The MSI MEG X570 Godlike Motherboard Review: Thor's Flagship
by Gavin Bonshor on August 28, 2019 12:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
- AMD
- MSI
- 10G Ethernet
- Ryzen
- PCIe 4.0
- Ryzen 3000
- X570
- X570 Godlike
- MEG
Gaming Performance
For X570 we are running using Windows 10 64-bit with the 1903 update as per our Ryzen 3000 CPU review.
World of Tanks enCore
Albeit different to most of the other commonly played MMO or massively multiplayer online games, World of Tanks is set in the mid-20th century and allows players to take control of a range of military based armored vehicles. World of Tanks (WoT) is developed and published by Wargaming who are based in Belarus, with the game’s soundtrack being primarily composed by Belarusian composer Sergey Khmelevsky. The game offers multiple entry points including a free-to-play element as well as allowing players to pay a fee to open up more features. One of the most interesting things about this tank based MMO is that it achieved eSports status when it debuted at the World Cyber Games back in 2012.
World of Tanks enCore is a demo application for a new and unreleased graphics engine penned by the Wargaming development team. Over time the new core engine will implemented into the full game upgrading the games visuals with key elements such as improved water, flora, shadows, lighting as well as other objects such as buildings. The World of Tanks enCore demo app not only offers up insight into the impending game engine changes, but allows users to check system performance to see if the new engine run optimally on their system.
Grand Theft Auto V
The highly anticipated iteration of the Grand Theft Auto franchise hit the shelves on April 14th 2015, with both AMD and NVIDIA in tow to help optimize the title. GTA doesn’t provide graphical presets, but opens up the options to users and extends the boundaries by pushing even the hardest systems to the limit using Rockstar’s Advanced Game Engine under DirectX 11. Whether the user is flying high in the mountains with long draw distances or dealing with assorted trash in the city, when cranked up to maximum it creates stunning visuals but hard work for both the CPU and the GPU.
For our test we have scripted a version of the in-game benchmark. The in-game benchmark consists of five scenarios: four short panning shots with varying lighting and weather effects, and a fifth action sequence that lasts around 90 seconds. We use only the final part of the benchmark, which combines a flight scene in a jet followed by an inner city drive-by through several intersections followed by ramming a tanker that explodes, causing other cars to explode as well. This is a mix of distance rendering followed by a detailed near-rendering action sequence, and the title thankfully spits out frame time data.
F1 2018
Aside from keeping up-to-date on the Formula One world, F1 2017 added HDR support, which F1 2018 has maintained; otherwise, we should see any newer versions of Codemasters' EGO engine find its way into F1. Graphically demanding in its own right, F1 2018 keeps a useful racing-type graphics workload in our benchmarks.
Aside from keeping up-to-date on the Formula One world, F1 2017 added HDR support, which F1 2018 has maintained. We use the in-game benchmark, set to run on the Montreal track in the wet, driving as Lewis Hamilton from last place on the grid. Data is taken over a one-lap race.
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Oxford Guy - Thursday, August 29, 2019 - link
"As far as security issues they have both had their own issues over the years, although Intel has had a fair amount more."I don't think so. Intel's recent security track record is abysmal when compared with AMD's.
Qasar - Friday, August 30, 2019 - link
Sweetbabyjays the savings you are referring to for the MSI and Gigabyte boards, guess where it goes, the the HSF to cool that CPU, and remember, a 50 or 60 buck cooler, isnt going to cut it. you will need to get a mid high, to a high end cooler to keep that 9900k running at 4.8 ghz. and BTW... so what if the 9900k can hit 4.8 or 5 ghz.. big deal.. the Ryzen cpus are performing with in a few % of the intel equivent cpus while being 600+ MHz slower, all because the IPC is better then intels right now, once the ryzen cpus get their clocks higher, the gap, could flip flop... clock speed isnt the end all be all in performance, IPC is.. and AMD, for the time being, has the better IPC."
Then you say in another comment "they've won the performance and value games both at once." i never knew 10% less performance is better." it is when, again, the 10% deficit, is also at lower clocks compared it intel, as again.. IPC is better
Irata - Thursday, August 29, 2019 - link
First of all, there are many lower price options for X570.And to add to this, a high end Z390 motherboard is not cheaper - you can actually even spend more and if high Ghz is your aim, that is what you will need. Plus a high end ($$$) cooling solution.
Sweetbabyjays - Thursday, August 29, 2019 - link
True there are many X570 boards for cheaper, which in my opinion makes this board in particular, pointless. Spending $700 on an AM4 motherboard is in my opinion pure stupidity.The Z390 Godlike motherboard is available for $100 US cheaper. So a product for product comparison. Additionally, there are many other Silicon Lottery QVL Z390's that you can purchase for literally 1/3 of the price of this board. Furthermore, you can overclock a 9900k to 4.8 on pretty much any Z390/370 board.
If you're planning on getting your 3700x to 4.2GHz, you're not going to get there with a stock cooler, so you still need an expensive cooler.
AMD's main game is to be the value for money competitor, what i'm saying is a $700 motherboard at AM4 level literally takes that advantage and scrubs it. The only time that Zen 2 CPUs become the value option is when you need more than 8c/16t, or if you're going to go with an older AM4 chipset.
AshlayW - Thursday, August 29, 2019 - link
Then we both agree that this motherboard is pointless. It is, 700 bucks on this is a stupid thing, but when a decent X570 is 150-200 bucks, no problem. 3700X+X570 is hands down the better solution (read: also for gaming builds) than the 9900K+Z390 when all is considered.AMD doesn't have to be the "Value for money competitor" anymore, hon, they've won the performance and value games both at once. Ryzen is a premium brand now, and just happens to offer better value also. 3950X will render Intel's entire HEDT completely pointless, and 3900X already does half of it.
Sweetbabyjays - Thursday, August 29, 2019 - link
I totally agree that 3900x and 3950x really are the final nails in the X299 coffin.AshlayW - Thursday, August 29, 2019 - link
Or you could be a Smart consumer and get a B450 + Ryzen 9 3700X, for the same price as the 9900K alone, and have 90% the performance in every single scenario and having saved over a hundred dollars, considering you didn't have to buy the cooler, also? Oh, and the socket isn't dead-end and actually has an upgrade path.AshlayW - Thursday, August 29, 2019 - link
Ryzen 7*Sweetbabyjays - Thursday, August 29, 2019 - link
"B450 + Ryzen 7 3700X" I agree, this is a much more logical approach for most gamers and content creators on a budget.Oxford Guy - Thursday, August 29, 2019 - link
I'm also wondering why people ALWAYS push the 9900K instead of the 9700K to gamers, when 8 threads is enough for games and will be for long enough.