MSI Z97 XPower AC - 4 pin fan headers - PWM or voltage control?

The instruction manual states that the 2 CPU 4-pin fan headers are PWM control rather then voltage control. The rest of the 4-pin fan headers say "NC" on the fourth pin. Does this mean that the fourth pin has "No connection" and that they use voltage control of the fan's RPM? If so, this seems like a big oversight not to have PWM control on all the fans like another well known motherboard manufacturer.
My second question is... does this motherboard control the fan speed by using variable resistance to the fan headers or produce variable voltage? The following FAQ copied from Noctua's website states that there is a difference and the fans may not operate properly if used with resistance based fan control rather then the MB actually producing variable voltage.
Can Noctua industrialPPC fans be used with fan controllers and resistor cables (Low-Noise Adaptors)?
Noctua recommends not to use industrialPPC fans with common PC fan controllers, resistor cables (Low-Noise Adaptors) or other devices such as potentiometers that work by applying (variable) resistance rather than actually generating different voltages such as a laboratory power supply does. Due to the higher internal resistance of the industrialPPC fans’ three phase motor, applying additional resistance will cause the fans not to start (e.g. with Low-Noise Adaptors) or to have high starting speeds (e.g. with most common PC fan controllers). Please note that the industrialPPC fans feature starting voltages between 5.5V and 6V and can be run at these voltages on devices such as laboratory power supplies or mainboard fan controllers which actually generate lower voltages rather than applying resistance. Noctua thus recommends to use either PWM or voltage based mainboard fan control or laboratory/industrial power supplies for controlling the speed of industrialPPC fans.

Indeed only CPUfan 1 + 2 are PWM controlled according to the manual. Also yes, NC means not connected on the other headers what is why speed control is shown among the three pins left. That of course means that voltage control is used for these headers.
Controlling speed with resistor between power (12v) and fan is an aftermarket solution while on mainboards the voltage applied to the header is already of the voltage needed for control (generating lower voltages than 12v). So also in case of your board the lower voltage is generated and not lowered later on.

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Help a newb connect his power supply cables to the MSI Z97 XPower AC?

My Background
I am mostly a software kind of guy, and this is my first time building a computer. I saved lots of money, did lots of research, and picked my parts.
So far, I've installed my CPU & Fan to the Motherboard, and mounted them to the case.
Now it's time to install my Power Supply. Mounting it to the case is easy. The problem comes when I have to connect the cables. The manuals don't explain the purpose of these cables or provide "step-by-step" instructions.
I've been searching for over an hour, but can't get a clear idea of what I'm supposed to do. So I'm hoping someone can help me here.
Hardware
Motherboard: MSI Z97 XPOWER AC
Power Supply: Seasonic X-1250
(EDIT: Forum does not let me link to the manuals, so for anyone who needs...please look online)
Problem
On page 29 of my motherboard manual, it shows 4 different power connection slots (JPWR1, JPWR2, JPWR3, JPWR4). Unfortunately, it doesn't explain what goes in them.
On page 59 & 61 of my Power Supply manual, there is listing of all the key cables.
I think the "Mainboard 24/20 Pin" cable goes into the "JPWR1" slot.
- So I am mostly confused about the other slots (JPWR2, JPWR3, JPWR4).
- Also, it's confusing that there are two CPU cables called "CPU 8/4 Pin" & "CPU 8 Pin".
Can anyone help me?

Quote from: myfamilyshopping on 24-March-15, 20:00:38
Hi guys, I have a follow-up question about my Seasonic PSU "PCI-E cables".
The way my PCI-E cables are designed is...
There's one end which is a single cable with a 12 hole connector...that goes into the PCI-E port on my power supply.
But then the other end splits out into two different cables, with each having a sort of 6/2 connector.
So regarding the end that splits out into two different cables...
Can each be used on different PCI-E devices?
Or is it the case that because my PSU has 3 PCI-E ports (and 3 of the cables I described)...that only 3 PCI-E devices can be powered?
all can be used however you plan to use them! all them connectors are tied to a single 104amp +12v Rail so they are getting power off a single Rail!
as long as what you plug them into do not exceed the Rail's ratings your fine (would take quite a few Graphics cards to get above that) (basically if it works it works) (would take like 2 R9-295x2's or 4 R9-290X's to get to that point)

[MSI Z97 Xpower AC] Question about "optimum performance" for single card...

This is my first PC build. And I need some clarification about something I read in my manual for the "MSI Z97 Xpower AC" motherboard.
In my manual, it says:
Quote
For a single PCIe x16 expansion card installation with optimum performance, using the PCI_E2 slot is recommended.
I would just like clarification...does this refer to all types of PCIe cards? Or just graphics cards?
For example, suppose I install my graphics card into the "PCI_E2 slot" to take advantage of "optimum performance".
Would the "optimum performance" go away if I installed another (non graphics card) device into another PCIe port?

Quote from: Chike on 27-March-15, 09:23:57
Although the table refer to CrossFire/SLI configuration you should still follow those rules when installing any kind of cards.
e.g. if you use more than one card you should not use slot PCIE_E2 at all.
Yes! This is what I was getting at...but I forgot to quote the following part (that confused me):
Quote
The table below shows the correlation between the PCIe slots bandwidth and multiple graphics cards.
It talked about "multiple graphic cards", so I wondered whether the rules still applied if the other PCIe device was something else.
So, yes, I will take your suggestion to follow the rules...regardless of what type of device.
And, yes, like Nichrome & yourself have stated, I will consider the speed of the device & prioritize graphics card.
Thanks alot guys!

[MSI Z97 Xpower AC] Confusion about about BIOS updating...

So I am a newb who has just finished his first build, using the "MSI Z97 Xpower AC" motherboard (purchased last month).
The first thing I want to do is update the BIOS.
But I am a little confused about how I should proceed.
In the manual, it describes the "M-Flash" method for updating BIOS.
But as I was reading reviews of this motherboard, there was some talk about the manual being "out-dated" in regards to BIOS update instructions. Some people suggested using some "forum method" for updating. I also see this topic which provides an alternative method for updating the BIOS:
https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=172772.0
So how do you think I should proceed with updating the BIOS?
Really, what is the safest method?

Quote from: JLio01 on 31-March-15, 07:54:03
Forum tool is safer, M-Flash is easier. (my pov..)
I agree with that. Although for this motherboard (any with Dual BIOS), it should not matter whether it's safer or not, as you can always restore bricked BIOS by using secondary one
As you are using very first version of BIOS (v1.0) you can either use >>This One<< for MFlash which is latest official available v1.7 from MSI's product website OR for latest official/BETA BIOS to be used with Forum flash tool, you have to ask Svet to prepare a file for you (simply ask for it on current topic)
But the real question is: do you have any issues with your system that BIOS will fix it?? Because if your reason to flash is "I want latest", then forgive me, but that's the worst "reason" you might ever have.

[MSI Z97 Xpower AC] What driver enables "Wi-Fi" from the module?

I'm having a strange problem with the Wi-Fi module that comes with the "MSI Z97 Xpower AC" motherboard.
Some background...
The module itself seems to be physically installed correctly.
I saw my "Windows 7 Ultimate 64" detect the bluetooth hardware.
I was able to install the "Intel BlueTooth Driver" package from my motherboard's driver page:
http://ca.msi.com/support/mb/Z97_XPOWER_AC.html#down-driver&Win7%2064
In my "Device Manager", it displays as "Intel Wireless Bluetooth" in the section called "Bluetooth Radios".
The problem is...
I can't seem to get any "Wi-Fi" functionality from the module.
In my "Device Manager", there is an item called "Network Controller" in the section called "Other Devices".
It has an exclamation mark over it, and in the properties it says: "The drivers for this device are not installed".
I suspected that the driver package called "Intel Wireless Display" might solve this problem.
But when I run it, it says: "This platform is nor compatible witgh Intel WiDi...Your wireless card is not compatible...Your wireless driver cannot find or load necessary components..".
I am really confused. Can anyone help?

Okay, another strange update.
So as I explained in my original post...no driver from the MSI website works for Wi-Fi.
Then I tried the special USB that came with my board, which contains drivers.
Using the autoplay, I had same result...bluetooth and network installed fine. But Wi-Fi still didn't get installed.
But I found a solution using a strange method...
I must explore the contents of the USB.
I must navigate to "\Network\Intel WLAN\WIFI\WIN7 PLUS\Win7Plus\Win64\Drivers\Win7"
Then I must double-click the "iProDifX.exe" located in the folder.
This will display an icon that animates for a couple of minutes.
Then the WiFi icon will appear in Windows taskbar and Wi-Fi starts to work!
What is strange is that I don't think this component is available through any of the drivers offered at the MSI website.
Also strange is that all the normal installers of the USB fail at installing this.

MSI Z97 Gaming 7 + Sys Temperature FAN Target

It's funny thing i discovered:
In "Hardware Monitor Tab" theres a radio button named "Sys-Temp" and when you click it... all Fans suddenly target on SYS-Temp.... but only until you leave that tab with ESC-key.
It is impossible to save it.
It is impossible to set it up individually for each fan.
When you click on help it says: "You can set CPU or SYS target temperature and adjust fan duty cycle".
The German Website says:
Quote
Total Fan Control: Individuelle Einstellung aller Lüfter
Englisch: Individual setup of all fans!
So i reflect to register.msi.com. They told me it is not the specification of the board and that they will forward my question about the "misleading" help-entry inside the bios to the relative departement? What the frakk!!!
This was advertised!
Can anyone help to activate this function?

Presume he is talking about the 'System' button on the left side? The colored blocks in certain fan control setting configurations are also adjustable.
The specific issue of not being able to set his desired settings and save them, MSI Technical has been contacted and informed of it. I had no such problem setting up the CPU fan control or System fan control and saving it on the test board I had for awhile.

MSI Z97 XPOWER AC - Form Factor?

I have this board being shipped right now. I saw a question on Newegg asking whether this board is an E-ATX as mentioned at MSI, or XL-ATX as listed at the Egg.
Hopefully, it's E-ATX as my Corsair 900D apparently doesn't support XL-ATX. I thought it did, but when I saw this question, I checked and it doesn't.
If this motherboard is actually E-ATX then fine. If not, then I won't even open the box and will have to immediately return it.
This board has every single thing I've waited and looked for, ever since the specs for the new Devil's Canyon cpu were announced.
I also have an i7-4790K pre-ordered. They're supposed to be released June 25th.
TIA.

Thanks for confirming my suspicion.
Any idea what an M.2 ssd is used for? Most Z97 boards, including mine, are M.2 ready, but what good are they?
If, IF, you can boot from one, then it would help in making a benchmarking system, I guess.
Just put a basic OS on it, along with your benchmark programs and nothing else. Not even a security program.
All I'm after is a stable 5GHz with the Devil's Canyon cpu and a full water cooling loop.
I know I've read that they won't easily do this, but the ones mentioned were all marked ES for Engineering Samples.
ES models never have benched very well since they're for helping the motherboard manufacturers design their new boards.
The faster cpu's will be retail versions, plus the ones that are binned for the company sponsored OC teams.
It's been quite a while since I hit a stable 5GHz, http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=2350918, 2 years & 1 month, and it's high time I did it again. That was either on air or some Corsair water cooler. I'm hoping a full water cooling system this time around will make up for all these overly hot cpu's Intel has stuck us with these past 2 years.
Unless something drastic happens, this will be my last quad core system. Right now I'm running 2 Intel 6 core computers and am looking forward to X99 and, hopefully, an 8 core system with DDR-4.

Re: MSI Z97 XPOWER

Yes, with all bios versions devil's canyon cpus will at least boot. Only with first release bios an update is required for full recognition. Updating to the latest should be done after upgrade none the less

Quote from: chintu200121 on Today at 06:32:46Do you mean the entire sister board that MSI uses to give you four 2.5 ports?
Yes by removing the main board.
But why would you want to?
I have two internal SSDs (Samsu...

MSI Z97 XPower AC Intel PCIe Lane 2 issue

Im really disappointed with MSI. Iv gone through 2 of these motherboards and they just keep having faults.
The latest one being that PCIe lane 2 doesnt even recognise my GPU which works perfect in the other lanes. Is there anything im missing in the bios?

Quote from: headshotmsi on 23-September-14, 04:47:56
Thanks for the great help RemusM. You kinda have put my mind at ease but its really terrible from MSI to make such a mess up of this.
Surely they would get loads of RMA's because of this since the no graphic cards works in PCI E2 slot
Don't blame them so much.
There are a few "monsters" on the market:
For DDR3:
http://ark.intel.com/products/77779/Intel-Core-i7-4960X-Processor-Extreme-Edition-15M-Cache-up-to-4_00-GHz
For DDR4:
http://ark.intel.com/products/82930
64GB quad-channel and 40 PCI-E lanes.

Sound Blaster Cinema 2 Msi Z97 Xpower? Where?

Good night
I recently removed the sound card to test the sound of the motherboard and have to say that the sound is very poor, lacking punch and bass.
I have read that the sound quality is very good but I do not see it.
I have read that using the Creative Sound Blaster Cinema 2 software but once I install it tells me it is not compatible. Does this benefit?
I use headphones Philips Fidelio X1 and the difference with my sound card is beastly.
My previous motherboard, Asus Maximus Formula V had better sound but do not see it this time.
Help me because you might place the sound card in another computer to the living room.
Thank you.

I had this problem before, try uninstall the Sound Blaster Cinema 2 software, and reinstall again.
When installing the Sound Blaster Cinema 2, it seems take longer time to complete the installation.
Maybe it not installed properly, cause the not compatible problem.

[MSI Z97 Xpower AC] Confusion about odd/even Sata port number sides

So newb here, performing his first computer build.
Problem is that I don't see any numbers on my motherboard's sata ports.
My manual is a little confusing, as the diagram and video shows the odd/even numbers on different sides.
Due to the large number of drives & cable management concerns...I'd like to know the exact SATA port numbers before connecting & running computer.
Can anyone tell me what side the odd/even Sata ports are located on?
Are the odd numbers located on the motherboard side (while even are on case side)?
Or, are the even numbers located on the motherboard side (while odd are on case side)?

Thanks HenryW!

MSI Z97 Gaming 7 PWM Fan setting question

Hello, right now I'm using Z87 motherboard from others vendor (as***k), and now I want to change my motherboard to MSI Z97 Gaming 7. But there's something that I want to ask first. When I'm using still using Z77 motherboard which is MSI Z77A-G45, I can set the PWM fan to change it speed automatically by change the CPU fan to auto in the UEFI. But in the Z87 I currently use I have to customize it in the UEFI, so that my PWM CPU fan change its speed as the CPU temperature changes, it can't be set to auto and I don't like it at all. Now that I want to change my motherboard to MSI Z97 Gaming 7, I'm searching the review first. And I'm seeing that it have similar fan setting with the Z87 motherboard that I currently use
I want to ask, is it possible that I can set the CPU fan setting to auto just like the Z77A-G45 I used to have?

Quote from: Abula on 19-May-14, 08:22:10
What you are seeing is mulitple breakpoints of temperature, as you do on your AsRock.
I own a Z87GD65, and in mine i only have 1 true breakpoints, which is the temperature in which you want the fans to speed up, according to the temperature of the cpu. I als did a build for a friend on a Z77GD43 and it was similar just didnt had the graph, as it has on the Z87GD65 nor the new one that you posted on the Z97 Gaming7, but what i see is more customization on the new motherboard, with 4 different breaking points, i see the same restrictions on the PWM %, increments of 12.5% as it is on my GD65, weather its worth it, personally i dont care, one is good enough for me, i usually just spin down my fans to the lowest i can, and set the breakpoints for the temperature i want my fans to spin up, if the temperature is reach they will increase gradually, defined by the max PWM % and max temperature, this two variables (that you can change) will make the graph with more or less inclination. In the new Z97 Gaming 7, seems the same just multiple breakpoints, meaning you can have different inclinations into how the fans react depending on the temperature, weather its worth it or not.... depends on the level of customization you want to the fan control, personally im fine with a single, but i can see people that could like having depending on their needs, personally what i would have loved though, is to give me 10% increments instead of 12.5%, or 5% would been better, but 12.5% just seems odd number imo.
Remember, MSI only has 2 true PWM fan headers, CPU_FAN1 and CPU_FAN2, even though all are 4pin physically the SYS_FAN are not true pwm fan headers, they are voltage controlled and have much higher restrictions than the real PWM fan headers. And remember that if you plug 3pin fans on PWM fan headers they will spin at 12V that its the voltage that its handled by PWM fans, so be careful what fan you plug into where to have control on them.
Hmn, so since Z87 MSI use that breakpoint system to control PWM fan, just like my asrock Z87. So there's no auto setting on your Z87GD65?

Z97 XPower AC Issues

Dear users of this forum.
I'm experiencing issues with my freshly built computer. I bought 2 Radeon 290's to use in crossfire, however when there's a card in one of the PCIE slots controlled by the PLX PEX 8747 chip my system becomes very slow and unresponsive. I tried the cards in the PCI_E2 slot and they both work as they should. Even with one card in the PLX controlled slots this problem occurs.
This problem occurs under UEFI and Windows.
My computer:
Intel Core i7 4790K
Corsair Hydro H110
MSI Z97 XPower AC
2x Sapphire Radeon R9 290 OC TRI-X
Crucial Ballistix Tactical BLT2C8G3D1608ET3LX0CEU 2x8GB VLP
2x Crucial MX100 512GB SSD
WD Blue WD10EZEX 1TB HDD
Corsair RM1000 PSU
What i've tried so far:
-BIOS RESET
-Reinstall Windows 8.1
-BIOS update 1.0->1.3
-Catalyst 14.4, 14.6 and 14.7 RC1
-All stock settings
-R9 270 in PLX controlled slot -> same result
Also, I was looking at the mainboard and found a jumper called JPLX1, what's it for??

Have no idea what's the jumper for, but what I can say is that you read manual about this
Did you use xfire bridge for these (you didn't mention, sometimes something obvious answer and usage, but you might have not used it)?
Also try again but with single RAM stick, single SSD (with OS) just after you clear CMOS ( >>Clear CMOS Guide<< if needed )
If still no go, what I'd suggest is that you borrow different graphics card in your board.
And, possibly very important too: contact Sapphire for vBIOS update.

Z77a-g45 fan headers specifications

Hi everyone!
Quick question: what are the specifications (max voltage and current) of the two fan headers that can be controlled by the bios (sysfan1 and 2)? I'd like to connect 3 fans to the same header but i don't know if it'll work and haven't found these info anywhere yet.
Thanks.

Max. voltage is 12V.
Current is usually 1A.

Can I control 3-pin fan with MSI Z97 gaming 5?

Hello, I want to know if I can control 3-pin fan plug into 4-pin header with MSI z97 gaming 5 mobo
Thanks
PS: Sorry my poor english

I own an MSI Z87-GD65, im assuming your Z97gaming5 is similar, mine can control 4pin PWM fans on the CPU_FAN1 and CPU_FAN2 headers, and can control 3pin fans on SYS_FAN 1,2,3, all of this on bios fan control (i dont like nor use the Control center). The limitations of my bios is that on 4pin fans on CPU_FAN1 i can go to 12.5% pwm (as long as the fan can reach this low), while on the 3pin con SYS_FAN i can only drop them down to 50% (thats if you fan can start at that voltage, had one that needed 60%), the fan can be ran at a steady % = rpms or can be dynamically ramp up with the CPU temp, thats also selected on the bios.
Here is a run that i did last weekend on a Silverstone AP182 connected on SYS_FAN3 on pure bios, you can see there the different % and rpms, and in the bottom you can see prime95 run where it did ramp the fans with the cpu temp.

MSI Z97 XPower AC - 4 pin fan headers - PWM or voltage control?

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