MSI's WS WRX80 motherboard has broken cover in the wake of the AMD Ryzen Threadripper Pro 5000 WX-Series launch yesterday (AMD "Chagall" Zen 3, up to 64 cores). MSI currently isn't listing this motherboard on its official product pages. Still, WCCFTech spotted it and asserts it is a time-limited exclusive for Lenovo systems before heading to the DIY segment. The source has a raft of genuine-looking images and specs, but please add a pinch of salt to the data since this isn't direct from MSI (or Lenovo).
The pictured motherboard will be MSI's first to address AMD Threadripper Pro CPUs and work with both AMD Threadripper Pro 3000WX and new 5000WX CPU families. Befitting the foundation for such a powerful processer, the new MSI WS WRX80 is said to be fully loaded with regard to features and supporting technologies.
Alleged key specs of this E-ATX motherboard, which you wouldn't be able to ascertain from the product photos we have access to, include a 14 layer PCB with 2 oz of copper, 11 dedicated VRM phases using eleven 105A Smart Power Stages, support for up to 2TB of DDR-3200 (ECC and non-ECC) RAM, and overclocking support for both CPU and RAM. Meanwhile built-in networking components are provided for 10G LAN + Gigabit LAN and Wi-Fi 6E. We have tabulated all the specs we can gather below.
|
MSI WS WRX40 feature |
Specification |
|---|---|
|
Processor support |
AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO Series Processors for Socket sWRX8. |
|
RAM support |
DDR4 ECC and non-ECC DDR4-3200 memory, eight slots for up to 2TB. |
|
Power |
Powered by dual 8-pin connectors and a 24-pin ATX connector. Dedicated 11 phases 105A digital power to CPU. |
|
Networking |
10G LAN + Gigabit LAN, Wi-Fi 6E and bandwidth management. |
|
Expansion |
7x PCIe 4.0/3.0 x16 metal reinforced slots, 2x Lightning Gen4 M.2, 8x SATA connectors, 2x U.2 connectors. |
|
Cooling |
Twin Frozr 0dB tech fan plus heatsink on the chipset, sizable stacked fin heatsinks on VRMs, and heatsinks for M.2 storage. |
|
Other |
E-ATX size, 14-layer PCB, BMC/IPMI remote management via Aspeed AST2600 BMC chip. |
Thanks to the 128 PCIe lanes on the platform, all seven PCIe slots can run at up to full x16 speeds. In the photos of the board, you can clearly see an EZ Debug LED as well as on-board power and reset switches to make the setup, testing, and deployment of the board as convenient as possible.
Please remember that this MSI motherboard is said to be a Lenovo system exclusive. However, the source asserts that the MSI WS WRX80 will make it to the DIY market next month, at a "very premium price." The reason for the potential sticker shock isn't just down to the premium and extensive component selection as there is scarcity to consider. If it launches, this will become only the fourth WRX80 board made available to DIYers.
If you are interested in building a new PC, starting with a new platform, but the workstation-class board outlined above is way beyond your needs, please check out our regularly updated Best Motherboards 2022 for Gaming, by Socket and Chipset feature.
