MSI MEG Z490 Godlike, Intel Z490 motherboard - socket 1200 [7C70-005R]

Since the "Comet Lake-S" processors require a new socket due to the optimized power supply, the Intel series LGA1200 socket is used on the 400 series mainboards. Despite the increased number of pins, the actual size of the socket remains identical to older sockets, so that CPU coolers for socket LGA 115x can also be mounted on the mainboard.

The features of the MSI MEG Z490 Godlike motherboard at a glance:
- 3x PCIe (3.0) x16 and 1x PCIe (3.0) x1
- 5x USB 3.1 (2x Type A, 2x Thunderbolt 3 / 1x header)
- A total of 8x USB 3.0 and 6x USB 2.0 (internal & external)
- 3x M.2 (PCIe 3.0 x4) / 6x SATA 6G
- Supports max. 128 GB DDR4 RAM up to 5,000 MHz
- Integrated RGB LED lighting with RGB LED headers and OLED display
- With integrated WiFi and Bluetooth module
- Dual LAN with fast 10 Gbit LAN & 2.5 Gbit LAN
- Including MSI M.2 XPANDER-Z Gen4 expansion card

The MSI MEG Z490 Godlike in detail
The MSI MEG Z490 Godlike is a mainboard in the E-ATX form factor and offers three PCIe-x16 slots for plug-in and expansion cards, two of which are directly connected to the processor. The third PCIe-x16 slot is connected to the chipset. A PCIe x1 slot is also provided. As a high-end mainboard, the MSI MEG Z490 Godlike also supports multi-GPU setups via NVIDIA SLI / NVLink and AMD Crossfire / XDMA.

Other features of the mainboard also include a striking cooler design and integrated RGB LED lighting with a configurable OLED display. Additional RGB LED components can be connected and controlled via a 4-pin RGB header (12V) and two digitally addressable 3-pin RGB headers (5V), provided they are compatible with the RGB software of the mainboard. In addition, the MSI MEG Z490 Godlike offers a JCORSAIR header (3-pin / 5V) with which compatible RGB products from Corsair can be controlled and synchronized.

RAM and drives
Up to 128 GB DDR4 RAM in dual-channel mode can be used in the four DIMM slots. The Z490 chipset supports clock rates of up to 2,933 MHz, but the MSI MEG Z490 Godlike enables the operation of RAM kits with up to 5,000 MHz using OC!

For drives, the MSI MEG Z490 Godlike offers three M.2 slots and six SATA 6G connectors. The M.2 slots support the NVMe protocol, which enables data transfer rates of just under 4 GB / s. This means that M.2 PCIe SSDs are up to eight times faster than SATA 6G SSDs! The included MSI M.2 XPANDER-Z Gen4 S expansion card offers two additional M.2 slots with active cooling for the SSDs.

External connections
The MSI MEG Z490 Godlike has two Thunderbolt 3 ports on the I / O panel. The USB-C identical sockets are particularly thin and plugs can be inserted on both sides. Thunderbolt 3 offers enormous transmission speeds of up to 40 Gbit / s and enables the connection of external PCI Express devices, such as graphics cards or NVMe SSDs. Thunderbolt 3 also supports USB 3.1 or USB 3.2 Gen 2 with maximum speeds of 10 Gbit / s.

In addition to two USB 3.1 ports and four USB 3.0 ports of type A, the board also offers two USB 2.0 ports and a PS / 2 port for mouse or keyboard, as well as one Clear CMOS and one Flash BIOS Button. The MSI MEG Z490 Godlike offers dual LAN with 10 Gbit / s (Aquantia AQC107) and 2.5 Gbit / s (Realtek 8125B) as well as WLAN 802.11ax and Bluetooth 5.1 (Intel AX201).

When it comes to audio, the manufacturer relies on the Realtek ALC1220 audio codec with ESS E9018 DAC. This provides a total of five 3.5 millimeter jack sockets and an optical S / PDIF output on the I / O panel and supports 7.1 surround sound. Internally, the mainboard provides a large selection of connections and headers.

Overclocking features
The MSI MEG Z490 Godlike offers a total of ten 4-pin PWM connections for fans and / or pumps on the main board. In addition, two temperature sensors and a flow sensor can be connected. For the power supply, there is a 24-pin ATX connector, two 8-pin ATX connectors and an additional 6-pin PCIe connector on the mainboard.

Overclockers are also pleased about the extensive power supply with 16 + 1 + 1 phases including a 90 amp amplifier, which is equipped with solid heat sinks. The expansion and RAM slots are reinforced to counteract wear and tear under frequent use, for example when the mainboard is used in test systems and benchtables. There is a start and reset button on the board and an LED segment display helps with error analysis. The PCH is passively cooled and the back of the mainboard is reinforced with a solid aluminum backplate.

Compatible only with 10th generation Intel CPUs!

Technical details:
Format:
- E-ATX (305 x 277 mm)
- Chipset:
- Intel Z490
- Base:
- 1200 (for 10th-generation Intel CPUs)
- R.A.M:
- 4x DDR4 (2,933 MHz, up to 5,000 MHz using OC)
- Dual channel
- 128 GB max
- Slots (physical):
- 3x PCIe 3.0 x16 (x16 / x0 / x4 or x8 / x8 / x4)
- 1x PCIe 3.0 x1
- Compatible multi-VGA configurations: 2-way SLI (quad-GPU), 3-way CrossFireX (quad-GPU)
Internal connections:
- 6x SATA 6G
- 2x M.2 (PCIe 3.0 x4, 2242-22110)
- 1x M.2 (PCIe 3.0 x4, 2242-2280)
- 1x USB 3.1 Type C (USB 3.2 Gen. 2, max. 10 Gbit / s, one header)
- 4x USB 3.0 (USB 3.2 Gen. 1, max. 5 Gbit / s, two headers)
- 4x USB 2.0 (two headers)
- 1x front panel connector
- 1x front panel audio connector
- 1x W_Flow header (3-pin)
- 1x TPM header
- 1x chassis intrusion header
- 2x temperature sensor header (2-pin)
- 1x BIOS switch
 -1x power button

Fan header:
- 1x CPU fan (4-pin PWM)
- 1x water cooling / CPU fan (4-pin PWM)
- 8x case fan (4-pin PWM)
- RGB header:
- 1x 4-pin RGB header (12V)
- 2x 3-pin A-RGB header (5V)
- 1x 3-pin JCORAIR (5V)
External connections:
- 1x PS / 2 (keyboard / mouse)
- 2x Thunderbolt 3 (max. 40 Gbit / s & USB 3.2 Gen. 2 type C, max. 10 Gbit / s)
- 2x USB 3.1 (type A, max. 10 Gbit / s)
- 4x USB 3.0 (type A, max. 5 Gbit / s)
- 2x USB 2.0
- 1x 10 Gigabit LAN (Aquantia AQC107)
- 1x 2.5 gigabit LAN (Realtek 8125B)
- 2x WLAN antenna (Intel AX201, 802.11ax / BT 5.1)
- 5x 3.5 mm jack (Realtek ALC1220 with ESS E9018 DAC)
- 1x optical S / PDIF
- 1x flash BIOS button
- 1x Clear CMOS button
- Power supply:
- 1x 24-pin ATX
- 2x 8-pin 12V
- 1x 6-pin PCIe
Scope of delivery:
- 1x mainboard
- 1x M.2 XPANDER-Z GEN4 S expansion card
- 1x WLAN antenna
- 1x Metal Dragon badge
- 1x USB stick with drivers
- 1x bag for accessories
- 2x thermal sensor cable
- 1x CORSAIR RGB LED extension cable
- 1x 3-pin RGB LED extension cable
- 1x 4-pin RGB-Y cable (1 to 2)
- 3x SATA data cable 1x MSI product catalog
- 1x promo postcard
- 1x quick start guide
- 1x instruction manual
- 1x postcard for product registration
- 1x GODLIKE Quick Guide