MSI MPG Z590 Gaming Carbon WiFi Motherboard Review

Here we go again, another Z590 motherboard review on Intel’s 11th Gen CPU launch day! This time, we are looking at the MSI MPG Z590 Gaming Carbon WIFI. MSI is a world-renowned motherboard manufacturer and as of late, has been updating its catalogue. They now manufacturer everything from motherboards, graphics cards, peripherals to monitors and cases. I’ve got to say, I am looking forward to seeing how this board stacks up against similar ones from the new Z590 chipset.

MSI MPG Z590 Gaming Carbon WiFi Motherboard

As we are starting to see, the Z590 and 11th Gen combination are offering some great performance over their predecessors. The Gaming Carbon WIFI, when paired with an 11th Gen CPU from Intel is going to offer us those much waited for upgrades such as PCIe 4.0 and WiFi 6e. On top of this, it can handle up to 128GB of RAM, has a whole host of USB ports and can even make use of HDMI 2.0.

Features

• 128gb ram
• wifi 6e
• 3x PCIe x16 slots
  • x16/x0/x4, x8/x8/x4, x8/x4+x4/x4
  • PCI_E1 & PCI_E3 4.0 support
  • PCI_E5 slot 3.0
• 2x PCIe 3.0 x1 slots 
• hdmi (2.0 with 11th gen)
• dp 1.4
• 6x sata 6gbs
• 3x m.2
  • M2_1 slot pcie 4.0
  • M2_2 & M2_3 3.0 x4
  • SATA2 will be unavailable when installing M.2 SATA SSD in the M2_2 slot.
  • SATA5 & SATA6 will be unavailable when installing M.2 SATA/PCIe SSD in the M2_3 slot.
• 2.5gb ethernet
• Bluetooth 5.2
• 1x USB3.2 Gen2x2 20Gbps port (Type-C port on the back panel)
• 4x USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps ports (3 Type-A port on the back panel, 1 Type-C available through the internal connector)
• 4x USB 3.2 Gen 1 5Gbps ports (2 Type-A ports on the back panel, 2 Type-A ports available through the internal connector)
• 8x USB 2.0 ports (4 Type-A ports on the back panel, 4 Type-A ports available through internal connectors)
• optical S/PDIF Out
• flash bios button

For in-depth specifications, please visit the official Manufacturer Motherboard product page here.

Make sure to also check it out on:
AMAZON UK: https://amzn.to/31jwo6H
AMAZON US: https://amzn.to/31oc9ot
SCAN.co.uk: MSI MPG Intel Z590 GAMING CARBON WIFI

MSI has included a good range of manuals and accessories with this motherboard. Inside the box, you will find some cable management stickers, a USB drive, and brush that looks like a USB drive, the WIFI antenna and some SATA cables among other things.

A Closer Look

Another black board, this time with quite a bit of grey accenting. Once upon a time, motherboards had mostly all green PCBs’s, now they are mostly all have black, funny how that works really! Either way, the MSI MPG Z590 Carbon Gaming Wifi is a good looking board. On first look, it appears to have most of what we should need to make the most out of our system. MSI has even gone ahead and included a sticker on the top M.2 slot to remind us that it will only work with 11th Gen CPUs. This is due to it being PCIe 4.0 which is not supported by 10th Gen CPUs so in turn, will not work at all with them.

Dual 8-pin EPS power connectors are going to help make sure our CPU is getting enough juice. It seems that the old standard single 8-pin EPS connector is phasing out with more manufacturers adding a second 4-pin or 8-pin EPC connector these days. This extra juice will allow us to overclock our CPUs just that much further and offer a more stable power delivery.

Across the top right, we have a CPU Fan and Pump Fan connector. WE also have some Debug jumpers and a 5v ARGB connector to make use of all that addressable RGB goodness. The J1 header is a JTAG debugging header while the JSMB1 header is an external System Management Bus header. If you don’t know what either of these is, don’t worry too much as they are likely of no use to use and are more for enthusiasts.

MSI has gone with a 16+1+1 Power Phase design with a 75A Smart Power Stage. This will ensure your system runs as smooth as possible and offers good stability.

The 24-pin power connector is located in its fairly generic spot, next to the RAM DIMMS. As for RAM, the MPG Z590 Pro Gaming Carbon WIFI can handle up to 128GB at up to 5,333MHz in OC mode.

Just under the 24-pin power connecter, we have six SATA 6GB/s ports. I am loving how we are starting to see this more and more often where they are now on the side of the board, rather than just stuck at the bottom. This is going to allow for better cable management which will ultimately result in a cleaner-looking build.

Towards the bottom of the board, we have a number of M.2 slots, all behind shields, three PCIe x16 slots and two PCIe x1 slots. As mentioned the top M.2 slot only works with 11th Gen CPUs due to it being PCIe 4.0 capable.

• M2_1 slot (From CPU)
  • Available only on 11th Gen Intel^® CPU
  • Supports PCIe 4.0 x4
  • Supports 2242/ 2260/ 2280/ 22110 storage devices
• M2_2¹ & M2_3² slot (From Z590 Chipset)
  • Supports PCIe 3.0 x4
  • Supports SATA 6Gb/s
  • Supports 2242/ 2260/ 2280 storage devices
  • Intel^® Optane™ Memory Ready³

Along the bottom of the motherboard, we have our standard host of connectors with a couple of additions. We have the front panel audio connector, another Debug connector, 5v and 12v RGB connectors, an LED on/off switch, a 6-pin power connector that will supply more power to the PCIe lanes for better overclocking and stability, a pair of USB 2.0 headers, a USB 3 header a couple of fans headers and our front panel header.

Onto the rear IO and we have plenty of USB ports, a USB Type-C port and even WIFI 6E connectors. We also have a Flash BIOS Button which is going to allow you to flash the BIOS on the board without having a CPU.

• USB 2.0
• DisplayPort
• USB 3.2 Gen 1 5Gbps Type-A
• 2.5G LAN
• Audio Connectors
• Flash BIOS Button
• HDMI
• USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps Type-A
• USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 20Gbps Type-C
• Wi-Fi / Bluetooth
• Optical S/PDIF Out

Nothing much going on around the backside of the motherboard. No Armour or anything like that. Just a few screws to help remove the VRM heatsinks should you need to.

How We Test

Here at eTeknix, we endeavour to disclose vital information regarding the benchmarking process so that readers can quantify the results and attempt to replicate them using their hardware. When it comes to our benchmarks in our reviews, the benchmarks are pretty self-explanatory although there are a few exceptions. Remember that your choice of motherboard, the silicon lottery, and other factors can yield different numbers, and there’s always a margin for error when using any software. Therefore, your experience may vary.

Testing Your Own System

We typically focus on commonly available benchmarks so that you too can run the same benchmarks on your own system. We hope this makes it easy for our readers to gauge the performance improvement available to them when they upgrade their own systems.

Gaming Tests

All games are run at their specified resolutions using the “high” settings or equivalent. We avoid using the Ultra settings as these often offer diminishing returns for performance vs visuals.

Test Benches

Rocket Lake S

Synthetic Benchmarks

Online Benchmarks

Compression & Rendering

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Shadow of the Tomb Raider Performance

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Far Cry New Dawn Performance

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Metro Exodus Performance

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World of Tanks Performance

Memory & Storage

Power Consumption

How Much Does it Cost?

Coming in at £311/$355 at the time of writing this, the MSI MPG Z590 Gaming Carbon WIFI has quite a lot to offer for the price. As with most PC components, motherboard prices are creeping up these days. While this isn’t the cheapest Z590 board, it offers plenty of bang for the buck and has some additional features that others don’t. Looking at similarly priced boards from competitors, this one has a couple of extra features that aren’t seen on all making the cost just that much more bearable.

Overview

The MPG Z590 Gaming Carbon WIFI is a good looking board with plenty of features and options for both novice and experienced users. It performs as good as it looks and being made by MSI, it will also offer great reliability. It has almost everything one could want from the Z590 chipset and when pairing it with an 11th Gen CPU, it goes just that extra bit further in offering even more performance for your money.

Build Quality & Design

The quality is top-notch and the design was thoroughly thought out. MSI only uses quality components across all of their hardware and it really shows. The all-black PCB and VRM heatsinks are complimented nicely by a bit of grey with subtle hints of RGB across the board. Small adaptions to the board such as the SATA ports position really offer users the easiest chance at having a clean build.

Performance

In synthetic benchmarks, this board falls right about in the middle of the results, right where it belongs. It’s not until we test a few games we see it really start to shine. In our gaming benchmarks, we can see the MPS Z590 Gaming Carbon WIFI really pick up the pace and jumps up the charts a few places and even takes the top spot in a couple of games when measuring FPS.

Added Value

MSI has gone just that extra step to make sure this board offers good value for money. Things like the added 6-pin power input for the PCIe lanes and all of the extra Debugging headers really help set this board aside from others of similar prices.

Should I Buy One?

This board has a lot to offer, especially when you consider some of the more enthusiast-grade features it has at its mid-range price. Users looking to do a little more with their board than just plug and play will love the extra power connectors and Debug headers this board offers.