Overall and Final Verdict
Now that we have gotten a look at the Z370 Gaming Pro Carbon’s features, aesthetics, software, and performance I can finally wrap it all up and run through the good and the bad. I’m actually a big fan of the color neutral theme that MSI went with on this board. With RGB becoming popular you do see it more but they have been great about having simple designs in their Pro lineup for a while now. This doesn’t lock you into any specific theme. The rear I/O shield is a nice touch as well, covering up all of the shiny metal back there and helping give a mostly blacked out look. The only thing I don’t like as far as aesthetics goes is the use of the fake carbon fiber. I know this is the Carbon model but the fake weave they used is especially fake looking, there are much better designs out there that make you wonder if it is really Carbon fiber, that would have made a big difference.
As for features the board isn’t exactly packed full of options, but you do at least get two M.2 slots and more than enough connections for any normal PC. The rear I/O could use a few more USB connections but overall the Carbon isn’t too bad.
The BIOS was solid and easy to navigate and it boots into its EZ Mode to prevent anyone getting lost if they don’t know what they are doing. Performance testing was interesting though. Overall the results were in line with other boards I’ve tested. It was the CPU heat issues that caused issues for me. MSI has this board set to feed more voltage when doing specific heavy loads to help with memory compatibility and this caused our 8700K to overheat quickly multiple times. I had to work with MSI to find a solution and I did document that in the performance section earlier. This won’t be an issue with normal use, but I do wonder if MSI should be updating their BIOS to prevent it from happening at all.
So the MSI Z370 Gaming Pro Carbon has an MSRP of $189.99, where does that put it in the market? Well just about smack dab in the middle honestly. This isn’t a budget board and with some Z370’s going for $400 it isn’t a high-end board as well. Feature wise it is in line with its pricing and MSI has a similar Gaming Pro Carbon AC with wireless should you need that. So overall the pricing is where I should be. Would I pick one up? Well, I like most of the board but the overheating issue would keep me away until I knew they updated that. It is fixable and frankly, it might not be an issue for lots of people in everyday use but all it takes is the one time you end up putting your PC under that load and wondering why it just bugged out and shut down.
Live Pricing: HERE
