Packaging & Accessories: 8 out of 10
There really is not much to nit pick here as MSI has once again included ‘GodLike’ levels of actually useable accessories and done so without needlessly upping the MSRP. USB drive so no need to hook up a DVD drive to install the drivers? Check. Giving all the secondary M.2 slots the EZ-M.2 v2 treatment and including an extra in case one breaks? The X870E Carbon WiFi does that. Want an EZ-Plug’ front header adapter that is better than ASUS’ ground breaking Q-Adapter? It offers that too. Want a stock WiFi antenna that actually is decent and yet not so ugly that you would never dare use it on one of your custom PC builds? Yup. It offers that too. Want a “Video Card” locking mechanism so easy, so reliable that it makes all the rest look gimmicky in comparison? Indeed, the Carbon has that feature too! The only nit worth picking is the lack of adapters for those ‘EZ Antenna’ headers. Until MSI includes a pair of one dollar adapters we do feel the need to dock them two points.
Layout & Aesthetics: 23 out of 25
The Carbon models are quickly gaining a reputation for being both value pack and aesthetically pleasing. No matter if your idea of “good aesthetics” is the equivalent of a bunch of dogs playing poker, you think Caravaggio’s latter works were not nightmare fuel, maybe you like building works of art that even Ann Marie Bone would go “too much color!” from the sheer number of LEDs you like to use, or maybe you are just “a belt and suspenders” type of builder who likes understated builds… the X870E Carbon WiFi is flexible enough to satisfy your tastes and style. On the layout front, two maybe three minor things keep it from being perfect. Yes. The USB options are phenomenal. Yes. 4 M.2 ports is more than ‘good enough’ for most. Yes. The dual USB 5G headers is an excellent upgrade. We just wish MSI had moved the location of the new Supplemental PCIe Power port as it is not optimal to say the least. The same is true of the CLR CMOS button on the back. We like that is still there. We disklike it feels the same as the other two, and way, way… way too easy to accidentally depress. As such this is a board that redefines ‘AMD mainstream motherboard’, but there is still room for improvement.
Build Quality & Warranty: 28 out of 30
Make no mistake MSI did knock it out of the park here. We just have 2 nits to pick. The EZ WiFi headers may be eons better than ASUS’ take on ‘easy’ but they are still a step backwards for the industry as a whole. The other is obvious. The continuing single phase for the memory VRM instead of a dual configuration that most others have moved onto. This generation after generation complaint is starting to grow tiresome and needs to be improved upon for future models, not because it will be noticeably better in the real world… rather just so as to gain parity with the competition. Mix in a very good, if typical length, warranty and one has to be looking for “issues” to find any worth complaining about.
Value: 34 out of 35
While not perfect, the X870E Carbon WiFi is awfully close to being just that in the sheer mind boggling value it has to offer. So much power. So much performance. So relatively little cost. Yes. The X870E Carbon WiFi’s design team seemingly went out of their way to show how overpriced most ‘premium’ motherboards are these days. As such, if you can live with the easily solvable WiFi issue, and possibly loosing four precious PCIe 5.0 lanes (and possibly 4 PCIe 4.0 lanes), then the X870E Carbon WiFi is one of the better values to be had right now. Buy it, save between one and two hundred dollars… and put that savings towards a Ryzen ‘3D’ v-cache variant. Your wallet and your future self will both thank you.
Final Score: 93 out of 100
With its laundry list of features that are longer than a (lounge) lizard’s tongue and its rather reasonable (by 2024 standards) asking price the X870E Carbon WiFi is one of the few X870E motherboards actually worth buying. So no matter if you are hardcore Team Read fan looking to upgrade from a 5000-series system, or just an ultra-conservative buyer thinking about holding off on going Team nu-Blue for this generation, the MSI MPG X870E Carbon WiFi is almost assuredly built to please. It will make a firm foundation for your custom PC build that will give you years and years of enjoyment worth of the phrase “Yeomen’s Work”, possibly even “MEGnum Force” if you are into puns, as this motherboard is just that good. That flexible… and that (relatively) reasonably priced. Color us highly impressed.
