MSI MPG Z690 Carbon WiFi Motherboard Review

Z690 Motherboards and Intel 12th Gen Alder Lake Pricing

Here’s a round-up of all the motherboards and processors I’ve reviewed today. This includes up to date pricing that was correct prior to launch. However, I expect prices and stock to be a little more volatile after the launch, so please keep in mind that they are subject to change. Most of the prices and links are from Amazon UK, however, I have included some prices and links to Scan.co.uk for items that were not available on Amazon at the time of writing.

• Intel 12th Gen Core i5-12600K, i7-12700K & i9-12900K CPU (review) – £290 @ Scan / £419 @ Scan / £599 @ Scan
• ASUS ROG MAXIMUS Z690 EXTREME Motherboard (review) – £935 @ Scan / £1669 Glacial Edition
• ASUS ROG MAXIMUS Z690 HERO Motherboard (review) – £520 @ Scan
• ASUS TUF Gaming Z690-Plus WiFi D4 Motherboard (review) – £280 @ Scan
• ASUS ROG Z690-I Gaming WiFi Motherboard (review) – £375 @ Scan
• Gigabyte Z690 AORUS XTREME Motherboard (review) – £767
• Gigabyte Z690 AORUS Master Motherboard (review) – £416
• Gigabyte Z690 AORUS Pro Motherboard (review) – £290
• MSI MPG Z690 Carbon WiFi Motherboard (review) – £410 @ Scan
• MSI MAG Z690 TOMAHAWK WIFI DDR4 Motherboard (review) – £301
• MSI MEG Z690 UNIFY Motherboard (review) – £510 @ Scan

Overview

While I really like (and may even buy) the MSI MAG Z690 TOMAHAWK WIFI DDR4, for an extra £100 investment, you could have yourself the beastly MSI MPG Z690 Carbon WiFi Motherboard. It’s got quite a few upgrades for your extra investment too, such as DDR5, dual PCIe Gen 5 slots, a more powerful VRM configuration, and most certainly a lot more connectivity. It’s also going up against the rather fantastic AORUS Master at this price range, which is a good thing and a bad thing. AORUS has a slightly better VRM, but I doubt it’ll make a noticeable difference in the real world. They also have 10 GbE LAN, but I doubt many will be able to max that out anyway, and the 2.5 GbE + WiFi 6E of the Carbon is certainly still freaking awesome. However, MSI pulls a lead with one feature, this board has two PCIe 5.0 slots!

Build Quality & Design

It’s a great looking motherboard, with a really cool theme throughout. The Carbon design means a little touch of carbon fibre detailing on the rear I/O guard, and some of the heatsinks too. It’s a black motherboard, with mostly black and dark grey hardware and heatsinks throughout. However, it stays dark too, as there’s no RGB on the motherboard (although it does have ARGB headers should you need them). The VRM configuration is robust, a 18+1+1 Phases design, with digital PWM IC and a 75A Smart Power Stage is plenty, even for the flagship 12th Gen CPUs. However, it’s the chunky VRM cooler, thick heat pipes, and the premium MOSFET thermal pads, rated for 7W/mk, that keep the Carbon running great. They’ve equipped all the M.2 slots with huge heatsinks, the PCIe 5.0 slots have the new SMT armour design, and overall, it’s just a very robust and competitive setup.

Performance

Well, as we might have expected, pretty much all of the Z690 motherboards performed around about the same, so if all you care about is straight-up gaming performance, then just pick the one you like. What really affects the price, however, is VMR configuration and connectivity. If you’re building a system that will render high-resolution video 24/7 and push max boost clocks on flagship CPUs, then sure, it’s a good idea to invest in a more premium board with the heatsinks that can cope with sustained loads. Furthermore, some of the Z690 boards have DDR4 DIMMS, making them more affordable, while DDR5 will add a price premium but bring performance benefits too. However, all the boards get PCIe 5.0 lanes, and Gen 4 storage too, which is where some of the most significant gains are to be found from one board to the other.

Added Value

One of the Carbon’s main advantages is the inclusion of two PCIe 5.0 slots, which seems to be a rare feature for Z690. When PCIe 5.0 hardware hits the market in next-gen storage and graphics cards, you’ll certainly be set to take advantage of it! The audio is excellent too, with the new ALC4080 chipset offering great quality high-res audio, and there’s a good range of connectivity options beyond that.

Should I Buy One?

The Carbon may not be the most outrageous Z690 board from MSI, but it provides a good mid-priced option for those wanting to get the most out of 12th Gen CPUs and the Z690 chipset. You get lots of super-fast PCIe 4.0 M.2 storage, fast WiFi 6E and 2.5 GbE LAN, and of course, those two future-proofing x16 PCIe 5.0 slots! It’s stylish, got great cooling built-in, and it’s competitively priced against similarly equipped rivals.