The MSI MEG Z690 ACE is therefore a high-end motherboard intended in part for overclockers with competition VRMs: 19+1+2 phases at 105 A, excellent heatsinks, an LED display and even two BIOSes. But also to professionals by acquiring two Ethernet ports and a very complete Thunderbolt connection. It is a card in E-ATX format and not in ATX format, so it will not adapt to all cases. Pay attention!
Read more @ CowcotLand (French)
With the MEG Godlike, a limited-edition motherboard that requires a personal invite from MSI, the Z690 Ace has become the “hot and ready” platform for consumers wanting a top-end motherboard from MSI. The MEG Z690 Ace doesn’t disappoint with its hardware or aesthetics. Like last year’s Z590 platform, this year’s Ace continues with the black and gold theme devoid of any onboard RGB, perfect for consumers who like minimalist builds.
Read more @ TweakTown
The flagship motherboard should have a lot of modern interfaces. Not the fact that all of them will be useful to the user, but you need to match the status. And lovers of everything exclusive and expensive out of habit choose Intel. A new round of evolution, known as the LGA 1700, turned out to be strange. However, reasonable people realized that it is physically impossible to squeeze even more out of the 14 nm process technology. And the Intel platform was able to compete on equal terms with AMD Ryzen 5000 processors.
Read more @ Overclockers Russia (Russian)
We are back with another Z690 motherboard review and this one comes from MSI and might be one of the best Z690 boards we’ve seen yet! It is the MEG Z690 ACE and it has everything that you would expect to find on the Alder Lake platform plus much more! You are going to get a 22-phase (19+1+2) power design, DDR5 and PCI-Express 5.0 support, Thunderbolt 4, USB 3.2 gen 2×2, five M.2 slots, WiFi 6E, dual 2.5G LAN, and lets not forget a very sleek and sexy look with mainly a black design with gold accents.
Read more @ ThinkComputers
Of all the Z690 chipset motherboards we’ve come across since Intel launched its 12th Gen Core processors, the MSI MEG Z690 ACE is probably one of the most interesting Z690 motherboards around. Featuring its well-known black and gold color theme, the MEG Z690 ACE doesn’t just come in an E-ATX form factor – it also packs quite a lot of features that you can really expect on a premium tier Z690 motherboard.
Read more @ Tech Critter
Although we started working with the DDR5 version ourselves, it appears that it is hardly for sale in the Netherlands, while the DDR4 variant is readily available, normally for just under 200 euros. Exactly the same board in every way, but with DDR4 memory support which just makes more sense at the moment. Now 200 euros still seems like quite a lot of money for a motherboard if you haven’t built a new PC for a while, but in 2022 that is about the starting point for a decent middle-class board.
Read more @ Tech Testers (Dutch)
The MSI MEG Z690 ACE supports the twelfth generation Intel processors using the LGA 1700 socket. The board boasts a 22-phase (19+1+2) VRMS to handle the power requirements of the flagship 24-thread Intel Core i9-12900K. To cool the VRM, MSI uses two large milled aluminum heat sinks connected with a heat pipe. We have 7 W/mK thermal pads on the MOSFETs and the chokes to ensure good contact and heat dissipation.
Read more @ Overclockers
We had already tested the MEG Z690 UNIFY (Hardwareluxx test) from MSI’s Enthusiast Gaming mainboard series with Intel’s Z690 chipset , which once again boasts strong features in pure black without fairground lighting. The MEG Z690 ACE goes one step further. Not only was an audio codec that is better on paper installed, but also Intel’s JHL8540 Thunderbolt 4 controller, which can transfer data particularly quickly at 40 GBit/s in Thunderbolt mode. And surprisingly, MSI dropped onboard RGB LED lighting from the MEG Z690 ACE.
Read more @ Hardwareluxx (German)
Pushing Alder Lake’s flagship processors to their limits will require more than just a bit of luck, you’ll also need efficient cooling and, of course, a high-end motherboard. A reinforced 22-phase power subsystem, a serious cooling system, readiness to work at low temperatures, as well as a huge body kit that the EATX form factor required for itself. And all this in MSI MEG Z690 Ace.
Read more @ Overclockers Ukraine (Russian)
Something unusual is the inclusion of a backplate, plus MSI takes advantage of being aluminum to incorporate thermalpads and thus cool the VRM. Although it is true that I expected more lighting effects, this has come to nothing for this model, very serious in appearance. To compensate, we have different ports between ARGB, RGB and Corsair, thus being able to add lighting components and further customize our equipment.
Read more @ NewEsc (Spanish)