The Intel Z490 Overview: 44+ Motherboards Examined
by Gavin Bonshor on April 30, 2020 10:00 AM ESTMSI MPG Z490 Gaming Edge WIFI
Still aimed at gamers, the MSI MPG Z490 Gaming Edge WIFI sits below the Z490 Gaming Carbon WIFI with less overall features, but still has plenty for gamers to sink their teeth into. Some of the primary features include two PCIe 3.0 x4 slots and six SATA ports, with an Intel Wi-Fi 6 wireless interface, a single Realtek 2.5 G Ethernet port, and four memory slots with support for up to DDR4-4800.
With a design reminiscent of the Z490 Gaming Carbon WIFI, but without the carbon, the MSI Z490 Gaming Edge WIFI has a consistent and subtle theme throughout with black heatsinks, and a black and grey accented PCB. This board does have integrated RGB LEDs for those looking to add some flair, with one zone located underneath the chipset heatsink. On the board is two full-length PCIe 3.0 slots which run at x16+4, and two PCIe 3.0 x1 slots. For storage is two PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 slots, with the top slot featuring a heatsink. There are also six SATA ports supporting RAID 0, 1, 5 and 10 arrays. A total of four memory slots are present with support for up to DDR4-4800 memory, with a maximum capacity of up to 128 GB.
On the rear panel is one USB 3.2 G2 20 Gbps Type-C, one USB 3.2 G2 10 Gbps Type-A, four USB 3.2 G1 Type-A, and two USB 2.0 ports. Powering the five 3.5 mm audio jacks and S/PDIF optical output is a Realtek ALC1220 HD audio codec, while the single Ethernet port is powered by a Realtek RTL8125B 2.5 G controller. The board does include Wi-Fi 6 support through an Intel AX201 wireless interface, which also adds support for BT 5.1 devices. Finishing off the rear panel is a single PS/2 combo port for users looking to use older generation keyboard and mice, with an HDMI and DisplayPort video output offering integrated graphics support.
The MSI MPG Z490 Gaming Edge WIFI looks to be a highly competitive option for users looking to build a single GPU based gaming system. It has plenty of features with 2.5 G Ethernet becoming the go-to choice in the midrange, with MSI cutting down the price on things like a third full-length PCIe 3.0 slot, and giving gamers a choice within its own range. MSI hasn't provided any pricing information at this time.
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DanNeely - Thursday, April 30, 2020 - link
I really hate when new articles are inserted below the lead spot because it's hit or miss if I ever notice them. I missed this one during several visits to the site and only found it when Google suggested it in response to a search I made.Jedibeeftrix - Friday, May 1, 2020 - link
agreed, i found this by accident, and check AT twice or more a day.sunshinerevans55 - Sunday, May 3, 2020 - link
I basically make about $12,000-$18,000 a month online. It’s enough to comfortably replace my I was amazed how easy it was after I tried it . This is what I’ve been doing old jobs income, especially considering I only work about 10-13 hours a week from home… www.iⅭash68.ⅭomYB1064 - Monday, May 4, 2020 - link
This must have taken some writing. Kudos to the author(s). A good one stop article for anybody planning on going the Intel route. Intel seem to be adept at packaging old milk (not wine) in a new bottle. At least increase the number of PCIe lanes...boozed - Monday, May 4, 2020 - link
I recommend using the RSS feed, then you get everything and you get it chronologically.Exodite - Wednesday, May 6, 2020 - link
+1 on RSS!The "magazine layout" that plagues many sites and makes it impossible to distinguish between old articles, new articles and commercials can thankfully still be avoided through RSS.
Wardrop - Friday, May 1, 2020 - link
Funny that ASRock are the only manufacturers to have a mATX X570 motherboard for AMD's platform, yet for Intel they're the only one's NOT to have a mATX motherboard.Beaver M. - Saturday, May 2, 2020 - link
You mean they are relevant again, because they have fixed their stereotypical USB issues?Marlin1975 - Friday, May 1, 2020 - link
So in other words a re-spin of previous chipset with little to no real useful extra features but will require a new board. Classic intel. This is one of many reasons my last system was Intel and my new system is AMD now.Unless you are a intel fanboy why keep supporting this?
regsEx - Friday, May 1, 2020 - link
New networking controllers, support for PCIe 4 CPUs (RKL-S that will be released in future).Some boards also have USB Gen 2x2 support with external ASMedia controller. I know no any X570 board with USB Gen 2x2 support. Only Gen 2x1.