Intel Z390 Motherboard Overview: 50+ Motherboards Analyzed
by Ian Cutress & Gavin Bonshor on October 8, 2018 10:53 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
- Intel
- MSI
- Gigabyte
- ASRock
- EVGA
- Asus
- NZXT
- Supermicro
- Z390
MSI MPG Z390M Gaming Edge AC
The MSI MPG Z390M Gaming Edge AC is the smaller sibling to the ATX sized Gaming Edge AC model (mATX) and as a result, a smaller PCB means less slot space available. Like the bigger sized model, the main feature of the Gaming Edge AC range is Wi-Fi connectivity and this is provided by an Intel 9560 802.11ac 2T2R Wi-Fi adapter which is surprisingly higher spec than the one integrated (Intel 9462) onto the ATX variant.
In terms of PCIe support, the MPG Z390M Gaming Edge AC has a total of two full-length PCIe 3.0 slots with the top slot having x16 bandwidth available and the second slot only having x8. This allows users to use both two-way SLI and CrossFire multi-GPU configurations. Also included on the board are two PCIe 3.0 x1 slots. Memory capability consists of four slots with up to DDR4-4500 and a maximum capacity of 64 GB. The board has two PCIe/SATA support M.2 slots present and has a total of four SATA ports; a direct consequence of the mATX form factor.
Just like the bigger ATX sized Gaming Edge AC model, this model benefits from a Realtek ALC1220 HD audio codec and Intel I219V Gigabit networking controller which handles the 8-channel audio and single LAN port on the rear panel respectively. In terms of USB, the rear panel contains a total of two USB 3.1 Gen2 (Type-A and Type-C) and four USB 3.0 Type-A ports. Users looking to use more devices can do so using the internal headers which offer a further four USB 3.0 and four USB 2.0 ports. The Z390M Gaming Edge AC is also suitable for users looking to make use of the 8th and 9th generation Intel processors with integrated iGPUs thanks to a pair of video outputs which consists of an HDMI and DisplayPort.
The MSI MPG Z390M has a suggest launch price of $180 and is primarily aimed at gamers looking to build a system with a smaller overall footprint of an ATX system. The inclusion of a 2T2R 802.11ac Wi-Fi adapter and Realtek ALC1220 HD audio codec means MSI has focused on providing higher-end features to their more mid-ranged offerings.
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DanTMWTMP - Thursday, October 11, 2018 - link
Are they ALL made in China? What happened to the ones made in Taiwan from a few gens ago? :/gavbon - Friday, October 12, 2018 - link
Unfortunately, I cannot confirm this. The ASRock Z390 Taichi I have in my hands says 'designed in Taipei', but that's about it.Nagorak - Sunday, October 14, 2018 - link
Gigabyte apparently has a factory in Taiwan. It seems all the rest moved production to China.WickedMONK3Y - Friday, October 12, 2018 - link
The MEG Z390 Godlike looked like such an interesting board until I checked the MSI Specifications page and realised it actually does not have the PLX chip as suspected. The PCI Express slots on the board are configured as 16x / 4x / 8x / 4x instead of 16x / 16x / 8x / 4x or 16x / 8x / 16x / 4x. It seems after PLX sold to whomever owns them now, that the price hike stopped their usage on consumer boards completely.I really really hope somebody comes out with a board that has a PLX chip on board.
gavbon - Friday, October 12, 2018 - link
The Supermicro C9Z390-PGW has a Broadcom 8747 PLX PCIe switch :)ZioTom - Friday, October 12, 2018 - link
It would be a nice touch including in next MB review what pheriferals stop funcioning when too much PCI-E lanes are used. Some motherboards disable SATA ports when M.2 slot are used; others may require limiting bandwith to one PCI-E slot... etc. Before byuing a motherboard I would like to be warned that is not possibile to use all the features they are advertising.happyfirst - Friday, October 12, 2018 - link
I wish we would get better thunderbolt support. Only one board has it built in? I'm thinking of a Taichi board and see a Thunberbolt AIC connector in the manual, but then I can't really find enough good quality posts of people having success putting it to use. I'd like to get a new external nvme ssd thunderbolt drive to run my vms off of so I can more easily take them on the road with me and use from my notebook.ddcc - Saturday, October 13, 2018 - link
Certain Gigabyte boards, e.g. Z390 Aorus Pro WiFi, seem to be using Intel's Z390 CNVi, but aren't listed in the article.gavbon - Monday, October 15, 2018 - link
I'm going to be updating tomorrow with more information; been working on getting one of the board reviews ready for the end of the week :)gavbon - Sunday, October 21, 2018 - link
Will be adding these in tomorrow (not at a PC currently) - We didn't have the information available prior to writing