Let's get this part out of the way: the Z690 board is simply too expensive; the MSI MPG Z690 Carbon is not so much, but it is still an upper-midrange board at a high-end price; the Z690 Carbon is part of MSI's MPG series; the Z690 Carbon is a high-end board that is also part of the MPG series. It sits below the high-end MEG segment (with boards like Godlike and Unify) and above the MAG segment, which consists of affordable and popular models like Tomahawk. [So while the MSI Z690 Carbon Wi-Fi will appeal to users who are put off by the price of boards like the MSI Ace, Aorus Master, and Asus Maximus Hero, it won't give up much in terms of core features: Thunderbolt 4 and high-speed LAN, or mega VRM, you'll have to spend big, but users who want to use a high-end CPU, GPU, and fast SSD will find that the MSI Z690 Carbon ticks most of the boxes with its core feature set.

The board continues the theme introduced by its predecessor, the Z590 Carbon, which reminds me of a spectrum analyzer from the 80s, though I'm glad to see it toned down to something less flashy this time around. It's certainly a lively look, but not overwhelming: there are RGBs of the Carbon logo scattered next to the SATA ports, and a few in the central heatsink area (though they may be obscured by the GPU). Finally, MSI's longtime mascot, the dragon, is proudly illuminated above the I/O area.

A tour of the board reveals no major surprises: there are dual PCIe 5.0 slots running at x16/0 or x8/x8; a PCIe 3.0 x16 physical slot, running electrically at x4; a PCIe 3.0 x16 physical slot, running electrically at x4; and a PCIe 3.0 x16 physical slot, running electrically at x4. Perhaps an additional x1 slot would be welcome, but not too detailed as many of the more expensive boards have similar features; there are six SATA ports, seven fan headers, and one water pump and debug LED.

A major strength of this board is its M.2 complement: no less than five M.2 slots, all with heatsinks; at $400 for Carbon, it is one of the less expensive 5-slot boards; and at $350 for Carbon, it is one of the more expensive boards in the market. This alone may attract buyers who plan to install a large number of M.2 drives. The presence of five slots is also a good example of how the Z690 chipset is a big step up from the Z590: with increased CPU-to-chipset bandwidth and more chipset lanes, the Z690 board can run more drives with fewer compromises The Z690 board can run more drives with fewer compromises. Add six SATA ports to these five slots, and this is definitely a board for storage hoarders.

Many users interested in the MSI Z690 Carbon will also be interested in the 12th generation K-series CPUs; see our review of the Core i9-12900K. These CPUs are very power hungry and can put a lot of stress on the VRM and cooling of inexpensive boards. Like many well-designed Z690 boards, MSI has a capable VRM solution that can handle the demands of an overclocked 12900K. 18+2 phase design with 75A stages will handle anything you can throw at it. Not as powerful as 105A boards. Not quite, but overkill for most users; even with the AVX-512 load, this board won't be a problem.

MSI's heatsinks are large and chunky, but some boards in the same price range, like the Aorus, use finned designs, while others use active cooling. However, of the six Z690 boards I tested, MSI's VRM torture test result was 59°C. This is perfectly acceptable, but the highest of any ATX board I tested. Good airflow is a must anyway if you want to run an overclocked 12900K.

Rear I/O is solid, albeit to a degree expected at this price point: four USB 2.0 ports, five 3.1 Gen 2 ports, one Type-C 3.2 Gen 2x2 port, one 2.5G Ethernet port and a WiFi antenna port, plus HDMI 2 .1 and a DP 1.4 port. The latter is suitable for users with dual monitor setups or who want to get through the current GPU squeeze with onboard Xe graphics; the BIOS flashback button is a godsend for users who want to complete the rear I/O panel and add a future, yet-to-be-released CPU to the It is a godsend for users who want to add.

Networking is handled by an Intel i225-V and AX210 Wi-Fi 6E controller. While we would love to see 5G and 10G lanes these days, they don't seem to be available at Carbon's price point. Still, 2.5G is much better than Gigabit. Audio capability is provided by a Realtek ALC4080 codec with five analog ports and S/PDIF. The audio solution includes a 600 ohm headphone amplifier, which is adequate but somewhat generic compared to some competing boards.

System Performance

Gaming Performance

As mentioned in our ASRock Z690 Taichi review, most Z690 DDR5 boards perform surprisingly close to each other, perhaps due to the application of Intel's 12th generation Turbo power supply and more stable clocks. The MSI Z690 Carbon performed very well in our single-threaded tests, but seemed to lag a bit in some multi-threaded tests. Its gaming results were low to mid-pack, though nothing to be concerned about when considering the natural variability that occurs from run to run.

Given that the Core i9 12900K reaches its cooling limits before the board reaches its limits, we did a little testing to see how the Z690 board would handle DDR5-6400 memory. Our G.Skill DDR5-6000 test kit can run at that speed, but not all boards can handle it, especially at this early stage, as many boards lack validation against Samsung-based high-speed memory. msi's board is a memory controller voltage had to be increased to reach stability, but to be fair, Samsung-based kits above 6000 MHz have not yet been validated. This will eventually change. We are still at the dawn of the DDR5 era, and perhaps Carbon is still one or two BIOS away from its best.

The MSI MPG Z690 Gaming Carbon does exactly what we expect it to do. However, it is the motherboard for you. This motherboard offers a solid, if unsurprising, feature set at a relatively affordable price; at $399, it's right on the threshold of increasing yield, where feature-rich boards start to get more expensive. [The board's real strength is its storage capabilities, with five M.2 slots and six SATA, allowing it to run many drives simultaneously. However, to earn the highest score, the Z690 Carbon needs to stand out, and while solid, it is definitely not a special board.

Competition in this price range is fierce from both above and below. However, an easy-to-navigate BIOS, good looks, adequate USB and networking complements, and a strong VRM in addition to storage capabilities should win it a following. Recommended for those who use a lot of drives and don't want to spend a fortune on a high-end board, the MSI MPG Z690 Gaming Carbon is a solid entry, but this is the price at launch. However, it could really stand out in the coming months if the price tends to come down compared to competitors.