Introduction

MSI X99A GAMING PRO CARBON - that's certainly a mouthful, but it should get the point of what this product really is about across easily; Intel's X99 Express chipset tailored around gaming at the pro level with a "carbon" aesthetic. However, that's not all that's here on this product from MSI.

This is yet another motherboard review I'm doing with some borrowed hardware. The last motherboard I covered used a borrowed CPU I had very little time with, but this time, I had more time with the CPU. I asked MSI for a loaner chip, and they provided me with another retail Core i7-6950X CPU sample to test with. MSI was just as eager as Gigabyte to provide me with a CPU, and they know I prefer retail samples, not ES chips, so I have to take this moment to thank MSI for going out of their way to get me the CPU used in this review. It's greatly appreciated. Now, back to the item at hand...

High-end gaming rigs have a set need of undeniable features. We need extreme component quality, useful features, excellent power delivery, decent bundled software, and perfectly provided accessories. We need ideal slot layouts, great BIOSes and an ease of use and implementation that doesn't take to reading a book (or university classes) to comprehend. In order for such a product to cater to absolutely everyone, we need a simple aesthetic that is also over-the-top flashy. MSI's X99A GAMING PRO CARBON puts a tick in all of those boxes, and in a way I have longed to have in my own gaming rig. I've been a multi-GPU user for most of the past decade, and I need a HEDT system to meet my everyday compute needs, but few boards out there meet my specific needs so well as the X99A GAMING PRO CARBON does. Intel LAN? Yup. PCIe Gen3 x4 M.3 slot? Yup. USB 3.1 Type-C? Again, yup. For those of you looking for easy clocking, there's even the Game Boost knob to increase CPU clocks with just a flick of the wrist!

Specifications

Packaging

Maybe I'm getting too old, but the whole car thing on the front of a motherboard box just confuses me. The picture of what is obviously a McLaren car does look like a fast car; this board had then better be fast as well, right? The RGB LED logo in the top-right corner did catch my attention.


Under the box's top is the board itself, inside a cardboard tray. Below the tray are the provided accessories, which are fairly numerous.


The included goodies are all useful. A full list of what is included is below:

• User's manual, installation guidebook
• Case badge
• Door hanger
• 1 x support DVD
• 6 x SATA 6Gb/s cables
• 2 x Flexible SLI bridge cable
• 2 x LED connector cable
• 1 x Cable label sheet
• 1 x Case cabling aids

The MSI X99A GAMING PRO CARBON board comes with a rather nice I/O cover. One side is well labeled, so you'll quickly know which ports are which, while the other is completely blacked out to make sure it blends in with the interior of your case. A small detail, it goes a long way for those thematic builds.


MSI provided two cables for the addition of 5050-type RGB LED strips. Such strips can be daisy-chained together, so you have the option of installing a couple strips over one cable for a connection to the board itself, while the other cord allows you to connect the second LED strip to the first. This makes for an easy way to add lighting to your case.


The provided SLI bridges are long enough for most dual-card configurations, while the provided pin blocks make connecting case wiring a much easier task.


You can't build an MSI GAMING build without an MSI GAMING case badge! I love these particular case badges!