With the wide range of new Coffee Lake based 8th gen CPUs from Intel, there needs to be just as much of a selection when it comes to motherboards. Not every board will fit each build or theme and depending on the CPU you may need more or less features. MSI has done a great job with a whole list of different models on Z370. For the launch, they sent over the Z370 Gaming Pro Carbon, one of their higher end boards and I’ve been testing with it. Today I want to check out what they have going on for features and see how it compares to the rest of the market. Is the Z370 Gaming Pro Carbon the board to get for your new build? Let’s find out.
Product Name: MSI Z370 Gaming Pro Carbon
Review sample provided for review by: MSI
Written by: Wes Compton
Pictures by: Wes Compton
Amazon Affiliate Link: HERE
Specifications |
|
CPU |
Supports 8th Generation Intel® Core™ Processors, and Intel® Pentium® and Celeron® Processors for Socket LGA1151 |
Chipset |
Intel® Z370 Chipset |
Main Memory |
• 4 x DDR4 memory slots, support up to 64GB - Supports DDR4 4000+(OC) to 2133 MHz Memory • Supports Dual-Channel mode • Supports non-ECC, un-buffered memory • Supports Intel® Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) * Please refer to www.msi.com for more information on compatible memory. |
Slots |
• 3 x PCIe 3.0 x16 slots (support x16/x0/x4, x8/x8/x4 modes) • 3 x PCIe 3.0 x1 slots |
Onboard Graphics |
• 1 x HDMI™ port, supports a maximum resolution of 4096x2160@30Hz, 2560x1600@60Hz> • 1 x DisplayPort port, supports a maximum resolution of 4096X2304@24Hz, 3840X2160@60Hz,1920X1200@60Hz |
Multi-GPU |
• Supports 2-Way NVIDIA® SLI™ Technology • Supports 3-Way AMD® CrossFire™ Technology |
Storage |
• Intel® Z370 Chipset • 6 x SATA 6Gb/s ports* • 2 x M.2 slots (Key M) - Support up to PCIe 3.0 x4 and SATA 6Gb/s - Support PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe U.2 SSD with Turbo U.2 Host Card** - M2_1 slot supports 2242/ 2260 /2280/ 22110 storage devices - M2_2 slot supports 2242/ 2260 /2280 storage devices - Intel® Optane™ Memory Ready for all M.2 slots |
RAID |
• Intel® Z370 Chipset • Supports RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5 and RAID 10 for SATA storage devices • Supports RAID 0, RAID 1 for M.2 PCIe storage devices |
USB |
• ASMedia® ASM3142 Chipset - 1 x USB 3.1 Gen2 (SuperSpeed USB 10Gbps) Type-C port on the back panel - 1 x USB 3.1 Gen2 (SuperSpeed USB 10Gbps) Type-A port on the back panel • Intel® Z370 Chipset - 8 x USB 3.1 Gen1 (SuperSpeed USB) ports (4 Type-A ports on the back panel, 4 ports available through the internal USB connectors) - 6 x USB 2.0 (High-speed USB) ports (2 Type-A ports on the back panel, 4 ports available through the internal USB connectors) |
Audio |
• Dual Realtek® ALC1220 Codec - 7.1-Channel High Definition Audio - Supports S/PDIF output |
LAN |
1 x Intel I219-V Gigabit LAN controller |
Internal I/O Connectors |
- 1 x 24-pin ATX main power connector - 1 x 8-pin ATX 12V power connector - 6 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors - 2 x USB 3.1 Gen1 connectors (supports additional 4 USB 3.1 Gen1 ports) - 2 x USB 2.0 connectors (supports additional 4 USB 2.0 ports) - 1 x 4-pin CPU fan connector - 1 x 4-pin water pump fan connector - 4 x 4-pin system fan connectors - 1 x Front panel audio connector - 2 x Front panel connectors - 2 x 5050 RGB LED strip 12V connectors - 1 x WS2812B Individually Addressable RGB LED strip 5V connector - 1 x CORSAIR Individually Addressable RGB LED strip 5V connector - 1 x TPM module connector - 1 x Chassis Intrusion connector - 1 x Clear CMOS jumper |
Back Panel I/O Ports |
- 1 x PS/2 keyboard/ mouse combo port - 2 x USB 2.0 Type-A ports - 1 x DisplayPort port - 1 x USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-A port - 1 x USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C port - 4 x USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-A ports - 1 x HDMI™ port - 1 x LAN (RJ45) port - 5 x OFC audio jacks - 1 x Optical S/PDIF OUT connector |
Dimension |
12 in. x 9.6 in. (30.4 cm x 24.3 cm) ATX Form Factor |
Mounting |
9 mounting holes |