As you can see MSI has slightly changed things up for the MAX II variant of the vaunted MPG Z790 Carbon series. We say slightly as it is for all intents and purposes the same shipping container, albeit with the graphics and text swapped out… and the blue + white color combination changed to a more purple + white configuration.
That however is the grand total of changes to the shipping container. This is a good thing, as the original MPG Z790 Carbon’s shipping container was top notch and so too is this one. More importantly it shows that MSI is indeed (out)growing their ‘hungry upstart’ phase and have evolved into a stable, mature company that no one would be ashamed of admitting to using in their custom builds. Put another way, they don’t have to try and outcompete Republic of propaGanda boards on the who can cause the most epileptic seizures in random victi… err… passersby. Instead, the MAG, MPG, and MEG lines reputation are already cemented firmly in buyers and minds and they seek MSI out. So there is no need to visualy assault one’s senses.
Make no mistake. This is no yawn inducing shipping container. Instead it is elegant, it is filled with all the information one could need to make an informed decision… and the multiple layers of carboard – inside and out – make it rather robust. Certainly not to the same levels as what MSI’s video cards get treated to, but more than enough to shrug off the typical local, state, national, and even international shipping issues that crop up from time to time. Just as the same as with the Z790 Carbon MAX and Z790 Carbon models before it did.
Moving on. This, similarity but with cutting edge refinements actually describe most of the accessories included with this bord. Before we get to the… controversial aspect lets go over the good. As with its predecessors the MAX II (as we are going to call it for brevity’s sake) included accessories are best classified as above average with little included that does not serve a purpose. In addition to the typical installation guide and user manual, warranty registration card, the very good WiFi + BT antenna (with excellent magnetic base), SATA cables (sadly only two), RGB cables, dual-purpose Y extension cable, , their excellent ‘EZ’ M.2 clips, and cable labeling sticker; MSI also includes a USB flash drive for the software and accessories instead of a DVD. In 2024 this thumb drive may not sound like such a big deal but MSI were one of the first to do it on their entire lineup and they have forced the other of the big three to follow suit. As such, we smile every time we see those little thumb drives and we just wish MSI had come up with the idea years ago!
This brings us to the controversial. A feature that we typically would go over later in the review, and we will, but it does impact the accessories so we are going to go over it mainly now. Many may not notice it until they go to plug in the WiFi+BT antenna but everyone will when they get to that step of their system build. Older MSI motherboards (circa 3 months ago), like most, use the “Reverse Polarity SubMiniature version A” (aka RP-SMA) connector standard for their WiFi + Bluetooth antenna headers. While ‘Reverse Polarity’ may lead some to believe that the positive and negative charge is reversed what it actually means is just the connectors and how they mate together are reversed. With “standard” SubMiniature version A connectors the male has the copper ‘post’ exposed and internal threading that mates with / slides into and over the female external threaded header on the WiFi module… yes engineers can be immature but in their defense this nomenclature can from the Days of Dongles and was not eyebrow raising back then.
In either case, with “Reverse Polarity” the female connector has the copper post exposed and not the male. However, the female is still externaly threaded and the male is internal. Yes, this makes no sense by the naming standards that were used, but it makes more sense for the computer industry to do things this way verses the radio and telecommunications industry who came up with SMA in the first place. After all straitening a bent copper rod is easier to do when it is on a cable than when it is attached to the back of a pc case. As such, by going back to a more normal SMA, MSI has technically removed a quirk of the industry and opened up all the more professional grade antenna arrays that are available outside the typical computer marketplace. In a perfect world we would be somewhat happy to see MSI fix this ‘industry quirk’… but we are not. At all.
We are not because the headers on the motherboard are most generously described as standard’ish female SMA connectors… while the connectors on the antenna cable is a male standard’ish SMB connector. Which makes no sense at all, but we get to that in a moment. First though, even if it was a bog-standard SMA header to SMA cable (which it is not), swapping the header style does come with a major downside. That downside is while SMA cables are a dime a dozen outside the PC industry… the majority of PC “WiFi” and “Bluetooth” antennas use RP-SMA connectors. Thus an adapter is required if you do not want to use the included antenna array. The reasons for why that may be the case can vary from the included antenna array’s cable is too short, you already have a better array, or you simply don’t want to use the new ‘EZ Antenna’. However, SMA-Male to RP-Male adapters are not all that common, arguably ‘niche’ to say the least, and thus they are typically expensive. For example up here in the People’s Free Democratic Republic of Canuckistan ‘fast AliExpress’ (aka ‘Amazon Canada’) want about ten canuck bucks for a pair of them. Even then the ‘ish’ comes into play.
These are bodged “standard’ish” headers that MSI paid their OEM to build for them. Thus “off the shelf” SMA to RP-SMA adapters are a weee bit tight and you have to jam them into place. Even then you may not be able to secure them via the external thread. So instead of going to pre-built route, you are better off getting two SMA headers, a couple inches (or feet) of coax and making your own custom adapter with a shorter than average amount of copper exposed. That way you can push the cable in further and hopefully engage at least a tiny bit of the threading on these custom headers. You may have to do this as this is not a bog standard SMA header… nor is it a bog standard SMB header. Instead it is a mishmash of both SMA and SMB standards… with a little ‘extra’ thrown into the mix for added spiciness.
As you can see on close examination the female header is not threaded all the way to the end – like would be on a SMA header. Instead it is smooth for the front half and then threaded… as the EZ cable that comes with this motherboard is not supposed to engage the threads as it is more SMB in nature. However, in a SMB header this motherboard header would not just be smooth copper inside. The outside should be smooth copper covering a secondary set of four to eight copper lugs in a circular pattern. These lugs engage the machined ring in the copper bayonet on the cable connector and together they grip tight. Sadly, they are missing on the motherboard end and MSI has had a tiny ring machined inside the copper tube housing… thus the only thing keeping the cable connected is a tiny bit of friction. Thus making it a custom SMA/SMB…”SM-MSI” non-standard header.
On its own… okay, trying to make the motherboard antenna headers ‘universal’ and work with SMA and SMB/EZ is laudable. Even ground breaking if it had been implemented a bit better. However, the nail in the coffin is if you look at the antenna cable headers they are also not SMB headers either. Instead we have bayonet style header consisting of a central copper post surrounded/insulated by (white) plastic… but then instead of a solid copper with machined ring exterior, we have the six tiny friction lugs! Which simply cannot flex enough to produce enough friction for long term connectivity. Put another way, this cable connector is basically a MCX connector that has been modified to work with the… ‘custom’ SMA/B headers on the motherboard.
Taken as a whole… this makes not a lick of sense. It gives the worst possible combination of all three standards with only ‘speed’ being the upside to it. We truly understand that MSI did not want to have to pay Asus for the use of their, so poorly thought out we refuse to use it, Q-Antenna IP… but the configuration that they have come up with is not as good as the SMB standard it is loosely based upon; nor it as good as the tried and true RP-SMA screw on connector that it replaces. It is even worse than the fast, but finicky and unreliable Q-Antenna as it is trying to be both backwards compatible (it’s not) and “EZ” (which it is also not)… and fails at both.
To explain these design choices… a bit of background is required. SMA is a great miniature connector for what it was designed to do. That is reliably connect Radio antennas to Radio transmitters, Radio Receivers, and Radio Transceivers in even moderately adverse conditions. It did this by using a thread and nut configuration that once tightened down… typically stays that way for years. However, it is not a “fast” connector and in certain conditions (like say blindly reaching around the back of a case to attach your WiFi antenna’s cable) it can be a royal PITA. This is why SMB was developed. The version B did away with the whole ‘nut and bolt’ attachment and replaced it with a bayonet lug design that relies upon a lot of metal on metal friction (aka ‘spring’ tension) to keep them in place. SMB was perfect for the typical radio installations where a lot of SM connectors in a climate controller environment are required but a full time staff are there to track down the occasional loose connection… and replace a bad part caused from the added force applied to the fragile header – as this is a brute force friction plug arrangement instead of precision screw on method of connectivity.
So why did MSI do all this (as it could not have been cheap) instead of just going with SMA or SMB or even MCX? A couple years ago Asus decided to make a cheaper, quicker alternative to the bog standard WiFi connector and called their creation the “Q-Antenna”. Which is a fancy way of saying that ASUS took a bog standard SMB connector and applied a healthy dose of enshitification to it via the use of cheap plastic. They have done this as it is cheaper to use thermo-molded plastic rather than precision cut copper connectors for the ‘friction’ mounting that makes SMB fast, easy, and fairly reliable… and they could also claim that they had created a new and better standard that no one else could use lest they be sued by ASUS’ team of lawyers.
As such MSI had to make their own version of pay a hefty per header fee. Obviously after one too many committee meetings the plan of using SMB but with SMA compatibility and reduced stress on the motherboard’s rear I/O panel was born… and just like any “designed by committee” idea it fails at nearly everything… but is certainly not going to put much stress on the rear I/O panel as bog standard SMB, and is faster than SMB. So that is something we guess.
Yes, we are biased… and puzzled. We personally dislike this trend that ASUS has pushed upon the industry and applaud MSI for at least trying to make things as easy as ASUS… but they forgot one critical detail. That detail is the whole point of using a version of the SubMiniature version A connector standard is because it is secure. Once you screw the male cable on to the female header is stays put. First time. Every time. Sadly even with Asus(‘s Folly) it is mostly just friction that holds the cable in place. Even then at least, with Asus’ method the plastic grips from inside and outside of the copper header. With MSI copper lugs are trying to only grip the inside of the copper tube.
Yes, either ASUS’s or MSI’s method will save you time. In fact both will be a bajillion percent faster and easier than the “old” way of things. However, that translates to a couple seconds to maybe a minute of saving per header in the real world. Which in return nets you a connection that is going to jiggle loose from vibrations over time. Vibrations that come from say from PC case fans or even too much bass from your PC Gaming’s speakers. Bluntly put, this is just a recipe for random frustration as inexperienced people blame either drivers or the WiFi controller for Mr. Murphy coming for an extended visit. This is a known problem with ASUS and yet MSI has doubled down on it. Truly. Puzzling.
As such, our recommendation is if you do decide to use the included WiFi+ BT array “as is”… that when you do plug it in, do a double wrap of black electrical tape around each header. That should last years. Or if you want to do it properly… a dab of “Non-Conductive Adhesive” (various Loctite, Henkel series… hot glue) will get the job done and keep it done for the lifetime of that rig. Just understand that you will be cutting it free when you replace the motherboard, but since your next motherboard will also come with a new antenna array to go along with its new WiFi controller that is not much of a downside now is it?!
All hyperbole aside, this is a missed opportunity by MSI. Instead of opting for this new ‘EZ’ hybrid mishmash they could have shown the market a better way. An already standard way. A SubMiniature B (SMB) connector way. MSI is obviously well aware of it, and took pains to try and make a cheaper & gentler version of it, but SMB is beter. As it is an existing “prior art” standard it would have skirted any ASUS IP issues just as easily as this EZ “standard”… as ASUS used SMB for the basis of their new and shiny connector. Furthermore, since true SMB to SMB connectors rely upon machined metal lugs and not thermo-molded plastic for its friction fit it would have netted a tangibly better result than what ASUS offers (and eons better than what MSI ended up with). A better result without the need for propriety connectors while offering (nearly) zero concerns over longevity of said fitment. So much better a result that no one would care that MSI changed the standard.
Alternatively, MSI could have not only one upped ASUS at their own game but two upped them via the use of a standard Micro CoaXial connector (MCX) on both the antenna cable and the motherboard headers. Much like this EZ hybrid, and standard SMB and ASUS Q-Antenna, MCX is also a friction fitting; however it is a design that gives a louder ‘click’ when it is correctly connect and is about 30% smaller than a SMA connector. This would have allowed MSI the luxury of potentially fitting a 3×3 ‘EZ’ array in to the same(ish) footprint as what 2x2s are taking up now. Thus offering better performance and “EZ” on/off connectivity.
As an added bonus, MCX cables are widely used for GPS receivers so after-market cable extensions and adapters would have been downright (pardon the pun) EZ to source. That is how you move the entire industry forward and not sideways… and certainly not backwards. Hopefully future iterations of this EZ connector will be further refined and fix the underlying concerns we have with it… or at the very least they come with motherboard headers that have threading all the way to the end so that we can ignore it and use a bog standard SMA cable without the need of tearing down the board and replacing pigtail headers.
Until either option happens, we probably are going to swap out the headers for known reliable, known standardized ones. For those interested in such a solution DuckDuckGo/Yandex… Google “U.FL to RP-SMA Bulkhead” or “U.FL to RP-SMA Pigtail” or “U.FL MHF4 to RP SMA Female” and get ~5cm cables as you will only need the couple centimeter long ones (as this is not a Gigabyte Z790 Aorus Pro X board that put the WiFi card way down by the PCIe slots). Though in all likelihood if we take the time to do all that we will also take the time to swap out the WiFi controller card for an Intel BE200 (not the faux 7 BE202) or Intel “Killer” BE1750 (and deal with toxic software)… as this is an Intel motherboard. Making AMD combability concerns a non-issue. More importantly this swap of cards would also net better compatibility as the latest Intel BE2xx (and BE1750 Killer) series drivers have Windows 10 support baked in.
This leads us the to the second ‘niggle’ with the included accessories. That is MSI did away hopes and dreams over making the Carbon tangibly better than the Edge via a better WiFi+BT card. Instead it is the exact same QCNCM865 that ships the Edge Z790 Max WiFi. Make no mistake the Qualcomm based ‘865 series is a very decent solution. Qualcomm are the leaders of this industry for a reason. However, Intel is usually just as good, arguably better, in both performance and driver stability… and are actually a better company to work with than Qualcomm. Mix in lack of Windows 10 support and the included card is certainly a niggle all on its own. Not a deal breaker as nearly every recently released Z790 motherboard opted for this over the Intel – as the Intel option is in such demand that it was backlogged (whereas you can get the Qual anywhere… even in Aliexpress cards). Thus… this issue is a niggle that you need to be aware of and take into account as Caveat Emptor is indeed in full effect.
Moving on. Thankfully MSI does redeem themselves with the inclusion of their MSI USB 4 PD100W card. Yes. This was also included / debuted with the “blink and you miss it” / ‘softest of soft launches’ MPG Z790 Carbon MAX WiFi… but this ASMedia 4242 based card is a very nice bonus. One that would typically set you back about $50USD if you were to purchase a similar 3rd party card. Which ironically is about what a pair of pigtail adapters and a legit Intel BE200 wireless card will set you back.
