Introduction
Recently, the brand new MSI MEG X870E ACE MAX made its way into our offices. As a reminder, the MEG series of motherboards is taken into account the flagship series for MSI, and as such, typically has a number of the highest performing or best featured motherboards MSI has to supply.
MSI has gone with a complete of 5 (5) M.2 slots for NVME drives, all with FROZR heat sinks, two PCIe’s with metal reinforcement, a 3rd for further expansion, in addition to good enough RGB’s to make anyone blissful. These are all of the little things that MSI adds to its MEG series of motherboards to distinguish them from the MPG and MAG series below it. The query now’s, does the MSI MEG X870E ACE MAX live as much as the MEG series and meet its MSRP of $699?
Packaging and Contents
The MSI MEG X870E ACE MAX has a handful of accessories that may be present in the box, but not what we typically see on a motherboard on this price range. Inside the box, you will see the WIFI antenna, a sticker sheet for cable management, three (3) M.2 screws, and the MSI EZ M.2 Clipp II Remover tool to remove/swap out the M.2 mounting on the MEG 870E ACE MAX. Beyond this, there are the standard cables with 4 (4) SATA cables, two (2) Thermistor cables, one (1) 1-to-3 ARGB extension cable, one (1) 1-to-3 EZ Conn-Cable (V2), and a single EZ Front panel cable to assist with connection to your case.
Finally, there may be the usual regulatory notice, an MSI “Shout Out” pamphlet for leaving a review & registering your product, an install guide, and a single USB drive. This drive, like on most higher-end MSI motherboards, is included to offer drivers for all points of the motherboard in case you wish them during setup.
MSI MEG X870E ACE MAX Features
MSI has continued its black and gold scheme with the MSI MEG X870E ACE MAX, ensuring the user knows it’s only one step faraway from its big brother, the MSI MEG X870E GODLIKE MAX, which sits just above it in MSI’s range of high-performance motherboards. As with all X870E motherboards we now have seen to this point, we now have the usual 4 (4) DDR5 memory slots, a powerful five (5) M.2 slots, and an extra 4 (4) SATA ports, leaving you with no lack of storage. Beyond this, MSI has provided FROZR cooling that lives as much as the standards we now have come to expect from the classification, excluding the first M.2 slot cooling, but more on that later.
Power Delivery
With this motherboard coming in on the high end, you must not be surprised to see that MSI has targeted peak performance with a complete of 18+2+1 digital power phases, providing as much as a complete of 110 Amps through Smart Power Stage. This lines up nicely with other higher-end motherboards, and will give a lot of power for manual overclocking, let alone using AMD’s Precision Boost Overdrive (PBO). After we took a better have a look at the FROZR cooling design, it looks to be one in every of the more robust solutions provided on an X870E motherboard we now have run across, and the VRM cooling testing we did backs this up.
Memory and Storage
As with all other X870E and current generation consumer motherboards, the MSI MEG X870E ACE MAX is simply in a position to run Un-Buffered, Non-ECC, DDR5 memory. Where it differs from some is that it’s in a position to run a maximum of 64 GB per slot, for a complete of 256 GB, which is consistent with the utmost amounts we typically see on the consumer-level motherboards.
Now, capability isn’t the whole lot, memory is a spot where speed matters, and officially MSI claims a maximum speed of as much as 9,000 MT/s, nevertheless that’s with one stick. If you end up running two sticks, one per channel, and in single-rank (most 16/32 GB sticks meet this), you’ll be able to achieve as much as 8,400 MT/s, nevertheless for those who are loading up all 4 slots, you’ll more than likely be limited to across the ~6,4000 MT/s speed, which is not any slouch by itself.
Together with these speeds is the convenience of reaching them, due to EXPO (Or XMP) settings that many Memory manufacturers use to ease the overclocking process. As with most motherboards today, the MSI MEG X870E ACE MAX is in a position to utilize the pre-set settings for RAM sticks for quick and simple overclocking, something we had no issues with on our test bench, with our trust Patriot kit having the ability to easily hit its rated speed of 6,200 MT/s.
MSI was in a position to find space for five (5) total M.2 slots on this motherboard, two (2) of that are Gen5 speeds from the CPU, and the remaining three (3) are from the X870E chipset itself. It can be crucial to notice that there are some limitations to maintaining Gen5 speeds on the primary two slots, namely the primary slot will drop to x2 bandwidth (but not necessarily Gen4 speeds) when the third PCIe slot is in use, and similarly the second slot will drop in bandwidth when the 40 Gbps Type-C ports (either of them) are in use to x2 speeds.
With reference to the M.2 expansion options, we do need to indicate that the fifth slot is definitely positioned on the back of the motherboard, as that location shouldn’t be at all times essentially the most convenient location. With regards to cooling, the underside three (3) slots on the front of the MSI MEG X870E ACE MAX have cooling integral to the motherboard like we typically see, and can perform as expected, however the uppermost slot has a smaller cooler than we might expect.
Actually, it appears to be lacking in not only weight, but in surface area, for warmth dissipation. This shouldn’t be something we’re testing directly as we’re using our MSI M570 PRO FROZR drive on this slot in testing, but we do need to make our readers aware of this in case they’re anticipating using it for cooling on their primary drive. The last item we would love to indicate is that there additional storage expansion with 4 (4) SATA 6 GB/s ports positioned in the traditional location.
Expansion
For expansion, there are a complete of three (3) total PCIe slots, all of them 5.0 slots, with the highest two being full-size slots (Though only the highest is a full x16 lanes, the second being x8), and one being an x4 slot with a cutout to simply accept larger cards. In the event you need to install two (2) PCIe devices, remember that the highest slot will only operate in full x16 mode when there may be nothing within the second slot. Moreover, the third slot will drop to x2 speeds when there may be a drive installed within the top-most M.2 slot (this may be overrode within the BIOS to disable one or the opposite).
It is good to see that MSI has decided to go along with their STEEL ARMOR II system on each of the full-size PCIe slots, providing increased strength when installing larger PCIe cards in your system, something we typically only see on the first slot. Beyond this, the first slot has a button for card removal, as an alternative of the standard “wing” on the discharge mechanism, which helps immensely with the removal of a GPU when required. Finally, we wish to say that there may be an 8-pin power connector positioned on the underside of the motherboard that is meant solely for adding supplemental power for all three (3) PCIe slots, something that may turn out to be useful with the ability hungry GPU’s or NPU’s that can typically be installed on this motherboard.
I/O
The I/O provided on the MSI MEG X870E ACE MAX is, in a single word, staggering. In total, there are 22 total USB type ports provided for either the rear I/O panel or the front panel, with five (5) of them being Type-C ports. Of those there are nine (9) are USB Type-A ten Gbps ports on the rear, one other 4 (4) Type-A ports at 5 Gbps for the front, two (2) 10 Gbps Type-C ports on the rear with one other two (2) at 40 Gbps, in addition to one (1) more 20 Gbps Type-C on the front port, and 4 (4) more USB 2.09 front ports being provided.
Beyond this, there may be an HDMI port on the rear I/O for running a monitor off of the CPU’s GPU, together with two WIFI plugs for WIFI-7 from the Mediatek MT7927 chip, and two (2) RJ-45 ports for Ethernet. One (1) of those is a ten Gb/s port from the Marvell AQC113CS controller, and the 5 Gb/s port is from a Realtek RTL8126 controller positioned on the motherboard. Beyond this, there may be the usual Flash BIOS Button, the Clear CMOS button, and a “Smart Button” that may be programmed within the UEFI to toggle the ELDs, reset the system to protected mode, or set all fans to full speed. Finally, on the rear I/O panel is the audio connections, with a Mic-In and Line-Out in addition to an S/PDIF from the Realtek ALC4082 Codec and ESS9219Q Combo DAC/HPA chips, giving the power to have as much as 7.1 surround sound from the motherboard itself.
With regards to cooling connectors, there are a complete of eight (8) 4-pin fan connectors for max versatility. One (1) of those is devoted to the CPU fan, two (2) more are for combo ports for Fan or Pump operation, and the remaining five (5) are for system fan connections. Within the cooling mindset, there may be also one (1) water flow connector, together with two (2) more thermal sensors in addition to a Tuning controller connector. Finally, there are three (3) addressable V2 RGB LED connectors together with a single standard RGB LED connector.
UEFI
The MSI MEG X870E ACE MAX has MSI’s latest “Click BIOS X”, a UEFI BIOS that we now have come to enjoy here at The FPS Review, and the implementation on this motherboard lives as much as our expectations. As usual, you might be initially greeted with the “EZ Mode” screen that offers quick access to adjusting the XMP mode on your memory and a CPU Game Boost, together with an AI Boost for an NPU (If installed).
Below these, you will see additional settings which can be common adjustments, similar to Precision Boost Overdrive (PBO) levels, settings for the EZ Digi-Debug LED, or changing temperature units inside the UEFI, to call a couple of options. Moreover, there are quick references to CPU speed, voltage, and temperature, together with DRAM speeds and capability, fan speeds, and a storage overview. The ultimate setting we wish to call attention to is the short access for the Hardware Monitor, where you’ll be able to adjust any fan speed curve (or force full speed), moreover, temperatures and voltages may be viewed for principally every setting on the motherboard.
The true meat of the UEFI though is within the “Advanced” tab at the highest or accessed by hitting “F7”. When first entering Advanced menus, the user is greeted with an easy System Status showing the system date/time, SATA and M.2 drive statuses, and the ever-present Information panel with general Motherboard, CPU, DRAM, and Voltage data. Outside of this, there are tabs for Advanced, Overclocking, Security, Boot, and Save & Exit. As we now have undergone the Click BIOS X in depth with previous reviews, we’ll touch on only the highlights and encourage you to check out the gallery below.
What most readers will likely be thinking about is the overclocking and PBO settings. These may be accessed in two alternative ways: either through the Advanced tab on the very bottom or the Overclocking tab itself. Each of those menus offer nearly similar options to regulate. When accessing through the Overclocking tab, the foremost settings that users adjust are available, while the Advanced tab has additional options buried inside the structure tree.
Motherboard Performance
As with all of our recent 2025 reviews, we will likely be using our latest performance section. You can see images of all of our testing leads to the gallery, while the next paragraphs summarize what we experienced. As with our 2025 AMD reviews, in 2026, we will likely be using our Ryzen 9 7900X CPU for all of our performance benchmarks.
Our first test is the storage test, and as we mentioned above, with this review, we now have done something barely different from what we typically do. We still are using our MSI SPATIUM M570 PRO FROZR (originally reviewed at the tip of 2023) as our primary drive, and our ADATA LEGEND 970 2TB NVME SSE within the second Gen5 slot, and for this review we now have added two additional drives in a Samsung 980 Pro 500 GB, and an SK Hynix Platinum P41 1TB drive, with the goal of pushing the CPU and chipset so far as we are able to.
During testing, the M570 got here in at 12,374 MB/s read and 11,652 MB/s write; the LEGEND 970 got here in at 7,469 MB/s read and seven,006 MB/s write. The 2 Gen4 drives got here in a distant third, with the P41 hitting 4,489 MB/s read and three,888 MB/s write, and the 980 Pro with 3,694 MB/s read and 4,377 MB/s write. These speeds were all about consistent with what we expect for all these drives on this layout.
The following test is our memory testing using AIDA64’s Cache & Memory Benchmark. The MSI MEG X870E ACE MAX was in a position to achieve a read speed of 73,525 MB/s, a write speed of 78,065 MB/s, and a replica speed of 68,314 MB/s. That is a little bit bit far and wide, with the read and replica speeds a bit lower than expected, however the write speed coming in at one in every of the upper X870E speeds we now have seen.
Our synthetic benchmark tests are up next, with 3DMark, PCMark, Cinebench (R23 and 2024), V-Ray, blender, and eventually GeekBench6. 3DMark is available in with a rating of 12,886 for max threads within the CPU Profile test, and a CPU rating of 20,373 for Night Raid, with a complete rating of 10,195 (Includes full system). PCMark is available in with a complete rating of seven,024, which is a brand new platform low that we now have seen with this CPU. After this, Cinebench R23 clocks in at 28,195 points on the Multi-Core, and 1,998 points on the Single-Core test, and 2024 is available in with 1,620 points and 120 points respectively, each Cinebench results bring us back to where we expect to be with our testing.
With V-Ray, we had a final rating of 31,227, which is true at what we expect with this setup. Blender is available in at 192 for the Monster test, 134 for junkshop, and 102 for classroom, again right consistent with expectations. Our final synthetic benchmark is Geekbench, where we hit a Multi-Core rating of 17,371 and a Single-Core rating of three,025, which falls a bit in need of previous testing.
VRM Temperature
The last testing we accomplished on the MSI MEG X870E ACE MAX is the VRM temperature test. For this test, we run the Cinebench 2023 Multi-Core test for no less than quarter-hour to completely stress the system. On the 15-minute mark, we take a screenshot and record the temperatures as reported by essentially the most current version of HWiNFO 64, in addition to a manual temperature reading with a Handheld Infrared thermometer. All testing occurs at an ambient temperature of roughly 75°F (24°C).
Cooling for the MSI MEG X870E ACE MAXI is beefed up in comparison with a number of the X870 motherboards we now have seen. Our handheld thermometer read a hot temperature of 56°C, while HWiNFO gave us a maximum MOSFET temperature of 62.5°F, and a chipset temperature of 71°C.
Conclusion
In testing the MSI MEG X870E ACE MAX, we had some ups and downs in performance, but overall, it met our high expectations for an MSI Enthusiast Gaming (MEG) branded motherboard. The cooling worked exceptionally well on the ability delivery, giving headroom for overclocking, and the layout allowed for straightforward installation into our test bench.
Installation and Use
Physical installation of the MSI MEG X870E ACE MAX was smooth for us on our test bench, with no real complaints unless we’re being nitpicky concerning the inclusion of a fifth M.2 on the rear of the motherboard that can more than likely see limited use for many users. Windows installed with zero issues for us, and located the entire drivers for the motherboard, from essentially the most recent chipset to the network drivers (each Ethernet and WIFI), there was no driver that wasn’t found.
Final Points
The MSI MEG X870E ACE MAX turned out to be truly a “mini-GODLIKE” motherboard, and with an MSRP of $699, it is unquestionably a cheaper one, too. Currently, it’s priced barely below MSRP on the time of writing. It has the higher-end performance, tons of storage options with five (5) total M.2 NVMe slots, together with 4 (4) more SATA ports to offer tons of storage options, at a somewhat manageable price tag. If there may be anything we might knock on this motherboard, it is just the worth, but with the present price hikes we now have seen on all devices, that may almost be written off for a motherboard of this quality.