MSI MEG Z890 Ace Preview
Introduction
Introduction
It can’t have escaped your notice, because post about it all the time, that there are some new Intel Processors on the horizon. As befits the Intel way of doing hardware it comes with a new socket, and new sockets mean new chipsets. We hope you saved up over the summer.
Naturally if the idea of a new Intel Arrow Lake Ultra CPU piques your interest then you’ll need a LGA1851 socket in which to fit it. We’ve got a whole office full of them at the moment, and we know how you all enjoy a change to pore over the details. Or just get a glimpse of the next thing you’ll be aching for. With the Z890 chipsets we thankfully aren’t seeing a huge shift in either bandwidth options nor the general way a motherboard is built. We love the Z790 ones and don’t really feel they are missing too much. Although the AMD X870E ones we’ve recently reviewed show what exists on the cutting edge.
All of which brings us to the first motherboard preview pair we have for you today, along with the Intel Ultra 200S CPUs themselves, and that’s the MSI MEG Z890 Ace. As part of the MSI MEG range we already know it’s going to be at the upper echelon of their range. A quick look at the motherboard itself shows the swathe of options you have. So without further ado let’s get down to business.
Naturally there are our usual caveats about pre-launch information being kept close to the chest, but you can read between the lines. We have an intelligent readership. We’ll do our best with what is on hand.
Z890 Chipset Overview
At the time of writing we haven’t yet got the motherboard specifics, although we know a fair amount about the processors. However, Intel have released a lot of information about the new Z890 chipset in more general terms. Primarily this is very similar to the already excellent Z790 chipset. A lot of the Intel claims are about WiFi 7 and Thunderbolt 4, both things we know existed on the Z790. Certainly the MSI MEG Z790 Ace Max. Perhaps there is more than meets the eye. Perhaps once the motherboard manufacturers have stopped being so coy we’ll know more clearly what we’re playing with.
However, if the Z890 chipset overall doesn’t seem like a massive change, the overclocking certainly has been. Giving the user significantly more granular control of their core clock and voltages is just the start. The AI heavy leanings on the new Arrow Lake CPUs probably go someway towards explaining how much of these new enhancements are automated. We’re not going to debate the semantics of machines following heuristics vs genuine artificial intelligence. Suffice to say if you really like overclocking, the new Intel lineup could be right up your alley.
