Conclusion
The MSI MEG X570 Unify is a bit of a niche product. While it is a competently executed motherboard with a solid feature set, the lack of RGB LED lighting makes it a divisive product. There are plenty of enthusiasts who don’t care about RGB LEDs and as I said earlier, there is the crowd that is deeply offended by them. This motherboard would be at home with either crowd. That said, RGB LED motherboards sell, and lots of people like them. I think RGB LED items have gone a bit overboard at times, but I still believe they can be used to showcase your system and can be done in a way that’s tasteful.
I’m glad the MSI MEG X570 Unify exists as it gives those who have ardent opinions about not paying for RGB LED lighting something they can purchase for a reasonable price. The MSI MEG X570 Unify has a solid VRM and a solid feature set which doesn’t make too many compromises to hit its price point.
Overclocking
Fortunately, or unfortunately, overclocking isn’t something that’s terribly interesting here. When you get down to it, as long as you have a reasonably good VRM and good environmental variables, it all comes down to the CPU. The settings and results I’ve seen and achieved on each motherboard using this same CPU have all been well…….the same.
That is to say that each of them can achieve memory clocks in excess of DDR4 3600MHz. Each of them can drive this CPU to 4.3GHz on an all-core overclock using a voltage setting of 1.35v. You can achieve this result effortlessly in both the UEFI BIOS or via Ryzen Master.
Operating Temperatures
When it comes to motherboard temperatures, the MSI MEG X570 Unify did well enough. The MOSFET temperatures measured around 122F/50c according to MSI’s Dragon Center software. This seemed to be fairly accurate as the infrared thermometer showed a result of between 119F/48c and 124F/51c at different points on each MOSFET heatsink. Aluminum heats up fairly evenly as it’s a good conductor. So, its probably only slightly hotter at the base of the heat sink.
Furthermore, the chipset reported temperatures of 120F/49c without the chipset fan ever engaging. It seems that MSI chose to prioritize silence over thermal performance. I have no doubt that in an actual chassis, this fan would actually run more often than it did on my test bench.
Naturally, I also verified the temperatures with HWInfo64, which showed exactly the same data as MSI’s software. The heat pipe setup for the MOSFETs seems to be one of the most efficient I’ve seen, but in fairness, its an open air test bench and its winter right now and quite cold in the office.
BIOS
Using the UEFI BIOS, the user experience is quite good. There are plenty of overclocking options to choose from. However, the interface does show its age at times. As I said before, MSI does employ far too many sub-menus which are entirely unnecessary. Despite its price, the MSI MEG X570 Unify has everything you need to achieve a solid overclock. Sometimes, settings you need to dial an overclock in are reserved for more expensive offerings.
Value
With some motherboards, there are a lot of things to talk about. Really expensive motherboards almost need to be justified or compared to cars such as a Ferrari in order for it to make any sense. Sometimes all you can do is justify a board by it being super nice, or exclusive in some way. On some ultra-low end boards, you basically have to excuse several issues, design flaws, a lack of features or whatever by its low price. “At least its cheap” becomes the reason for its’ existence.
The MSI MEG X570 Unify isn’t on the upper end of the cost spectrum so I don’t have to figure out where it fits in the market or try and isolate reasons why someone might want it. The MSI MEG X570 Unify is currently $299 at Amazon and $299 at Newegg. This isn’t the cheapest X570 board by any means, but it also isn’t near the high-end pricing of many X570 boards. It is at a price that sits mid-way between X570 SKUs. Given the features and performance, it seems appropriately priced for such a sleek motherboard with a clear theme. It also has an outstanding VRM in the segment. One that’s better than some similarly priced options from other vendors.
Effectively, the reason why this motherboard exists is to cater to a very specific crowd of people who either don’t care about, or absolutely hate RGB LED lighting. There are several people who hate RGB LED lighting to a degree that’s bordering on obsessive or even irrational. Even if you don’t care about RGB one way or the other, the blacked out theme is aesthetically pleasing for sure. If that’s appealing to you, then the MSI MEG X570 Unify is definitely for you.
Final Points
The MSI X570 Unify board is aesthetically pleasing as it is, so it is nice that it looks good despite being free of any lighting. The blacked-out theme will suit people well who are looking for a sleek yet simple design. I can imagine this motherboard being used with EK’s zero maintenance tubing and acetal water blocks in a custom loop build and think something along those lines would look amazing.
I really liked the MSI MEG X570 Unify. It is one of those motherboards that takes a “less is more” approach. There is everything you need and almost nothing you don’t. The only extra you really get is wireless. Which, depending on who you are you might actually want that. It did almost everything well and the only real technical complaint I have about it concerns the Realtek network controller. For the money, I can’t even fault MSI too much on that front.
At the end of the day, the MSI MEG X570 Unify is a very good mid-range motherboard that might just fit the bill if you’re looking for a high-performance motherboard without RGB LED lighting and a sleek aesthetic design.
I’m going to give this MSI gaming motherboard a silver award for two reasons. Primarily, it’s an excellent value as it provides the best VRM I’ve seen in its price range. The build quality is there and the feature set is fantastic aside from the Realtek NIC, which is still good on paper. It’s not the best NIC in its class, but again it’s one of the things MSI had to compromise on to keep the price down. Secondly, MSI chose to buck the RGB LED trend and provide something that’s visually unique and caters to a market that felt as though they weren’t being heard. For that, I think MSI nailed the design of the MSI MEG X570 Unify.
Discussion
