The Intel Z490 Overview: 44+ Motherboards Examined
by Gavin Bonshor on April 30, 2020 10:00 AM ESTMSI Z490-A Pro
Looking at MSI's entry-level Z490 model, the MSI Z490-A Pro which is designed for more professional users and content creators, it's interesting to see that MSI has included a single Realtek 2.5 G NIC. Also included are two PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 slots, six SATA ports, and support for up to 128 GB of DDR4-4800 memory across four slots.
Similar to the aesthetics of the MSI X570-A Pro, the overall design of the MSI Z490-A Pro has been revamped with its beefier 12-phase power delivery. It drops the integrated RGB LEDs of other MSI Z490 models and goes for a more subtle and professional design with black heatsinks, and a black and grey accented partnered PCB. Its core feature set includes two full-length PCIe 3.0 slots which operate at x16+4, with three PCIe 3.0 slots. For memory, there are four slots with support for up to DDR4-4800, with a maximum capacity of 128 GB.
In terms of storage support, there are two PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 slots, with four right-angled SATA, and two straight angled SATA ports bringing the total of SATA ports to six. Only the top M.2 slot has a heat sink included, with the six SATA ports garnering support for RAID 0, 1, 5 and 10 arrays.
On the rear panel is a basic set of IO, with one USB 3.2 G2 10 Gbps Type-C, two USB 3.2 G1 Type-A, and two USB 2.0 ports. There is a Realtek RTL8125B 2.5 G powered Ethernet port and a pair of video outputs consisting of a DisplayPort and HDMI output. For onboard audio, there is five 3.5 mm audio jacks and S/PDIF optical output controlled by a Realtek ALC1200 HD audio codec, with a single PS/2 keyboard and mouse combo port for users with legacy peripherals.
Overall the MSI Z490-A Pro caters more to professional users but includes more premium networking with a Realtek 2.5 G Ethernet controller which is a bump over previous versions of the A Pro. The two full-length PCIe 3.0 slots support dual AMD Crossfire graphics card setups, with a decent looking power delivery on a budget-focused model. MSI hasn't provided pricing information as of yet.
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GardenSausage - Monday, September 21, 2020 - link
Looking for any help. I just bought the Z490 Gaming X AX. 9/20/20. I got it up and running but can not figure out how to get any of my video cards to work. Have gotten it to post once but defaulted to the onboard. I have updated my BIOS of F3 I belive. Run threw many settings and still no life to my GPU. I get 5 Brapps then a power down. The MP gets to the GPU illumination boot light and cant get past it. I have tries my GTX 770sc and 980ftw with no luck. Both are EVGA. Please any ideas on how to get my BIOS stable.Win 10 Home
i5- 10400
16gb G.Skill @3200
M.2 1tb
800w PSU (Coolermaster I think)
Atty57 - Monday, June 28, 2021 - link
I liked the fact that the motherboard has more than one nvme (gen 4) slots. The capacitors used are of high quality and cooling material used is also of high grade. The RGB could have been better along the edges though it does the work well . There are multiple fan headers so you won't have any problems regarding that. And the water pump header is also a nice touch. Great ram frequency too.At this price point couldn't have asked for anything more.