MSI MPG X870E Carbon WiFi Review

Final Score: 93 out of 100

In a year full of dumpster fires and disappointments it is always good to find those rare rays of sunshine. The kind that can brighten one’s day and reaffirm your faith in humanity (just a teeny tiny bit). The kind that maybe, just maybe, show the entire corpo-world has not lost their collective minds. That maybe, just maybe, there are still some fellow feral ‘gray beards’ around still injecting sanity into the latest design trends. While a touch hyperbolic that is precisely what MSI has created with their latest X870E Carbon WiFi motherboard. This is a motherboard that many others could, and do, slap a ‘premium’ label on it and demand $100 to $200 more for it just because they can get away with it. Thankfully, instead of following that trend, MSI has once again created a premium grade motherboard… and not… gasp… price gouged.

So if you are looking for a new premium grade motherboard for your big boi Ryzen 9 (7000 or 9000 series), then you can stop reading here. The MSI MPG X870E Carbon WiFi ticks all the boxes for greatness and will save anywhere from 100 to 200 dollars in your budget versus the main competition’s offerings… and do that while not really being noticeably different in the real-world.

For a more detailed breakdown, one simply needs to ask a few questions to see if that they really are a great match for the Carbon X870E. Want to dip your toes in ‘fast’ Ethernet but don’t know if you want to spend that kind of coin on a new “Multi-Gig” switch to replace the 2.5GbE one you just purchased last year? No problem! The Carbon has you covered via the inclusion of not one but two NICs – 2.5GbE and 5.0GbE. Both of which can easily do both 1GbE and 2.5GbE… and that 5GbE’er is right there waiting for your next switch upgrade. Actually care about WiFi 7 and want to get the most out the fancy WiFi 7 Access Point (or just router) you spent way, way too much on? Thanks to a proper WiFi controller with actual WiFi 7 bandwidth offerings… the Carbon has you covered better than most of the competition (as long as you are not still using Windows 10 that is).

Want to push your Ryzen 9000 CPU to the limits? The Carbon laughs at mere mortal’s efforts to try and stress its VRM. Conversely want to see how cool ‘n’ quiet you can make a Ryzen 9 9950X? Its One. Click. In. The. BIOS. Want both? Easy peasy lemon squeezy… as you can have both. Are you an up and coming content creator (or just their editor) and need a veritable ton of fast USB ports… including 20 and 40G USB? The Carbon just came back from the “Pimp My USB” TV show and offers USB for days in both the rear I/O and onboard offerings it boasts. So much so it makes the ‘other guys’ Creator-esque motherboard(s) see under equipped by comparison.

Make no mistake. It is not perfect, the X870E dual chipset’s noticeable lack of increased lanes required motherboard design teams to make compromises somewhere in order to be certified by AMD. For most buyers MSI has done the best with what they were handed. Put bluntly, no matter where you look you are sure to be at least satisfied and most likely highly impressed. So impressed that most will aggree that MSI has once again raised the bar for what mainstream options now are required to offer in both the overall value and performance options. So much so that this Carbon is sure to be called “(Hijo de) Cabróna” in certain ‘other guys’ boardroom meetings when compared and contrasted against their more expensive ‘mainstream’ offerings. Hell it probably will be nicknamed that by MSI’s own MEG ACE team… as ooof the Cabr… err…. Carbon X870E’s value will make it hella-hard to justify stepping up to the ACE and its “enthusiast gaming” asking price. Which is why the X870E ACE still has not been released. So if you are looking for a good motherboard that does not cost as much as a Ryzen 9 9900X the Carbon X870E demands to be on your short, short list. Doing otherwise risks missing out on one of the best mainstream X870E based options going (right now).