Published: August 13, 2018 | Source: MSI | Author: Tom Logan

MSI MEG X399 Creation and Threadripper 2990WX Review

Conclusion

The MSI range normally topped out at either the Titanium or the XPOWER, depending upon how old you are and which particular chipset you choose.

With the introduction of the MEG X399 Creation MSI have taken all they have learnt with recent Carbon models and ones in their Dragon Gaming range and combined them with the high end components that one has come to expect from their enthusiast based offerings. What we have ended up with is a model which ticks off every item on a modern motherboard check list. There are more than enough storage connectors – three M.2 and eight SATA and that’s without counting the extra four M.2 ports in the breakout box – to handle even the most intensive hoarder of digital media. Equally with fifteen USB 3.1 ports and umpteen internal headers you can own nearly all the peripherals on the planet and not run out of places to insert them. If you’re the type of person who streams their gaming activities on Twitch and needs controller ports, microphone ports, speakers, headphones, lighting, camera and all the other detritus that forms part of a stream with scarecam, the MEG has you covered.

If you want the internals of your case to look as good and be as cool as the hardware then you’re also well catered for. The MEG X399 Creation has the MSI Mystic Lighting RGB system bring multi-hued wonderment to your internals, whilst there are ten PWM headers to ensure you’re able to run a 360mm radiator and still have plenty of case fans to keep airflow at a maximum. As you can see from our VRM Graph the importance of airflow cannot be overstated. The 2990WX is a thirsty processor and, brilliant though the MSI power phase design is, any temperature reduction has significant benefits to the lifespan and capabilities of your system. When you’re spending this much on a setup it would be foolhardy to scrimp on cooling just to save a couple of quid.

To be honest we’re still giddy from our testing of the latest 2nd Generation Ryzen Threadripper CPUs. With the 2950X and 2990WX so fresh in our mind, and only two motherboards tested with this particular processor, it is difficult to be completely unemotional about things. Yes there might be a tiny percentage point here or there to choose between the MEG X399 Creation and the Zenith Extreme, but it’s very difficult to look at those fractions and objectively suggest one is better than the other. Unless you talk about VRM temperatures because the MSI is in another league and the extra effort that they went to to redesign the board with the 32c product in mind shows through here and makes Asus’ adding another fan look positively lazy. All we end up thinking is how insane the performance from both of them at stock is, and that if you’re buying the Threadripper 2990WX then half a percent here and there wont really affect your happiness given how many tens of percent it’s better than any other desktop setup on the market.

With an excellent design, great overclocking potential and not a single area that has been compromised in the sake of a tiny price reduction, no noisey, small crappy add on fans in sight the MSI MEG X399 Creation is a serious motherboard for those with serious requirements and wins our OC3D Ultimate Award.

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