MSI X299 XPOWER Gaming AC Preview

Features

We’ve covered a lot of the differences between the X299 and X99 chipsets when it was launched, but if you missed that then, as you would expect from a more recent design, the main theme is bigger, better, faster, more. More PCI Express lanes – depending upon the CPU you choose to install – faster memory, better turbo boosting (two cores rather than just the one), more USB ports, more M.2 ports. However you slice it, the X299 is stuffed with technology.

  
  
  
  
  

Features specific to the XPOWER Gaming AC tick all the MSI boxes as well as showing that sometimes they need a proofreader. Backpalte indeed. With 14 phase power management – 12+1+1 – the X299 XPOWER is ready for the 18 core Intel Core i9s when they finally hit the market, and there are umpteen fan headers, thermal probe points and pump headers to guarantee you can keep everything cool. With all the discussion on VRM temperatures that is flying around at the moment it is important to be able to monitor things as well as be able to cool it all. Lastly there is a dual M.2 expansion card that can run RAID directly from the CPU which we’ll look at on the next pages.