MSI MPG X870E Carbon Wi-Fi

[Combatus]

The MSI MPG X870E Carbon Wi-Fi sits between more affordable X870E options and enthusiast boards, striking a good balance of features with great cooling, plenty of USB ports and a solid EFI.

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[csendesmark]

Looking nice!
I really like how those sata and USB headers are having that right angle
I would prefer a 10G NIC for this price!
Also

Is C° 80/60 is considered as excellent?

The 2nd 3rd 4th m.2 slots are literally under the GPU

If you start using the GPU too, those poor SSD will melt!


On the block diagram from the review's 4th page bottom
or page 74 of the manual

https://download.msi.com/archive/mnu_exe/mb/MPGX870ECARBONWIFI_English.pdf

Is rubbish...
The block diagram should give you clear information on a glance regarding limitations...
Does not tell information regarding:
PCI_E1, PCI_E2 and M2_2 share the bandwidth. Please refer to the PCIe configuration table on page 21 for more details.

 

[Chaitanya]

Compared to X670E Carbon PCI-e layout and M.2 config is massive letdown.

 

[Launcestonian]

This board is an overpriced underperformer with the current AGESA, MSI's low end Pro X870-P Wifi board offered the same general performance according to a wrap up of X870(E) boards from Techspot for about half the cost!

​

 

[_roman_]

Thank you for the review. It seems i have to wait for the next generation after that X870 chipset generation for a proper AM5 mainboard.

I won't buy a mainboard with HDMI connectors and no DP connectors. I do not intend to buy more cables just for a display. The common connectors from a graphic card to a display is Displayport, not HDMI, not USB-C, not DVI, not VGA. This is my base requirement. Before I even look in the mainboard manual, the brand or the price.

This mainboard does in my point of view not support m2 NVME ssds with a preinstalled heatsink.
At the time i joined the desktop pc platform kinda late again, end of B550 - X570 era, most cheaper mainboards did not had on every m2 slot a preinstalled heatsink.

A big one heatsink for several m2 slots is bad. You need to remove the graphic card most likely to access those m2 ssds. I doubt the cooling performance is similar to a decent m2 cooler. Flat surface of this bad design vs a design with lots of surface in a small space. (e.g. Corsair mp 600 pro cooler (which I own))

I do expect for any pricepoint a notebook m2 WIFI card easy accessible by the user. Some ASROCK boards offer that feature.

 

[Aleksandar_038]

This board is an overpriced underperformer with the current AGESA, MSI's low end Pro X870-P Wifi board offered the same general performance according to a wrap up of X870(E) boards from Techspot for about half the cost!

​

Actully, all X870 performs on similar level, and between cheap boards, X870-P is the best. So, what is said for Carbon is actually correct for each X870 board.

Also, Carbon PCI-E / M2 configuration is, for me, far better then other X870E boards on market.

Only issue is M2 placement - but that ia general issue with M2 and present on all modern motherboards...

 

[Random_User]

Thanks for the review! this is good head-ups, to know what MB to avoid. But I'm afraid, the scalpers would just switch over it's predecessor X670E Carbon, and it will be bought out instantly. Also, AMD might cut X670E MB production, just in spite of pushing these useless USB4-taxed mobos instead.

I won't buy a mainboard with HDMI connectors and no DP connectors. I do not intend to buy more cables just for a display. The common connectors from a graphic card to a display is Displayport, not HDMI, not USB-C, not DVI, not VGA. This is my base requirement. Before I even look in the mainboard manual, the brand or the price.

Not to mention the HDMI 2.1 is useless under Linux environment, anyway. It's been recklessly pushed down everyone's throat since 2006, with everything must have had HDCP, along with ROHS one, or it won't sell. Must have been the deal between Wintel cartel, and movie companies. A couple years later, the Display Port have come, and kicked HDMI in it's fat ar$e.
Despite this, HDMI to this day, has more attention, advertisement, and spread, than DP. A lot of people, including "techtubers" seems to like it. Must be because they don't know, that DP has audio streaming capabilities, and copyright protection built in as well. Much like it can be connected via Type-C connector. HDMI is inferior standard in every way.

 

[csendesmark]

Thank you for the review. It seems i have to wait for the next generation after that X870 chipset generation for a proper AM5 mainboard.

I won't buy a mainboard with HDMI connectors and no DP connectors. I do not intend to buy more cables just for a display. The common connectors from a graphic card to a display is Displayport, not HDMI, not USB-C, not DVI, not VGA. This is my base requirement. Before I even look in the mainboard manual, the brand or the price.

This mainboard does in my point of view not support m2 NVME ssds with a preinstalled heatsink.
At the time i joined the desktop pc platform kinda late again, end of B550 - X570 era, most cheaper mainboards did not had on every m2 slot a preinstalled heatsink.

A big one heatsink for several m2 slots is bad. You need to remove the graphic card most likely to access those m2 ssds. I doubt the cooling performance is similar to a decent m2 cooler. Flat surface of this bad design vs a design with lots of surface in a small space. (e.g. Corsair mp 600 pro cooler (which I own))

I do expect for any pricepoint a notebook m2 WIFI card easy accessible by the user. Some ASROCK boards offer that feature.

Well, if you already have an X670(X) there is no need to upgrade to the X670 rev2, I mean X870

 

[Glina]

If you start using the GPU too, those poor SSD will melt!

I have this exact motherboard.

This is at full GPU/CPU and SSD load (look at max values, third column). Probably an unlikely scenario to be using CPU, GPU and SSDs fully loaded in parallel, but this is what it is. With only CPU/GPU load, drives idle at 55-60C and roughly 5C less at full idle.

Corsair MP700 PRO (PCIe 5) is in M1 slot (between GPU and CPU), Lexars NM790 (PCIe 4) are in slots M3 and M4 (under the GPU) Not using M2 as it shares bandwidth.

Custom radiator may fit in M1 slot depending on CPU cooler used. My Arctic Freezer AIO extends over the motherboard's SSD radiator (it is quite chunky) so no large SSD coolers will fit there.

Hope this is useful.

 

[csendesmark]

View attachment 370488
I have this exact motherboard.

This is at full GPU/CPU and SSD load (look at max values, third column). Probably an unlikely scenario to be using CPU, GPU and SSDs fully loaded in parallel, but this is what it is. With only CPU/GPU load, drives idle at 55-60C and roughly 5C less at full idle.

Corsair MP700 PRO (PCIe 5) is in M1 slot (between GPU and CPU), Lexars NM790 (PCIe 4) are in slots M3 and M4 (under the GPU) Not using M2 as it shares bandwidth.

Custom radiator may fit in M1 slot depending on CPU cooler used. My Arctic Freezer AIO extends over the motherboard's SSD radiator (it is quite chunky) so no large SSD coolers will fit there.

Hope this is useful.

63°C idle?
Those gen5 SSDs are really hot stuff!

 

[Glina]

63C was in a preheated system. typically around 50-55C in desktop tasks. Probably quite some room for improvement if I were to remove the labels of the SSDs and put better thermal pads on them, but as @_roman_ mentioned, that would trigger disassembly of GPU and/or AIO. At least assembling the system was a breeze. All tool-less.

Overall, I do not regret getting this MSI board. I am surprised it is marketed at $499 in the US as EU price is closer to 400 EUR. It's a fair deal for the feature set.

 

[berjerac]

Since when people think that such horrible prices are ok?

 

[Voodoo Rufus]

What happened to the VRM temperature torture test graphs?

Looks like a nice board.

 

[Glina]

Since when people think that such horrible prices are ok?

Roughly 25 years ago, an IT teacher during a lesson on PC architecture said something along those lines: "The motherboard is nothing more than a bunch of wires on an FR4 substrate". This triggered a lengthy discussion on the roles of North Bridge, South Bridge, memory bus, I/O interfaces, voltage regulation and so on. This resonates until today. Some new gen features such as PCIe5.0, USB4, Wifi 7, 5Gbit LAN and gimmicks such as RGB fetch a hefty premium and will probably will be available on sub-$200 boards a few years down the line. For now, they come at a cost, but you can choose not to pay if not worth it to you.

What happened to the VRM temperature torture test graphs?

Looks like a nice board.

I only have an 9700x on PBO, but never saw VRM temps exceed 55-60C range on OCCT testing.

 

[Random_User]

Well, if you already have an X670(X) there is no need to upgrade to the X670 rev2, I mean X870

X670 rev2 implies an improvement, an upgrade upon the existing product. In case of X870 it's complete, an utter disgrace. This is a spit in the face of consumers and customers. Not only because there's no improvements, but even the reverse- it's inferior SKU, which doesn't even correspond to the X*70 class. Heck, even X870E motherboards are inferior to X670E ones, not only due to the prices inflated by USB4 tax, by by more dumb layout, and even bigger "corner cuttings".

Many people had hopes, that this time, AMD might get their sh*t together, and roll out the decent products, with the issues removed, and an architecture/platform finally ironed out. But this 800 series (Promontory 21) is just an embarassement of the decade. Heck, the RD580+SB600 almost two decades ago, had more lanes and better layout, than this abomination.

Spoiler

AMD might does great stuff. But their flops are two steps back, with one step forward with their advancements. They decided to play nVidia's SKU juggling game with GPUs, but it have hit them instead. So, instead of making the correct conclusions, they thought this is fine, and proceeded to shot their other foot instead, by juggling/inflating the motherboard chipset SKUs.
This is just mind boggling. The company, that has so much success and possibilities, intentionally, or by own stupidity, hurts itself, and throwing away the chances, left and right. Instead of using the momentum, and intel flop after flop, for the last several years, AMD simply sabotaging itself, each time with even bigger variety of mistakes.
For years I've been supporting AMD. But their actions just please nobody, except their board and investors. This is't a friendly company anymore.

 

[csendesmark]

X670 rev2 implies an improvement, an upgrade upon the existing product. In case of X870 it's complete, an utter disgrace. This is a spit in the face of consumers and customers. Not only because there's no improvements, but even the reverse- it's inferior SKU, which doesn't even correspond to the X*70 class. Heck, even X870E motherboards are inferior to X670E ones, not only due to the prices inflated by USB4 tax, by by more dumb layout, and even bigger "corner cuttings".

Many people had hopes, that this time, AMD might get their sh*t together, and roll out the decent products, with the issues removed, and an architecture/platform finally ironed out. But this 800 series (Promontory 21) is just an embarassement of the decade. Heck, the RD580+SB600 almost two decades ago, had more lanes and better layout, than this abomination.

Spoiler

AMD might does great stuff. But their flops are two steps back, with one step forward with their advancements. They decided to play nVidia's SKU juggling game with GPUs, but it have hit them instead. So, instead of making the correct conclusions, they thought this is fine, and proceeded to shot their other foot instead, by juggling/inflating the motherboard chipset SKUs.
THis is just mind boggling. The company, that has so much success and possibilities, intentionally, or by own stupidity, hurts itself, and throwing away the chances, left and right. Instead of using the momentum, and intel flop after flop, for the last several years, AMD simply sabotaging itself, each time with even bigger variety of mistakes.
For years I've been supporting AMD. But their actions just please nobody, except their board and investors. This is't a friendly company anymore.

The one I picked is better than any of the X670(X) or other X870(X) for my use-case - suggested by the ProArt name.
I only wish for a chunkier m2_cpu heatsink,
Maybe we also need a standard created for those heatsinks, followed by the board producers. So 3rd parties like Be quiet CM and TT can do some good and great ones.

 

[Random_User]

Roughly 25 years ago, an IT teacher during a lesson on PC architecture said something along those lines: "The motherboard is nothing more than a bunch of wires on an FR4 substrate". This triggered a lengthy discussion on the roles of North Bridge, South Bridge, memory bus, I/O interfaces, voltage regulation and so on. This resonates until today. Some new gen features such as PCIe5.0, USB4, Wifi 7, 5Gbit LAN and gimmicks such as RGB fetch a hefty premium and will probably will be available on sub-$200 boards a few years down the line. For now, they come at a cost, but you can choose not to pay if not worth it to you.



I only have an 9700x on PBO, but never saw VRM temps exceed 55-60C range on OCCT testing.

It's even a bigger scam, considering CPU's now can't OC well, so there's no need in hundreds Amps gazillion phases. And if these motherboard vendors will remove all the proprietary RGB/ARGB gimmicks and garbage, (which still is not unified, and is incompatible between RGB useless trash of other MB makers) they will left with pants down. There would be nothing to artificially infate the prices, since the cheap industrial motherboards are as capable as the "gamer" MBs, that cost as much as Threadripper ones.

 

[ir_cow]

What happened to the VRM temperature torture test graphs?

Looks like a nice board.

Different reviewer I switched to system memory

 

[Wasteland]

View attachment 370443
If you start using the GPU too, those poor SSD will melt!

Does not tell information regarding:
PCI_E1, PCI_E2 and M2_2 share the bandwidth. Please refer to the PCIe configuration table on page 21 for more details.
View attachment 370447

$500, ladies and gentlemen. Good grief.

 

[Ando]

X670 rev2 implies an improvement, an upgrade upon the existing product. In case of X870 it's complete, an utter disgrace. This is a spit in the face of consumers and customers. Not only because there's no improvements, but even the reverse- it's inferior SKU, which doesn't even correspond to the X*70 class. Heck, even X870E motherboards are inferior to X670E ones, not only due to the prices inflated by USB4 tax, by by more dumb layout, and even bigger "corner cuttings".

Many people had hopes, that this time, AMD might get their sh*t together, and roll out the decent products, with the issues removed, and an architecture/platform finally ironed out. But this 800 series (Promontory 21) is just an embarassement of the decade. Heck, the RD580+SB600 almost two decades ago, had more lanes and better layout, than this abomination.

Spoiler

AMD might does great stuff. But their flops are two steps back, with one step forward with their advancements. They decided to play nVidia's SKU juggling game with GPUs, but it have hit them instead. So, instead of making the correct conclusions, they thought this is fine, and proceeded to shot their other foot instead, by juggling/inflating the motherboard chipset SKUs.
This is just mind boggling. The company, that has so much success and possibilities, intentionally, or by own stupidity, hurts itself, and throwing away the chances, left and right. Instead of using the momentum, and intel flop after flop, for the last several years, AMD simply sabotaging itself, each time with even bigger variety of mistakes.
For years I've been supporting AMD. But their actions just please nobody, except their board and investors. This is't a friendly company anymore.

I think this is a bit hyperbolic :/
The reason X870 exists is because B650E was probably a hard sell. High end buyers looked at X boards, midrange buyers looked at regular B650. This is actually the most worthwhile part of the refresh, motherboard vendors made decent boards with one P21 chipset.
Fundamentally, it doesn't matter how many chipsets a board has. They could have 10 P21 chips, but if they aren't utilized well then who cares. The gen 5 lane mandates for X870 ensure they are generally decent boards. I bought an X870 Tomahawk because for only a slight premium over similar X670E boards I get niceties like a post code and USB4. One less P21 chipset just means it's not consuming power, great!

 

[_roman_]

It depends on the interconnection betweeen the processor and the sub chipsets. When you have only low bandwidth modules connected you could get away with more sub chipsets.

 

[Random_User]

I think this is a bit hyperbolic :/
The reason X870 exists is because B650E was probably a hard sell. High end buyers looked at X boards, midrange buyers looked at regular B650. This is actually the most worthwhile part of the refresh, motherboard vendors made decent boards with one P21 chipset.
Fundamentally, it doesn't matter how many chipsets a board has. They could have 10 P21 chips, but if they aren't utilized well then who cares. The gen 5 lane mandates for X870 ensure they are generally decent boards. I bought an X870 Tomahawk because for only a slight premium over similar X670E boards I get niceties like a post code and USB4. One less P21 chipset just means it's not consuming power, great!

Completely agree, on both the chipset, and Tomahawk.
The CPU PCIE lanes are so limited, that it doesn’t matter how versalite/decent chipset is.
As for X870 Tomawk, was eyeing it since Computex. It looked like relief, after cut down X670 motherboards. However now this is an utter let down. Since the problem lies not in the MB layout, but the limited P21 single chipset, instead of two, that "higher-tier"/"premium" "X"- series chipset implies.

 

[Voodoo Rufus]

Why was the B650E a hard sell? Only reason to go with an X870 was more connectivity. B650E has all the basics while having no compromises on the overclocking front.

 

[entity]

I have 2 nvme ssds(pcie4 on top slot, pcie3 on slot below gpu) and 4 sata drives(3 hdds and one sata ssd). Do i need x870e chipset to have all those drives operational or regular x870 would do fine? Currently i have am4 board( x570 gigabyte aorus elite with 3700x cpu)..

 

[_roman_]

Please check the mainboard manual for the mainboard in question. It's about the wiring of the mainboard in question.

A x670 mainboard most likely should be fine.