Subsystem Testing
For all Subsystem Testing, an Intel Core i9-10900K (3.7GHz / 5.3GHz Boost) and 4x 8GB (32GB total) Corsair Vengeance LPX (3866MHz DDR4 18-19-19-39, 2T@1.35v) memory modules running at DDR4 3200MHz speeds were used. For power, I used the Corsair RM1000i 1000watt unit. Our discreet graphics card needs were handled by an MSI RTX 2080 Super Gaming X-Trio. The CPU was cooled with a Koolance Exos 2.5 system and Koolance CPU 390 water block.
Sound Hardware
For audio, MSI integrated the Realtek ALC1220 HD audio CODEC into the MPG Z490 Gaming Carbon WiFi. It is a 7.1 channel CODEC. MSI doesn’t provide a lot of detail on the specifications, but the implementation does include PCB isolation and separate PCB layers for left and right channel audio. It even includes a de-pop circuit to prevent that annoying noise whenever you plug headphones or speakers in.
Audio Specifications
- Realtek® ALC1220 Codec
- 7.1-Channel High Definition Audio
- Supports S/PDIF output
Audio – Subjective Listening
The audio quality when gaming or watching videos was quite good. The CODEC implementation seems to be pretty much bog-standard, but it gets the job done. Although, MSI isn’t exactly breaking new territory here or going above and beyond.
Audio – Subjective Recording / Playback
With the microphone boost enabled, the audio playback was good, with no discernible distortion. Volume levels were decent but not as high as I might have expected. With the microphone boost option disabled, there was no significant distortion present, but the volume levels were low enough that the sample was nearly inaudible.
DPC Latency
For those who may not know what DPC is, I’ll explain. Deferred procedure calls are a function within Windows that allows higher priority tasks such as device drivers to defer lower priority tasks for execution at later times. It’s an interrupt and reassignment of sorts performed by the operating system.
DPC latency varies from board model to model and brand to brand. DPC issues show up in the form of audio dropouts and streaming video issues. Naturally, this is something that the enthusiast would want to avoid. I used LatencyMon and let it run for 10 minutes to graph the results. I have compiled a list of several systems I’ve tested over the last year and placed the results in a graph for easy reference.
The DPC latency of the MSI MPG Z490 Gaming Carbon WiFi was 747, which was well under our 1,000u threshold for experiencing audio dropouts and playback issues.