MSI MAG Z690 TOMAHAWK WIFI DDR4 Motherboard Review

The FPS Review may receive a commission if you purchase something after clicking a link in this article.

Conclusion

MSI MAG Z690 Tomahawk WiFi DDR4

At the time of this writing, the MSI MAG Z690 Tomahawk WiFi DDR4 can be had for around $239.99. The Z790 version of the same motherboard costs around $309.99. The motherboard represents a solid value for anyone using a 12th or 13th-generation Intel CPU.

Installation and setup of the physical hardware were relatively straightforward. However, there was one issue with the physical build quality of the board.

MSI MAG Z690 TOMAHAWK WIFI DDR4  M.2 Standoff Failure.

Out of the box, the post that the M.2 cover screws into weren’t secured to the PCB. As a result, the cover couldn’t be used properly. I do believe this is a one-off issue with my specific sample. I haven’t heard of this issue with other boards. I’ve built a system for a friend recently using the nearly identical Z790 version and it didn’t exhibit this issue either. However, in the interest of disclosure, this was something we ran into.

Outside of the physical issue with the M.2 cover, the motherboard was absolutely reliable during my testing. Interestingly enough, I had this on my bench far longer than was initially intended and I used it as a second system in my office for some time. I played games on it, used it for Discord, and everything else you can use a computer for. The MSI MAG Z690 Tomahawk DDR4 WiFi was absolutely reliable and never gave me any problems. I never experienced lockups, crashes, BSOD, or anything else.

Overclocking

Unfortunately, no real overclocking took place with the MSI MAG Z690 Tomahawk DDR4 WiFi. The sad fact is, that the 12900K is not really capable of a whole lot of overclocking. These CPUs are binned to the edge of what they can do. The lower-end models can sometimes be overclocked but the upper-end CPUs really can’t be clocked much if any higher than their boost clocks.

The MSI motherboard defaults do bypass the Intel PLL limits and therefore allow all that the motherboard can give it. However, these CPU’s are thermally limited. As you can see from the CPU temperatures reported earlier, the CPU is at the edge of throttling using a 360mm AIO. With better cooling, you should be able to achieve higher average clocks but I wouldn’t expect more than that. It’s unfortunate, but overclocking many of these modern CPUs is virtually pointless without considerably better cooling than what most people are using.

Of course, the MSI MAG Z690 Tomahawk DDR4 WiFi isn’t well suited to LN2 cooling as it lacks the necessary features to do it easily or do it well. Not only that, the VRMs probably aren’t really up to the task of doing so. While the VRMs on the MSI MAG Z690 Tomahawk DDR4 WiFi are more than sufficient for most use cases, it’s not built for sub-ambient overclocking.

Final Points

Despite the one physical flaw in our test sample, I thoroughly enjoyed working with the MSI MAG Z690 Tomahawk DDR4 WiFi. It provided no unpleasant surprises, no problems, or issues of any kind. It just worked. Of course, there is a newer Z790 version of the MSI MAG Z690 Tomahawk DDR4 WiFi. It’s virtually identical outside of the minor improvements offered by the chipset. Performance-wise, there should be no difference between the two. Given the difference in the chipset, I’d say at $239.99 the MSI MAG Z690 Tomahawk DDR4 WiFi is an amazing value. Were it not for the one (forgivable) physical issue, the MSI MAG Z690 Tomahawk DDR4 WiFi would have earned a gold award. However, it certainly deserves a silver award for being utterly excellent in every other area.

The FPS Silver Award
MSI MAG Z690 TOMAHAWK WIFI DDR4 Motherboard

Join the discussion in our forums...

REVIEW OVERVIEW

Features
8
Motherboard Layout
8
Performance & Stability
9
Price Value
10

SUMMARY

Feature-wise, the MSI MAG Z690 TOMAHAWK WiFi DDR4 is comparable to other similar motherboards on the market. Its layout is nearly flawless with only one or two minor things to complain about. When it comes to stability, I never had a single lockup, crash, BSOD, or issue with performance in benchmarks. Although it does not quite compete with more expensive DDR5 offerings in some tests. The MSI MAG Z690 TOMAHAWK WiFi DDR4 simply worked. Lastly, at $239.99 (at the time of this writing) it's an incredible value in a landscape of increasingly expensive offerings.
Dan Dobrowolski
Dan has been writing motherboard reviews for the past 15 years, with the first decade or so writing for [H}ard|OCP. Dan brings his depth of knowledge about motherboards and their components to his reviews here at The FPS Review to help you select the best one for your needs.

Recent News

Feature-wise, the MSI MAG Z690 TOMAHAWK WiFi DDR4 is comparable to other similar motherboards on the market. Its layout is nearly flawless with only one or two minor things to complain about. When it comes to stability, I never had a single lockup, crash, BSOD, or issue with performance in benchmarks. Although it does not quite compete with more expensive DDR5 offerings in some tests. The MSI MAG Z690 TOMAHAWK WiFi DDR4 simply worked. Lastly, at $239.99 (at the time of this writing) it's an incredible value in a landscape of increasingly expensive offerings. MSI MAG Z690 TOMAHAWK WIFI DDR4 Motherboard Review