Meet the MSI X470 Gaming M7 AC
The X470 Gaming M7 AC carves $229 out of your build budget, but many gamers will consider it well worth the price.
The Board in Black
A black PCB helps the X470 Gaming M7 AC melt into the shadows of a typical PC case, saving the limelight for other components.
The CPU Zone
As you'd expect, MSI devotes the top half of the X470 Gaming M7 AC to the AM4 socket, the power phases, and the board's bank of dual-channel memory slots.
PCI Express Slots
The lower half of the X470 Gaming M7 AC sports three PCI Express slots, ready and able with the X470 chipset for CrossFire and SLI configurations.
The M.2 Heatsinks
Both heatsinks are part of the X470 chipset's heatsink, which means that if you lift one heatsink, you're really lifting them all as a unit.
Plenty of Ports
Eight USB ports line the I/O panel, including a USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A port and a USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C port. Note, though: no video outputs for use with one of AMD's Ryzen APUs.
Not One But Two Power Connectors
Power connectors don't usually generate much interest, but in this case, it's worth pointing out that the X470 Gaming M7 AC has two eight-pin connectors hiding out near the top-left corner.
Overclocking Dial: Just Twist to OC
The dial stands next to two handy power and reset buttons, just below a digital debug LED.
Off-Edge SATA Connectors
Six SATA connectors face off the right side of the X470 Gaming M7 AC, along with a USB 3.1 Gen 1 connector.
A Look at the Accessory Package
MSI typically puts together solid accessories packages for its luxury gaming motherboards, and this one is no exception.
Test Build
Our MSI GeForce GTX 1060 Gaming X video card snapped easily into place (and blocked the heatsink for both M.2 slots, as I thought it would). I didn't have any difficulty with the 32GB, DDR4-3200 G.Skill TridentZ memory kit, either. All four DIMMs fired up without any reseating.
The BIOS EZ Mode
The BIOS starts in EZ mode, which shows top-level information rather than providing granular setting control.
Board Explorer
This BIOS mode lets you click on a component or connector to get more info.