The Intel Z490 Overview: 44+ Motherboards Examined
by Gavin Bonshor on April 30, 2020 10:00 AM ESTMSI MPG Z490 Gaming Edge WIFI
Still aimed at gamers, the MSI MPG Z490 Gaming Edge WIFI sits below the Z490 Gaming Carbon WIFI with less overall features, but still has plenty for gamers to sink their teeth into. Some of the primary features include two PCIe 3.0 x4 slots and six SATA ports, with an Intel Wi-Fi 6 wireless interface, a single Realtek 2.5 G Ethernet port, and four memory slots with support for up to DDR4-4800.
With a design reminiscent of the Z490 Gaming Carbon WIFI, but without the carbon, the MSI Z490 Gaming Edge WIFI has a consistent and subtle theme throughout with black heatsinks, and a black and grey accented PCB. This board does have integrated RGB LEDs for those looking to add some flair, with one zone located underneath the chipset heatsink. On the board is two full-length PCIe 3.0 slots which run at x16+4, and two PCIe 3.0 x1 slots. For storage is two PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 slots, with the top slot featuring a heatsink. There are also six SATA ports supporting RAID 0, 1, 5 and 10 arrays. A total of four memory slots are present with support for up to DDR4-4800 memory, with a maximum capacity of up to 128 GB.
On the rear panel is one USB 3.2 G2 20 Gbps Type-C, one USB 3.2 G2 10 Gbps Type-A, four USB 3.2 G1 Type-A, and two USB 2.0 ports. Powering the five 3.5 mm audio jacks and S/PDIF optical output is a Realtek ALC1220 HD audio codec, while the single Ethernet port is powered by a Realtek RTL8125B 2.5 G controller. The board does include Wi-Fi 6 support through an Intel AX201 wireless interface, which also adds support for BT 5.1 devices. Finishing off the rear panel is a single PS/2 combo port for users looking to use older generation keyboard and mice, with an HDMI and DisplayPort video output offering integrated graphics support.
The MSI MPG Z490 Gaming Edge WIFI looks to be a highly competitive option for users looking to build a single GPU based gaming system. It has plenty of features with 2.5 G Ethernet becoming the go-to choice in the midrange, with MSI cutting down the price on things like a third full-length PCIe 3.0 slot, and giving gamers a choice within its own range. MSI hasn't provided any pricing information at this time.
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Andrew LB - Saturday, May 9, 2020 - link
So these boards bring Wifi6, PCI-Express 4.0, gigabit 2.5, and for people like myself who are upgrading from a Z87 board.... just about everything is a huge leap.... yet you think there is just 'more of the same'? I guess if you're one of those idiots who buys a new CPU every year, then clearly this is not the release for you. Nor would AMD's latest offerings if that same metric is applied.So what's your problem with Capitalism? Do incremental design improvements offend you? Or is it profit that does? Hate to break it to you, but its profit motive that fuels innovation. Collectivism is a cancer and by its very nature hinders progress due to it not rewarding exceptionalism. It's why countries like China don't innovate. Otherwise they wouldn't need forced technology transfers from those who manufacture goods in their country.
Zenzdeluxe - Wednesday, September 2, 2020 - link
Thanks for that. The hypocrisy of these people. Imagine imbibing in the fruits of the capitalist system which besides continuing innovation, provides more spoils at lower price points for everyone than ever before. The audacity of such entitlement and seemingly collectivist / marxist based criticism is mind boggling. Cognitive dissonance off the scale indeed.ilkhan - Friday, May 1, 2020 - link
Details page for GIGABYTE Z490 Aorus Pro AX (copy and paste because who can keep them straight otherwise) makes a big deal of no usb-C, but it's there in the picture...ecjp - Friday, May 1, 2020 - link
Yeah, I noticed that too. Gigabytes site shows same picture and lists "1 x USB Type-C™ port on the back panel, with USB 3.2 Gen 2 support" in the specs, so I assume its an error in the article.gavbon - Friday, May 1, 2020 - link
Thanks for picking that up. I must have been writing about the wrong board. Apologies, it's updatedregsEx - Friday, May 1, 2020 - link
"Integrated into the Z490 chipset is an Intel Wi-Fi 6 CNVi which allows motherboard vendors to integrate its AX200 wireless solutions directly from the chipset with a CRF module."CNVi is an old generation 802.11ac controller. Here it is CNVio2. CRF module is AX201. AX200 is a standalone controller that can work on any system. X570 motherboards with 802.11ax support, for example, packs with AX200 card.
lunaticbunny - Friday, May 1, 2020 - link
There are no boards under $200. Seems like this Z490 chipset got the X570 inflation treatment as well.drexnx - Friday, May 1, 2020 - link
just like the X570 boards, they've all got seriously beefed up VRMsand maybe the pcie4 tax wasn't just a cash grab? we'll really see when AMD B550 comes out, where those board prices land
Andrew LB - Saturday, May 9, 2020 - link
Plenty of boards under $200.ASUS Prime Z490M-PLUS
GIGABYTE Z490 AORUS Elite
ASUS TUF Gaming Z490-Plus
ASUS TUF Gaming Z490-Plus wifi
GIGABYTE Z490 UD
MSI Z490-A PRO ProSeries
A bunch of Asrock boards will be under $200 as well. You can see many prices already on Amazon.
dgingeri - Friday, May 1, 2020 - link
It looks like, potentially, at least Gigabyte has decided to include a decent number of USB ports. I can't tell with the Asus board, but all the rest look to have only 6 USB ports, an annoyingly small number. I have been really annoyed with the lack of USB ports on boards for the last 5 years. Heck, with the old 440BX boards, we had 2 ps2, 4 or 6 USB, 1 or 2 serial, and a parallel port. We've lost the other ports, and internal drives in most computers, and not gained USB ports to compensate for it. External hubs aren't going to do it, either, as those stupid things keep dying in a matter of months.