Just above the DRAM slots is the first (of six) 4-pin fan headers. As always, your mileage may vary as speed compatibility depends on the processor and memory kit used. Looking past the clean socket area, we run into four unreinforced DRAM slots that support up to 128GB of RAM and speeds listed up to DDR4 5100 with 1DPC 1R (DIMM Per Channel, one Rank). The 8-pin is required and the 4-pin is optional. Wedged between the VRM heatsinks are the EPS power connectors for the CPU. The VRM heatsinks are not connected, but they both have enough mass and surface area to do the job. On top is the MSI branding, along with white tick marks running up and down the length of the cover. Below is a list of all included accessories.įocusing in on the top half of the board, starting on the left side, we spy the grey metal IO cover that doubles as an additional heatsink. It’s not expansive, but about what we’d expect for a board in this price range. When we open up the retail box, along with the motherboard we find a basic accessory stack designed to get your PC up and running without a trip to the store. Intel AX210 Wi-Fi 6E (MU-MIMO/6GHz 160 MHz/FISMA/FIPS/BT 5.2) Overall, the X570S Tomahawk MAX worked well with our power-hungry 5950X. Outside of that, it performed well in the 3DMark tests and Far Cry: New Dawn. However, our other tests didn’t show this difference. The worst result was AIDA memory latency, where it was the slowest we’ve seen in a while. Its best result was in the PCMark 10 suite, which was above average almost across the board.

It didn’t lead any benchmarks and stuck close to the average throughout all testing. On the performance side, the Tomahawk reliably chopped away at most tests, easily mixing in with the other boards we’ve tested.

In all, the board is a well-rounded option in the budget/mid-range X570(S) space, and compares well against its peers.

There are plenty of storage options as well, including two PCIe 4.0 M.2 sockets and six SATA ports. The X570S Tomahawk MAX also includes the latest in Wi-Fi, sporting a Wi-Fi 6E card and carrying over the fast 2.5 GbE from the X570 model. It’s missing a 3.2 Gen2x2 (20 Gbps) port, but that isn’t a deal-breaker for most users. On top of that, the board has a premium Realtek 4000-series audio codec and enough USB ports for most users. For a bit under $300, you get a 14-phase VRM with 60A MOSFETs capable of driving even our flagship-class AMD Ryzen 9 5950X to its ambient cooled limits.

Msi wifi link 5100 driver