Godlike, that's the name MSI gives to its very best gaming motherboards. It has released a number of models over the years, going back to the MSI X99A Godlike Gaming for Intel's high-end desktop chips. I even reviewed one back in 2019, the MSI MEG X570 Godlike. That over-the-top tradition is still going strong today, and MSI is celebrating 10 years of Godlike motherboards with a golden special edition.
Before you get your hopes up, this isn't golden in the same way as, say, the ROG Astral Dhahab RTX 5090/RTX 5080. The MSI MEG Godlike X Edition is highlighted in gold, across the dragon emblazoned on the IO, the chipset, heatsinks and dynamic dashboard (the screen unit magnetically attached to the right of the RAM).
I couldn't imagine a better combination for showing off your immense and immeasurable wealth than the Godlike X Edition, ROG Astral RTX 5090 Dhahab Edition, and G.Skill Trident Z5 Royal Neo. Damn, I want to build that PC, but I wouldn't want to pay for it. We don't have a price for the Godlike X Edition yet, but the standard edition costs $1,100, putting the total for these three parts at $8,510 alone. I also couldn't imagine having that much cash to spend on PC parts—cry me a river, yeah?
You could save some cash with the ROG Astral RTX 5080 Dhahab Edition, to be fair. That's a little over $2,500—you could buy an RTX 5090 for that sorta cash.
"During Gamescom 2025, MSI celebrates the 10th anniversary of Godlike with the MEG X870E Godlike X Edition," MSI says, "a limited-edition board that honors a decade of innovation and sets a new overclocking record. It features Dynamic Dashboard III, EZ Link, and the M.2 Xpander-Z Slider Gen5 with EZ Slide, plus exclusive X-shaped anniversary accents."
MSI is manufacturing only 1,000 units of the Godlike X Edition. It comes with a golden nameplate, stand, and a Black Lucky plush—this being a black version of the company's dragon mascot, as far as I can tell.
The Godlike X Edition appears to be the same as the standard MSI MEG X870E Godlike, beneath the revamped trim. It's nonetheless absurd to the extreme, combining chunky VRM (24 + 2 + 1 phase), heaps of heatsinks, extra power connectors, and top-quality materials with all the added extras you'd expect in 2025—a built-in screen among them.
I used to use the X570 Godlike in a PC build, until I finally got fed up with the lack of USB ports (ironic, right?) and moved on to something cheaper with more connectivity. Though for the latest board, MSI hasn't skimped on the IO: the X870E has seven USB Type-C ports on the rear, two of which are USB4. The remaining five Type-C and eight Type-A are all USB 3.2 Gen 2. That's quite an improvement even on the X670E Godlike, which has nine ports total, and the X570 Godlike, which only has six. The previous boards felt more focused on overclocking ability than usability, whereas this appears more suited to both.
It might be slightly gauche, but that's nothing new for luxury goods. And that is the market that MSI is aiming for here, as we've seen other manufacturers try to do the same. Attempting to make PC hardware into a premium product for the ultra-rich leaves me with some ill feelings, but that'd likely be missing the point of this product, I suppose.
Just be extra careful placing the CPU into it—you don't want to be bending any pins on this bad boy.
MSI also has a line-up of new motherboards it's calling 'Max' coming out. These offer overclocking tools such as OC Engine and OC jumper to enable fine-tuned control over the AMD CPUs they're built for. And if there aren't enough screens in your system, it also has a new screen coming out, the MAG View Xpander 12 is a 12.3-inch screen you can run inside its Pano, Velox 300, and Maestro cases, or as a seperate screen on the desktop. The new Maestro 900 Series also announced at Gamescom looks like a pretty beefy, too.
1. Best AM5 - AMD Ryzen 9000/7000:
MSI MAG X870 Tomahawk WiFi
2. Best budget AM5 - AMD Ryzen 9000/7000:
Asus TUF Gaming B650-Plus WiFi
3. Best midrange AM5 - AMD Ryzen 9000/7000:
ASRock B850 Steel Legend WiFi
4. Best AM4 - AMD Ryzen 5000/3000:
Asus ROG Strix B550-E Gaming
5. Best LGA1851 - Intel Core Ultra 200S:
Asus ROG Maximus Z890 Hero
6. Best budget LGA1851 - Intel Core Ultra 200S
ASRock B860 Steel Legend Wi-Fi
7. Best LGA1700 - Intel 14/13th Gen:
MSI MAG Z790 Tomahawk WiFi
8. Best budget LGA1700 - Intel 14/13th Gen:
Asrock B760M PG Sonic WiFi
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