It’s an obvious observation to make that a lot of the new AMD AM4 Ryzen compatible motherboards share striking similarities between their Intel counterparts, but probably none more than the board I have in front of me today; the MSI X370 XPOWER GAMING TITANIUM.
Taking a closer look at the MSI X370 XPOWER GAMING TITANIUM, it features a lovely silver PCB which resonates well with the rest of the board’s colour scheme. Of course like the Intel Z270 version, it features 3 large silver coloured heat sinks; 1 for the Southbridge, one for the MOSFETS and of course, one for the I/O. The X370 XPOWER has e x PCIe x16 lanes which include 2 with MSIs steel armour coating for increased slot strength and durability. The XPOWER is a full sized ATX board and includes many different features; most of which I will be showing today.
The socket itself is AM4 and supports the latest AMD Ryzen 7 CPUs which were launched less than 48 hours ago. The XPOWER X370 is equipped with a 10 phase design and features one of the tidiest socket designs on the motherboard market today. This clean socket with flat capacitors is very easy to insulate and is a perfect design for extreme overclockers looking to push their chips to the limit.
To power the XPOWER motherboard and Ryzen processor, you will need at least a 4+4pin or 8pin 12 CPU power cable. The X370 XPOWER GAMING TITANIUM has the advantage of having an extra 4pin 12v power slot which is designed to allow the board to draw more power in very intensive situations. This is especially useful when using extreme cooling methods as extra power can be crucial in providing extra stability; something which can be the difference between breaking a world record at maximum frequencies and failing miserably.
The X370 XPOWER GAMING TITANIUM is the first X370 AM4 motherboard that I have seen to feature 2 x M.2 ports; MSI have been at their best and the forefront in regards to M.2 slot availability on motherboards and this model is no different. MSI have also included one of their stylish M.2 shields which can be the difference between looking at a bare green PCB and…well something not as garish as a green PCB; I personally hate all things green PCB as it’s so outdated.
At the bottom of the motherboard, you will find a single 6pin PCIe power connector which is provided to provide additional power to the PCIe slots. It’s very clear if you haven’t already guessed, that the X370 XPOWER GAMING TITANIUM is geared towards extreme overclockers, but due to a recent shift in focus from MSI, they have combined overclocking and gaming into one top quality solution.
If you’re looking for an AM4 motherboard with lots of storage options, the X370 XPOWER comes loaded with 6 x SATA3 ports, 2 x M.2 ports (as we have previously shown) and a single Turbo U.2 port. In addition to this and the rear I/O, the XPOWER GAMING TITANIUM AM4 board has 2 x USB 3.0 front panel headers for those who require tons of USB real estate.
At the bottom right-hand corner, we have some buttons including a power button, a reset switch and a button which will automatically overclock your motherboard to a reliable and stable overclock.
Last but certainly not least, we have the rear I/O which does have a nice amount of connections, inputs, and outputs available. The X370 XPOWER rear I/O is as follows:
1 x PS/2 GAMING device port
1 x DisplayPort
1 x RJ45 Ethernet port
1 x LIGHTNING USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A port
3.5mm HD audio connectors
2 x USB 2.0 ports
1 x Clear CMOS button
1 x BIOS Flashback+ button
1 x HDMI 2.0 port
4 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports
1 x LIGHTNING USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C port
1 x Optical S/PDIF output
Plenty of connections as I have said, but I do feel a couple more USB ports wouldn’t go a miss. The board does have plenty of front panel USB options however and even features an extra USB port towards the bottom of the motherboard; right next to the onboard buttons.
It’s obvious that the MSI X370 XPOWER GAMING TITANIUM AM4 Ryzen ready motherboard has a lot to offer and with a launch price of around £298.99, it’s currently the most expensive AM4 board at launch. Whether it’s the best of the bunch still remains to be seen, but you can be assured we will be testing this and putting the X370 XPOWER through its paces to see if it’s as good as it looks.
