The MSI MAG Z590-A Pro is one of the cheapest ATX motherboards for Intel’s current (though soon to be replaced by Z690) chipset. In fact, regardless of form factor, it’s one of the least expensive Z590-based ATX motherboards available, at $199.99 (opens in new tab)† So while our expectations have been tempered, we’re confident the board has some interesting features to offer, just without some of the more premium hardware found on, well, almost every other more expensive Z590 alternative.
The Z590-A Pro has a capable power supply, three M.2 sockets, 2.5 GbE, six SATA ports and a unique checkerboard pattern on the circuit board. But some sacrifices are inevitable at this price. On this board, two of the three M.2 sockets do not have a heat sink. The audio codec is dated and no wifi is included (although there is a wifi model, for a bit more). But in this price range, such limitations are to be expected.
All in all, the MSI MAG Z590-A Pro is suitable for a budget board. While the VRMs were hotter than some of the others, they handled our stock Intel Core i9-11900K and overclocked to 5.1GHz with no problem. During our stock performance testing, results ranged from slightly above average (PCMark 10 Suite) to slightly below average during our stock performance testing in multi-threaded and long-running tests. Game performance was generally solid as well. Unless you try to load all cores/threads for a long time, you won’t notice any difference between the performance of this board and most others. On the following pages, we’ll discuss features and performance in more detail, and see if the MSI MAG Z590-A Pro deserves a spot on our best motherboards list. But first, here are the full specs, straight from MSI.
Specifications – MSI MAG Z590-A Pro
| Wall outlet | LGA 1200 |
| chipset | Z590 |
| form factor | ATX |
| Voltage regulator | 15 Phase (12x 55A MOSFETs for Vcore) |
| Video ports | (1) HDMI (2.0b) |
| (1) DisplayPort (v1.4) | |
| USB ports | (1) USB 3.2 Gen 2×2, Type-C (20 Gbps) |
| (1) USB 3.2 Gen 2, Type-A (10 Gbps) | |
| (2) USB 3.2 Gen 1, Type-A (5Gbps) | |
| (4) USB 2.0, Type-A (480 Gbps) | |
| Network connections | (1) 2.5 GbE |
| Audio connections | (6) Analog |
| Old ports/connections | PS/2 |
| Other ports/jack | |
| PCIe x16 | (1) v4.0 x16 |
| (1) v3.0 x4 | |
| PCIe x8 | |
| PCIe x4 | |
| PCIe x1 | (2) v3.0 x1 |
| CrossFire/SLIE | 2-way AMD Crossfire |
| DIMM slots | (4) DDR4 5333+(OC), 128GB capacity |
| M.2 slots | (1) PCIe 4.0 x4 / PCIe (up to 110mm) |
| (2) PCIe 3.0 x4 / PCIe + SATA (up to 80mm) | |
| *Supports RAID 0 and 1 | |
| U.2 ports | |
| SATA ports | (6) SATA3 6 Gbps *Supports RAID 0, 1, 5 and 10 |
| USB headers | (1) USB v3.2 Gen 2 (Front Panel Type-C) |
| (2) USB v3.2 Gen 1 | |
| (2) USB v2.0 | |
| Fan/Pump Heads | (8) 4-pin (PWM/DC) |
| RGB headers | (1) 4-pin RGB |
| (2) 3-pin ARGB | |
| Old interfaces | |
| Diagnostic panel | |
| Internal button/switch | |
| SATA controllers | |
| Ethernet controller(s) | Intel I225V (2.5GbE) |
| Wi-Fi / Bluetooth | |
| USB controllers | Genesys Logic GL850G |
| HD audio codec | Realtek ALC897 |
| TTL/DTS connection | I |
| Guarantee | 3 years |
When we open the box for this entry-level motherboard, we find the basics and not much more to get you started. Below is a full list of all included extras.
- Quick Installation Guide
- Product Registration Card
- (2) SATA cables
- (3) M.2 screws
- Driver DVD
- IO shield
When we take the MSI MAG Z590-A Pro out of the box, we are presented with a black semi-gloss 6-layer PCB with black VRM heatsinks for the VRM and the top M.2 connection. The print has a lined checkerboard pattern that fills the dead space. Whether that’s attractive is up to you. There is a small heatsink covering the chipset along with the A Pro branding in white on top. If you’re looking for integrated RGB elements, you’ll need to bring your own; there are RGB headers available on the board, but no built-in RBGs. Overall, the board looks like a cheap option as we don’t see additional M.2 heatsinks and shrouds covering the bottom part, but looks aren’t everything.
Starting with the top half of the board, we’ll start on the left and touch on the VRM heatsinks. The large heat sink arc over the rear IO bits cleans that area. Not much surface here (notches and such), but they do the job. There’s a white stripe of MSI branding here, along with more of the lined checkerboard pattern stamped into the aluminum.
Just above the VRM heatsink are the 8-pin EPS and optional 4-pin EPS connectors to send power to the CPU. On the right, over the top edge, are the first (of eight) 4-pin fan headers. Each header supports both PWM and DC fans. The CPU_FAN1 here is set to PWM mode by default and supports up to 2A/24W power. The PUMP_FAN1 header is also in PWM mode by default, but supports up to 3A/36W. Last but not least are the six SYS_FAN1-6 headers. These default to DC mode and support up to 1A/12W. There are plenty of headers and enough power for spinning fans and pumps on this motherboard.
As we go to the right, we come across four DRAM slots. The double-sided locking slots support up to 128 GB of RAM at speeds listed in DDR4 5333 for one DIMM per channel and single-rank kits. As always, your mileage may vary as reaching those speeds will depend on the memory you buy, along with the quality of the CPU’s integrated memory controller (IMC). We had no problems running DDR4 4000MHz with our 16GB kit by simply enabling XMP.
Along the right edge of the board we come across the first (of three) RGB headers. In this case, it’s a 4-pin RGB, while the other two 3-pin ARGB headers are on the bottom of the board. If you want RGB lighting, it has to come from your chassis or something else attached to the headers on the board.
Moving to the right, we come across two more fan headers and the EZ debug LED feature. The latter is a valuable tool for resolving POST issues. The four LEDs (labeled CPU, DRAM, BOOT, and VGA) light up during the POST process. If there is a problem with any of these steps, the LED will stay lit where the boat is stuck, telling you at a high level where the problem is. Then there’s the 24-pin ATX connector to power the board, a USB 3.2 Gen 1 header on the front panel, and a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C header on the front panel.
Continuing with the power delivery, MSI lists the Z590-A Pro as a 15-phase system with 12 phases for Vcore. Power is sent from the EPS connectors and to the Richtek RT3609BE 8-channel (X+Y=8) controller. Then it hits the 55A Alpha and Omega BR001C14 MOSFETs, which are arranged in a teamed configuration (no phase doublers, two MOSFETs per channel). The 660A available for Vcore is on the low end compared to many other boards. However, as you’ll see, it handled our flagship Intel Core i9-11900K in stock and while overclocking without worry.
Let’s focus on the bottom half of the board and start with the audio on the left. You will notice that it is fully visible. The budget Realtek ALC897 codec is visible, along with the audio divider and four yellow capacitors for sound. While the codec is a bit dated, it should still be fine for most users. If you buy one of the cheapest Z590 cards, chances are you won’t be using high-end speakers or high-end headphones.
In the center of the board are three M.2 sockets and a few PCIe slots. Starting with the PCIe configuration, there are a total of four slots: two full-length and two short x1s. The full-length top slot is beefed up, and because it’s connected through the CPU, it runs up to PCIe 4.0 x16 (with a Rocket Lake CPU). The second full-length slot is connected to the chipset and works up to PCIe 3.0 x4. This lane format only supports 2-Way AMD CrossfireX. The two x1 slots are also connected through the chip and work up to PCIe 3.0 x1.
When checking in to M.2 storage, the MSI Z590-A Pro comes with a total of three M.2 sockets. The top socket, M2_1, is connected to the CPU and runs at PCIe 4.0 x4 (64 Gbps) speeds. It only supports PCIe devices up to 110mm in length. It is also the only M.2 connection with a heat sink. The other two sockets, M2_2 and M2_3, are bare. These sockets operate up to PCIe 3.0 x4 (32 Gbps), support up to 80mm modules and both PCIe and SATA based devices. When M2_2 is in use with a SATA-based module, the SATA2 port is not available. When the M2_3 socket is used with a device, the SATA5/6 ports are disabled. The worst-case scenario? You can use three M.2 devices (two PCIe and one SATA) and three SATA drives for a total of six internal storage devices. This is enough for most users, especially those looking at the budget side.
Moving to the right, over the small pushpin attached chipset heatsink, we hit the right edge. MSI cut out part of the board here to help with cable management. This is unusual to see on this motherboard and is usually reserved for high-end solutions. Here you can see a horizontally mounted USB 3.2 Gen 1 header on the front panel and four of the six SATA ports. The SATA ports support RAID0, 1, and 10, while the NVMe sockets support RAID0 and 1.
At the bottom of the board are several headers, including additional USB, fan headers, and more. The other two SATA ports can also be found here and stick out of the board. Below is the full list of headlines, from left to right:
- Front panel audio
- 4-pin ARGB header
- (2) System Fan Heads
- 3-pin RGB header
- COM header
- 6-pin PCIe connector
- (2) USB 2.0 headers
- (2) SATA ports
- Front panel
- (2) 4-pin fan heads
The latter is the posterior IO area. The A-Pro comes with a black IO board to match the overall theme, but you’ll have to install it yourself. From left to right we see a Flash Bios button, two USB 2.0 ports and on top of that a legacy PS/2 port. To the right are the HDMI and DisplayPort video outputs, while the next stack contains two more USB 2.0 ports and two USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports (blue). Next up is the 2.5GbE port, along with the USB 3.2 Gen 2 (red) port and the 3.2 Gen 2×2 Type-C port. The latter is rare for this class of motherboards. The latter is a six-plug audio stack that does without the optical/SPDIF port. If you buy the WiFi version of this board, the antenna connections are between the LAN and the audio stack.
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