ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 APEX vs MSI MEG Z790 Godlike

Summary

These motherboards have a different manufacturer feature set.
These motherboards are different sizes, the ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 APEX is an ATX (304mm x 244mm) motherboard whilst MSI MEG Z790 Godlike is an E-ATX (310mm x 305mm).
The ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 APEX takes DDR5 memory and supports faster memory speeds, upto 8000 MHz, which is 200 MHz more than the MSI MEG Z790 Godlike which only supports speeds upto 7800 MHz.
The MSI MEG Z790 Godlike has 2 memory channels and supports a greater memory total memory capacity of upto 256 GB, which is 160 GB more than the ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 APEX which only supports upto 96 GB.
The MSI MEG Z790 Godlike supports faster LAN speeds, upto 10000 Mbps, which is 7500 MHz more than the ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 APEX which only supports speeds upto 2500 MHz.
These motherboards come with diffent box contents.

Comparison Table

Show Only Differences

	ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 APEX	MSI MEG Z790 Godlike
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Manufacturer	ASUS	MSI
Series	ROG	MEG
Market	Gaming	Gaming
Price Point	Enthusiast	Enthusiast
Key Features	AI Overclocking AI Cooling PCIe 5.0 M.2 Card	M-Vision LCD Touchscreen IT-170 Server-grade PCB material Thickened 2oz copper Enlarged PCH Heatsink
Color Scheme	Silver	-
Form Factor	ATX	E-ATX
Height (mm)	244 mm	305 mm
Width (mm)	304 mm	310 mm
Power Stages	24+0+2 105A	26+2 Duet Rail Power System 105A
PCB Layers	-	8
Backplate	-
VRM Heatsink
Chipset Heatsink
M.2 Heatsinks
CPU
CPU Socket Type	LGA1700	LGA1700
CPU Sockets	1	1
Chipset	Intel Z790	Intel Z790
Memory
Memory Type	DDR5	DDR5
Memory Slots	2	4
Memory Channels	2	2
Max Memory Speed	8000 MHz	7800 MHz
Max Memory Capacity	96 GB	256 GB
Graphics
Supports CPU Integrated Graphics
AMD Multi GPU Support	-
Audio
Audio Chipset/Codec	ROG SupremeFX 7.1 ALC4080	Realtek ALC4082 + ES9280AQ PRO
Audio Channels	7.1	7.1
Rear Panel Audio Jacks	5	5
Rear Panel SPIDF	1	1
Connectivity
LAN Chipset	Intel® 2.5Gbps LAN	Marvell® AQC113CS-B1-C 10Gbps LAN Intel® 2.5Gbps LAN
LAN Speed	2500 Mbps	10000 Mbps
Wi-Fi Chipset	Wi-Fi 6E	Wi-Fi 7
Wi-Fi Gen	6E	6E
Bluetooth Vn	5.3	5.3
PCIe Slots
PCIe 5.0 x16	2	2
PCIe 4.0 x4	1	-
PCIe 4.0 x1	1	-
Storage
SATA 6Gbps Ports	6	6
M.2 Slots	5	7
SATA Raid Support	RAID 0:1:5:10	RAID 0 RAID 1 RAID 5 RAID 10
M.2 Raid Support	RAID 0:1:5:10	RAID 0 RAID 1 RAID 5 RAID 10
USB / Thunderbolt
Rear Panel Ports
Thunderbolt 4	-	2
USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 C	1	-
USB 3.2 Gen 2 A	5	7
USB 3.2 Gen 2 C	-	1
USB 3.2 Gen 2 A	4	-
Motheboard Headers / Expansion
Thunderbolt Header/Connector	1	-
USB 3.2 Gen 2 Headers	1	2
USB 3.2 Gen 2 Supported Ports	1	2
USB 3.2 Gen 1 Headers	2	2
USB 3.2 Gen 1 Supported Ports	4	4
USB 2.0 Headers	2	2
USB 2.0 Supported Ports	4	4
Other USB Info	USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 support 60W fast charge	USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 support 60W fast charge via PD connector
Motherboard Features / Connections
Power
24 pin ATX Power	1	1
8 pin 12v Power	2	2
6 pin PCIe Power	1	-
6 pin PCIe Power	-	1
Fans / LED Headers
4 Pin CPU Fan	2	1
4 Pin Pump Fan	1	2
4 Pin System Fan	5	5
ARGB v2 3 Pin LED	3	3
RGB 4 Pin LED	1	1
Other Features / Headers
Debug LED's
Debug Code Display
Chassis Intrusion Connector	-
Tuning Controller Header	-	1
Water Flow Meter Header	-	y
Clear CMOS Jumper	-
Slow/Safe Boot Jumper	-
Low Temp Boot Jumper	-
Voltage Check Point
Other Features	1 x W_PUMP+ header 1 x 2-pin Water In header 1 x 2-pin Water Out header 1 x 3-pin Water Flow header	-
On Board Buttons / Switches	1 x 80 Light Bar jumper 2 x BCLK button 1 x BIOS Switch button 1 x FlexKey button 1 x Pause switch 1 x ReTry button 1 x Safe Boot button 1 x Slow Mode switch 1 x Start button 1 x V_Latch switch	Power Reset LED On/Off Multi-BIOS
Dual Bios	-
Rear Panel
Audio Jacks	5	5
SPIDF	1	1
Wi-Fi Antennae	2	2
RJ45	1	2
PS/2	2	-
Thunderbolt 4	-	2
USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 C	1	-
USB 3.2 Gen 2 A	5	7
USB 3.2 Gen 2 C	-	1
USB 3.2 Gen 2 A	4	-
Buttons	Clear CMOS BIOS Flashback	Clear CMOS Flash BIOS Smart Button
In The BOX
Box Contents	1 x ROG DIMM.2 with heatsink 1 x M.2 pad for ROG DIMM.2 2 x M.2 screw package for ROG DIMM.2 PCIe 5.0 M.2 Card with Heatsink 1 x PCIe 5.0 M.2 Card with heatsink 1 x M.2 screw package for ROG PCIe 5.0 M.2 Card 1 x Thermal pad for M.2 1 x DDR5 Fan holder 1 x DDR5 Fan 1 x DDR5 Fan screw 1 x ASUS Wi-Fi moving antennas 1 x Q-connector 1 x ROG overclocking medal 1 x ROG thank you card 2 x M.2 Q-Latch packages for M.2 backplate 2 x M.2 backplate Rubber Packages 1 x USB drive with utilities and drivers	M-Vision LCD Metal Dragon Badge USB Drive Wi-Fi Antenna M-Vision Cable 3 x SATA Cables ARGB LED Extension Cable 1to3 ARGB Gen 2 Extension Cable 1to2 RGB LED Extension Y Cable 2x DP to Mini DP Cables EZ Front Panel Cable 2x Thermistor Cables EZ M.2 Clips and Screws MSI Cable Stickers
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