Intel Z390 Motherboard Overview: 50+ Motherboards Analyzed

MSI MEG Z390 GODLIKE

Back when the second generation of high octane core heavy Threadripper 2 processors (2990WX and 2950X) was announced earlier on in the year, MSI debuted their MEG X399 Creation motherboard which signalled MSI's intent to revise their naming structure. The new gaming themed naming structure consists of three different ranges which make a lot of sense when they're deciphered; the MEG is the enthusiast gaming, MPG is performance gaming and the MAG is the arsenal gaming. The remaining series comes in the way of the PRO series which is designed more for professional users and omits any of the gaming hooplah which usually adds extra costings on top.

The new MEG series is reserved for the cream of the crop including the flagship MEG Z390 GODLIKE and MEG Z390 ACE. The MPG range represents the more mid-high end boards which include the usually popular carbon-based model, the MPG Z390 Gaming Pro Carbon AC and the mini-ITX sized MPG Z390I Gaming Edge AC. The MAG essentially renames the original arsenal range of boards with a name which seems fitting i.e. rifle mag, a happy coincidence perhaps. Maybe this is the case or not, but the MAG does represent the more entry-level offerings for MSI so it's expected that the MAG Z390 Tomahawk will be one of the cheapest gaming based options from MSI.

MSI MEG Z390 GODLIKE

Starting with one of the most premier models MSI has ever released for a desktop based chipset, the MEG Z390 GODLIKE has a ton of features and weaponry to enhance the user's overall experience. The MEG Z390 GODLIKE comes with an M.2 Xpander card which is similar to that which comes included with TR4 based MEG X399 Creation motherboard, but with enough room for two additional M.2 drives. Also included is a dedicated capture card which is very useful to users looking to record or stream their gameplay across platforms such as Twitch or Mixer. Unlike the majority of Z390 motherboards which conform to the standard ATX form factor, the MEG Z390 GODLIKE is extended ATX (E-ATX) which requires a larger tower chassis to reap the benefits that come with the extra PCB space offered.

Dominating the lower half of the GODLIKE is four full-length PCIe slots which we suspect operate at x16, x16, x8 and x4 (top to bottom). This means four-way CrossFire and three-way SLI multi-graphics cards configurations are supported; the MEG Z390 GODLIKE is the only board from MSI's Z390 product stack to feature support for four-way CrossFire and it's highly likely the Z390 GODLIKE has an integrated PLX chip to boost the boards PCIe 3.0 lane count to provide this. To provide additional power to the PCIe slots MSI has included a 6-pin PCIe graphics power input for users looking to overclock their graphics cards. The board has four RAM slots with a maximum supported capacity of up to 64 GB and has support for DDR4-4600.

The board has a total of three M.2 slots with integrated heatsinks emanating from large black and silver dragon crested chipset heatsink; a further two M.2 slots can be added through the included M.2 Xpander card. A total of six SATA ports is featured which is standard for a Z390 board. The MEG Z390 GODLIKE is one of the only boards to feature a U.2 connector so the choice is rather limited in this regard if a U.2 port is a primary buying requirement. There is tons of RGB support with integrated RGB LEDs into the heatsinks and a total of four RGB headers split with Corsair devices such as AIO CPU coolers taking up one of those available headers.

Sticking with the premium nature of the MEG Z390 GODLIKE, MSI has included dual Realtek ALC1220 codecs with one dedicated to the rear panel and the other for front panel audio. The board also has dual LAN ports on the rear panel with a pairing of Killer E2500 Gigabit networking controllers and if that wasn't enough, MSI has also included a Killer 1550 802.11ac Wi-Fi adapter which also offers the latest Bluetooth 5 connectivity. USB on the rear panel includes three USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-A ports, one USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C and two USB 3.0 Type-A ports. The rear panel omits any video output connectivity which means users looking to utilize the integrated graphics will have to look elsewhere.

If it wasn't already apparent, the MSI MEG Z390 GODLIKE is one of the most feature-rich motherboards on the Z390 chipset and looks to appeal to a wider set of users with gamers gaining benefits from MSI's strong gaming-themed software suite and the included capture card which is a nice addition given the ever-increasing number of content creators and streamers out there. The MEG Z390 GODLIKE is advertised as featuring a 16-phase power delivery which is very hefty and overkill for both the 8th and 9th generation of Intel processors which could make this very suitable for extreme overclockers looking to break records. The MSI MEG Z390 GODLIKE is expected to hit retail for $600 which makes this MSI's most expensive Z390 offering by a country mile, but given all of the inclusive features such as dual NIC, dual HD audio codec, included capture card, the suspected addition of a PLX PCIe 3.0 switch and its overall overkill nature, the price isn't that much of a shock all things considered. The GODLIKE also includes a preinstalled rear panel IO cover too.