Joined on 04/13/01
Amazing Motherboard for Overclockers
Pros: There were many choices out there for consideration when choosing an enthusiast motherboard. What I was looking for was simplicity, overclockability and performance, and stability. MSI really nailed all these check boxes for me. What I purchased: MSI Meg X570 Unify AMD 3900X @ All Core 4.4GHZ 2 x 16GB G-Skill 3200C14 ram @ 3800 16,17,16 1T - Samsung B-DIE bE Quiet Dark Rock Pro 4 CPU cooler Corsir RM850 Western Digital SN750 All of the components included installed with no issues and booted first try. MSI includes options within the BIOS to Auto Overclock the CPU and Memory with a click of the button, which makes it easy for the novice builder, but for those that focus on manually overclocking, there are many options available within the BIOS. What I like is that I can use the options in MSI BIOS to set some basic overclocking parameters and then tweak from there. After setting my 3900X at an all core 4.4GHZ overclock and memory at 3800 MHZ, I've had no stability issues. Not sure if I got a golden sample on my CPU and Memory, or if it's just a great motherboard that MSI has created. I'll go with the later.
Overall Review: Items of note: This board exudes quality upon inspection. It has heavy metal heatsinks on it which will work well to soak up the heat. The chipset fan only spins up when the system needs to cool itself which keeps the noise down. The included heatsinks for the 3 x M.2 slots work well to cool my M.2 SSDs. In case of a failed OC you can click the BIOS flashback button on the back of the system to reboot which is very convenient. The ability to create custom fan plans based on the various temperature sensors across the motherboard (increase airflow based on CPU temp, chipset temp, etc..) allows me to keep the board cool when the load increases, but keeps the noise level down when the system is idling. I do like the fact that MSI has a compatibility matrix to assist with choosing the right parts, and it's extensive. It seems like they had tested every part out there and included those results on their website. Overall, this is the best motherboard I've purchased in all of my years of building PCs. 20+ years. It just works, and works well.
Great RAM - G.Skill always bring their A game
Pros: Running Ryzen 3900X All Core 4.4Ghz - Bclk @ 1900Mhz Memory is running Samsung B-Die. Some of the best bins as well. I run linked with Bclk @ 3800Mhz C16,C17,C16 1T timings @ 1.42 Volts per Ryzen DRAM Calc. Also Tightest timings I could run were @ 3200mhz C12,C11,C11 1T.
Cons: None
Overall Review: Amazing B-Die sticks. Work seemlessly with Ryzen platform as they were designed for it. High compatibility for x470 and X570.
Best of Breed - Fast and Innovative
Pros: Excellent speeds. Differentiates itself from the crowd with it's innovative software platform. Samsung software allows you to do speed tests on all of your hard drives, maximize performance of EVO drive through 1-click optimization command, over provision storage, secure wipe, and game changing RAPID platform. RAPID allows you to use up to 4GB of your ram to work in tandem with the cache and processors on the EVO to increase read and write speeds
Cons: None - Best of breed alongside of 850 Pro/EVO.
Overall Review: My performance - 560MB/s Read - 540 MB/S Write - Using Intel 6GB/s controller on Gigabyte Motherboard with Z77 Chipset with 3770K CPU overclocked to 4.5GHZ and RAM running at 2400MHZ.
Best of the Non-Mechanicals
Pros: Palm rest with 3 positions. Great finger placement and easy reach of keys. Media controls on keyboard. Excellent build quality and weight.
Cons: None
Overall Review: This is basically a Saitek 2 eclipse keyboard minus the badging.
Fantastic Keyboard
Pros: Excellent tactile response. Solid Feel. Retractable palm rest. Color choice to match mouse and/or case.
Cons: None.
Overall Review: Great solid keyboard .
Incredible!
Pros: Linear Read - 526MB/s Random Read - 633 MB/s Buffered Read - 512 MB/s Read Access - .09 ms Boot into windows from Z77 board -10 seconds
Cons: Nothing
Overall Review: SSD Toolbox helps keep the drive running great. Helps update the bios on the drive.