MSI’s Computex Boards Include Project Zero with Rear Connectors and Z790 Max Refreshes
MSI brought a ton of motherboards to Computex, an annual hardware trade show in Taipei. The company’s products include an upgraded Z790 Max motherboard and Project Zero motherboards and cases that support connectivity on the back of your PC.
Most of these won’t be here until at least Q3 2023, which means there will be many options for faster connections and cleaner builds later this year.
Z790 Max motherboard and USB4 PD100W expansion card
There are four new Z790 Max models, supporting 12th and 13th Gen Intel Core, Pentium, Gold and Celeron processors on the LGA 1700 socket. MEG Z790 Ace Max, MPG Z790 Carbon Max Wifi, MPG Z790 Edge Max Wifi, MAG Z790 Tomahawk Max Wifi.
The MEG Z790 Max series adds Wi-Fi 7 and 5Gb Ethernet LAN compatibility, but LAN is limited to two models, Ace and Carbon. These boards are tool-free and feature M.2 “Frozr” shields that use a magnetic design instead of screws. Additionally, MSI promises a unique “DDR5 enhancement technology” called Memory Boost. Billboards at the Computex booth showed Ace and Carbon up to DDR5-7600 with overlock, and Tomahawk and Edge showing him DDR5-7200 with OC.
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These boards will have a Lighting M.2 Gen 5 PCIe slot and USB 3.2 Gen 2 x2, while the Z790 Ace Max will have Thunderbolt 4. Being an E-ATX board, the Ace Max comes with a state-of-the-art power system featuring MSI’s 24 Duet. railway power system. The MPG boards (Carbon Max and Edge Max) look like standard ATX boards, with Carbon featuring 19 power phases and Edge using 16 mirrored power arrangements. The tomahawk will also have the same placement as the edge.
In most other respects, these four boards are similar to the existing Ace, Carbon, Edge and Tomahawk, but with faster networking, tool-free M.2 coverage, and faster DDR5 overclocking. .
The company has not announced pricing for the Z790 Max series, but it suggests that it will launch near the end of Q3 2023.
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MSI also has a new expansion card, the USB5 PD100W, which MSI rep from Computex told deputy editor-in-chief Paul Alcorn will likely ship with at least one of the new motherboards. The card has two USB 4.0 Type-C ports that support up to 40 Gbps and display, one port can charge up to 100W and the other 27W. There are also two DisplayPort 1.4 input ports, possibly for capturing from other devices.
Spokespeople said the expansion board may be available for retail sale, but MSI makes no promises to do so. MSI’s official listing does not include a price or release date.
project zero
MSI has also put their own take on the rear-connecting motherboard Project Zero.This looks like gigabyte project stealth Either use a special case that supports connections in the back, or perhaps ASUS DIY APE standard. However, MSI seems to use their own design. A representative told Paul Alcorn that MSI changed the design to avoid patent issues.
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The Project Zero board shown at Computex is based on the AMD B650M board MSI partnered with the Ryzen 7 7700X. It was housed in a unique case called MAG Vampiric Project Zero with a 270-degree panoramic glass window.
The motherboard will be available for $219, but the case has yet to be priced. These components should appear in Q3.
