The Intel Z490 Overview: 44+ Motherboards Examined
by Gavin Bonshor on April 30, 2020 10:00 AM ESTMSI MEG Z490I Unify
Not content with just the ATX sized Z490 Unify, MSI has opted to release a mini-ITX version too, with the MSI MEG Z490I Unify. Following the same all-black theme but more condensed into a small form factor, the Z490I Unify incorporates an 8-phase CPU power delivery, with two PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 slots, and includes a Thunderbolt 3 Type-C port on the rear panel. It also has a 10-layer PCB which is superb for a mini-ITX motherboard.
Being the only mini-ITX board at launch from MSI, it has opted to release it under its MEG enthusiast-level range under the Unify series. With this brings its subtle all-black design with a small MSI Dragon at the bottom of the rear panel cover, with a combined chipset and M.2 heatsink at the bottom. It has a single full-length PCIe 3.0 x16 slot, with two PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 slots, one on the front and one located on the rear of the board. This adds onto the four straight-angled SATA ports which include support for RAID 0, 1, 5 and 10 arrays. It is using an 8-phase power delivery for the CPU with high-end 90 A ISL power stages, with a single 8-pin 12 V ATX power input for the CPU.
On the rear panel is a Thunderbolt 3 compliant USB Type-C port, which does offer support for DisplayPort 1.4 too. Also featured is a single USB 3.2 G2 10 Gbps Type-A, two 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 a Realtek RTL8125B 2.5 G Ethernet port and Intel AX201 Wi-Fi 6 wireless interface provides wireless networking as well as BT 5.1 device support. For users looking to leverage the Intel integrated graphics onboard the 10th Gen Comet Lake desktop chips, there's an HDMI and DisplayPort video output.
The MSI MEG Z490I Unify represents the enthusiast-level small form factor market. It has all the bells and whistles expected from a top-level mini-ITX model with Thunderbolt 3 support, dual PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 slots, and benefits from Wi-Fi 6, BT 5.1, and a 2.5 G Ethernet controller. MSI hasn't provided pricing at this time.
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Tomatotech - Friday, May 1, 2020 - link
Get better hubs then. At least mains powered hubs.I understand not everyone has wifi/ ethernet printers, bluetooth / radio mouse / keyboard / headset, or usb hubs in their monitors, but there does seem to be slightly less need for lots of USB ports compared to a few years ago.
Beaver M. - Saturday, May 2, 2020 - link
Not an option due to several reliability issues and issues recognizing claimed "better hubs" in the first place. Even well known big companies produce crappy USB hubs.As a normal user I have
a printer
a mouse
a keyboard
a gamepad with USB dongle
a USB headset
an external HDD
several external USB ports for USB sticks, temporary Bluetooth dongles, charging devices, etc., which can be up to 4 at a time
Specialized
things:
a joystick
a USB microphone interface
Not really unusual.
Add webcams, card readers, Wifi adapters and many other not really unusual stuff and you still wont have anything rare.
Lots of USB ports are important. Period. And it doesnt even matter if its an ATX board or a NUC. They are always very important.
duploxxx - Friday, May 8, 2020 - link
wow so many USB that you need in the back, how long have you been searching on the internet to find all of these? You can buy cases that also serve USB, or backend brackets….a printer : wireless
a mouse - keyb sure
a gamepad, connected from the back? often to short cable
a USB headset ---- audio connection which you can link with USB mic….
a USB External HDD.... zzz one that you can put away for backup or just horrible initial design from storage perspective
several external USB.... all front unless you Always use your usb dongles and put them in the back "loooooool"
joystick.... yeah use gmaepad and joystick at the same time. same as the gamepad regarding cable length
webcam... easy connection in monitor hub
card readers... again in the back used all day right....
USB wifi adapters? really are you joking?
in other words lots of pathetic feedback... learn to design a desktop computer
Beaver M. - Saturday, May 2, 2020 - link
Low USB port count has been a problem far longer than 5 years.Only Asus seem to have gotten the hint at some point, but Asus is crappy quality and CS.
Seeing Gigabyte adding enough now is a good sign, because they usually were the ones having the least amount of them.
I agree on the hubs. Not only do they die, some of them even nuke your mainboards USB ports through feedback loops. Not to mention they always either have connection problems or issues with sleep or hibernation.
Chaitanya - Friday, May 1, 2020 - link
Whats wierd is most of the boards from Asus and Asrock have multiple 40mm fans to cool VRMs while they seem to stick solid slabs of Aluminium and calling it a day unlike Gigabyte and Msi(on top end atleast) who have proper finned heatsinks.Deicidium369 - Friday, May 1, 2020 - link
The only reason people think Asus are a high end manufacturer is their price and the truckloads of equipment they give to anyone with more than 10 subs on Youtube. Gigabyte or go home.Beaver M. - Saturday, May 2, 2020 - link
Agreed. Same with ASRock and their crappy customer support and massive USB issues.Gigabyte always tried to add important features. Remember when they added their "extra ounces" of copper? All other manufacturers whined that it doesnt do anything and Gigabyte should stop because its a "waste of resources". LOL!
Now they all do it because it makes the mainboard much more reliable.
Sure, they dont have the best OC boards, but in the last few years OC has become very niche, because you cant really OC CPUs well anymore, unless you want to use LN or custom liquid coolers.
Andrew LB - Sunday, May 10, 2020 - link
I've been building/repairing/upgrading computers for people for close to 30 years and I've had more problems with Gigabyte than any other current major brand. Abit was even worse but they're long gone. I'm willing to bet that those of you who say a company has bad customer service was due to you contacting them via e-mail. Pickup the phone next time and i bet it will go much easier.Best CS from my experience is EVGA.
taz-nz - Saturday, May 2, 2020 - link
To many board still don't have attached back plates, should be standard now.Nice to see gigabyte bring proper finned heatsink to Mid range board, pity so many other boards still have cosmetic lumps of aluminum, instead of proper VRM heatsinks, and worse that so many still choose to cover the those so called heatsinks with cosmetic plastic covers that only reduce airflow and hurt thermal performance more, while also interfering with large air cooler fitment.
Oxford Guy - Saturday, May 2, 2020 - link
"What's interesting is how similar the Z490 and Z390 chipsets are in terms of specifications, which adds the question of why Intel has opted for a new socket, on what is effectively a refresh of its 14 nm process node."Baffling is a better word than interesting.
If AMD weren't so competitive then it would make more sense to paint oneself into a corner even more.