We have with us one of the new MSI updates for the Z390 chipset, this MSI MAG Z390 Tomahawk is one of the latest creations from the firm, with improved connectivity for the gaming world, an integrated I / O shield and military-grade components for ensure maximum security in overclocking and midrange gaming configurations.

MSI wants to bring a high quality product closer to users who cannot afford top range plates, and we believe that with this MAG Z390 it has succeeded, let's see what it can offer us in our test bench.

We are grateful to MSI for the trust to give us the product in this analysis.

MSI MAG Z390 Tomahawk technical features

Unboxing and design

In pure military style, this is how this MSI MAG Z390 Tomahawk comes in, with a typical and standard cardboard box presentation for absolutely every motherboard on the market. It is dominated by gray colors and letters in metallic design with a Tomawawk missile in its screen printing.

On the back we have a beautiful photo of the motherboard with the RGB lighting represented, as well as a lot of diagrams to describe its main features and news. There is also a list of the key elements of the board, as well as its connectivity.

Inside, a product very well packaged with its respective cardboard mold and an antistatic bag, will be accompanied by the following elements:

MSI MAG Z390 Tomahawk motherboard Two SATA data cables Driver CD-ROM CPG installation guide Complete multi-language user guide, Spanish included

A fairly standard composition that is in line with the range of the plate.

Here we have in the foreground this motherboard MSI MAG Z390 Tomahawk. With a design in ATX format of 304 x 243 mm, it is based on a black base color together with white details and very nice heatsinks with that brushed and tan aluminum finish that fit very well. It is not for pleasure the nomenclature of "Tomahawk".

MSI presented this plate a few months ago together with the MSI MPG Z390 Gaming Plus, to form two major updates aimed at the mid-range market. Of course, never giving up a Z390 chipset for overclockers and gamers, or ample connectivity and RGB lighting, as we will see later.

Its rear design is as clean as that of its front, with that typical relief of the electrical tracks, the enclaves for the expansion slots and the socket chassis so that our CPU is perfectly installed and isolated. For this model we do not have any type of metal chassis in the rear or front area.

What we can see are the small RGB LEDs that are used in this board to give life to the 3 lighting sections that implement MSI Mystic Light technology to be managed and customized with the brand's software. The lighted areas are in the upper right corner as seen from the front, and below the chipset heatsink. We also have a lighting band on the sound card.

Of course one of the most necessary characteristics of a board is knowing its power system, and more in a board designed for unlocked CPUs. In this case we have a LGA 1151 socket compatible with 8th and 9th generation Intel CPUs up to i9 and also for Intel Pentium Gold and Celeron processors.

To give power to this board, we have a VRM composed of 9 feeding phases built with titanium Chokes to improve thermal resistance and withstand higher temperatures. The capacitors are also of high quality with an aluminum core that will provide durability of more than 10 years.

To power the whole set we have an 8-pin connector and another 4-pin connector, combining with the traditional 24-pin ATX connector. In this way we will have guaranteed power for the most powerful CPUs.

For the VRM heat dissipation of this MSI MAG Z390 Tomahawk, the manufacturer has installed two good aluminum heatsinks that extract all the heat from the capacitors that feed the chokes. Plus, it gives the board a great look.

In no case can we forget the presence of the four DDR4 DIMM slots capable of supporting a maximum of 64 GB of non-ECC RAM, which will be able to work at a maximum speed of 4400 MHz in Dual Channel. Thanks to Core Boost and DDR4 Boost technology, we will ensure first-class performance and also support for XMP.

MSI MAG Z390 Tomahawk has three PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots plus two other PCI-Express 3.0 x1 slots. In one of the largest, we have an armored steel coating so that it can easily support the weight of the largest graphics cards on the market.

Sorted from top to bottom, these slots support x16, x4, and x1 modes and are also compatible with AMD CrossFire 2-way technology. So in this case, we will not have Nvidia SLI and NVLink capability. If we want to make this configuration, the graphics cards will work at x16 / x4.

Also next to the stack we see an M.2 slot, but this will not be used for storage units. In this case it is a slot in which we can install an Intel CNVi Wireless network chip with the capacity to work in IEEE 802.11 AC at speeds of up to 1.73 Gbps.

Another fundamental aspect is storage. In this MSI MAG Z390 Tomahawk we have 6 SATA III 6 Gbps connectors and a total of two M.2 slots that will be able to work with ultra fast PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe drives and also in SATA 6Gbps. One of these slots features an MSI FROZR heatsink and accommodates 2242, 2260 and 2280 drives. The other does not have any heatsink and supports more powerful drives up to 22110.

With this Intel Z390 Express chipset we will have capacity for SATA RAID 0, 1, 5 and 10 and M.2 PCIe RAID 0 and 1. M.2 slots share a bus with SATA ports, so using two PCIe drives will disable SATA ports 5 and 6.

We now continue with the audio section of this board, which incorporates a Realtek ALC892 high definition sound chip and support for Audio Boost. This sound card provides us with a 7.1 channel output and also includes an S / PDIF digital audio connector. As in all boards, the system has an isolated circuit from the rest and EMI protection to avoid interference and noise signals. It also includes POP protection so that connections and disconnections do not generate noise.

As for network connectivity, this MSI MAG Z390 Tomahawk has improved over previous versions including dual LAN connection, yes, both are Gigabit Ethernet. One of the RJ45s is connected to an Intel I211-AT chip and the other to an Intel I219-V chip. We should not complain because there are not many mid-range boards and this cost that have two LAN outputs, and this will be very important for e-Sport configurations in competitive games on LAN.

Now let's see the varied connectivity that this board has, and for this we will start with its rear panel:

3x USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-A 1x USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C 2x USB 2.02x LAN RJ451x DisplayPort1x HDMI4x Analog audio connectors + 1 for microphone1x Digital audio connector S / PDIF1x Combo PS / 2

We highlight the presence of great USB 3.1 Gen2 connectivity, including a USB Type-C. It is certainly a notable improvement on this new model.

As for the rest of connectivity for the I / O panels of the chassis we have:

2x USB 3.1 Gen1 connectors for a total of 4 USB ports 2x USB 2.0 connectors for 4 USB ports Front audio connector Serial port connector

In addition, we will have the well-known TPM connector, two 4-pin headers for RGB LED strips, a three-pin header for RGB, 5 4-pin connectors for PWM fans, and finally two connectors for CPU fan and for water pump respectively.

testing bench

TESTING BENCH
Processor:	Intel Core i9-9900K
Base plate:	MSI MAG Z390 Tomahawk
Memory:	Corsair Dominator RGB 32 GB @ 3600 MHz
Heatsink	Corsair H100i V2
HDD	Kingston KC500 480GB
Graphic card	Nvidia GTX 1080 Ti
Power supply	Corsair RM1000X

BIOS

Again MSI shows us that you can make an intuitive BIOS with friendly options. We have already explained many times what are its strengths and drawbacks. And they always win all their benefits!

The ability to monitor components, adjust voltages, create fan profiles, and take a quick look at the hot map of the motherboard to control all components is a huge plus. Good job!

Overclocking and temperatures

Although this motherboard is not a top of the range MSI, we have been able to get 5 GHz stable 24/7 with a voltage of 1.38 v with an 8-core and 16-wire processor. We find it a super interesting option for those users who are looking for quality / price.

The marked temperatures are during 12 hours of stress with the processor in stock and PRIME95 in its long stress program. The zone of the feeding phases reaches up to 86 ºC. The truth is that we expected better dissipation management from MSI. Hopefully this pending issue will be fixed with a new revision or in the next generation of processors.

Final words and conclusion about MSI MAG Z390 Tomahawk

The MSI MAG Z390 Tomahawk has a total of 9 power phases, a decent cooling system in VRMs but very effective in NVMe, very good build quality, and a design that matches any component on the market.

In our performance tests we have been able to play the main games with a GTX 1080 Ti. We have achieved great results in Full HD, WQHD and 4K! Also, we have achieved an acceptable 5 GHz overclock with the i9-9900k.

We recommend reading the best motherboards on the market

The only downside to this motherboard is the VRM cooling system, which reaches up to 86 ºC. We think they are normal temperatures for a motherboard with its price range: 155 euros.

All in all, we consider the MSI MAG Z390 Tomahawk to be an excellent motherboard. With very good performance, good components and meeting the expectations of 90% of users in the market. If you cannot afford a high-end motherboard or do not want to super overclock, this motherboard should be among your chosen ones. How about? Do you have it and want to tell us about your experience?

ADVANTAGE	DISADVANTAGES
+ DESIGN	- VRM TEMPERATURES AFTER 12 HOURS STRESS WITH OVERCLOCK
+ NVME COOLING
+ GOOD PERFORMANCE
+ IMPROVED SOUND AND BIOS.
+ PRICE