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MSI MAG B550 TOMAHAWK 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 MSI MAG B550 TOMAHAWK at 5.8/10.

The MSI MAG B550 TOMAHAWK 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 connectivity, where the MSI MAG X870 TOMAHAWK WIFI scores 9/10 to the MSI MAG B550 TOMAHAWK's 5/10.

MSI MAG B550 TOMAHAWK

MSI MAG B550 TOMAHAWK

5.8/10verdict: good, not the best

The MSI MAG B550 TOMAHAWK is an ATX AM4 board for people building or upgrading a Ryzen 3000 or 5000 system. It suits builders who want two wired LAN ports, six SATA ports and a cooled VRM without paying for Wi-Fi. It asks for some patience with BIOS updates and memory choice, so it fits buyers who are comfortable fiddling with settings.

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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)

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Scores, criterion by criterion

CriterionWeightMSI MAG B550 TOMAHAWKMSI MAG X870 TOMAHAWK WIFI
Platform and features25%6/107/10
Connectivity25%5/109/10
Power delivery20%7/108/10
BIOS and support15%5/104/10
Value15%6/107/10
Overall5.8/107.2/10

Specifications

SpecMSI MAG B550 TOMAHAWKMSI MAG X870 TOMAHAWK WIFI
CPU socket (e.g. AM5, AM4, LGA1851, LGA1700)AMD Socket AM4AM5, supports Ryzen 9000, 8000 and 7000 series desktop CPUs
ChipsetAMD B550AMD X870
Form factor (ATX, Micro-ATX, Mini-ITX, E-ATX)ATXATX, 304.8 × 243.84 mm
Memory: type (DDR4 or DDR5), number of slots, maximum capacity and speedDDR4, 4 DIMM slots, dual channel, up to 128 GBDDR5, 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 generationTwo M.2 slots4 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 slotsOne PCIe 4.0 x16 slot for graphics, one PCIe 3.0 x16 slot, two PCIe 3.0 x1 slots3 × 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 RTL8125B 2.5GbE plus Realtek RTL8111H Gigabit LAN; no Wi-Fi or Bluetooth on the base modelRealtek 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 USB42x USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps rear ports (one Type-C, one Type-A); other sources list different rear counts12 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

MSI MAG B550 TOMAHAWK

  • + Two wired LAN ports, including 2.5GbE
  • + Two separate metal VRM heatsinks
  • + Six SATA ports and two M.2 slots
  • − No Wi-Fi or Bluetooth on the base model
  • − Owners report memory speed and compatibility problems
  • − Only the graphics slot is PCIe 4.0

Skip it if:

  • Buyers who need built-in Wi-Fi or Bluetooth
  • Anyone wanting many fast rear USB ports
  • Builders who want guaranteed rated memory speeds without tuning
Read the full MSI MAG B550 TOMAHAWK 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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