The stability and predictability of AMD's Socket AM5 desktop platform gives users additional confidence. This is especially important for those who plan to build a powerful system that will remain relevant for at least several years. If you have to spend money, then on a functional solution with clear prospects and long-term developer support. Today we have for review the MSI MPG X870E EDGE Ti WIFI motherboard on the top-end AMD X870E chipset. An expensive "charged" model with interesting equipment and capabilities. Are such options worth the extra costs? Let's take a closer look.
| Model name | MSI MPG X870E EDGE Ti WiFi |
| Processors | Ryzen 7000/8000/9000 |
| Connector | Socket AM5 |
| Form factor | ATX, 305×244 mm |
| Chipset | AMD X870E |
| Memory | 4×DIMM DDR5, up to DDR5-8400+; 256 GB max. |
| Expansion slots | 1×PCI-E 5.0 x16 (x16); 1×PCI-E 4.0 x16 (x4); 1×PCI-E 3.0 x16 (x1) |
| Storage devices | 2×M.2 PCI-E 5.0 x4; 2×M.2 PCI-E 4.0 x4; 4×SATA 6 Gb/c |
| Chain | 1×5 GbE LAN (Realtek 8126-CG); 1×Wi-Fi 7 |
| Interface panel elements | 2×USB4 (Type-C); 1×USB 3.2 Gen2 (Type-C); 5×USB 3.2 Gen2 (Type-A); 4×USB 2.0 (Type-A); 1×HDMI 2.1; RJ-45; 2x Wi-Fi antenna; 2x audio; S/PDIF; Flash BIOS and Clear CMOS buttons |
| Fans | 8×4 pins (PWM/DC) |
| Sound | Realtek ALC4080 codec |
| Estimated price | 18,500 UAH (~$445) |
Package contents
The board is offered in a medium-sized cardboard box with a rather bright design. The MSI MPG X870E EDGE Ti WIFI has a somewhat expanded delivery set. There is a paper instruction manual for assembling the system, two SATA interface cables and an extension adapter for convenient connection of controls on the case wall.
The kit also includes an additional screw for mounting M.2, EZ M.2 Clip Remover, 1-to-3 EZ Conn-cable adapter and a set of stickers with logos and marking stickers. Detailed paper instructions are not included in the delivery - an attempt to save wood. Usually in such cases it is suggested to look for electronic versions of the description on the manufacturer's website. However, models of a class above the average are usually equipped with a USB drive with documentation, drivers and accompanying software, which allows you to prepare the PC for work even without access to the network.
Design and layout
MSI MPG X870E EDGE Ti WIFI uses the top-end AMD X870E chipset, which allows you to realize all the capabilities of the platform. The board is ready to work with any chips for Socket AM5. The model is implemented in the ATX format with classic dimensions for this standard - 305x244 mm. The printed circuit board has an 8-layer layout
The design of motherboards in bright colors is unlikely to surprise anyone - solutions for white assemblies periodically appear in the assortment of most manufacturers. However, every time you come across such models, the eye admires the result of the developers' non-standard approach, which turns a boring utilitarian black thing into a device that will surely attract the eye through the transparent wall of the case.
This is definitely not about the color variety of motherboards from 20 years ago, when you could find yellow boards, which are natural for a PCB base, many shades of green, bright red, blue and even purple options. Over time, universal black became a classic and the dominant standard.
Let it be subjective, but motherboards with a design other than the already somewhat boring black deserve +0.5 points for external decoration.
With a "titanium" PCB, the use of silver heatsinks is not objectionable, and even the black expansion slots organically contrast and fit into the overall visual concept.
Focusing on the technical equipment, we note that the board uses a 17-phase (14+2+1) processor power stabilization scheme. The basis of the scheme is the MP87670 power assemblies from Monolithic Power Systems with an operating current of up to 80A. The configuration cannot be called ultimate, after all, we are dealing with a user model, not a board for overclocking world records. However, the power of the available VRM block is enough for top-end processors for Socket AM5.
To cool the power assemblies, a bundle of two radiator blocks is provided, which have a complex profile, which increases the heat dissipation area. The dimensions of one of the coolers are significantly increased, the block covers the entire area around the interface panel. In addition, both radiators are additionally connected to each other by a heat pipe, which will allow balancing the temperature of the elements and more effectively using the design capabilities.
The developers additionally emphasize that thermal stickers with a thermal conductivity of 7 W/mK are used to accelerate heat transfer. At the same time, contact with radiators is provided for both power assemblies and chokes.
To connect additional processor power, the board has two 8-pin EPS12V connectors.
MSI MPG X870E EDGE Ti WIFI has four DIMM slots and supports 64 GB modules, allowing you to equip the system with 256 GB of RAM if necessary. As for the speed parameters, the ability to use kits up to DDR5-8400+ is declared here. Of course, the configuration will depend on the number of modules and their rank. The best performance is achieved with a pair of peer-to-peer strips, and if we are talking about four modules, the guaranteed modes will be more modest. In general, a typical situation.
As for the overall layout, it's also a fairly expected configuration. Despite the classic AXT format, we have "only" three expansion slots for using additional cards.
The main PCI-E x16 slot complies with the PCI Express 5.0 standard and always operates at the maximum speed - x16. Since PCI_E1 depends on the capabilities of the processor, support for PCI-E 5.0 is relevant for cases when the system is equipped with Ryzen 7000/9000 series processors. If Ryzen 8000 is used, the PCI-E 4.0 interface is relevant, which models of this series are able to offer.
The connector has additional metal protection, which improves mechanical strength and allows you to cope with heavy video cards. In addition, the first slot has an additional mechanism for fixing the graphics adapter - EZ PCIE Release. After pressing a special button, the video card is locked in the connector with a metal latch. Pressing it again, on the contrary, releases the adapter, allowing it to be removed from the PCI-E slot quite easily.
The second slot (PCI_E2), despite the full-size format, in all cases complies with the PCI-E 3.0 x1 specification. A port for peripherals that do not require high bandwidth - a sound card (new models with PCI-E still need to be found), network controllers, etc. The connector remains available for use in cases where the dimensions of the video card do not exceed the 3-slot format.
Another full-size slot (PCI_E3) is also serviced by the chipset and offers PCI-E 4.0 x4 mode.
Having three expansion slots on ATX motherboards has become a fairly common configuration. The available PCB space is more likely to be allocated by developers for M.2 ports, which allows for an increase in the number of corresponding SSDs that can be connected to the system at the same time. Therefore, the priorities are clear.
In this aspect, the MSI MPG X870E EDGE Ti WIFI is no exception. The board offers four ports for M.2 drives. Not that this is a record number for ATX-format models, but there are certain nuances here.
The first M.2 port (M.2_1) is located above the main PCI-E x16 slot. It uses the processor bus lines, and if there is a corresponding CPU (Ryzen 7000/9000) offers a PCI-E 5.0 x4 interface. As for the technical features, M.2_1 allows the use of SSDs of format 22110/2280, and has a separate radiator for cooling the elements on the back of the drive. It is this port that is rationally used for the highest speed SSD in the system.
The M.2_2 port also relies on CPU resources to provide a PCI-E 5.0 x4 interface. As in the previous case, this standard is determined by the processor, so if the platform is built on a Ryzen 8000 (a very unlikely configuration with an AMD X870E board), M.2_2 will offer PCI-E 4.0 x4 resources.
Another feature of M.2_2 is that it uses the PCI-E 5.0 processor lanes together with the USB4 controller (ASMedia ASM4242). So if the latter is involved in the work (the corresponding peripheral is connected), the M.2_2 mode switches to PCI-E 5.0 x2. In the BIOS settings, there is an option to allocate all four PCI-E 5.0 lanes for M.2_2, but in this case the USB4 controller will be disabled. So the available capabilities of the motherboard will have to be configured according to your own needs.
The M.2_3 and M.2_4 ports are served by the chipset. They also have in common that they offer PCI-E 4.0 x4 mode and are designed for 2280/2260 format drives.
Additional cooling is provided for all SSDs that will potentially be installed on the board. As we have already noted, for M.2_1, a plate for the elements on the back of the drive is even added. As for the main unit, it is a rather chunky aluminum bar, which will definitely not interfere with the use of the most productive SSDs that have a considerable level of power consumption and require effective heat dissipation.
M.2_2 and M.2_3 share a common heatsink with a considerable area and slightly thicker than usual. M.2_4 also has a separate cooler.
All drives feature screwless mounting. Moreover, you won't even need a screwdriver to mount the radiators. All aluminum blocks are equipped with additional fasteners (EZ M.2 Shield Frozr II).
Among the features of the M.2 platform, it can also be noted that all available ports support SSDs only with the PCI-E interface, while SATA is offered only in the native version.
Despite the fact that the AMD X870E chipset supports up to eight SATA ports in total, in the case of the MSI MPG X870E EDGE Ti WIFI, the developers limited themselves to four corresponding SATA 6 Gb/s connectors, which are located on the right edge of the printed circuit board. The connectors are positioned parallel to the PCB plane, which allows you to connect interface cables even if the installed graphics card with a massive cooling system blocks access to the connectors.
Separately, we should note the massive radiator block mounted on the chipset. Or to be more precise, in the case of the AMD X870E we are talking about two Promontory 21 chips. Therefore, the increased dimensions of the cooler here can only be welcomed.
The MSI MPG X870E EDGE Ti WIFI has eight 4-pin connectors for configuring the cooling system. The rated connectors for the CPU cooler and the water block pump have increased power.
The CPU cooler connector provides up to 24 W, the SRO pump - up to 36 W. The connectors for case fans have typical parameters (12 V, 1 A, 12 W).
An additional proprietary option for the cooling system is the combined EZ Conn connector, which combines the control, power and fan lighting channels. This model allows you to get by with fewer wires. This method works especially well when connecting a liquid cooling system with serial fan connection technology. For example, in a recent review of the three-fan MSI MAG CORELIQUID A15 360 with ARGB lighting, only two cables were connected to the board - the pump power supply and EZ Conn.
Formally, we are dealing with a proprietary MSI format, but as long as unified switching standards are maintained, why not experiment? Especially if they bring practical benefits.
MSI MPG X870E EDGE Ti WIFI offers an internal USB Type-C connector to bring the corresponding port to the case panel. In this case, we are talking about the USB 3.2 Gen2x2 standard with a bandwidth of up to 20 Gb/s. However, to realize the potential of the interface and get maximum data transfer speeds, the case must also support the USB 3.2 Gen2x2 port.
As for the connector on the board, in addition to increased speed, the internal Type-C also supports Power Delivery, which increases the port power to 27 W and allows for fast charging for portable devices.
Expectedly, the MSI MPG X870E EDGE Ti WIFI is equipped with the EZ Debug LED self-diagnostic system. At first glance, a primitive set of four LEDs can significantly reduce the time for searching for root causes in the event of problems during system startup. Additionally, this task is greatly simplified by the presence of a separate segment indicator EZ Digi-Debug LED. It is really easier to navigate by error code. In addition, after a successful initial boot of the system, it switches to the mode of displaying the current processor temperature. Also a useful thing for users who are used to full control of the situation.
It seems that in the case of motherboards, additional backlighting is already used in some special cases. The developers "played around" with massive intrusive illumination, trying to use this technique of external design very dosedly. For MSI MPG X870E EDGE Ti WIFI, the backlight of the dragon profile on the radiator, which is located in the interface panel area, looks quite organic.
If the user wants to maintain a light panorama, or customize the system illumination according to their own idea of beauty, the board provides one connector for RGB (5050), as well as three connectors for addressable ARGB strips. Of course, additional sources of illumination, such as a video card, memory modules, cooling system fans, and more, can create a suitable background.
The MSI Center application has the ability to synchronize the lighting of all devices, including external peripherals that support the Mystic Light protocol.
The developers also did not forget about the radical opponents of additional backlighting, offering the latter a separate toggle switch that allows you to turn off all the lights at the hardware level. In a typical use mode, when the system is assembled in a case, such an option has dubious practical benefits. It is unlikely that you will want to open the case wall to reach the switch to turn off the backlight. The software version of the solution to the issue in MSI Center requires much less effort. In an open stand, LED_SW1 makes a little more sense.
The board uses a Realtek ALC4080 codec for its audio subsystem. As expected, additional isolation of the audio path is provided on a separate PCB segment.
The sound is bright and clean, with detailed and soft high frequencies and clear "bass". In some compositions, the bass may even seem a little "too much", but this can be corrected in the Realtek Audio Console utility - and at the same time try out various special effects.
The board has good network connectivity. The model is equipped with a tri-band (2.4/5/6 GHz) Wi-Fi 7 controller, which supports protocols up to 802.11be and provides a bandwidth of up to 5.7 Gb/s. A standard antenna with a magnetized stand is provided to amplify the signal.
The wired network is handled by the Realtek RTL8126 controller, which supports Ethernet connections at speeds up to 5 Gb/s.
MSI MPG X870E EDGE Ti WIFI offers an interesting interface panel. First of all, we draw attention to the presence of two USB4 ports in Type-C format. Both support data transfer at speeds up to 40 Gb/s, and also received the implementation of DisplayPort Altrenative mode, which allows you to transfer images (up to 4K@60 Hz). In addition, the panel also has a full-size HDMI 2.1.
The third USB Type-C port corresponds to USB 3.2 Gen2 (10 Gb/s). In addition, the panel features five USB Type-A ports with the same speed standard. For undemanding peripherals, four USB 2.0 ports (480 Mb/s) are provided.
Test bench configuration
- Motherboard: MSI MPG X870E EDGE TI WIFI (ATX, AMD X870E)
- Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 9700X (8/16; 3.8/5.5 GHz)
- Cooling: MSI MAG CORELIQUID A15 360
- Memory: Kingston FURY Renegade DDR5-7200 2×16GB (KF572C38RWK2-32)
- Graphics card: MSI GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER 16G GAMING SLIM STALKER 2 EDITION
- Drive: Kingston KC3000 1 GB (SKC3000S/1024G)
In operation
The Ryzen 7 9700X processor (8/16; 3.8/5.5 GHz) was used to test the capabilities of the board. The eight-core model is popular when building fairly powerful platforms, and it is quite versatile and well suited for gaming systems and work PCs.
In its base version, the Ryzen 7 9700X has a TDP of 65 W, and as such it is almost a model of efficiency in its class of 8-core CPUs. However, power constraints affect operating frequencies during maximum load on all computing cores.
Not all owners of such CPUs are interested in reducing power consumption and are therefore the determining factor, so AMD has simplified the process of increasing the TDP to 105 W as much as possible, assuring that the chips were originally designed for such conditions of use. And the preservation of the warranty when used in the TDP mode of 105 W is the best confirmation of this.
So, to increase the load on the power nodes of the MSI MPG X870E EDGE TI WIFI, we used the Ryzen 7 9700X in the state with an increased power package (TDP 105 W).
We suggest you familiarize yourself with the results of a typical test suite. In general, there are no surprises here, the Ryzen 7 9700X demonstrates maximum performance for the current usage mode.
We would like to separately note that in the multi-threaded stage of the Cinebench R23 test application, the processor scores 23,149 points (~21,000 at a TDP of 65 W).
Regarding the general operating conditions of the platform in this mode, we note that under maximum load, the Ryzen 7 9700X increased the frequency of all cores to 5200 MHz, while the average supply voltage level was 1.206 V. The CPU power consumption level was 137–142 W. The processor temperature was 77 °C.
During multi-threaded rendering, the VRM elements on the motherboard heated up to 56C, the temperature of the chipset chips rose to 50–51C. Under such conditions, the 8-core chip does not require much stress from the MSI MPG X870E EDGE TI WIFI. For the board, this is a fairly easy "walk".
CPU overclocking
To complicate the task, we overclocked the Ryzen 7 9700X, increasing the stable frequency of the computing cores to 5400 MHz.
This is the level the CPU maintained even during high multi-threaded load. To verify, we repeat the Cinebench R23 test.
An additional +200 MHz on all cores brings about another 5% performance gain – the result increased from 23,149 to 24,362 points. Yes, the increase is already relatively small, manufacturers are already initially using almost all the resources of the chips.
How did the additional CPU acceleration affect the temperature performance of the motherboard elements? First of all, let's consider the changes for the CPU. After overclocking to 5400 MHz in automatic mode, the supply voltage increased to 1.25 V. The processor warmed up to 91 ° C, while the chip's power consumption increased to ~ 165 W.
The heating of the VRM elements at the peak increased to 63C, the temperature of the chipset chips did not change – 50C. So overclocking the Ryzen 7 9700X also did not significantly affect the operation of the motherboard, which is ready for more difficult challenges.
RAM
During the experiments, we also tested the MSI MPG X870E EDGE TI WIFI's ability to work with high-speed memory modules. The test RAM kit is already in standard mode after using the XMP/EXPO profile DDR5-7200 (38-44-44-105) is a non-trivial task.
While looking for the limit modes, we managed to get stable operation of the kit in DDR5-8200 mode with the timing formula 40-46-46-122. Although due to architectural features this does not lead to an increase in transfers, the overall latency of the memory subsystem decreased from 79.9 ns to 75 ns.