MSI MEG Z390 ACE Motherboard Review

During Computex 2018 we were exposed to a new product line from MSI called MEG or the MSI Enthusiast Gaming with their flagship motherboard called the X399 Creation.  The motherboard had a great overall design that would lay the groundwork for a unified product line with similar graphic treatments, features and performance.

In this review I’ll be showing you the MSI MEG Z390 ACE.  This board shares many of the design cues found on the X399 Creation but is built on the Intel Z390 chipset for LGA 115x 8000 and 9000 series processors.  Position wise, it is one step down from the MEG Z390 Godlike and really designed to do more than just game.   Of course the reason for the Intel 300 series is to support the new Core i9 9900K Coffee Lake processor but, is fully backwards compatible with existing Coffee Lake processors giving you the same features with the option for more performance in multi threaded applications.

Socket 1151
CPU (Max Support) i9
Chipset Intel® Z390 Chipset
DDR4 Memory 4500(OC)/ 4400(OC)/ 4300(OC)/ 4266(OC)/ 4200(OC)/ 4133(OC)/ 4000(OC)/ 3866(OC)/ 3733(OC)/ 3600(OC)/ 3466(OC)/ 3400(OC)/ 3333(OC)/ 3300(OC)/ 3200(OC)/ 3000(OC) /2800(OC)/ 2666/ 2400/ 2133 MHz
Memory Channel Dual
DIMM Slots 4
Max Memory (GB) 64
PCI-E x16 3
PCI-E Gen Gen3
PCI-E x1 3
SATAIII 6
M.2 Slot 3
RAID 0/1/5/10
LAN 1x Killer E2500
USB 3.1 ports (Front) 2(Gen2, Type C), 4(Gen1, Type A)
USB 3.1 ports (Rear) 1(Gen2, Type C), 5(Gen2, Type A)
USB 2.0 ports (Front) 4
USB 2.0 ports (Rear) 4
Audio ports (Rear) Realtek® ALC1220 Codec
DirectX 12
Form Factor ATX
SLI Yes
CrossFire Yes
Operating System Support for Windows® 10 64-bit

Readers of Hardware Asylum will know that I prefer to take an enthusiast look at computer hardware by testing out overall performance, overclocking, features and really get a feel for if this is a product I would use myself.  As a result I present my results in a very technical manner with the intent that readers decide for themselves if the product fits their build/budget or are simply looking for validation that the product is real.

Take that as you will, let’s get on with the review.