Introduction
Today, we now have the MSI MAG B850 TOMAHAWK WIFI within the office to try. This motherboard is an element of MSI’s MAG (MSI Arsenal Gaming) series, which sits as MSI’s offering for more budget-conscious offerings. Together with this, MSI has also released an X870E TOMAHAWK MAX WIFI to enrich the B850 variant we now have today, which we are going to have a look at in a future review.
With the B850 TOMAHAWK coming in at $229, it is unquestionably geared toward the more budget-conscious DIY’ers today. At this price point, MSI has three (3) total M.2 slots for NVME drives, all of which have M.2 Sheild FROZR ‘s, together with 4 (4) SATA ports for lots of storage options. Despite the fact that that is on the lower end of MSI’s price range, it has the features to let it punch above its weight class.
MSI MAG B850 TOMAHAWK WIFI AM5 ATX Motherboard
MSI MAG B850 TOMAHAWK WIFI AM5 ATX Motherboard
Packaging and Contents
As will be expected with the MAG series, there just isn’t a complete lot included within the box for extras. The items most probably to truly be used are the EZ WIFI Antenna (with no prolonged stand that we sometimes have included), an EZ Front Panel connector (For quick connection of front panel headers), a 1 to three EZ Conn-Cable for RGB lighting, a spare EZ M.2 Clip II, and an EZ M.2 Clip II Remover tool.
After this, there may be the usual quick installation guide, European Union Regulatory Notice, in addition to a page of cable stickers to help with cable management or to fancy up your case. Finally, there may be the “Shout Out” pamphlet to remind you to register your motherboard and to depart a review.
MSI MAG B850 TOMAHAWK WIFI Features
With the brand new generation of MAG TOMAHAWK offerings, MSI has modified the design from predominantly black with white accents to black with green for the accents, which matches the identical refresh done when the Intel Z890 offerings were released. As we now have come to expect with most full-size motherboards, there are the usual 4 (4) DDR5 memory slots, three (3) M.2 slots, and 4 (4) total SATA ports for storage and memory options. Beyond this, MSI has gone with a FROZR II style heat sink for the first M.2 slot, and the remaining two (2) have a normal FROZR cooler.
Power Delivery
MSI has gone with a 14+2+1 VRM power design on the MSI MAG B850 TOMAHAWK WIFI. With this, there may be an 80Amp Smart Power Stage, which should find a way to maintain up for normal operation with Performance Boost Overdrive (PBO) enabled. The FROZR cooling just isn’t just on the M.2 drives; it is usually incorporated within the VRM cooling with prolonged Heatsinks on all the facility elements, in addition to an oversized heatsink on the B850 chipset. All of this allowed for full PBO operation for us during testing, nonetheless we are usually not certain this power system will hold as much as higher-end overclocking, even with the OC Engine MSI has included onboard.
Memory and Storage
Much like all B850 motherboards we now have had within the office thus far, the MSI MAG B850 TOMAHAWK WIFI can only utilize Non-ECC, Un-buffered, DDR5 memory, with a maximum capability of 64 GB per slot (with a complete of 256 GB). Assuming your memory is up for the duty, you’ll find a way to push speeds of as much as 8,200 MT/s, or higher, when using a single memory slot/stick, which is among the highest speeds we now have seen on the B850 platform. Unfortunately, we’re unable to totally test the speed as our Patriot kit is barely able to as much as 6,200 MT/s, which had no issues being met with each the A2 and B2 slots occupied.
There are a complete of three (3) M.2 slots on the MSI MAG B850 TOMAHAWK WIFI, with only the M.2_1 being Gen5 speeds from the CPU, which is standard for a motherboard on this tier. The remaining two (2) slots are Gen 4 speeds, with only the M.2_3 slot being provided from the chipset. While there are only three (3) total slots, the upside is that irrespective of the mixture of M.2 drives, USB ports used, or PCIe slots used, they may run at their respective speed generation.
As we touched on earlier, MSI has provided cooling for all three of those slots, with the M.2_1 having the EZ M.2 Shield Frozr II tool-less solution, and M.2_2 & M.2_3 sharing the more standard M.2 Shield Frozr, which requires removal of two small screws to access the slots. Overall, the cooling is adequate on the 2 Gen4 slots, and should have no issues assuming your M.2 drives are single-sided. The Gen5 slot, M.2_1, just isn’t as robust as we now have seen in other motherboards from MSI, nonetheless it should still find a way to work for many drives that wouldn’t have integrated heat sinks from the manufacturer. Beyond the M.2 slots, there are a complete of 4 (4) SATA 6 GB/s ports that will be present in the standard location beside the chipset.
Expansion
The MSI MAG B850 TOMAHAWK WIFI has three (3) total PCIe slots, with the first being the lone Gen5 x16 slot from the CPU, while the center slot is able to Gen4 x4 operation, and the bottom-most slot is a Gen 3 x1 slot. Even with this being a more budget focused motherboard, MSI has added just a few features to the expansion slots which are greatly appreciated, with the Steel Armor II system on the highest most slot for added strength with more modern GPU’s, in addition to their EZ PCIe Release system for making removal so simple as pressing a button positioned on the underside right of the DDR5 slots.
These are each features we regularly see on mid-to-higher range offerings, which is way appreciated on this motherboard. The last item we would like to attract attention to with the expansion is the PCIE_PWR1 plug, which you’ll see at the underside of the motherboard. That is an 8-pin power connector intended solely for adding supplemental power to all three (3) of the PCIe slots, and so as to add stability to any higher power GPUs, or NPU’s, that a user might install.
I/O
I/O on the MSI MAG B850 TOMAHAWK WIFI is a mixed bag, with a complete of 17 USB ports available, 10 of which will be found on the rear I/O panel. Of those, there are two (2) Type-C connectors, a 10Gbps and a 20 Gbps, 4 (4) Type-A ports split evenly between 5Gbps and 10Gbps, and eventually 4 (4) USB 2.0 slots. This implies the remaining seven (7) USB ports consist of 1 (1) Type-C 10Gbps port, two (2) Type-A 5Gbps, and 4 (4) USB 2.0 ports.
Beyond the USB ports, the rear I/O panel has an HDMI port for video out, a 5G LAN Port from a Realtek 8126VG chip, WIFI ports for WIFI 7 and Bluetooth 5.4, a Flash CMOS Button in addition to a Clear CMOS button, and eventually, there may be an S/PDIF Out plug alongside the MIC-IN and Line Out plugs. This audio supports as much as 7.1 Channel surround sound from the Realtek ALC4080 Codec.
For cooling connection, there are a complete of eight (8) 4-pin fan connectors with 4 (4) within the upper right corner of the motherboard, and 4 (4) in the underside center. Of those, there may be one (1) port intended for the CPU cooler fan, one (1) able to as much as 3 Amp power delivery for pump power, and the remaining six (6) are intended for system fan operation.
After this, there may be the MSI exclusive “EZ CONN. – JAF_2” connector, which is a proprietary connector MSI has included for quick connection of MSI liquid coolers and fans, allowing for a single connection to work for the facility and RGB control. On the subject of RGB control, the JAF_2 connector just isn’t the one option, as there are three (3) total Addressable V2 connectors (JARGB_V2), together with a single RGB LED connector (JRGB). All of those will be controlled with MSI’s Mystic Light software of their Hub, which can even allow use of Ambient Link to tie in other RGB’s positioned in your space.
UEFI
As we now have seen with all current generation UEFI BIOS’s from MSI, the MSI MAG B850 TOMAHAWK WIFI utilizes the “Click BIOS X”, one among the more favored implementations we now have seen. Since we now have already passed through the Click BIOS X intimately in multiple reviews previously, we’re going to focus on just a few features and invite you to dig into the gallery below.
Once you enter the UEFI for the primary time, you’re prompted to pick a Precision Boost Override (PBO) setting of either “Auto” or “Enabled”, which looks as if it’s the identical option, nonetheless it just isn’t. Select “
“Enabled” if you wish to guarantee it’s enabled, when you want the BIOS / System to choose when to show it on, then “Auto” is the selection for you.
Once you might have decided, you’re greeted with the usual “EZ Mode” screen, providing you with quick access to regulate XMP memory speed settings, a fast overview of system statuses, and quick access to either M-Flash for BIOS upgrades or the Hardware Monitor for adjusting fan/pump speeds. You’re also able to try the BIOS Log up top to see what changes have been made within the session; this can even show up before you save changes and exit the UEFI as well.
When within the Advanced tab up top, accessed with the “F7” key or just by clicking it, you should have access to all of the deeper system settings and standing information. The primary tab gives the user information on the storage devices connected, in addition to the BIOS version and construct date.
When diving into the Advanced tab, there are alternatives for every thing from the PCIe Subsystem Settings to Integrated GPU, to USB and wake-up event settings, to even the primary location of AMD Overclocking options. Overclocking can either be accessed here for more of the “nitty gritty” settings, or just navigating to the Overclocking tab will give quick access to probably the most adjusted settings (note that this can not have every setting here). For more information on what settings will be adjusted, take a have a look at the gallery below.
Motherboard Performance
As with all of our recent 2025 reviews, we shall be using our recent performance section. You will see images of all of our testing leads to the gallery, while the next paragraphs summarize what we experienced. As with our 2025 AMD reviews, in 2026, we shall be using our Ryzen 9 7900X CPU for all of our performance benchmarks.
Our first test is the storage test, and as we mentioned above, with this review, we now have done something barely different from what we typically do. We still are using our MSI SPATIUM M570 PRO FROZR (originally reviewed at the top of 2023) as our primary drive, and our ADATA LEGEND 970 2TB NVME SSE within the second Gen5 slot, and for this review we now have added a further drive, a SK Hynix Platinum P41 1TB drive, with the goal of pushing the CPU and chipset so far as we will.
During testing, the M570 got here in at 12,370 MB/s read and 11,651 MB/s write, the LEGEND 970 got here in at 7,452 MB/s read and seven,014 MB/s write. The P41 1TB drive clocks in at 7,118 MB/s read and 6,525 MB/s write, just barely behind the faster Gen5 drive in the opposite Gen4 slot. All of those speeds are about what we’d expect.
The subsequent test is our memory testing using AIDA64’s Cache & Memory Benchmark. The MSI MAG B850 TOMAHAWK WIFI was in a position to achieve a read speed of 73,785 MB/s, a write speed of 77,156MB/s, and a duplicate speed of 67,403 MB/s. These speeds are throughout where we expect them on the B850, with the write speed beating among the X870E motherboards we now have had within the office.
Our synthetic benchmark tests are up next, with 3DMark, PCMark, Cinebench (R23 and 2024), V-Ray, Blender, and eventually GeekBench6. 3DMark is available in with a rating of 13,142 for max threads within the CPU Profile test, and a CPU rating of 20,591 for Night Raid, with a complete rating of 10,508 (Includes full system). PCMark is available in with a complete rating of seven,003, which continues the trend we saw with the MSI MEG X870E ACE of a lower rating than anticipated with this CPU. After this, Cinebench R23 clocks in at 29,565 points on the Multi-Core, and a couple of,031 points on the Single-Core test, and 2024 is available in with 1,650 points and 122 points respectively, each Cinebench results bring us back to where we expect to be with our testing, and truly exceed the recently reviewed MEG X870E ACE from MSI.
With V-Ray, we had a final rating of 31,344, which is true at what we expect with this setup. Blender is available in at 209 for the Monster test, 157 for junkshop, and 113 for classroom, again right consistent with expectations. Our final synthetic benchmark is Geekbench, where we hit a Multi-Core rating of 18,567 and a Single-Core rating of three,081, which is inline with what we expect, if not barely ahead.
VRM Temperature
The last testing we accomplished on the MSI MAG B850 TOMAHAWK WIFI is the VRM temperature test. For this test, we run the Cinebench 2023 Multi-Core test for at least quarter-hour to totally stress the system. On the 15-minute mark, we take a screenshot and record the temperatures as reported by probably the most current version of HWiNFO 64, in addition to a manual temperature reading with a Handheld Infrared thermometer. All testing occurs at an ambient temperature of roughly 75°F (24°C).
Cooling for the MSI MAG B850 TOMAHAWK WIFI is beefed up in comparison with among the B850 motherboards we now have seen. Our handheld thermometer read a extreme temperature of 44.7°C, while HWiNFO gave us a maximum MOSFET temperature of 58.0°F, and a chipset temperature of 47.4°C.
Conclusion
The MSI MAG B850 TOMAHAWK WIFI could also be on the lower end of MSI’s range of enthusiast motherboards; nonetheless, its performance is available in on the upper end. It’s in a position to compete with motherboards within the MEG and MPG range, and at a lovely price. Cooling was greater than adequate, as was the 14+2+1 power delivery, at the least at “stock” PBO settings.
Installation and Use
Each the physical and software installations for the MSI MAG B850 TOMAHAWK WIFI were about as smooth as might be, with no real hiccups. If we had any complaints with it, we’d note that the first M.2 slot is near the first PCIe slot, which could cause issues in case your GPU has a back plate and your primary M.2 device has a larger-sized cooler, but that’s nitpicking on a $229 motherboard. There have been no problems with Windows installation or driver updates; every thing went as easily as we now have had on every other motherboard.
Final Points
The MSI MAG B850 TOMAHAWK WIFI turned out to be a mighty motherboard. It has the entire essential features, from three (3) M.2 slots to a metal reinforced primary PCIe slot; there aren’t any features that the typical user will need to have missing from this motherboard. Sure, it doesn’t have all of the RGB LEDs on the motherboard or excessive M.2 slots, but it surely does have performance. And for $229, we don’t see a single thing fallacious with this motherboard.
MSI MAG B850 TOMAHAWK WIFI AM5 ATX Motherboard
MSI MAG B850 TOMAHAWK WIFI AM5 ATX Motherboard