MSI Z590-A Pro Overview

MSI Z590-A Pro Overview

Introduction

With the launch of the B560 chipset from Intel there has been a lot of discussion about how expensive the Z590 chipset is in relation to its stablemate, and whether the Z590 even has a place in the future.

Whilst we agree that many of the Z590 motherboards seem to be priced a little high once we had clapped our eyes on the B560, nonetheless there are always things that the full chipset can do which the cut-down version can’t. Anyone who spent any time comparing the AMD X570 and B550 motherboards will know what we mean, and the situation is similar in the Intel camp.

Going with the Z590, even a very affordable one, brings you a small amount of futureproofing – manufacturers always update their main products first for any CPU revisions – and also the knowledge you’re getting the uncut chipset controlling all your PCI Express lanes and USB bandwidth.

The MSI Z590-A Pro clearly takes inspiration from the majority of B560 motherboards in its pricing, rocking up at retail at the scarcely believable price of £169. We know that the previous range of MSI Pro motherboards had a lot of bad blood in the community, lessons MSI learned and applied to their Tomahawk range. These have been carried on into the Z590-A Pro, which gives you the full Z590 experience without breaking the bank. If you’ve had your eye on one of the hugely impressive Intel Core i5 Rocket Lake processors then this could be the very platform upon which to build your gaming exploits without busting the budget. Let’s take a look.

Technical Specifications

Obviously at this price you’re not going to have a motherboard with thousands of accessories and niche technologies in place. With the move away from multi-GPU setups though we don’t really need more than a single PCIe 4.0 slot, nor have most of us got the money to have more than a single NVMe Gen4 M.2 drive. Certainly if you’re seeking a motherboard at a sub-£200 price point it’s unlikely you’ve got an 4TB M.2. So in terms of a product which can do all that we require of it – PCIe 4.0 NMVe and GPU alongside fast USB ports – the MSI Z590-A Pro ticks all the important boxes.

MSI Z590-A Pro Overview Â