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Review: MSI MEG Z490I Unify

by Tarinder Sandhu on 3 August 2020, 14:01

Tags: MSI, Intel (NASDAQ:INTC)

Quick Link: HEXUS.net/qaenak

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CPU Tests

Seeing a PiFast score of 12.2 seconds intimates the board is correctly applying the maximum frequency for the Core i9-10900K, which is 5.3GHz under Thermal Velocity Boost.

Numbers for multi-core benchmarks are dependant on how the board applies the all-core turbo speeds. Both MSIs run at 4.8GHz while the Asus cranks up to 4.9GHz irrespective of temperature. MSI does it correctly, per Intel's spec, as Thermal Velocity Boost is only supposed to kick-in when temps remain below 70°C, which they don't in the longer Blender test.

The bottom line is that the Mini-ITX MSI board is able to run a >125W TDP Core i9-10900K with no problem at all. It should do, too, as even 200W of socket power barely tickles the capability of the power-delivery system.