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The MPG Z490 Carbon EK X motherboard by MSI, Announced

by Rustam Iqbal

MSI has teamed up with EK Water Blocks (EKWB) and has integrated EKWB’s monoblock on the upcoming motherboard by MSI and have created a new variant of the motherboard, the MPG Z490 Carbon EK X motherboard.

There are not many details about the MPG Z490 Carbon EK X motherboard’s monoblock, but it does appear to be from EKWB’s Momentum series. If this monoblock on this motherboard is from the Momentum series then it is probably manufactured from nickel-plated copper with an acrylic top piece with the standard G1/4-inch ports.

The Motherboard has a good design and is aesthetically pleasing, especially because of the carbon-fibre. The monoblock on this motherboard is designed by EKWB to specifically cool both the processor and the motherboard’s power delivery subsystem. The MPG Z490 Carbon EK X motherboard also features addressable D-RGB lighting.

MSI MPG Z490 Carbon EK X

This motherboard is actually the MPG Z490 Gaming Carbon WiFi in disguise. The MSI MPG Z490 Carbon EK X motherboard has an Intel LGA-1200 socket (latest one) along with the Z490 chipset, a set that is designed for the Intel’s 10th generation of processors. This is an ATX Motherboard and is equipped with a 12-phase power delivery subsystem and the motherboard also features a combination of an 8-pin EPS and 4-pin power connectors for the processor.

The MSI’s MPG Carbon EK X motherboard has four DDR4 RAM slots and support of up to a maximum of 128GB memory and memory speeds of up to 4800 MHz. The MPG Carbon EK X motherboard has a total of two M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4 ports that can handle drives with a length of up to a 110mm and a total of six SATA III ports. This motherboard has three PCIe 3.0 x16 slots and two PCIe 3.0 x1 slots. The MPG Z490 Carbon EK X motherboard does have multi-GPU support which includes both two-way Nvidia SLI and three-way AMD CrossFire.

MSI MPG Z490 Carbon EK X

The MSI’s MPG Z490 Carbon EK X motherboard has plenty of USB options. This motherboard features two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, two USB 2.0 ports, one USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 Type-C port, and two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C ports. The motherboard also offers one USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C port, one USB 3.2 Gen 1 header, and two USB 2.0 headers. The Motherboard has one DisplayPort output and one HDMI port output.

The MPG Z490 Carbon EK X motherboard features the Realtek RTL8125B controller to offer the 2.5G Ethernet port. If you prefer a wireless connection to the internet, then the MPG Z490 Carbon EK X motherboard also features and optional Wi-Fi 6 networking, which includes Bluetooth 5.1 connectivity.

For the audio, the MPG Z490 Carbon EK X motherboard features the Realtek ALC1200 codec to provide a high-definition 7.1-channel audio experience via the five 3.5mm audio jacks and a single S/PDIF port.

The price for the MSI MPG Z490 Carbon EK X is quite reasonable, especially because it comes with an EKWB monoblock which cools the processor as well as the power delivery subsystem if compared to other motherboards. Until now, the MSI MPG Z490 Carbon EK X motherboard is the third motherboard that comes with a monoblock by default and cost less than Gigabyte’s flagship Z490 Aorus Xtreme WaterForce motherboard model. The MSI MPG Z490 Carbon EK X motherboard is not as high-end, but it offers a more affordable price point in the custom water cooling market.

Rustam Iqbal

Hi, I'm Rustam Iqbal. I love traveling, computer hardware, and software. I’m constantly trying to learn new skills and programming languages. Reviewing new pieces of hardware is one of my favorites hobbies. Drop by any time to leave me a message if you have any questions.

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