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GIGABYTE B650M AORUS ELITE AX 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 GIGABYTE B650M AORUS ELITE AX at 6.2/10.

The GIGABYTE B650M AORUS ELITE AX leads on BIOS and support.

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

The biggest difference is power delivery, where the MSI MAG X870 TOMAHAWK WIFI scores 8/10 to the GIGABYTE B650M AORUS ELITE AX's 5/10.

GIGABYTE B650M AORUS ELITE AX

GIGABYTE B650M AORUS ELITE AX

6.2/10verdict: good, not the best

The GIGABYTE B650M AORUS ELITE AX is a micro ATX AM5 board for compact builds on Ryzen 7000, 8000 or 9000 processors. It suits buyers who want one PCIe 5.0 NVMe drive, 2.5GbE and built-in Wi-Fi. It fits a general-purpose desktop, a small workstation or a light homelab box that needs four SATA ports.

Typically about £144.99 in the UK when we researched itSearch Amazon UK (opens in a new tab, affiliate link)

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

MSI MAG X870 TOMAHAWK WIFI

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 (opens in a new tab, affiliate link)

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

Scores, criterion by criterion

CriterionWeightGIGABYTE B650M AORUS ELITE AXMSI MAG X870 TOMAHAWK WIFI
Platform and features25%6/107/10
Connectivity25%7/109/10
Power delivery20%5/108/10
BIOS and support15%7/104/10
Value15%6/107/10
Overall6.2/107.2/10

Specifications

SpecGIGABYTE B650M AORUS ELITE AXMSI MAG X870 TOMAHAWK WIFI
CPU socket (e.g. AM5, AM4, LGA1851, LGA1700)AM5 (Ryzen 7000, 8000 and 9000 series)AM5, supports Ryzen 9000, 8000 and 7000 series desktop CPUs
ChipsetAMD B650AMD X870
Form factor (ATX, Micro-ATX, Mini-ITX, E-ATX)Micro ATX, 24.4 x 24.4 cmATX, 304.8 × 243.84 mm
Memory: type (DDR4 or DDR5), number of slots, maximum capacity and speedDDR5, 4 DIMM slots, up to 256 GB (64 GB per DIMM), dual channel; base speeds 5200/4800/4400 MT/s with OC profiles up to 8000 MT/s; EXPO and XMP supportedDDR5, 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 generation2 x M.2 slots, both CPU-connected: M2A_CPU PCIe 5.0 x4/x2 and M2B_CPU PCIe 4.0 x4/x2 (Ryzen 7000/9000)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 slots1 x PCIe 4.0 x16 from CPU (PCIEX16); 1 x PCIe 4.0 x4 from chipset (PCIEX4)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)Realtek 2.5GbE LAN; Wi-Fi 6E (Realtek RTL8852CE on rev 1.2/1.3); Bluetooth 5.2 or 5.3; no Wi-Fi 7 listedRealtek 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 USB4Rear: 1 x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gb/s, from CPU), 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, 5 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, 4 x USB 2.0; no rear USB4 or 20 Gb/s port listed12 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

GIGABYTE B650M AORUS ELITE AX

  • + PCIe 5.0 M.2 slot plus a second CPU-connected M.2
  • + Q-Flash Plus updates BIOS with no CPU, RAM or GPU
  • + Front 20Gb/s USB-C header and 2.5GbE onboard
  • − No Wi-Fi 7; Wi-Fi 6E only
  • − No rear USB4 or 20Gb/s port
  • − Graphics slot is PCIe 4.0 x16

Skip it if:

  • Buyers who want Wi-Fi 7 built into the board
  • Anyone needing rear USB4 or 20Gb/s ports for fast external storage
  • Builders planning several add-in cards, given the two expansion slots
Read the full GIGABYTE B650M AORUS ELITE AX 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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