MSI Keeping AM3+ Relevant, Releases New 970A Gaming Pro Carbon Motherboard

While Gigabyte and ASUS have recently released 990FX chipset based AM3+ motherboards in 2016, MSI is keeping things practical with a 970 chipset offering instead. Under their Gaming line, MSI’s new 970A Gaming Pro Carbon does not focus on delivering 220W processor support and overclocking but instead offers up plenty of other extras including beefed up onboard audio, PCIE 2.0 x4 M.2, USB 3.1 Type-C and RGB LED.

AMD’s chipset is quite dated so MSI uses 3rd party ASMedia controllers to deliver the extra features. An ASMedia ASM1143 is used for the USB 3.1 support for example and uses ASMedia switches for the M.2 PCIE x4 support as well. The MSI audio boost 3 design integrates a Realtek ALC1150 HD audio codec with dual Texas Instrument OPA1652 amps and Nippon Chemicon audio capacitors. For Gigabit ethernet, MSI uses an Intel i211AT LAN controller.

For those who enjoy fancy lighting, especially on a custom modded build, MSI’s “Mystic Light” extension allows users to plug in their RGB LED strip to the available 5050 LED onboard header right at the bottom edge of the 970A Gaming Pro Carbon motherboard. RGB LED strips up to 3A power rating are supported. Users can even control their system’s RGB LED settings via MSI’s Mystic Light app on their phone.

For more information, visit: https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/970A-GAMING-PRO-CARBON.html#hero-specification