Our VerdictThe MSI MAG X870 Tomahawk is a very solid AM5 motherboard, with a ridiculous number of USB ports on offer, but the PCIe and M.2 slot options are quite limited. That makes it ideal for a specific use case but not the best choice if you want the perfect all-round board.
Our VerdictThe MSI MAG X870 Tomahawk is a very solid AM5 motherboard, with a ridiculous number of USB ports on offer, but the PCIe and M.2 slot options are quite limited. That makes it ideal for a specific use case but not the best choice if you want the perfect all-round board.
Our Verdict
Our Verdict
The MSI MAG X870 Tomahawk is a very solid AM5 motherboard, with a ridiculous number of USB ports on offer, but the PCIe and M.2 slot options are quite limited. That makes it ideal for a specific use case but not the best choice if you want the perfect all-round board.
ForUp to 21 USB portsSolid build qualityEase of useGood thermal and power performanceAgainstOnly one really fast PCIe slotM.2 slot configurations can get complicatedQuite pricey
ForUp to 21 USB portsSolid build qualityEase of useGood thermal and power performance
AgainstOnly one really fast PCIe slotM.2 slot configurations can get complicatedQuite pricey
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Despite being announced at the same time as AMD’sRyzen 9000-seriesdesktop processors, motherboards sporting AMD’s new 800-series chipset have taken a good while to arrive. But they’re here now and the first one to arrive in the PC Gamer hardware tower is the MSI MAG X870 Tomahawk Wi-Fi.
Ostensibly, it’s a very similar motherboard to MSI’s X670E Tomahawk but there are a whole host of improvements, though not because of the new X870 chipset. Think of that as being a ‘do-over’ of the X670/X670E, rather than bringing any sweeping changes to the fore.
(Image credit: AMD)
AMD’s Ryzen processors have built-in controllers for USB ports and PCIe lanes, so all the chipset does is basically offer more connections. X870E motherboards sport two expansion chips, just like the current X670E models, whereas X870 ones, such as this MSI board, just have one. But, when one looks at all of the ports available, that’s going to be more than enough for most PC gamers.
The rear IO panel of the MAG X870 Tomahawk is jam-packed with USB ports, including two 40 Gbps USB4 Type-C, which also double as Thunderbolt 4 sockets. There’s another Type-C in there, though only rated to 10 Gbps, but then you’ve got three more of that speed in Type-A form, plus another three at 5 Gbpsandfour USB 2.0 sockets. And that doesn’t include all the headers on the motherboard for front-mounted USB ports.
MSI MAG X870 Tomahawk WiFi specs(Image credit: Future)Socket:AMD AM5Chipset:AMD X870CPU compatibility:AMD Ryzen 7000/8000/9000 desktopForm factor:ATXMemory support:DDR5-4800 to DDR5-8400+(OC), up to 256 GBStorage:4x M.2, 4x SATAUSB (rear):2x USB4 Type-C 40 Gbps, 1x USB 3.1 Type-C 10 Gbps, 1x USB 3.1 Type-A 10 Gbps, 3x USB 3.0 Type-A 5 Gbps, 4x USB 2.0 Type-ADisplay:1x HDMI 2.1, 2x USB/Thunderbolt 4Networking:Intel 2.5G LAN, Wi-Fi 7Audio:Realtek ALC4080Price:$299.99/£279.98/AU$548.19
MSI MAG X870 Tomahawk WiFi specs
(Image credit: Future)Socket:AMD AM5Chipset:AMD X870CPU compatibility:AMD Ryzen 7000/8000/9000 desktopForm factor:ATXMemory support:DDR5-4800 to DDR5-8400+(OC), up to 256 GBStorage:4x M.2, 4x SATAUSB (rear):2x USB4 Type-C 40 Gbps, 1x USB 3.1 Type-C 10 Gbps, 1x USB 3.1 Type-A 10 Gbps, 3x USB 3.0 Type-A 5 Gbps, 4x USB 2.0 Type-ADisplay:1x HDMI 2.1, 2x USB/Thunderbolt 4Networking:Intel 2.5G LAN, Wi-Fi 7Audio:Realtek ALC4080Price:$299.99/£279.98/AU$548.19
(Image credit: Future)
Socket:AMD AM5Chipset:AMD X870CPU compatibility:AMD Ryzen 7000/8000/9000 desktopForm factor:ATXMemory support:DDR5-4800 to DDR5-8400+(OC), up to 256 GBStorage:4x M.2, 4x SATAUSB (rear):2x USB4 Type-C 40 Gbps, 1x USB 3.1 Type-C 10 Gbps, 1x USB 3.1 Type-A 10 Gbps, 3x USB 3.0 Type-A 5 Gbps, 4x USB 2.0 Type-ADisplay:1x HDMI 2.1, 2x USB/Thunderbolt 4Networking:Intel 2.5G LAN, Wi-Fi 7Audio:Realtek ALC4080Price:$299.99/£279.98/AU$548.19
Normally, that level of USB-ness is the preserve of top-end, mega-bucks boards so you may be wondering how MSI has managed it on a $300 offering. The answer lies in the fact that despite having lots of PCIe and M.2 slots, as well as a mountain of USB ports, they’re not all full-speed variants.
The three PCIe slots are mechanically x16 in size but only the top is wired like that. It has a PCIe 5.0 connection to the CPU but the other two are slower—alotslower.
The middle PCIe slot is (electrically) x1 Gen 3 and the bottom slot is x4 Gen 4, though if you use the third M.2 slot, it will drop to x2 Gen 4.
As most PC gamers will just slap a graphics card into the top slot and not use the rest, it’s not a massive issue but if you do need to use them for high-speed expansion devices, just be aware you’re not going to get much performance from them.
The M.2 slots are similarly messy. The top two are directly wired to the CPU and so are electrically x4 Gen 5. However, the second slot shares PCIe lanes with the USB4 Type-C ports in the rear IO panel, so if anything is connected to either socket, you get x2 Gen 5.
(Image credit: Future)
The third and fourth M.2 slots are both Gen 4 but while the latter is x4, the former is only x2. That’s far more complicated than it needs to be but that’s the price one must pay to have all those USB ports.
What isn’t complicated is MSI’s new graphics card retention mechanism for the first PCIe slot. Push a small button on the right-hand side of the board to slice the system away from the card and hold it open; press it again to close and lock it.
(Image credit: Future)
MSI deserves credit for trying to make its new X870 motherboards much easier to use all round—the UEFI/BIOS is now much slicker and user-friendly, headers on the board are all labelled and sensibly placed, and the rigidity of this Tomahawk makes it pleasantly simple to install in a case.
(Image credit: Future)
The latest PCIe specification demands that the PCIe slot for graphics cards should allow for up to 165 W power excursions—power spikes to you and me—and MSI’s new power connector helps meet that requirement, along with ramping up the available current on fan/pump and RGB headers to 11 and 3 A respectively.
If you like to go all-out with your gaming PC accessories, then the extra socket will come in very handy (though if your PSU is top-mounted in the case then you’ll need an extension cable to reach it).
Benchmarks and performance
PC Gamer test rigCPU:AMD Ryzen 9 9900XCooler:Asus ROG Strix LC III 360RAM:32 GB Lexar Thor OC DDR5-6000Storage:2 TB Corsair MP700PSU:MSI MAG AB50GL 850 WOS:Windows 11 23H2Chassis:Open platform w/ 2x 140 mm fansMonitor:Acer XB280HK
PC Gamer test rig
CPU:AMD Ryzen 9 9900XCooler:Asus ROG Strix LC III 360RAM:32 GB Lexar Thor OC DDR5-6000Storage:2 TB Corsair MP700PSU:MSI MAG AB50GL 850 WOS:Windows 11 23H2Chassis:Open platform w/ 2x 140 mm fansMonitor:Acer XB280HK
CPU:AMD Ryzen 9 9900XCooler:Asus ROG Strix LC III 360RAM:32 GB Lexar Thor OC DDR5-6000Storage:2 TB Corsair MP700PSU:MSI MAG AB50GL 850 WOS:Windows 11 23H2Chassis:Open platform w/ 2x 140 mm fansMonitor:Acer XB280HK
All of this would be for nought if the motherboard didn’t perform especially well and for the new round of AMD and Intel boards, we’ve updated our benchmark package.
Rather than carry out dozens of tests that all show the same figures, we’ve honed it down to a variety of scenarios (gaming, light and heavy content creation) and used software to record power consumption and thermals for the CPU, VRMs, and chipset.
As the latest motherboards boast a full-speed Gen5 M.2 slot, we now also test how well the integrated heat spreaders cope with PCIe 5.0 SSDs.
As we’ve only just swapped to the new suite, we don’t have a wealth of figures to compare against but at the very least, you can see that aRyzen 9 9900X, paired with 32 GB of DDR5-6000 CL32 and anRTX 4070, performs just as well in the MSI MAG X870 Tomahawk as it does in anAsus ROG Crosshair X670E Hero.
There’s little to separate the two motherboards when it comes to thermals and power consumption, too. The ROG Crosshair X670E Hero runs with a hotter chipset but that’s because there are two chips under its heatsink, whereas the X870 Tomahawk just has one.
Given that this is a 120 W Ryzen CPU, it’ll cope with any other model just fine. MSI added a 170 W option to its BIOS, which I experimented with briefly—the CPU didn’t like it all that much but the board’s VRMs did, only adding 10 to 15 more degrees to the peak temperature, with no significant air flowing on them.
As with the performance results, any differences are down to test variances, especially when it comes to heat because it’s just not possible to maintain a fixed ambient temperature in my office.
Conclusion
With no surprises with all the test figures, there’s only one thing left to cover and that’s whether the MSI MAG X870 Tomahawk is worth buying. At $300/$300/AU$548, it’s certainly not cheap and if you’re looking to save money with a new AM5 build, then you’re better off sticking with a B650E model (or waiting until AMD releases an equivalent in the 800 series).
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(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
You are getting a very capable motherboard for a lot less money than a high-end X670E, though. The build quality, component layout, and feature set are all top-notch, and there’s a wealth of nice touches—the graphics card release mechanism, the quick-install SSD system, and the BIOS to name but a few—to warrant some of the price tag.
Buy if…✅ You want lots of USB ports:With support for up to 21 ports, this board is one hell of a peripheral hub.✅You want high quality, not high cost:While not cheap at $300, the X870 Tomahawk feels far more luxurious than the price tag suggests.
Buy if…
✅ You want lots of USB ports:With support for up to 21 ports, this board is one hell of a peripheral hub.✅You want high quality, not high cost:While not cheap at $300, the X870 Tomahawk feels far more luxurious than the price tag suggests.
✅ You want lots of USB ports:With support for up to 21 ports, this board is one hell of a peripheral hub.✅You want high quality, not high cost:While not cheap at $300, the X870 Tomahawk feels far more luxurious than the price tag suggests.
Don’t buy if…❌ You need lots of high-speed PCIe slots:Something had to be sacrificed for all those USB ports and it’s the expansion slots.❌You want value for money:B650E motherboards don’t have as many ports but they’re a lot cheaper.
Don’t buy if…
❌ You need lots of high-speed PCIe slots:Something had to be sacrificed for all those USB ports and it’s the expansion slots.❌You want value for money:B650E motherboards don’t have as many ports but they’re a lot cheaper.
❌ You need lots of high-speed PCIe slots:Something had to be sacrificed for all those USB ports and it’s the expansion slots.❌You want value for money:B650E motherboards don’t have as many ports but they’re a lot cheaper.
The colossal number of USB ports that you can have also goes no small way in justifying the cost and if that aspect of a motherboard is important to you, then it’s hard to ignore what the MAG X870 Tomahawk offers compared to other motherboards.
And while you do get four M.2 sockets, there are compromises with two of them that affect one of the PCIe slots and the USB4 ports. In part, that’s a limitation of the chipset and what Ryzen processor one uses with the motherboard, but it’s also because MSI has chosen to load up the X870 Tomahawk with so many USB ports.
But if you want as much USB connectivity as possible, all wrapped up in a very classy motherboard, then the MSI MAG X870 Tomahawk should be seriously considered.
MSI MAG X870 Tomahawk WiFi: Price Comparison
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The Verdict84Read our review policyMSI MAG X870 Tomahawk WiFiThe MSI MAG X870 Tomahawk is a very solid AM5 motherboard, with a ridiculous number of USB ports on offer, but the PCIe and M.2 slot options are quite limited. That makes it ideal for a specific use case but not the best choice if you want the perfect all-round board.
The Verdict
The Verdict
84Read our review policyMSI MAG X870 Tomahawk WiFiThe MSI MAG X870 Tomahawk is a very solid AM5 motherboard, with a ridiculous number of USB ports on offer, but the PCIe and M.2 slot options are quite limited. That makes it ideal for a specific use case but not the best choice if you want the perfect all-round board.
84Read our review policy
84
MSI MAG X870 Tomahawk WiFiThe MSI MAG X870 Tomahawk is a very solid AM5 motherboard, with a ridiculous number of USB ports on offer, but the PCIe and M.2 slot options are quite limited. That makes it ideal for a specific use case but not the best choice if you want the perfect all-round board.
MSI MAG X870 Tomahawk WiFi
The MSI MAG X870 Tomahawk is a very solid AM5 motherboard, with a ridiculous number of USB ports on offer, but the PCIe and M.2 slot options are quite limited. That makes it ideal for a specific use case but not the best choice if you want the perfect all-round board.
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