The MSI MEG Z890 UNIFY-X is a high-end Intel Z890 motherboard offering targeted at PC hardware enthusiasts who intend to overclock their Intel Core Ultra 200S series processors.

On 10 October 2024, Intel officially announced its next-gen Core Ultra 200S series processors (codenamed "Arrow Lake-S") and the accompanying Z890 chipset. As the successor to Intel's 14th Generation "Raptor Lake Refresh", could "Arrow Lake-S" be just what Intel needs to fend off the onslaught from AMD's Ryzen 9000 and 7000 series of processors?

In the lead-up to the Core Ultra 200S's availability at retail, likely by the end of this month (October 2024), ALKtech takes a look at a high-end Intel Z890 motherboard by MSI that is targeted at consumers intending to overclock their Core Ultra 200S PCs - the MEG Z890 UNIFY-X. Sporting features such as a beefy VRM setup with 110A power phases, overclocker-friendly features such as MSI's Tuning Controller module, PCIe Gen 5 support for a graphics card and M.2 drives, a supplemental PCIe power connector on the motherboard, 5 Gigabit Ethernet with WIFI 7 support and so on, read on to learn more about this motherboard!

Summary of Specifications

Processor Support: Intel Core Ultra 200S Series
Chipset: Intel Z890
Memory: 2x DDR5 slots, max 128GB, up to DDR5 9600+ (OC) support (as of October 2024), CUDIMMs supported
Audio: Realtek ALC4080 audio codec
LAN: Intel Killer E5000B 5 Gigabit Ethernet
WIFI: Intel Killer BE1750x WIFI 7 module with built-in Bluetooth 5.4
Expansion Slots: 1x PCIe 5.0 x16, 1x PCIe 5.0 x16 (operates at up to x8 mode), 1x PCIe 4.0 x1, 1x PCIe 4.0 x16 (operates at x4 mode)
Storage: 6x SATA III, 1x PCIe 5.0 x4 M.2, 5x PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 (M2_4 supports PCIe 4.0 x4 by default using chipset PCIe lanes, but can be configured to operate at PCIe 5.0 x4 mode as well by using CPU PCIe lanes)
Form Factor: ATX
Official Product Page: https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/MEG-Z890-UNIFY-X/Overview

Packaging & Contents

The MEG Z890 UNIFY-X comes in a box that is shaped like a carry case courtesy of its handle, where we get an image of the motherboard splashed across the front. Over on the rear of the box, we get the usual summary of features that this board comes with.

The board comes with the following accessories:

• WIFI antenna
• 4x SATA III cables
• 1x EZ Front Panel cable
• 1x addressable RGB extension cable
• 1x 12V RGB Y-splitter extension cable 
• 2x thermistor cables
• 1x 1-to-3 EZ Conn-Cable V2
• 1x MSI Tuning Controller cable
• 1x MSI Tuning Controller module
• 4x EZ M.2 Clip II attachments
• 1x EZ M.2 Clip II remover tool
• 1x M.2 drive standoff and screw
• Quick installation guide
• Regulatory information leaflet
• MSI survey leaflet
• Sheet of MSI decorative stickers
• 1x USB flash drive with motherboard drivers and utilities

Visuals on the above accessories can be found in the review video for this motherboard, which is embedded at the top of this article. That said, the 1-to-3 EZ-Conn cable forms part of a new MSI specific-feature called EZ Conn, which allows end-users to connect an addressable RGB device, a fan and a USB device to a single proprietary EZ Conn header on the motherboard - MSI's intention here is to simplify the hardware setup process, and I'll give a more in-depth lowdown on EZ Conn later in this article.

Board Aesthetics

As can be seen, MSI has gone for a predominantly black aesthetic featuring large black heatsinks; the board's integrated I/O shield cover and two of its M.2 heatsinks feature mirror finishes for a touch of pop.

As a premium motherboard offering, the MEG Z890 UNIFY-X comes with a full-sized metal backplate that can help to prevent PCB flex, where it also has dedicated thermal pads to help dissipate heat from the backside of the VRM areas. Also included is protective paint around the motherboard’s screw holes to protect the PCB against scratches, which is a nice touch.

Fans of RGB lighting effects for their PC builds will be pleased to note that the board comes with a Mystic Light RGB LED accent on the cover of the integrated I/O shield.

Needless to say, as a premium motherboard offering, MSI has included full heatsink coverage for all six M.2 slots that the MEG Z890 UNIFY-X comes with; the Intel Z890 chipset is also cooled by a passive heatsink that is situated beneath the large heatsink that has the heavy burden of cooling drives that might be installed on four of the board's M.2 slots.

VRM & Memory Support

As a motherboard targeted at overclockers who'd likely be using Intel's range-topping Core Ultra 200S offerings, the MEG Z890 UNIFY-X comes with 20+2+1+1 power stages with whopping 110A power phases, which should handle the power demands of Intel's Arrow Lake-S offerings with ease.

For memory support, the board comes with two DDR5 slots that as of the time of publishing this article, sport support for up to 128GBs of RAM and the DDR5 9600 standard when overclocked, with plastic slots of a single-tabbed design. Naturally, the board also supports Intel’s XMP technology, which are basically built-in overclocking profiles for DDR5 memory.

It’s worth noting too, that the board also supports the latest DIMM format on the block, Clocked Unbuffered DIMMs, (CUDIMMs), which come with a clock driver on the memory module to improve signal stability, thereby paving the way for even higher operating frequencies.

Front Panel USB Headers

In terms of front panel USB connectivity, along the long edge of the board is a USB 20Gbps Type-C front panel header that supports Power Delivery and a maximum output wattage of 60W for fast charging; for Power Delivery to be enabled, end-users would have to hook up their power supply unit to the six-pin motherboard power connector highlighted above.

Also included are two USB 5Gbps Type-A front panel headers, where the Type-A headers each support up to two front panel USB 5Gbps Type-A ports for a total of four ports.

Rounding off this section on front panel USB connectivity are two USB 2.0 front panel headers found along the bottom edge of the motherboard, where each of these headers provide support for two front panel USB 2.0 Type-A ports, for a total of four ports.

Expansion Slots & Storage Options

For expansion slots, MSI has included two full-length PCIe 5.0 x16 slots, with the primary slot (PCI_E2) operating at x16 mode, and the second Gen 5 slot (PCI_E3) operating at link speeds of up to x8 mode. The slots feature MSI's Steel Armour II design which helps reinforce the slots for use with heavy graphics cards.

The primary PCIe 5.0 x16 slot for a graphics card comes with the EZ PCIe Release feature, which helps make removing a graphics card from the slot a cinch. To undo the latch, simply press down on the button pictured above, which will undo the latch for the installation or removal of a graphics card - there's even little window with a lock status motif that indicates whether the latch is locked in place or not!

Moving on, as pictured above, the MEG Z890 UNIFY-X also comes with a PCIe 4.0 x1 slot (PCI_E1) as well as a full-length PCIe 4.0 x16 slot (PCI_E4) that operates at x4 mode.

It's worth pointing out that the two PCIe 5.0 x16 slots and one of the M.2 slots (slot M2_4) slot do share bandwidth with each other under certain circumstances – more details on the lane-sharing arrangement can be found further down in this article, under the section that deals with storage connectivity options. Also, do note that M.2 slot M2_3 shares bandwidth with the PCIe 4.0 x16 slot that operates at x4 mode (PCI_E4), where the said PCIe slot will be disabled should a M.2 drive be installed on slot M2_3.

In the storage department, MSI has included six SATA III ports, with all ports in a right-angled configuration so as to aid with cable management.

For M.2. slots, the MEG Z890 UNIFY-X comes with one PCIe 5.0 x4 M.2 slot and five PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 slots, of which one of the Gen 4 slots, M2_4, is wired as a PCIe 4.0 x4 slot from the chipset, but can also operate as a PCIe 5.0 x4 slot using Gen 5 lanes from the processor – for this, you’ll have to toggle the slot’s operation mode from within the BIOS.

If you're intending to install a M.2 SATA drive on this board, do note that only slot M2_5 supports either a NVMe or SATA M.2 drive – the other five slots support NVMe drives only. That said, should a M.2 SATA drive be installed on slot M2_5, do note that the SATA port SATA3 will be disabled entirely.

To recap, by default, the M.2 slot M2_4 runs at PCIe 4.0 x4 mode and utilises PCIe lanes from the Z890 chipset – should you decide to run the M.2 slot in Gen 5 mode instead, you will have to go into the BIOS to change the lane configuration such that it utilises Gen 5 lanes from the CPU instead – in doing so, this will cause the primary PCIe 5.0 x16 slot for a graphics card to drop down to x8 mode, and the secondary PCIe 5.0 x16 slot that operates at x8 mode to operate at x4 mode instead. For more clarity, the above image includes a screenshot of the PCIe lane bifurcation table found in the motherboard manual, which details exactly the various permutations of lane sharing that can occur across the PCIe 5.0 slots (PCI_E2 and PCI_E3), as well as M.2 slot M2_4.

I must say, having the actual ability and flexibility to select whether or not to operate one of the Gen 4 M.2 slots as a Gen 5 slot instead, albeit at the expense of GPU bandwidth, is a breath of fresh air, especially given the "forced" PCIe lane sharing situations that one tends to get with motherboards featuring AMD's X870E and X870 chipsets. That said, the performance differential between running 0ne's GPU, even high-end ones such as a RTX 4090, at PCIe 4.0 x8 mode versus x16 mode (seeing as there are no PCIe 5.0 x16 graphics cards in the market at the point of publishing this article) tends not to be very large, and can even be negligible in certain instances, from both a gaming and productivity standpoint. There’s a whole host of videos and articles on the web that one can look up in order to have a better sensing of the performance difference in question.

Moving on from the heady topic of PCIe lane sharing, all of the MEG Z890 UNIFY-X's M.2 heatsinks feature a tool-less design called EZ M.2 Shield Frozr II, which makes removing and installing the heatsinks really easy. All one's got to do is to press down on a button located at the side of the heatsink and lift the heatsink away from the board. Reinstalling the heatsink is a breeze too, which involves simply sliding it into place and pressing down on it, until the latch mechanism catches in place.

A quality-of-life feature that the board's M.2 slots have is EZ M.2 Clip II, which appears to be a spring-loaded standoff device that makes installing and removing a M.2 drive a tool-less affair. Simply insert the M.2 drive into the slot and push the drive into place - the EZ M.2 Clip II will snap into place and secure the said M.2 drive. Do note though, that not all of the M.2 slots come with the EZ M.2 Clip II preinstalled - some slots, such as the primary PCIe 5.0 x4 M.2 slot (M2_6), still utilise the traditional EZ M.2 Clip design for the standard 2280 M.2 form factor, but can still accommodate the EZ M.2 Clip II for shorter M.2 drive form factors.

On the above note, the EZ M.2 Clip II remover tool comes in handy to remove and reposition the EZ M.2 Clip II device - this is so as to accommodate M.2 drives of different lengths apart from the standard 2280 form factor. The removal and repositioning process will still require the use of a Philips-head screwdriver to remove a screw that secures the respective M.2 slot's backplate in place.

Audio & Internet Connectivity

In terms of audio, MSI has equipped the MEG Z890 UNIFY-X with a high-end Realtek ALC4080 audio codec.

In terms of wired internet connectivity, the MEG Z890 UNIFY-X comes with 5 Gigabit Ethernet courtesy of an Intel Killer E5000B LAN controller, while WIFI support is courtesy of an Intel Killer BE1750x WIFI7 module that supports the 320 MHz channel width and also serves up Bluetooth 5.4 support.

Fan & RGB Headers

The MEG Z890 UNIFY-X comes with seven fan headers:

• 1x CPU_FAN1
• 2x PUMP_SYS1
• 4x SYS_FAN

Also included are three Gen2 addressable RGB headers and a single 12V RGB header.

Other Features

To help with troubleshooting PC issues, the MEG Z890 UNIFY-X comes with a set of EZ Debug LEDs and an EZ Digi-Debug LED that can help end-users diagnose various PC start-up issues.

The motherboard also comes with the V Check Point feature that allows power users to use a multimeter to do direct measurement of voltage levels.

As mentioned earlier in this article, EZ-Conn (JAF_2) is a new MSI-specific connector that allows end-users to easily connect MSI’s next-gen AIO CPU coolers or cooling fans to the motherboard with just one on-board connector. For end-users who do not have such a MSI AIO cooler or fan, the EZ-Conn header can still be used with non-MSI devices via the included 1-to-3 EZ-Conn cable included with the motherboard - the said EZ-Conn Cable (V2) comes with an addressable RGB connector, a USB 2.0 connector and a 4-pin fan header.

Moving to the bottom edge of the motherboard, we get a Thunderbolt 5 expansion card header (JTBT5_1 that is to be used with an optional MSI Thunderbolt 5 add-on card, a water flow meter header (W_FLOW1) that allows one to connect a water flow meter so as to monitor the flow rate of a liquid cooling system, as well as a chassis intrusion connector (JC1).

A feature that seeks to provide some future-proofing is an 8-pin supplemental PCIe power connector (PCIE_PWR1), where the said connector provides for an additional source of juice for the power-hungry flagship GPUs of tomorrow. According to MSI, the said connector can supply up to 252W of supplemental power.

We do also get two thermal sensor headers (T_SEN1 & T_SEN2) that can be hooked up to the included thermistor cables so as to monitor the temperature of devices within your PC case.

A feature that is targeted specifically at overclockers, MSI has included a Tuning Controller header (JDASH1) that allows you to hook up the included Tuning Controller module and respective connection cable to the motherboard. The said Tuning Controller module comes with a POST code LED to help troubleshoot PC startup issues, plus and minus buttons to fine-tune overclocking parameters easily, power and reset buttons, an OC retry button, an OC fail save button and a clear CMOS button.

Moving on, MSI's included a Safe Boot jumper (JOC_FS1) that when enabled, forces the system to boot with default BIOS settings and a lower PCIe link speed from the CPU, and in close proximity is a Clear CMOS header as well as a TPM header for an optional discrete TPM module.

We're moving into overclocker-friendly territory now, where we see that MSI has included a BIOS switch that allows end-users to toggle to a secondary BIOS in the event that the first BIOS ROM fails.

Also included is a Slow Mode boot jumper (JSLOW1) that can be used to force the system to boot at a stable processor frequency under extreme overclocking scenarios using liquid nitrogen, a overclock retry button header (JOC_RT1) that allows for the connection of a button to force the system to retry overclock settings till it boots successfully, as well as two low temperature boot jumpers (JLN1 & JLN2) that allow the system to boot at extremely low temperatures when being cooled by liquid nitrogen.

Rear I/O

The MEG Z890 UNIFY-X comes with an integrated I/O shield design, where the board comes with the following rear I/O ports:

• 8x USB 10Gbps Type-A ports
• 2x USB 10Gbps Type-C ports
• 2x Thunderbolt 4 USB Type-C ports (supports display output of up to 4K resolution at 120 Hz or 8K resolution at 60 Hz)
• Flash BIOS button
• Clear CMOS button
• Smart button
• PS/2 mouse and keyboard ports
• 5 Gigabit Ethernet port
• EZ WIFI Antenna connectors
• Audio jack connectors

The Flash BIOS feature allows end-users to update the motherboard's BIOS without needing to install a processor, RAM and graphics card. while the Smart button can be programmed from within the BIOS to serve a variety of different functions.

Conclusion

To sum up, the MSI MEG Z890 UNIFY-X is a premium motherboard offering targeted at PC hardware enthusiasts who are intending to overclock their Intel Core Ultra 200S processors in a big way. The board sports a beefy VRM setup and a host of overclocker-friendly features, PCIe 5.0 support for both a graphics card and M.2 drives, 5 Gigabit Ethernet with built-in WIFI 7, an impressive array of USB Type-C and Type-A connectivity options, along with a whole bunch of quality-of-life features such as EZ-PCIe Release, EZ M.2 Clip II and so on.

I do also appreciate the fact that owners of this motherboard get the actual ability to decide and configure for themselves whether or not they’d like to have a second PCIe 5.0 x4 M.2 slot at the expense of GPU link speeds, thereby giving end-users a lot more flexibility in terms of their potential M.2 storage drive configurations.

Get this motherboard from Amazon: https://amzn.to/485gMpf (affiliate link)

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The motherboard featured in this article was a review unit provided on loan from MSI.