MSI MPG Z390 Gaming Edge AC
Price-smart performance
THE MPG Z390 Gaming Edge AC falls at the less expensive end of the motherboards we tend to review, but it’s no less impressive for it. Initial examination had us hopeful—despite it only being a standard ATX size, MSI has worked hard to cram a lot of features on to this board. Designed to support eight and ninthgeneration Intel Core CPUs, the Edge AC comes with a veritable slew of ports and pins, meaning it’s more than capable of carrying a high-end build, despite costing less than two hundred dollars.
MSI is a trusted household name when it comes to PC building, so its products come with a certain expectation of quality. Thankfully, this Z390 doesn’t disappoint; it might not crack the overall performance of some motherboards, but it can keep up with boards almost twice its price. Even while running Prime95 to heavily stress the processor, this board only drew a maximum of 148W of power. Other benchmarks came back identical to tests with more expensive boards, which was satisfying to see.
Statistics only tell half the story, though, so we turn to the physical board itself. The true judge of a mobo is the variety of its features, and this Z390 is fully loaded. The rear I/O comes equipped not just with standard USB 3.1 ports, but also a USB Type-C connector, along with both HDMI and DisplayPort cables for those looking to use integrated graphics. Beyond that, there’s the usual selection of audio ports, and support for a few older formats, such as the faithful PS/2 port.
CLOCK-WATCHING
On the main body of the board, there’s another wealth of connectors. The standard eight-pin CPU power connector is joined by a supplementary four-pin connector, for supplying extra power to the processor to improve overclocking potential. This isn’t a board for hardcore overclockers, but if you’re inclined to squeeze a bit more power from your rig, it should have you covered. The (fairly ugly) BIOS comes with a function called Game Boost, which automatically shunts your CPU up a few megahertz, but doesn’t push its limits. Proper overclocking is possible, but we struggled to get a stable overclock of more than 5.0GHz out of our Core i7-8700K processor.
For more esoteric builds, there are three types of lighting connectors: two standard four-pin RGB LED ones, joined by a three-pin rainbow LED connector, and a three-pin specialized connector for Corsair LEDs. The Z390 comes with its own RGB lighting, although it’s a fairly simple affair. Being an MSI product, though, it does come with the company’s Mystic Light software, which allows for some flashy arrangements with compatible hardware. Elsewhere, we’ve got support for five system fans, a water pump for liquid-cooled builds, even a TPM module. If you’re craving speedy data transfers, the Z390 can be fitted with a Thunderbolt add-on card, too. While this board does come with some heat spreaders, there’s no integrated heatsinks for the two M.2 drive slots, which feels like a missed opportunity.
Audio is a pretty big deal with this mobo. It features Audio Boost 4, which includes a high-definition audio processor, amplifiers, and capacitors, all of which is isolated from the main board circuitry to improve audio signal. This is powered by Nahimic audio software. MSI’s marketing material purports that Audio Boost 4 functions like a dedicated soundcard, and while this doesn’t quite ring true in practice, it’s a good feature.
When we look at this board, it doesn’t make our hearts sing with excitement, but it is still very good. It can prop up far more expensive components with ease, and its sensible price point means that it represents a solid starter motherboard for those building an Intel system for the first time. Wi-Fi compatibility is a nice bonus, too, although any serious user is likely to have this plugged in via Ethernet. When it comes down to it, we have no qualms giving the MPG Z390 a hearty recommendation. –CHRISTIAN GUYTON
VERDICT 9 MSI MPG Z390 Gaming Edge AC
LOOKING SHARP Fully equipped rear I/O; low power draw; good integrated audio; plenty of connectors.
CLIFF EDGE No heatsinks for M.2 drives; BIOS is hard to navigate; weak at overclocking.
$190, http://us.msi.com