We continue our review of motherboards built around the AMD X670E chipset. After having tested two models from Asus, the ROG Crosshair X670E Extreme and the ROG Crosshair X670E Gene as well as the AORUS X670E Master, let’s go to the MSI MPG X670E Carbon Wifi. This new motherboard from MSI features the new AM5 socket, DDR5 support and depending on the chipset, PCIe Gen5 and/or SSD Gen5. This model is one of the best known at MSI and is currently priced at $479.99 on Amazon.
Don’t forget that we posted yesterday this Monday dedicated to the performance of the Ryzen 9 7950X, Ryzen 9 7900X, Ryzen 7 7700X and Ryzen 5 7600X. A special thanks to MSI who sent us this MSI MPG X670E Carbon Wifi. [nextpage title=”MSI MPG X670E Carbon Wifi:”]
Architecture:
This MSI MPG X670E Carbon Wifi is built around the new X670E chipset. At the moment, we know that AMD has planned to launch several “new” chipsets in the coming weeks.
In addition to this X670E chipset, we will also see X670, B650E and B650 motherboards land, and by the end of October all four of these chipsets should be available to the general public. Here is a table that highlights the differences between these four chipsets. The B650E chipset could also be very interesting to build a configuration with a Ryzen 7000.
Bundle:
A small tour through the bundle of this MSI MPG X670E Carbon Wifi to see if it benefits from “special accessories”. And the least we can say is that MSI has contented itself with the strict minimum here.
Overall, we find a fairly standard bundle with the traditional SATA cables, Wi-Fi antenna, stickers, quick installation manual, a USB stick with drivers and that’s about it.
A new socket, hello socket AM5:
After the Z690 chipset and the LGA-1700 socket, it’s AMD’s turn to make its revolution. Goodbye socket AM4, hello socket AM5. It’s time to forget the PGA socket(Pin Grid Array) in which you used to put your processor in order to welcome the LGA socket(Land Grid Array). This socket will look like those already present for years on Intel motherboards. Why this change? Simply because of the larger number of pins on the Ryzen 7000 (1718).
AMD decided, with the AM5 socket, to keep a back plate already present for the AM4 socket. The 4 external holes that hold the retention system to fix your cooling system are still present. The distance between these 4 holes is identical to the AM4 socket, so you can still use your cooling system.
But AMD goes further and adds 4 more holes. These will be used to hold the AM5 socket in place but also to hold the backplate in place. This one should not be removed anymore like on the previous generation. Finally, the locking mechanism changes. We find the reinforcement frame, the force frame and the latch. Once your Ryzen 7000 is placed in the right position, you just have to close the latch to keep it in place.
Small remark following my tests, where I repeatedly removed and put back these new Ryzen 7000, know that the grip is far from being obvious with the particular shape of the IHS. There is a risk of accidents if you are not careful with the processor which could slip out of your hands and damage the pins of the socket. So be careful!
The different heat sinks :
The dimensions of the board are 305 mm x 244 mm, which corresponds to the ATX format. The dominant colors on the PCB are black with some touches of gray
Let’s start the tour with the radiators which are three in number! First of all, the two radiators located on the top of the motherboard and surrounding the socket. They are responsible for keeping the power supply stage cool and are connected by a heat pipe. The one that covers the external connectors has an RGB backlight with the well-known MSI dragon.
The third heatsink is the one that covers the chipset. It has a fairly large surface area but a low height to allow easy placement of graphics cards. We find the name of the model “MPG Carbon” as well as a part of the specifications of the card.
DDR5 support:
This new X670E chipset also brings DDR5 support. Our MSI MPG X670E Carbon Wifi has four memory slots. The specifications on the MSI website announce a compatibility of up to 6400 MT/s (OC). We should have no problems with our GSKill Trident Z5 NEO 6000 MT/s CL30 kit. It can accommodate a maximum of four DDR5 memory sticks.
AMD, in collaboration with the manufacturers of memory modules, now offers kits with “EXPO” technology. This is an alternative to the XMP profile (A-XMP at AMD). As a reminder, XMP allows, via the BIOS, to automatically activate the characteristics of your memory kit: the frequency, the timings as well as the voltage. The AMD EXPO technology will also allow you to overclock DDR5 in a single click in combination with the Ryzen 7000.
Four M.2 SSD slots and PCIe 5.0:
In order to keep the design of the chipset heatsink together, a plate has been integrated into the chipset. The cut-outs fit perfectly together and are intended to cover the four slots for M2 SSDs.
The first SSD, the one closest to the AM5 socket, has a “clip-on” attachment, so you can remove it without the need for tools. It has the reference “Screwless M.2 Shield Frozr”. It is wired in PCIe 5.0 x4 and supports 2280/2260. The one below it also shares the same characteristics but is held in place by two screws.
The next two, below the first PCIe slot, are wired in PCIe 4.0 x4 and are 22110/2280/2260 compatible for one and 2280/2260 for the other. The motherboard has two PCIe 5.0 16x (x8/x8) ports as well as a PCI Express PCIe 4.0 port operating in x4.
RGB or not RGB?
As is the case for a large part of the MPG range, it has a backlight on the radiator covering the connectors (the MSI dragon). The management of these is set via the MSI house software but it is possible to deactivate them, quite easily, via a switch on the motherboard. [nextpage title=”The PCB and connectors: “]
Tools for overclocking:
Let’s start with the elements inserted on the PCB which can be interesting tools for overclockers. They are almost inexistent on this model considering its position in the MSI range. For example, there are no physical power or reset buttons, which is a bit unfortunate in 2022, especially since the cost should not be an obstacle to its integration.
- The Debug Code Led: allows you to display a code that corresponds to the component responsible for the error during the boot. These are now displayed on the OLED screen and the list of codes can be found in the manual.
- The EZ Debug LED: 4 LEDs (CPU – DRAM – VGA – BOOT) that allow to diagnose errors during the boot of the card. If one of them stays on, it means that the corresponding component has a problem.
The PCB of this MSI MPG X670E Carbon Wifi:
Our MSI MEG X670E Carbon Wifi is equipped with the controller based on a power supply in 18 + 2 + 1. The part in charge of the CPU consists of 18 phases and on this model, no spliter, but beware the phases are placed in parallel: they are really 9. The controller is a chip Infineon XDPE192C3B.
The 18 mosfets are all 90A TDA21490 grouped in parallel by phase and thus allowing to split them. The mosfets in the power stages generate the most heat because they are responsible for the voltage conversion and delivery to the CPU from the 12 volt EPS connector.
Ultra complete connectivity:
The rear panel has the following elements. First of all the button to flash the bios from a USB stick, as well as the Clear CMOS and the Smart Button. In terms of USB ports, this MSI MEG X670E Carbon Wifi has an HDMI port and a DisplayPort. There are also two USB 2.0, six USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps (Type-A), one USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 20Gbps (Type-C) and one USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps (Type-C Display port).
Finally the various audio outputs and the network port (2.5G). Then we find the antenna supports for the dual band Wi-Fi. Finally, the audio part is provided by a Realtek ALC4080 chip. [nextpage title=”The BIOS: “] MSI was a little less responsive than usual in terms of BIOS and we had to contact some of the brand’s overclockers in order to get our hands on more recent BIOS than those available on the brand’s official website.
As usual, the BIOS opens on the simplified display which will be more than enough for users who do not want to modify other parameters than the basic ones. For the others, a press on the F7 key will allow you to access all the parameters. The BIOS is intuitive and for the initiated, it is quite easy to find the different parameters necessary to clock your processor or your memory kit.
It is in the “OC” section that we will find the main parameters that we will modify as the XMP profile. Attention, on this version, by default the FLCK was in 1:2 whereas it should be in 1:1. So I had to do it manually.
MSI also offers memory profiles via “Memory Try IT!” which can be a good starting point for those who want to start overclocking their kit. We can only regret the absence of profiles that would allow you to overclock your processor although it is not very complicated to start. We will test the memory profiles when overclocking the DDR5 kit.
Finally, don’t forget the importance of saving your settings so that you don’t have to encode your settings every time! [nextpage title=”The test configuration: “] Here is the configuration that will be used for the test of this MSI MPG X670E Carbon Wifi. For the publication of these tests, I used the latest BIOS received although new versions will certainly be available in the coming days due to the reactivity of Asus. We will also propose in the coming weeks several overclocking guides for your processor but also for your memory kit.
- Motherboard: MSI MPG X670E Carbon Wifi
- Processor: AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
- Memory : 32 GB GSKill Trident Z5 NEO 6000 MT/s CL30
- Graphics Card: MSI GT710
- Cooling system : Optimus waterblock + 480 mm EK radiator
- SSD : WD SN850 500GB PCIe 4.0
- Power supply : Super Flower Platinum 1600 watts
- Operating system : Windows 11 64 bits
A note that is important! We are going to talk about it because we had this problem on several X670E motherboards. Impossible for the first boot of the motherboard to arrive in the BIOS with 2 memory sticks. We had to boot the first time with only one stick otherwise impossible to access the BIOS. After this first boot, no more problem in dual channel.
A small tour by CPU-Z to make sure that everything is in order before starting our tests. The frequency and voltage are not fixed but evolve continuously. We will see in the following tests if they are well respected.
Let’s go for the overclocking of this Ryzen 9 7950X and our GSKill Trident Z5 NEO 6000 MT/s CL30 memory kit (EXPO) on this MSI MPG X670E Carbon Wifi.
Frequencies respected ?
An important point to check is that the frequencies are well respected with the processor we use. If this is not the case, it could mean a problematic BIOS, because the frequencies of your processor must be reached. It could also be due to your cooling system if it is not efficient enough. The processor reaching too high temperatures will be limited and therefore reduce its frequencies.
Let’s see what happens with our Ryzen 9 7950X under Cinebench R23 in single core and multi core. According to AMD, our 7950X should reach a frequency of 5.7 GHz on a single core.
Good news because during the Cinebench R23 benchmark on a single core, we can see our frequency reach 5825 MHz on core#1. Once all the cores are requested, the first 8 cores of CCD0 reach 5325 MHz and the other 8 cores of CCD1 reach 5100 MHz. Our processor is thus perfectly operational to attack our tests with a CCD0 more powerful than the CCD1. [nextpage title=”Memory overclocking: “] Once again, we will start our tests with the memory. The idea is to be able to use the best profile in combination with the processor overclocking.
Well, let’s start with a theoretical reminder since there are changes with the arrival of the ZEN 4 architecture as far as memory is concerned. While for the Ryzen 5000, the standard was to keep a 1:1:1 ratio between mclk:uclk:fclk, this will change with the Ryzen 7000. Indeed, they adopt the DDR5 memory. This one sees its frequency increasing, which implies changes in these ratios. AMD now recommends for AM5 motherboards in DDR5 a 1:1 ratio for the mclk:uclk and to finally leave the fclk in AUTO which will automatically set it to 2000 MHz. Theoretically, this is how it will behave:
- DDR5-4800 will give with the new ratios 2400:2400:2000 MHz (mclk:uclk:fclk)
- DDR5-5200 will give with the new ratios 2600:2600:2000 MHz (mclk:uclk:fclk)
- DDR5-6000 will give with the new ratios 3000:3000:2000 MHz (mclk:uclk:fclk)
Well, it may seem a bit complicated like that, but we’ll explain it all to you. First of all, don’t panic, if you activate your XMP or EXPO profile in the BIOS, everything will be set up automatically. The explanations we give you here are for those who want to overclock their memory kit.
fclk, mclk, uclk, a little reminder:
The fclk is the frequency of the Infiny Fabric which can be, since the previous generation, controlled independently via the BIOS parameters. By default, this value is set to AUTO mode and the motherboard will manage its frequency to ensure system stability. Its maximum frequency is around 2100/2200 MHz but it also depends on the quality of your processor, but that’s the lottery that will decide. The mclk also sometimes called “memclk” is the frequency of your memory kit and the uclk is the frequency of the memory controller.
You should also know that if you exceed the frequency of 6000 MT/s with your memory kit, automatically the frequency of the memory controller (uclk) will switch to a ratio of 1:2 always in order to ensure system stability. AMD indicates that the best performing frequency and ratios are 3000:3000:2000 (mclk:uclk:fclk).
Memory overclocking via BIOS profiles:
This MSI MPG X670E Carbon Wifi has several memory profiles within the BIOS depending on the type of chips in your memory kit. At MSI, no profiles related to the type of chips that equip your DDR5. You will have to test them and judge their stability.
So there are two profiles that we can test. The first one goes through very easily and the second one needs, with our memory kit, a little more voltage than what is expected. We had to increase the VDDQ voltage to 1.43 volts. Here are the results obtained with the 6400 MT/s profile under AIDA 64 and Geekbench 3.
We couldn’t go any higher than 6400 MT/s, the card simply refused to boot. We will start testing these EXPO memory kits on an AMD platform this week. [nextpage title=”CPU overclocking: “] Now that we have our 6400 MT/s CL30 memory profile, let’s move on to CPU overclocking. So, considering the temperatures obtained at the original frequency under Cinebench R23, 85°C, while we are under a custom watercooling, the overclocking margin may be quite limited. At the same time, this is good news since our Ryzen 9 7950X will offer excellent performance from the start.
Currently, to overclock our processor, we must either do it directly via the BIOS or via the AMD Ryzen Master software. It is the latter solution that we have chosen for these first tests.
Protocol:
Before starting, it is necessary to have one or more reference scores with your processors at stock frequencies , i.e. without having made any modification except having activated the XMP/EXPO profile. It is also very important to have a sheet of paper at hand that will allow you to note down all the tests that you will perform as well as the results or failures. Personally, I have hundreds of sheets of my tests on which I sometimes return to know how the processor behaved on such motherboard or in such test conditions. My own little bible.
For H24 overclocking, it will of course be necessary to take more time to fine-tune the voltage in order to provide it with the minimum necessary, but also to adjust each core independently if you want to take advantage of the maximum performance.
Load-Line Calibration:
A little tour through the ” Load-Line Calibration ” option in the BIOS in order to adjust this parameter as well as possible to keep the voltage as constant as possible. The idea is not to have too much difference between the selected voltage, the voltage measured at rest and under load. As usual, on an MSI card, we opted for a Mode 2 since it is for us the curve that seems to be just a hair above the horizontal.
Ryzen 9 7950X Operation:
Once again, it is via the OS that we will start our overclocking tests using AMD Ryzen Master. It is a tool that can be used very easily and is therefore very intuitive provided that you have a good understanding of the structure of your processor and here more particularly that of the Ryzen 9 7950X.
The Ryzen 9 7950X has two CCDs. Each CCD has a single CCX which has 8 cores. In the case of our 7950X, none of the CCX cores are disabled so that there are 8 cores per CCD and therefore 16 in total. The idea is to see how the CCDs behave when all the cores are used. We saw on page 5 that the CCD0 was more efficient than the CCD1. It will therefore be possible via Ryzen Master to try to push this one higher than the other.
Finally, you can also decide to vary the frequency of each core. The one with a star is the one that performs best of the 8 and the second best is marked with a disk. To overclock, go to profile 1 and select manual overclocking. You can then control either each CCX or each core independently.
Overclocking in different stages:
We will first start the tests at 5000 MHz on the two CCX with a voltage in Ryzen Master of 1.15 volt which when Cinebench R23 multi is launched is fixed at 1.10 volt. The idea is then to test the stability on several runs of Cinebench R23 multithread. If it’s stable, I increase the frequency by 100 MHz while checking the stability again. If the benchmark crashes, I increase the voltage slightly in order to regain a stability allowing to run the benchmark. The objective is to get a “quick” idea of the maximum benchmarkable frequency.
After a series of tests, we were able to benchmark at 5600/5400 MHz (CCD0/CCD1) and we also took the opportunity to quickly switch Geekbench3 to 5600/5400 MHz.
We get an excellent score of 41465 points under CinebenchR23 with a temperature of 84°C while at stock we had a score of 39223 for 95°C. As for Geekbench 3, the single core score is lower since our cores are at 5.6 GHz against 5.85 GHz at stock but the multi core score increases to 117111 points. [nextpage title=”The last word: “] That’s it, we’ve finished the tour of this MSI MPG X670E Carbon Wifi combined with the new processor from AMD, the Ryzen 9 7950X. By the way, if you want to know the performance of this Ryzen 9 7950X against the competition, our article dedicated to the Ryzen 7000 range is here. Our impressions are very positive when it comes to this association with this MSI MPG X670E Carbon Wifi version that has kept all its promises.
Displayed at the price of $479.99 on Amazon, it is among the most expensive cards available today. In view of the rather basic bundle, we would have liked to see it at a more attractive price in the face of the competition, which is quite tough in this price range.
The card behaved perfectly during all our tests but we only regret a less exemplary concern about the BIOS than before. Last night we received a new set of BIOS for MSI motherboards. The card is already working perfectly but could still be better for memory overclocking.
MSI MPG X670E Carbon Wifi:
We liked:
- A high-performance power stage
- The possibility to use high capacity and high frequency EXPO memory
- The numerous DDR5 profiles within the bios to clock the memory
- Compatibility with Corsair RGB (PCB connectors)
- The new version of MSI Center
- The sober design of this Carbon model
We would have liked:
- A more competitive price
- OC profiles for the CPU in the BIOS
This MSI MPG X670E Carbon Wifi does not suffer from any defect. Like all the previous models we have already tested in this “MPG Carbon” series, the card does the job perfectly and has a sober but effective design. As we already pointed out in our test of the Z690 Carbon Wifi model, the series has seen its price increase like most of the competition, but it is now a little harder to stand out against motherboards sold in the same price range.