MSI unveils new X299M-A Pro motherboard, designed only for Kaby Lake-X processors

MSI today unveiled its new microATX MSI X299M-A Pro motherboard, a new motherboard designed specifically to house the Kaby Lake X i5-7640X or i7-7740X processors and incorporating only four dual-channel memory DIMM slots without the support of quadruple channel available in the Skylake X (although if we can install them). The board will be able to support up to 64GB of DDR4 memory. And includes three M.2 ports (one vertical in the I / O zone. That is one between the PCIe and one next to the DIMM slots) and 8 SATA 3 ports as storage.

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X299M-A Pro, MSI unveils new X299M-A Pro motherboard, designed only for Kaby Lake-X processors, Optocrypto

It is a professional-grade Pro line of products, but still includes a reinforced PCIe 3.0 x16 slot and two additional ones at the lower end, allowing 2G multi-mode configurations if needed. As for Audio, MSI has chosen to include a Realtek ALC1220. So provides the board a high-quality sound despite being oriented at a more affordable price.

MSI X299M-A Pro Key Features

  • Supports New Intel® Core™ X-series Processor i7-7740X & i5-7640X(4 Cores) only
  • Supports DDR4-4400+(OC) Memory
  • DDR4 BOOST: Give your DDR4 memory a performance boost.
  • TWIN TURBO M.2 and Intel Optane Memory Ready: Running at PCI-E Gen3 x4 maximizes performance for NVMe based SSDs.
  • Military Class 6: Latest evolution in high-quality components for best protection and efficiency
  • DIGITAL POWER DESIGN: Allowing faster and undistorted delivery to the CPU at pin-point precision
  • Intel® LAN: the Great online experience through hardware design and bandwidth management offering the lowest latency.
  • EZ DEBUG LED: Easiest way to troubleshoot
  • Audio Boost 4: Reward your ears with studio-grade sound quality for a true HI-FI experience
  • Dual BIOS: Having 2 physical BIOS chips for easy reset and recovery
  • MULTI-GPU: With STEEL ARMOR PCI-E slots. Supports 2-Way NVIDIA SLI™ & AMD Crossfire

MSI X299M-A Pro Specifications

  • Socket: 2066
  • CPU (Max Support): X-Series
  • Chipset: Intel X299 Chipset
  • DDR4 Memory:
    • Intel® Core™ X-series Processors (4 core CPU i7-7740X/i5-7640X) – Dual channel memory support DDR4 4500+(OC)/4400(OC)/4333(OC)/4266(OC)/4200(OC)/4133(OC)/4000(OC)/3866(OC)/3800(OC)/3733(OC)/3600(OC)/3466(OC)/3400(OC)/3333(OC)/3200(OC)/3000(OC)/2933(OC)/2800(OC)/2667/2400/2133 MHz*
  • Memory Channel: Dual
  • DIMM Slots: 4
  • Max Memory: 64GB
  • PCI-EX16: 3
  • PCI-E GEN: Gen3
  • SATAIII: 8
  • M.2 Slot: 2
  • RAID: 0/1/5/10
  • TPM (Header): 1
  • LAN: 10/100/1000*1
  • USB 3.1 Ports
    • Front: 4 (Gen1)
    • Rear: 2 (Gen2 ,Type A+C), 4 (Gen1 Type A)
  • USB 2.0 Ports:
    • Front: 4
    • Rear: 2
  • Audio Ports: Realtek® ALC1220 Codec
  • Form Factor: m-ATX
  • SLI: Yes
  • Crossfire: Yes

Price and Availability

MSI is yet to announce X299M-A Pro release details. However, TechPowerUp expects the board to cost approximately $170.

This new model should have a price below 200 € and be available soon.