MSI Z690 CARBON WIFI Review part 1

[GaiusEmil]

MSI Z690 CARBON WIFI - review part 1

This is first part of my MSI Z690 CARBON WIFI Review. This is mostly just exterior observations I made after receiving the mobo. I can't do a performance review yet because I have to wait for DDR5 and a proper CPU.
Planning to get 12900K or the non K- version. Might get the non K-version, because of the extremely low TDP(65W).
Also trying to get G.Skill Trident Z5 RGB DDR5-6000 CL36 DC - 32GB or equivalent for my coming build.


First thing I noticed when I got the box, was that it is quite heavy mobo compared to my previous one(MSI Z390 Gaming Plus). The extra weight comes from all the added heatsinks for those 5 m.2 slots.
The mobo itself is very stylish and beautiful

Heatsinks removed:

Heatsink with tape:

Important: Remember to peel of all the tapes from the heatsinks!!!

Package: Has the usual sata cables, stickers, warranty, manual, MSI badge etc. But there's added nice things like a MSI Brush to wipe the dust of your mobo, Corsair cable for the dedicated Corsair RGB socket, 1 to 2 RGB LED extension Y cable, RAINBOW RGB LED extension cable, screwdriver bundle, and MSI driver USB stick(16gigs)

The WIFI antenna is very sturdy and has a magnetic base.

The mobo has a good amount of RGB sockets:

• 1x 4-pin RGB LED connector
• 2x 3-pin RAINBOW LED connectors
• 1x 3-pin CORSAIR LED connector (you can control Corsair ICue- dedicated products with MSI Center)

Backplate is solid, huge amount of ports:

1. 1. USB 2.0
2. 2. DisplayPort
3. 3. 2.5G LAN
4. 4. Wi-Fi/Bluetooth
5. 5. Audio Connectors
6. 6. Flash BIOS Button
7. 7. HDMI
8. 8. USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps Type-A
9. 9. USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 20Gbps Type-C
10. 10. Optical S/PDIF Out

Memory: 4x DDR5 memory slots, support up to 128GB Max speed up to 6666+ MHz

I can't wait to build my next gaming setup with this and post part 2 of this very incomplete review!!!

Thanks for reading