In partnership with the premium liquid cooling system company EK, MSI has launched a new liquid cooling motherboard (MPG Z490 Carbon EK X) for the Intel Z490 chipset supporting LGA1200 socket. Just like the latest ASRock Z490 Aqua and Gigabyte Z490 AORUS Xtreme, the salient feature of this motherboard is the beautiful monoblock that contributes to robust thermal performance. The sturdy power system allows the new MPG Z490 Carbon EK X to smoothly drive the powerful 10th gen Intel Core-i9 processors even under heavy workloads.
MSI MPG Z490 Carbon EK X | Overview
Supporting 4 DIMM slots, this motherboard allows up to 128GB DDR4 memory running at 4800+ MHz (O.C.). For storage, it equips two M.2 and six SATA III 6Gb/s slots. It would have been a lot better if there were more M.2 slots since gamers and overclockers nowadays prefer M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD drives instead of SATA.
MSI MPG Z490 Carbon EK X incorporates three full-length PCIe 3.0 x16 slots that can either work in x16/x0/x4 or x8/x8/x4 mode. In addition, there are two PCIe 3.0 x1 slots available as well. If you’re going for a multi-GPU setup, you must watch out these specifications first.
In terms of connectivity, this motherboard holds 7 USB ports on the rear panel:
- 1x USB 3.2 (Gen 2×2, Type C)
- 4x USB 3.2 (Gen 2, Type A)
- 2x USB 2.0
You can definitely expand the peripheral connectivity via the internal connectors. MPG Z490 Carbon EK X will also accept Thunderbolt connection via an internal connector.
For onboard graphics, it holds a single HDMI & DisplayPort port supporting a maximum resolution of 4096×2160 at 30Hz and 60Hz respectively. Anyone buying a motherboard with a premium liquid solution won’t probably bother about the onboard graphics and rather look for a dedicated GPU.
You will also find a single Realtek RTL8125B 2.5Gbps LAN controller on the rear panel that ensures reliable & fast data transfer speeds. Talking about wireless connectivity, the Z490 Carbon EK X boasts support for WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1 technology that is now the industry standard for the latest motherboards.
Thermal Performance
One cannot deny the fact the latest Intel Core-i9 10th gen processors can run extremely hot under heavy workloads. Without a robust thermal solution, these processors can turn into a toast. Fortunately, the new MSI MPG Z490 Carbon EK X features an outstanding liquid cooling solution from EK that takes care of both the CPU and VRM power delivery section.
Even high-end SSDs are subject to thermal throttling and can fail to work effectively without a good heatsink design. This motherboard comes with M.2 Shield Frozr heat dissipation solution to keep the SSDs under recommended temperatures.
Via the BIOS and software, you can take full control over the cooling operations of this motherboard.
MSI MPG Z490 Carbon EK X Specifications
MSI MPG Z490 Carbon EK X | |
---|---|
Form Factor | ATX |
CPU Support | 10th Gen Intel Core (up to Core-i9) Pentium Gold processor Pentium Celeron processor |
CPU Socket | LGA 1200 |
Chipset | Intel Z490 Chipset |
Multi-GPU Support | 2-Way NVidia SLI 3-Way AMD CrossFire |
Display Interface | DisplayPort HDMI (Needs Processor Graphics) |
Memory Clock | up to DDR4 4800 MHz (OC) up to DDR4- 2933 MHz (JEDEC) |
DIMM Slots | 4 |
Memory Channel | Dual |
Expansion Slots | 3x PCIe 3.0 x16 2x PCIe 3.0 x 1 |
Storage | 2x M.2 slots 6x SATA III 6Gb/s |
RAID | 0/1/5/10 |
USB Ports (Rear) | 1x USB 3.2 (Gen 2×2, Type C) 4x USB 3.2 (Gen 2, Type A) 2x USB 2.0 |
USB Ports (Front) | 1x USB 3.2 (Gen 2, Type C) 2x USB 3.2 (Gen 1, Type A) 4x USB 2.0 |
LAN | Realtek 8125B 2.5G LAN |
WiFi / BT | Intel WiFi 6 AX201 Bluetooth 5.1 |
Audio | 8-Channel (7.1) HD Audio with Audio Boost 4 |
Mystic Light | Yes |
Dimensions | 12″ x 9.6″ |
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