Intel’s latest Intel Core Ultra 200S series CPUs built on the new Intel Arrow Lake Architecture are now available in the market with the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K being the flagship processor. The Ultra 9 285K which we have here uses the new LGA 1851 socket found among the new 800 series chipsets. Enter, the MSI MEG Z890 ACE, a motherboard from MSI’s Enthusiast Gaming flagship line, a good pair for the flagship Ultra 9 CPU.
A Closer Look
The MSI MEG Z890 ACE comes in a pretty compact packaging considering it’s a premium motherboard. I personally like the touch of adding a carrying handle to the box. Its packaging is one of the most professional-looking I’ve seen so far mainly due to the black and gold theme.
Here are the accessories included in the packaging:
- One Wifi 7 antenna
- One flash drive
- RGB extension cables
- Four SATA cables
- Display Port to Mini Displayport Cables
- EZ front panel cable
- M.2 EZ clip/standoff set
The MSI MEG Z890 ACE sports a very premium look with a dominantly black design and gold accents throughout the board.
Moving to the back you have a Metal Backplate that helps in overall structural rigidity.
The MSI MEG Z890 ACE has a robust VRM setup that can be basically considered overkill, even for the Ultra 9 285K. Its VRM setup features a 24+1+2+1 phase design, supporting up to 110 amps for stable CPU power delivery even at different workloads.
A first and unique feature found on Z890 motherboards is CUDIMM memory support which is why MSI also sent us an 8200MHz CUDIMM kit for this video. The memory slots on the MEG Z890 ACE are reinforced thru an SMT welding process combined with MSI Memory Boost technology which allows DDR5 support up to 9200MT/s
MSI has surprisingly placed its dual 8pin EPS connectors on the right side of the motherboard instead of the usual leftside. Do note that these placement may interfere with your cable management so be sure to check your case first if you’re planning to get this motherboard.
Moving to the IO, MSI went all out on the MEG Z890 ACE’s rear IO with dual Thunderbolt 4 ports with support for 60w PD. You also have two more USB type C 10G ports,11 USB type-A 10G ports, an HDMI port, a 10gigabyte ethernet port, a wifi 7 connector, and the usual audio ports. Apart from the ports, the rear panel also as a bios flash button, clear CMOS button, and smart button for convenience especially when troubleshooting your PC.
MSI is not only generous on the USB connectors but in M.2 slots – two M.2 slots for PCIe Gen 5 and three for PCIe Gen 4 for a total of 5 slots. These slots, and even the heatsinks are equipped with MSI’s EZ DIY tool-less solution. The heatsink only requires a push and lift to remove.
Meanwhile, the M.2 SSDs can be installed using the EZ M.2 Clips. MSI also included an EZ Clip remover should you wish to reinstall it for different SSD lengths.
Benchmark Setup and Test Methodology
Gadget Pilipinas’ testing philosophy is to provide detail-oriented results as accurately as possible so that our readers can replicate our tests given that these conditions are met. Different benchmarking apps and sequences are used depending on the tested component or device.
| CPU | Intel Core Ultra 9 285K |
| COOLER | ASUS ROG RYUJIN II 360mm V2 – Noctua NT-H2 Thermal Paste |
| MOTHERBOARD | Gigabyte Z890 Aorus Master | ROG Strix Z790-F Gaming | Gigabyte Z890 Aorus Elite ICE | ASRock Z890 Nova Wifi 7 |
| MEMORY | Kingston Renegade CuDIMM 48GB(2x24GB) DDR5-8800 |
| GPUs | Nvidia RTX 4090 Founders Edition |
| STORAGE | Kingston Renegade 2TB NVME SSD |
| POWER SUPPLY | FSP HYDRO GT PRO 1000W Gold ATX 3.0 |
| OPERATING SYSTEM | Windows 11 Pro Build 23H2 |
| CASE | Open Benchtable V2 |
We use CapFrameX 1.7.2 as our primary FPS capture and analysis tool for all our gaming benchmarks. The latest build version of Windows 11 Pro and WHQL-certified drivers are used for our benchmarks. Readings such as temperatures and power draws are recorded using HWINFO64, and other relevant software for cross-checking.
For more info, read our Review and Benchmark methodology article.
MSI MEG Z890 Ace Benchmarks
3DMark – Firestrike, Timespy, CPU Profile
3DMark is the go-to benchmark for gamers because of the ability to share and compare results online.
SuperPI 32m
SuperPI is a single-threaded benchmark application that lets the CPU calculate Pi(π) to the nth digit. In this benchmark, we selected the Pi calculation to 32M, the highest available for the app.
CINEBENCH 2024
Maxon’s Cinebench benchmark is one of the most iconic benchmark applications used by reviewers and enthusiasts. The latest Cinebench R23 uses the latest rendering architectures, including Intel’s Embree ray tracing technology and other advanced features from AMD and Intel that allow users to render the same scene on the same hard.
PROCYON
Procyon benchmark suite is developed by the UL, the same team behind 3DMark and PCMark benchmarks. The UL Procycon video editing benchmark uses Adobe Premiere in a typical video editing workflow. The benchmark starts by importing two video project files with various edits, adjustments, and effects – the second project uses several GPU-accelerated effects. Each project is exported in 1080p with H.264 encoding and again in 4K with HEVC H.265. The reported score is based on the time taken to export all four videos.
OCCT Enterprise Benchmark
OCCT is a popular benchmark and stability testing tool among overclockers, enthusiasts and system integrators
wPrime 1024M
wPrime is a benchmark tool similar to SuperPI, but the former takes on finding prime numbers using Newton’s Method. The benchmark is set to calculate 1024 million prime numbers, and the performance is measured according to calculation time.
V-RAY 5
V-Ray Benchmark is a stand-alone version of V-Ray developed by Chaos Group. It is designed to test the CPU and GPU by rendering sample scenes at a fixed amount of time. V-Ray is a plug-in mostly utilized by 3D computer graphics software applications mainly for industrial design, product design, architecture, film, and video game production. V-Ray is not limited to 64-threads as it supports multi and mega-threading.
BLENDER
Blender is a widely used, free, open-source 3D creation suite. It supports the whole 3D pipeline process from modeling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, and even motion tracking. Blender has become a standard for CPU benchmarks with the BMW27 and Classroom Scene most used. This prompted the company to release Blender Open Data Benchmark in 2018, a benchmark-specific version allowing users to run a preset benchmark and share the results online like 3DMark.
GeekBench 6.3
Geekbench is a multi-platform benchmark used to gauge CPU performance and compare them across Windows, Mac, and Mobile. Geekbench 6 is the latest version and doesn’t rely on memory more than the previous Geekbench 4, making it a great tool to measure both single-core and multi-core CPU performance.
PCMark10
From the same developers of the popular game benchmarking tool 3DMark, PCMark 10 is a benchmarking app for measuring a whole PC’s performance. It covers a wide variety of tests to reflect common tasks performed in a modern workplace. We selected PCMark 10’s extended benchmark and reported both the overall score and Digital Content Creation Score.
CORONA RENDERER
Corona Renderer is an unbiased photorealistic render available for Autodesk 3Ds Max, Maxon Cinema 4D, and as a stand-alone application. Its popularity, similar to Blender, led Chaos Group to develop a benchmark version of the app which runs using Corona Renderer 1.3. Workstation systems, especially CPUs, can utilize Corona Benchmark as up to 72 threads can be used in the benchmark, making it very suitable for CPUs with various price segments.
PassMark 10.2
Passmark 10 provides a comprehensive suite of tests that evaluate various aspects of a system’s performance, including CPU, GPU, memory, and disk performance. Its automated testing process makes it accessible and efficient for reviewers to conduct benchmarks and analyze the performance of different systems.
BapCo CROSSMARK
Crossmark is one of the few native cross-platform benchmark tools available for Windows, Android, Linux ChromeOS, iOS, and macOS. It measures overall system performance and system responsiveness using models of real-world applications making it a great comparison point across multiple platforms.
OCTANE 2.0
Google Octane 2.0 is a benchmark that measures a Javascript engine’s performance by running multiple tests representing different use cases of JavaScript applications. While Google Octane is retired and no longer maintained, it is still a good representation of today’s dynamic, interactive web applications. Our Google Octane 2.0 is run on Microsoft’s latest Chromium-based Edge browser.
MSI MEG Z890 ACE Temps
The performance profile maximizes the Ultra 9 285K’s max tempt limit as we reached a TJ Max of 105 degrees with up to a 300W power consumption allowed by the motherboard. Reported VRM temps peaked at 72.5 which is not concerning, especially since we ran the Ultra 9 285K outside its 250W turbo
Conclusion
Motherboards that are priced above the flagship CPU of its socket need to be justified as only a handful of people have the means and needs to get such a flagship motherboard, and the MSI MEG Z890 ACE is no exception. Priced at Php 44,200 the MSI MEG Z890 ACE is certainly not for everyone, especially if you’re not rocking the best CPU that the LGA1851 socket has to offer. That said, the price premium is well justified with a good balance of IO not just in bandwidth but in quantity as well, a premium design, and overall solid performance.
The MSI MEG Z890 ACE has all the features that you’re looking for in a premium motherboard, and more. Its feature set focuses mostly on performance, reliability, and ease of use thanks to the EZ DIY features including the ones we didn’t discuss such as the EZ PCIE Release and Debug LED. So, if you’re looking for a motherboard that can handle the latest and greatest for this generation with the latest feature set, even upcoming ones such as Thunderbolt 5, then look no further than the MSI MEG Z890 ACE.
Grant is a Financial Management graduate from UST. His passion for gadgets and tech crossed him over in the industry where he could apply his knowledge as an enthusiast and in-depth analytic skills as a Finance Major. His passion allows him to earn at the same time help Gadget Pilipinas' readers in making smart, value-based decisions and purchases with his reviews and guides.
