Being the maniac that I am, I decided to build a fourth PC and as I'd not used the newer AMD chips (7000) series, I thought I'd give it a go.
Having built my Intel build on MSI previously and an AMD build on ASUS, I thought I'd try the AMD offering by MSI and, while I'd have loved a Carbon, money/value is a thing and this seemed to tick the boxes - 4 NVME's, PCI-E 5.0, tons of USB ports and so on.
Arriving in a box with a nice hole/dent in it - I checked if it was damaged but whatever went through hadn't hit the motherboard - I proceeded with my installation (over a day or so.....).
I will state - the I/O shield is sharp as heck - I sliced my thumb open quite a bit due to a slip (hence the day or so cos......yeah). However, fitting the board into the chassis wasn't an issue, nor was removing the CPU retainer and putting another one in (I had to test if this was a better solution).
First thing I noticed - thought it was dead. Like dead dead. Had 2 lights indicating CPU and RAM weren't good. Oh crap, I thought. However I left it on for like 30 seconds or more and then it started (phew. Positive note - didn't go boom so there's that). Gave me the "New CPU" message, rebooted and as I had a newer BIOS, I flashed that.
Once started, installed Windows and everything went fine - no issues as such. Still not sure on the CPU speed as yet (I haven't seen it boost, but not seen it not boost, unlike the Intel CPU I had which just seems to be perma-boosted). It also asked me to install the MSI software which you can pick n choose without a DVD or USB (I assume it picked that up motherboard side, which is a very nice touch). Seems very stable otherwise - no issues with anything thus far.
Criticisms - BIOS/Startup speed. My older 5000 series AMD build starts MUCH faster than this from power on. I haven't seen/spotted a "Fast Boot" option for the BIOS, so if there is one, it's not so obvious which is a shame. Also the first NVME didn't seem to like having an SSD with its own heatsink - so I'm booting from the 4th one which is fine (it's not a V5 one) but.....kinda not how I'd like it.
That said - build went well, very stable thus far and for the low price, it's fine. Yes I'd prefer a Carbon, but at over £150 difference currently, hard to justify it.
| Brand | MSI |
|---|---|
| Product Dimensions | 30.48 x 27.18 x 6.99 cm; 2 kg |
| Item model number | 7D69-005R |
| Manufacturer | MSI COMPUTER |
| Series | MEG X670E ACE |
| Colour | Black |
| Form Factor | Extended ATX |
| Processor Socket | Socket AM5 |
| Memory Technology | DDR5 |
| Computer Memory Type | DIMM |
| Maximum Memory Supported | 128 GB |
| Memory Clock Speed | 8000 MHz |
| Graphics Card Interface | PCI-Express x16 |
| Connectivity Type | Wi-Fi |
| Wireless Type | Bluetooth, 802.11ax |
| Number of USB 2.0 Ports | 2 |
| Number of HDMI Ports | 1 |
| Hardware Platform | PlayStation 5 |
| Are Batteries Included | No |
| Lithium Battery Packaging | Batteries contained in equipment |
| Lithium Battery Weight | 3.2 g |
| Number of Lithium Metal Cells | 1 |
| Item Weight | 2 kg |
| Guaranteed software updates until | unknown |
