Is it still called YOLO? Because whether it is or not, a $1,000 motherboard ... Because it feels excessive. I don't care. For those with the money and desire to spend $1,000 on a motherboard, MSI has happily responded with the Godlike board, and will do so again when the MEG Z590 Godlike arrives for Intel's 11th generation Core "Rocket Lake-S" processors

Intel.

After Intel's announcement of Rocket Lake-S at CES, the next generation chips will soon arrive with claims of a 19% IPC improvement; MSI has announced a number of motherboards powered by Intel's new Z590, B560, and H510 chipsets. By my count, MSI has 30 different motherboards available, some or all of which will be "unveiled for the first time worldwide on January 27. There is even a countdown timer available.

Prior to the announcement, MSI shared some preliminary information about the 500 series motherboards. There are few details, but in a press release MSI outlines what will comprise the MEG, MPG, MAG, and Pro lineups.

Even more interesting is the price breakdown of the upcoming Z590 motherboards, revealed in a recent MSI Insider broadcast. See...

According to Eric van Beurden, MSI's marketing director, these are "indicative prices." When these products are launched, retail prices could be higher or lower depending on a variety of factors: supply chain disruptions due to COVID-19, higher costs for key components (PCBs, VRMs, etc.), higher shipping costs, and in the short term, Chinese New Year.

In any case, the MEG Z590 Godlike sits at the top of the charts with a price of $1,019 and could be even more expensive when it makes its retail debut. So what are its other features besides price?

According to Micheil Berkhout, the other host, the MEG Z590 Godlike features the "most extreme power design" MSI has ever done on a motherboard. Specifically, it provides 20 phases of direct power with a 90A smart power stage. This means there are 20 signals from the PWM controller. Theoretically, this should improve CPU power stability and lead to better overclocking performance at lower voltages.

MSI's flagship board, like several other Z590 models from MSI, uses an 8-ounce PCB design with 2 ounces of copper; in addition to requiring fat funds to purchase the MEG Z590 Godlike, the Extended ATX (E-ATX ) form factor, you will need a larger case that supports it.

It's certainly a board of sophisticated components, and if you skip to around the 1 hr 39 min mark, you can watch Micheil carefully disassemble it, removing the aluminum backplate and other parts... If you're going to spend $1,000 on a Mobo, definitely don't do it yourself. Don't do it yourself.