Turning our attention to the rear I/O port selection we can see that the MSI MPG Z790 Carbon WiFi’s list of features is pretty much as long and varied as its name. With that said, by modern standards it is not perfect. Still more than enough features, with some real standouts, but still room for improvement. Improvement(s) that one sadly has to step up to the ACE to get access to. Let’s drill down to explain our reasoning.
The last generation Z690 Carbon came with 10 USB ports; a small and recessed BIOS flashback button, a HDMI; a DP; 5+S/PDIF audio ports; a single 2.5GbE NIC; and dual antenna headers for the integrated WiFi 6 + BT 5 options. All in it was a decent assortment of options. No real standouts, but it covered all the basses nicely.
The new Z790 also has 10 USB ports. It comes with a single 2.5GbE NIC and dual antenna headers for the integrated WiFi 6 + BT 5 options. Includes a HDMI port. It includes a BIOS flashback button. While that sounds like not much has changed, and is noticeably inferior to the STRIX -E and its twelve USB ports, the devil is in the details. For this generation there are tangible improvements. Arguably enough to make it impossible to declare one company’s Z790 mainstream option ‘better’ than the ‘other’.
For example, the last generation Carbon had four USB 5Gbs, five USB 10Gbs (all type A), and single USB 20Gbs. This generation the breakdown of the 10 USB ports is as follows: two USB 5Gbs, SEVEN USB 10GBs (SIX type A, 1 Type-C) and a single 20Gbs port (via ASMedia ASM3242 controller). Thus it not only is obviously, blatantly better than its predecessor its is only missing two USB 5Gbps ports compared to the exact same options on the STRIX-E.
It also achieves parity, at worst (as we have not torn down a z790 STRIX-E to check for incorrectly installed components nor checked the NIC label) in the NIC department with the STRIX-E Z790. We say this as the 2.5GbE NIC has been changed from Intel i225-v to the i226-V (please note. Intel uses a “SRKTV” spec code for the i226-V C0 series). A much, much… much more reliable NIC than used in the last generation.
The audio components unfortunately have not been noticeably changed. As with its predecessor, the Z790 Carbon uses the Realtek ALC4080 Codec backstopped by a smattering of Chemi-Con capacitors for both the front and rear audio. So unlike the STRIX-E… there is no EMI protective cover for the ALC4080 chip, nor a secondary amp for the front audio jack. To be fair, the Z790 Carbon’s audio is more than adequate. Real-world differences are not as large as the specifications would lead one to believe… and the included protective covering for this area is rather beefy at 22.6grams (~0.8oz) and will block some EMI. Furthermore, this is an eight layer PCB motherboard and as such the audio lines are nicely separated from one another and other components on the board. Thus ensuring the signal will be clean and stable to and from the Realtek codec.
This actually matters more than a small EMI shield that really do little outside of extremely “noisy” systems… as we have had 6 layer PCBs w/ EMI shielded audio hiss and crackle. Honestly, in noisy systems the only two things that will save you from hearing static / noise on your audio is to either purchase a dedicated sound card or start replacing components (in order of likelihood: PSU, video card, storage).With that said the lack of a secondary amp for the front audio jack means that you are more likely to purchase a dedicated sound card than with the STRIX-E.
This brings us to, in our opinion, the stars of the rear I/O show: the Quality-of-Life additions. Honestly, unless you need a Display-Port… it is not even close. The MSI options are clearly superior to both its predecessor and the latest STRIX-E. Yes. Both came/come with a dedicated USB port and FlashBack button. Yes, the STRIX-E also comes with a clear CMOS button. Neither upsize them into legitimate buttons. Buttons you can blindly push by reaching around the case and using. Furthermore, these buttons are not in amongst the USB ports. Instead they are located in their own ‘zone’ on the rear IO. As such you will not accidently press them by mistake while trying to use a USB port.
If all that was not enough, MSI includes their “Smart Button”. This is a feature that was rarely seen outside of much, much more expensive options in past generations. To be perfectly candid, the loss of a DP port is well worth the gain of this feature. Hell, the size of the buttons alone make the tradeoff worth it. The Clear CMOS button alone makes it a worthwhile tradeoff. Including both and a Smart Button? That is no-brainer territory. It is superior and underscores the quality-of-life improvements MSI has baked into this cutting-edge motherboard.
We just wish this obvious QoL improvements had been extended further and included two extra USB ports in the ‘blank’ space of the rear I/O (as to gain parity with the Strix-E Z790) or more optimally still a 10GbE port was used. One day we hope the entire industry comes to their senses and realize that 2.5GbE is a {urine}-poor standard. One that should be either be ignored, or be considered as ‘special’ as including a 1GbE port is these days. After all, the cost between a good 2.5GbE switch and good 10GbE is not that great… and if people are going to pony up for new “above 1Gbe” networking infrastructure “Cry once, buy once” is the only way to go. Furthermore, the flexibility 10GbE offers cannot be matched by 2.5GbE NICs. These days a good 10GbE’s controllers can do 10/5/2.5/1… but these cheesy 2.5’s can’t do 10. They cannot even do 5 (i.e. about the fastest a standard 1500MTU configured network offers in real-world scenarios). They can only do 2.5/1/.1/ and yet demand one upgrade their networking backbone before you can take advantage of the ‘improvements’ they have to offer. In either case, this still an excellent rear io panel with an excellent feature set on tap.
