MSI MAG X870E Gaming Max WiFi Review

Introduction and Technical Specifications

Introduction

It’s amusing to us that we hated the Intel Ultra 200S series of processors less than many. Sure they were much like those we already had, but not objectively awful. We remember Cyrix processors and the dark days of early AMD Phenoms after all. Clearly, however, they weren’t popular. We had launch motherboards and that was about it. Since then, near endless quantities of AMD B850 and X870(E) motherboards have appeared in the office.

Unsurprisingly really. One only has to glance at the popularity of the AMD X3D CPUs to understand why. Aggressive pricing and a model for every budget helps shift a lot of units. When you also take into account how expensive high-end GPUs are, gaining free FPS just by utilising the AMD Ryzen X3D processors will always be popular. Spend an extra bit on the processor and save big on the graphics card without losing performance.

MSI have been broadening their range of affordable motherboards recently. Today’s review, the X870E Gaming Plus Max WiFi is the newest in their most cost-effective “named” range. There are options more vanilla than this, but MAG, MPG and MEG are the three primary model ranges MSI offer. This falls into the MAG category. Fortunately AMD ensured that the X870E chipset, like all current AM5 chipsets, has much built in. So even with a lower price ticket the Gaming Max has much to recommend it. Let’s take a look.

Technical Specifications