MSI Intros X299M-A Pro Micro-ATX Motherboard

[btarunr]

MSI today introduced the X299M-A Pro, a socket LGA2066 motherboard in the micro-ATX form-factor, its second micro-ATX board for the platform after the X299M Gaming Pro Carbon. The X299M-A Pro sticks to the "no frills" design of products such as the X299 Raider and X299 SLI Plus. Unlike the X299M Gaming Pro Carbon, this board is designed for two processor models only - the Core i5-7640X, and the i7-7740X. The board physically lacks DDR4 memory slots for channels 3 and 4, and makes do with the limited PCIe lane budget of the "Kaby Lake-X" processors. This is similar to the Aorus X299 Gaming.

Built in the micro-ATX form-factor, the MSI X299M-A Pro draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX, 8-pin EPS, and 6-pin PCIe (optional). It uses a 9-phase CPU VRM to condition power for the 112W TDP chips. The CPU socket is wired to four DDR4 DIMM slots, supporting up to 64 GB of dual-channel memory; and two PCI-Express 3.0 x16 (x8/x8 with both populated). The third x16 slot is electrical x4, and wired to the X299 PCH. Storage connectivity includes two 32 Gbps M.2 slots, and eight SATA 6 Gbps ports. USB connectivity includes two 10 Gbps USB 3.1 ports (including a type-C port). The onboard audio solution combines a Realtek ALC1220 CODEC with audio-grade capacitors and ground-layer isolation. The board's sole gigabit Ethernet interface is driven by an Intel i219-V controller. The board is expected to be priced around USD $170.



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[btarunr]

 

[Basard]

Is there some purpose for this board that I'm not seeing? Why would u get this instead of the board that supports the 8700k?

 

[hyp36rmax]

You have no idea.... SFF Masterrace lol

 

[hyp36rmax]

Is there some purpose for this board that I'm not seeing? Why would u get this instead of the board that supports the 8700k?

Yea Intel is a bit confusing this generation.

 

[Valantar]

Speaking of which, where are the mATX X399 boards? I get that wiring up an X299 board is pretty much X99 with some makeup on, and that X399 is a whole 'nother beast. But it's been a while now.

 

[Bruno Vieira]

Speaking of which, where are the mATX X399 boards? I get that wiring up an X299 board is pretty much X99 with some makeup on, and that X399 is a whole 'nother beast. But it's been a while now.

The TR4 socket is very... big, and.. with 64 PCI-e lanes, makes it almost impossble to fit in anything less than ATX. mITX not happening, but for ATX we have to wait.

 

[Valantar]

The TR4 socket is very... big, and.. with 64 PCI-e lanes, makes it almost impossble to fit in anything less than ATX. mITX not happening, but for ATX we have to wait.

Wow, gee, thanks, didn't know that. I doubt there's any way to fit TR4 in an ITX board even if you wanted to (which would be rather odd). mATX on the other hand, should be pretty much as easy as cutting off the bottom three PCIe slots and shffling some stuff around. How hard can that be? Sure, it's a niche market, but I bet there's a few people out there who want a 32-thread mATX workstation.

 

[hyp36rmax]

Wow, gee, thanks, didn't know that. I doubt there's any way to fit TR4 in an ITX board even if you wanted to (which would be rather odd). mATX on the other hand, should be pretty much as easy as cutting off the bottom three PCIe slots and shffling some stuff around. How hard can that be? Sure, it's a niche market, but I bet there's a few people out there who want a 32-thread mATX workstation.

i'd imagine it's possible. If ASROCK can make an Intel X99 ITX, pretty sure one of these OEM's can manage an AMD X399 TR MATX. Totally niche but a dream come true for SFF builders looking for glorious power in a tight package.