The MSI MEG X570 Godlike Motherboard Review: Thor's Flagship
by Gavin Bonshor on August 28, 2019 12:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
- AMD
- MSI
- 10G Ethernet
- Ryzen
- PCIe 4.0
- Ryzen 3000
- X570
- X570 Godlike
- MEG
System Performance
Not all motherboards are created equal. On the face of it, they should all perform the same and differ only in the functionality they provide - however, this is not the case. The obvious pointers are power consumption, but also the ability for the manufacturer to optimize USB speed, audio quality (based on audio codec), POST time and latency. This can come down to the manufacturing process and prowess, so these are tested.
For X570 we are running using Windows 10 64-bit with the 1903 update as per our Ryzen 3000 CPU review.
Power Consumption
Power consumption was tested on the system while in a single ASUS GTX 980 GPU configuration with a wall meter connected to the Thermaltake 1200W power supply. This power supply has ~75% efficiency > 50W, and 90%+ efficiency at 250W, suitable for both idle and multi-GPU loading. This method of power reading allows us to compare the power management of the UEFI and the board to supply components with power under load, and includes typical PSU losses due to efficiency. These are the real world values that consumers may expect from a typical system (minus the monitor) using this motherboard.
While this method for power measurement may not be ideal, and you feel these numbers are not representative due to the high wattage power supply being used (we use the same PSU to remain consistent over a series of reviews, and the fact that some boards on our test bed get tested with three or four high powered GPUs), the important point to take away is the relationship between the numbers. These boards are all under the same conditions, and thus the differences between them should be easy to spot.
The power consumption at full load is marginally higher than the MSI MEG X570 Ace by a single watt, but in both idle and long ide power states, the power consumption is considerably higher. The larger PCB and bigger controller set are contributing factors.
Non-UEFI POST Time
Different motherboards have different POST sequences before an operating system is initialized. A lot of this is dependent on the board itself, and POST boot time is determined by the controllers on board (and the sequence of how those extras are organized). As part of our testing, we look at the POST Boot Time using a stopwatch. This is the time from pressing the ON button on the computer to when Windows starts loading. (We discount Windows loading as it is highly variable given Windows specific features.)
As with the MSI MEG X570 Ace model, the MSI MEG X570 Godlike also has extremely long POST times both at default settings and with controllers switched off. We did manage to make the POST time quicker by over two seconds by switching off networking and audio controllers, but this remains disappointing in comparison to other models tested with our AMD Ryzen 7 3700X processor.
DPC Latency
Deferred Procedure Call latency is a way in which Windows handles interrupt servicing. In order to wait for a processor to acknowledge the request, the system will queue all interrupt requests by priority. Critical interrupts will be handled as soon as possible, whereas lesser priority requests such as audio will be further down the line. If the audio device requires data, it will have to wait until the request is processed before the buffer is filled.
If the device drivers of higher priority components in a system are poorly implemented, this can cause delays in request scheduling and process time. This can lead to an empty audio buffer and characteristic audible pauses, pops and clicks. The DPC latency checker measures how much time is taken processing DPCs from driver invocation. The lower the value will result in better audio transfer at smaller buffer sizes. Results are measured in microseconds.
We test the DPC at the default settings straight from the box, and the MSI MEG X570 Godlike does perform noticeably better than the MSI MEG X570 Ace. The ASRock models do tend to have the upper hand when it comes to out of the box DPC latency.
116 Comments
View All Comments
goatfajitas - Thursday, August 29, 2019 - link
Yes when benchmarking a high end VC at 720p or 1080p you can isolate the CPU performance but who on Earth would run that way? You dont buy a high end VC to run at low res. As I said "that isnt realistically what anyone would have bought." - meaning in real word scenarios.inighthawki - Thursday, August 29, 2019 - link
Some games are poorly optimized in the graphics department, so you spend a lot of money on the GPU (in *addition* to a high end CPU) to minimize the chances of either being the bottleneck. It's a very real world scenario, it's just not what you do.WaltC - Thursday, August 29, 2019 - link
Nobody wants to play games at 640x480 with overscan....;) Ugh...!Peter2k - Thursday, August 29, 2019 - link
On Intel, even a budget friendly, but solid board clocks as high, or nearly, as a top of the line boardFor AMD the difference in clocks is closer to 50Mhz, and in the recent test from hardware unboxed, not every high end board actually boosted faster then a cheaper one
urmom - Friday, August 30, 2019 - link
Actually, the $700 boards won't overclock chips any better than the $250 boards. The limit is now in the CPU.29a - Friday, August 30, 2019 - link
Power delivery makes a difference too.kobblestown - Wednesday, August 28, 2019 - link
Right now on Newegg you can get an X399 MB plus a 12-core TR 1920X for $500 combined! And when 3950X is out, the 16 core TR 1 and 2 will probably also get heavily discounted. Paying $700 for an AM4 board is crazy.Sweetbabyjays - Thursday, August 29, 2019 - link
100% agree, if you need cores, and pcie bandwidth, TR4 is a much better platform at this pricepoint.Peter2k - Thursday, August 29, 2019 - link
While I absolutely agree on that price of 700 bucks seems outrageous, better putting 500 bucks more into a GPU, one has to say that if you would put a 3950x into that board it would take a while for the CPU to be a bottleneck againAlso, aside from the looks, there are very little features, maybe none, compared to a 200$ board that make it stand out to me for asking 500 bucks more
I can add a second network card easy enough, same for other features
I like the Aorous for its clean look, but then again, I could upgrade to a 2080 super or even 2080ti for all that mark up
peevee - Friday, August 30, 2019 - link
It is a designer drug for game addicts.And the price is not for children either. Adults spending all their free time gaming is so sad. Playing once in a while is one thing, buying $700 MBs for extra 1% fps is terminal stage.