Words & Conclusion

Final Words 

MSI offers a motherboard loaded with features and build quality. next to that, it oozes performance, it was one of the fastest platforms we have used with the 13900K. Of course we;re a few weeks passed launch, and BIOS'es are optimized a bit better. The performance is there. Cooling of course, will be trivial. Part of that faster performance is that MSI has a cooling detection protocol at BIOS level; the second it sees a new CPU it'll determine the best performance settings, allowing you to make choices. if you install liquid cooling, you'll likely get this as output: 

As you can see, the choice here determines the power limiters. That 4096W value is not correct of course, think of it as an unlimited value, but your processor is free to use up its maximum wattage and this performance. 

The ACE is a visual feast for the eyes that radiates quality and performance, and we also quickly checked our 7600 MHz DDR5 kit here, and it ran without a hitch. That DDR5 kit, by the way, will be evaluated separately. For the money, you get an E-ATX Gaming motherboard with PCIe 5.0, DDR5, 24+1 Power Stages, 2.5Gb LAN, Bluetooth V5.2, 5x M.2/NVMe SSD, and 2x Thunderbolt 4 ports, as well as (WiFi 6E) and LGA 1700 support for Intel 13th&12th Gen processors. Pricing-wise, you have to pay 699 USD for this motherboard, my god when did PC gaming get so expensive?  We believe that Z790 motherboards should be priced between 200 and 300 EUR, as nearly all motherboards will perform likewise. As an alternative; a firmware-updated Z690 motherboard will likewise do the job just as well and is likely to be cheaper in the near future. Put some DDR4 in there, and you will have 98% of the same performance.

Performance

We utilized a DDR5 6000 kit for this review, and that revealed spectacular bandwidth; albeit you'll gain some performance we don't think it's worth the money though to spend too much on high-frequency kits though—more on that in a separate review of course. The performance, then, this motherboard is built and refined for just that. That goes from processor and memory performance towards WIFI6E and Ethernet with even dual 2.5 Gbps links. We do have to say that we're a little surprised to not receive a 10 Gbps ethernet connector in this price class. The ACE comes with a very sophisticated power phase arrangement, pro overclockers will love this. Our take on PCIe 5.0 is this: at this time and stage, it's not needed for graphics cards, and while for soon-to-be-released SSDs it might be a nice gimmick, we doubt that other than sustained performance, things will be much different. For us, at this time it's not a selling point. 

DDR5 Memory

If you decide to go for a completely new platform, the elephant in the room is the cost of ownership. While DDR5 memory will get cheaper next year, you'll likely pay a price premium. For intel, we recommend at least 5200 MHz; however, much like AMD, 6000 MHz might be a nice sweet spot. Stability-wise, we had no issues, we took a random 6000 MHZ kit, and it worked beautifully. We also tested our 7200 MHz kit without any hiccups.

Energy efficiency

The Core i9-13900K is a processor rated at a staggering max 253 Watts TDP (PL2) states. That does not mean the processor runs that all the time; however, for bursts of time when needed, it can pull that wattage. Overall the temperatures peaks high, but only for a short amount of time. We see better overall values than what AMD is offering with the 7950X. You could cool this processor with a premium heatpipe-based cooler; however, we'd advise a nice LCS kit. Our processor reached 97C for a short burst of time and then settles in the 80-85'ies C under a fully threaded load. 

The conclusion

We're still a little baffled as to how much money you need to pay for a premium motherboard these days. The MSRP for the ACE sits at 699 USD, here in the EU it's even more absurd as it's listed at close to 1000 EUR. Even with a VAT differential, it seems that retailers really are trying to make the best out of their income. Nauseating.

Strictly focussing on the hardware itself, we of course have to admit that the ACE is nearly a bit of a masterpiece. It isn't flawless though, the ATX power connectors are positioned odd, the aRGB connector sits at the wrong side of the motherboard, and in this price class we do expect 10 Gbps ethernet. Other then that, it ticks all the right boxes (pricing excluded). The ACEs has a lot to offer. Five NVMe SSD storage options, WIFI6E (which works really nicely). Thunderbolt is onboard, (but that makes it even more expensive). The VRM design is more than you ever wish or need, and the DNA of PCIe gen 4.0 and 5.0 breathes through the platform. The platform will also support the fastest memories (think 7200 MHz - we dropped it in and enabled the SPD3.0  profile, and it worked beautifully). Hardware wise this puppy is sound; we had no stability issues, the WIFI6E on the 5 and 6 GHz band is lighting fast, the 2.5 GigE LAN jacks perform well, the 105A Power Stages and loads of connectivity in the form of M2, SATA and USB and thunderbolt, it's all lovely.

It is safe to conclude that this motherboard is intended only for privileged computer enthusiasts with deep pockets, rather than casual gamers or consumers. For a budget-conscious audience, this is not a viable option. Each market, however, has its own niche of customers, and the ACE is focused firmly at this segment. As a result, while it is a great piece of hardware, many better deals are available. If you want nothing but the best, it's yours for $699 USD.

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