Published: December 9, 2023 | Source: MSI | Author: Tom Logan

MSI MPG Z790 Carbon Max WiFi Review

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Sorry we can’t hear you over the volume of the box art. Wow. Simultaneously attention grabbing and distracting, the MSI Z790 Carbon Max WiFi straightaway makes a statement. It’s gaudy.

Despite the insane art on the front, the back is much more manageable. Almost subtle. It certainly tells you all the important bits that you’ll find in with your new 14th Gen compatible motherboard purchase. The Z790 Carbon WiFi has much to recommend it and we’ve not seen it in the flesh yet.

Here it is, and if you feared that MSI would have the design of the Z790 Carbon Max live up to its name with chintzy carbon effect stickers, thankfully that’s not the case. It’s almost understated. We love the simple identifier on the main M.2 heatsink. Plus we’ll always like looking at the MSI Dragon.

The top section of the MSI MPG Z790 Carbon Max WiFi has a very clean design. The heatsinks are simple, but thick. There are four fan headers on the top right hand corner, split between CPU, System and AIO pump headers. Two ARGB headers that form part of the Mystic Light ecosystem are also to be found here. Perfect if you’ve got a ARGB AIO.

Down the bottom half we find four Gen4 M.2 slots below the main Gen5 one, for those of you with the preem drives. Should you have an older drive then the six SATA ports should be more than enough to keep your data requirements satisfied. Cast your eye across the bottom row and you’ll see the front panel connectors, fan headers, USB 2.0 headers and an regular RGB alongside another ARGB to complete the Mystic Light set. There is also a USB 4 header, which we’ll show you more of on the next page.

The heatsink stack is four rows deep. A significant amount. When you note than the 19+1+1 power setup is 105A then the reasoning behind this enormous cooling becomes clear. That’s a whole hill of power available to the Z790 Carbon Max and the latest Core i9 processors.

Often the Carbon range from MSI has proven to be at the lower end of the chipset suite. The Z790 Carbon Max, however, has six Type-A USB 3.2 10G ports, a Type C 10G and a 20G one. You certainly aren’t left wanting for connectivity options. That’s without delving into either the front panel USB options or the party trick we’re about to see on the next page.