Review: MSI MEG Z390 Godlike

by Parm Mann on 19 October 2018, 14:00

Tags: MSI, Intel (NASDAQ:INTC)

Quick Link: HEXUS.net/qadykm

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Conclusion

Creating an ultimate motherboard rarely results in a good value proposition, but it's a chance for manufacturers to show off.

The MSI MEG Z390 Godlike is that rare motherboard designed for those few who have settled on Z390 and are willing to spend whatever it takes to get the very best results.

At £600, the board itself costs as much as the likely CPU, a Core i9-9900K, and the £1,200 start-up fee isn't going to entice many buyers. Creating an ultimate motherboard rarely results in a good value proposition, but it's a chance for manufacturers to show off. MSI is doing exactly that with the Z390 MEG Godlike.

For those deep-walleted enough to afford such a lavish design, the board looks great, has an excellent bundle, almost all of the features you're likely to want, and strong overclocking potential. All that's preventing the board from ticking every box for an outlandish Z390 build is the lack of 10GbE.

Bottom line: willing to throw caution to the wind on Z390? MSI has the dubious honour of offering the most insane motherboard for a mainstream 9th Gen Core chip.

The Good
 
The Bad
Looks the business
RGB implemented really well
Good overclocking potential
Lots of M.2 and extensive bundle
Latest-gen Killer 1550 WiFi
Native USB 3.1 Gen 2
Excellent audio
 
How much!?
No 10Gbps Ethernet
Display outputs omitted


HEXUS.where2buy*

The MSI MEG Z390 Godlike motherboard is available to purchase from Scan Computers.

HEXUS.right2reply

At HEXUS, we invite the companies whose products we test to comment on our articles. If any company representatives for the products reviewed choose to respond, we'll publish their commentary here verbatim.



*UK-based HEXUS community members are eligible for free delivery and priority customer service through the SCAN.care@HEXUS forum.



HEXUS Forums :: 6 Comments

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I first read it as “Codlike”.
Only Gods can afford that price.
afiretruck
I first read it as “Codlike”.

If it has been named that, there would inevitably have been the following responses:

  1. There's something fishy about this…
  2. Does it hurl abuse at you while you use it?

:P
I've only ever used onboard graphics for troubleshooting but, as I don't tend to keep spare GPUs loitering around, the IGP has been essential. That said, I expect anyone buying this board to be enthusiastic enough to probably have a few PCs lying around and a choice of spare GPUs if required. I'm trying to live with a no clutter and no hoarding rule. Means I've had to throw away a lot of stuff but the Empire of Dirt can only expand so far. I doubt the lack of onboard graphics outputs is going to put anyone off at this level.
At that price, I'm amazed it doesn't have a PLX chip to provide additional PCIe lanes. It would mean a buyer could make much better use of all the built-in storage & other options.