MSI X299 XPOWER Gaming AC Review

MSI X299 XPOWER Gaming AC Review

Introduction

It wasn’t that long ago that the XPOWER range was the killer model in the MSI range. If you wanted something with bells and whistles on it then you pretty much had to go with the XPOWER. Then their Gaming range appeared and utilised the strong dragon brand logo to really make inroads into the motherboard market.

As the Dragon Gaming range took over, so MSI introduced the Carbon range which had most of the features from the Dragon Gaming range whilst being a little more neutral in its design. All of which meant that the XPOWER, once the flagship model, was a little bit lost in the shuffle. After all, both the Carbon and the Dragon ones had all the performance anyone could realistically require.

The X299 chipset has a massive selection of technologies built into it and this has given MSI the opportunity to revisit the XPOWER range and apply their current motherboard thinking to it. Can it still stand tall at the top of the MSI range or has time passed it by?

Technical Specifications

As you would expect from a model bearing the MSI XPOWER branding the X299 XPOWER Gaming AC comes with all the latest features and technologies to ensure you get the best possible performance from your setup. Probably the most jaw-dropping part is the sheer amount of storage connectors available. Ten SATA III ports and 3 M.2 sockets ensure that even the most drive-rich setup is catered for. If you’ve ever found yourself having to condense smaller drivers into one larger one for port reasons, fear not, the XPOWER has you covered. Equally plentiful are USB 3.1 sockets. Whilst the Type-C hasn’t taken off in quite the way that we might have thought – backwards compatibility of the millions of USB devices is more important we imagine – there are still oodles of Type-A sockets available to you. Let’s take a closer look at it.

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