Today, we’ll be taking a look at the MSI MAG B850 TOMAHAWK MAX WIFI motherboard. It’s one of the most affordable and feature-rich B850 motherboards on the market. It uses AMD’s newest B850 chipset and it’s compatible with all the latest Ryzen 7000, 8000 and 9000 series of processors on the AM5 socket.
The motherboard uses an 8-layer, server-grade, 2oz Copper PCB, featuring a 14+2+1 Duet Rail Power System with 80A SPS for superb reliability and stability. The whole board is cooled with MSI’s Frozr Guard which includes heavy plated VRM and chipset heatsinks.
It comes with 4 x DDR5 DIMM slots with MSI Memory Boost technology, and supports both XMP and AMD EXPO memory with speeds of up to DDR5-8400+ (OC)
Expansion slots include 1 x PCIE 3.0 x1 slot, 1 x PCIE 4.0 x4 slot and 1 x PCIe 5.0 x16 featuring their EZ PCIe Release mechanism for easy remove and installation of graphics cards.
It also comes with an exclusive Supplemental PCIe Power connector, which provides dedicated power for GPUs used in AI computing and gaming.
For storage, you get a total of 4 SATA ports, 2 x PCIe Gen5x4 and 2 x PCIe Gen4x4 M.2 slots, featuring their EZ M.2 Shield Frozr II and EZ M.2 Clip II remover.
For connectivity, you get total of 19 x USB ports, a 5GB LAN, Wi-Fi 7 support and Bluetooth. Other features include the 7.1 HD audio with Audio Boost 5, EZ Debug LEDs, MSI’s Mystic Light, clear CMOS and BIOS Flashback buttons.
AMD B850 Chipset
The AMD B850 platform is the foundation for next-generation gaming and content creation experiences. Featuring enhanced overclocking capabilities, DDR5 memory support with AMD EXPO™ Technology, and PCIe® 5 connectivity for NVME storage, the AMD B850 platform is ready to power your desktop for years to come.
Here you can see the main differences between the X870E, X870 and B850 chipsets. The B850 will have a total of 36 useable PCIE lanes (up to 4 lanes for PCIE 5.0), while the higher end X870E will have a total of 44 useable PCIE lanes (up to 24 lanes for PCIE 5.0), and offers support for more higher speed USB ports. USB 4.0 support on the B850 is optional.
Why are PCIE lanes important? Well, the number of PCIE lanes in a slot or connection determines the available bandwidth for data transfer between the motherboard and the expansion card. More lanes generally mean higher data transfer rates and better performance. For the X870E and X870, there’s a total of 44 and 36 PCIE lanes repectively, while the B850 offers up to a maximum of 36 PCIE lanes.
I would like to thank MSI for providing the review sample. This is a snippet from what MSI has to say about themselves on their website:
As a world leading gaming brand, MSI is the most trusted name in gaming and eSports. We’ve dedicated countless hours and numerous resources to the eSports community to support the world’s most aspiring gamers and leverage their gaming expertise to optimize our product design. MSI has integrated all gamers’ coveted functions into its gaming rigs, eliminating the tedious trial and error by themselves and pushing the performance beyond limits. The determination to surpass past achievements has made MSI a ‘True Gaming’ brand throughout the industry!
Adding to its unanimous acclaim in the gaming field is MSI’s reputation as a trailblazer and top brand in digital content creation. Built around MSI’s decade-long pioneering tech in gaming, the Content Creation Series packs stunning color accuracy, long-lasting battery life, high fidelity audio and excellent performance into an ultra-portable, stylish chassis for photographers, graphic designers, 3D animators, video editors and other professionals around the world.
Amazingly portable and powerful, the MSI Business & Productivity Series packs unprecedented performance, enterprise-grade security and outstand battery life into its clean-cut, modern chassis to compliment the extraordinary tastes of business professionals.
MSI’s customer-centric mindset steers the direction of its R&D resource deployment and makes the globally acclaimed MSI Gaming Series, Content Creation Series and AIoT solutions possible. Ranked highest on gamers’ wish lists, the Gaming Series features top-notch laptops, graphics cards, monitors, motherboards, desktops and gaming gear. The Content Creation Series is specifically tailored for digital content creators. Recognized for its aesthetic design and performance, the Content Creation Series is now a market leader in its field. Moreover, MSI pioneers critical developments in AI, enterprise computing and IoT. Cloud servers, customizable Industrial PCs, smart robotic appliances, and vehicle infotainment and telematics systems are MSI’s fields of expertise where the most comprehensive AIoT solutions are built.
We’ll be testing the MSI MAG B850 TOMAHAWK MAX WiFi Motherboard with an AMD Ryzen 9 9950X processor, along with 32GB of Patriot Xtreme 5 DDR5-7600, Crucial T700 PCIE Gen5 SSD, and a GeForce RTX 4080 Super graphics card.
OK, we’ll start by taking a look at the specifications and features in our next page.
You can buy the MSI MAG B850 TOMAHAWK MAX WiFi motherboard from Amazon for around USD $230 – https://amzn.to/4html4a (CAD $349 – https://amzn.to/4gdpkg6)
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