The MSI MEG Z690 Unify (DDR5) Motherboard Review: The All-Black Option
by Gavin Bonshor on January 18, 2022 10:00 AM ESTSystem Performance
Not all motherboards are created equal. On the face of it, they should all perform the same and differ only in the functionality they provide - however, this is not the case. The obvious pointers are power consumption, POST time and latency. This can come down to the manufacturing process and prowess, so these are tested.
For Z690 we are running using Windows 10 64-bit with the 20H2 update.
Power Consumption
Power consumption was tested on the system while in a single MSI GTX 1080 Gaming configuration with a wall meter connected to the power supply. Our power supply has ~75% efficiency > 50W, and 90%+ efficiency at 250W, suitable for both idle and multi-GPU loading. This method of power reading allows us to compare the power management of the UEFI and the board to supply components with power under load, and includes typical PSU losses due to efficiency. These are the real-world values that consumers may expect from a typical system (minus the monitor) using this motherboard.
While this method for power measurement may not be ideal, and you feel these numbers are not representative due to the high wattage power supply being used (we use the same PSU to remain consistent over a series of reviews, and the fact that some boards on our testbed get tested with three or four high powered GPUs), the important point to take away is the relationship between the numbers. These boards are all under the same conditions, and thus the differences between them should be easy to spot.
In our power testing, the Z690 Unify performed competitively against other Z690 models in all three stages, long idle, idle, and at full load.
Non-UEFI POST Time
Different motherboards have different POST sequences before an operating system is initialized. A lot of this is dependent on the board itself, and POST boot time is determined by the controllers on board (and the sequence of how those extras are organized). As part of our testing, we look at the POST Boot Time using a stopwatch. This is the time from pressing the ON button on the computer to when Windows starts loading. (We discount Windows loading as it is highly variable given Windows-specific features.)
Moving onto our non-UEFI POST time testing, the MSI gave us some respectable results. At default settings, we POSTed into Windows 10 in just under 18-seconds, and after disabling nonessential networking and audio controllers, we managed to shave this down to 16.7 seconds.
DPC Latency
Deferred Procedure Call latency is a way in which Windows handles interrupt servicing. In order to wait for a processor to acknowledge the request, the system will queue all interrupt requests by priority. Critical interrupts will be handled as soon as possible, whereas lesser priority requests such as audio will be further down the line. If the audio device requires data, it will have to wait until the request is processed before the buffer is filled.
If the device drivers of higher priority components in a system are poorly implemented, this can cause delays in request scheduling and process time. This can lead to an empty audio buffer and characteristic audible pauses, pops, and clicks. The DPC latency checker measures how much time is taken processing DPCs from driver invocation. The lower the value will result in better audio transfer at smaller buffer sizes. Results are measured in microseconds.
We test DPC latency out of the box with no tweaking or adjustments. The Z690 Unify so far (a lot more Z690 boards to go through) has the edge over other models tested, with a latency of 76.7 microseconds.
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PeachNCream - Monday, January 24, 2022 - link
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I'll take MB's with no overclocking for under $200, sense all of your benchmarks don't show any real world difference. Pumping in 450+ watts just for cpu and mb is ridiculous.The five ssd slots weren't tested so we have no idea if there is any issues filling those up.
No USB 4 is a no go.
Not sure if the 2x 2.5 ethernet is a benefit to anyone actually buying this.
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No Rgb lighting is a dream come true!!! I hate rgb lighting. It’s an cost added to pander gimmick hungry 4 year olds.ahadgis - Saturday, April 9, 2022 - link
Got a 9854 XTU mark (https://hwbot.org/submission/4971256_ahadgis_xtu_2... air cooled, 4 p cores at 52, 4 p cores at 51, all e cores at 41, and core voltage offset of -117mz. Not sure why everyone thinks liquid cooling is a hard requirement, although granted I have a nhd15 and 6 fans, so I suppose for that price you could liquid cool anyway. Details here --> https://www.reddit.com/r/sffpc/comments/tzzii9/fir...Anyone else seeing good results with air?
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The wattage/power limits can be set by changing the cooler style from water cooler (4096 watt) to boxed cooler (241 watt), once you do that the temperatures come down.