A new motherboard in the pipeline from MSI has been leaked to X via @wxnod: the Pro Z890-S WiFi PZ. It’s not a board that’s already been launched, but a model that’s currently being prepared by the brand. What’s special about it is that it’s a ‘Pro’ series, but also has ‘back-connect’ connectivity.
Pro Z890-S WiFi PZ: a Z890 backpanel card for MSI!
This model is a reference in standard ATX format. As you can see, the board is equipped with an Intel LGA-1851 socket and is coupled to a Z890 chipset. Here, the connectors disappear as far as possible, as we’re dealing with MSI’s Project Zero series. In other words, the connectors migrate as far as possible behind the PCB in order to hide the cables behind the motherboard tray as much as possible. However, this type of board requires a compatible case with additional openings in the main tray.
In terms of design, there’s nothing to complain about: the series boasts an attractive white/silver design. What’s more, for a Pro series, it has a massive heat shield, at least more than the other models in the series.
Connectivity is also very comprehensive, with four DDR5 memory slots. The storage section features at least three M.2 slots, while there are four SATA slots on the back of the card. The PCIe section is also complete, with four physical x16 ports. It remains to be seen how they will be wired, but it’s a safe bet that the first will be 5.0 x16 and the others 4.0 x4 or 3.0 x1.
Finally, we’ll be able to count on a WiFi 7 network, as shown in the promotional image. For Ethernet, we can expect the classic 2.5 GbE. As for USB, we imagine there will be a decent number of them. In short, all that remains is to find out the retail price.