MSI MAG B760 TOMAHAWK WIFI DDR4 Motherboard Review

MSI is one of the best in the world for gaming motherboards, and they have something for virtually every need and budget too. While we love their flagship Z790 boards, I mean... who wouldn't! They've been delivering some pretty competitive performance further down the price ranges such as we saw this week with the DDR4 variant of the Z790 Tomahawk! However, they've taken the same Tomahawk series and stepped it down to the more affordable B760 chipset for today's review, and on paper, it looks like it's going to be a big hit with mid-budget gaming PC builds. MAG B760 TOMAHAWK WIFI DDR4 A lower chipset this motherboard may have, but make no mistake, it's still packing some impressive features. It still supports the same 12th and 13th Generations of Intel processors, it still has PCIe 5.0, and PCIe Gen 4 x4 M.2 slots, and it even has USB 3.2 Gen 2x2. Compared to the Z-series, the maximum memory speed is the same, which is impressive. The VRM configuration is a mere 12+1+1 Duet Rail Power System, but honestly, for hitting boost clocks, that's plenty. The heatsinks are a little smaller too, which again, is to be expected. The last major difference is the rear I/O with the B-series using more USB 2.0 ports, fewer USB 3 ports, and only having one Type-C port on the back. However, if all you're hooking up is a keyboard, mouse, headset, webcam, and controller... who cares! Features Supports 12th/ 13th Gen Intel® Core™, Pentium® Gold and Celeron® processors for LGA 1700 socketSupports DDR4 Memory, up to 5333+(OC) MHzEnhanced Power Design: 12+1+1 Duet Rail Power System, dual 8-pin CPU power connectors, Core Boost, Memory BoostLightning Fast Game experience: PCIe 5.0 slot, Lightning Gen 4 x4 M.2, USB 3.2 Gen 2x2Premium Thermal Solution: Extended Heatsink Design and M.2 Shield Frozr are built for high-performance systems and non-stop workAUDIO BOOST: Reward your ears with the studio-grade sound quality for the most immersive gaming experienceHigh-Quality PCB: 6-layer PCB made by 2oz thickened copper and server-grade level material For in-depth features and specifications, please visit the official product page here. A Closer Look MSI really know how to make a great-looking motherboard, and actually, the Tomahawk series has always looked pretty fantastic, even though it covers affordable, mid-budget, and high-end motherboards within that range. There's a really good range of heatsinks on the motherboard though, with two large heatsinks on the CPU VRM, and three more on the lower half, but all have that same angled brushed steel look. It's also quite dark, rather than black it's like an oiled steel look, and it looks gorgeous! The Tomahawk supports both 12th and 13th Gen Intel CPUs, and while not as crazy as some of their more expensive motherboards, it has an "Enhanced Power Design" 12+1+1 Duet Rail Power System for the CPU, which may not go too far in terms of overclocking, but when it comes to hitting the boost clocks on the more high-end CPUs, it should be more than up to the job. As you can see, the VRM is split into two rows of 7 above and to the left of the CPU, with each bank benefitting from a similarly sized and rather large heatsink. The CPU draws power from a single 8-pin header, but there's a secondary header too which can be used to deliver even more power for more demanding CPUs or to just help provide a more stable voltage delivery to the VRM. The motherboard supports DDR4 Memory, which can support up to 5333+(OC) MHz, so even if you're not going for a DDR5 motherboard, you can still get some great speeds right now. There's plenty going on down here too, with three M.2 mounts, the top on has a large heatsink all to its self, while the bottom two mounts share a wider single heatsink. There's also a pretty robust heatsink just for the chipset too, which is great to see. The top PCIe 5.0 slot is fully armoured, so it should be able to handle those chunky modern GPUs easily enough. There's a full-size slot running in x8 below that and a 4x slot at the bottom, giving you plenty of options for add-in cards. Around the back, you can see there are four USB 2 ports at the top, four USB 3 ports (in red) further down, and a single Type-C port below that, which is plenty of connectivity for most decent gaming PC builds. There's HDMI and DisplayPort, should you need them for iGPU users too. Just like we see on almost all boards now, there's both 2.5GbE LAN and the last WiFi 6, so networking should be fantastically swift. How We Test We continue to update our testing methods around once per year. As such, we re-test older hardware to reflect changes over time. These can be driver updates, Windows updates, game patches, and more; all of which have an impact on performance figures. Furthermore, we update our test benches to newer and more relevant hardware. This means that our new reviews aren’t always comparable to those of older reviews, so please compare the testing methodology on older reviews should you be trying to compare them with newer ones. Replicate Our Results When it comes to our benchmarks in our reviews, the benchmarks are pretty self-explanatory and are kept as simple as possible, although there are a few exceptions. Remember that your choice of a graphics card, CPU, the silicon lottery, and other factors can yield different numbers, and there’s always a margin for error when using any software. Links are provided below, as well as the settings we use. We encourage you to not just look at how one product compares to any other, but how it compares to your own. If you’re looking to build a new system, you should benchmark your current PC using the benchmarks available to you. You should then look at the percentage improvement from your current hardware to the hardware tested here to give you a ballpark figure of how much of an upgrade this will provide you with. Motherboard Test Systems Test System (AM5) Motherboard Changes Per Review Review Buy Now Processor AMD Ryzen 9 7900X GPU Zotac RTX 3090 Trinity Review Buy Now RAM Corsair Dominator Platinum DDR5 32GB 5200MHz Review Buy Now CPU Cooler NZXT Kraken Z73 RGB Buy Now Power Supply NZXT C1000 Gold Review Buy Now Storage Seagate FIRECUDA 530 1TB Review Buy Now Chassis NZXT H7 Flow Review Buy Now OS Windows 11 Pro Version 21H2 Drivers Chipset: blahGraphics: 516.94 Test System (AM4) Motherboard Changes Per Review Buy Now Processor AMD Ryzen 9 5950X GPU Zotac RTX 3090 Trinity Review Buy Now RAM Kingston Fury Renegade DDR4 32GB 3600MHz Review Buy Now CPU Cooler NZXT Kraken Z73 RGB Buy Now Power Supply NZXT C1000 Gold Review Buy Now Storage Seagate FIRECUDA 530 1TB Review Buy Now Chassis NZXT H7 Flow Review Buy Now OS Windows 11 Pro Version 21H2 Drivers Chipset: blahGraphics: 516.94 Test System (Z690) Motherboard Changes Per Review Review Buy Now Processor Intel Core i9 12900K GPU Zotac RTX 3090 Trinity Review Buy Now RAM Corsair Dominator Platinum DDR5 32GB 5200MHz Review Buy Now CPU Cooler NZXT Kraken Z73 RGB Buy Now Power Supply NZXT C1000 Gold Review Buy Now Storage Seagate FIRECUDA 530 1TB Review Buy Now Chassis NZXT H7 Flow Review Buy Now OS Windows 11 Pro Version 21H2 Drivers Chipset: blahGraphics: 516.94 Test System (Z590) Motherboard Changes Per Review Review Buy Now Processor Intel Core i9 11900K GPU Zotac RTX 3090 Trinity Review Buy Now RAM Kingston Fury Renegade DDR4 32GB 3600MHz Review Buy Now CPU Cooler NZXT Kraken Z73 RGB Buy Now Power Supply NZXT C1000 Gold Review Buy Now Storage Seagate FIRECUDA 530 1TB Review Buy Now Chassis NZXT H7 Flow Review Buy Now OS Windows 11 Pro Version 21H2 Drivers Chipset: blahGraphics: 516.94 Additional Hardware ElmorLabs PMD-USB Power Measurement Device With USB (link) Software We use a variety of software from different developers to assist in our testing and to give us the most consistent results possible. Some applications are specifically used for testing, while others are simply used for monitoring and to aid us in making sure that our results are as accurate as possible. Software Used 3DMark FireStrike & TimeSpy (download)AIDA64 (download)CapFrameX 1.6.9 (download)Cinebench R23 (download)CPU-Z (download)HWMonitor (download)PCMark 10 Express (download)Super PI 2.1 WP (download) Gaming To gauge performance levels which are easily reproduced time after time, by both ourselves and our readers, we now stick strictly to games default profiles. Given how powerful most modern cards are getting, we've began using more demanding profiles for most games, but will otherwise state on a per game basis if we use other profiles beyond High, Ultra, Maximum or their respective equivalent at all resolutions. V-Sync is always disabled in our testing, and all FPS caps that can be removed are. We also enable XMP and Resizable bar technology across all platforms to keep things as fair as possible. Games While we test a lot of games, it's not possible to display all of the data on the website or in our videos. Instead, we include access to all of our testing data for our Patreon members (link), where members get a ton of other benefits as well. What we do however, is display charts for averages across all game titles to give a better picture of performance across all titles tested. Cyberpunk 2077Horizon Zero DawnMarvel's Spider-Man RemasteredMicrosoft Flight Simulator 2020 Resolutions 1080p (Full HD) Some tests will also include features such as NVIDIA DLSS and Ray Tracing. However, these will be clearly labelled and may only appear in reviews for graphics cards that support those features. Power Consumption Not being content on simply reading total system power draw at both idle, we now have the ability thanks to the ElmorLabs PMD-USB device that allows us to measure power draw directly through the EPS power connectors. We test at idle, during gaming load, of which we measure drawing a run of Cyberpunk 2077 and during Cinebench R23 at load too. We also use a GW-Instek GPM-8212 power meter to measure the complete system power at the wall to get an idea of how each motherboard compares to one another. VRM Temperatures We take temperature readings after 10 minutes of desktop idle with no background programs running, then take the recorded maximum delivered during the same runs as when we measure power consumption, being during our Cyberpunk 2077 run, and during Cinebench R23 at load too. 3DMark Timespy Extreme Time Spy Extreme is a new 4K DirectX 12 benchmark test, available in 3DMark Advanced and Professional Editions. You don’t need a 4K monitor to run it, but you will need a GPU with at least 4 GB of dedicated memory. With its 4K Ultra HD rendering resolution, Time Spy Extreme is an ideal benchmark test for the latest high-end graphics cards. The CPU test has been redesigned to let processors with 8 or more cores perform to their full potential 3DMark is available on Steam here. It's not all that surprising to see this down at the bottom, as it is one of the most affordable motherboards we've tested. Keep in mind, it's not bad performance, it's just that we've really only tested a lot of very high-end Z790 motherboards recently. Plus, it's on par with the other DDR4 motherboards, which are the bottom five on this chart. PCMark 10 Express PCMark 10 features a comprehensive set of tests that cover the wide variety of tasks performed in the modern workplace. With a range of performance tests, custom run options, Battery Life Profile, and new Storage benchmarks, PCMark 10 is the complete PC benchmark for the modern office. Available now on Steam. As for overall system performance, the Tomohawk actually scores quite strong, giving us our fourth-highest score, but really it's about on par with the bulk of the competition. Super PI 2.1 WP Super PI is a single-threaded benchmark that calculates pi to a specific number of digits. It uses the Gauss-Legendre algorithm and is a Windows port of a program used by Yasumasa Kanada in 1995 to compute pi to 232 digits Available now on Super PI. The DDR4 motherboards tend to be a bit slower for Super Pi and that's still true here. However, at 4.56 seconds, it's a competitive time that holds its own against the other DDR4 motherboards we've tested. Cinebench R23 Cinebench is a real-world cross-platform test suite that evaluates your computer’s hardware capabilities. Improvements to Cinebench Release 23 reflect the overall advancements to CPU and rendering technology in recent years, providing a more accurate measurement of Cinema 4D’s ability to take advantage of multiple CPU cores and modern processor features available to the average user. Best of all: It’s free. Available now on Maxon. At 35740 points, the Cinebench score is pretty strong, obviously, there's room for more from the CPU we've used, but given the more trimmed-down VRM configuration, it's certainly impressive. AIDA64 AIDA64 is a system information, diagnostics, and auditing application developed by FinalWire Ltd that runs on Windows, Android, iOS, Windows Phone, Tizen, Chrome OS and Sailfish OS operating systems. It displays detailed information on the components of a computer. Available now on AIDA64. Memory performance is really good, and while noticeably behind that of the DDR5 motherboards, obviously, it's some of the better DDR4 performance we've had from these more affordable motherboards. Cyberpunk 2077 Cyberpunk 2077 is an open-world, action-adventure RPG set in the megalopolis of Night City, where you play as a cyberpunk mercenary wrapped up in a do-or-die fight for survival. Improved and featuring all-new free additional content, customize your character and playstyle as you take on jobs, build a reputation, and unlock upgrades. The relationships you forge and the choices you make will shape the story and the world around you. Legends are made here. What will yours be? Available now on Steam. I'm not expecting this motherboard to lead the market with gaming performance, but it still has to be reasonably competitive. At 116 FPS and 83% lows, it's holding its own and outpaces the STRIX and Gaming X DDR4 motherboards by a small margin. Horizon Zero Dawn Experience Aloy’s entire legendary quest to unravel the mysteries of a world ruled by deadly Machines. An outcast from her tribe, the young hunter fights to uncover her past, discover her destiny… and stop a catastrophic threat to the future. Unleash devastating, tactical attacks against unique Machines and rival tribes as you explore an open world teeming with wildlife and danger. Horizon Zero Dawn is a multi-award-winning action role-playing game – and this Complete Edition for PC includes the huge expansion The Frozen Wilds, featuring new lands, skills, weapons and Machines. Available now on Steam. Not a great result here, but again, on par, and the 1% lows are reasonable too. However, it's amazing to see just how much VRM and RAM effect this game. Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered Developed by Insomniac Games in collaboration with Marvel, and optimized for PC by Nixxes Software, Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered on PC introduces an experienced Peter Parker who’s fighting big crime and iconic villains in Marvel’s New York. At the same time, he’s struggling to balance his chaotic personal life and career while the fate of Marvel’s New York rests upon his shoulders. Available now on Steam. Spider-Man seems to be impacted by memory more than most, with the DDR4 motherboards, stuck right at the bottom of the chart, and this motherboard is lower than most. A shame, but while I doubt anyone will complain about 152 FPS while gaming, it's clear there's still performance to be had. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 The Microsoft Flight Simulator Game of the Year (GOTY) Edition celebrates all the positive feedback, reviews and awards garnered, but it is also a “Thank You” to our fans – new and old – that have made Microsoft Flight Simulator such a phenomenon. Best of all, the Microsoft Flight Simulator Game of the Year Edition will be available as a free update for existing players on PC. Available now on Steam. Again another memory-bound game, but overall, at 64FPS 1% lows, the performance is pretty stable. Again though, the most affordable motherboard is the lowest, that's not a bad thing, it's really on par with our expectations. Boot Time So as I mentioned, benchmarks are for the most part pretty useless, especially when all boards on the same platform, using the same CPU, GPU and memory, perform within a range of each other with the only benchmark that we did that actually shows something being the boot time as this really is board specific, especially with the way they work with DDR5 through the memory training they have to do. A fairly average boot time, but actually it's shockingly a lot faster than the Z790 Tomahawk (which was the slowest). Either way, 32 seconds is not too bad. The other key areas that are worth focussing on though comes down to VRM temperatures, which can differ wildly depending on the amount, the capacity of the current that can pass through them, and of course how the various heatsinks handle that power, which in turn, creates heat. VRM Temperatures I was actually expecting the VRM to run pretty hotly on this motherboard, it's certainly been the case with these lower-end chipsets, such as the board from Colorful, and the Gigabyte B760 which ran pretty hot. However, at just 74.8c, it's really doing a great job, and there were no signs of the CPU having to throttle its performance due to heat. Power Consumption Power consumption is measured at idle, during a Cinebench R23 run and during a gaming benchmark run of Cyberpunk 2077, which is a very CPU-intensive game. By getting 3 performance metrics, it allows us to see a better picture of the average user and what they are typically going to see in terms of power draw for just the processor itself. The power consumption is fantastically low too, with a low idle and a low load, and that's likely a big part of why the overall temperatures were good too. Operating Costs With the cost of living increases across the world, especially when it comes to the cost of electricity, it's worth looking at the cost of running a processor and how it compares to similar products on the market. By taking the average cost per kWh, we can calculate a rough running cost at idle, during a simulated workload test (Cinebench R23), to give us worst-case scenario costs, as well as gaming costs during a run of Cinebench R23. US Dollars (USD) British Pound (GBP) Low power and stable temperatures are further reflected in the operating costs too, which this being one of the most affordable motherboards to operate that we've tested yet. How Much Does It Cost? The MSI MAG B760 TOMAHAWK WIFI DDR4 Motherboard is available now for just £193.48 which is impressive value for money considering the MSI Intel MAG Z790 TOMAHAWK WIFI DDR4 ATX Motherboard is available now for just £309.98. It's great to see DDR4 motherboards are still on the market too, as while DDR4/5 prices are great right now, being able to upgrade while retaining your existing memory is going to save you quite a nice stack of cash. Overview I've long been a fan of the MSI Tomahawk series of motherboards, and while the MSI MAG B760 TOMAHAWK WIFI DDR4 is one of the lower-end models we've tested recently, that's certainly reflected in the overall price, so it certainly feels like MSI are right on the money here. Admittedly, at just under £200 it's not "cheap" but this is basically the affordable version of an expensive board, and our charts don't really have what I would consider truly budget models on them right now... at least, not yet. So while performance looks like the slowest board we've tested thus far, it's both the truth and yet not as bad as it looks. What you do get here is impressive for the money, as it comes with a decent VRM configuration and some really competent heatsink configurations to ensure the CPU boost clocks can be maintained, and that your M.2 drives can be cooled. Overall CPU performance was actually really good here, and with the latest PCIe 5.0 for your GPU and Gen 4 M.2 slots, storage and gaming can perform really strong. If you're not ready to upgrade to DDR5, it can be very cost-effective to retain your current memory and upgrade the motherboard. There are clearly some performance gains to be had in memory-intensive calculations, and some games, but really, all games perform with perfectly playable frame rates, so sometimes it's worth looking at what you can get for your money, and not if you should spend another £100 on a bigger model motherboard and another £100 on new RAM, as that's double the price for the sake of 10 FPS... not a sound investment really. Overall connectivity is robust though, with plenty of USB ports for all your peripherals, and some fastest USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 connectivity for things like external storage or laptops for fast file transfers. There's also WiFi 6 and 2.5 GbE LAN for super-fast networking, so if you've got a decent router and fibre internet, you can certainly make the most of it here. Should I Buy One? While the desire to get the latest DDR5 technology may have some appeal, the fast this motherboard is £200 and can use your existing memory when you upgrade can be a real cost saver. A DDR5 motherboard and memory can easily double the required investment, and while performance can be higher, it's more like 10% for 100% extra cash, so certainly not for everyone. The MSI MAG B760 TOMAHAWK WIFI DDR4 is well made, runs cool, and efficient, and still delivers great daily performance for those looking to invest in 12th/13th Gen systems without breaking the bank. NZXT N7 Z690