The MSI MAG B660 Tomahawk WIFI stands out as an inexpensive choice to construct an Alder Lake-based system round. The sub-$200 motherboard is on the prime of the meals chain inside MSI’s B660 lineup, adopted by the Mortar, Bazooka, and Professional SKUs. The Tomahawk provides off a premium vibe, with its all-black look, matching heatsinks and has loads of different pleasing options. This contains three M.2 sockets and 6 SATA ports, loads of USB connectivity on the rear IO (together with 20 Gbps Kind-C), a top quality audio codec, and even the useful EZ M.2 clips so that you don’t need to fumble with tiny screws. For $189.99, it’s a succesful and well-rounded motherboard for individuals who by no means plan to overclock their Alder Lake processor.
The Tomahawk fought its approach via our check suite with various outcomes. The place it carried out nicely throughout the entire Procyon checks, it was a bit slower than common in a lot of our closely multi-threaded checks in addition to reminiscence bandwidth. However, gaming efficiency outcomes in contrast nicely towards its pricier friends. Whereas there are some slower-than-average outcomes, they aren’t considerably out of line. Simply remember that with some heavy multi-threaded hundreds, there may be the potential of throttling as a consequence of CPU temperature. However a fast tweak to the voltage eliminates this frequent conduct for the platform.
Earlier than we get into the small print and see if this board earns a spot on our finest motherboards checklist, listed here are B660 Tomahawk’s detailed specs, direct from MSI.
Specs: MSI MAG B660 Tomahawk WIFI
| Socket | LGA1700 |
| Chipset | B660 |
| Kind Issue | ATX |
| Voltage Regulator | 14 Section (12+1+1, 60A SPS MOSFETs for Vcore) |
| Video Ports | (1) HDMI (v2.1) |
| (1) DisplayPort (v1.4) | |
| USB Ports | (1) USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 Kind-C (20 Gbps) |
| (4) USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) | |
| (4) USB 2.0 (480 Mbps) | |
| Community Jacks | (1) 2.5 GbE |
| Audio Jacks | (5) Analog + SPDIF |
| Legacy Ports/Jacks | ✗ |
| Different Ports/Jack | ✗ |
| PCIe x16 | (1) v4.0 (x16) |
| (1) v3.0 (x4) | |
| PCIe x8 | ✗ |
| PCIe x4 | ✗ |
| PCIe x1 | (1) v3.0 (x1) |
| CrossFire/SLI | Helps AMD CrossFire |
| DIMM Slots | (4) DDR5 6200+(OC), 128GB Capability |
| 1DPC 1R Max velocity as much as 6200+ MHz | |
| 1DPC 2R Max velocity as much as 5200+ MHz | |
| 2DPC 1R Max velocity as much as 4000+ MHz | |
| 2DPC 2R Max velocity as much as 4000+ MHz | |
| M.2 Sockets | (1) PCIe 4.0 x4 (64 Gbps) / PCIe (as much as 110mm) |
| (1) PCIe 4.0 x4 (64 Gbps) / PCIe + SATA (as much as 80mm) | |
| (1) PCIe 4.0 x2 (32 Gbps) / PCIe + SATA (as much as 80mm) | |
| U.2 Ports | ✗ |
| SATA Ports | (6) SATA3 6 Gbps (Helps RAID 0/1/5/10) |
| SATA Ports | (1) USB v3.2 Gen 2, Kind-C (10 Gbps) |
| (1) USB v3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) | |
| (2) USB v2.0 (480 Mbps) | |
| Fan/Pump Headers | (7) 4-Pin (CPU, Water-pump, system fan) |
| RGB Headers | (2) aRGB (3-pin) |
| (2) RGB (4-pin) | |
| Diagnostics Panel | EZ Debug LED |
| Inner Button/Swap | ✗ |
| SATA Controllers | ASMedia ASM1061 |
| Ethernet Controller(s) | Realtek TRL8125B-CG (2.5 Gbps) |
| Wi-Fi / Bluetooth | Intel AX210 Wi-Fi 6E (2×2 ax, MU-MIMO, 2.4/5/6 GHz, 160 MHz, BT 5.2) |
| USB Controllers | ✗ |
| HD Audio Codec | Realtek ALC1220P |
| DDL/DTS Join | ✗ / X |
| Guarantee | 3 Years |
Contained in the Field of the MSI MAG B660 Tomahawk WIFI
Contained in the field, MSI contains a number of equipment together with the board. Whereas this isn’t essentially the most full set of equipment we’ve seen, it does include the fundamentals to get you began, together with a driver disk, SATA cables, Wi-Fi antenna and extra. Under is an entire checklist of the included extras.
- Fast Set up Information
- Cable/MAG stickers, Case badge
- Screwdrivers
- Cleansing brush
- RGB extensions (Corsair, Y, Rainbow)
- (2) SATA Information cables
- (2) M.2 screw/standoff units
- EZ M.2 clips
- Wi-Fi antenna
Design of the B660 Tomahawk WIFI
The MSI MAG B660 Tomahawk WIFI arrives with a matte black 6-layer PCB with a claimed 2 ounces of copper traces between. The first PCIe slot sports activities metal armor to guard the slot towards bending and shearing, together with some EMI mitigation. Just like the Mortar and Torpedo boards, the heatsinks sport navy design cues that match MSI’s theme for these extra budget-conscious choices. Nonetheless, if you happen to’re into RGB lighting, you’ll have to attach your personal to the board utilizing the RGB/ARGB headers, as none are built-in. General, we just like the look of the Tomahawk WIFI, and whereas it doesn’t leap out by itself, the all-black design provides the board a premium look that ought to match practically all construct themes.
Beginning our journey across the board with the highest half, on the left-hand facet, we get a greater take a look at the massive VRM heatsinks that attain out over the IO space and sport MSI and MAG branding. Above the VRM heatsinks are two 8-pin EPS connectors (one required) to energy the processor. Additionally listed here are 4 unreinforced, single-side locking DRAM slots, simply previous the socket space. The 4 slots assist as much as 128GB of RAM, with MSI itemizing speeds as much as DDR5 6200+. In fact, reaching these speeds is a matter of the reminiscence package used and what number of sticks you’re utilizing, amongst different variables. In different phrases, your mileage could range relying in your {hardware}.
Above the DRAM slots are the primary two (of seven) 4-pin fan/pump headers. Right here we discover the CPU_FAN1 and PUMP_FAN1 headers. Each default to PWM mode. The CPU_FAN1 header helps as much as 2A/24W, whereas the PUMP fan helps as much as 3A/36W, which is loads for many pumps and followers. Scattered across the board in varied places are 5 extra headers (SYS_FAN1-5). These default to DC mode and assist as much as 1A/12W. There are many headers with ample energy to drive your followers and pumps.
Persevering with proper, we run into the primary two (of 4) RGB headers. The 2 others are situated alongside the underside edge. In every space are 3-pin ARGB and 4-pin RGB headers. Because the board lacks its personal RGB lighting, it’s a must to use these headers if you happen to’d prefer to mild up the chassis and have it managed with MSI’s Mystic Mild software program.
Shifting down the appropriate edge, we run into two extra system fan headers, the EZ Debug LED (4 LEDs that mild up through the POST course of), a 24-pin ATX connector to energy the board, entrance panel USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) header and one USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) Kind-C header. There’s nothing uncommon on the highest half of the board, however nothing main missing, both.
The B660 Tomahawk WIFI implements a 14-phase Duet Rail (one sign to 2 MOSFETs and not using a part doubler) energy system, with 12 phases devoted to Vcore. Energy flows via the 8-pin EPS connector(s) to a 20-channel Renesas RAA229132 PWM controller after which onto the 12 60A Intersil ISL99360 SPS MOSFETs. The 720A obtainable to the processor isn’t rather a lot (keep in mind, you possibly can’t overclock the processor on this platform), however it’s loads to deal with our Intel Core i9-12900K with out getting in the way in which. You’re extra restricted by the inventory voltage and temperatures than the ability supply.
The underside half of the board, with heatsinks protecting solely the bits that may get scorching, has the audio on the left and the M.2 sockets and PCIe slots within the center. The far-right edge is lower out to permit for higher cable administration of the SATA ports and provides the board a novel form (a pleasant contact this worth level). The audio on the left consists of a Realtek ALC1220P codec and several other Chemicon model audio capacitors. Whereas the audio circuitry right here isn’t the most recent and biggest, few will discover the distinction anyway, and most will likely be completely proud of this board’s last-generation flagship.
In the midst of the board are three PCIe slots–two full-length slots and one x1 slot. The highest slot (PCI_E1) makes use of MSI’s Metal Armor to guard the slot and card and runs at PCIe 4.0 x16 speeds (sourced from the CPU), whereas the second full-length slot, PCI_E2, sources its lanes from the chipset and runs as much as PCIe 3.0 x4 speeds. This configuration helps AMD CrossFire expertise however doesn’t have sufficient lanes for SLI. The underside PCIe slot additionally sources its lanes from the chipset and runs at PCIe 3.0 x1.
There are three M.2 sockets on the board, all of which cover under a heatsink. The highest socket, labeled M2_1, connects via the CPU and runs at PCIe 4.0 x4 (64 Gbps) speeds, supporting as much as 110mm PCIe units. The opposite sockets, M2_2 and M2_3, assist as much as 80mm modules. M2_2, runs as much as PCIe 4.0 x4 whereas M2_3 runs as much as PCie 4.0 x2 (32 Gbps) and likewise helps SATA-based drives. On the appropriate edge are 4 SATA ports that assist RAID0/1/5/10, whereas alongside the underside edge are two extra SATA ports (that don’t assist RAID). SATA7 is unavailable when utilizing an M.2 SATA SSD within the M2_3 slot. So your worst-case situation is three M.2 sockets (one SATA-based) and 5 SATA drives which ought to be loads of storage for many customers.
Throughout the underside are a number of headers, together with USB ports and RGB. Under is an entire checklist, from left to proper:
- Entrance panel audio
- 4-pin RGB header
- 3-pin ARGB header
- (2) System Fan headers
- Energy LED
- Thunderbolt header
- Tuning controller header
- Thunderbolt header
- (2) USB 2.0 headers
- (2) SATA ports
- Entrance panel header(s)
The rear IO space sports activities a pre-installed IO plate that matches the B660 Tomahawk’s black-on-black theme. The black background provides method to gray writing for the ports and MAG branding and is simple to learn.
There are 9 USB ports right here: 4 USB 2.0 (480 Mbps), 4 USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) and a 20 Gbps USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 Kind port–sufficient for many customers. Video outputs encompass a single HDMI v2.1 port and DisplayPort v1.4. For networking, we spy the one 2.5GbE port and Wi-Fi 6E antenna connections. Final however not least, the audio stack consists of 5 analog plugs plus a SPDIF port.
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