MSI Announces X99 and Z170 Carbon Edition Motherboards

btarunr · Jan 4, 2016

MSI GAMING motherboards are dedicated to ultimate performance and the best gaming experience. With 2 new CARBON special edition models, the Z170A GAMING PRO CARBON and the pinnacle of GAMING, X99A GODLIKE GAMING CARBON, we managed to make MSI GAMING with Mystic Light better than ever. The CARBON motherboards full black color scheme, with the new and improved Mystic Light, combines flashiness with sophistication that is sure to make your pc stand out. Besides its strength and futuristic looks, carbon-fiber is also very light to represent the ultimate performance these new CARBON motherboards deliver. Packed with unique gaming features, the new CARBON Edition motherboards are sure to satisfy even the most demanding gamer.

MSI X99A GODLIKE Gaming Carbon Edition
The most powerful gaming solution in the world just got better. The X99A GODLIKE GAMING CARBON Edition motherboard features the improved Mystic Light RGB LED feature, supporting up to 16.8Million colors and 16 LED effects to style your rig in any way possible. With Audio Boost 3 Pro, Killer DoubleShot-X3 Pro, Turbo M.2 connectivity, 2X Faster USB 3.1 Type-A & Type-C, the X99A GODLIKE GAMING CARBON Edition is the most powerful motherboard to serve you in battle.

Besides gaming, the X99A GODLIKE GAMING motherboard already proved itself in the world's top overclocking ranks and carries a rich history of breaking world records inherited from MSI's legendary Overclocking motherboards. Featuring the patented Turbo Socket, the X99A GODLIKE GAMING CARBON Edition removes all limits by providing extra pins (2036 in total) for better overlocking of the Intel extreme processors. Dominate the world of gaming and overclocking while looking awesome with the new X99A GODLIKE GAMING CARBON Edition motherboard.

MSI Z170A Gaming Pro Carbon Edition
Sporting the latest Intel Z170 chipset and the latest version of Mystic Light, the Z170A GAMING PRO Carbon Edition motherboard is sure to offer outstanding performance and customization of your system. Experience superfast online gaming with MSI GAMING LAN powered Intel. Enjoy crystal-clear immersive in game sounds from the premium quality components of Audio Boost 3.

Load your games in the blink of an eye with blazing fast Turbo M.2 data transfer speeds up to 32Gb/s. Steel Armor ensures the most heavyweight graphics card setups are solid and stable. Engineered to provide both a stunning gaming and visual experience, the Z170A GAMING PRO CARBON Edition gives you plenty of reasons to show off.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

ssdpro · Jan 4, 2016

MSI Z170 and X99 Carbon: First motherboards in the world with "Turbo" M.2 that is just as fast as other Z170 and X99 M.2 offerings.

Animalpak · Jan 4, 2016

Dont call them carbon if they are just stickers ! !

MxPhenom 216 · Jan 4, 2016

Oh god, now people with carbon vinyl in their entire interiors can match it with this motherboard. How cute MSI.

vega22 · Jan 4, 2016

white version of carbon in the works?

you know it will look sick af!

micropage7 · Jan 4, 2016

what about ultra black edition, with matte black, everything from slots, caps

PP Mguire · Jan 4, 2016

Does the A designate this is a proper refresh, or simply a refresh of this line?

EarthDog · Jan 4, 2016

Neither? Original Z170 boards from MSI came with the "A" designation.

Carbon vinyl? Do we mean carbon fiber?

PP Mguire · Jan 4, 2016

EarthDog said:
Neither? Original Z170 boards from MSI came with the "A" designation.

Carbon vinyl? Do we mean carbon fiber?

I never knew because I don't really pay much attention to MSI anymore.

rtwjunkie · Jan 4, 2016

PP Mguire said:
I never knew because I don't really pay much attention to MSI anymore.

Well except for their Killer NIC's which they've been using lately, they have been making some really great motherboards.

PP Mguire · Jan 4, 2016

rtwjunkie said:
Well except for their Killer NIC's which they've been using lately, they have been making some really great motherboards.

Most of the builds I've done for people lately have been with ASRock, 2 with eVGA, and some with Asus. Personal rig has been the same for years. Not exactly a fan of Killer NICs and the current Godlike board is a bit gaudy IMO. Covering all that red up with carbon fiber and more black is a more fitting directly for my personal tastes.

EarthDog · Jan 4, 2016

rtwjunkie said:
Well except for their Killer NIC's which they've been using lately, they have been making some really great motherboards.

This...

... but I wouldn't hold it against MSI for using the Killer NIC honestly. Its no Intel, but its not bad by any stretch of the imagination. I hope to get to review one/both of these!

peche · Jan 4, 2016

Animalpak said:
Dont call them carbon if they are just stickers ! !

yeah right ... lets add carbon fiber to motherboards... that will not benefit a single sh*t from the board but you might be happy ...
its just a name for a new design.... what do you expected? carbon fiber PCB?

MxPhenom 216 said:
Oh god, now people with carbon vinyl in their entire interiors can match it with this motherboard. How cute MSI.

actually is not bad idea...

MxPhenom 216 · Jan 4, 2016

peche said:
yeah right ... lets add carbon fiber to motherboards... that will not benefit a single sh*t from the board but you might be happy ...
its just a name for a new design.... what do you expected? carbon fiber PCB?

actually is not bad idea...

If you want to be like everyone else and their mom and there 1337 carbon fiber builds....

Animalpak · Jan 4, 2016

peche said:
yeah right ... lets add carbon fiber to motherboards... that will not benefit a single sh*t from the board but you might be happy ...
its just a name for a new design.... what do you expected? carbon fiber PCB?

actually is not bad idea...

You're not interested because you like fake things.

That vinyl mimics the carbon in an extremely bad way.

I expect REAL carbon ! Then there is no reason to call it carbon ! And it is true I would be happy because it has an aesthetic value !!

And when it is actually carbon that becomes beautiful and attractive when it is not... Is just a bad imitation.

Digital Dreams · Jan 4, 2016

Never, ever would I buy a motherboard with the words "godlike" attached it. FFS...

GAR · Jan 4, 2016

Animalpak said:
Dont call them carbon if they are just stickers ! !

agreed

craigo · Jan 5, 2016

never forget.

micropage7 · Jan 5, 2016

craigo said:
View attachment 70820 View attachment 70821
never forget.

yup
Rollercoaster heatpipes

System Name	RBMK-1000
Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 5700G
Motherboard	ASUS ROG Strix B450-E Gaming
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Case	Corsair Carbide 100R
Audio Device(s)	ASUS SupremeFX S1220A
Power Supply	Cooler Master MWE Gold 650W
Mouse	ASUS ROG Strix Impact
Keyboard	Gamdias Hermes E2
Software	Windows 11 Pro

Processor	AMD 1700X
Motherboard	Crosshair VI Hero
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Storage	960 Pro
Display(s)	PG279Q
Case	HAF X
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Mouse	Logitech G700s
Keyboard	Logitech G105
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Motherboard	Asus Maximus XI Hero Z390
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System Name	Ryzen Reflection
Processor	AMD Ryzen 9 5900x
Motherboard	Gigabyte X570S Aorus Master
Cooling	2x EK PE360 \| TechN AM4 AMD Block Black \| EK Quantum Vector Trinity GPU Nickel + Plexi
Memory	Teamgroup T-Force Xtreem 2x16GB B-Die 3600 @ 14-14-14-28-42-288-2T 1.45v
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Display(s)	Asus XG27AQM 240Hz G-Sync Fast-IPS \| Gigabyte M27Q-P 165Hz 1440P IPS \| Asus 24" IPS (portrait mode)
Case	Lian Li PC-011D XL \| Custom cables by Cablemodz
Audio Device(s)	FiiO K7 \| Sennheiser HD650 + Beyerdynamic FOX Mic
Power Supply	Seasonic Prime Ultra Platinum 850
Mouse	Razer Viper v2 Pro
Keyboard	Razer Huntsman Tournament Edition
Software	Windows 11 Pro 64-Bit

System Name	panda
Processor	6700k
Motherboard	sabertooth s
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Power Supply	750w superflower
Mouse	g502
Keyboard	shine 3 with grey, black and red caps
Software	win 10
Benchmark Scores	http://hwbot.org/user/marsey99/

MSI Announces X99 and Z170 Carbon Edition Motherboards

btarunr

Editor & Senior Moderator

ssdpro

Animalpak

MxPhenom 216

ASIC Engineer

vega22

micropage7

PP Mguire

EarthDog

PP Mguire

rtwjunkie

PC Gaming Enthusiast

PP Mguire

EarthDog

peche

Thermaltake fanboy

MxPhenom 216

ASIC Engineer

Animalpak

Digital Dreams

GAR

craigo

micropage7

System Name	Univac SLI Edition
Processor	Intel Xeon 1650 V3 @ 4.2GHz
Motherboard	eVGA X99 FTW K
Cooling	EK Supremacy EVO, Swiftech MCP50x, Alphacool NeXXos UT60 360, Black Ice GTX 360
Memory	2x16GB Corsair Vengeance LPX 3000MHz
Video Card(s)	Nvidia Titan X Tri-SLI w/ EK Blocks
Storage	HyperX Predator 240GB PCI-E, Samsung 850 Pro 512GB
Display(s)	Dell UltraSharp 34" Ultra-Wide (U3415W) / (Samsung 48" Curved 4k)
Case	Phanteks Enthoo Pro M Acrylic Edition
Audio Device(s)	Sound Blaster Z
Power Supply	Thermaltake 1350watt Toughpower Modular
Mouse	Logitech G502
Keyboard	CODE 10 keyless MX Clears
Software	Windows 10 Pro

System Name	Bayou Phantom
Processor	Core i7-8700k 4.4Ghz @ 1.18v
Motherboard	ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 6
Cooling	All air: 2x140mm Fractal exhaust; 3x 140mm Cougar Intake; Enermax T40F Black CPU cooler
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Case	Fractal Design Define R4 Black w/Titanium front -windowed
Audio Device(s)	Soundblaster Z
Power Supply	Seasonic X-850
Mouse	Coolermaster Sentinel III (large palm grip!)
Keyboard	Logitech G610 Orion mechanical (Cherry Brown switches)
Software	Windows 10 Pro 64-bit (Start10 & Fences 3.0 installed)

System Name	Athenna
Processor	intel i7 3770 Dellided
Motherboard	GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 Rev. 1.1
Cooling	Thermaltake Water 3.0 Pro + Tt Riing12 x2 / Tt ThunderBlade / Gelid Slim 120UV fans
Memory	16GB DRR3 Kingoston with Custom Tt spreaders + HyperX Fan
Video Card(s)	GeForce GTX 980 4GB Nvidia Sample
Storage	Crucial M4 SSD 64GB's / Seagate Barracuda 2TB / Seagate Barracuda 320GB's
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Audio Device(s)	On-board Dolby 5.1+ Kingston HyperX Cloud 1
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Keyboard	Tt eSports KNUCKER
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Benchmark Scores	well I've fried a 775' P4 12 years ago, that counts?

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Motherboard	MSI Z87-GD65 Gaming
Cooling	Corsair H100i
Memory	16GB Corsair Vengeance Pro 2400MHZ
Video Card(s)	AMD Radeon R9 290X
Storage	Samsung 500GB SSD
Display(s)	Asus VG248QE 144HZ
Case	Corsair Air 540
Audio Device(s)	Creative Labs ZxR
Power Supply	Corsair HX1050
Software	Windows 8.1 Pro