MSI has lastly listed the corporate’s Challenge Zero motherboards with hidden connectors. Like Asus DIY-APE and Gigabyte Challenge Stealth, MSI’s Challenge Zero primarily strikes all of the onboard connectors to the again of the motherboard to facilitate cable administration and for a tidier aesthetic.
MSI at present has two Challenge Zero motherboards in its arsenal: the B650M Challenge Zero for Ryzen 7000 processors, the brand new B760M Challenge Zero for Intel twelfth Technology Alder Lake and newer chips. The corporate additionally has the Z790 Challenge Zero within the pipeline, however we’ll get extra into that mannequin later.
The B760M Challenge Zero is a microATX motherboard powered by Intel’s B760 chipset. The motherboard helps Alder Lake and Raptor Lake processors proper out of the gate. Nevertheless, a minor firmware replace will get the LGA1700 motherboard on top of things to accommodate the newest Raptor Lake Refresh chips. The B760M Challenge Zero incorporates a six-layer PCB manufactured with two-ounce copper and a 12+1+1 energy supply system to accommodate probably the most demanding Core i9 processors. The dual 8-pin EPS energy connectors make sure the processor receives greater than sufficient energy.
MSI geared up the B760M Challenge Zero with 4 DDR5 reminiscence slots. The configuration opens the door for 192GB of reminiscence, utilizing 48GB non-standard capability reminiscence modules. The official supported information fee is as much as DDR5-7200 and past. As all the time, your processor’s built-in reminiscence controller (IMC) decides if you should use sooner reminiscence, such because the DDR5-8600 reminiscence kits designed for Raptor Lake Refresh components.
4 SATA III ports with RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10 assist and two M.2 slots present ample storage choices. The first M.2 runs at PCIe 4.0 x4 speeds and is linked on to the processor. It helps M.2 2242, 2260, and 2280 SSDs. The secondary M.2 slot can be PCIe 4.0 x4, nevertheless it’s linked to the B760 chipset. Along with NVMe SSDs, this slot additionally helps SATA-based drives.
There are three growth slots on the B760M Challenge Zero. It has a PCIe 5.0 x16 growth slot, one PCIe 4.0 x16 growth slot restricted to x4 electrically, and a PCIe 3.0 x1 slot. Solely the first PCIe 5.0 x16 is connected to the processor, as the opposite two growth slots are coupled to the B760 chipset.
As for connectivity, the B760M Challenge Zero presents a 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet port primarily based on a Realtek controller and Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 connection through a wi-fi module put in within the M.2 Key-E slot. The motherboard’s rear panel USB ports embody three USB 3.2 Gen 2 Kind-A ports, one USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 Kind-C port, and 4 USB 2.0 ports. There’s an HDMI 2.1 port and a DisplayPort 1.4 output for those who use the processor’s iGPU.
MSI hasn’t revealed the Z790 Challenge Zero but, however {hardware} leaker wxnod has shared the specs for the upcoming motherboard. It leverages the high-end Z790 chipset, supporting each processor and reminiscence overclocking. The Z790 Challenge Zero is an ordinary ATX motherboard and, due to the Z790 chipset, presents extra space for added options.
Reminiscence assist and show outputs stay unchanged. Nevertheless, the Z790 Challenge Zero has two extra M.2 PCIe 4.0 x4 slots and two extra SATA III ports. It has one extra PCIe 3.0 x1 slot as properly. The wi-fi connectivity has been upgraded to Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 as a substitute of the Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 combo on the B760M Challenge Zero.
The design of the USB ports differs from the Z790 Challenge Zero. It provides one USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 Kind-C port, two USB 3.2 Gen 2 (one Kind-A, one Kind-C) ports, six USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, and eight USB 2.0 ports.
MSI did not reveal how a lot the B760M Challenge Zero or the Z790 Challenge Zero will price or once they’ll be accessible on the retail market. Given the current listings, it should not be lengthy earlier than Challenge Zero hits the streets.