MSI MEG Z890 Ace (Intel 1851)

Intel macht mit Arrow Lake einen technologischen Fortschritt, bleibt jedoch in der Praxis hinter den Erwartungen zurück, da die Leistungsunterschiede zum Raptor-Lake-Refresh nur im einstelligen Prozentbereich liegen und die alte Generation in Spielen teils sogar schneller ist. Trotz besserer Effizienz und Temperaturen ist AMD weiterhin die bessere Wahl, insbesondere im Hinblick aufs Preis-Leistungs-Verhältnis.

Heute ist es endlich soweit und wir dürfen nicht nur Intels brandneue Core-Ultra-200S-Prozessoren zeigen, sondern auch deren Performance präsentieren. Als erstes Z890-Mainboard hatten wir in einer Preview bereits das MEG Z890 ACE von MSI vorgestellt - und genau diese Platine werden wir als erstes genauer unter Lupe nehmen und auf die Details eingehen. Das MEG Z890 ACE ist in der Oberklasse angesiedelt und positioniert sich direkt unterhalb des MEG Z890 GODLIKE, das das Z890-Flaggschiff von MSI darstellt.

From speed and stability to wealth of available connectors and features the MEG Z890 ACE by MSI is clearly the best Z890 motherboard to arrive in the lab, to date. As a matter of fact, some issues I had with other Z890 chipset-based models I don’t with the MEG Z890 ACE which is why I will be using for all Z890 related reviews from this point forward. That being said since I do enjoy nitpicking, I have a couple of complaints about it, first the lack of an LCD screen instead of the dragon logo (more and more models have that) and second the design of the MSI Center software which just doesn’t look as good as I’d expect (for older models this was fine, it’s 2026 however now). Again, these aren’t really drawbacks but for some consumers they may play a role in their decision.

If you're unfamiliar with MSI's motherboard ranges, MEG sits at the top. Motherboards here are high-end, usually drool-worthy and pack a punch in terms of performance, the MEG ACE models rarely disappoint. They're usually pricey too, but thanks to recent price cuts the MEG Z890 ACE now leaves you with change from $500, rather than hitting your wallet for $700. You'll want to be pairing a suitably high-end system with this kind of board. It offers dual PCIe Gen 5 M.2 slots and triple PCIe x16 slots (electrically x16, x8 and x4), 10 Gbps Ethernet is included too. Of course not all the board's slots can be used together without their lanes being limited. There are 24 vCore power phases, dual Thunderbolt 4 Type-C ports, and you can throw up to 60 W at Type-C devices from its Type-C front panel header too.

MSI‘s MEG Z890 ACE motherboard is here to deliver big on performance, wielding the formidable power of Intel’s Z890 chipset and engineered to extract every ounce of performance from 15th Gen Intel CPUs, which are actually the 1st Gen of the new Core Ultra processor series, and come with a new naming/numbering system. This ATX motherboard is a masterpiece of engineering, meticulously crafted to cater to the desires of hardcore gamers and overclocking enthusiasts. At its heart beats the Z890 chipset, unlocking a new era of PCIe capabilities, amplified bandwidth for storage devices, and a refined power delivery system. This translates to full support for PCIe 5.0, paving the way for blistering data transfer speeds with the latest graphics cards and SSDs. While I loved the TOMAHAWK motherboard we also reviewed today, the ACE is designed to be much more high-end for those who want more extreme performance and connectivity, but of course, that will come with a greatly increased cost too.