AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D CPU Review Ft. MSI MAG X670E Tomahawk – The Most Efficient High-End CPU

MSI MAG X670E Tomahawk Motherboard - Close-Up

The MSI MAG X670E Tomahawk motherboard comes with brushed and metallic black color choices. It comes in the standard ATX form factor and has a pricing close to $300 US making it one of the most affordable X670E-class motherboard options out there.

The board uses the LGA 1718 socket to support AMD Ryzen 7000 processors. The socket is compatible only with Ryzen 7000 CPUs for now but will also support future iterations on the AM5 platform.

Next to the socket are four DDR5 DIMM slots that can support up to 128 GB of dual-channel memory. These slots are rated to support EXPO profiles up to 6600 MHz (OC Plus). The DIMM slots feature metallic shielding around them for extra durability. Each slot is labeled, making it easier to install DIMMs in the proper orientation. DDR5 memory comes with a different latch position so forcing a DDR4 module into a DDR5 slot will cause permanent damage.

The MSI MAG X670E Tomahawk motherboard features a 14+2+1 Phase VRM (VCore / VccGT / VccAUX)  phase digital power delivery.

As you can see, the VRMs are getting ample cooling from the Shield Frozr heatsinks that have an extended design underneath the I/O cover. The motherboard isn't specifically tagged as an OC design but there's a lot of headroom that should be provided by the VRM solution.

The CPU is supplied power through an 8+8 pin power connector configuration. This will feed the CPU with up to 300 Watts of power. The Intel 12th Gen Unlocked CPUs are very power-hungry with the maximum package power rating of 230W &  more if you are planning to overclock these chips.

Getting a closer look at the VRM heatsinks reveals an aluminum fin design on both heatsinks. Each heatsink has thermal pads located underneath for efficient transfer of heat.

Expansion slots include three PCI Express x16 (1 x Gen 5.0 x16 / 2 x Gen 4.0 x4 / 1x Gen 4.0 x 2), a single PCIe 3.0 x1 slot, and four M.2 slots (1x Gen 5 / 3x Gen 4).

AORUS is using a metallic cover on the sides of the expansion slots which provides protection to some extent. It adds more retention and shearing resistance by reinforcing the slots with metal plates. Aside from adding more protection, they do look really sweet.

All five M.2 slots are cooled off by the thermal pad and aluminum baseplate cooling. This will ensure stable operation for M.2 storage devices. The thermal adhesive has a plastic cover over them which needs to be removed before being used with the storage devices.

The topmost M.2 slot that will house the primary M.2 is based on the new Thermal Guard III heatsink design that offers even more cooling performance through a larger heat sink. Following is the M.2 config on the motherboard:

CPU:

• PCI_E1 Gen PCIe 5.0 supports up to x16 (From CPU)
• PCI_E3 Gen PCIe 4.0 supports up to x4 (From CPU)
• M.2_1 Source (From CPU) supports up to PCIe 5.0 x4, supports 22110/2280 devices

Chipset:

• PCI_E2 Gen PCIe 3.0 supports up to x1 (From Chipset)
• PCI_E4 Gen PCIe 4.0 supports up to x2 (From Chipset)
• M.2_2 Source (From Chipset) supports up to PCIe 4.0 x4, supports 2280/2260 devices
• M.2_3 Source (From Chipset) supports up to PCIe 4.0 x4, supports 2280/2260 devices
• M.2_4 Source (From Chipset) supports up to PCIe 4.0 x4, supports 2280/2260 devices

The X670 dual PCHs are housed beneath a large heatsink with the Tomahawk logo etched over it that looks great.

Storage options include four SATA III ports rated to operate at 6 GB/s. These can support 4 different storage devices at once. There is also one USB 3.2 Gen 2 and 4 USB 3.2 Gen 1 Front headers.

MSI is using the latest combination of hardware, and software audio solutions. 7.1 CH HD audio with the latest Realtek ALC1200 audio codec. There are no buttons on the motherboard but it does feature a EZDebug LED which provides users with several LEDs that can be used for diagnostics.

The full list of connectors on the motherboard is listed as follows.

• 1x Power Connector(ATX_PWR)
• 2x Power Connector(CPU_PWR)
• 1x CPU Fan
• 1x Pump Fan
• 6x System Fan
• 2x Front Panel (JFP)
• 1x Chassis Intrusion (JCI)
• 1x Front Audio (JAUD)
• 1x Tuning Controller connector(JDASH)
• 2x Addressable V2 RGB LED connector (JARGB_V2)
• 2x RGB LED connector(JRGB)
• 1x TPM pin header(Support TPM 2.0)
• 4x USB 2.0 ports
• 4x USB 3.2 Gen1 Type A ports
• 1x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type C ports

MSI is using Intel's WiFi 6E 802.11 AX210 WiFi Module to power wireless connectivity such as 802.11ax WiFi (2.4/5/6 GHz WiFi) and Bluetooth 5.2. In terms of Ethernet, there is also a single 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet LAN port which is powered by Realtek's RTL8125BG controller chip.

The motherboard comes with the following I/O connectors:

• DisplayPort
• USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps (Type-A)
• USB 3.2 Gen 2 5Gbps (Type-A)
• 2.5G LAN
• Wi-Fi / Bluetooth
• Audio Connectors
• Flash BIOS Button
• HDMI
• USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps (Type-C Display port)
• USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 20Gbps (Type-C)
• S/PDIF-Out

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