During Computex 2017, MSI has shown their first batch of X299 motherboards for Intel's Basin Falls platform. Meanwhile we have taken several pictures of the upcoming X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC which should be one of the more competitively priced models from MSI regarding Intel X299 chipset. Compared to the predecessor, which goes by the name X99A Gaming Pro Carbon, we see a similar color scheme - as the name suggests - but a reworked layout and a new design for all the heatsinks.


Like the same model from the previous generation the X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC is based on an ATX form factor, yet this time MSI is using all the area available on the PCB. Nevertheless the Gaming Pro Carbon AC also comes with RGB backlight underneath each heat sink and there are steel reinforcements on the PCIe slots. In general the layout is quite similar to the previous model and therefore it has also been equipped with four full-sized PCIe 3.0 x16 slots. With a 44-lane CPU, the motherboard supports x16/ x4/ x16/ x8 configurations.

There are still eight SATA ports but only six of them have been angled. Apart from that you get two M.2 slots allowing the installation of differently sized SSDs. The first M.2 slot is placed in the middle of motherboard and is compatible with 2280 units, while the second one is in the bottom area and it supports 22110 SSDs. Furthermore both slots feature the new M.2 Shield which should help to prevent thermal throttling of your SSD.

Like with the more expensive models there is also a plastic I/O cover, which received some carbon-like looking stickers and RGB backlight. Although this particular board is placed somewhere between entry-level and mid-range in the case of X299, we think it could be an interesting choice, since the price is most certainly going to be very competitive.