Conclusion
This review examined the MSI MAG B850 TOMAHAWK MAX WiFi II motherboard. This motherboard is a very familiar member of the MSI MAG tier of motherboards. This full-size ATX board was given a small facelift, but otherwise is very similar to the MSI MAG B850 TOMAHAWK MAX WiFi that was released one year ago. The board supports AM5 processors, DDR5 memory up to 8400MT/s and GEN5 M.2 and PCIe speeds. This is a very full-featured and well-built, stable motherboard, in keeping with MAG TOMAHAWK boards we have reviewed previously. Performance, as you would expect, is identical to other equally equipped B850 chipset motherboards.
Installation and Use
We encountered no issues with installation or first boot up. The board layout is very familiar and gave us no problems. As always, CPU and RAM mounting were no problem. The RAM slots are double-latched. The M.2 slots are all tool-less. We are coming to appreciate the MSI EZ Clip for M.2 as it is much easier to use than a rotary fastener, especially if you have trouble seeing little tiny things. There is room in all the slots for drives, but most likely one should use drives that do not have large heatsinks. If that were to be the case, M.2_2 would be unusable. We once again have an EZ-PCIe-Release button for the primary video card slot. It just works.
First boot, BIOS navigation, and Windows 11 installation were without a single hitch. Since the board came with an outdated BIOS version, we used “M-Flash” to update, which was very simple to use and proceeded without an issue. The BIOS is very similar, if not identical, to the other MSI motherboards we have reviewed in the recent past. The Click X BIOS is very responsive and well-organised. All benchmarks ran without error. VRM temperatures were very unremarkable on this board during prolonged Cinebench R23. There were no thermal issues.
Final Points
Over the past three odd years, we have reviewed no fewer than seven MSI MAG TOMAHAWK motherboards. Four of the seven have had the word “MAX” included. That gives us quite a portfolio to fall back on. Each and every MAG TOMAHAWK motherboard has been given high marks for build quality and performance. These motherboards are well built and chock full of connectivity. Today’s MAG B850 TOMAHAWK MAX WiFi II is no different.
This is a very well-constructed motherboard. It has all the connections you could need, and you’ll have some left over. It was very stable when tested, giving us no issues. We like the new color scheme very much. There is nothing wrong at all with an all-black look. The obvious question left to ask is, what does this motherboard have to offer versus the MAX without a Roman Numeral? MAX and MAX II are essentially the exact same motherboard, same connectivity, same CPU support, same DDR5 support and speeds, and the exact same layout. The only separation of MAX II from MAX is less yellow accent paint, a 64 MB BIOS chip and the OC Engine. Well, we like the less yellow. The extra BIOS capacity is, at present, unused, and there is simply no instruction on how to make use of the “OC Engine”. If you are a one-click overclocker using PBO and EXPO, the OC Engine has no added value for you.
As we said, we like the motherboard, and it has all the compelling features of its brethren in the TOMAHAWK lineage. We just don’t see the real-world or gaming benefit of this board over the plain MAX. If it is available and near the same price, you might as well go for it; otherwise, if the original MAX is cheaper, it will be the better value.