Board Layout

On the surface, the MSI MEG Z690 Unify looks just like the last generation, and the one before that. It's black with no RGB lighting on the motherboard. Because it is a new socket, minor tweaks in layout have been made. A new addition to the Unify series is the back of the PCB now having a support frame to keep it from warping when the LGA 1700 socket is stressed by certain CPU coolers and mounts.

The back of the PCB also has an alteration with the inclusion of warning zones showing possible conflicts with cases and where the standoff should be placed.


Viewing the MSI MEG Z690 Unify at a lower angle gives us a wider perspective of potential installation hazards. In the case of the LGA 1700 socket for the Z690, new and old CPU coolers will need a new retention bracket if the mounting holes do not line up. Some additional care was placed into the layout of the capacitors to keep them away from the socket. Neither VRM heatsink section is particularly oversized, and far enough from the socket to avoid CPU cooler mounting troubles.


The MSI MEG Z690 Unify offers two PCI Express x16 slots, with the top two reinforced for extra stress support. PCIe slot one and two are PCIe Gen5 with a total of x16 lanes coming from the CPU. Slot one can either operate at x16 or x8. Slot 2 is wired for PCIe Gen5 x8 and will split the available lanes with the first slot if populated. These are all backwards compatible, allowing older PCIe devices to work without issue. The third slot is wired for PCIe Gen3 x4, and an open back allows for x8 and x16 PCIe add-on cards to be installed as well.

The motherboard also has both NVIDIA SLI and AMD Crossfire support, which is rare to see as neither multi-GPU solutions are popular or often supported in games as of 2022. Nonetheless, if you need this, MSI has you covered.


There are five M.2 sockets on the MSI MEG Z690 Unify, four of which are Gen4 x4, and all of them feature full-coverage heatsinks and thermal pads on the motherboard. The bottom two M.2 sockets share the same screw. While a minor inconvenience, this screw has to be removed to populate these sockets. Once done, reinsert the screw.

Note that the manual mentions that using M.2 socket (#4) will disable SATA port A/B. These are the lowest two SATA ports in the photo.


The MSI MEG Z690 Unify includes built-in power and reset buttons. These can be useful when first setting up the computer, if it is not fully wired up yet or for troubleshooting purposes. This is of course a matter of personal preference as neither button is required.


MSI included both the debug display and post LEDs. Voltage read points for VCC, VDD2 and CPU_AUX are placed next to the LEDs for further troubleshooting.


The MSI MEG Z690 Unify has two USB 3.2 Gen1 and USB 2.0 headers. An internal USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps) Type-E header is included as well.


A hidden feature lost in the jumble of different headers and small labels is the Safe Boot, OC Retry, and Tuning Controller connector. If you are handy with wiring, it is easy to connect these up for more granular control outside the BIOS.


MSI included one 12v RGB and two addressable RGB headers.


The MSI MEG Z690 Unify uses an Intel I225-V 2.5 Gbps LAN controller for its network ports.


This motherboard also features dual 8-pin EPS connectors to make sure the power delivery is never an issue when it comes to overclocking the CPU.


The board has a total of six SATA 6 Gb/s ports on the side, angled 90 degrees from the board. Four of the ports draw their bandwidth from the Z690 chipset, while the other two labeled SATA A/B go to a separate ASM 1061 SATA controller. These A/B ports will be disabled when the M.2 (#4) socket is populated.


When it comes to external connectivity, the MSI MEG Z690 Unify has a bit more of everything. Besides Thunderbolt 4 and 10 Gb LAN, it is all here. Noteworthy connectors that set this apart from the herd are the Clear CMOS, BIOS Flashback, PS/2 port, and Dual 2.5 Gb LAN.

• 2x Antenna ports
• HDMI port
• DisplayPort 1.4
• Optical SPDIF Out port
• 4x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A ports (10 Gb/s)
• 1x USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A ports (5 Gb/s)
• USB4/Thunderbolt™ 4 Type-C port
• RJ-45 LAN port with LED
• Clear CMOS button
• 5x HD audio jacks