MSI MEG X870E Godlike Motherboard Review: Seven USB-C and M.2 sockets, $1100 price

A Godlike number of Type-C Ports, M.2 Sockets, with the looks and price to match

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MSI X870E Godlike
Editor's Choice
(Image: © Tom's Hardware)

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Firmware

With X870, MSI has updated its BIOS, renaming it “Click X,” and improved the aesthetic and functionality in the process. The company changed up the format with the headings on the left side, details in the middle, and system status information on the right side. Like most other board partners, it has an informational EZ Mode that allows for limited functionality, such as Game Boost, PBO, and more. Overall, I like the new layout, and maneuvering around is intuitive after a short time, though it does take some getting used to. The dark, fading gold background and white labeling are easy to read, and most of what you need is at your fingertips.

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MSI X870E Godlike
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

Software

MSI Center is a single utility that offers a wide range of functionality. From hardware monitoring to RGB control with Mystic Light, the software has many applets and is a one-stop shop for downloading other utilities, including overclocking and fan control. Those looking to use the Gamebar feature, Super Charger, or any other utilities MSI offers will find them all in MSI Center.

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MSI X870E Godlike
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

Test System / Comparison Products

We’ve updated our test system to Windows 11 (23H2) 64-bit OS with all updates applied as of late September 2024 (this includes the Branch Prediction Optimizations for AMD). Hardware-wise, we’ve updated the RAM kits (matching our Intel test system), cooling, storage, and video card. Unless otherwise noted, we use the latest non-beta motherboard BIOS available to the public. Thanks goes out to Asus for providing the RTX 4080 TUF graphics card and Crucial for the 2TB T705 SSDs in our updated testbed. The hardware we used is as follows:

Test System Components

Swipe to scroll horizontally
CPUAMD Ryzen 9 9900X
CoolingArctic Liquid Freezer II 420
Storage Crucial 2TB T705 M.2 PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD
RAM Kingston Fury Beast DDR5-6000 CL36 (KF560C36BBEAK2-32)
RAM Teamgroup T-Froce Delta DDR5-7200 CL34 (FF3D518G7200HC34ABK)
RAM Klevv Cras XR5 RGB DDR5-8000 (KD5AGUA80-80R380S)
GPUAsus TUF RTX 4080 16G
PSUEVGA Supernova 850W P6
SoftwareWindows 11 64-bit (23H2 - 22631.4169)
Display DriverNVIDIA Driver 561.09
SoundIntegrated HD audio
NetworkIntegrated Networking (GbE to 10 GbE)
Graphics DriverGeForce 561.09

MSI X870E Godlike

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

Benchmark Settings

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Synthetic Benchmarks and SettingsRow 0 - Cell 1
ProcyonVersion 2.8.1352 64
Row 2 - Cell 0 Office 365, Video Editing (Premiere Pro 24.6.1), Photo Editing (Photoshop 25.1.2, Lightroom Classic 13.5.1)
3DMarkVersion 2.29.8294.0 64
Row 4 - Cell 0 Speed Way and Steel Nomad (Default)
Cinebench R24Version 2024.1.0
Row 6 - Cell 0 Open GL Rendering Benchmark - Single and Multi-threaded
BlenderVersion 4.2.0
Row 8 - Cell 0 Full benchmark (all three tests)
Application Tests and SettingsRow 9 - Cell 1
LAME MP3Version SSE2_2019
Row 11 - Cell 0 Mixed 271MB WAV to mp3: Command: -b 160 -- (160Kb/s)
HandBrake CLIVersion: 1.8.2
Row 13 - Cell 0 Sintel Open Movie Project: 4.19GB 4K mkv to x264 (light AVX) and x265 (heavy AVX)
Corona 1.4Version 1.4
Row 15 - Cell 0 Custom benchmark
7-ZipVersion 24.08
Row 17 - Cell 0 Integrated benchmark (Command Line)
Game Tests and SettingsRow 18 - Cell 1
Cyberpunk 2077Ultra RT Preset - 1920 x 1080,  DLSS - Balanced.
F1 2024Ultra High Preset - 1920 x 1080, 16xAF/TAA, FPS Counter ON, Great Britain (Clear/Dry)

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Joe Shields
Joe Shields
Motherboard Reviewer

Joe Shields is a Freelance writer for Tom’s Hardware US. He reviews motherboards.

21 Comments Comment from the forums
  • HardwiredWireless
    Lose the lights and name logo, give it an Intel chipset and socket and I'll buy two for my upgrades that I've been putting off. I need the processor that does best in compute tasks as I don't just use it for playing games and currently that's Intel.
    Reply
  • thestryker
    HardwiredWireless said:
    Lose the lights and name logo, give it an Intel chipset and socket and I'll buy two for my upgrades that I've been putting off. I need the processor that does best in compute tasks as I don't just use it for playing games and currently that's Intel.
    You can turn off all the lights on MSI boards (first thing I did with mine though I did have to use software to turn off the RGB on my DRAM) and they will have a Z890 version: https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/MEG-Z890-GODLIKE
    Reply
  • 8086
    Premium to me these days is having lots of fully functional x16 pci-e slots so I can add more USB or NVME at my own leisure or even upgrade my sound or networking as needed.
    Just a few years ago the X570 Godlike sold for around $600 and had more PCI-e connections... so in my mind the X870E is a $600-650 motherboard with a "$500 gamer tax added"

    In many ways now, the PC gamer hobby is going the way of the Audiophile.... simply charging more for something because you give it a more special sounding name which appeals to a certain group of enthusiasts. It reminds me of about 10 years ago when a bunch of hi-fi brands were gutting Oppo players and then sticking them in to their own billet faced chassis with no other improvements made and charging 10x the price.
    Reply
  • HideOut
    HardwiredWireless said:
    Lose the lights and name logo, give it an Intel chipset and socket and I'll buy two for my upgrades that I've been putting off. I need the processor that does best in compute tasks as I don't just use it for playing games and currently that's Intel.
    LOL no it isnt. The AMD 9950x is the best. But ok.
    Reply
  • newtechldtech
    $1100 price and no PLX chip for dual 16 lanes slots ?

    Given the huge Gen 5 PCIe bandwidth , a switch chip 16 to 16+16 is a must for such high end Priced motherboards. like in old times. in old times for $400 only we could get a PLX motherboard .
    Reply
  • Li Ken-un
    newtechldtech said:
    $1100 price and no PLX chip for dual 16 lanes slots ?

    Given the huge Gen 5 PCIe bandwidth , a switch chip 16 to 16+16 is a must for such high end Priced motherboards. like in old times. in old times for $400 only we could get a PLX motherboard .
    It’s a choice between consumer motherboard with server PCIe switch or a workstation/server system.

    I’m running the former, and the PCIe switch alone is $1,500 plus the cost of cabling and enclosure/adapter. The workstation/server route looks a lot more attractive now for lots of PCIe lanes. Built-in PCIe switch on a consumer platform motherboard might not be much cheaper than a PCIe switch AIC.
    Reply
  • SomeoneElse23
    Joe TH: the specs list on page 1 has incorrect data for the network jacks. You correctly state in a few places there are 10GbE and 5GbE, but on the specs list you says 2.5GbE and 5GbE for network jacks.
    Reply
  • logainofhades
    No consumer board is worth $1100.
    Reply
  • pug_s
    The only godlike thing about this motherboard is the price.
    Reply
  • FITCamaro
    logainofhades said:
    No consumer board is worth $1100.
    This.

    I get inflation but high end boards used to be $400, maybe $500. $1100 is an entire computer. Tell me what this does significantly better than a $200-300 board.
    Reply