As the launch of AMD's Ryzen 2000 processors gets nearer, images of upcoming X470 motherboards are gradually starting to show up on the internet. Last week, we got a glimpse at the ASUS ROG Crosshair VII, and we start this week with a teaser of MSI's X470 Gaming Pro Carbon AC motherboard. The new motherboard is available with and without onboard WiFi functionality. There's certainly a striking resemblance to the previous X370 Gaming Pro Carbon. While the overall black and silver theme remains practically untouched, the new heatsinks look spectacular. Other cosmetic changes include the addition of RGB lighting to the I/O shroud, the PCH heatsink, and the right edge of the motherboard.

Upon closer examination, the MSI X470 Gaming Pro Carbon AC has two 8-pin EPS connectors, as opposed to the single 8-pin EPS connector found on its predecessor. According to Canard PC Hardware magazine's review, the power consumption of the new Ryzen 2000 processors is only slightly higher than the previous generation. Our guess is that the second EPS connector on the MSI X470 Gaming Pro Carbon AC is there for the extreme overclockers who plan to overclock the heck out of their chips. Big MSI aficionados might recall that the X370 Gaming Pro Carbon's VRM consists of a 8+2 phase design. Well, the X470 variant now comes with an upgraded 8+4 phase VRM. However, the new motherboard has one less PCIe 1x slot than its predecessor, but makes up for it by having two more SATA III ports for storage. And last but not least, the M.2 Shield on the X470 is longer than the one on the X370, and therefore, it should provide better cooling for your M.2 SSDs.