AM5 boards
AM5 boards
I've worked with the Tomahawk X670 and B650 boards before—they're solid choices. It's strange why they'd stand out, but these are definitely top-tier options. If I were looking to buy a X870 or B850 now, I'd definitely consider these models.
I'm looking for information about your B850 Tomahawk Wi-Fi setup. The reasons for purchasing or not depend on individual needs. It seems the X870 offers more USB ports, a USB4 port, and a larger NVME heatsink compared to the B850. This might be what I was considering when deciding.
This question refers to a specific CPU model. Whether it matters depends on your needs and the tasks you plan to run.
It's not crucial, though the motherboard might seem a bit excessive for the CPU itself. Make sure it includes features you genuinely need or want; otherwise, you might end up paying more than necessary. Also, this wasn't about the CPU specifically—just inquiring if there are any particular aspects of the motherboard you'd like to verify based on my firsthand experience.
I understand you're considering a more powerful motherboard despite higher costs. It seems you're looking for options with Wi-Fi 7, 5G LAN, and ALC4080 features. The X870 offers two USB4 ports, which is a good point compared to the B850. Since you're new to MSI, this should be manageable.
Just a heads up, if you are still using WIndows 10, you won't be able to use the Wifi at all, because there's no WIFI7 card driver for Win10. If you have your own preferred Wifi Antenna, you won't be able to plug it as well, because it uses "proprietary" connector (most likely Fakra connector without the plastic housing). It looks like SMA/RP-SMA at a glance, but nope it's not. If you actually need the 5G Lan, sure. Dunno, there are some posts all over the internet about ALC4080 being sucky, though personally I don't experience any hiccup with it so far. Though I have to say I am a pretty bog standard user with bog standard audio setup for my PC, so probably a YMMV thing. There's slight reduction of NVME speed on 4th slot (the lowest one) if Wifi/BT is turned on in bios. Heard this from a review. Pretty sure it's the same for the X870 version. Probably can test for you if you really need the info. Dunno about X870, but atleast for B850 if you use SignalRGB & connect ARGB to motherboard, there may be some problem. I had to use Beta version of SRGB for it to be able to detect and control the motherboard ARGB headers, and even then, it's wonky. Too unimportant for me to try and see if BIOS Update will fix the wonkyness.
I avoid Wi-Fi unless necessary, but I prefer the newest release. I’m not relying on 5G LAN just yet, though it would be advantageous compared to 2.5G LAN for upcoming needs. I’m unlikely to require all M.2 ports and I won’t use RGB headers.