MSI PRO Z790-A MAX WiFi ProSeries Motherboard (Supports 12th/13th/14th Gen Intel Processors, LGA 1700, DDR5, PCIe 5.0, M.2, SATA 6G, 2.5Gbps LAN, USB 3.2 Gen2, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, ATX)

I love this motherboard. It's full of all the features I was looking for. It has support for gen 12/13/14 CPUs, >128GB DDR5 5600 MHz RAM, 6x SATA 6G ports, 4x M.2 slots, 4x PCIe slots, plenty of USB3.2 Gen 2 ports, WiFi7, a HDMI port, a Display Port, and excellent heat management. It handles both single disks via AHCI and RAID arrays via Intel RST seamlessly. Lots of capability at a reasonable price of $209. Love it!HERE'S THE PART YOU NEED TO READ.Nowhere in the documentation is it stated which video port is the default port that should be used when booting up to change BIOS settings. In fact, there really isn't a default port. I chose the HDMI port because I had an HDMI cable. As I rebooted and attempted to enter BIOS (pressing Delete), I got NOTHING but a black display in about 9 out of 10 attempts. The 1 out of 10 successes led me to believe 1) the board had some sort of intermittent quality problem, 2) some other component had a quality problem or 3) I made a "pilot error" building the PC. After ~2 long weeks of debugging, swapping memory sticks, testing the power supply, looking for scratches or other damage to the motherboard, ... , I was about ready to send the motherboard back as defective. Before doing so I borrowed a Display Port cable and rebooted. With both ports connected to displays I observed a splash screen on every reboot, ~90% on the Display Port side and ~10% on the HDMI port side. In other words, the system was performing just fine the entire 2 weeks. I just couldn't see BIOS on the Display Port (because it wasn't connected). I could see it on the HDMI port, but only 1 out of 10 reboot attempts. BOTTOM LINE: I give the motherboard itself 5 stars. I'd give it 6 if I could. On the other hand, I give MSI's documentation and BIOS 1 star. MSI should correct this by either 1) documenting the flip-flop behavior, 2) have the BIOS send video to both ports by default (and not "roll the dice" at each reboot) or 3) not send the video exclusively to a port that's not even connected.

As a loyal MSI customer, with my last three motherboards being MSI, I can confidently say that MSI is a name I trust for quality and reliability. This PRO Z790-A MAX WiFi ProSeries motherboard continues that tradition. From the moment I unboxed it, I was impressed by the thoughtful design and robust construction. Installation was a breeze, and adding components was equally straightforward. The layout is smart, making cable management easy and resulting in a clean, professional look once mounted in my case.The performance of this board is excellent. It effortlessly handles my 14th Gen Intel processor, and the speeds are lightning-fast. The utility software provides all the important details during operation. I've experienced zero crashing issues, a testament to the stability and performance this motherboard offers. The inclusion of multiple M.2 slots with heat sinks is a welcome addition, ensuring optimal performance for my NVMe drives. The board also boasts ample connectivity options, including plenty of USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, Wi-Fi 7, and multiple display outputs.Pros:Easy to installEasy to add componentsLooks nice when mountedExcellent performanceCons:None that I've foundOverall, I am extremely pleased with the MSI PRO Z790-A MAX WiFi ProSeries Motherboard. It offers a fantastic combination of features, performance, and ease of use, all at a reasonable price. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a reliable and high-performing motherboard for their 12th/13th/14th Gen Intel build.

Traded out a Z790 Edge to my grandson for this board. I did lose one of my M2 slots, from 5 with the Edge to 4 with this board. But I did gain another PCIE slot so it’s not a bad trade off.It will handle 6 SATA drives in addition to the 4 M2 drives, and all can be configured for raid although why would you need to with SSD’s that are already transferring rates at 1000 + mbs.There’s no loss of a PCIE lane when you populate all the M2 slots, nor the loss of a SATA channel or M2 slot if one is populated, which is a nice feature and one of the few boards I saw that did that. It’s PCIE 4.0, which is still very decent.,I mean if you’re looking for PCIE 5.0 you’re going to need the newer Chipsets for that.The audio chip on this board is phenomenal. I’ve got THX rated speakers, and listening to music is amazing, crystal clear audio, one of the must haves that the Edge board had.The RGB pin outs 2 are adequate, as are the fan pin outs. First boot and it will ask what kind of cooling you’re using.The bios is intuitive and easy to navigate.Currently I’m running Windows 11 Pro as the Primary OS with Fedora 41 as a secondary OS.This would be my only gripe, I’d like everything else there’s limited support for Linux other than what each distribution is including. So far Fedora is the only one that supports WiFi 7.Even Windows wasn’t happy with the wireless hardware, I had to temporarily connect to a wired network to download the proper drivers, so keep that in mind when you go to install the OS.Overall a nice clean board and the foundation of a great desktop.