MSI MEG Z690 UNIFY Motherboard Review

Peter Donnell / 3 years ago

Last week I brought you a preview of the gorgeous MSI MEG Z690 UNIFY motherboard. However, today is a much more fun day, as it’s finally released to the public, which means we can talk about performance! We already know this is a very high-end motherboard, perhaps not the flagship, but it’s certainly very high ranking with a lot of great features. Of course, a lot of those features are new for Intel fans, some of them have been available to AMD users for some time now too, so it’s partly playing catch up, but also pushing things to the next level. There’s PCIe 5.0, Gen4 M.2 storage, DDR5 memory, WiFi 6, and more available from the new Z690 chipset and the latest 12th Gen Intel CPUs.

MSI MEG Z690 UNIFY

It’s certainly well equipped and comes with a suite of features to get the best performance from the new range of CPUs. There’s a 19+2 Phase design with 105A Power Stage, combined with massive heatsinks and armoured hardware to ensure the best performance. There are five M.2 mounts, all supporting PCIe Gen 4, and some large double-sided Shield Frozr coolers for those too. There’s a pair of PCIe 5.0 slots too, giving you impressive future-proofing. If that’s not enough, there’s the latest Intel WiFi 6, combined with dual 2.5 GbE LAN ports for versatile networking, a plethora of the latest USB ports, including 3.2 Gen 2×2, and the latest ALC4080 audio chipset.

Features

Supports 12th Gen Intel^® Core™ / Pentium^® Celeron^® processors for LGA 1700 socket
Supports DDR5 Memory, Dual Channel DDR5-6666+MHz(OC)
Latest DDR5 Memory: A huge step of DDR performance enhancement with the latest DDR5 memory. Combines with dedicated SMT welding process and MSI Memory Boost technology, it is ready to deliver the world class memory performance.
Quintuple M.2 Connectors: Onboard 5x M.2 connectors for the maximum storage performance with quad Lightning Gen 4 solution. Double-sided Shield Frozr design keeps M.2 SSDs safe while preventing throttling, making them run faster.
Extreme Power Design: Premium digital PWM, direct 19+2 phases with 105A Smart Power Stage, Titanium Choke III and dual CPU power connectors to unleash the true power of your processors.
Outstanding Cooling Solution: Aluminum Cover, VRM Heat-pipe, 7W/mK thermal pads, Double-sided M.2 Shield Frozr and Aluminum Backplate ensure the extreme performance with low temp.
Dual 2.5G LAN with latest Wi-Fi 6E: Onboard dual 2.5G LAN with LAN manager and latest Wi-Fi 6E solution which supports 6GHz spectrum delivering the best online gaming experience.
Lightning Fast Game experience: PCIe 5.0 slots, Lightning Gen 4 x4 M.2, Front & Rear USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 20G.
8 Layer Server Grade PCB with 2oz Thickened Copper: Provides higher performance and long-lasting system stability without any compromise.
Audio Boost 5: Isolated audio with a high quality ALC4080 audio processor & amp for the most immersive gaming experience.

For in-depth specifications, please visit the official MSI MEG Z690 UNIFY product page here.