ASRock B650M Pro RS WiFi vs MSI MAG X870 TOMAHAWK WIFI

Researched, not hands-on tested.How we review ›

all judged against motherboards at a similar price

The MSI MAG X870 TOMAHAWK WIFI scores 7.2/10 overall, ahead of the ASRock B650M Pro RS WiFi at 5.6/10.

The ASRock B650M Pro RS WiFi leads on BIOS and support.

The MSI MAG X870 TOMAHAWK WIFI leads on connectivity, power delivery and value.

They score the same on platform and features.

The biggest difference is connectivity, where the MSI MAG X870 TOMAHAWK WIFI scores 9/10 to the ASRock B650M Pro RS WiFi's 5/10.

ASRock B650M Pro RS WiFi

5.6/10verdict: good, not the best

The ASRock B650M Pro RS WiFi is a micro-ATX AM5 board for builders who want storage options on a B650 platform. It suits a compact desktop or homelab box that needs three M.2 slots, four SATA ports and 2.5GbE. It is less suited to anyone who wants the latest wireless or USB standards.

Typically about £168.13 in the UK when we researched itSearch Amazon UK

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MSI MAG X870 TOMAHAWK WIFI

7.2/10verdict: good, not the best

The MSI MAG X870 TOMAHAWK WIFI is for people building a high-end AM5 system around a Ryzen 9000 chip. It suits buyers who want USB4, Wi-Fi 7, 5G LAN and fast NVMe storage on one ATX board. It is a better fit for a single graphics card plus drives than for a build full of expansion cards.

Typically about £255 in the UK when we researched itSearch Amazon UK

Affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Details

Scores, criterion by criterion

Criterion	Weight	ASRock B650M Pro RS WiFi	MSI MAG X870 TOMAHAWK WIFI
Platform and features	25%	7/10	7/10
Connectivity	25%	5/10	9/10
Power delivery	20%	6/10	8/10
BIOS and support	15%	5/10	4/10
Value	15%	4/10	7/10
Overall		5.6/10	7.2/10

Specifications

Spec	ASRock B650M Pro RS WiFi	MSI MAG X870 TOMAHAWK WIFI
CPU socket (e.g. AM5, AM4, LGA1851, LGA1700)	AM5	AM5, supports Ryzen 9000, 8000 and 7000 series desktop CPUs
Chipset	AMD B650	AMD X870
Form factor (ATX, Micro-ATX, Mini-ITX, E-ATX)	Micro-ATX	ATX, 304.8 × 243.84 mm
Memory: type (DDR4 or DDR5), number of slots, maximum capacity and speed	DDR5, 4 DIMM slots, dual channel, up to 192GB, up to 7200+(OC) MHz	DDR5, 4 × UDIMM slots, maximum 256GB, non-ECC unbuffered only; overclocked 8400–5600 MT/s, JEDEC 5600–4800 MT/s
M.2 NVMe slots and their PCIe generation	3 slots: 1 x Blazing M.2 (PCIe Gen5 x4), 1 x Hyper M.2 (PCIe Gen4 x4), 1 x M.2 (PCIe Gen4 x2); separate Key-E slot for Wi-Fi module	4 slots: M.2_1 and M.2_2 from CPU at PCIe 5.0 x4 (M.2_2 shares bandwidth with rear USB4 ports); M.2_3 PCIe 4.0 x2 and M.2_4 PCIe 4.0 x4 from chipset
PCIe slots	1 x PCIe 4.0 x16 and 1 x PCIe 3.0 x16	3 × x16 physical slots: PCI_E1 PCIe 5.0 x16 from CPU; PCI_E2 PCIe 3.0 x1 from chipset; PCI_E3 PCIe 4.0 x4 from chipset, drops to x2 when M2_3 is populated
Wired and wireless networking (e.g. 2.5GbE, Wi-Fi 7)	Dragon 2.5GbE (RTL8125BG); Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax) with Bluetooth	Realtek 8126-CG 5G LAN; Wi-Fi 7 with Bluetooth 5.4 pre-installed in M.2 Key-E slot
Rear USB ports, including USB-C and USB4	1 x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A+C (rear), 1 x USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-C (front header), 6 x USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A (2 rear, 4 front)	12 rear ports: 4 × USB 2.0, 3 × USB 5Gbps Type-A, 2 × USB 10Gbps Type-A, 1 × USB 10Gbps Type-C, 2 × USB 40Gbps Type-C (USB4); front: 1 × USB 20Gbps Type-C header, 4 × USB 5Gbps Type-A

Strengths and weaknesses

ASRock B650M Pro RS WiFi

+ PCIe 5.0 x4 M.2 slot plus two Gen4 slots
+ Four SATA3 ports alongside three M.2 slots
+ 8+2+1 phase Dr.MOS power delivery
− Wi-Fi module not included in the box
− Wi-Fi 6E only; no Wi-Fi 7 or USB4
− Latest listed BIOS is labelled beta

Skip it if:

Buyers who want Wi-Fi 7, USB4 or 20Gbps USB ports
Builders who need a PCIe 5.0 slot for their graphics card
Buyers who want a wireless module included in the box

Read the full ASRock B650M Pro RS WiFi review ›

MSI MAG X870 TOMAHAWK WIFI

+ Two USB4 ports and a 20Gbps front Type-C header
+ 14+2+1 phase VRM with 80A power stages
+ Wi-Fi 7 and 5G LAN, with four M.2 slots
− Owners report boot loops after BIOS updates
− M.2_2 shares bandwidth with the rear USB4 ports
− X870 chipset, not X870E

Skip it if:

Buyers who want X870E rather than X870
Builders who need several fast expansion slots alongside multiple NVMe drives
Anyone who wants to avoid any risk of BIOS update trouble or CUDIMM boot problems

Read the full MSI MAG X870 TOMAHAWK WIFI review ›

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