Best with USB4 · Motherboards

MSI MAG X870 Tomahawk WiFi

The X870 Tomahawk adds USB4 and more PCIe 5.0 bandwidth to the Tomahawk formula. It's the board to pick if you want 40Gbps USB-C for fast external drives, docks and displays without paying for an X870E flagship.

Brand: MSI
Best for: AM5 builds that need USB4
Price range: Upper mid-range
Our score: 8.5/10

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Our take

The MSI MAG X870 Tomahawk WiFi takes everything we like about the B850 Tomahawk and adds USB4. It's the board to choose if you want 40Gbps USB-C for fast external SSDs, docks and displays, without paying for an X870E flagship.

What X870 adds

AMD's X870 chipset requires USB4, which gives you 40Gbps USB-C ports, four times faster than standard 10Gbps USB. That's useful for fast external SSDs, single-cable docks and connecting displays over USB-C. X870 also guarantees PCIe 5.0 for the graphics card slot.

If you don't need USB4, the B850 Tomahawk MAX WiFi II gives you nearly everything else for less.

Power and performance

Like other Tomahawk boards, it has robust power delivery with large heatsinks, easily handling any Ryzen 7000 or 9000 processor, including 16-core chips, and memory overclocking. Performance at stock settings matches any other AM5 board.

Storage and expansion

There are four M.2 slots, two PCIe 5.0 and two PCIe 4.0, and a PCIe 5.0 x16 graphics slot. MSI's EZ features include tool-free M.2 latches and a graphics card release button. Some M.2 slots share bandwidth with expansion slots or SATA ports, so check the manual's lane-sharing table before filling every slot.

Networking

You get 5Gb Ethernet, Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4, plus plenty of USB ports on the rear panel.

Platform

AMD has committed to supporting the AM5 socket until at least 2027, so the board can take a faster Ryzen processor later. Boards made before Ryzen 9000 launched may need a BIOS update first; this one supports BIOS Flashback, which updates the BIOS from a USB stick without a processor installed.

Who should buy it

Buy the X870 Tomahawk WiFi if you want USB4 for external drives, docks or displays, or a creator PC with lots of fast storage. For a gaming-only PC, the B850 Tomahawk MAX WiFi II is better value.

Key specifications

Socket	AMD AM5
Chipset	AMD X870
Form factor	ATX
Memory	4x DDR5, up to 256GB
Graphics slot	PCIe 5.0 x16
M.2 slots	4 (two PCIe 5.0, two PCIe 4.0)
USB4	40Gbps USB-C with display output
Networking	5Gb Ethernet (Realtek 8126), Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4
Video outputs	HDMI, USB4