Intel’s 13th-generation CPUs bring with them stellar performance, and part of their appeal is the varied motherboard ecosystem making entry more affordable. Remember, AMD’s AM5 Ryzen 7000 launch was somewhat stymied due to high platform costs, such as being DDR5-only.
The MSI MAG Z790 Tomahawk WiFi DDR4 combines a decent set of features with a clean, if understated, design. It will likely appeal to gamers and content creators who don’t want anything too flashy. Overall, it packs a good amount of features into a relatively inexpensive motherboard, but the lack of DDR5 is bit disappointing.
Great for both gamers and no-frills content creators; Good offering of I/O, M.2 slots, and plenty of USB; Edgy, but clean design;
Gamers wanting more RGB flare will need to look elsewhere; MSRP of $309 is fair, but we’d like to see this DDR4 version cheaper due to no DDR5 and more limited PCIe Gen 5;