MSI X299 XPower, Pro Carbon, Tomahawk, & SLI Plus _ Computex

**MSI x299 Motherboards: A Comprehensive Overview**

The MSI booth at recent trade shows showcased an impressive array of x299 motherboards, each with its unique features and configurations. This article will provide an in-depth look at these motherboards, covering their key specifications, designs, and technologies.

**Gaming Pro Carbon Motherboard**

One of the most interesting motherboards on display was the Gaming Pro Carbon. This board primarily focuses on things like RGB LEDs, making it a gamer-targeted motherboard rather than an enthusiast HDT-type board. The color scheme is silver or black with black accents, and it simplifies features such as memory armor and PCI armor on the x16 slots.

The Gaming Pro Carbon has two x16 PCIe slots, with an X8 X8 configuration for the other two PCIe slots. The M2 Shields are also available in this lineup, featuring digital LEDs for display purposes. One of the notable features of this board is its use of an aluminum heat sink, which provides improved thermal conductivity and a 3mm thick thermal pad for enhanced cooling.

**M7 Motherboard**

The M7 motherboard is another interesting offering from MSI. This board has a digital LED chipset cover and a unique PCIE configuration with two x16 slots and one X8 slot. The M2 Shields on this board feature mechanical action, closing like a lid to protect the device inside.

One notable feature of this board is its use of an 8+2 VRM phase design, which provides improved power delivery to the CPU. However, some features have been stripped away to lower the price, such as voltage plus and minus buttons. The board also uses IR 35201 voltage controllers and all IR MOSFETs for the vrm phases.

**M7 M2 Shield**

The M7 M2 Shield is another component showcased by MSI on their x299 motherboard lineup. This shield features a mechanical action that closes like a lid, protecting the device inside. It also uses a 3mm thick thermal pad and an aluminum heat sink for improved cooling.

One notable feature of this shield is its use of digital LEDs for display purposes. The M7 M2 Shield has been improved upon from previous models, with enhanced thermal conductivity and a new design that provides better airflow to the PCB.

**Tomahawk Motherboard**

The Tomahawk motherboard is MSI's lower-cost x299 model, simplifying features such as memory armor and PCI armor on the x16 slots. The color scheme changes to gray and black compared to other models, which have silver or black accents.

This board primarily focuses on providing a more affordable option for gamers and enthusiasts who want to build an x299 system without breaking the bank. However, it lacks some of the features found in higher-end models, such as the Gaming Pro Carbon motherboard.

**S Plus Motherboard**

The S Plus motherboard is MSI's mid-range x299 model, offering a balance between performance and price. This board has simplified LEDs compared to other models, featuring only two armor slots on the PCIe slots.

One notable feature of this board is its use of an A+1 phase design for vrm, which provides improved power delivery to the CPU while reducing production costs. The S Plus motherboard also lacks some features found in higher-end models, such as voltage plus and minus buttons.

**MSI x299 Motherboards: Conclusion**

In conclusion, MSI's x299 motherboard lineup offers a range of options for enthusiasts and gamers looking to build an x299 system. From the high-end Gaming Pro Carbon motherboard to the more affordable Tomahawk model, there is something for everyone. Each board has its unique features and technologies, such as improved cooling solutions like the aluminum heat sink on the Gaming Pro Carbon. With prices ranging from a few hundred dollars to several thousand, MSI's x299 motherboards are definitely worth considering for anyone looking to build an x299 system.

**Price**

The prices for these motherboards vary depending on the retailer and region. As mentioned earlier, there is no price information available for any of these motherboards at this time.

**Further Reading**

For more information about MSI's x299 motherboard lineup, please visit the link in the description below. We will also be posting a detailed article with notes from engineers and PMs on our Patreon page.

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"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enwe're at comex 2017 at msi's booth now looking at the x299 boards there's no 399 yet we'll have it soon but for today we're focusing on 299 uh so the boards to look at this is the flagship this is the X power board we have the specs on the vrm they're using all IR we'll go through that the M7 the pro carbon Tomahawk and then finally the S Plus board before getting into that this coverage is brought to you by Corsair and their Vengeance RGB LED memory the ic's on the Vengeance memory are sort of pre-selected did for overclocking so check the link in the description below for more on that let's start with the flagship so uh a few things here we'll we'll get to the M2 shields in a minute we had to talk about that but before get into that for the power components they're using all IR 35201 controllers for the voltage controller uh for vcor I don't know the mosfets yet but we have the basics for the the components it's all IR so uh that is a bit of a trend right now with x299 we saw it with gigabyte and we saw it with EVGA as well aside from that the normal assortment of armor and things like that are on the board but for things that are actually interesting they're running an x16 x16 and I believe an X8 X8 for the other two pcie slots that we'll have clarifications in the article in the link in the description below uh for the m.2 shields there's a new one here this is called frozer so this actually latches we'll have some b-roll of it latches in here and the frozer one has a uh it's an aluminum heat sink I'm told we haven't really obviously had time to test it yet but aluminum heat sink there is a 3mm thick thermal pad on the underside of it not present in our b-roll because of trade show 3mm thick heat pad or thermal pad and they've improved the thermal conductivity of the pad I don't know the specifics uh that same pad is supposed to be on these as well the difference between these and the previous model that we looked at on the gaming Pro carbon is just that screw and the thermal pad so this screw is a bit better than we worked with before small thing but uh it's the small things that matter with motherboards ultimately so that's the changes there uh they we talked about airf flow and problems like that we'll have to test it more but hopefully that helps out um there's no sinking to the PCB or anything like that like evj is doing so it's just to this heat sink alone this is just LED uh chipset cover Led Led uh and then moving on to the M7 board by the way no no price for any of these the M7 board there's digital LEDs here LEDs LEDs LEDs obviously uh this pcie configuration is a little bit different so it's x16 uh there are two x16 there's an 4 and an X8 I believe and we'll post a correction in the comments if not uh other than that this M2 Shield is a little bit different from the previous two it's still got the mechanical action to it it's got the 3mm thick thermal pad which we can show on b-roll and just closes just like that on top of the devices uh we've already got a whole content piece on that in the past so if you're curious you can learn more there other than this buttons on the board include go down to just power uh and the overclocking dial right here the other board has voltage plus and minus buttons as well so this one steps down a bit strips some of the features away to lower the price next or actually for uh vrm phases this one is an 8 plus2 that's a 12 plus 2 and then the rest are all 8+1 so 8+1 8 plus1 8+1 they're all IR 35201 voltage controllers and all IR mosfets uh so that's that board covered the next one is the gaming Pro carbon this board primarily focuses on things like RGB LEDs it is more of a gamer targeted board and less of an x299 Enthusiast HDT type board uh so this is something that makes more maybe for your KB LX refresh or something like that although you still have four dims that you won't be able to use cuz KB LX not skyx uh so that that one's it's it's pretty much RGB LEDs the tomahawk is uh one of the cheapest boards for x299 it's always their lower cost model the color scheme changes a little bit it goes to gray and black whereas these others are silver or black and black uh and it simplifies things like you lose the memory uh armor and you keep some of the PCI armor on the x16 slots whereas the other ones lose it and that's really all there is there uh this is another M2 Shield we don't know the specifics on this particular model though the last one for x299 is the S Plus model this is normally like a mid-range type board no prices again uh LEDs simplified here this one's no LEDs that we can see right now so Led Led and two armor slots no armor uh it's an a+1 phase design so a little bit cheaper to produce the vrm than the previous boards and I think that pretty much wraps up with the motherboards for the MSI Booth so that's all the x299 boards as always you can find more information in the description below I've got a whole lot of notes that we took here with engineers and PMs uh but we'll detail all that stuff in the article if you're curious about more you go to patreon.com Gamers helps out directly and as always subscribe for more thank you for watching I'll see you all next timewe're at comex 2017 at msi's booth now looking at the x299 boards there's no 399 yet we'll have it soon but for today we're focusing on 299 uh so the boards to look at this is the flagship this is the X power board we have the specs on the vrm they're using all IR we'll go through that the M7 the pro carbon Tomahawk and then finally the S Plus board before getting into that this coverage is brought to you by Corsair and their Vengeance RGB LED memory the ic's on the Vengeance memory are sort of pre-selected did for overclocking so check the link in the description below for more on that let's start with the flagship so uh a few things here we'll we'll get to the M2 shields in a minute we had to talk about that but before get into that for the power components they're using all IR 35201 controllers for the voltage controller uh for vcor I don't know the mosfets yet but we have the basics for the the components it's all IR so uh that is a bit of a trend right now with x299 we saw it with gigabyte and we saw it with EVGA as well aside from that the normal assortment of armor and things like that are on the board but for things that are actually interesting they're running an x16 x16 and I believe an X8 X8 for the other two pcie slots that we'll have clarifications in the article in the link in the description below uh for the m.2 shields there's a new one here this is called frozer so this actually latches we'll have some b-roll of it latches in here and the frozer one has a uh it's an aluminum heat sink I'm told we haven't really obviously had time to test it yet but aluminum heat sink there is a 3mm thick thermal pad on the underside of it not present in our b-roll because of trade show 3mm thick heat pad or thermal pad and they've improved the thermal conductivity of the pad I don't know the specifics uh that same pad is supposed to be on these as well the difference between these and the previous model that we looked at on the gaming Pro carbon is just that screw and the thermal pad so this screw is a bit better than we worked with before small thing but uh it's the small things that matter with motherboards ultimately so that's the changes there uh they we talked about airf flow and problems like that we'll have to test it more but hopefully that helps out um there's no sinking to the PCB or anything like that like evj is doing so it's just to this heat sink alone this is just LED uh chipset cover Led Led uh and then moving on to the M7 board by the way no no price for any of these the M7 board there's digital LEDs here LEDs LEDs LEDs obviously uh this pcie configuration is a little bit different so it's x16 uh there are two x16 there's an 4 and an X8 I believe and we'll post a correction in the comments if not uh other than that this M2 Shield is a little bit different from the previous two it's still got the mechanical action to it it's got the 3mm thick thermal pad which we can show on b-roll and just closes just like that on top of the devices uh we've already got a whole content piece on that in the past so if you're curious you can learn more there other than this buttons on the board include go down to just power uh and the overclocking dial right here the other board has voltage plus and minus buttons as well so this one steps down a bit strips some of the features away to lower the price next or actually for uh vrm phases this one is an 8 plus2 that's a 12 plus 2 and then the rest are all 8+1 so 8+1 8 plus1 8+1 they're all IR 35201 voltage controllers and all IR mosfets uh so that's that board covered the next one is the gaming Pro carbon this board primarily focuses on things like RGB LEDs it is more of a gamer targeted board and less of an x299 Enthusiast HDT type board uh so this is something that makes more maybe for your KB LX refresh or something like that although you still have four dims that you won't be able to use cuz KB LX not skyx uh so that that one's it's it's pretty much RGB LEDs the tomahawk is uh one of the cheapest boards for x299 it's always their lower cost model the color scheme changes a little bit it goes to gray and black whereas these others are silver or black and black uh and it simplifies things like you lose the memory uh armor and you keep some of the PCI armor on the x16 slots whereas the other ones lose it and that's really all there is there uh this is another M2 Shield we don't know the specifics on this particular model though the last one for x299 is the S Plus model this is normally like a mid-range type board no prices again uh LEDs simplified here this one's no LEDs that we can see right now so Led Led and two armor slots no armor uh it's an a+1 phase design so a little bit cheaper to produce the vrm than the previous boards and I think that pretty much wraps up with the motherboards for the MSI Booth so that's all the x299 boards as always you can find more information in the description below I've got a whole lot of notes that we took here with engineers and PMs uh but we'll detail all that stuff in the article if you're curious about more you go to patreon.com Gamers helps out directly and as always subscribe for more thank you for watching I'll see you all next time\n"