Alongside MEG X870E Godlike, MSI is refreshing its existing X870E motherboard lineup with ‘Max’ variants. These models come complete with a host of upgrades, improving the looks and functionality of each board.
While the majority of the lineup are souped-up versions of existing boards, there is an entirely new entry among them: MEG X870E Ace Max. This is the long-awaited successor to MEG X670E Ace, our personal choice of motherboard for Club386 test benches.
Here is the full list of X870E Max motherboards:
- MEG X870E Ace Max
- MPG X870E Carbon Max WiFi
- MPG X870E Edge Ti Max WiFi
- MAG X870E Tomahawk Max WiFi
- MAG X870E Gaming Plus Max WiFi
Exact specifications of each board remain TBC, but MSI has promised a wealth of universal features for every ‘Max’ motherboard. The brand is focussing on three key areas with this refresh: performance, expansion, and EZ DIY.
Performance
Starting with the first category, MSI is promising welcome gains with ‘OC Engine’. The brand claims the one-click overclock can push Ryzen 7 9800X3D performance up by 10%, rising to 15% with a combined memory OC.
These gains are reflective of Cyberpunk 2077 running at 1080p, so I’d expect smaller improvements at higher resolutions. It’s also worth noting that other games, namely Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Far Cry 6, saw more modest rises in performance to the tune of 5-8%. Still, more frames, however few or many, are always welcome.
Sporting up to 18+2+1 power systems, complete with a 110A SPS, these Max motherboards are certainly robust enough to handle overclocking AMD’s most-powerful processors. You can expect solid thermals along the VRM and M.2 slots too, through MSI’s Frozr cooling.
Of course, these are just on-paper specifications. I’m keen to see how well these motherboards perform in real-world benchmarks, particularly relative to outgoing X870 variants.
Expansion
Of all the improvements coming part and parcel with Max motherboards, I’m most excited for the changes MSI has made to PCIe bandwidth. In short, the brand is including extra chipsets so that slots can operate at full speed, rather than having to share lanes and run slower.
Now, you’ll have complete PCIe Gen 5 support straight from the CPU while up to two chipsets will take care of Gen 4 expansion slots. I can’t foresee many users maximising all this bandwidth, but I’m glad the option is finally there.
We’re still waiting for final specifications, but MSI also promises 5Gb LAN, USB 4, and WiFi 7 across the Max range. Considering this includes the brand’s budget-leaning Gaming Plus model, it’s great to see more high-end features make their way down the stack.
Finally, BIOS ROM size is doubling in size on Max boards, from 32MB to 64MB. MSI tells us this is in service of future-proofing, providing greater longevity to the motherboard and room for tinkerers to work.
EZ DIY
MSI is leveraging some of the same overclocking smarts as seen on Z890 Unify X on these motherboards. On the PCB, you’ll now find a ‘Direct OC Jumper’.
You’ll sadly need to acquire the ‘Pin-Header’ accessory separate from the motherboard, but plugging that device into the header will allow on-the-fly bus speed overclocking.
Meanwhile, you can expect to see a host of EZ DIY features, including EZ Release for your GPU, EZ M.2 Clips, and more. In short, building a system with a Max motherboard should be an easy task.
Hands-On
I recently ventured to MSI’s London headquarters, where I was able to preview several of these Max motherboards. Naturally, MEG X870E Ace Max soaked up most my attention but I did spend some time looking over MPG X870E Carbon Max WiFi and MAG X870E Tomahawk Max WiFi.
MEG X870E Ace Max
I’ve spent countless hours switching hardware out of MEG X670E Ace, so the changes and upgrades on MEG X870E Ace Max are readily apparent to my eye.
MSI has now adopted a more-standard horizontal PCIe Gen 5 M.2 slot placement, below the CPU. This replaces the admittedly awkward vertical design from the predecessor.
The primary slot now also boasts an ARGB LED atop the heatsink, lighting up the board’s ‘ACE’ logo. Just watch those fingerprints, as no one wants a smudge ruining the lightshow.
Looking further afield, all the M.2 expansion slots are now toolless. The primary PCIe expansion slot also now boasts an easy release function, bringing much jubilance to my fingers that will no longer have to reach for the retention clip.
Round back, USB 4 replaces the two 20Gb/s ports from the previous Ace, and MSI also finds room for an additional Type-A and Type-C 10Gb input. MEG X870E Ace also treats us to two LAN ports, one 10Gb and the other 5Gb.
I can’t foresee myself feeling short on connectivity using this board. The build experience should also be far more convenient too, thanks to the new EZ DIY features.
MPG & MAG
Moving down the stack, we have MPG X870E Carbon Max WiFi and MAG X870E Tomahawk Max WiFi.
We’ll need to wait for final specifications before outlining how exactly these Max variants different. However, I can see an immediately appreciable change on MAG X870E Tomahawk Max WiFi’s VRM.
Compared to MAG X870E Tomahawk, this new version tones down the series’ trademark green aesthetic atop the VRM heatsink in favour of a more subtle gunmetal grey. This should make it slightly easier to theme a build around the motherboard, but there are still plenty of splashes of colour elsewhere.
You can expect these motherboards to materialise on the market later this year. MSI tells us pricing, like specifications, is still subject to change. However, we should expect MSRPs similar to existing boards, if not exactly the same.
For more impressions, reviews, and more, Club386 is the place to be. You can find all the site’s coverage on our Google News feed.
