MSI Z370I Gaming Pro Carbon AC mITX Review

[FrgMstr]

MSI Z370I Gaming Pro Carbon AC mITX Review

Many of us have gotten used to wanting things smaller and smaller in terms of today's electronics, and many enthusiasts have followed that trend when it comes to building fully capable high end desktop PC system. MSI is turning up the heat in the mini-ITX segment with it Gaming Pro Carbon series motherboards.

 

[NoxTek]

When I had to find a quick replacement for the ASRock Z370 Pro4 that didn't agree with me, it came down to either the MSI Z370I Pro Carbon or the Asus Z370-I ROG Strix. It sounds like I did good by picking the Asus over the MSI, but also sounds like the MSI is no slouch either.

Honestly what ended up making me choose the slightly more expensive Asus was the fact that it has two M.2 slots so I can RAID0 my twin 250GB Samsung 960 EVOs. That was the winning feature for me... and the fact that you guys had great luck with overclocking on it.

 

[lostin3d]

Nice review and thanks guys for putting the time into it. I still SLIghtly cling to mGpu for one of my rigs since it's the only affordable way for the higher settings 4k 60+fps experience but . . .

I've been keeping an eye on these mini-itx boards for awhile now. As single card GPU's keep reaching new heights something like this definitely starts to look promising. The next step is the right case and/or liquid cooling to keep it all going at those fastest speeds and 5Ghz w/ 4200mhz ram is a good way to start.

 

[lazz]

Great review. I love the diminutive form factors, and if we're honest most folks don't need a full ATX board anymore (especially with multi-GPU systems becoming increasingly rare).

I'm curious though, what were the factors that held this board back from a gold award? Seems that the price to performance of the board, and the lack of any issues in its use would align with a gold.

 

[Pillars]

But.. The Asus Strix has 2x m.2!

 

[Chimpee]

Great review. I love the diminutive form factors, and if we're honest most folks don't need a full ATX board anymore (especially with multi-GPU systems becoming increasingly rare).

I'm curious though, what were the factors that held this board back from a gold award? Seems that the price to performance of the board, and the lack of any issues in its use would align with a gold.

My guess would be for 30 bucks more, you can get the Asus Strix Z370 mitx which offers better results, pack more features, and overall a much more mature design, for most people that $30 difference will not be a deal breaker. That being said, I am glad other players are stepping up the game lately.