MSI MEG Z690 ACE & MAG Z690 Tomahawk Motherboards Review – High-End & Mainstream Tier In Action!

OSTN Staff

MSI is back with its MAG Tomahawk, this time featuring the Z690 chipset and design that is much powerful than ever. The MSI MAG Z690 Tomahawk WiFi features the best design to date and also packs in a great punch in terms of power delivery.

The product is MSI’s flagship MAG product so expect it to be spec’d out accordingly, the MAG Z690 Tomahawk WiFi rocks a  Direct 18 Phase All-Digital VRM with 70A Amp Smart Power Stages. Power to the VRM and CPU socket is provided through a dual 8-pin connector configuration.

MSI MAG Z690 Tomahawk WiFi Motherboard Features:

  • Supports 12th Gen Intel Core, Pentium Gold, and Celeron processors for LGA 1700 socket
  • Supports DDR5 Memory, up to 6400(OC) MHz
  • Premium Thermal Solution: Extended Heatsink Design and M.2 Shield Frozr is built for a high-performance system and non-stop works
  • 2.5G LAN and Intel Wi-Fi Solution: Upgraded network solution for professional and multimedia use. Delivers a secure, stable, and fast network connection
  • Lightning M.2: Running at PCIe Gen 5 maximizes performance for NVMe based SSDs
  • Lightning USB 20G: Built-in USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 port, offers 20Gbps transmission speed, 4X faster than USB 3.2 Gen 1
  • AUDIO BOOST 5: Reward your ears with studio grade sound quality for the most immersive gaming experience
  • Multi-GPU: With Steel armor PCIe slots. Supports AMD Crossfire

The MAG Z690 Tomahawk also features support for four DDR5 Rams with speeds of up to 6400+ MHz (OC) and a capacity of up to 128 GB. The board features 6 SATA III ports and a single USB 3.2 Gen 2 front-panel header. Before we talk about I/O and expansion on this motherboard, let’s look at the design itself.

MSI’s MAG Z690 Tomahawk WiFi design’s inclined towards the budget gaming segment. The ATX motherboard features a very nice brushed metallic black and matte black design. The extended heatsink design makes use of 7W/MK to dissipate heat effectively.

Now coming to the expansion slots, the MSI MAG Z690 Tomahawk WiFi motherboard features three PCIe slots (1 x Gen 5 & 2 x Gen 3), and four M.2 slots (3x Gen4x4, 1x Gen 3×4), all of which are cooled by the M.2 Shield Frozr heatsinks.

For I/O, you get 1 USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 (2 Type-C) ports, 3 USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, 2 USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, 2 USB 2.0 ports, HDMI + DP ports,  2.5G (Intel I225V) Ethernet LAN ports, Intel WiFi 6E (BT 5.2) functionality, Audio Boost HD and to top it all off, a button for flashing the BIOS. The MAG Z690 Tomahawk WiFi is going to be priced at an official MSRP of $309.99 US which makes it $10 US more expensive than the DDR4 variant.

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