MSI MPG B650 Carbon WiFi Motherboard Review

The MSI MPG B650 Carbon WiFi is a well-designed motherboard that gives us a glimpse of what premium B650 will look like.

Sporting a highly overbuilt power delivery solution with ample cooling, we had no issues pushing the power-hungry Ryzen 9 7950X on this mainstream-chipset motherboard. The feature set is strong – ample high-speed networking connectivity, quad M.2 connections, and six SATA ports should suffice for most people.

One downside, however, is the single 20Gbps USB port is deployed in Type-C form on the rear. I know that B650 as a chipset is limited to a single port in terms of 20Gbps USB connectivity, but with this board’s £380 price tag being firmly in X670 territory, that second high-speed USB will be missed in my opinion. Particularly if you have a case that can do high-speed USB on the front IO.

Fan control abilities within MSI’s UEFI are superb. Yes, the whole UEFI design feels aged and clunky. But the functionality of the 4-point fan curve system with multiple temperature sources and a proper speed curve range is superb! Particularly with the whole 95C Ryzen 7000 operating temperature, because you are free to tune your CPU cooler and chassis fans away from their loud full-speed values if you so desire.

In isolation, there is no doubt that the MSI B650 Carbon WiFi is a premium motherboard that ticks many boxes. But I also feel like it is a bit of a tough sell in many respects.

A £380 asking price for a B650 motherboard is simply too much. This is higher than the current price of all of the X670 motherboards available on Overclockers UK, and the X670 chipset offers far greater connectivity. Plus, this MSI board’s price point is a tough sell for a non-E chipset offering when even X670E alternatives running PCIe Gen 5 graphics support are less than £400.

The MSI MPG B650 Carbon WiFi certainly has a lot going for it. The design is smart, build quality and component choice is very good, and the fan control system through MSI’s UEFI is superb. But at £380 in the UK, this is going to be a tough sell as a B650 offering that costs more than some of the X670E flagship chipset alternatives.

To be perfectly blunt, we like this motherboard but we are more interested in the sensibly-priced B-chipset options.

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Pros:

• Well-designed power delivery solution
• Strong VRM and M.2 cooling
• Excellent fan control through the UEFI
• Quadruple M.2 slots of at least PCIe Gen 4 x4
• High-end audio codec

Cons:

• Only one 20Gbps USB connection
• No clear Eco modes via the UEFI options
• No quick/easy release PCIe button/latch
• A B650 motherboard at X670/X670E pricing

KitGuru says: The MSI MPG B650 Carbon WiFi is an undeniably premium motherboard irrelevant of its deployment of AM5’s entry-point – B650 – chipset. If you value the core features and build quality, this is a great motherboard. But it’s a tough sell when feature-rich X670 options are often cheaper.

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