MSI B850 GAMING PLUS WIFI PZ vs MSI MAG Z890 TOMAHAWK WIFI

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

all judged against motherboards at a similar price

The MSI MAG Z890 TOMAHAWK WIFI scores 7.5/10 overall, ahead of the MSI B850 GAMING PLUS WIFI PZ at 6.6/10.

The MSI B850 GAMING PLUS WIFI PZ leads on power delivery.

The MSI MAG Z890 TOMAHAWK WIFI leads on platform and features, connectivity and value.

They score the same on BIOS and support.

MSI B850 GAMING PLUS WIFI PZ

6.6/10verdict: good, not the best

The MSI B850 GAMING PLUS WIFI PZ is an ATX AM5 board for people building a mid-range Ryzen 7000, 8000 or 9000 system. It suits buyers who want Wi-Fi 7, 5Gbps wired networking and a 12-phase VRM without moving up the range. It fits best alongside a discrete graphics card that connects over DisplayPort.

Typically about £219.94 in the UK when we researched itCheck price at Amazon UK

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MSI MAG Z890 TOMAHAWK WIFI

7.5/10verdict: buy

This is for builders putting a Core Ultra (Series 2) CPU on a Z890 board who want strong connectivity without paying flagship money. It suits people who want 5Gbps LAN, Wi-Fi 7 and Thunderbolt 4 on one ATX board. It is less suited to anyone who wants RGB lighting or onboard power and reset buttons.

Typically about £283.89 in the UK when we researched itCheck price at Amazon UK

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Scores, criterion by criterion

Criterion	Weight	MSI B850 GAMING PLUS WIFI PZ	MSI MAG Z890 TOMAHAWK WIFI
Platform and features	25%	6/10	7/10
Connectivity	25%	7/10	9/10
Power delivery	20%	7/10	6/10
BIOS and support	15%	7/10	7/10
Value	15%	6/10	8/10
Overall		6.6/10	7.5/10

Specifications

Spec	MSI B850 GAMING PLUS WIFI PZ	MSI MAG Z890 TOMAHAWK WIFI
Socket	AM5; supports AMD Ryzen 9000, 8000 and 7000 series desktop processors	LGA 1851, supports Intel Core Ultra Processors (Series 2)
Chipset	AMD B850	Intel Z890
Form factor	ATX, 243.84 x 304.8 mm	ATX, PCB 243.84 x 304.8 mm
Memory	DDR5, 4 DIMM slots, up to 256 GB maximum	4 x DDR5 UDIMM slots, maximum 256GB, 9200+ MT/s (OC) with 1DPC 1R, 6400 (OC) / 4800 (JEDEC) MT/s headline spec, also supports CUDIMM and non-ECC unbuffered memory
M.2 slots	Three M.2 Key M slots: M.2_1 from CPU up to PCIe 5.0 x4 (2260/2280); M.2_2 from CPU up to PCIe 4.0 x4 (22110/2280); M.2_3 from chipset up to PCIe 4.0 x2 (2260/2280). Taken from the non-PZ sibling's MSI spec page and user guide; the PZ page confirms one PCIe 5.0 M.2 slot.	4 x M.2 slots: M.2_1 PCIe 5.0 x4 (CPU), M.2_2 PCIe 4.0 x4 (CPU), M.2_3 PCIe 4.0 x4 (chipset), M.2_4 PCIe 4.0 x4 or SATA (chipset); separate Key-E slot for the Wi-Fi module
PCIe slots	One PCIe x16 slot, described as PCIe 5.0 on MSI's PZ page; MSI's regional spec page shows PCIe 5.0 x16 with Ryzen 9000/7000 and a UK review describes the non-PZ sibling as PCIe 4.0 x16, so the generation is disputed	PCI_E1 PCIe 5.0 x16 (CPU); PCI_E2 and PCI_E3 PCIe 4.0 x4 each (chipset)
Networking	Wi-Fi 7 and 5G LAN (Realtek 8126VB 5 Gbps wired, per MSI's spec page for the non-PZ sibling)	Intel Killer E5000B 5Gbps LAN; Intel Killer BE1750x Wi-Fi 7 with Bluetooth 5.4
Rear USB	Rear: one USB-C 10 Gb/s port per a PZ review (MSI's sibling spec lists two); front USB 5Gbps Type-C header	Rear: 3 x USB 10Gbps Type-A, 4 x USB 5Gbps Type-A, 1 x USB 10Gbps Type-C, 2 x Thunderbolt 4 Type-C (up to 40Gbps); front: 1 x 20Gbps Type-C with USB PD 27W, 2 x 5Gbps Type-A, 4 x USB 2.0 headers

Strengths and weaknesses

MSI B850 GAMING PLUS WIFI PZ

+ Wi-Fi 7 and 5Gbps wired LAN
+ 12+2+1 power design with two 8-pin connectors
+ Flash BIOS button works without CPU or memory
− No HDMI output reported; DisplayPort 1.2 only
− Only one M.2 slot runs at PCIe 5.0
− Third M.2 slot is limited to PCIe 4.0 x2

Skip it if:

Buyers who need HDMI output from the board itself
Builders who want two PCIe 5.0 M.2 slots
Builders who need more than four SATA ports for bulk storage

Read the full MSI B850 GAMING PLUS WIFI PZ review ›

MSI MAG Z890 TOMAHAWK WIFI

+ 5Gbps LAN, Wi-Fi 7 and two Thunderbolt 4 ports
+ Front 20Gbps USB-C header with 27W USB PD
+ Four M.2 slots, one of them PCIe 5.0
− Owners report hot VRMs with no active cooling
− No onboard power or reset buttons
− No RGB lighting

Skip it if:

Buyers who want several PCIe 5.0 M.2 slots for multiple Gen 5 drives.
Builders who want RGB lighting on the motherboard.
Open-bench or test-rig users who want onboard power and reset buttons.

Read the full MSI MAG Z890 TOMAHAWK WIFI review ›

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