Blues and purples are the chosen colour-scheme for the MSI MPG X870E CARBON WIFI’s packaging and promotional material, and why not? They certainly go well with today’s tech. landscape - particularly as AI marketing trends continue to evoke Cyberpunk aesthetics so strongly - and it certainly gives the packaging a striking look at first glance. Remember however, you’re not locked into these colours; the motherboard is predominantly black with customisable RGB LEDs after all.
Present on the packaging are the board’s chief features: Ryzen 9000-series CPU readiness, USB4, WiFi 7 and 5Gbps wired networking, and of course the X870E chipset itself. The only blemish is the large warning label for the board’s button battery but that is a necessary regulatory evil.
MSI are a little more generous with accessories in their CARBON series than some other manufacturers. Owners can look forward to:
- 2x SATA 6Gb/s cables
- 1x 1 to 2 RGB extension cable
- 1x ARGB extension cable
- 1x 1 to 3 EZ Conn-Cable (V2)
- 1x EZ Front panel cable
- 1x EZ Wi-Fi Antenna
- 1x Cable sticker
- 1x EZ M.2 Clip II
- 1x EZ M.2 Clip II Remover
- USB drive
- 1x 1 to 2 RGB extension cable
- 1x ARGB extension cable
- 1x 1 to 3 EZ Conn-Cable (V2)
- 1x EZ Front panel cable
- 1x EZ Wi-Fi Antenna
- 1x Cable sticker
- 1x EZ M.2 Clip II
- 1x EZ M.2 Clip II Remover
- USB drive
The accessories are primed to make the platform as user-friendly as possible, either through cleaner cable management or streamlining connectivity. The longevity of MSI’s EZ-Conn connector and cable standard - which unifies fan, RGB and USB signalling into one proprietary header - remains to be seen, but it’s a novel solution to the birds nest of cables cooling and lighting tends to lead to.
This is our first look at the MPG X870E CARBON WIFI. Sharp lines and a majority black colour-scheme are the order of the day here. A significant proportion of its footprint are flat matte black heatspreaders or VRM heatsinks, giving the board a smooth and uncluttered appearance despite its extensive feature-set. The motherboard is equipped with four M.2 slots and three PCI-Express slots despite its ATX form factor, which should offer some interesting configurations that wouldn’t impact PCIe 5.0 signalling in the way that it does one some other X870E SKUs.
A straightforward ATX footprint should mean that the motherboard is compatible with almost every ATX PC case on the market. None of the connectors appear out of place at first glance and there should be no compatibility issues with the plethora of AM5 coolers on the market.
Our only reservation is perhaps the amount of MSI/MPG branding prominently featured across the board. They’ve gone to a lot of trouble in creating a relatively clean design that would be complimented by plain black heatspreaders and heatsinks, but that is a very subjective stance. It’s still an attractive design with plenty of customisation options either way.