MSI MPG Z490 Gaming Plus Motherboard

MSI MPG Z490 Gaming Plus

Brand
MSI
Model
MPG Z490 Gaming Plus
$379–$419estimated range · from catalog price Sep 15, 2026

MSI MPG Z490 Gaming Plus: high-end ATX LGA1200 Z490 board for 10th/11th Gen Intel, dual M.2, 2.5G LAN, and CPU‑dependent PCIe 4.0 support.

TierHigh end?GixCore tierWhat a part was built to do — not what it costs.EntryBudgetMainstreamHigh endEnthusiastFlagship A part can be cheap because it is an ageing flagship, or because it is a current entry-level model. The tier tells you which.
Released2020
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SocketLGA1200
ChipsetZ490
MemoryDDR4
Max RAM speed4800 MHz
Form factorATX
RAM slots4
M.2 slots2
PCIe x162
GixCore Editorial

Product overview

MSI’s MPG Z490 Gaming Plus arrived in May 2020 alongside Intel’s 10th‑gen Comet Lake platform for the LGA1200 socket, and later gained BIOS support for 11th‑gen Rocket Lake CPUs.

Positioned as a high_end Z‑series ATX board, it exists to unlock CPU overclocking and the fuller Z490 feature set without the price of halo models. It suits expansion/multi‑M.2 and high‑speed memory builds: four DDR4 DIMM slots (up to 128 GB), two M.2 sockets, six SATA, dual PCIe x16 (primary from the CPU), plentiful USB including USB 3.2 Gen2 Type‑C, and 2.5G wired LAN. Notable: with an 11th‑gen CPU and an updated BIOS, the primary x16 slot and first M.2 can operate at PCIe 4.0.

Best for
  • overclocking
  • expansion/multi-M.2
  • high-speed memory

Specifications

At a glance iEach dot represents a catalog model. Farther right means a higher measured value, not necessarily a better fit.Measured against the motherboards catalog
Current modelCatalog models
Max RAM speed4800 MHz
Higher than 32% of motherboards
RAM slots4
Higher than 93% of motherboards
M.2 slots2
Higher than 45% of motherboards
Socket
LGA1200
Memory
DDR4
WiFi
Yes
Integrated Graphics
Yes
USB
3.2
Max Memory Size
128 GB
ECC Support
No
Chipset
Z490
Max RAM speed
4800 MHz
Form factor
ATX
RAM slots
4
M.2 slots
2
PCIe x16
2
Processor Generation
10, 11
Pci E
3.0
M 2
PCI-E
Sata Slots
6
Sata Speed
6 Gb/s
Pci E Slots
2
Tdp
50 W
Nvme
Yes
Pci E X1
3
Cpu Brand
Intel
Pairing fit

Compatible CPUs

Compatible options ranked for this part's performance class.

Budget pairings6 lower-tier compatible options
Pairing fit

Compatible RAM kits

Compatible options ranked for this part's performance class.

Budget pairings6 lower-tier compatible options
Pairing fit

Compatible Cases

Compatible options ranked for this part's performance class.

Budget pairings6 lower-tier compatible options
Pairing fit

Compatible Power supplies

Compatible options ranked for this part's performance class.

Budget pairings6 lower-tier compatible options