The MSI MEG Z390 ACE Motherboard Review: The Answer To Your USB 3.1 Needs
by Gavin Bonshor on December 17, 2018 12:30 PM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
- Intel
- Killer
- MSI
- Coffee Lake
- i7-8700K
- Z390
- ACE
- Z390 ACE
Board Features
Recently MSI has slowly rebranded its new gaming range into three different segments. These consist of the MAG (Arsenal), MPG (Performance) and MEG (Enthusiast) series. All three of the ranges are primarily aimed at gamers, with MAG representing the entry level, MPG the mid-range and MEG the high-end.
| MSI MEG Z390 ACE ATX Motherboard | |||
| Warranty Period | 3 Years | ||
| Product Page | Link | ||
| Price | $290 | ||
| Size | ATX | ||
| CPU Interface | LGA1151 | ||
| Chipset | Intel Z390 | ||
| Memory Slots (DDR4) | Four DDR4 Supporting 64 GB Dual Channel Up to DDR4-4500 |
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| Video Outputs | N/A | ||
| Network Connectivity | Killer E2500 Gigabit Intel 9560 802.11ac 2T2R |
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| Onboard Audio | Realtek ALC1220 | ||
| PCIe Slots for Graphics (from CPU) | 3 x PCIe 3.0 x16 x16, x8/x8, x8/x4/x4 |
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| PCIe Slots for Other (from PCH) | 3 x PCIe 3.0 x1 | ||
| Onboard SATA | Six, RAID 0/1/5/10 | ||
| Onboard M.2 | 3 x PCIe 3.0 x4/SATA, RAID 0/1/5 | ||
| USB 3.1 (10 Gbps) | 4 x Type-A Rear Panel (Z390) 1 x Type-A Rear Panel (ASMedia) 1 x Type-C Rear Panel (ASMedia) 2 x Type-C Header (Z390) |
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| USB 3.0 (5 Gbps) | 2 x Header (four ports) (ASMedia) | ||
| USB 2.0 | 4 x Type-A Rear Panel 2 x Header (four ports) |
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| Power Connectors | 1 x 24-pin ATX 2 x 8pin CPU |
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| Fan Headers | 1 x CPU (4-pin) 1 x CPU/pump (4-pin) 6 x System (4-pin) |
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| IO Panel | 1 x USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-A 1 x USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C 4 x USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-A 4 x USB 2.0 Type-A 1 x Network RJ45 (Killer) 5 x 3.5mm Audio Jacks (Realtek) 1 x S/PDIF Output (Realtek) 1 x Clear CMOS Button 1 x BIOS Flashback Button 2 x Intel 9560 Antenna Ports |
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Although the MSI Z390 ACE is one of the more expensive Z390 motherboards with a price tag of $290, there is a certain something lacking. Some of the other boards in the same price bracket feature 2.5G Realtek LAN (ASRock), or 5G/10G Aquantia NICs, but in 'keeping up with the Joneses' MSI could have done their own implementations. The ACE does make the most of the Z390 native USB 3.1 Gen2 connectivity with a combined total of eight 10 Gbps USB ports, including five Type-A and a single Type-C on the rear panel. The rest come through the use of internal headers with two USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C internal connectors, with a further four USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-A ports being available via two internal headers.
Test Bed
As per our testing policy, we take a high-end CPU suitable for the motherboard that was released during the socket’s initial launch, and equip the system with a suitable amount of memory running at the processor maximum supported frequency. This is also typically run at JEDEC subtimings where possible. It is noted that some users are not keen on this policy, stating that sometimes the maximum supported frequency is quite low, or faster memory is available at a similar price, or that the JEDEC speeds can be prohibitive for performance. While these comments make sense, ultimately very few users apply memory profiles (either XMP or other) as they require interaction with the BIOS, and most users will fall back on JEDEC supported speeds - this includes home users as well as industry who might want to shave off a cent or two from the cost or stay within the margins set by the manufacturer. Where possible, we will extend out testing to include faster memory modules either at the same time as the review or a later date.
While we have been able to measure audio performance from previous Z370 motherboards, the task has been made even harder with the roll-out of the Z390 chipset and none of the boards tested so far has played ball. It seems all USB support for Windows 7 is now extinct so until we can find a reliable way of measuring audio performance on Windows 10 or until a workaround can be found, audio testing will have to be done at a later date.
| Test Setup | |||
| Processor | Intel i7-8700K, 65W, $300, 6 Cores, 12 Threads, 3.7 GHz (4.7 GHz Turbo) |
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| Motherboard | MSI MEG Z390 ACE (BIOS Version 7B12v12) | ||
| Cooling | Corsair H100i V2 | ||
| Power Supply | Thermaltake Toughpower Grand 1200W Gold PSU | ||
| Memory | 2x16GB Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4-2400 Ran at DDR4-2666 CL16-18-18-35 2T |
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| Video Card | ASUS GTX 980 STRIX (1178/1279 Boost) | ||
| Hard Drive | Crucial MX300 1TB | ||
| Case | Open Test Bed | ||
| Operating System | Windows 10 RS3 inc. Spectre/Meltdown Patches | ||
Readers of our motherboard review section will have noted the trend in modern motherboards to implement a form of MultiCore Enhancement / Acceleration / Turbo (read our report here) on their motherboards. This does several things, including better benchmark results at stock settings (not entirely needed if overclocking is an end-user goal) at the expense of heat and temperature. It also gives, in essence, an automatic overclock which may be against what the user wants. Our testing methodology is ‘out-of-the-box’, with the latest public BIOS installed and XMP enabled, and thus subject to the whims of this feature. It is ultimately up to the motherboard manufacturer to take this risk – and manufacturers taking risks in the setup is something they do on every product (think C-state settings, USB priority, DPC Latency / monitoring priority, overriding memory sub-timings at JEDEC). Processor speed change is part of that risk, and ultimately if no overclocking is planned, some motherboards will affect how fast that shiny new processor goes and can be an important factor in the system build.
| Hardware Providers for CPU and Motherboard Reviews | |||
| Sapphire RX 460 Nitro | MSI GTX 1080 Gaming X OC | Crucial MX200 + MX500 SSDs |
Corsair AX860i + AX1200i PSUs |
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| G.Skill RipjawsV, SniperX, FlareX |
Crucial Ballistix DDR4 |
Silverstone Coolers |
Silverstone Fans |
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New Test Suite: Spectre and Meltdown Hardened
Since the start of our Z390 reviews, we are using an updated OS, updated drivers, and updated software. This is in line with our CPU testing updates, which includes Spectre and Meltdown patches. As we are in the process of testing more Z390 boards, that data will be added in future reviews however at this point we only have Z370 on the old testing as a reference.
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rsandru - Monday, December 17, 2018 - link
We're almost in 2019, can we move on beyond those 16 + 4 PCI-E lanes for the CPU please?I just want my GPU and M.2 storage connected directly to the CPU and not sharing bandwidth and latency with a million USB, SATA or audio ports and other traffic on the DMI uplink...
DanNeely - Monday, December 17, 2018 - link
I'd not hold my breath. Adding more PCIe lanes to the CPU would drive up die sizes and board costs for the >90% of systems that don't have a GPU.The only way I could see that happen is if Intel takes the CPU on Chipset stacking concept they showed at manufacturing day beyond the mobile demo to the desktop. Even then, I'd expect what they'd do is 16PCIe + ~8 configurable HSIO lanes so that entry level desktops could have 3-5x USB3, a 4/2 lane PCIe SSD and onboard wifi; either without needing a separate chip; or only with a tiny superbare bone chip to handle all the ultra-legacy and low bandwidth connections needed to control assorted chips on the board behind the scenes.
With that being a new manufacturing process though, I wouldn't expect to see it in the next year or two on the high volume mainstream desktop platform. Far more likely would be for it to launch as a premium option for top end laptop makers in the next year or two that trickles down over the to the rest of the market 2 or 4 years later.
DigitalFreak - Monday, December 17, 2018 - link
I agree, but the Intel/AMD response would be that you should look at HEDT / Threadripper if you need more CPU PCI-E lanes.Ryzen CPUs actually have 32 PCI-E lanes on the CPU, but the socket AM4 is only designed to for 16 GPU + 4 NVME + 4 to the SB. The other 8 aren't used. No idea why they didn't design AM4 to use all of them, unless it was for backwards compatibility with the pre-Ryzen CPUs.
DanNeely - Monday, December 17, 2018 - link
The problem is that both companies big socket platforms are a lot more expensive; and 90% of it is for things that are irrelevant to the average enthusiast; while both companies mainstream sockets fall a little bit short. Intel's by forcing SSDs into the DMI bottleneck; AMD's just in that their current chipset is a more or less obsolete piece of junk (eg only supporting PCIe 2.0). A combination of AMD's 20 non chipset lanes and a chipset approaching what Intel's are capable of would cover most of the gap between the mainstream platforms and enthusiast goals without going the budget busting route of the big sockets.Dunno that AMD's ever spoken about the unused 8 lanes. Could be cost reasons (would've made boards more expensive for legacy platforms); or even just to limit forward compatibility/confusion issues like the garbage fire Intel created when they had an LGA20xx generation that could have 16, 28, or 44 PCIe lanes and board makers either had to add a lot of extra complexity, have large chunks non-operational if using a low lane count chip, or ignore the potential of a number of lanes on the higher end chips.
namechamps - Monday, December 17, 2018 - link
It is backward compatibility. At this point one would think manufacturers would break that backwards compatibility (i.e. 2nd and 3rd m.2 slots not available for non-Ryzen processors).philehidiot - Monday, December 17, 2018 - link
So, please clarify this for someone who is not a computer scientist and is mildly drunk... if I buy a new Ryzen CPU, thinking I'm going to get 24 PCI-E lanes, I will in truth only be able to access 16, same as Intel? Or is it that I'd be able to access 24 whilst the CPU is designed for 32?DanNeely - Monday, December 17, 2018 - link
You can effectively use 20 lanes. The last 4 are used to connect the chipset on any but the lowest end boards which the CPU operate in SoC mode (and which probably will ignore the last 4 lanes entirely to save costs).tvanpeer - Monday, December 17, 2018 - link
Sure you can: get an AMD CPU.shaolin95 - Monday, December 24, 2018 - link
Sure and then get a performance hit. No thanksThe_Assimilator - Monday, December 17, 2018 - link
Congratulations, you're among a tiny minority of users. If you really want or need that feature, pony up the cash to step up to the HEDT segment.