MSI MPG X870E Carbon WiFi Review – Stable workhorse with experience report, teardown, material test and thermal modding

Let’s get to the board and the PCB first. MSI has opted for a solid 8-layer (2 oz copper) and therefore a decent solution. Haptically and visually, the board makes quite an impression and leaves a well thought-out impression. Instead of cheap gimmickry, it remains relatively simple in relation to the zeitgeist, which I would like to describe as conspicuously inconspicuous, i.e. somewhat more timeless than average. Of course, there is also a nice LED lighting aria, which can also be switched off. The digital fault diagnostics and the two dedicated buttons for on/off and reset on the circuit board are also pleasing. In contrast to the Ace, however, the dual BIOS has unfortunately been omitted. I’ll get to the mechanical simplifications on the next page, because for now it’s all about the topology and the installed components.

Incidentally, it’s a shame that MSI has once again dispensed with a backplate in the Carbon series. In times of extremely heavy graphics cards, something like this is definitely helpful to protect the complex conductor paths against overstretching and cracks.

But at least it has become a stable LOTES socket. More on this later. The board comes from Palwonn Electronics (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. This company specializes in the manufacture of multilayer printed wiring boards (PWB) that meet the strict safety and quality standards of Underwriters Laboratories (UL), as evidenced by UL certification. Good, otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to find out from the UL database. The company is based in Shenzhen, China.

The majority of the power supply is located under the two-part heat sink, which is connected to a heat pipe. A total of 9 phases as a basis with 2 voltage converters (SPS, Smart Power Stages) per phase result in the advertised 18 virtual phases for the core voltage (Vcore). The whole thing is controlled via a RAA229620 PWM controller from Renesas, which could generate up to 12 real phases in a single-phase design. In this case, however, it generates Vcore and SoC (2 phases) as a multi-phase controller on separate rails.

The 18 voltage regulators for Vcore and the two for the SoC are realized with the RAA2209004GNP Smart Power Stages from Renesas, which survive peak currents of up to 110A. In the picture below left, we can also see the single MOSFET for the misc voltage (memory controller and I/O) in the form of the Alpha & Omega AOZ5516QI, which is a 55A DrMOS.

The controller for the misc voltage comes from Realtek and is an RT3672EE.

There are other step-down converters on the board, but most of them rely on normal N-channel MOSFETs such as two AONS36308s from Alpha & Omega.

The IT8857FN from ITE on the back of the board is an embedded controller that is typically used on mainboards or graphics cards. It integrates various functions such as power management and peripheral control, making it ideal for tasks such as system initialization, keyboard control and power management.

The Nuvoton NCT6687D is a super I/O controller that is often used on modern motherboards. It performs various tasks that are not handled by the CPU, such as hardware monitoring, fan control and support for older interfaces such as serial and parallel ports. Here, the NCT6687D monitors critical system parameters such as temperature, voltage and fan speed, which is important for optimizing system cooling and energy efficiency. The chip also manages input and output devices such as PS/2 keyboards and mice, which are still required in certain scenarios.

The LED lighting already mentioned is controlled by a NUC1262Y. It comes from a family of 32-bit microcontrollers based on the ARM Cortex-M23 core. These microcontrollers are designed for applications that require low power consumption and high performance at the same time. The NUC1262Y runs at a clock frequency of up to 72 MHz and has 128 KB flash memory and 20 KB SRAM. Particularly noteworthy is the support for USB 2.0 full-speed without an external clock, which facilitates integration into systems with PC-based applications. The NUC1262Y has an LLSI (LED Light Strip Interface) with up to 10 channels, which makes it ideal for controlling LED light strips. In addition, it offers up to 24 channels of 16-bit PWM for precise control of lighting systems and 9 pins with high current consumption for the operation of high-power LEDs.

The Realtek RTS5420 is a USB 3.2 Gen 2×1 hub controller developed by Realtek. This chip supports both USB 3.2 (10 Gbps) and USB 2.0 and offers functions for controlling and managing up to four USB ports. This makes it an ideal solution for USB hubs in devices such as desktop PCs that need to handle multiple USB connections simultaneously.

The Realtek RTL8126 is a 5 Gigabit Ethernet controller used in networking solutions that support 5 Gbps, 2.5 Gbps, 1 Gbps and 100 Mbps speeds. It is designed for use in modern networks and offers flexible and fast data transmission via a PCIe 3.0 x1 interface. Key features include low power consumption of around 1.7 watts and support for Energy Efficient Ethernet (EEE), which reduces power consumption during periods of low network utilization. The RTL8126 is specifically designed to enable 5Gbps speeds over standard CAT5e cable, providing a cost-effective upgrade for existing networks.

The Realtek RTL8125, on the other hand, is a 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet controller that also supports speeds of 2.5 Gbps, 1 Gbps and 100 Mbps. It is often used in motherboards and network cards to ensure fast and stable wired network connections. The RTL8125 utilizes a PCIe 2.0 or 3.0 interface and offers advanced features such as offload mechanisms to reduce the load on the CPU when processing network data, including checksum offload and segmentation offload functions. These controllers are used in desktop PCs, workstations and servers due to their stable performance and compatibility with existing network infrastructures. This also explains the purpose of the RTS5420.

In the audio sector, the well-known ALC4080, which acts as a USB solution with all the known advantages and disadvantages, has to do the job again. Those who are really audiophiles will opt for an external solution anyway, but the onboard solution is also sufficient for normal everyday use. Although MSI has separated the audio branch spatially (see also the lines on the PCB) and hidden it under the Audio Boost 5 cover, it is not electrically isolated.

I’m now done with the brief analysis of the PCB and can now move on to the practical part, namely checking and measuring the advertised thermal pads.