Verdict and Conclusion
I have to congratulate MSI for producing a motherboard that can seriously turn heads. This motherboard despite its size, is pretty darn good to say the least. It’s absolutely packed with some amazing features normally found on higher-end enthusiast motherboards. These include 2x TURBO M.2 slots for your SSDs, PCIE steel slot, on-board Gigabit LAN, Turbo USB 3.1 Gen.2, HDMI port, Displayport, on-board AC wifi, as well as support for Optane memory. but sadly, it lacks support for USB-C.
Performance wise, it’s what I expected for a Z390 based motherboard. It produced decent scores in all of our benchmarks. One thing that really stands out, is the ability to run DDR4 memory up to speeds of 4800 MHz (OC). I tested the motherboard with a pair of TeamGroup T-Force XCalibur RGB DDR4-4000 16Gb kit, and it ran perfectly with XMP 2.0 profiles enabled. I was even able to overclock the ram further to 4300 MHz.
As for CPU overclocking, the BIOS was easy to use and I managed to overclock our Core i7-8700K from the default speed of 3.7 GHz to a respectable 5.0GHz with good stability.
So how does it compare with other Z390 mini-ITX based motherboards which we already reviewed? … such as the ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming-ITX/ac or SUPERO C9Z390-CG-IW. Well I have to say … based on performance, features and overclocking ability, the MSI MPG Z390I Gaming Edge AC is my preferred choice.
You can buy the MSI MPG Z390I Gaming Edge AC Motherboard from Amazon for around USD $159 – https://amzn.to/2MUOwMb
Pros:
- Feature packed
- Support DDR4 4800 MHz (OC)
- Excellent overclocking ability
- Gaming heatsinks
Cons:
- Lacks USB-C port
Final Thoughts:
If you want to build a compact mini-ITX based gaming rig, that you can easily overclock … then seriously take a look at the MSI MPG Z390I Gaming Edge AC motherboard. You won’t be disappointed with its performance, features and overclocking ability.
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