Storage Interfaces

Storage Performance

The MSI MPG Z690 Carbon EK X has a large complement of storage options with a total of five M.2 sockets in varying configurations. The rear I/O section is good for those who don't need more 20 Gb/s USB ports. Overall, MSI has done well for the suggested price point.

AIDA64 (SATA 6 Gb/s)

AIDA64 (USB 3.2)

The external USB-C enclosure is only rated for 10 Gb/s; 754 MB/s is a bit below target for most USB 3.2 Gen2 2x1 (10 Gbps) enclosures—not completely sure what happened here. I ran the test multiple times with similar results. Performance should be in the 850 MB/s range instead.

AIDA64 (NVMe M.2)

Using a Gen4 x4 M.2 drive, testing shows that the M.2 socket labeled M2_4 is indeed Gen3 as stated in the manual. This is the M.2 socket closest to the SATA ports.