You get a lot of motherboard for your money with the MSI MPG X870E Carbon Wi-Fi, but as we've said several times already, this kind of price tag is considerable for any motherboard. The issue both X670 and now X870-based motherboards have is that their B650/B850 equivalents are usually cheaper and offer many of the same features, albeit dialed down in some areas. B-series 800-series chipset boards are inbound and no doubt plenty of people will be waiting for them before reaching for their wallets, even if they grab a Ryzen 7 9800X3D on day one in November.

This is probably the most well-rounded X870E motherboard we've seen yet. It has a better EFI than the ASRock X870E Taichi. Additionally, its I/O panel is better equipped than both the ASRock X870E Taichi and the more expensive ASUS ROG Crosshair X870E Hero. The ASUS board has better software, but again, while MSI's software isn't perfect, it's still a little better than ASRock's. MSI's new EFI is likely to appeal to many, but its previous one was so good in terms of being simple that there were times we felt the new version didn't offer quite the same level of ease when switching between sections.

There are numerous improvements, but we'd like to see more, especially when it comes to reaching AMD's BIOS-based overclocking tools such as PBO, Curve Optimizer and Curve Shaper, which are still buried deep within menus. The fan control suite is pretty much the same as are the other menus so it's mainly the aesthetic tweaks you'll notice as well as the slight redesign. The software on the other hand, needs more work. We applaud the fact that fan control now has its own tab in MSI Center, but we'd prefer it was its own entity, seeing as it's the only part we'd want to install on our own PCs. MSI offers good control of your cooling here, but the software needs refining both in terms of layout and responsiveness.

In terms of actual features, the motherboard managed to cram in nine Type-A USB ports plus four Type-C ports on the I/O panel, two of which are USB4. This gives you the best of both worlds thanks to a small daughterboard embedded in the I/O shroud. We're still in the transition phase between Type-A and Type-C ports and this layout shows concern for that reality. Whether you need ultra-fast USB4 ports or have more Type-A devices than you can count, the MPG X870E Carbon Wi-Fi gets top marks. When considering pricier options, the ASUS ROG Crosshair X870E Hero doesn't seem to offer many extras beyond a better EFI. The main highlights include double the power for the Type-C front panel port and a Slim SAS connector. One ASUS feature we did appreciate is the Q-Dashboard in the EFI, which provides access to EFI menus from a PCB and component map.

However, the extra cost of the ASUS board can be prohibitive, and those features simply don't warrant the extra $200 you need to spend, at least in the US. If you're not worried about RGB lighting, then the flip side is that the ASRock X870E Taichi Lite costs $100 less than the MPG X870E Carbon Wi-Fi, and includes many of the same features. However, reiterating what we've already said, the ASRock EFI and software is generally less well-rounded, and we feel the I/O panel features strike a better balance on the MSI Carbon, too. The ASRock has an impressive 10 USB Type-A ports, but only two Type-C ports, which is not as future-proof as the MSI with four, together with more high-speed Type-A ports as well.

Future proofing is one reason you'd opt for a motherboard in this price bracket. Socket AM5 might be two generations of CPUs down already, but that doesn't mean the motherboard won't be sitting at the heart of your PC for another five years. The PCIe Gen 5 GPU and M.2 support, Wi-Fi 7 and generous USB ports with 27 W PD over front panel Type-C are all potentially useful features that will become mainstream within this motherboard's lifespan, potentially leaving a cheaper B650 option wanting and you wishing you'd paid a bit extra. Ultimately, this is about deciding how long you want to wait for a motherboard to use with your new CPU, the B850 chipset is still likely a way off. If you want something now, the MSI MPG X870E Carbon Wi-Fi is worth considering. It offers good cooling and a balanced feature set with many premium options, while also having a decent EFI and attractive RGB lighting. Overall, it's probably the best X870E option we've seen so far.