MSI motherboard launched the new UNIFY (Shadow) series last year, which is positioned equivalent to the God of War series. This year, Intel Z490 was released on the chipset, and MSI UNIFY series was not absent, bringing us the protagonist of this review: MSI MEG Z490I UNIFY. This is an ITX-sized small motherboard . The feature of the UNIFY series is that it is simple and unpretentious, and users who use ITX hosts rarely need fancy light effects, so the ITX host itself is also very consistent with the MSI UNIFY series.
MSI MEG Z490I UNIFY
1 MSI MEG Z490I UNIFY?
In order to facilitate everyone's reading, the author first tells you the characteristics and precautions of MSI MEG Z490I UNIFY motherboard. Users who are interested in performance testing can continue reading. Features of
: As the UNIFY of MSI's sub-flagship series, MSI MEG Z490I UNIFY has many special designs, such as onboard lightning three-interface, 8-phase power supply, WIFI 6 wireless network card, 2.5GB network port, dual M.2 interface and 10-layer PCB. It is hard to imagine that this is the function of an ITX motherboard.
MSI MEG Z490I UNIFY
Note: Due to the limitations of size, ITX motherboard cannot have the same expansion performance as standard ATX motherboard . Expanding as many functions as possible in a limited space is the usual difficulty of ITX motherboard. MSI MEG Z490I UNIFY is no exception. It is difficult to install this ITX platform.
Purchase suggestions: MSI MEG Z490I UNIFY is priced at 2999 yuan, that's right, this is an ITX motherboard worth 3000 yuan. ITX motherboards themselves are aimed at niche platforms, so they are usually more expensive than ATX motherboards. The functions and design of this motherboard are very powerful, so the price is even more expensive than some high-end ATX motherboards. This motherboard is suitable for users who want to create a high-end ITX platform. MSI MEG Z490I UNIFY is an on-board DP and HDMI video interface. ITX platform users who need to use high-end tenth generation Core core graphics are recommended to consider this motherboard.
1 MSI MEG Z490I UNIFY introduces
MSI MEG Z490I UNIFY inherits the light-free tradition of the UNIFY series. The overall motherboard adopts a low-key and deep black style, which also echoes the Chinese name Shadow of the UNIFY series.
MSI MEG Z490I UNIFY
MSI has provided eight-phase power supply to this ITX motherboard this time. Because it is a small board, it also requires effort to dissipate heat. MSI MEG Z490I UNIFY uses a 10-layer PCB design, and an aluminum metal radiator is used on the VRM cooling armor above the I/O area, and a high-quality thermal pad is also required to be used above the MOSFET. In addition, MSI MEG Z490I UNIFY is also equipped with a frost turbine cooling system, and the VRM cooling armor provides an additional small fan to assist in cooling. Such a cooling system can ensure that the power supply can be fully released under high load of the tenth generation Core.
MSI MEG Z490I UNIFY
memory slots, because MSI MEG Z490I UNIFY is an ITX motherboard, only two memory slots are prepared. However, this depends on the speed of the two memory slots up to 5000MHz (OC) frequency and supports dual channels. Due to memory wiring, ITX motherboards usually have a easier memory overclocking than ATX motherboards.
memory slot
graphics card slot, MSI MEG X570 UNIFY has a PCIe 4.0 long slot and is equipped with metal protective armor to prevent accidental damage caused by graphics card plugging and unplugging.
graphics card slot
over MSI MEG X570 UNIFY has prepared two M.2 slots this time, one is under the armor on the graphics card slot and the other is located on the back of the motherboard.
M.2 slot
Although it is an ITX motherboard, the I/O area interface of MEG X570 UNIFY is still very rich. It has a USB 3.2 Gen1 10bps Type A interface, a Thunderbolt three-Type C interface, two USB 2.0 interfaces and two USB 3.2 Gen1 5bps Type A interface. In addition to these USB interfaces, this model also has an HDMI and a DP interface, as well as regular 5 audio interfaces in the I/O area.
I/O
In order to ensure the quality of network connection, MSI has also put a lot of effort into choosing network card and used WIFI wireless network card. And an antenna for enhancing the signal is prepared.In terms of conventional network cards, this motherboard uses the Realtek 8125B 2.5G LAN interface, providing a low-latency Internet access experience.
WIFI 6 Enhanced Antenna
This motherboard provides 4 SATA interfaces, located next to the motherboard memory slot. On the
SATA interface
power supply interface, MSI MEG X570 UNIFY provides a single 8pin interface, which is enough to meet the needs of the high-end tenth generation Core processor .
8pin interface
MEG X570 UNIFY audio interface is not simple either, and it uses the current flagship ALC 1220 sound card chip.
MEG Z490I UNIFY
3 Performance Test
Next we start the performance test, first introduce the test platform:
Test platform
This time the test processor uses Intel Core i7-10700K, which is a high-end processor second only to the tenth generation Core i9. During the test, we will conduct CPU theoretical test, file compression test, productivity test, 3D MARK test, and game test. Let’s first look at the results of CPU theoretical tests.
CPU theory test
We first tested two versions of CINEBENCH R20 and CINEBENCH R15, which can test the single-core and multi-core performance of the processor.
CINEBENCH R15
CINEBENCH R20
Intel Core i7-10700K performed well in this test. With the support of MSI MEG Z490I UNIFY motherboard, the single-core score of CINEBENCH R20 even reached 528 points, and the processor performance was fully released.
productivity test
Next we start testing productivity. This time we will use X264 test using video decoding class and POV-Ray for rendering class for testing.
X264
POV-Ray single-threaded
POV-Ray multi-threaded
In the test of productivity, the frequency core threads of the processor are required to fully exert their power, and the combination of Intel Core i7-10700K and MSI MEG Z490I UNIFY shows us this point, and performs well in the tests of these productivity software. Although MSI MEG Z490I UNIFY is an ITX small board, it can also form a productivity platform with good performance with high-end tenth generation Core processors.
file compression test
This time we will use WinRAR and 7-Zip to test.
7-Zip
WinRAR
file compression capability is also an application for CPU multi-threading. Generally speaking, compression and decompression operations can call all the CPU threads, which can reflect the overall performance of the processor. It can also be regarded as a multi-core test. It is also a common daily application software. Intel Core i7-10700K performs very well in WinRAR and 7-Zip.
D MARK
Next we use FireStrike in 3D MARK and Time Spy to test the physical performance of the processor.
Time Spy
FireStrike
Physical performance is an important performance indicator of the CPU and can affect the performance of the graphics capabilities of the entire machine. The quality of physical performance depends on the core architecture, core number, frequency and other factors of the processor. In the stable operating environment provided by MSI MEG Z490I UNIFY motherboard, the performance of Intel Core i7-10700K has been fully released.
game test
Finally, we conducted a popular game test. We chose three masterpieces of "Tomb Raider: Shadow", "Far Cry 5" and " Red Dead Redemption 2" and the old FPS game "CS:GO", with a resolution of 1080P. In addition to "CS:GO" self-made BENCHMARK for players, we all use the game's own BENCHMARK for testing.
"CS:GO"
"Red Dead Redemption 2"
"Tomb Raider: Shadow"
"Red Dead Redemption 2"
on MSI MEG Z490I UNIFY motherboard, Core i7-10700K and RTX The performance of 2080Ti has been fully released, and the performance of high-end gaming platforms should be achieved. In the test of BENCHMARK's "CS:GO", the frame rate is more than 570 frames. You don't have to worry about the frame rate of the game at all. You just need to pair it with a high refresh rate monitor to experience the gaming pleasure brought by the super high frame rate.
4 Summary
MEG Z490I UNIFY is currently priced at 2,999 yuan on JD.com, which is not cheap. It is suitable for matching with the same high-end tenth-generation Core processor. It is also best to use a graphics card with RTX graphics card. If you really want to build a small host, remember to grasp the size of the graphics card and heatsink that are compatible with hardware that are prone to problems.
MSI MEG Z490I UNIFY features powerful memory overclocking capabilities. Through the special wiring layout, the memory frequency of this motherboard can meet the limits of overclocking enthusiasts. For ordinary game users, memory overclocking can also further improve the game's frame rate performance and obtain a smoother gaming experience.
MSI MEG Z490I UNIFY
For an ITX motherboard, MSI MEG Z490I UNIFY is actually a bit too powerful, but this motherboard is obviously not aimed at ordinary hardware enthusiasts, but provides support for hardware enthusiasts who have high-performance demand for ITX hosts. It provides Thunderbolt three interfaces and high-end motherboards such as WIFI6 network cards and ALC 1220 sound cards to provide better support for the users needed. During the test, we can also see that this motherboard has strong performance, and there are no problems with various tests. Testing with other powerful hardware can also ensure stable operation of the entire machine at high load.
In general, MSI MEG Z490I UNIFY is qualified as the soul of an ITX host or the high-end motherboard of ordinary hosts. You can use it to create a powerful low-power core graphics platform, or use the tenth-generation Core and RTX graphics cards to create a high-end gaming platform. MSI MEG Z490I UNIFY has flexible and diverse usage methods, which can meet the needs of various users.
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