MSI X99A GODLIKE GAMING CARBON (LGA2011-3) Motherboard Review

Final Thoughts

Pricing

The MSI X99A GODLIKE GAMING CARBON is currently available from Overclockers UK for £454.99 plus shipping. In the US, the product is on sale for a whopping $599.99 from Newegg.com. Clearly, this is a huge sum of money and designed for those who want a luxury motherboard on Intel’s professional platform. It’s important to remember that basic X99 motherboards cost significantly more than their Z170 counterparts and it’s challenging to find one with a unique aesthetic design. Even though the MSI X99A GODLIKE GAMING CARBON is undeniably expensive, this is a price some users are willing to pay if they own a premium aluminium chassis, water cooling loop and other costly endeavours.

Summary

The original MSI X99A GODLIKE GAMING caused a stir due to the onboard RGB illumination and magnificent specification. However, some users disliked the notion of having to use another red and black motherboard which detracted from the product’s unique styling. Furthermore, it didn’t seem logical to offer wacky illumination and such a huge gamut of colours while being restricted to a fairly overdone colour scheme. Thankfully, MSI addressed these complaints with the X99A GODLIKE GAMING CARBON which features an elegant finish and neutral aesthetic.

This allows the RGB lighting to work alongside the aluminium armour and create a really sophisticated appearance. The carbon coating is just sublime and accentuates the stunning range of colours on MSI’s greatly improved, Mystic Light technology. The lighting emanates around the PCH, audio chipset, power circuitry and MOSFETs to form a truly special product. However, I would have preferred to see some illumination around the DIMM slots to construct a more unified appearance. One other slight tweak could be to make the GODLIKE name light up in different colours. Saying that, it’s only a minor grievance and I honestly believe this is the best-looking motherboard ever created. When was I first introduced to the revised design during CES 2016, I instantly fell in love with the stark contrast between the subtle carbon finish and stainless steel shielding.

Of course, it’s not all about looks and the motherboard sports the finest grade of components to leverage extra performance. For example, MSI decided to use a 12-phase power delivery, fiberglass PCB, DIGITALL PWM, DrMOS, Hi-C Caps, Super Ferrite Chokes, Dark Caps and an OC socket with 2036 pins. On another note, the audio solution is driven by an ESS ES9018K2M DAC and positioned on a dedicated section of the PCB to reduce signal loss. The motherboard’s audio segment on its own is worth a significant amount of money and even has a toggle switch to choose between input sources. Another highlight is the motherboard’s Killer DoubleShot-X3 Pro which can easily combine the dual Killer E2400 LAN chips and Wireless-AC 1535 to achieve a maximum throughput of 2867Mbps. Sadly, our testing equipment isn’t able to reach these unbelievable speeds but it might be a useful feature for those with insane networking requirements.

MSI’s Click BIOS 4 is beautifully arranged and caters towards users with contrasting technical knowledge. For example, it’s incredibly simple to apply a basic multipler/voltage change and boost the CPU frequency in a quick manner. On a similar note, MSI’s OC Genie can offer up to 20% extra performance with a single click even if you have no knowledge of the overclocking procedure. Those users with a very high level of technical expertise can unlock the advanced overclocking section and tweak a huge amount of voltages. I really like how MSI has hidden this to stop novices from being intimidated by the BIOS’ layout. Overall, the BIOS is what we come to expect from MSI; it’s very stable, easy to navigate and looks superb with the carbon background.

In terms of performance numbers, the motherboard consistently reigned supreme during CPU, memory, storage and other vital tests. Additionally, there didn’t seem to be any difference compared to the original which suggests the changes are all cosmetic. Nevertheless, the exceptional foundation was already set and didn’t require any improvements to dramatically improve the motherboard’s performance. Clearly, it’s a pioneering product which other manufacturers are aiming to match in the near future. It’s important to note that outside of synthetic benchmarks, you’re unlikely to notice a major performance boost when comparing X99 motherboards. The silicon lottery and voltage required to reach certain frequencies are more important. On the other hand, the motherboard’s additional pins and exceptional power delivery is vital when you’re using LN2 or care about every last MHz. The X99A GODLIKE GAMING CARBON is designed to be more than just a greater performer, it’s an elegant, feature-rich product which creates an unrivalled sense of pride.

Pros

• Exceptional performance
• Gorgeous carbon fibre design
• Great motherboard layout
• Huge connectivity options
• Includes lots of useful accessories
• Luxurious packaging
• Mystic Light looks spectacular
• Premium Military Class 4 components
• Staggering build quality
• Superb BIOS
• Supreme audio circuitry
• Unbelievable networking potential
• Wonderful BIOS

Cons

• All these features don’t come cheap

“The MSI X99A GODLIKE GAMING CARBON is a masterpiece and features the most sophisticated aesthetic design I’ve ever encountered which makes it a work of art. Not only that, it’s capable of astonishing benchmark numbers and you’ll be hard-pressed to find anything better for years to come.”

MSI X99A GODLIKE GAMING CARBON (LGA2011-3) Motherboard Review

Thank you MSI for providing this review sample.