The MSI MEG X570 Ace Motherboard Review: Ace in the Hole at $369
by Gavin Bonshor on July 18, 2019 11:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
- AMD
- MSI
- AM4
- Zen 2
- Ryzen 3000
- X570
- MEG
- X570 Ace
- 3700X
- Ryzen 3700X
Gaming Performance
For X570 we are running using Windows 10 64-bit with the 1903 update as per our Ryzen 3000 CPU review.
World of Tanks enCore
Albeit different to most of the other commonly played MMO or massively multiplayer online games, World of Tanks is set in the mid-20th century and allows players to take control of a range of military based armored vehicles. World of Tanks (WoT) is developed and published by Wargaming who are based in Belarus, with the game’s soundtrack being primarily composed by Belarusian composer Sergey Khmelevsky. The game offers multiple entry points including a free-to-play element as well as allowing players to pay a fee to open up more features. One of the most interesting things about this tank based MMO is that it achieved eSports status when it debuted at the World Cyber Games back in 2012.
World of Tanks enCore is a demo application for a new and unreleased graphics engine penned by the Wargaming development team. Over time the new core engine will implemented into the full game upgrading the games visuals with key elements such as improved water, flora, shadows, lighting as well as other objects such as buildings. The World of Tanks enCore demo app not only offers up insight into the impending game engine changes, but allows users to check system performance to see if the new engine run optimally on their system.
Grand Theft Auto V
The highly anticipated iteration of the Grand Theft Auto franchise hit the shelves on April 14th 2015, with both AMD and NVIDIA in tow to help optimize the title. GTA doesn’t provide graphical presets, but opens up the options to users and extends the boundaries by pushing even the hardest systems to the limit using Rockstar’s Advanced Game Engine under DirectX 11. Whether the user is flying high in the mountains with long draw distances or dealing with assorted trash in the city, when cranked up to maximum it creates stunning visuals but hard work for both the CPU and the GPU.
For our test we have scripted a version of the in-game benchmark. The in-game benchmark consists of five scenarios: four short panning shots with varying lighting and weather effects, and a fifth action sequence that lasts around 90 seconds. We use only the final part of the benchmark, which combines a flight scene in a jet followed by an inner city drive-by through several intersections followed by ramming a tanker that explodes, causing other cars to explode as well. This is a mix of distance rendering followed by a detailed near-rendering action sequence, and the title thankfully spits out frame time data.
F1 2018
Aside from keeping up-to-date on the Formula One world, F1 2017 added HDR support, which F1 2018 has maintained; otherwise, we should see any newer versions of Codemasters' EGO engine find its way into F1. Graphically demanding in its own right, F1 2018 keeps a useful racing-type graphics workload in our benchmarks.
Aside from keeping up-to-date on the Formula One world, F1 2017 added HDR support, which F1 2018 has maintained. We use the in-game benchmark, set to run on the Montreal track in the wet, driving as Lewis Hamilton from last place on the grid. Data is taken over a one-lap race.
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Sparkyman215 - Thursday, July 18, 2019 - link
Why are certain seemingly random portions of the article specifically tagged a certain color? The body <p> tags are #444 but some snippets are set to rgb(68,68,68) (which is #444) in the same <p> tag. I know it literally doesn't matter to anyone but I noticed it and it's weird hahayeeeeman - Thursday, July 18, 2019 - link
Dear Anandtech, not everyone needs PCIe 4.0 and these gimmicky motherboards. Also, not everyone has over 200$ to throw, so please test all new Ryzens on B350 motherboards.Showtime - Thursday, July 18, 2019 - link
Yeah pricing is high IMO. I want to go AMD, but I can't justify spending $200 on motherboard for a $200 CPU. Some people have had to do some work to get the older, cheaper motherboards to work right after the bios update. Guess I'll wait and see. Not like my old Intel is slow.Holliday75 - Thursday, July 18, 2019 - link
I am of the opinion that unless you plan on buying a new PC in the next several years after putting a 3000 based system together then spend the money and get the x570 based board. There are cheaper models to choose from, but the PCI 4.0 support will be very nice to have down the road when GPU's are taking advantage of it. Having to upgrade a motherboard mid-ownership cycle would suck and eat up any savings you and then some by using a lower end board.If you already have one it looks like it works on most boards and the performance drop off is not that bad. In IT you pay now or pay later, but you always pay. I prefer up front to avoid it down the road when it tends to be more of a pain in the arse.
Irata - Friday, July 19, 2019 - link
Definitely agree with your comment.My plan is to get a good X570 mainboard now and use it with a Ryzen 3700x. Once the Ryzen 3000 series is EOL, I want to upgrade to a 3950x which hopefully can be had cheaper then.
Looking at the reviews of PCIe 4 NVMe that are available right now, I see little point in getting one now, but will definitely upgrade to one once Samsung and others offer them.
All of this I would like without having to replace the motherboard.
shabby - Thursday, July 18, 2019 - link
The 3900x works even on a320 boards but only hits around 3.7ghz tops. I honestly don't think these $300+ boards with trick vrm/phases are needed at all, these ryzen chips peak at 4.3ghz with liquid cooling. Even $200 boards should easily 16 cores at that speed.Targon - Thursday, July 18, 2019 - link
The cost of PCI Express 4.0 is the reason for the high motherboard prices. You do get what you pay for when it comes to motherboards.29a - Thursday, July 18, 2019 - link
I almost always buy a super cheap Asrock or Biostar motherboard and never have any issues with speed or stability.pavag - Saturday, July 20, 2019 - link
Maybe those motherboards are prepared for future processors, which need more power.29a - Thursday, July 18, 2019 - link
I agree I came here just to request reviews of cheap motherboards. Also an article addressing all the BIOS settings and detailed explanations on what they do on modern motherboards would be awesome too.