MSI Mag Z790 Tomahawk Wifi LGA 1700 ATX Motherboard

I chose this motherboard as MSI offered a fairly good overall package of ports, I/O and connectivity with this product as Z790 motherboards go, although it's difficult to call any of them more than fair value for money since they are all expensive.I did want a PCI-E 5 GPU slot, at least one USB 3.2 Gen2x2 slot, 2.5Gbps Ethernet, at least four M.2 slots and ideally Wi-Fi 6E, all of which this board delivers on. It's unfortunate that it doesn't have at least one PCI-E 5 M.2 slot, but all of the slots it does have are PCI-E 4, which is still good. It also has multi-channel audio out, which not all boards do around this price point. While other MSI motherboards do improve on many of these specs and offer improved VRM cooling, the additional cost is difficult to ... MoreI chose this motherboard as MSI offered a fairly good overall package of ports, I/O and connectivity with this product as Z790 motherboards go, although it's difficult to call any of them more than fair value for money since they are all expensive.I did want a PCI-E 5 GPU slot, at least one USB 3.2 Gen2x2 slot, 2.5Gbps Ethernet, at least four M.2 slots and ideally Wi-Fi 6E, all of which this board delivers on. It's unfortunate that it doesn't have at least one PCI-E 5 M.2 slot, but all of the slots it does have are PCI-E 4, which is still good. It also has multi-channel audio out, which not all boards do around this price point. While other MSI motherboards do improve on many of these specs and offer improved VRM cooling, the additional cost is difficult to justify.It's been reliable in operation so far and has worked as expected. I did once run into a strange bug where the BCLK settings disappeared from the BIOS and didn't come back until clearing the CMOS, but that hasn't recurred so far. It's also been pretty good at recovering from bad memory overclocks, nearly always rebooting with safe settings rather than requiring a manual CMOS clear. When that is required, the button on the back panel makes that more convenient than opening up the system.If you're looking for a Z790 board I think this one is about at the sweet spot once you've accepted the already high entry prices, and I don't have any major complaints.

In my opinion, the best z790 motherboard in mid price range!It has everything you might need in a motherboard: 4x M2 slots (all with heatsinks), good power design (enough for even i9 13900k), lots of back panel ports, decent audio codec and WiFi 6.I also like the black stealthy looking design without any RGB (even though I am planning a full RGB build on top of it). It makes it easy to match with almost anything!

Another quality motherboard by MSI

After having issue after issue with a Gigabyte board, I was done I had enough. So, I decided to go back to my trusty brand of choice MSI, and I was not disappointed.All the features you could ask for at a great price. If you're considering a z790 board and want great performance and cost, do yourself a favour and get this board.

Good board, but known issue with the onboard NIC

Overall, I'm very pleased with it. It's a solid, well-built board with a lot of USB and fan headers. It comes with some hefty built-in heatsinks for NVMe drives but I removed these as my drives already had heatsinks fitted. No issue building with it. Not the best UI in the BIOS but everything you need, and more, is in there somewhere. Unfortunately the board uses the Intel I226-V Ethernet Controller, this has (at time of writing) a known issue where it disconnects and reconnects randomly. Usually only for 5s or so, so you may not notice it in everyday use but it's enough to ruin your day when online gaming. On Windows, they'll show up in the system event log as event IDs 27 & 32. There are workarounds and I found that fixing it to 1Gbps and removing all the power ... MoreOverall, I'm very pleased with it. It's a solid, well-built board with a lot of USB and fan headers. It comes with some hefty built-in heatsinks for NVMe drives but I removed these as my drives already had heatsinks fitted. No issue building with it. Not the best UI in the BIOS but everything you need, and more, is in there somewhere. Unfortunately the board uses the Intel I226-V Ethernet Controller, this has (at time of writing) a known issue where it disconnects and reconnects randomly. Usually only for 5s or so, so you may not notice it in everyday use but it's enough to ruin your day when online gaming. On Windows, they'll show up in the system event log as event IDs 27 & 32. There are workarounds and I found that fixing it to 1Gbps and removing all the power control settings sorted the drop outs. Hopefully an updated driver will fix the issue.

Great Motherboard.

First time builder. No issues with the board itself. Very straightforward for installing parts. Plenty of customisation/options in the BIOS if you need it. The board definitely gives you that 'quality' feel.The only difficulty I had was installing Win11 which requires an internet connection but mine wasn't detected (was using eternet cable as well). Most likely because didn't have drivers installed yet (new build), in any case, you can look up how to bypass this issue easily.

Great well thought out board at a solid price!

There is a clear divide between entry level Z790 boards and the mid-range with the difference largely being a huge price uplift in exchange for a modest increase in both external and internal connectivity options. The MSI MAG Z790 Tomahawk is one of the first boards you'll hit after crossing that price gap but it punches well above its price point.The board is rock solid and the layout is extremally well thought out. Fan, USB and other headers are all perfectly distributed, the M2 slots are well spaced and overclocking options are plentiful. If like myself this is your first foray into a socket 1700 system and you can't afford a top end board, then this board won't let you down. It nips at the heels of the more expensive boards in terms of options but at a ... MoreThere is a clear divide between entry level Z790 boards and the mid-range with the difference largely being a huge price uplift in exchange for a modest increase in both external and internal connectivity options. The MSI MAG Z790 Tomahawk is one of the first boards you'll hit after crossing that price gap but it punches well above its price point.The board is rock solid and the layout is extremally well thought out. Fan, USB and other headers are all perfectly distributed, the M2 slots are well spaced and overclocking options are plentiful. If like myself this is your first foray into a socket 1700 system and you can't afford a top end board, then this board won't let you down. It nips at the heels of the more expensive boards in terms of options but at a significantly cheaper price point.

Jordan's review of MSI MAG Z790 Tomahawk WiFi Intel Socket 1700 Motherboard

Pros: Good features for this generation at this price point. 2.5G internet is intel, board is well put together with decent bios and multiple m.2 slots.Cons: Only one USB 3.0 header so ordered a splitter.One memory slot snapped while trying to put ram in, currently seeking support but this is slow.6000 mhz ram with 13900K only running at 4800 mhz on latest bios.Displayport output on GTX 1080 won’t boot, only works with HDMI. May not be a fault of the board.

Kamil's review of MSI MAG Z790 Tomahawk WiFi Intel Socket 1700 Motherboard

Pros: The board looks absolutely amazing.It comes with plenty of storage options and all connectors are spaced and positioned in a way that makes it really easy to build. It worked first time, and it tool very little effort to set up the BIOS the way I wanted to. I also like the fact that there wasn't too much paper in the box, really short quick installation guide, no need for a printed manual.Cons: It's not a major issue but could do with a few more SATA cables in the box.

Overall great experience

Bought this motherboard for my first PC build. Can’t be happier about the purchase. All the ports are easily accessible, manual is very clear. It was a joy to build a PC based on this motherboard. The only issue I faced is that Windows 10/11 do not currently support the drivers for the latest LAN chipsets although requiring internet connection on first install. Solved by installing the drivers in midst of Windows 11 installation by opening task manager in command line and accessing the drivers on the USB drive that comes with the motherboard. Great product, can recommend enough.

pretty good.

Never been a huge fan of MSI bios though i felt this is a good value/well reviewed Z790 DDR5 motherboard - so went for it.Pros:Great build qualityGood I/O + shield4 x M.2 slots with heatsinks.Included USB drive with drivers.looks nice.Cons:No built in led - not a biggy.