del" key to enter the BIOS Setup dur\
ing 
POST.
3.  Enter the M-FLASH menu and then select the "Select one file to update BIOS and 
ME”, and then select the BIOS update file to begin the BIOS update.
4.  After the flashing process is 100% complete, the system will restart. 
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BIOS Setup3-9 BIOS Setup
SETTINGS
System Status
 ▶System Date
Sets the system date. Use tab key to switch between date elements.
The format is    .
  Day of the week, from Sun to Sat, determined by BIOS. Read-only.
  The month from Jan. through Dec. 
  The date from 1 to 31 can be keyed by numeric function keys.
  The year can be adjusted by users. 
 
▶System Time
Sets the system time. Use tab key to switch between time elements. 
The time format is   . 
 
▶SATA Port
Show the information of connected SATA device. 
 Important
If the connected SATA device is not displayed, turn off computer and re-check SATA  cable and power cable connections of the device and motherboard.
 ▶System Information
Shows detailed system information, including CPU type, BIOS version, and Memory 
(read only).
 
▶DMI Information
Shows system information, desktop Board Information and chassis Information. (Read 
only).
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BIOS Setup3-9 BIOS Setup
Advanced
 ▶PCI Subsystem Settings
Sets PCI, PCI express interface protocol and latency timer. Press  to enter the 
sub-menu. 
 
▶PCH PCI-E Lane Configuration [Auto]
It  can  help  you  conveniently  and  directly  manage  the  configuration  of  the  PCI-E 
lanes from PCH.  
 
▶PEG X - Gen X [Auto]
Sets PCI Express protocol for matching different installed devices. 
[Auto]  Enables all PCIe Gen1, Gen2 and Gen3. supports.
[Gen1]  Enables PCIe Gen1 support only.
[Gen2]  Enables PCIe Gen2 support only.
[Gen3]  Enables PCIe Gen3 support only.
 
▶PCI Latency Timer [32]
Sets latency timer of PCI interface device. 
[Options: 32, 64, 96, 128, 160, 192, 224, 248 PCI Bus clocks]
 
▶ACPI Settings
Sets ACPI parameters of onboard power LED behaviors. Press  to enter the 
sub-menu. 
 
▶Power LED [Blinking]
Sets shining behaviors of the onboard Power LED.
[Dual Color]   The power LED turns to another color to indicate the S3 state.
[Blinking]   The power LED blinks to indicate the S3 state.
 
▶Integrated Peripherals
Sets integrated peripherals' parameters, such as LAN, HDD, USB and audio. Press 
 to enter the sub-menu. 
 
▶Onboard LAN Controller [Enabled]
Enables or disables the onboard LAN controller.
 
▶LAN Option ROM [Disabled] 
Enables or disables the legacy network Boot Option ROM for detailed settings. This 
item will appear when "Onboard LAN Controller" is enabled. 
[Enabled]   Enables the onboard LAN Boot ROM.
[Disabled]   Disables the onboard LAN Boot ROM.
 
▶Network Stack [Disabled]
Sets UEFI network stack for optimizing IPv4 / IPv6 function.
[Enabled]   Enables UEFI network stack.
[Disabled]   Disables UEFI network stack.
 
▶Ipv4 PXE Support [Enabled]
When “Enabled”, the system UEFI network stack will support Ipv4 protocol. This item 
will appear when “Network Stack” is enabled. 
[Enabled]  Enables the Ipv4 PXE boot support.
[Disabled]  Disables the Ipv4 PXE boot support.
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BIOS Setup3-11 BIOS Setup
 ▶Ipv6 PXE Support [Enabled]
When “Enabled”, the system UEFI network stack will support Ipv6 protocol. This item 
will appear when “Network Stack” is enabled.
[Enabled]  Enables the Ipv6 PXE boot support.
[Disabled]  Disables the Ipv6 PXE boot support.
 
▶SATA Mode [AHCI Mode]
Sets the operation mode of the onboard SATA controller. 
[Disabled]  Disables the SATA function.
[IDE Mode]  Specify the IDE mode for SATA storage devices.
[AHCI Mode]  Specify the AHCI mode for SATA storage devices. AHCI (Advanced 
Host Controller Interface) offers some advanced features to enhance 
the speed and performance of SATA storage device, such as Native 
Command Queuing (NCQ) and hot-plugging.
[RAID Mode]  Enables RAID function for SATA storage devices.
 
▶SATAXX Hot Plug [Disabled]
Allows user to enable or disable the SATA hot plug support. This item will appear 
when the “SATA Mode” set to [AHCI]/ [RAID]. 
[Enabled]   Enables hot plug support for the SATA ports.
[Disabled]   Disables hot plug support for the SATA ports.
 
▶HD Audio Controller [Enabled]
Enables or disables the onboard High Definition Audio controller.
 
▶HPET [Enabled]
Enables or disables the HPET (High Precision Event Timers) support.
 
▶Integrated Graphics Configuration
Adjusts integrated graphics settings for optimum system. Press  to enter the 
sub-menu.
 
▶Initiate Graphic Adapter [PEG]
Selects a graphics device as the primary boot device.
[IGD]   Integrated Graphics Display.
[PEG]  PCI-Express Graphics Device.
 
▶Integrated Graphics Share Memory [default]
Selects  a  fixed  amount  of  system  memory  allocated  to  the  onboard  graphics.  This 
item defines the exact memory size shared to the onboard graphics. [Options: 32M, 
64M, 128M, 256M, 512M, 1024M]
 
▶IGD Multi-Monitor [Disabled]
Enables or disables the multi-screen output from integrated graphics and external 
graphics card. 
[Enabled]   Enables IGD multi-screen function.   
[Disabled]   Disables IGD multi-screen function.
 
▶Intel(R) Rapid Start Technology
Sets Intel® Rapid Start Technology for optimizing the system resume operation. Press 
 to enter the sub-menu. 
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BIOS Setup3-11 BIOS Setup
 
▶Intel(R) Rapid Start Technology [Disabled]
Intel® Rapid Start Technology lets the system resume from sleep mode quickly. This 
function is available when an SSD is installed.
[Enabled]   Enables Intel Rapid Start Technology.
[Disabled]   Disables Intel Rapid Start Technology.
 
▶Entry on S3 RTC Wake [Enabled]
Enables or disables to support S3 RTC wake up with Intel Rapid Start Technology.
This item will appear when “Intel(R) Rapid Start Technology” is \
enabled.
[Enabled]   Allows the system to enter the sleep mode with Intel Rapid Start 
Technology. 
[Disabled]   Disables this function.
 
▶Entry After [10 minutes]
Sets a timer for system to enter the sleep mode with Intel Rapid Start 
Technology.  This item will appear when “Intel(R) Rapid Start Techn\
ology” is 
enabled. [Options: 1 minute ~ 120 minutes]
 
▶Active Page Threshold Support [Enabled]
Enables or disables to support Active Page Threshold  when the Rapid Start partition 
size is less than the system DRAM size.
[Enabled]   Enables the additional partition size of SSD for iRST.
[Disabled]   Disables this function.
 
▶Active Memory Threshold
Sets Rapid Start partition size for Active Page Threshold. This item will appear when 
“Active Page Threshold Support” is enabled.
 Important
The partition size must be larger then the amount of memory.
 ▶Hybrid Hard Disk Support [Disabled]
Enables or disables the Intel Rapid Start Technology to support hybrid hard disk 
drive.
[Enabled]   Enables hybrid hard disk support.
[Disabled]   Disables hybrid hard disk support.
 
▶RapidStart Display Save/Restore [Enabled]
Enables or disables the Intel Rapid Start Display screen to be saved or restored. 
The screen will be saved before the system enters sleep mode. Then the system will 
restore the screen when wakened.
[Enabled]   Enables this function.
[Disabled]   Disables this function.
 
▶RapidStart Display Type [BIOS Save/Restore]
Selects the screen type of Intel Rapid Start Display.
[BIOS Save/Restore]   The BIOS POST splash screen will be saved/ restored.
[DeskTop Save/Restore]   The desktop image will be saved/ restored.
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BIOS Setup3-13 BIOS Setup
 ▶LakeTiny Feature [Disabled]
Enables or disables Intel Lake Tiny feature with iRST for SSD. This item appears 
when a installed CPU supports this function and "Intel C-State" is enabl\
ed.
[Enabled]  Enhance the dynamic IO load adjusted performance for accelerating 
the SSD speed.
[Disabled]  Disables this feature.
 
▶USB Configuration
Sets the onboard USB controller and device function. Press  to enter the sub-
menu. 
 
▶USB Controller [Enabled]
Enables or disables all USB controller.
 
▶External USB Power Control [Enabled] 
Enables or disables independent USB power for the USB ports under the LAN port.  
An independent USB power can provide the best audio quality for external USB 
DACs. 
 
▶XHCI Hand-off [Enabled]
Enables  or  disables  XHCI  hand-off  support  for  the  operating  system  without  XHCI 
hand-off feature.
 
▶EHCI Hand-off [Enabled]
Enables  or  disables  EHCI  hand-off  support  for  the  operating  system  without  EHCI 
hand-off feature.
 
▶Legacy USB Support [Enabled]
Sets Legacy USB function support.
[Auto]  The system will automatically detect if any USB device is connected 
and enables or disables the legacy USB support.
[Enabled]   Enable the USB support for legacy operating systems that do not 
support USB.
[Disabled]   The USB devices are available only for UEFI applications.
 
▶Super IO Configuration
Sets system Super I/O chip parameters including LPT and COM ports. Press  
to enter the sub-menu.
 
▶Serial (COM) Port 0 Configuration
Sets  detailed  configuration  of  serial(COM)  port  0.    Press    to  enter  the  sub-
menu.
 
▶Serial (COM) Port 0 [Enabled]
Enables or disables serial (COM) port 0.
 
▶Serial (COM) Port 0 Settings [Auto]
Sets serial port 0 (COM). If set to "Auto",  BIOS will optimize the IRQ 
automatically or you can set it manually.
 
▶Parallel (LPT) Port Configuration
Sets  detailed    configuration  of  parallel  port  (LPT).  Press    to  enter  the  sub-
menu.
 
▶Parallel (LPT) Port [Enabled]
Enables or disables parallel(LPT) port.
Chapter 3