When it comes to high-end motherboards, it’s quite common for manufacturers to go for sizes larger than the ATX standard, usually using the E-ATX or XL-ATX format. However, it seems to MSI that this has gotten out of hand, as their Z690 Godlike is not only the biggest motherboard in the mainstream segment, but it won’t be compatible with almost every box either.
MSI’s New Nonsense Is Called Z690 Godlike
The three major motherboard manufacturers in the market have already presented their top-of-the-line models, and all of them are from E-ATX format But with a few differences in terms of size: the ASUS ROG Maxmus Z690 Extreme measures 305 x 277mm, while the AORUS Z690 Xtreme has similar dimensions, 305 x 285mm. However, the MSI MEG Z690 Godlike has dimensions that are going to be 305 x 310 mmIn other words, it is a wider than a tall plate, something unheard of in the consumer sector.
What does this imply? This height maintains the 305 mm standard for the E-ATX format and in this regard you will have no problem to be able to install it in any PC case compatible with this format, but the problem lies in its 31 centimeters wide, which will make it incompatible with the vast majority of PC cases, and even in which it can be installed, will cover the perforations for the passage of cables (making this very difficult or even impossible) or force users to do without components of the the front of the case, such as racks for hard drives or the elimination of the possibility of installing radiators or front fans.
In the image above you can see the scheme of PCB of this motherboard from MSI, where you will surely be struck by its “non-standard” layout, with the CPU socket projected towards the center and enormous space to the right of the RAM memory sockets. This has caused, as we have already commented, the dimensions of the plate are so out of the norm that they come to make it incompatible with the majority of PC cases in the current market. Did MSI not take this into account before creating such nonsense?
And speaking of nonsense, so is the sale price: MSI has announced that it will go on sale at a price of $ 2,099
It’s a high end plate, but is it worth it?
With the MEG Z690 Godlike, MSI wanted to stand out from the competition by putting all the meat on the grill, and what must be recognized is that this plate is full of characteristics that differentiate it from the competition, starting with its large number of I / O Ports comprising both 10GbE and 2.5GbE LAN ports, 8 USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, 2 USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C and two mini DisplayPorts, and terminated in their six M sockets .2 (only one of them PCIe 5.0, yes the rest is PCIe 4.0 x4) or its 22 phase VRM.
However, more than by its undoubtedly remarkable technical characteristics, MSI wished to stand out by the inclusion of a 3.5 inch LCD screen that, the eye on the data, it is tactile! But… why do you want a touchscreen on the motherboard?
In the end, incorporating that dubious LCD touchscreen into the motherboard itself is what it seems has derailed the manufacturer with the size, creating a real grotesque that the vast majority of users will not be able. to use it on a PC because of its size, which apart from professional overclockers no one is going to use it (compared to at least other cards which cost 5 times less), and that only the pockets the lucky ones will be able to pay.
So, and by answering the question in the title of this section, the answer is no, not worth it Buy an MSI MEG Z690 Godlike not even close, especially having authentic ATX formatted wonders for a quarter of what this card costs and which will ultimately give us the same versatility and performance we would get for this one.
