New 2023 MSI Z790 Motherboard Line-up - 14th Gen Ready

in this video I'm going to look at a few more z790 refresh motherboards and this time around I have three new models from MSI they are made for Intel's brand new 14th generation of CPUs but since the 14th gen is just a refresh of the previous 13th generation if you already own a 1700 socket motherboard you don't really need a new one and you probably also don't need a new CPU either but as always new motherboards also come with some nice new features that might be interesting to some of you and then especially so if you're upgrading from something that is a bit older so let's see what MSI came up with and how these new motherboards compared to the Asus and gigabyte models that I covered in my previous videos let's begin I have three different models right here and as always I'm going to start with the most basic one and then work my way down the stack to the most expensive one uh because just like every other brand MSI primarily just adds more features with every step up in price they make and the first and most basic basic one that I have right here is the MSI mag z790 Tomahawk Max Wi-Fi and even though it is the lowest end model of the three I have it is a pretty complete mid-range motherboard you get four m.2 slots with one of them being Gen 5 and all the SSD slots are heat synced the main expansion slot is reinforced there's a second PCI by one slot but the third slot is a bit deceptive it looks like it's a Time 16 slot but it is actually a Time 4 One you do get eight fan headers three addressable RGB headers two internal USB 2.0 headers an internal USB 3.0 header and a 10 gbit USBC header for the front panel of your case it also has eight SATA ports which is pretty unusual because all gigabyte and Asus refresh boards that I've seen so far had four or six so if you really need a lot of SATA options uh MSI has you covered here power delivery is also quite reasonable you get 16 90 AMP power stages for the VOR along with some decent heat sinks on top of them now looks are always a bit subjective but I do think it looks pretty good overall assuming that you're okay with these small lime green details here and there but one area where I think MSI can improve on is the user experience with ssds and gpus now both Asus and gigabyte offer an easy button or a larger latch to easily remove your GPU on their competing motherboards while MSI only offers it on their higher end models I mean even just a cheap big plastic latch like gigabyte added to their most basic model would be a big Improvement in my opinion also MSI clearly gets that the toolfree SSD installation is great because the top SSD slot is completely tool free but then the other three still require a screwdriver for the heat sink still if I compare it to the closest gigabyte and Asus boards I do think this Tomahawk holds up pretty well it should be about 30 to €40 cheaper than the orus elite X and the to gaming z90 Pro uh while offering similar VMS more fan headers more or at least faster USB ports on the rear I/O eight SATA ports for anyone that needs it and you do get one more m.2 slots then on the tough board which is also stuck on Wi-Fi 6E instead of Wi-Fi 7 you also get the Gen 5 SSD slot that the other two motherboards don't offer uh but I don't think Gen 5 ssds are worth buying just yet or worth using on these motherboards that will reduce your GPU bandwidth uh the elite X does have an eight layer PCB while this Tomahawk and the tough have a six layer one H but still the tomahawk does seem to get you a lot while costing less it also makes the next motherboard in line look a little bit questionable the mag z790 Edge TI Max Wi-Fi that does look pretty nice with the white silver heat sinks and a bit of RGB that the tomahawk didn't have but it is almost the exact same board as the tomahawk while costing more power delivery rear I/O old the internal fan RGB and USB connectors everything is almost the same it also doesn't add any Enthusiast features like hex displays physical buttons or more easy m.2 latches or PCI release buttons the only thing it adds is one more m.2 slot which is nice to have but this board is supposed to be about $80 or is more expensive than the tomahawk and for that I kind of do expect more than just one m.2 slot and a facelift price-wise this is approaching the orus Pro X from gigabyte that was a white eight layer PCB versus six layers on the edge the aurus has better vrms and a 20 GB USBC header so it adds a lot more value while msi's only standout feature would be eight setup boards so this isn't a bad board at all if you prefer this look but it really needs to be priced closer to the tomahawk or the competing tough and orus Elite X models and not going up against the Pro X in my opinion next up is the MSI mg z790 Ace Max which is msi's proper high-end Enthusiast board and this one is actually pretty impressive it is an extended ATX motherboard so keep that in mind because your case needs to support eatx motherboards but it looks fantastic it is really well built with lots of metal heat sinks over the top vrms including 24 105 amp power stages for the VOR a metal back plate and of course a hex display and physical buttons it still doesn't have a PCI release button or a latch which will be a shame for anyone that swaps their gpus a lot it has a good set of connections with eight fan headers three addressable RGB headers two USB 2 headers two USB 3 headers and two USB type-c headers for for cases with multiple type- C ports which is something that is missing on the competing dark hero and orus master X motherboards it also adds some extra headers for custom water cooling which is something that the dark hero offers but the orus master X doesn't it has five m.2 slots including a gen 51 as well but it has six SATA ports Which is less than the cheaper Tomahawk but two more than the dark hero and the master X on the rear I/O there are only 10 USB ports total Which is less than the dark hero and the master X but they are all 10 GB and it does include two Thunderbolt ports and a mini display port so you can actually use these ports to drive Thunderbolt displays if you want to it does drop the rear USB 3.2 gen 2x2 port for 20 GB storage so you will have to run those through your front USB headers instead it comes with two ethernet ports as well but both are 2.5 GB and if they just made one of them at 10 gabit Instead This would have been the most feature complete motherboard in this high-end segment and in my opinion it is such a shame they didn't now just like I said in my Gigabyte and Asus videos these new generation motherboards are not cheap so uh one more time a quick reminder that if you already have a l genen z790 motherboard you really don't need to upgrade uh just like it's not worth upgrading your 13 gen CPU either the tomahawk Max is the cheapest one from the stack and the cheapest of all 13 z790 refresh motherboards I've looked at so far and with a 340 Euro MSRP it is still pretty expensive but it doesn't feel like anything relevant is really missing there for most typical gaming PCs uh even the ones with i9s and RTX 49t graphics cards if it does keep that price Advantage compared to the elite X and the tough motherboards and unless you need something specific that this motherboard doesn't offer the tomahawk should be just plenty The Edge on the other hand doesn't do enough to justify its 420 MSRP in my opinion it is basically a white Tomahawk with one more SSD slot and a tiny bit of RGB it is not a bad board and if you really want to pay for wi details it is a bit cheaper than the orus Pro X and the strig Z 790a but those boards do offer more and are worth paying a bit more for uh I think the price really needs to be closer to the tomahawk for me to be able to easily recommend it as for the ace with a price tag of €700 it is extremely expensive and not something that makes sense for most people out there because it is not going to make your games run any faster it is just there for enthusiasts and hobbyists that want and need those extra features that this board offers and I do think it competes well with the orus master X and the dark hero from Asus now there's some small feature differences of course that you will want to look into uh if you have specific use cases but generally the MSI competes very well uh adding Thunderbolt with display port in dual Lan dual internal type-c headers and all the usual bells and whistles that a hobby motherboard should have but at the end of the day uh most people that are considering a motherboard in this uh high-end segment will probably just pick the brand that they prefer and I'm sure that they won't be disappointed with any Brand's Flagship Model H that is all I had for today but before I go let's hear it from the sponsor of this video this video is brought to you by Corsair and their virtuoso Pro gaming headset with its open back design and 50 mm graphine drivers it offers an excellent sound quality in Games movies as well as music it is very light and extremely comfortable and you can easily adjust it to very small as well as very large heads you can also easily replace the cables uh ear pads headband and covers making repairs and maintenance easier than ever check them out using the links in the description below let me know in the comments down below if you have any questions about these motherboards and if you enjoy this sort of content please do consider clicking that subscribe button to never miss my future uploads bye guys and I will see you in the next one [Music] bye

Channel: Techtesters

Views: 16,654

Keywords: MSI MAG Z790 Tomahawk Max WiFi review, MSI Z790 Tomahawk Max, MSI Z790 Tomahawk Max review, z790 tomahawk max, z790 tomahawk max review, z790 tomahawk review, msi z790 refresh, msi z790 motherboards, msi mag z790 edge ti max review, msi z790 edge ti max, z790 edge ti max, z790 edge ti max review, msi meg z790 ace max, msi meg z790 ace max review, msi z790 ace max, msi z790 ace max review, z790 ace max, z790 ace max review, best z790 motherboard, z790 motherboards, techtesters

Id: RE6WPZ29pwM

Length: 10min 30sec (630 seconds)

Published: Mon Dec 04 2023