MSI, three new X299 motherboards for the new Core X 10000

MSI he announced three high-end motherboards calls Creator X299, X299 PRO and X299 PRO 10G based on the chipset Intel X299, so think about the new 10th generation Intel Core X processors.

There Creator X299 it is totally black with Mystic RGB LED in two areas. The motherboard is equipped with a 12-phase digital IR VRM with each phase capable of delivering 90 A, while the LGA 2066 socket is powered not by one, but by three 8-pin connectors. The VRMs are cooled by an aluminum heat sink equipped with a heatsink that extends up to the I / O.

There are eight DDR4 slots can support up to 256 GB memory in quad-channel mode and frequencies up to 4266 MHz (OC +). Connectivity is entrusted to two Ethernet ports, one 10G (Aquantia AQC107) and one Gigabit (Intel I219-V), but there is also Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity.

Three controllers ASMedia allow you to have one USB 3.2 Gen2 (10 Gbps) Type C, one USB 3.2 Gen2 2 × 2 (20 Gbps) Type C and seven USB 3.2 Gen1. For storage here 8 SATA III ports e three M.2 (a dedicated bundled card offers four more).

The motherboard offers four PCIe 3.0 x16 slots to allow multi-GPU configurations for up to 4 cards and there is also a U.2 door below the SATA ports which can be used to connect U.2 SSD.

Moving on to the range MSI X299 PRO, the series is available in 10G version and without 10G Ethernet connectivity. Both cards have di an 8-phase VRM. The CPU socket is powered by a dual 8-pin connector and there are eight DDR4 slots. Motherboards support up to 256 GB of capacity at a maximum frequency of 4200 MHz (OC +).

Both motherboards have three PCIe 3.0 x16 slots for multi-GPU configurations of up to three cards and two M.2 slots with an M.2 Shield Frozr heatsink. Complete the equipment six SATA III ports. On the connectivity front we find a door USB 3.2 Gen 2 × 2, one USB 3.2 Gen2, four USB 3.2 Gen1 and four USB 2.0. There is also a 7.1-channel HD audio jack managed by the Realtek ALC1220 codec.

The I / O on both motherboards includes a BIOS Flashback button and a PS / 2 port. The new motherboards have two Ethernet ports, one 2.5G powered by the Realtek RTL8125-CG controller and one 1G driven by the Intel I219-V controller.

The 10G model is supplied with an additional board equipped with the Aquantia AQC107 controller. Both are accompanied by an Xpander-Z M.2 card with active cooling which offers two further M.2 slots. The cards should be marketed at a price of around 250-300 euros, with the 10G model which will cost a little more.