The MSI MEG Z490 Unify is one of the most compelling motherboards of the Z490 launch. It has great looks with its black on black stealth aesthetic and a robust feature set with an integrated rear I/O shield, full coverage M.2 heatsinks, good storage options, and, of course, a monster VRM design. The only thing the MSI MEG Z490 Unify can't offer is built-in RGB LEDs—a negative for some, but a huge plus for many others.

Out of the box, performance for the MSI MEG Z490 Unify was good. Memory overclocking was great as well, as I reached 4000 MHz CL16 stable with my Trident Z Neo quad-channel kit. For CPU overclocking, I was able to achieve 5.2 GHz on all cores. The largest limitation to overclocking with Z490 is going to come down to dealing with the heat produced by the incredibly dense Intel Core i9-10900K. While this isn't the best result for CPU overclocking, it is close enough for me to still recommend it.

When it comes to VRM thermals, the MSI MEG Z490 Unify did as well as you might expect, which is to say absolutely excellent. The fact of the matter is that there is no substitute for top-shelf power stages. Having a beefy heatsink doesn't hurt either. The VRM fan remained quiet throughout testing, and thermals remained stellar even with the fan disabled.

It is hard to call a US$300 board a steal, but you absolutely will not find a better VRM on any other board in this segment. If you are looking for a high-end Z490 board and don't care about RGB LEDs, the MSI MEG Z490 Unify is the board you want.