New MSI Tomahawk Z790 offers maximum Wi-Fi performance and no connectivity issues.
New MSI Tomahawk Z790 offers maximum Wi-Fi performance and no connectivity issues.
Hello everyone, After saving up for several years, I was able to upgrade my computer from an old i7-6700k to the MSI Tomahawk with an i9-14900k, 32MB GSKill DDR5 RAM, and a Gigabyte 3060 12GB GPU. My issue, as you can see, is that there’s no WiFi on the motherboard in Windows 10. I reached out to MSI representatives who asked me repeatedly for over a week to take pictures of this and more, only to be told it wouldn’t work and that I’d need Windows 11. I don’t want that outdated system. It feels like a clunky interface built on top of a basic menu layout—similar to how Windows 10 sits over the simpler menus of Windows 7, which in turn sit over the menus of Windows 11. I mean what I’m trying to say is, if you understand my point. Windows 11 seems heavy and prone to bugs, and the latest apps don’t fit well within Microsoft’s One System Good One System Bad approach. I just don’t like it, but that’s my problem. I’d prefer using WiFi on Windows 10. Is there a way to force the drivers into the system? Windows 10 doesn’t recognize Qualcomm WiFi at all, and drivers from Windows 11 don’t install properly even when I try. I’m not impressed with MSI in this case. The board should be marketed for Windows 11. Or maybe I’ll have to stick with LAN and a USB card until I see what Windows 12 looks like. Thanks in advance for any help. Col
The Windows 11 setup doesn’t look good at all. It seems something’s off. A Ryzen build would be better, and Intel 14th gen is known for big problems (mainly reliability).
Having the SMA connectors on the I/O shield confirms you have Wi-Fi. I own a Z790 Tomahawk DDR4 Wi-Fi unit with an Intel AX210 chipset (6E). It appears I have a Qualcomm WiFi 7 chipset, though the MSI site doesn’t mention it. I remember noting this a few weeks back, but there don’t seem to be any discussions about it. Personally, I’d replace that M.2 WiFi module with an AX210. That one even includes a driver for accessing the 6GHz band on Windows 10. Check Amazon—you won’t need to purchase SMA pigtails; you can use the ones already built in. It’s disappointing the Qualcomm chipset is either very new or rare. You could revert if conditions change.
I received confirmation from MSI that anyone using WiFi 7 must install Windows 11, and that’s all they need to know. As they stated... "Regarding your query, if your motherboard includes the built-in WIFI 7 chip, it will not support Windows 10. Please verify the specifications before buying." Best regards, Chris Chris Chang, MSI Australia Customer Service Consultant, Micro-Star INT'L CO., LTD. Unit 40, 7-9 Percy St Auburn, NSW. Email: [email protected]. So, if you’re aiming for WiFi 7, you’ll need to upgrade to Windows 11."