Introduction

In today's review, we are covering another collaboration between MSI and EKWB for the AMD AM4 platform. The biggest selling point of this type of product is EKWB's talented team's ability to create a monoblock tailored to a specific motherboard. Combined with MSI's well-received MSI MPG X570S Carbon MAX WiFi, a mid-tier motherboard with a good balance between price and features, you get the MSI MPG X570S Carbon EK X.

The MPG naming convention is for MSI's mid-range line of Intel motherboards. Generally offering performance similar to the MEG series, but without some of the premium features, the MPG X570 lineup typically comprises the Carbon, Gaming, and Edge. The MSI MPG X570S Carbon EK X serves as the highest entry for the AMD MPG family of products.

AMD's Computex 2022 press conference revealed the company's plans for the new AM5 socket and new Zen 4 processors. In additional news, the company has not ruled out extended support for its current AM4 socket. With strong sales and a competitive advantage in gaming and production workflows, those looking for a mature platform will find AM4 something that shouldn't be written off just yet.

After the highly successful B550 chipset launch in 2020, marketed and priced to be more budget friendly while maintaining PCIe 4.0 support, some may find themselves upgrading to a new motherboard or waiting for the perfect time to buy and replace an older system. Waiting for the perfect moment to upgrade can pay off, especially as prices decrease and bugs are worked out over multiple revisions. Motherboard manufacturers have an opportunity to refresh the X570 lineup yet again with new features, including Wi-Fi 6E, USB 3.2 connectivity, and higher supported memory frequencies that just weren't available previously.


The MSI collaboration with EKWB has taken the MPG X570S Carbon MAX WiFi feature set and added a custom EK-Quantum monoblock that directly cools the sixteen 75 A VRM power stages and CPU. This combination allows for higher power stage efficiency during CPU intensive workloads and a near silent setup in combination with a watercooled video card. While the monoblock is certainly the main attraction, MSI does its due diligence by including an assortment of storage and connectivity options. These include four M.2 Gen4 sockets with full heatsink coverage, WiFi 6E, and up to eight SATA devices at once. With that teaser out of the way, it's time to take a closer look to see what this MSI EKWB collaboration has to offer.

Specifications

Packaging and Contents

MSI uses the same box design as for the Carbon MAX WiFi edition featuring a black sports car. The front has everything necessary with the product and platform names and a picture of the motherboard.

The back of the box is the only place the EK Quantum waterblock is mentioned. Since this is a collaboration between EKWB and MSI, related specifications are to the left of the depiction of the motherboard. On the other side, little tidbits related to the monoblock are found, like the RGB lighting and full VRM coverage.


The included accessories consist of everything necessary, with the manual, SATA and ARGB extension cables, and Wi-Fi antenna, to name a few. It even comes with an EK Leak tester, which is a nice addition for those who like to make doubly sure the loop can hold pressure by being leak-free before powering up the system.

The full list of accessories includes:

• 2x SATA 6 Gb/s cable
• 1x LED Y cable
• 1x LED JCORSAIR cable
• 1x LED JRAINBOW cable
• 1x Thermal sensor cable
• 1x Wi-Fi antenna
• 3x M.2 screws
• 1x Case badge
• 1x MPG sticker
• 1x Product registration card
• 1x MSI reward program
• 1x USB drive with drivers & utilities
• 1x Quick installation guide
• 1x Small screwdriver set
• 1x Small brush

Board Layout

Using the same PCB as the MSI MPG X570S Carbon MAX WiFi, this MSI EKWB collaboration solely focuses on the VRM/CPU monoblock rather than an entire redesign. The motherboard itself sticks to a more neutral color theme with gunmetal heatsinks and a variation of the MSI dragon logo over the rear I/O cover. Turn it around and the back has warning zones showing possible conflicts with cases and where the standoff should be placed.


The MSI MPG X570S Carbon EK X offers two x16 slots, both of which are reinforced for extra stress support. Two additional x1 Gen3 slots are in the middle. Because the AM4 platform has a set number of PCIe lanes, many compromises had to be made here, which will become apparent further along, but is not unique to this motherboard. This starts with only the top x16 slot being wired for x16 PCIe Gen4 as the second one is internally wired for x4 PCIe Gen4.


MSI placed four M.2 Gen4 x4 sockets on the motherboard. However, using all M.2 sockets at once requires a bit of trickery since only 24 PCIe lanes are available in total. The top M.2 socket uses dedicated lanes provided by the CPU, while the remaining three rely on the X570S chipset.

To use the third (M2_3) M.2 socket, SATA ports 5–8 are disabled, leaving only four usable. Installing an M.2 drive into the fourth socket (M2_4) disables the second x16 PCIe slot. As mention previously, it is only internally wired for x4 Gen4. That being said, once all M.2 drives are installed, a x16 PCIe Gen4, two x1 Gen3 slots, and four SATA 6 Gb/s ports are usable.


The MSI MPG X570S Carbon EK X has two USB 3.2 Gen1 (5 Gbps) and two USB 2.0 headers. An internal USB 3.2 Gen 2x1 (10 Gbps) Type-E header is included as well. Interestingly enough, one of those USB 3.2 Gen1 headers benchmarked at 10 Gbps—yes, that is not a typo, nor is it listed in the specifications.


The MSI MPG X570S Carbon EK X has debug post codes and debug LEDs to troubleshoot any problems that may arise.


This motherboard has an 8-pin EPS and a 4-pin EPS power connector.


MSI placed three RGB headers throughout the motherboard. Two are 5 V and the third 12 V compliant.


The board has a total of eight SATA 6 Gb/s ports on the side, angled 90 degrees from the board. Four of these ports are disabled once a M.2 NVMe SSD is installed in socket M2_3.


The MSI MPG X570S Carbon EK X has an interesting assortment of ports to say the least. The usual Wi-Fi 6E, S/PDIF Out, and 2.5 Gb LAN are as expected for a mid-tier motherboard. MSI also includes a Clear CMOS and BIOS Flashback button for easy recovery, which is always a nice to see.

Going down the list, a PS/2 port is above the USB 2.0 ports. This is an oddity as it these days serves no purpose outside of the overclocking community and some pro-gamers. Next up are three red colored USB 3.2 Gen2 2x1 (10 Gb/s) Type-A ports. An additional 10 Gb/s USB-C port is included as well. Lastly, four blue colored USB 3.2 Gen1 (5 Gb/s) Type-A ports are in the middle of the I/O section.

• 2x Antenna ports
• HDMI 2.1 port
• PS/2 port
• 2x USB 2.0 Type-A
• 4x USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A ports (5 Gb/s)
• 3x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A ports (10 Gb/s)
• USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C port (10 Gb/s)
• 2.5 Gbps RJ-45 LAN port with LED
• Clear CMOS button
• Flash BIOS button
• Optical SPDIF Out port
• 5x HD audio jacks