Introduction
Before the entire NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30 series and AMD Radeon RX 6000 series launches, MSI reached out to me asking if I'd like to take a look at their hardware in the form of building a system around the MSI Z490 Unify motherboard being the heart and soul of the machine.
I agreed, and asked that if I built a system with the MSI Z490 Unify motherboard as the heart and soul of the PC that it would be nice to have the rest of the machine with MSI components. So they sent out their MSI MAG CORELIQUID 360R AIO liquid CPU cooler to tame Intel's flagship Core i9-10900K processor.
MSI also sent over their MPG Sekira 500X RGB tempered glass case to put it all in, while the entire system is powered by MSI's new entry into the PSU scene with the MPG A850GF power supply.
There was no restriction on what I needed to do with the machine, so what I have started with is re-running the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Founders Edition, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Founders Edition, MSI GeForce RTX 3090 SUPRIM X and MSI GeForce RTX 3080 SUPRIM X graphics cards through my usual rounds of testing.
I've also put MSI's custom GeForce RTX 3090, RTX 3080, and RTX 3070 GAMING X TRIO cards through the system -- but have used the faster SUPRIM
I've got some Cyberpunk 2077 benchmarks at 8K coming in the pipeline as well, powered by the MSI Z490 Unify + Intel Core i9-10900K combo. For now, these are the reviews of the graphics cards I'm testing again on the MSI Z490 Unify + Intel Core i9-10900K combo here today:
- Read more: MSI GeForce RTX 3090 SUPRIM X Review
- Read more: MSI GeForce RTX 3080 SUPRIM X Review
- Read more: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Founders Edition review
- Read more: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Founders Edition review
MSI Parts Used
After MSI asked if I wanted to do some testing with their GeForce RTX 30 series cards and the Intel Core i9-10900K and MSI MEG Z490 Unify motherboard, I asked if they would like me to use other MSI products in the article.
They agreed, so the CPU cooler, PSU and case were on their way and the upgrade began.
MSI sent over their Z490 Unify motherboard, which is the heart and soul here -- taking in our Core i9-10900K processor, super-huge Sabrent Rocket Q 8TB NVMe SSD, and G.SKILL Trident Z Royal RAM.
I think I was most excited for MSI to send me their huge MPG Sekira 500X case, as this started off with a 'hey, do you want an MSI Z490 Unify motherboard to do some testing on' into a full-on MSI-exclusive system. The MSI MPG Sekira 500X is a freaking hefty beast of a case, but man does it keep the system nice and cool -- and quiet -- oh and it looks dope, too.
I've got a hefty MSI MAG CORELIQUID 360R AIO liquid cooler keeping the Intel Core i9-10900K nice and chill, installed onto the MSI Z490 Unify motherboard. I have to say this is my first time using an MSI AIO cooler and I love it, the design really looks great inside of the machine.
MSI wanted me to use their MPG A850GF power supply, which is another first for me -- never used an MSI PSU before, and neither have you I'm sure. MSI has only just entered the PSU market, so I've been using this 850W unit for all of the testing on this new MSI Z490 Unify + Core i9-10900K system.
On the graphics side of things I'm using the RTX 3090/3080 FE cards as well as the MSI RTX 3090/3090 SUPRIM X graphics cards -- two of the fastest Ampere cards on the market.
The Rest of the Parts Used
One of the most insane parts of this new MSI system is the Rocket Q NVMe 8TB SSD that our good friends at Sabrent sent over -- yeah a huge 8TB super-fast NVMe SSD that pumps away at 3GB/sec.
- Read more: Sabrent Rocket Q NVMe 8TB SSD Review
G.SKILL helped in a big way by sending over some super-fast, and super-stylish Trident Z Royal DDR4 RAM. Installed into the MSI Z490 Unify motherboard is 16GB (8GB x 2) of G.SKILL Trident Z Royal DDR4-3600 memory (CL16-16-16-36).
Another important part of this rig is the flagship Intel Core i9-10900K processor, a beasty 10-core/20-thread CPU that rocks up to around 5GHz under gaming loads. Plenty for the testing we'll be doing with it -- and some 8K testing with this new system should push that 10900K to the limit.
- Read more: Intel Core i9 10900K CPU Review
Benchmarks - Synthetic
3DMark Fire Strike
3DMark has been a staple benchmark for years now, all the way back to when The Matrix was released and Futuremark had bullet time inspired benchmarks. 3DMark is the perfect tool to see if your system - most important, your CPU and GPU - is performing as it should. You can search results for your GPU, to see if it falls in line with other systems based on similar hardware.
3DMark TimeSpy
Heaven - 1080p
Heaven is an intensive GPU benchmark that really pushes your silicon to its limits. It's another favorite of ours as it has some great scaling for multi-GPU testing, and it's great for getting your GPU to 100% for power and noise testing.
Benchmarks - 1080p
Assassin's Creed: Valhalla is the latest game to be inserted into our benchmark suite, with Ubisoft Montreal using its AnvilNext engine to power the game. It scales really well across the cards, and has some surprising performance benefits with AMD's new Big Navi GPUs.
You can buy Assassins Creed: Valhalla at Amazon.
Middle-earth: Shadow of War is a sequel to the popular Shadow of Mordor, which was powered by the Lithtech engine. When cranked up to maximum detail, it will chew through your GPU and its VRAM like it's nothing.
You can buy Middle-earth: Shadow of War at Amazon.
Metro Exodus is one of the hardest tests that our graphics cards have to go through, with 4A Games' latest creation being one of the best looking games on the market. It is a serious test that pushes GPUs to their limits, and also features RTX technologies like DLSS.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider is one of the latest games to join our graphics card benchmark lineup, with the game built using the Foundation engine as a base, the same engine in Rise of the Tomb Raider. Eidos Montreal R&D department made lots of changes to the engine during the development of Shadow of the Tomb Raider to make it one of the best-looking games out right now.
1080p Benchmark Performance Thoughts
I wouldn't be rushing out and buying many thousands of dollars of the very best components on the market for gaming at 1080p -- but hey if you want to see the numbers anyway, I've got them. The RTX 3090 SUPRIM X screams in every single test.
Benchmarks - 1440p
Assassin's Creed: Valhalla is the latest game to be inserted into our benchmark suite, with Ubisoft Montreal using its AnvilNext engine to power the game. It scales really well across the cards, and has some surprising performance benefits with AMD's new Big Navi GPUs.
You can buy Assassins Creed: Valhalla at Amazon.
Middle-earth: Shadow of War is a sequel to the popular Shadow of Mordor, which was powered by the Lithtech engine. When cranked up to maximum detail, it will chew through your GPU and its VRAM like it's nothing.
You can buy Middle-earth: Shadow of War at Amazon.
Metro Exodus is one of the hardest tests that our graphics cards have to go through, with 4A Games' latest creation being one of the best looking games on the market. It is a serious test that pushes GPUs to their limits, and also features RTX technologies like DLSS.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider is one of the latest games to join our graphics card benchmark lineup, with the game built using the Foundation engine as a base, the same engine in Rise of the Tomb Raider. Eidos Montreal R&D department made lots of changes to the engine during the development of Shadow of the Tomb Raider to make it one of the best-looking games out right now.
1440p Benchmark Performance Thoughts
85FPS in Assassin's Creed: Valhalla on the MSI RTX 3090 SUPRIM X overclocked is impressive, but the RTX 3080 holds its own here -- that's a big deal. In Shadow of War the RTX 3090 SUPRIM X is kicking ass pumping away at 176FPS average.
MSI nearly breaches 100FPS in Metro Exodus at 1440p with the RTX 3090 SUPRIM X, up 5FPS from stock clocks at 94FPS and up 6FPS from the RTX 3090 FE at 92FPS average. It's not a lot, but at near-100FPS it matters... every FPS counts sometimes.
200FPS in Shadow of the Tomb Raider at 1440p -- yeah, that's more than fine.
Benchmarks - 4K
Assassin's Creed: Valhalla is the latest game to be inserted into our benchmark suite, with Ubisoft Montreal using its AnvilNext engine to power the game. It scales really well across the cards, and has some surprising performance benefits with AMD's new Big Navi GPUs.
You can buy Assassins Creed: Valhalla at Amazon.
Middle-earth: Shadow of War is a sequel to the popular Shadow of Mordor, which was powered by the Lithtech engine. When cranked up to maximum detail, it will chew through your GPU and its VRAM like it's nothing.
You can buy Middle-earth: Shadow of War at Amazon.
Metro Exodus is one of the hardest tests that our graphics cards have to go through, with 4A Games' latest creation being one of the best looking games on the market. It is a serious test that pushes GPUs to their limits, and also features RTX technologies like DLSS.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider is one of the latest games to join our graphics card benchmark lineup, with the game built using the Foundation engine as a base, the same engine in Rise of the Tomb Raider. Eidos Montreal R&D department made lots of changes to the engine during the development of Shadow of the Tomb Raider to make it one of the best-looking games out right now.
4K Benchmark Performance Thoughts
This is what I'm talking about -- 4K gaming.
MSI has your back with the GeForce RTX 3090 SUPRIM X mixed with the flagship Core i9-10900K processor, with 63FPS average in Assassin's Creed: Valhalla. We have 131FPS average in Shadow of War, up from the RTX 3080 FE and its 108FPS average.
69FPS average for the MSI RTX 3090 SUPRIM X overclocked in Metro Exodus at 4K, which is one of the harder tests on GPUs. You can actually hit 4K 120FPS with the MSI RTX 3090 SUPRIM X and Intel Core i9-10900K combo, which was so incredibly smooth to watch on my 43-inch 4K 120Hz monitor. Very, very smooth.
Final Thoughts
I was quite impressed with the entire MSI Z490 Unify + Intel Core i9-10900K setup, but most of all with the all-MSI system. In what started out with just the motherboard, turned into a full MSI system that I will continue to use for articles on 8K gaming battles against AMD's just-released Zen 3-powered Ryzen 9 5900X processor.
MSI's entire system ran nice and cool throughout my weeks of testing, with enough (but quiet) airflow keeping the very hot components (the Core i9-10900K isn't a cool-running chip) and neither are the GeForce RTX 3090 and GeForce RTX 3080 graphics cards when they're overclocked to the max.
If you want some of the very best components you can buy, including a ridiculously over-the-top and super-fast GeForce RTX 3090 graphics card? The assembly of components here -- super-powered by the Sabrent Rocket Q 8TB NVMe SSD -- is drool-worthy.
And yes... it plays Cyberpunk 2077 -- all the way up at 4K 60FPS with RTX ray tracing and DLSS enabled.