MSI B850 GAMING PLUS WIFI PZ motherboard: act in reverse

Beauty will save the world. For the most demanding PC users with a refined sense of beauty, manufacturers offer special solutions that allow you to get excellent aesthetic results with minimal effort. For advanced accuratists, MSI offers the Project Zero platform design, which involves the use of motherboards with connectors on the back of the PCB. It's nice to see that the idea itself was not just an experiment and did not get stuck at the concept level. Continuing our acquaintance with modern solutions that have "zero tolerance" for cable chaos in the system unit, this time we will consider the MSI B850 GAMING PLUS WIFI PZ motherboard for the Socket AM5 platform from AMD.

Package contents

The board comes in a medium-sized box, decorated in bright colors with a large, easily readable model name on the front panel.

The kit includes a small paper instruction manual for express assembly, one SATA interface cable, three additional EZ M.2 Clip II fasteners, an amplifier antenna for the Wi-Fi module, and a set of branded stickers.

Design and layout

MSI B850 GAMING PLUS WIFI PZ is offered in ATX format with classic dimensions – 305x244 mm. The board is based on the AMD B850 chipset and is ready to work with any processors for the Socket AM5 platform. The model uses a 6-layer PCB base.

In terms of external design, the MSI B850 GAMING PLUS WIFI PZ is immediately distinguished by the color scheme of the device. The board has a light gray PCB with a matte finish. So that the silver decorative panels and numerous radiator blocks do not get lost on its background, the latter are decorated with patterns and miniature channels with certain diagonal accents. The silver-black main palette is diluted with emerald inclusions. In general, the model looks interesting.

The absence of functional connectors on the front panel adds additional originality. Moreover, their traditional locations are covered by decorative panels, which immediately blocks attempts to look for them in the usual places.

MSI B850 GAMING PLUS WIFI PZ is a model with Back-Connect design, which involves locating connectors for power and interface cables on the back of the printed circuit board. This layout allows you to get rid of the accumulation of conductors in the working area of the system unit, which is usually clearly visible through the transparent walls of the cases.

MSI's interpretation of this concept is called Project Zero. We have already discussed its general principles in more detail. So the concept is not new, but has been further developed.

MSI B850 GAMING PLUS WIFI PZ uses a 15-phase (12+2+1) processor power stabilization subsystem. The power elements have received a fairly effective additional cooling system. To accelerate heat dissipation, the usual combination with a pair of aluminum radiator blocks is provided, one of which has significantly increased dimensions and serves as a casing for the interface connector area. A similar design solution was first proposed by MSI and has been a de facto classic for "pretentious" models for a long time. The second cooler is more compact, but, as can be seen in the photo, the block has a rather complex profile with an increased dissipation area.

The developers pay attention to the use of thermal pads with a thermal conductivity of 7 W/mK. In addition to the power assemblies, the radiators also come into contact with the chokes. The effectiveness and adequacy of such a solution will be determined during practical experiments.

Two 8-pin 12V connectors are provided for connecting additional power. Like all other connectors, they are located on the back of the printed circuit board. The location on the PCB has not changed, the connectors are located near the top edge of the PCB next to the VRM area.

MSI B850 GAMING PLUS WIFI PZ has four slots for installing RAM modules. The board supports 64-gigabyte modules, so the total RAM capacity can be up to 256 GB. According to the specification, when using a pair of peer-to-peer modules, the maximum mode can exceed DDR5-8200+. In other configurations, the values are more modest, but for the AM5 platform, using DDR5-6000/6400 is actually the best option, so there are no critical constraints here, even if you need to equip the system with the maximum RAM capacity.

DIMM sockets feature a one-sided locking mechanism, which typically simplifies installation/removal on a system already assembled in a case.

Looking at the overall layout of the board, we immediately note the presence of four full-size PCI-E slots. This is a rather unusual configuration for mid-range models. However, there are some nuances here.

From the usual – a metal shell for the main PCI-E x16 slot. Additional mechanical strength of the connector is never superfluous. Another design feature of the connector is an enlarged blade-lever for pressing the latch when you need to release the video card. Of course, this is not as modern a development as EZ PCI Release, but at least some additional convenience.

When using Ryzen 7000/9000 series processors, the PCI_E1 slot always operates in PCI-E 5.0 x16 mode. When it comes to Ryzen 8000 chips, they are limited to PCI-E 4.0, and the number of available lanes depends on the specific CPU model.

As you can see in the photo, the PCI_E3 slot is also equipped with an expansion card latch. The connector offers PCI-E 4.0 x4 mode, which is provided by the chipset. Despite the fact that the CrossFireX mode with a pair of two video cards is not supported by the developers, the use of an additional graphics adapter is quite possible for some computing tasks.

Despite their full-size dimensions, the PCI_E2 and PCI_E4 slots comply with the PCI-E 3.0 x1 specification. These are ports for peripherals that are relatively undemanding to bus bandwidth (up to 1 GB/s).

Given the limited "interface budget" of the AMD B850 chipset, the available PCI Express slots have some interdependence. PCI_E3 will operate in PCI-E 4.0 x2 mode if PCI_E2/PCI_E4 are used.

So, a considerable number of overall slots in this case is more a story about possible configuration flexibility if there is a real need to use several expansion cards at once. The speed indicators here are limited precisely by the capabilities of the chipset.

Despite the layout of the connectors on the back of the board, the developers also provided an additional 8-pin PCI-E_PWR connector to stabilize power on the PCI-E slots.

MSI B850 GAMING PLUS WIFI PZ offers three ports for connecting M.2 drives. The upper M.2_1 supports the PCI-E 5.0 x4 interface, allowing you to use the fastest SSDs. The M.2_1 port is also on the "balance" of the processor, but already offers PCI-E 4.0 x4. The platform for the third drive is located under the chipset cooler. It is already supported by AMD B850 and is limited to PCI-E 4.0 x2 mode.

All ports allow the use of 2280/2260 format drives with PCI Express interface. At the same time, each SSD is provided with screwless fastening of the drive using a plastic fastener. Also, additional coolers are offered as standard for all devices. And for their fixation, you still cannot do without a screwdriver.

When using more compact 2260 format drives, you must first install the additional EZ M.2 Clip II mounting brackets, which are included with the board.

As you can see, M.2_3 received the most massive heatsink. There is some injustice in this, but it is rather a gift from the developers, who tried to give integrity to the overall look of the board by increasing the size of the cooler to the limits of the PCB.

Owners of SATA drives/devices may not worry about finding the appropriate connectors on the board. Like the rest of the connectors, they are located on the back of the PCB. MSI B850 GAMING PLUS WIFI PZ has four SATA 6 Gb/s ports. Recall that the kit offers only one appropriate interface cable, so if there are more SATA devices, additional wires will be needed to connect them.

As for the AMD B850 cooler, the chipset chip has a large radiator with a certain profile formation to increase the dissipation area. During testing, we will evaluate how it copes with its task.

As for the overall capabilities of the MSI B850 GAMING PLUS WIFI PZ for organizing system cooling, the board offers six 4-pin connectors with the corresponding number of control/power lines for connecting fans/SPO. Of course, all of them are also located on the back of the PCB.

The connectors nominally intended for the processor fan and the liquid system pump are usually located near the top edge of the board. The connectors for case fans are grouped next to the ATX connector to avoid possible difficulties with access. The connectors for CPU_FAN and PUMP_SYS have received some reinforcement. The maximum current of the processor cooler has been increased to 2 A, while the connector for the SRO pump provides up to 3 A. The channels for case fans have standard parameters – 1 A and 12 V (12 W).

A basic self-diagnostic system has already become quite common for even lower-end boards, so the presence of EZ Debug LED on the MSI B850 GAMING PLUS WIFI PZ is taken for granted. A set of LEDs will help in express mode to assess which part of the platform has problems in case of possible problems with starting the system.

The presence of an internal USB Type-C connector is an expected circumstance. The ability to get a symmetrical compact connector on the case wall has already become commonplace. Especially when it comes to new platforms, and cases with support for the Project Zero concept a priori belong to this category of devices. The port has the ability to get a bandwidth of up to 5 Gb/s, which corresponds to the USB 3.2 Gen1 standard. So, faster external drives will be better connected to the ports on the interface panel.

The audio subsystem of the board uses the Realtek ALC897 codec, contains specialized capacitors in the circuit and provides a separate zone of the path with isolated channels. The sound is balanced: high frequencies do not sound sharp, as is often the case with integrated solutions, the mids are enough, the sound is saturated, the voices sound natural. The bass is not excessive, clear and detailed, in complex compositions it does not turn into "porridge".

Of the additional settings, only the standard Realtek panel is provided, which allows minimal experimentation with the settings.

The vast majority of mid-range motherboards are equipped with a controller for working with wireless networks. The mention of WiFi in the model name certainly suggests that the MSI B850 GAMING PLUS WIFI PZ is no exception. The board is equipped with a tri-band Qualcomm FastConnect 7800 controller, which provides support for Wi-Fi 7 in full speed mode (up to 5.8 Gb/s). The module also allows you to realize the advantages of the Bluetooth 5.4 protocol.

To connect to a wired network, the capabilities of the Realtek 8126VB controller with a maximum bandwidth of up to 5 Gb/s are used.

A metal plug is permanently attached to the interface panel of the board. As for the functional composition, we have a pair of USB Type-C (USB 3.2 Gen2; 10 Gb/s), four USB 2.0 (480 Mb/s), one USB 3.2 Gen2 (10 Gb/s) and one USB 3.2 Gen1 (5 Gb/s) of the classic format. The panel also features DisplayPort 1.2 (up to 4K@60 Hz), an Ethernet socket and a pair of connectors for connecting the antenna of the wireless module. A pair of 3.5 mm connectors and optical S/PDIF are provided for connecting speakers. We also note the presence of additional Clear CMOS buttons for clearing CMOS memory settings and Flash BIOS for launching the mechanism for offline firmware update from a USB drive.

At first glance, there seems to be a certain shortage of high-speed USB Type-A ports, but from a "just in case" position, which usually never comes.

Unlike most classic motherboards, the back of the MSI B850 GAMING PLUS WIFI PZ is packed with features. The Project Zero concept itself places all functional connectors on the back of the PCB.

Test bench configuration

• Motherboard: MSI B850 GAMING PLUS WIFI PZ (AMD B850, ATX)
• Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 9700X (8/16; 3.8/5.5 GHz)
• CPU Cooling: MSI MAG CORELIQUID I360
• RAM: Kingston FURY Renegade DDR5-7200 2×16GB (KF572C38RWK2-32)
• Graphics card: MSI GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16G GAMING TRIO OC PLUS (G507T-16GTCP)
• Drive: Kingston KC3000 1 GB (SKC3000S/1024G)
• Power supply: MSI MPG A1000GS PCIE5
• Case: MSI MAG PANO 110R PZ
  

For the Project Zero concept to work, the platform based on it, in addition to the motherboard itself, requires a case that allows the use of models with connectors on the back of the PCB. In fact, the only design changes here are the presence of holes in the chassis platform through which you can access the connectors. Therefore, PZ support from manufacturers requires minimal technological improvements, so the list of manufacturers who are not averse to adding certain "chips" to their products is gradually growing.

MSI is also increasing the number of case models that are ready for the full implementation of Project Zero. So, when testing the board, we used a new case - MSI MAG PANO 110R PZ. The "PZ" index in the model name is an obvious sign of support for the technology of radically reducing clutter inside the system unit. We are dealing with a medium-format tower that allows the use of ATX/m-ATX/Mini-ITX boards. Of the almost mandatory options of modern "open" cases – transparent front and side panels, which open a panoramic view of the insides of the PC. Of course, all the efforts to hide the cable routing are not for the sake of covering this beauty with solid plates. Still, Project Zero is largely a story about aesthetics.

Returning to the MSI MAG PANO 110R PZ, we note the functional zoning with a separate compartment for the power supply with a basket for the hard drive and a kind of storage for part of the power cables. The case is initially equipped with four 120-mm fans with ARGB backlighting and has a hub for their power supply and synchronization. The controls are grouped on the left side panel, while being rationally removed from the bottom panel. An additional light guide with ARGB backlighting is provided along the contour of the base – an additional decor in case you are generally not against witty illumination.

Subjectively, the silver motherboard turned out to be quite appropriate even in a black case. Visual contrast support was added by standard fans with light blades and memory module radiators. But if a single color scheme is a principled position, the MSI MAG PANO 110R PZ case is also offered in a white version (White).

As for the additional components used for the system, the PC was equipped with an 8-core Ryzen 7 9700X processor. The MSI MAG CORELIQUID I360 liquid cooling system was used to cool the chip. Of course, we also needed more ARGB lighting. Well, this SRO should also cope with its main task.

The platform also used a dual-channel Kingston FURY Renegade DDR5-7200 RAM kit, and the MSI GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16G GAMING TRIO OC PLUS graphics card allowed the PC to be classified as a progressive gaming configuration in the traditional PC of the Month classification.

The system, test applications and games were installed on a Kingston KC3000 gigabyte drive, and the MSI MPG A1000GS PCIE5 kilowatt unit was responsible for power and stability. For a similar configuration, the younger 850-watt model, which we got to know a little more in detail, would generally be enough, but 1000 W is "for growth" and just the number looks nice. And here we are talking about aesthetics.

The Back-Connect motherboard design with connectors on the back of the PCB really allows you to significantly free up the internal space. Of course, even in this case, you won't be able to completely get rid of visual "obstacles", especially when using liquid processor cooling systems, which inevitably bring coolant hoses to the forefront. And the additional video card power cable will be present one way or another. However, this layout allows you to get rid of such a burden on the visual scene as the 24-pin ATX cable. Cables from controls, additional USB ports, power and fan lighting. All this is taken to the back. Even the processor corner without EPS12V connectors also looks neater.

In such a design, the existing false panels look appropriate, which help to further outline the contour of the board and emphasize the connector-free configuration.

The frontal overview is a pleasant sight. And if you look "under the hood" of the system? Yes, here the number of power and interface conductors is overwhelming. Moving the connectors to the back side does not reduce the number of necessary connections, but only allows you to group them on the "non-working" side of the platform. The available free space behind the chassis platform allows you to organize the switching. So the degree of neatness here will depend on personal skills, time, patience and the desire to get the maximum result.

In operation

In general, the capabilities of the Ryzen 7 9700X platform are already well known to us. During express performance testing, typical indicators for a PC with this processor were obtained.

So we were more interested in the motherboard's performance parameters during maximum CPU loads. For experiments, we will use the popular Cinebench R23 benchmark, which creates conditions close to the maximum load on the computing cores.

We start with the light version of the Ryzen 7 9700X in standard mode with a TDP of 65 W. The platform scores 19,111 points in multi-threaded mode and 2,197 points in single-threaded mode. Under these conditions, the core frequency under load was kept at 4300 MHz with a supply voltage of ~0.99 V.

During rendering, the total power consumption of the processor was constant at 88 W, while its temperature exceeded 59 C. According to HWinfo64 monitoring indicators, under such conditions, the motherboard's VRM power elements warmed up to only 46 C, and the chipset chip to 36 C.

After the announcement of the Ryzen 7 9700X, AMD received a portion of criticism for the fact that the X-modification of the 8-core desktop chip received a TDP of only 65 W. This significantly limited performance in multi-threaded mode. The developers quickly adjusted the approach and simplified the possibility of officially increasing the thermal package to 105 W without losing the warranty. All motherboard manufacturers have provided an option that allows you to make such a conversion in one click. We emphasize that this is a relevant option only for the Ryzen 7 9700X and Ryzen 5 9600X chips.

By enabling the "TDP to 105W" mode, we repeat the load experiment with parameter monitoring.

We already have 22,855 points in multi-threaded mode. Almost +20% to performance in such conditions. If computing power is critical, it makes perfect sense for owners of the mentioned processor models to switch to TDP 105 W. But let us emphasize once again that we are talking about conditions with multi-threaded load.

Analyzing the system performance, it is not difficult to understand why we get a significant boost. The processor operating frequencies during rendering increased to ~5100 MHz. The supply voltage also increased - to ~1.15 V. The expansion of the TDP limits allowed us to accelerate the CPU cores accordingly. However, as a result, we also have a significant increase in processor power consumption. At the peak, the chip consumed ~142 W.

For a desktop platform with an effective cooler, the figure is quite acceptable. Although the significant difference in values becomes an excuse to determine your own priorities - is efficiency or performance in multi-threaded tasks more important? We place special emphasis on the latter. In typical tasks with variable load, for example, games, you should not expect a performance increase. In such conditions, the CPU is noticeably accelerated even in normal mode. The advantage of "105 W" will be precisely in demanding multi-threaded tasks (rendering, video encoding, archiving, etc.).

After increasing the TDP, the CPU temperature also increased. The processor temperature rose to 76C. And how did the MSI B850 GAMING PLUS WIFI PZ react after additional load? The VRM power assemblies heated up to almost 54C, while the chipset "cooled" at 33.5C. In general, no questions about the temperature regime.

CPU overclocking

After evaluating the operation in standard (65 W) and conditionally standard (105 W) modes, there is still some uncertainty regarding the operation of the platform with additional CPU overclocking. These are rather isolated cases, however, in the context of testing the capabilities of the board, such a stage will be useful.

The available Ryzen 7 9700X instance confidently takes the bar at 5400 MHz on all cores. A fairly typical value for chips in the series. Following the path of least resistance, to achieve this indicator we changed only the system bus multiplier, relying on the board's automatic adjustment for the rest.

After increasing the operating frequencies of the computing cores, the supply voltage during load was ~1.25V. The chip temperature increased to ~95C. Usually, such values \u200b\u200bneed some adjustment. The board allows you to make certain adjustments. However, we were primarily interested in the increase in load and the temperature regime of the MSI B850 GAMING PLUS WIFI PZ elements.

After additional overclocking of the CPU, in addition to the operating frequencies and supply voltage, the power consumption of the chip also increased. The processor already required 170–180 W of energy. Let this not be the maximum challenge, but certainly extraordinary conditions. What about the VRM in this case? The temperature of the MOS elements of the stabilization subsystem increased to 61.5C, the chipset – 35.5C. The power unit coped with the task without any particular difficulties.

RAM

Given the architectural features of current chips for Socket AM5, optimal performance of the memory subsystem can be achieved when using DDR5-6000/6400 modules. It is in such cases that you can count on the synchronous operation of the modules, the memory controller and the Infinity Fabric bus. Further increase in the operating frequencies of the RAM strips leads to asymmetry with the use of lowering multipliers for UCLK (memory controller).

Here are the results of AIDA64 testing in DDR5-6400, DDR5-7200 and DDR5-8000 modes, which we managed to obtain on the test kit. Unfortunately, the actual throughput indicators almost did not change due to the Infinity Fabric limitations, although at DDR5-8000 with the timing formula 40-52-52-126 the final latency of the memory subsystem turned out to be the best.

Gaming platform

Having access to a platform with a Ryzen 7 9700X and a GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16 GB, it's hard to resist a superficial assessment of its gaming capabilities, even despite the different overall focus of the review.

Such a combination of components is quite balanced. Usually the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16 GB is used for games in 1440p mode. However, as we can see in the diagram, there are "heavyweight" projects that, with maximum graphics quality settings, are able to slow down even an RTX 5070 Ti class video card. Yes, Avowed is one of those. The average 90 frames/s against the background of 175+ fps in other projects is a reminder of exceptions that may require an individual approach and possibly compromises when it comes to even Full HD mode.

Power consumption

During the gaming tests, the overall level of PC power consumption was also determined. When it comes to games, the graphics card makes the maximum contribution here. The final figures depend significantly on the specific project. Within the selected list, the level of power consumption fluctuated in the range of 370–445 W.

As we expected, an 850W unit would be quite enough for the most efficient operation with such a configuration. Let's recall that the maximum efficiency of the PSU is achieved at a load of ~50% of the nominal. Of course, a "kilowatt" here will not be superfluous either, especially with additional CPU overclocking and the use of tasks with simultaneous high load on the processor and graphics card.