Looking for a high-end solution for the Intel Core i9-11900K? We take a look at MSI’s MEG Z590 ACE which is armed with a plethora of features including Thunderbolt 4 ports.
Product on Review: MEG Z590 ACE
Manufacturer: MSI
Street Price: GBP £500 | USD $499 | AUD $850
In the aftermath of the Intel 11th Gen. launch, we’re left with a multitude of Intel Z590 motherboards to examine. To take full advantage of Rocket Lake, it is advised to indulge in one of these new motherboards so that the very latest tech/features are available.
Characterised as one of their flagship solutions, MSI have presented us with the MEG Z590 ACE – a high-end model which seeks to supply tech enthusiasts and gamers with some of the finest features on offer for this new platform. One of the most significant of those features being Thunderbolt 4 ports.
ACE is armed with a huge 16 phase design, support for up to 5400MHz DDR4 and has an abundance of storage/connectivity which should satisfy most tech enthusiasts.
About MSI
As a world leading gaming brand, MSI is the most trusted name in gaming and eSports. We’ve dedicated countless hours and numerous resources to the eSports community to support the world’s most aspiring gamers and leverage their gaming expertise to optimize our product design. MSI has integrated all gamers’ coveted functions into its gaming rigs, eliminating the tedious trial and error by themselves and pushing the performance beyond limits. The determination to surpass past achievements has made MSI a ‘True Gaming’ brand throughout the industry!
Technical Specifications
Below are the technical specifications concerning the MEG Z590 ACE:
CPU
Intel 10th and 11th Generation Core Processors
Chipset
Intel Z590 Chipset
Memory
DDR4 5400-2133 MHz Non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory*
Dual Channel Memory Architecture
Supports Intel® Extreme Memory Profile (XMP)
Graphics
1 x HDMI 2.0
Expansion Slots
3x PCIe x16 slots
Support x16/x0/x4, x8/x8/x4, x8/x4+x4/x4
PCI_E1 & PCI_E3 slots (From CPU)
Support up to PCIe 4.0 for 11th Gen Intel® CPU
Support up to PCIe 3.0 for 10th Gen Intel® CPU
PCI_E5 slot (From Z590 chipset)
Supports up to PCIe 3.0
2x PCIe 3.0 x1 slots (From Z590 chipset)
Multi-GPU Support
Supports 2-Way NVIDIA® SLI™ Technology
Supports 3-Way AMD® CrossFire™ Technology
Storage
6x SATA 6Gb/s ports (from Z590 chipset)
4x M.2 slots (Key M)
M2_1 slot (from CPU)
Available only on 11th Gen Intel® CPU
Supports up to PCIe 4.0 x4
Supports 2242/ 2260/ 2280/ 22110 storage devices
M2_21, M2_32, M2_4 slots (from Z590 chipset)
M2_2 , M2_3 & M2_4 support up to PCIe 3.0 x43
M2_2 & M2_3 support up to SATA 6Gb/s
M2_4 slot supports PCIe only.
Supports 2242/ 2260/ 2280 storage devices
Intel® Optane™ Memory Ready4
Supports Intel® Smart Response Technology for Intel Core™ processors
Ethernet
1x Intel® I225V 2.5Gbps LAN controller
Wireless & Bluetooth
Intel® Wi-Fi 6E AX210
The Wireless module is pre-installed in the M.2 (Key-E) slot
Supports MU-MIMO TX/RX, 2.4GHz/5GHz/6GHz1 (160MHz) up to 2.4Gbps
Supports 802.11 a/ b/ g/ n/ ac/ ax
Supports Bluetooth® 5.22, FIPS, FISMA
USB
Intel® Z590 Chipset
3x USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps ports (2 Type-A port on the back panel, 1 Type-C internal connector)
6x USB 3.2 Gen 1 5Gbps ports (4 Type-A port on the back panel, 2 ports available through internal USB connector)
2x USB 2.0 Type-A ports on the back panel
Hub-GL850G
4x USB 2.0 ports through internal USB connectors
Thunderbolt 4
Intel®JHL8540 Thunderbolt™ 4 Controller
2x Thunderbolt™ 4 (USB-C) ports on the back panel
Support up to 40Gbps transfer rate with Thunderbolt devices
Support up to 20Gbps transfer rate with USB4 devices
Support up to 10Gbps transfer rate with USB 3.2 devices
Support up to 5V/3A ,15W power charging
Each port can daisy-chain up to three Thunderbolt 4 devices or five Thunderbolt 3 devices
Supports up to 8K display (need to connect the DisplayPort of the motherboard or discrete graphics card to the Mini DisplayPort Input port on the back panel)
Audio
Realtek® ALC4082 Codec + ESS SABRE9018Q2C Combo DAC/HPA
7.1-Channel High Definition Audio
Supports S/PDIF output
Back Panel I/O Ports
Clear CMOS Button
USB 3.2 Gen1 5Gbps (Type-A)
USB 2.0
2.5G LAN
Thunderbolt 4 40Gbps (Type-C)
Wi-Fi / Bluetooth
HD Audio Connectors
Flash BIOS Button
HDMI
USB 3.2 Gen2 10Gbps (Type-A)
Mini DisplayPort Input (for Thunderbolt passthrough)
Optical S/PDIF-Out
Accessories
Wi-Fi Antenna
Case Badge
USB Drive (Drivers)
User Manual
Quick Install Guide
Cleaning Brush
Screwdrivers
MEG Stickers
Reward Program Flyer
Cable Sticker
Product Catalog
Reg. Card
M.2 Screws/Standoff Screws
DP to mini DP Cable
Thermisitor Cable
1 to 2 RGB LED Extension Y-Cable
Corsair RGB LED Extension Cable
Rainbow RGB LED Extension Cable
4x SATA Cables
Operating System
Windows 10 64bit
Form Factor
ATX
12 inch x 9.6 inch ( 30.5 cm x 24.4 cm )
Intel 10th and 11th Generation Core Processors
Chipset
Intel Z590 Chipset
Memory
DDR4 5400-2133 MHz Non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory*
Dual Channel Memory Architecture
Supports Intel® Extreme Memory Profile (XMP)
Graphics
1 x HDMI 2.0
Expansion Slots
3x PCIe x16 slots
Support x16/x0/x4, x8/x8/x4, x8/x4+x4/x4
PCI_E1 & PCI_E3 slots (From CPU)
Support up to PCIe 4.0 for 11th Gen Intel® CPU
Support up to PCIe 3.0 for 10th Gen Intel® CPU
PCI_E5 slot (From Z590 chipset)
Supports up to PCIe 3.0
2x PCIe 3.0 x1 slots (From Z590 chipset)
Multi-GPU Support
Supports 2-Way NVIDIA® SLI™ Technology
Supports 3-Way AMD® CrossFire™ Technology
Storage
6x SATA 6Gb/s ports (from Z590 chipset)
4x M.2 slots (Key M)
M2_1 slot (from CPU)
Available only on 11th Gen Intel® CPU
Supports up to PCIe 4.0 x4
Supports 2242/ 2260/ 2280/ 22110 storage devices
M2_21, M2_32, M2_4 slots (from Z590 chipset)
M2_2 , M2_3 & M2_4 support up to PCIe 3.0 x43
M2_2 & M2_3 support up to SATA 6Gb/s
M2_4 slot supports PCIe only.
Supports 2242/ 2260/ 2280 storage devices
Intel® Optane™ Memory Ready4
Supports Intel® Smart Response Technology for Intel Core™ processors
Ethernet
1x Intel® I225V 2.5Gbps LAN controller
Wireless & Bluetooth
Intel® Wi-Fi 6E AX210
The Wireless module is pre-installed in the M.2 (Key-E) slot
Supports MU-MIMO TX/RX, 2.4GHz/5GHz/6GHz1 (160MHz) up to 2.4Gbps
Supports 802.11 a/ b/ g/ n/ ac/ ax
Supports Bluetooth® 5.22, FIPS, FISMA
USB
Intel® Z590 Chipset
3x USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps ports (2 Type-A port on the back panel, 1 Type-C internal connector)
6x USB 3.2 Gen 1 5Gbps ports (4 Type-A port on the back panel, 2 ports available through internal USB connector)
2x USB 2.0 Type-A ports on the back panel
Hub-GL850G
4x USB 2.0 ports through internal USB connectors
Thunderbolt 4
Intel®JHL8540 Thunderbolt™ 4 Controller
2x Thunderbolt™ 4 (USB-C) ports on the back panel
Support up to 40Gbps transfer rate with Thunderbolt devices
Support up to 20Gbps transfer rate with USB4 devices
Support up to 10Gbps transfer rate with USB 3.2 devices
Support up to 5V/3A ,15W power charging
Each port can daisy-chain up to three Thunderbolt 4 devices or five Thunderbolt 3 devices
Supports up to 8K display (need to connect the DisplayPort of the motherboard or discrete graphics card to the Mini DisplayPort Input port on the back panel)
Audio
Realtek® ALC4082 Codec + ESS SABRE9018Q2C Combo DAC/HPA
7.1-Channel High Definition Audio
Supports S/PDIF output
Back Panel I/O Ports
Clear CMOS Button
USB 3.2 Gen1 5Gbps (Type-A)
USB 2.0
2.5G LAN
Thunderbolt 4 40Gbps (Type-C)
Wi-Fi / Bluetooth
HD Audio Connectors
Flash BIOS Button
HDMI
USB 3.2 Gen2 10Gbps (Type-A)
Mini DisplayPort Input (for Thunderbolt passthrough)
Optical S/PDIF-Out
Accessories
Wi-Fi Antenna
Case Badge
USB Drive (Drivers)
User Manual
Quick Install Guide
Cleaning Brush
Screwdrivers
MEG Stickers
Reward Program Flyer
Cable Sticker
Product Catalog
Reg. Card
M.2 Screws/Standoff Screws
DP to mini DP Cable
Thermisitor Cable
1 to 2 RGB LED Extension Y-Cable
Corsair RGB LED Extension Cable
Rainbow RGB LED Extension Cable
4x SATA Cables
Operating System
Windows 10 64bit
Form Factor
ATX
12 inch x 9.6 inch ( 30.5 cm x 24.4 cm )
Board layout, features and RGB
ACE conforms to the ATX form factor and follows a traditional layout. This Z590 variant of ACE isn’t all that dissimilar to last seasons Z490 in terms of the overall look and feel.
Being a Z590 motherboard, we have support for the Intel 11th Gen. Processors (as well as support for 10th Gen. too) with LGA1200. ACE comes in with a 16 digital phase design with digital PWM and 90A power stages (CPU power comes in the form of 8+8). Two large heatsinks with an interconnecting copper heatpipe cover the VRM section, with backplate cooling and active cooling too – the fan is tucked away out of sight and benefits from Zero Frozr (ceases to spin when idle). There are 8 fan headers spread out at the top, side, bottom and middle of ACE with designated compatibility for water pumps. 4 RGB LED headers are also present for lighting strips and other devices. MSI kindly include a Corsair header on the board too, for use with Corsair’s lighting system.
Memory support sees us able to use up to 128GB of DDR4 and up to 5400MHz. In the memory region there is also EZ Debug LED which is a handy disagnostic feature identifying any problems on bootup with a simple LED pinpointing the problem area. Voltage check points are also present for those wanting advanced features.
Connectivity for your computer cases comes in the form of 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 header and 1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 header for the front panel. In terms of storage, there are up to 6 SATA 6GB/s ports and 4x PCIe M.2 slots. One of these is PCIe 4.0 x4 ready (the top slot) while the other three are PCIe 3.0 x4 – it’s brilliant having such an abundance of M.2 storage, it means that users no longer have to make compromises.
For graphics delivery there is a 1x PCIe 4.0 X16 slot, 2x PCIe 3.0 x16 slots and 2x PCIe 3.0 x1 slots. As usual the uppermost X16 is wired for the full 16 lanes and should be used for a single GPU configuration. The second and third slots are wired for 8 and 4. These slots benefit from MSI’s “Steel Armor” which has soldered connectors and has been strengthened to withstand heavy graphics cards.
Underneath the expansion area there are some additional features which we expect on a board of this class. There are physical buttons for power/reset – making this offering a nice choice if you do happen to be making use of a test bench. A dual BIOS switch and LED switch are also present – giving the ability to kill off lighting from that onboard power button (which glows white). Auxiliary PCIe power has been provided at the bottom too – supplying the graphics region with supplementary 6-pin power should this be required.
For audio, while others may stick with the ALC 1220, MSI are using the new Realtec ALC 4082 processor. The audio package itself includes:
– ESS® Audio DAC
– Gold-plated audio jacks
– Rear optical S/PDIF out port
– Premium audio capacitors
– Dededicated headphone AMP (600Ω
– Isolated circuitary
ACE’s RGB lighting is quite a toned down affair with just the rear IO shield and chipset heatsink using illumination – this and the RGB headers can tap into MSI’s Mystic Light for synchronisation.
One of ACE’s strong points is the rear panel which is loaded with functionality.:
Clear CMOS Button
4x USB 3.2 Gen1 5Gbps (Type-A)
2x USB 2.0
1x 2.5G LAN
2x Thunderbolt 4 40Gbps (Type-C)
2x Wi-Fi / Bluetooth
HD Audio Connectors
Flash BIOS Button
1x HDMI 2.0
2x USB 3.2 Gen2 10Gbps (Type-A)
2x Mini DisplayPort Input (for Thunderbolt passthrough)
Optical S/PDIF-Out
The inclusion of the slower USB 2.0 and USB 3.2 Gen1 is somewhat disappointing – especially when there are only 2x USB 3.2 Gen2 ports. On a high-end model like this, we expect to receive more Gen2 ports.
Test Setup & Methodology
Notes: We’ve revamped our benchmark regime by removing a number of tests which reveal little, to no difference between each motherboard model. Gaming performance is one such area which has been removed due to the inability for each motherboard to offer any advantage over another. Instead, we have focussed on meaningful/tangible analysis which examines the VRM/chipset design, and the storage performance which will be far more informative to the end user.
TEST SETUP
CPU Intel Core i9-11900KCooling: Corsair Hydro Series H110i
Motherboard: MSI MEG Z590 ACE
Memory: 16GB Corsair Vengeance RGB PRO SL 3600MHz
Storage: Crucial MX300 SATA SSD + Kingston KC2500 PCIe 3.0 SSD
PSU: Corsair HX1050 80 Plus Gold Certified PSU
Monitor: AOC U2879VF
BENCHMARKS
PCMark 10 – Overall Extended ScoreSiSoftware SANDRA – SATA/PCIe Storage Tests
SiSoftware SANDRA – Processor Image Processing
OTHER SOFTWARE
Temperature Analysis: HWMonitorStress Testing Software: AIDA64 Stability Test
CPU Specification Monitoring: CPU-Z
Benchmarks: Power Consumption
In this first test we analyse the power efficiency from the wall for each motherboard (Minus the GPU). While each model uses the same chipset/platform, energy results can fluctuate between manufacturers due to the features and specifications that are integrated. First of all, for the idle tests the system is cold booted into Windows and no additional applications are executed – wattage is noted on the external energy monitor we use and then we open Aida64 stability test and execute a stress test, noting the highest reading on the monitor. Below are the results of this energy test.
Benchmarks: VRM & Chipset Cooling
Each motherboard manufacturer designs their board with a unique set of heatsinks to cover key areas like the VRM/mosfets and the chipset itself. In these test we use HWMonitor to identify the minimum values for VRM and chipset and then we load up Aida64 stability test again and perform a 20 minute run, recording the maximum value for both attributes.
Benchmarks: PCMark 10
PCMark 10 features a comprehensive set of tests that cover the wide variety of tasks performed in the modern workplace. With a range of performance tests, custom run options, and the new Battery Life Profile, PCMark 10 is the complete PC benchmark for the modern office.
Benchmarks: SATA Performance
In order to ascertain the SATA performance for our motherboards we use SiSoftware SANDRA and the File System Bandwidth performance test. This allows us to obtain the sequential read/write transfer rates for the drive being tested – Crucial MX300 SSD.
Benchmarks: PCIe M.2 Performance
In order to ascertain the PCIe M.2 performance for our motherboards we use SiSoftware SANDRA and the File System Bandwidth performance test. This allows us to obtain the sequential read/write transfer rates for the drive being tested – Kingston KC2500.
Benchmarks: CPU Image Processing
In our last test we observe the Image Processing performance from the CPU attached to the motherboard. For this we use SiSoftware SANDRA and the benchmark specifically designed for measuring the common algorithms associated with processing imagery.
Overclocking
For the overclocking phase, we already know that our CPU (Intel Core i9-11900K) is capable of having all cores operate at 5.3GHz without any stress being applied, and at 5.0GHz with stress/stability test approval, so this is the target which we aimed for with ACE.
ACE managed to climb up to an all-core 5GHz overclock with the 11900K and required 1.35v – slightly more voltage compared to a few other models we’ve tested, which, as a result sends those temperatures into the high 90s.
Conclusion
So far in our venture into the world of Intel Z590 we’ve looked at the top-end models that each of the board partners have to offer and today has been the turn of MSI to show their hand, and this one does not disappoint.
A continuing trend into this seasons Intel boards is the use of dark, monochrome themes and MSI has decided to follow suit, the actual design of this Z590 ACE compared to the Z490 version is largely the same in terms of the styling – just subtle adjustments here and there. Although this scheme is overdone by many, we still feel it looks brilliant and the attention to detail is most certainly there. Pairing this board up with other components should be easy and it’ll look impressive once complete.
From a high-performance model like ACE we expect MSI to go over and above in the features department and for the most part they do deliver. There are voltage checkpoints, EZ Debug LED, onboard power/reset buttons, dual BIOS switch and amplified connectivity such as Thunderbolt 4 which is lovely to see. We also like that ACE can support up to 5400MHz DDR4 and serves up 4x PCIe M.2 SSD slots. The only drawback comes in the from of USB connectivity with 6x ports taken up with the slower USB 2.0 and USB 3.2 Gen1. We only get 2x USB 3.2 Gen2 ports and feel that this is unbalanced given the status/cost of ACE.
ACE gave us great results in our benchmark tests and further to this, our Intel Core i9-11900K struggles with stability once we exceed 5GHz on all cores, but ACE was able to hit our milestone with 1.35v.
It will come as no surprise that ACE holds a price-tag of GBP £500 | USD $499 | AUD $850. This marks the board out as one of the more expensive models on the market. We can vouch for this boards ability to deliver excellent performance but there is no denying that the outright cost is a lot to shell out for.
ACE is feature-rich and a stunning example of an Intel Z590 motherboard. If you’re looking for that ‘extra’ board, this one should be considered.
Pros
+ Wonderfully crafted
+ Loaded with advanced features
+ Offers solid performance
+ Plenty of USB connectivity
+ Includes Thunderbolt 4 ports
+ Up to 8 fan headers
+ Support for up to 5400MHz DDR4 memory
+ Benefits from a protective backplate
+ Offers four M.2 slots (including PCIe 4.0)
+ Extensive accessories bundle
Cons
– Still being supplied with USB 2.0 ports
– Expensive!
+ Wonderfully crafted
+ Loaded with advanced features
+ Offers solid performance
+ Plenty of USB connectivity
+ Includes Thunderbolt 4 ports
+ Up to 8 fan headers
+ Support for up to 5400MHz DDR4 memory
+ Benefits from a protective backplate
+ Offers four M.2 slots (including PCIe 4.0)
+ Extensive accessories bundle
Cons
– Still being supplied with USB 2.0 ports
– Expensive!
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