MSI MEG Z890 ACE motherboard review: these are not toys

With the advent of Intel’s new desktop platform, motherboard manufacturers have prepared a variety of models based on the top-of-the-line Intel Z890 chipset. Initially, developers traditionally offer the most equipped devices for the most demanding users. Expectations are high for the LGA1851. The profound architectural transformations of the new Arrow Lake-S, along with the overall expansion of the platform’s capabilities, offer a new experience and change the way we look at things. Today we are reviewing the MSI MEG Z890 ACE board. It’s a powerfully charged model, almost “for all the money”. Let’s see how it will cope with the flagship of the new line, the 24-core Core Ultra 9 285K.

Package contents

The board is available in an extended package. In addition to the device itself, the large box also contains an additional Wi-Fi antenna, a USB drive with drivers and software, four SATA cables, an extension cable for convenient connection of controls, and a set of ARGB ribbon extenders.

A rare option, even for top-of-the-line models, is two additional external temperature sensors. The package also includes an additional stand for fixing M.2 drives and a compact screwdriver for mounting EZ M.2 Clips II. The only paperwork included in the package is a short instruction manual for assembling the system and the terms of the warranty. Additional bonuses include a set of functional and decorative stickers.

Design and layout of the MSI MEG Z890 ACE

A quick glance at the board is enough to determine that we are dealing with a top-of-the-line model. Despite the fact that MSI MEG Z890 ACE has classic ATX (305×244) mm dimensions, the heap of radiator blocks, the density of technological equipment on the surface and the massive plate on the back do not allow you to make a mistake in determining the class of the device.

The unpopular weight metric for motherboards also plays a role here. The available 2.4 kg of “live weight” is an indirect but effective factor that you pay attention to when picking up the board.

MSI MEG Z890 ACE is based on the top-of-the-line Intel Z890 chipset, which is the only one for the LGA1851 platform so far. Of course, the board is ready to work with any processor of the new Core Ultra 200S desktop line.

As for the exterior design, there were no surprises. The developers are careful with the color schemes, preferring the classic version with dark colors. The PCB, cooling system elements, and all connectors are black. Gold accents with diagonal stripes, a logo and a large pattern dilute the monochromatic visuals.

The MSI MEG Z890 ACE uses an 8-layer PCB with thickened copper conductors, and the PCB uses NPG-170D material.

As befits a top-of-the-line model, MSI MEG Z890 ACE has a very powerful processor power supply subsystem. The VRM has a 28-phase (24+2+1+1) circuit with SPS elements designed for an operating current of up to 110A. The Renesas RAA229131 controller is used to control the stabilizer parameters.

The board probably provides for the possibility of overclocking experiments, so in this case, the enhanced VRM will be very useful. But for working in normal modes, even for the top-end Core Ultra 9, this configuration looks excessive. However, it’s like blaming sports supercars for having speedometers that read over 300 km/h. Different devices have different audiences.

Two 8-pin connectors are provided for connecting additional CPU power. At the same time, the connectors themselves are shifted to the memory module slots. Such a design arrangement is unusual, but this technique allows you to use more space for the cooling system of power assemblies.

For the MSI MEG Z890 ACE, the developers have implemented a combined cooling design for the power unit elements. It uses three different components. The main aluminum block that covers the interface panel area is an old MSI invention that has since become a standard for even mid-range boards. The assemblies at the top edge of the board are cooled by a prefabricated aluminum plate heatsink, which is connected to the overall cooler by two heat pipes at once.

The cassette with “petals” increases the dissipation area and also provides for the possibility of radiator draft.

One of the heat pipes is U-shaped. And this profile configuration is not accidental. The fact is that this is how the power assemblies around the processor socket are arranged, so the overall design of the VRM cooling system includes a third radiator unit of compact dimensions, which is connected to the others by the aforementioned tube. Among the features, it is worth noting the use of heatpipe contact through heat-conductive stickers with improved thermal conductivity (9 W/mK). So, in general, the developers paid a lot of attention to the cooling of VRM power assemblies and throttles.

The board is equipped with four slots for DIMMs. The developers assure that MSI MEG Z890 ACE allows you to use kits up to DDR5-9200+ in overclocking mode. Of course, we’re talking about peer-to-peer dual-channel kits. At the time of the review, the manufacturer’s website lists validated DDR5-8400/8600 modules. The board supports CUDIMMs (Clocked Unbuffered DIMMs) with an internal clock generator, which allows you to get the fastest possible speeds.

The specifications for the board state that it allows the use of 64 GB modules, thereby increasing the maximum capacity to 256 GB. Although officially, Core Ultra 200S chips support up to 192 GB of RAM.

MSI MEG Z890 ACE offers three full-size PCI-E x16 slots for additional expansion cards. In this case, all connectors have metal frames that increase the mechanical strength of the connectors. Usually, only the main PCI-E x16 used to install a video card receives such “armor”. However, despite the fact that developers refuse to use SLI/CrossFire connections, no one prohibits the use of additional graphics adapters for specific needs.

The main slot usually operates in PCI-E 5.0 x16 mode, but shares the processor bus lines when using PCI_E2. In the latter case, the slots will operate in a PCI-E 5.0 x8/x8 configuration. However, the second slot can also be used in PCI-E 5.0 x4 mode if the system owner wants to install a second M.2 PCI-E 5.0 drive. We will return to this situation later.

The third full-size slot (PCI_E3) is chipset driven and always offers PCI-E 4.0 x4.

The method of fixing the video card in the PCI-E x16 slot deserves special attention. Recently, developers have been spending a lot of effort to find the optimal mechanism and simplify the process of installing/uninstalling bulky graphics adapters. MSI engineers have come up with their own solution in the form of EZ PCIe Release with a separate button and a spring-loaded metal latch. In this case, you don’t need to hold the lever or make any additional efforts during the process. All you need to do is press the button after installing the video card in the slot to lock the adapter or release it.

An additional 8-pin power connector is provided on the board to boost the power of the PCI-E x16 slots and prevent voltage sagging under video card load. If you don’t plan to experiment too much with extreme overclocking of top-of-the-line adapters, then this feature is rather optional.

Developers are trying to offer the widest possible opportunities to increase the number of simultaneously connected drives. Top-of-the-line boards already allow you to use up to five SSDs simultaneously. This is the number of M.2 ports on the MSI MEG Z890 ACE. Here, too, a more detailed dive is required, because the available options are not trivial.

Initially, it should be noted that all the drives are equipped with additional cooling. The first port (M.2_1) uses the CPU bus lines and offers a PCI-E 5.0 x4 interface. The M.2_2 port is also on the CPU side, but is PCI-E 4.0 x4. M.2_3 already uses chipset lines and also offers PCI-E 4.0 x4. The fourth – M.2_4 – in addition to allowing the use of drives up to 110 mm long (22110), also has certain specifics. By default, it uses Intel Z890 lines, offering PCI-E 4.0 x4. But if necessary, the owner of the board can select PCI-E 5.0 x4 mode in the BIOS, which will allow you to connect a second maximum speed SSD. In this case, the main full-size slot switches to PCI-E 5.0 x8 mode, and PCI_E2 gets a PCI-E 5.0 x4 configuration.

This flexibility allows the user to use system resources at their own discretion. At the same time, it is possible to occupy all five M.2 slots without limiting the bandwidth of the PCI-E 5.0 x16 slot. In this case, one of the SSDs can be PCI-E 5.0 x4, and the rest can be PCI-E 4.0 x4. If you need to add another M.2 PCI-E 5.0 x4, this is also possible with the aforementioned reconfiguration of PCI-E slot modes. It looks like the most rational option.

The provided cooling system for the drives deserves a special mention. For the M.2_1, a larger radiator is offered, which is also equipped with additional lighting. The name “ACE” is located in the central part of the unit. A special magnetized connector is used to transmit power to the LED elements, which is connected to the corresponding connector on the board after the radiator is installed. The latter is screwless. The drive itself in M.2_1 is also fixed with a small plastic latch.

The other four M.2 drives share a common heat sink. The advantage of this solution is the size and, accordingly, the increased heat dissipation area. But if you need to install/remove/replace even one drive out of four, you’ll have to remove the common plate, first removing the video card from the case.

The radiator mount does not require a screwdriver and, despite its size, can be removed/installed without additional tools. For the SSDs themselves, there is also a screwless fixation with special fasteners.

Another feature of the SSD cooling system is the presence of additional heat sinks with thermal labels for all M.2 slots. This means that heat is also removed from the elements located on the back of the drive. Usually, if such an option is provided, it is only for one M.2 drive. In the case of the MSI MEG Z890 ACE, all SSDs of the corresponding format will receive additional cooling. It can be really useful, considering that with such a solid heatsink design, it will not be possible to use SSDs with their own standard heatsinks. Such models will require preliminary “stripping”.

Returning to the “storage” capabilities of the board, we should mention M.2_5 separately. This connector is serviced by a chipset and is notable for being a combined connector that allows you to use both M.2 PCI-E 4.0 x4 drives and corresponding models with a SATA interface. Recently, manufacturers have been simplifying circuitry without using SATA channels for M.2 ports. In this case, compatibility is preserved, so the drive can be used to good effect after the upgrade.

If we are talking about SSD/HDD/DVD with SATA interface, then four SATA 6Gb/s ports are provided for connecting such devices. These connectors are covered by a common radiator plate, but they are positioned parallel to the PCB plane, so there will be no issues with connecting cables.

Looking at the area of the drive ports, we’ll pay attention to the rather large chipset cooler. It is also covered by a single aluminum plate on top.

MSI MEG Z890 ACE is expected to have good options for general cooling system setup. The board has eight 4-pin connectors for connecting fans. The connector for the nominally CPU fan is amplified up to 2 A (24 W), a pair of connectors for SRO components are designed for currents up to 3 A (36 W), and for case fans there are independent channels of standard power (1 A, 12 W).

Two connectors for external temperature sensors are provided near the bottom edge of the board. Usually, thermocouples need to be purchased separately, so in practice, this option is often left unused. Given that the appropriate sensors are already included with the board, you can easily monitor the temperature of certain surfaces if necessary. And not only to observe the indicators, but also to use them to optimize the overall algorithm of the cooling system.

Even for top-end boards, developers often offer one connector for an external temperature sensor. Having a couple of them is a bonus for curious users.

The board also provides an additional three-pin connector W_FLOW1, which allows you to connect a “flow meter” to record the flow force of the liquid in the SRO circuit.

The logo with the silhouette of a dragon, a constant mascot of gaming devices of certain MSI product lines, occupies its current place on the protective cover above the interface panel. Usually this part of the board is clearly visible in a case with a transparent side wall. So it is not surprising that this time the designers decided to highlight the profile of the guardian of gaming luck.

As we have already mentioned, the model designation “ACE” is illuminated on the cooler of the high-speed M.2. Despite the brightness of the blinks, the existing golden diagonals and geometric patterns on the radiator plate are not additionally illuminated. But if you need to add more lumens, the board has one connector for RGB strips (12 V, 5050) and three connectors for 5-volt ARGB Gen2 strips. So you can “light up” brightly.

MSI MEG Z890 ACE also received a very specific EZ Conn-Header V2 connector that combines the ability to connect ARGB, fans and USB 2.0. The priority area of application is fans with built-in lighting, both classic models for this class and modern builds like the MPG EZ120 ARGB via an additional adapter. A USB output may be required to simplify the connection of a backlit SRO with an informative display on the heat sink unit.

MSI developers have also taken care of those who consider all these flickering lights to be childish and distracting. For them, there is a radical solution – the LED_SW1 toggle switch, which allows you to turn off all the “fireflies” on the board in one motion. Or you can bring them back to life by shifting the hardware selector to the other side.

As for additional features, the board is equipped with an internal USB Type-C connector for outputting the port to the case wall. Compliance with the USB 3.2 Gen2×2 standard (20Gb/s) was predictable, but support for Power Delivery with the ability to transfer power up to 60W is a pleasant surprise. To provide the specified power, a 6-pin 12V connector is located next to the board. If you want to use the external Type-C port for fast charging of devices, you must connect the power cable to the PD_PWR1 connector. Without it, the connector power will be limited to 27 W.

Evaluating the equipment of MSI MEG Z890 ACE, it is not difficult to guess that the developers intended this to be not only a gaming platform, but also a fairly functional basis for enthusiasts who are ready for desperate overclocking experiments. The first sign is the presence of a set of jumpers (JSLOW1, JLN1~2, JOC_RT1) to activate modes that allow the board to start and boot more confidently in ultra-low temperatures (when using LN2).

The V-Check Points Lite hole pad allows you to monitor key voltages with a multimeter.

The additional Power and Reset buttons are a must-have during long experiments with the system in an open stand.

MSI MEG Z890 ACE also has two BIOS chips and a separate toggle switch to select the specific chip to be used during system boot. For easier orientation, there is also an LED that lights up white when BIOS1 is engaged and orange in the case of conditional BIOS2. In addition to backup functions, this option can be used to quickly change certain settings or even different firmware versions.

A set of EZ Debug LEDs is already a common option, but the EZ Digi-Debug LED segment indicator is a much rarer artifact. When the system starts up, the error code can be used to identify the problem node. In normal operation of the platform, after a successful boot, the indicator may show the current CPU temperature.

Despite the obvious overclocker accents, the developers of MSI MEG Z890 ACE took care of the “ears” by equipping the board with a Realtek ALC4082 codec and using a separate ESS SABREESS9219Q Combo DAC/HPA with an additional amplifier to “roll out” headphones with high impedance. Of course, specialized capacitors are provided in the circuit, and the audio path area is isolated from the general PCB array.

The result is clear and transparent sound. High frequencies are clear and detailed, without a tendency to harshness, which is often found in built-in audio. The middle is rich, voices sound natural, without dryness, with sufficient depth. “Bass” is deep and well intelligible, it does not turn into “mush” on fast tracks. At the same time, they are also in moderation, unlike typical built-in audio, where there are usually too many low frequencies. In general, the sound is well-balanced and will satisfy the needs of the vast majority of users, except for audiophiles (but they are likely to listen to music on other systems).

MSI MEG Z890 ACE has an outstanding networking setup. The board is equipped with an Intel Killer BE1750 controller that provides support for Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) and Bluetootch 5.4. The module is full-speed with support for MU-MIMO TX/RX, 4096 QAM modulation, and 320 MHz bandwidth (at 6 GHz), so the maximum data transfer rate can be up to 5.8 Gbps.

A 10-gigabit Marvell AQC113CS is used to connect to a wired network. So that it doesn’t seem too little. It will be something to strive for, a kind of benchmark for the future of the existing network infrastructure.

The interface panel is dotted with elements, there is almost no free space on it. We immediately note two Thunderbolt 4 ports (40 GB/s) and a pair of USB Type-C (10 GB/s), and we are also pleased to have 11 (eleven!) USB 3.2 Gen2 ports (10 GB/s) in Type-A format. Both Thunderbolt 4 and full-size HDMI can be used to output video signals.

The panel has an Ethernet socket and connectors for an external Wi-Fi module antenna. There are two 3.5 mm audio jacks for audio devices. Such minimalism is currently in trend for top-of-the-line solutions. The owners of multichannel speakers are offered optical S/PDIF.

We should note the presence of three additional buttons at once. One of them (Flash BIOS) is responsible for activating the technology of offline firmware update from a USB drive, Clear CMOS is used to clean the CMOS memory, and the “smart” Smart Button can be adjusted to several modes – LED off/on (initially), maximum speed of all fans, Safe Boot or Reset.

A massive metal plate is fixed on the back of the board. It is a kind of “three-in-one” – decor, protection of the elements/PCBs from mechanical damage, and additional cooling of the board in the VRM area. In this area, the plate is in contact with the textolite base through heat-conducting stickers.

Test bench configuration

• Motherboard: MSI MEG Z890 ACE (Intel Z890)
• Processor: Intel Core Ultra 9 285K (8P+16E; 3.7/5.7 GHz + 3.2/4.6 GHz)
• Cooling: MSI MAG CORELIQUID I360
• Memory: G.SKILL TRIDENT Z5 CK DDR5-8200 48 GB (F5-8200C4052G24GX2-TZ5CK)
• Video card: MSI GeForce RTX 4090 GAMING X TRIO 24G
• Storage: Kingston KC3000 1 TB

To evaluate the board’s capabilities, we used the top chip of Intel’s new desktop lineup, Core Ultra 9 285K. The processor has a configuration with 8 performance cores (P-Cores) operating at 3.7/5.7 GHz and 16 energy-efficient cores (E-Cores) with a frequency formula of 3.2/4.6 GHz.

The processor has a TDP of 125 W, but the PL2 limit is 250 W. So, despite the overall improvement in energy efficiency of Arrow Lake-S chips, you shouldn’t rely on boards with simple VRMs, especially when using top-end CPUs. In turn, Core Ultra 9 285K will be a great option for testing the temperature performance of the board under maximum load.

Another additional test will be to equip the platform with a 24 GB GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card. A good “examiner” with a TDP of 450 watts. So the board will have a hard time, but that’s exactly what we need. For the purity of the experiment and to get closer to the real modes of operation of the maximally charged platform.

We received the MSI MEG Z890 ACE for testing as part of a kind of introductory “review kit”, so the brand new MSI MAG CORELIQUID I360 liquid system was used to cool the Core Ultra 9 285K, and the kit additionally included DDR5 CU-DIMM – G memory modules.SKILL Triden Z5 CK DDR5-8200 48GB (F5-8200C4052G24GX2-TZ5CK) with an integrated clock and CL40-52-52-131 (1.4V) delay formula.

In action

Despite the fact that we are focusing on the motherboard’s capabilities, given that this is the first time we have seen the Core Ultra 9 285K, we will conduct a quick performance test of Intel’s new top-of-the-line chip.

Let’s start with the RAM. A brand new set of DDR5 CU-DIMMs started up on the platform without any problems and, after using the XMP 3.0 profile, worked in DDR5-8200 mode. The increased operating frequencies allowed us to get a read speed of 114 GB/s, write and copy speeds are a bit more modest – 93 GB/s and 102 GB/s, respectively. Delays of 88 ns are the result of fairly high module timings and platform features.

In general, the processor demonstrates very good performance. The developers still managed to compensate for the lack of Hyper-Threading support, which significantly increased computing performance (+15-30%) in multi-threaded tasks. Architectural improvements to the cores of both types made it possible to level the playing field.

In the absence of a test base for comparing the results with those of equivalent competitors, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the ratio of forces when comparing the performance with those of chips in a class (or even two) below – Core Ultra 5 245K (6P+8E; 4.2/5.2 GHz + 3.6/4.6 GHz) and Ryzen 7 9700X (8/16; 3.8/5.5 GHz; TDP 105 W), the capabilities of which we have already explored in more detail.

The performance is expected, but to evaluate the capabilities of the Core Ultra 9 285K, of course, there is not enough comparison with the Core i9-14900K and Ryzen 9 9950X/7950X.

In the context of testing the board, let’s highlight the results in the Cinebench R23 test, where the Core 9 Ultra 285K scored as high as 42,333 points.

Under load, the productive processor cores operated at 5300-5400 MHz, and the energy-efficient ones at 4600 MHz. The total CPU power consumption remained at 240-250 watts. Under such conditions, after a fairly long rendering session, the VRM elements of the board warmed up to 68C, and the PCH to 57C.

Performance and power consumption in games

Taking advantage of the availability of the “Core Ultra 9 285K + GeForce RTX 4090 24 GB” set, we will add the platform’s performance in several gaming projects.

In 1440p mode, we get simply excellent results. Even with the maximum quality settings (without RT), the video card usually allows you to get more than 150 fps (average). These are the most comfortable conditions, unless we’re talking about some competitive projects where milliseconds decide the fate.

If you like to play in this mode, you should also be prepared for the corresponding electricity bills and calculate the total capacity of the charging station in case of power supply problems. In the system resource-hungry Cyberpunk 2077, the system consumed up to 640 watts. This is largely due to the video card, which can consume 450+ watts in heavy modes.