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MSI MEG X570 Godlike Review: Flagship Class, Five M.2, 10 GbE

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MSI X570 Godlike
(Image: © MSI)

Software

MSI doesn’t offer an excessive amount of software, but it covers all the bases. In the utility section of MSI’s support section for this board is an MSI-skinned version of CPUz, Nahimic Audio control and Dragon Center. Dragon Center (DC) is a one-stop-shop to monitor the system, control RGB lighting (Mystic Light), LAN, and gaming highlights. DC is relatively comprehensive, though it is missing software-based overclocking and fan control.

Dragon Center

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Nahimic Audio

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Firmware

To give you a taste of the Firmware, we’ve gathered screenshots showing most BIOS screens. MSI’s layout is informative and straightforward to use in EZ Mode or Advanced, with the latter separated into the more familiar sections on the main page. When overclocking, the most frequently used options are located on the opening BIOS screen in the OC section, so you don’t have to dig down for the most common functions. Overall, the MSI BIOS is easy to navigate and read with plenty of options to tweak your system.

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Test System

We’ve updated our test system to Windows 10 64-bit OS (20H2) with all threat mitigations applied. We also upgraded our video card driver to 457.30 and reran all the game tests moving to the new 5000 series CPU. We use the latest non-beta motherboard BIOS available to the public unless otherwise noted. The hardware used is as follows:

CPUAMD Ryzen R9 5950X
MemoryGSkill Trident Z Neo 2x8GB DDR4 3600 (F4-3600C16Q-32GTZN)
GPUAsus ROG Strix RTX 2070
CPU CoolerCorsair H150i
PSUCorsair AX1200i
Software Windows 10 64-bit 20H2
Graphics DriverNVIDIA Driver 457.30
SoundIntegrated HD audio
NetworkIntegrated Networking (GbE or 2.5 GbE)

Benchmark Settings

Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings
PCMark 10Version 2.1.2177 64
Essentials, Productivity, Digital Content Creation, MS Office
3DMarkVersion 2.11.6866 64
Firestrike Extreme and Time Spy Default Presets
Cinebench R20Version RBBENCHMARK271150
Open GL Benchmark - Single and Multi-threaded
Application Tests and Settings
LAME MP3Version SSE2_2019
Mixed 271MB WAV to mp3: Command: -b 160 --nores (160Kb/s)
HandBrake CLIVersion: 1.2.2
Sintel Open Movie Project: 4.19GB 4K mkv to x264 (light AVX) and x265 (heavy AVX)
Corona 1.4Version 1.4
Custom benchmark
7-ZipVersion 19.00
Integrated benchmark
Game Tests and Settings
The Division 2Ultra Preset - 1920 x 1080
Forza Horizon 4Ultra Preset - 1920 x 1080

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25 Comments Comment from the forums
  • gg83 07 January 2021 17:32
    Would you need a high-end DAC to use a solid audiophile headphones?
    Reply
  • steedamike 07 January 2021 19:06
    gg83 said:
    Would you need a high-end DAC to use a solid audiophile headphones?
    gg83 - I'd probably not use the built-in dac/amp on the motherboard. From what little I just read about a few minutes ago, there may be some electromagnetic interference and/or crosstalk within a CPU case, especially under load. Also, according to this article, the power output from motherboards is less than 10 mw, which is low. As far as needing high-end, well, high-end is relative. I'd bet 99% of listeners would be totally happy with a $200 Schiit stack dac/amp combo (modi + magni). The Magni generates 2,400 mw at 32 ohms, quite a bit more than 10. This should power 99.9% of headphones to far beyond healthy db levels (some planar magnetic cans can suck up a lot of juice, though). As for DAC sound quality, I really can't speak on that because I don't have a golden ear that can tell much difference during critical listening.
    Reply
  • Jac1023 07 January 2021 19:14
    gg83 said:
    Would you need a high-end DAC to use a solid audiophile headphones?
    This would probably drive most headphones. Dynamics better than planars most likely. But a seperate dac and amp will almost always be an upgrade, particularly if you are using playback or streaming software that supports exclusive mode, ie cutting the windows sound mixer "middle man" out of the equation.
    Not to knock anyones setup, but if someones just using spotify or youtube music, dont bother with an outboard DAC, put an extra couple hundred in your headphone budget and have fun, don't go down the rabbit hole lol
    Reply
  • Jac1023 07 January 2021 19:17
    I cant really use all the M.2 at full capacity right? Some would have to be at sata level becuase of pcie lanes?
    Reply
  • edwjohn3 07 January 2021 19:55
    Jac1023 said:
    I cant really use all the M.2 at full capacity right? Some would have to be at sata level becuase of pcie lanes?
    Right?? I feel like anyone seriously considering this board should just spring for Threadripper.
    Reply
  • CthulhusBff 07 January 2021 20:09
    Jac1023 said:
    I cant really use all the M.2 at full capacity right? Some would have to be at sata level becuase of pcie lanes?
    The 5950x has 40 PCI lanes. If you bought this board. Why wouldn't you get the 5950x?
    Reply
  • Alvar "Miles" Udell 07 January 2021 20:16
    Remember when $200 bought you a -really- good AMD motherboard...
    Reply
  • Makaveli 07 January 2021 21:20
    Alvar Miles Udell said:
    Remember when $200 bought you a -really- good AMD motherboard...

    I paid $280 CAD for my board and I like it. I would never spend $400-$500 on a board so I wouldn't have looked this board anyways.

    CthulhusBff said:
    The 5950x has 40 PCI lanes. If you bought this board. Why wouldn't you get the 5950x?

    You need to look at the distribution of those lanes and how the M2's will access them and that will explain what they are referring too.
    Reply
  • mrv_co 07 January 2021 21:22
    What is the use case for 'Video output' for a board in this class? The lack of video output shows up as a 'con', but it is not mentioned at all during the write-up.
    Reply
  • ashburner 07 January 2021 21:47
    I have this board and I like it a lot. Running it with a 5950X on auto overclock and it peaks just over 5Ghz. Silent and sitting at 51C.
    Reply