Of course, nothing has changed with the AM4 CPU socket, being backwards and forwards compatible with any 1st Gen Ryzen 3/5/7 processors. The processor’s 14+2 power delivery is all-digital, helping with stability and overclocks for the best performance.
Being an enthusiast-centric motherboard, MSI have provided dual 8-pin CPU power, located top-right. Only one needs to be populated for general use, but if exploring the extreme limits of the Ryzen CPUs, especially the R7 series, you may find higher and more stable clocks can be attained by populating both power delivery slots.
A total of six PWM fan headers populate the board, one is located next to the CPU socket, three along the side of the DIMM slots. There’s one above the PCI-E x1 slot and finally one located along the bottom edge.
Memory support is provided by a dual channel DDR4 controller located within the AMD Ryzen chip. MSI claim support for up to 3600MHz on the GAMING M7 AC with capacity support up to 64GB (4x 16GB). The metal DIMM slots, paired with isolated circuitry provide optimal stability. MSI have tested the M7 AC with over 500 DRAM kits to help guarantee memory compatibility.
Immediately right of the 24-pin ATX power are four LEDs, dubbed the EZ Debug LED, to help diagnose any issues. BOOT, VGA, DRAM and CPU are here. The offending item will be lit to help locate the problem, should you encounter any.
Located to the right of the southbridge/M.2 heatsink are six SATA3 headers, arranged 90° from the board for optimal cable routing. Just to the left is a 90° USB 3.0 case header, for front USB ports.
If the EZ Debug LEDs weren’t enough, there’s also a two-digit LED display on the bottom-right of the board. The debug codes are listed within the manual, helping to pinpoint the exact cause of any issues during the boot process.
The GAME BOOST Knob is there to automatically overclock your CPU. Going from 0 to 11, because who doesn’t want to turn it up to 11? Unfortunately, due to the timing of our review, there aren’t currently any known good values for this with the 2700X CPU so we were unable to test its usefulness; however, in our experience on other MSI motherboards, this can be a quick and simple way to overclock your CPU, though results are often better if you tweak settings yourself. A one-size-fits-all approach to overclocking will very rarely yield optimal results.
The M.2 Shielf FROZR dominates the south portion of the motherboard, providing cooling for the southbridge and both M.2 slots. This part is unlocked by undoing both M.2 screws, at which point the whole piece hinges up at the right.
PCI-E ports are as follows:
• 2x PCI-E 3.0 x16
• 1x PCI-E 2.0 x16
• 3x PCI-E 2.0 x1
The bottom edge provides us with the following, from left to right:
• Front Audio
• RGB fan header
• PWM fan header
• JFP2 (Jumper front panel)
• JFP1 (Jumper front panel, traditional)
• USB 2.0
• USB 2.0
• USB 3.0
• JUSB5 (Type-C connection for front of case)
• Power
• Reset
• GAME BOOST Knob
• RGB Rainbow header
Audio is isolated, to prevent any interference with incredibly sensitive pieces of equipment. Audio is provided by Audio Boost 4, featuring Chemi-Con capacitors for a warmer sound, along with gold-plated connectors.
The rear IO panel, with shield included, provides these input/outputs:
• PS/2 Device port
• 2x USB 2.0 ports
• 4x USB 3.1 Gen. 1 ports
• Intel WiFi/Bluetooth antenna connections
• Killer E2500 Gigabit LAN port
• USB 3.1 Gen. 2 Type A & Type C ports
• 7.1 Audio output + SPDIF Optical out
The inclusion of USB 2.0, in 2018, seems a little out-dated, but there may be products with compatibility issues that will only function correctly over USB 2.0. If that’s the case, you’ll be glad they’re there. They also offer ample performance for keyboards and mice, even with 1000Hz polling rates and RGB lighting.
Being an enthusiast-centric motherboard, MSI have provided dual 8-pin CPU power, located top-right. Only one needs to be populated for general use, but if exploring the extreme limits of the Ryzen CPUs, especially the R7 series, you may find higher and more stable clocks can be attained by populating both power delivery slots.
A total of six PWM fan headers populate the board, one is located next to the CPU socket, three along the side of the DIMM slots. There’s one above the PCI-E x1 slot and finally one located along the bottom edge.
Memory support is provided by a dual channel DDR4 controller located within the AMD Ryzen chip. MSI claim support for up to 3600MHz on the GAMING M7 AC with capacity support up to 64GB (4x 16GB). The metal DIMM slots, paired with isolated circuitry provide optimal stability. MSI have tested the M7 AC with over 500 DRAM kits to help guarantee memory compatibility.
Immediately right of the 24-pin ATX power are four LEDs, dubbed the EZ Debug LED, to help diagnose any issues. BOOT, VGA, DRAM and CPU are here. The offending item will be lit to help locate the problem, should you encounter any.
Located to the right of the southbridge/M.2 heatsink are six SATA3 headers, arranged 90° from the board for optimal cable routing. Just to the left is a 90° USB 3.0 case header, for front USB ports.
If the EZ Debug LEDs weren’t enough, there’s also a two-digit LED display on the bottom-right of the board. The debug codes are listed within the manual, helping to pinpoint the exact cause of any issues during the boot process.
The GAME BOOST Knob is there to automatically overclock your CPU. Going from 0 to 11, because who doesn’t want to turn it up to 11? Unfortunately, due to the timing of our review, there aren’t currently any known good values for this with the 2700X CPU so we were unable to test its usefulness; however, in our experience on other MSI motherboards, this can be a quick and simple way to overclock your CPU, though results are often better if you tweak settings yourself. A one-size-fits-all approach to overclocking will very rarely yield optimal results.
The M.2 Shielf FROZR dominates the south portion of the motherboard, providing cooling for the southbridge and both M.2 slots. This part is unlocked by undoing both M.2 screws, at which point the whole piece hinges up at the right.
PCI-E ports are as follows:
• 2x PCI-E 3.0 x16
• 1x PCI-E 2.0 x16
• 3x PCI-E 2.0 x1
The bottom edge provides us with the following, from left to right:
• Front Audio
• RGB fan header
• PWM fan header
• JFP2 (Jumper front panel)
• JFP1 (Jumper front panel, traditional)
• USB 2.0
• USB 2.0
• USB 3.0
• JUSB5 (Type-C connection for front of case)
• Power
• Reset
• GAME BOOST Knob
• RGB Rainbow header
Audio is isolated, to prevent any interference with incredibly sensitive pieces of equipment. Audio is provided by Audio Boost 4, featuring Chemi-Con capacitors for a warmer sound, along with gold-plated connectors.
The rear IO panel, with shield included, provides these input/outputs:
• PS/2 Device port
• 2x USB 2.0 ports
• 4x USB 3.1 Gen. 1 ports
• Intel WiFi/Bluetooth antenna connections
• Killer E2500 Gigabit LAN port
• USB 3.1 Gen. 2 Type A & Type C ports
• 7.1 Audio output + SPDIF Optical out
The inclusion of USB 2.0, in 2018, seems a little out-dated, but there may be products with compatibility issues that will only function correctly over USB 2.0. If that’s the case, you’ll be glad they’re there. They also offer ample performance for keyboards and mice, even with 1000Hz polling rates and RGB lighting.
