MSI MAG Z390 TOMAHAWK
 |
 |
Full size ATX overclocker motherboard based on 2019 flagship Intel Z390 chipset. Equipped with an LGA 1151 v2 processor socket, it is positioned as a mid-range product from the MSI Arsenal Gaming family. Designed to complete high-performance gaming systems equipped with powerful discrete graphics cards. Thanks to the PCI-E 16x connector, reinforced with a steel plate, it is suitable for installing large-sized and massive top-end video cards with multi-slot cooling systems.
MSI MAG Z390 TOMAHAWK motherboard is guaranteed to be compatible with 2/4/6/8-core Intel Core i9/i7/i5/i3, Pentium or Celeron 8th and 9th generation processors with Coffee Lake Refresh (14nm) microarchitecture. Like other motherboards based on the Intel Z390 chipset, it has a full range of overclocking features. A high-quality 9-phase processor power converter with additional aluminium VRM heatsinks is designed for long-term operation in moderate overclocking mode (without extreme increase in supply voltage). Due to the developed overclocking functionality, it will be of interest to gamers and enthusiasts. Equipped with two M.2 connectors (one with an aluminium heatsink) for fast NVMe SSDs. Fast processing of heavy network traffic is provided by two high-speed Intel LAN controllers (up to 1 Gbps each).
Descendant of Indian warriors
With the release of the Z390 chipset, MSI tried to make life easier for potential buyers and introduced a new nomenclature for a line of new motherboards. So the most advanced models will be marked MEG, and the MAG and MPG models will occupy the middle price range. The MSI MAG Z390 Tomahawk board belongs to the middle level and is part of the MAG line.
Power system based on eight-core processors
Upon closer examination, it attracts attention by the presence of two additional power connectors at once — EPS12V and ATX12V. Thus, the manufacturer seeks to ensure stable power supply of the LGA1151 socket based on powerful 8-core Core i9-9900K and Core i7-9700K processors. There are a total of nine power phases whose transistors need passive cooling. Thanks to this, the Tomahawk is quite confident when overclocking high consumption multi-core chips of the Core i7 caliber. Well, as always, we praise the thoughtful and most friendly BIOS from MSI, which simplifies the overclocking process to moving a couple of settings sliders.
4 RAM slots
In terms of connections, Tomahawk has four slots for DDR4 RAM, three PCI-E 16x slots (one of them is reinforced), a pair of M.2 for connecting high-speed SSDs (one of them has a heatsink for cooling), six SATA ports and six USB , including USB 3.1 gen2 and USB-C. Together with the price of $160, all this makes the MSI MAG Z390 Tomahawk one of the most balanced motherboards based on the Z390 chip.
