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

MSI MPG Z790 Carbon Max WiFi Review

Conclusion

If you’re familiar with the MSI Carbon range this newest addition might come as a shock. Especially if you think of it as an affordable weapon in the MSI armoury.

The Ace Max we looked at recently is certainly in the upper sphere of 14th Gen motherboards. Where the Z790 Carbon Max shines is how much connectivity MSI are offering you. Not only do you firstly get six USB Type-A 10G ports on the back, but secondly there are 20G ports, and the 40G USB4 add-in card to complete the set. That add-in card was significantly the most surprising thing in the box. We, like you, expected the Carbon Max to be like the other Carbon monikered motherboards. Giving us a 100W USB4 add-in card, in the box, is the kind of thing usually reserved for the most premium models. If this had the ROG eye on the box the price ticket would be significantly greater. MSI meanwhile just bundle it with the Carbon Max. Magnificent. Especially if you desire the latest technology.

Speaking of which, the Z790 Carbon Max WiFi comes with a host of that too. One M.2 Gen5 slot ensures that those of you with ultra-fast storage are catered to. Additionally having 4 M.2 Gen4 slots also mean that the rest of us are happy. Whilst six SATA ports let us bring along our older, motley, collection of drives and their files. With Intel 14th Generation support out of the box, as well as blazing fast DDR5 options, ensure the newest Carbon Max is up there with the best. We haven’t even mentioned the 2.5G LAN port or the Intel WiFi 7 support for those of you who prefer your connections to be wireless.

With 105A 19+1+1 power stage the newest MSI MPG motherboard has a significant amount of power available to tap into. We saw in our VRM testing that even our beefy Core i9-14900K couldn’t break it into a sweat. Anything that can squeeze 6GHz from your CPU without you needing to delve into the BIOS is going to get our vote.

The MSI MPG Z790 Carbon Max WiFi takes the famous Carbon name and pushes up to the heights of some of the finest motherboards around. Smooth consistent performance allied to plentiful connection options leave everyone satisfied. The addition of the USB 4 add-in card is icing on the cake and wins it our OC3D Gamers Choice award.