Chris Szewczyk
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It used to be the case that Intel’s B-series motherboards were very basic indeed. Going back a few generations, they couldn’t even overclock memory. But, they’ve come a long way, and these days they’re generally perfectly viable options, even with a high-end K-series processor. Well, many of them anyway… cheap is still cheap.
The B760I Edge WiFi is not an overly pricey option, though the competition is tough in this price range.
The MSI B760I Edge WiFi is positioned as an affordable board with a decent mainstream feature set. It’s a Mini-ITX motherboard, so it should be a good option for those looking to put some more money towards a better graphics card or CPU for a compact, yet highly capable small form factor system.
At $205 / £199 / AU$349 the B760I Edge WiFi is not an overly pricey option, though the competition is tough in this price range, with Mini-ITX options from ASRock, Gigabyte, and Asus all priced similarly. Being a Mini-ITX board, you’ll have to contend with a sacrifice or two compared to ATX options, but that’s par for the course.
I’d say the B760I Edge is an attractive board. It’s similar in look to its AMD-toting MPG B650I Edge sibling, though thankfully it lacks that board’s chipset fan. Its silver-on-black theme would look good with the right matching components—if you can see it at all in a tiny case, that is. It lacks onboard RGB too, though it does have RGB and ARGB headers. I can imagine it looking great in a white case.
MSI MPG B760I Edge WiFi specs
Socket: Intel LGA 1700
CPU compatibility: Intel 12th, 13th and 14th Gen processors
Form factor: Mini-ITX
Memory support: DDR5-7200+(OC), up to 128GB
Storage: 2x M.2, 4x SATA
USB: Up to 3x USB 10Gbps, 6x USB 5Gbps, 4x USB 2.0
Display: 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x DP 1.4
Networking: Realtek RTL8125BG 2.5G LAN, Intel WiFi 6E
Audio: Realtek ALC897
Price: $205 / £199 / AU$349
At this price, MSI quite expectedly didn’t go all out when it comes to a mega VRM and ultra-fast memory support. It’ll happily run DDR5-7200 memory, with up to 128GB supported. That’s enough for any gaming system.
It has an 8+2+1-phase VRM with 90a stages. That’s not extreme, but it is adequate enough to handle an i9 processor at full tilt. The heatsinks do a perfectly adequate job of keeping things cool, as long as you have decent airflow in your case. It’s worth remembering some ITX cases aren’t stellar in that regard because of their compact nature.
The primary PCIe slot supports Gen 5, while storage wise, you get a pair of M.2 slots, both of which support Gen 4 SSDs. The one on the front is connected to the CPU, while the one on the rear of the board is connected to the chipset. They’re joined by four SATA ports. That’s about as good as it gets for a B760 Mini-ITX board.
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The rear I/O has some highlights, but it also has one notable omission. It’s disappointing not to see a BIOS flashback feature. So, while 12th and 13th Gen processors are supported out of the box, it’s likely you’ll need to flash it with an older CPU to get support for a 14th Gen model—depending on how long your particular sample has been waiting for you to take it home.
The USB complement consists of eight ports made up of USB Type A and C 10Gbps ports, four 5Gbps ports, and two USB 2.0 ports. A 20Gbps port would be nice, but eight USB ports is a solid number for any Mini-ITX board. The USB ports are joined by DisplayPort and HDMI 2.1 ports, with three 3.5mm analogue jacks connected to an aging ALC897 codec. A Realtek RTL8125BG provides 2.5Gbps Ethernet and there are two Wi-Fi antenna connections for the onboard WiFi 6E.
System Performance
Gaming Performance
Test rig
CPU: Intel Core i9 14900K
Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 Founders Edition
RAM: 2x 16GB G.Skill Trident Z5 DDR5-6000 C36
Storage: 2TB Kingston KC3000
Cooling: Cooler Master PL360 Flux 360mm AIO
PSU: Corsair HX1000i
We stuck with a trusty Intel Core i9 13900K for this review. Apart from the even more demanding i9 14900K, the fact that the B760I Edge WiFi can handle this chip without its VRM getting really hot is a good indicator the board will handle any realistic workload you care to throw at it. Ideally though, you’d want a good high airflow case if you go down that path.
The little MSI didn’t throw up any surprises in the benchmark tests. Nor should it or any LGA 1700 motherboard in 2024 as the underlying microcode and bugs have long since been ironed out.
Buy if…
✅You want a white themed build: The Edge is a classy looking offering that will blend in well in a white case with the right matching components.
Don’t buy if…
❌ You want 20Gbps USB support: 20Gbps is not ubiquitous in this price range, but its does exist. At least the MSI has eight rear USB ports, while some competitors offer only six.
❌ You’re buying a 14th Gen CPU at the same time: The Edge will support 14th Gen processors, but only after likely needing a BIOS flash. You’ll need an older gen CPU to do that due to the lack of a BIOS flashback function.
The MSI MPG B760I Edge proved itself to be a capable little board. I’ve always liked the layout of MSI’s UEFI design and it’s got a reasonable VRM for a B-series Mini-ITX board. Its heatsinks are better than reasonable, its networking and storage complement is about as good as anything in this price range, and you’ll have to go ATX if you want more storage capability.
Perhaps the biggest issue the Edge faces, though, is its strong competition. The newly released ASRock B760I Lightning supports 14th Gen chips out of the box, and its VRM and memory support are superior, too. The kicker is it’s at least $20 cheaper.
But the MSI B760I Edge is far from being a bad board. It will happily live at the heart of a compact gaming system. It’s mature, and it looks good. It just lacks something that would elevate it ahead of the competition. If MSI were to drop the price a bit, or it comes up on sale, by all means grab one. But, now that LGA 1700 is at the twilight of its career, there are more compelling Mini-ITX options to choose from.
