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Is YOLO still used today? Actually, it doesn’t matter because a $1,000 motherboard seems extravagant whether they do or not. Or perhaps I’m just a tightwad. Whatever. When MSI MEG Z590 GODLIKE Gaming Motherboard for Intel’s 11th Gen Core “Rocket Lake-S” processors is released, it will once again be available for those who have the necessary funds and the desire to spend a grand on a motherboard.

MSI showcased a plethora of motherboards based on Intel’s new Z590, B560, and H510 chipsets in the wake of the company’s Rocket Lake-S announcement(opens in new tab) at CES; these next-generation CPUs are expected to ship soon with a claimed 19 percent IPC gain.

According to my calculations, MSI is hiding 30 forthcoming motherboard models, some or all of which “will make a world premiere on January 27.” Even a countdown meter for the big day is available (opens in new tab).

MSI released some early details regarding its 500-series motherboards before the launch. There aren’t many finer points, but MSI gives a quick rundown of what makes up its MEG, MPG, MAG, and Pro lineups in a press release(opens in new tab).

The Godlike series, one of MSI’s most well-known motherboard lines, is positioned as the premium model regardless of the platform it is intended for. MSI contacted us and sent us a qualifying sample of the new Z590 Godlike model as Intel had just released its new Z590 desktop chipset.

In this article, we examine how the MSI MEG Z590 GODLIKE Gaming Motherboard has changed from the previous version for Intel’s Rocket Lake processors. It was designed as the flagship motherboard.

Looking back to the history of MSI’s premium models, the Godlike originally appeared in 2016 on Intel’s X99 chipset. Created for Broadwell-E HEDT CPUs, the MSI X99A Godlike Gaming Carbon featured carbon fiber-inspired design. Both models included a variety of high-end controllers for the time, however the MSI X99A Godlike Gaming had a punchier look and more red heatsinks.

From 2017, the Godlike was a constant in MSI’s lineup of motherboards. Built with Intel’s Coffee Lake processors, the MSI Z370 Godlike Gaming included an integrated RGB light bar and a black and silver appearance. Since then, the MSI Godlike has served as the company’s flagship model, establishing itself as a high-end product with cutting-edge controller sets and ideally situated to benefit from both the most recent chipset designs from AMD and Intel.

MSI MEG Z590 GODLIKE Gaming Motherboard Overall look & Specs

The MSI MEG Z590 GODLIKE Gaming Motherboard design features an eye-catching array of silver and black heatsinks all over the board, as well as a chic glass panel integrated into the back panel cover that features an MSI Dragon motif with built-in RGB LEDs.

The MSI MEG Z490 Godlike has a design that is predominantly black with dark grey metallic heatsinks, which is a little different from this. Both Godlike models have the Dynamic Dashboard II OLED panel, which is situated just to the right of the memory slots. With a vertical silver line running through the three M.2 heatsinks and parallel to the Godlike emblem on the rear panel cover, the updated Z590 Godlike has a cleaner appearance.

Given that some Z490 motherboards claim to be PCIe 4.0 ready, I’ll speak to the PCIe 4.0 support. The Z590 based motherboards are primarily designed to enable Comet Lake with PCIe 3.0 and Rocket Lake with PCIe 4.0. The use of PCIe 4.0 on Z490 motherboards will differ depending on how future-proof each vendor wanted to make those boards despite the fact that they wouldn’t have been able to test when the boards were being designed.

In contrast, Z490 motherboards are built with Comet Lake as the primary use and a nod to Rocket Lake. In contrast to a few other suppliers, MSI didn’t emphasize future PCIe 4.0 support enough on its Z490 models.

The upper two full-length slots on the MEG Z590 GODLIKE Gaming Motherboard are compatible with PCIe 4.0 and run at PCIe 4.0 x16 and x8/x8 respectively. A third full-length PCIe slot is there, although it is electronically restricted to PCIe 3.0 x4 by the chipset.

Four M.2 slots are available for storage, with one supporting PCIe 4.0 x4 and the other three supporting PCIe 3.0 x4 and SATA disks. The M.2 heatsinks, which are integrated into the board’s overall architecture, are positioned beneath each of the four M.2 slots. There are six SATA ports in the bottom right corner that support RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10.

On the Z590 Godlike, MSI changes its Dynamic II OLED Dashboard to better match its surroundings. The Z590 has it integrated into a glossy rectangular panel that has a mirror finish when the device is not in use, making it feel more integrated than the OLED panel on the Z490 Godlike.

The MSI MEG Z590 Godlike’s rear panel has a dual Thunderbolt 4 Type-C port, two mini-DisplayPort video inputs, and a DisplayPort 1.4 video output. It has eight USB 3.2 G1 Type-A ports and two USB 3.2 G2 Type-A ports, which is more than adequate to meet the needs of the majority of users.

The Z590 incorporates Intel’s newest AX210 Wi-Fi 6E CNVi, which offers access to the 6 GHz band and includes support for BT 5.2 devices. It employs a similar networking setup to the Z490 Godlike, albeit with a more expensive overall solution.

This table lists the specifications for the MSI MEG Z590 GODLIKE Gaming Motherboard.

CPU (MAX SUPPORT)	i9
SOCKET	1200
CHIPSET	Intel Z590 Chipset
DDR4 MEMORY	5600(OC)/ 5333(OC)/ 5000(OC)/ 4800(OC)/ 4600(OC)/ 4533(OC)/ 4400(OC)/ 4300(OC)/ 4266(OC)/ 4200(OC)/ 4133(OC)/ 4000(OC)/ 3866(OC)/ 3733(OC)/ 3600(OC)/ 3466(OC)/ 3400(OC)/ 3333(OC)/ 3300(OC)/ 3200(OC)/ 3000(OC) / 2933(JEDEC)/ 2666(JEDEC)/ 2400(JEDEC)/ 2133(JEDEC) MHz
MEMORY CHANNEL	Dual
DIMM SLOTS	4
MAX MEMORY (GB)	128
PCI-E X16	3
SATAIII	6
M.2 SLOT	4
RAID	0/1/5/10
LAN	1x Aquantia AQC107 10G LAN controller1x Intel I225-V 2.5G LAN
WIFI&BLUETOOTH	Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX210
THUNDERBOLT 4	2x USB Type-C up to 40G, Charging support up to 5V/3A, 15W, 2x Mini DisplayPort input ports
USB 3.2 PORTS (FRONT)	1(Gen2, Type C), 4(Gen1, Type A)
USB 3.2 PORTS (REAR)	2(Gen2, Type A), 6(Gen1, Type A)
USB 2.0 PORTS (FRONT)	4
AUDIO PORTS (REAR)	5+ Optical S/PDIF (Realtek ALC4082 Codec + ESS SABRE9018Q2C combo DAC)
DIRECTX	12
SLI	Y
CROSSFIRE	Y
OPERATING SYSTEM	Support for Windows 10 64-bit
FORM FACTOR	E-ATX

Conclusion on MSI MEG Z590 GODLIKE Gaming Motherboard

Our i9-10900K ran smoothly on the 16-phase 90A VRM of the MSI MEG Z590 GODLIKE Gaming Motherboard, even when overclocked to 5.2 GHz. When we get our i9-11900K from Rocket Lake, we’ll retest, but as long as the BIOS is correct, this board shouldn’t have any issues.

Contrary to the Gigabyte Z590 Vision G, this board features four M.2 connectors, but because more lanes are connected to the chipset on this board when these sockets are used, SATA ports suffer. However, in the worst-case situation, you may still use three SATA ports while running four M.2 modules. This should be ok for most users.

Potential disadvantages include the $499 price tag being out of reach for some consumers. The absence of RGB components on the board can be another issue for certain people. Only the MSI dragon and processor heatsink are illuminated by RGB LEDs, and they merely look nice.

The four aRBG/RGB headers that are spread out over the board allow you to add more RGB LED bling if you so choose. The absence of a USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Type-C connector is the other negative, but the faster Thunderbolt 4 ports more than make up for it.

Is MSI MEG Z590 GODLIKE Gaming Motherboard good?

The MSI MEG Z590 GODLIKE Gaming Motherboard is a high-end motherboard outfitted with a number of high-end features, including a very powerful VRM capable of supporting flagship Intel CPUs from the 10th and 11th generations at both stock speeds and overclocked rates. For greater bandwidth and peripheral versatility, the board also features two Thunderbolt 4 connectors, four M.2 sockets, integrated Wi-Fi 6E, and 2.5 GbE.

I can tell with confidence that the newer board is an upgrade over the older one having constructed and tested both MSI MEG Z490 GODLIKE Gaming Motherboard and MSI MEG Z590 GODLIKE Gaming Motherboard. But, there are still a few glitches to be fixed, and the higher cost is a little difficult to accept. But, this board is unquestionably an upgrade.

Other disadvantages include the $499 price tag being out of reach for certain consumers. Just the MSI dragon and processor heatsink are illuminated by RGB LEDs, and they only look nice. The four aRBG/RGB headers that are spread out over the board allow you to add more RGB LED bling if you so choose. The absence of a USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Type-C connector is the other negative, but the speedier Thunderbolt 4 ports more than make up for it.

The ASRock Z590 Taichi, Gigabyte Z590 Aorus Master, and Asus ROG Strix Z590-E Gaming are direct rivals at this price bracket. The distinctions between both boards are in the M.2 storage (both MSI and Giga have four), audio, and VRMs (Gigabyte wins out here) (the Ace has the most premium codec).

Although everyone has their own definition of beauty, if I had to choose one of them to display, the Taichi board would be my top choice. Despite this, no board in this place is unwelcoming, and each has advantages over the others.

Is MSI MEG Z590 GODLIKE Gaming Motherboard good for gaming?

The CPU’s stock frequencies (including stock Thermal Velocity Boost) are used for our usual benchmarks and power tests, and all power-saving features are turned on. The BIOS is configured with optimized defaults, and XMP profiles are used to configure the RAM. Windows is configured to use the balanced power plan for this baseline testing.

Recent game updates include Far Cry: New Dawn and F1 2020. The Ultra setting runs the games at 1920×1080 resolution. The CPU tends to have less of an effect as resolution increases. 

In our gaming testing, upgrading from an RTX 2070 to an RTX 3070 resulted in significant increases. Results on the MSI MEG Z590 GODLIKE Gaming Motherboard for 3DMark Fire Strike and Time Spy are comparable across all tested boards, even the one with an i9-10900K. For F1 2020, the Rocket Lake CPU produced performances ranging from 207 Frames Per Second (FPS) to 211 FPS.

Unexpectedly, the i9-10900K performed admirably in this test, averaging 214 FPS, a few percent faster than the majority of results. The Ace produced 145 FPS in Far Cry: New Dawn, which is on the higher range of results. Here, the i9-10900K was surpassed by practically all evaluated boards.Two games don’t fully convey the narrative of gaming performance, but at least in Far Cry, we can observe the advantages of the new Processor.

Which slots does MSI MEG Z590 GODLIKE Gaming Motherboard have?

The PCIe 4.0 interface is supported by the MSI MEG Z590 GODLIKE Gaming Motherboard, with the board’s upper two full-length slots functioning at PCIe 4.0 x16 and x8/x8. A third full-length PCIe slot is available, although it is electronically limited to PCIe 3.0 x4 by the chipset.

Storage options include four M.2 slots, one of which supports PCIe 4.0 x4 and the others PCIe 3.0 x4 and SATA disks. The four M.2 slots are housed behind M.2 heatsinks that complement the overall look of the board. Six SATA ports are located in the bottom right-hand corner, and they support RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10.

MSI improves the Z590 Godlike’s Dynamic II OLED Dashboard to better fit in with its surroundings. The OLED display on the Z590 Godlike seems more integrated than the OLED panel on the Z490 Godlike, since it is fitted into a glossy rectangular surface that has a mirror finish when not switched on.

The MSI MEG Z590 GODLIKE Gaming Motherboard back panel features dual Thunderbolt 4 Type-C ports, two mini-DisplayPort inputs, and one DisplayPort 1.4 visual output. It has two USB 3.2 G2 Type-A and six USB 3.2 G1 Type-A ports, which is more than adequate to meet the demands of most users. It employs a networking array comparable to the Z490 Godlike, but with a more premium overall solution – the Z590 incorporates Intel’s newest AX210 Wi-Fi 6E CNVi with access to the 6 GHz band and compatibility for BT 5.2 devices.

Can you overclock with MSI MEG Z590 GODLIKE Gaming Motherboard?

We opted to overclock the i9-11900K by testing sans AVX-512 instructions. You are thermally restricted when you unlock all of the power constraints, either to overclock or by board setup in this case, with the CPU hitting 100 degrees Celsius in seconds.

We eliminated the variable since each board differs in how it follows (or does not follow) Intel requirements. The basic conclusion is that AVX-512 instructions require a substantial offset when compared to non-AVX-512 loads. As a result, we agreed on a 5.1 GHz overclock at about 1.3V. In this arrangement, our CPU consumes around 225W, which is between the stock power consumption (195W) and the AVX-512 power consumption (265W) and represents the end of the line owing to thermal limits.

The MSI MEG Z590 GODLIKE Gaming Motherboard and its overclocked VRMs handled our overclocked settings with ease. These values are well within the power bits’ operational limitations, with plenty of headroom. With this board, your only limitation will be the CPU cooling.

During our AIDA testing, we found solid memory results with the new BIOS. The new architecture, like AMD CPUs, supports “gearing” of memory. While testing a few boards, we discovered that when the gearing tips to 1:2, latency increases but frequency increases significantly.

In this scenario, the MEG Z590 Ace operated at 1:1 with our DDR4 3600 kit and 1:2 with our DDR4 4000 kit. The location of this gear shift is determined by the board/BIOS. We had no problems with any set of RAM, as predicted.

How much power does MSI MEG Z590 GODLIKE Gaming Motherboard use?

We utilized AIDA64’s System Stability Test with Stress CPU, FPU, and Cache enabled and the peak power consumption number for power testing. We need to deactivate AVX-512 instruction sets with Rocket Lake, else temps will soon spiral out of control at stock speeds on some boards. To capture the full ecology, the wattage reading is taken from the wall using a Kill-A-Watt meter. The motherboard is the only variable that differs; all other components remain the same.

Beginning with idle power, the MSI MEG Z590 GODLIKE Gaming Motherboard drew 78W from the wall, the most of any board tested thus far. Load wattage reached at 283W, one of the highest figures we’ve recorded to far. This equates to 181W on average, the greatest power usage among all evaluated boards by over 10 Watts.