MSI MAG X670E TOMAHAWK WIFI Motherboard Review UK 2026

Right, let’s talk about the MSI MAG X670E TOMAHAWK WIFI – a motherboard I’ve been running with a Ryzen 9 7950X for the past month, and honestly, it’s been one of those rare boards that just… works. No drama, no 2am BIOS headaches, no weird POST issues. At £151.30, it’s sitting in that sweet spot where you get proper X670E features without the daft £400+ pricing of the “gaming” boards with RGB on every capacitor.

I’ve built systems on AM5 since launch, and the platform has matured nicely. But here’s the thing – not all X670E boards are created equal, and the VRM quality gap between a £200 board and a £250 board can be massive. This Tomahawk sits right in the middle of that pricing tier, and after a month of proper testing (including some genuinely punishing Cinebench loops), I reckon it punches well above its weight.

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The Tomahawk uses a 14+2 phase design with 80A power stages. That’s not marketing fluff – these are proper Duet Rail VRMs with 7W/mK thermal pads connecting the MOSFETs to a chunky extended heatsink. I ran Cinebench R23 multi-core loops for 30 minutes straight with a 7950X pulling 230W at the socket, and VRM temps (monitored via HWiNFO64) never exceeded 68°C. That’s brilliant, especially considering my case airflow is decent but not exceptional.

For context, I tested the Gigabyte B650 EAGLE AX a few months back with the same CPU, and that board was hitting 85°C+ in the same test. The difference between a mid-range B650 VRM and a proper X670E design is massive when you’re running high-end silicon.

One thing that genuinely delighted me – the VRM heatsink mounting. It’s not just decorative. The screws are proper spring-loaded affairs that maintain even pressure, and the thermal pads make full contact. I’ve seen £300 boards where the heatsink is barely touching the MOSFETs. MSI got this right.

DDR5 support is sorted with four DIMM slots and MSI’s Memory Boost isolated circuitry. I tested with a 32GB kit of Corsair Vengeance DDR5-6000 CL30, and EXPO worked first time. No manual tweaking, no faff, just enabled the profile and booted straight into Windows. That’s rarer than it should be on AM5.

The BIOS is functional and stable, but the interface feels dated compared to ASUS or even Gigabyte’s modern UEFI designs. Navigation is a bit sluggish, and the layout hasn’t changed in years. That said, everything you need is there, and once you know where things are, it’s fine.

The good news? BIOS updates are straightforward. MSI’s M-Flash utility works reliably – download the file, stick it on a USB drive, hit M-Flash, and it updates without drama. I updated from the factory BIOS to the latest AGESA 1.0.0.7b version, and the whole process took maybe three minutes. No weird USB formatting requirements, no failed flashes, just sorted.

Memory overclocking is where the BIOS actually shines. The Memory Try It! presets give you a range of timings and frequencies to test, and the manual controls are comprehensive if you want to dive deep. I managed to push my DDR5-6000 kit to 6200MHz CL30 with minimal voltage adjustment, which is proper performance for Ryzen 7000.

Here’s a specific anecdote – I was testing at about 1am (because of course I was), and I accidentally set the FCLK too high while pushing the memory. System wouldn’t POST. On some boards, that’s a nightmare requiring CMOS resets or worse. On this Tomahawk? It auto-recovered after three failed boot attempts and dropped me back into BIOS with safe settings. That kind of fail-safe behaviour is what separates a good board from a frustrating one.

One genuine frustration – the fan curve editor is rubbish. You get basic controls, but it’s nowhere near as intuitive as ASUS’s Q-Fan or even Gigabyte’s Smart Fan 6. If you’re serious about fan tuning, you’ll probably end up using Windows software instead.

The M.2 installation deserves special mention. MSI uses their Shield Frozr heatsinks, which clip on rather than requiring seventeen tiny screws like some manufacturers. You slide the SSD into the slot, lower the heatsink, and click it into place. Proper simple. I installed four NVMe drives during testing (including a Gen5 drive in the primary slot), and the whole process took maybe five minutes.

Speaking of M.2 slots – you get four of them. The top slot is PCIe 5.0 x4 (128Gbps), and the other three are PCIe 4.0 x4 (64Gbps). That’s genuinely useful connectivity. Even if you don’t have a Gen5 SSD now, the option is there for the future. And let’s be honest, Gen4 drives are still plenty fast for gaming and most workloads.

The Steel Armor reinforcement on the primary PCIe slot is another nice touch. Heavy GPUs (and modern cards are absurdly heavy) can cause PCB flex and slot damage over time. The metal reinforcement prevents that. It’s not just for show.

One small niggle – the SATA ports are positioned right next to the primary M.2 slot. If you’re using a particularly chunky Gen5 SSD heatsink, you might have trouble accessing the top SATA port. Not a dealbreaker, but worth noting if you’re planning a storage-heavy build.

WiFi 6E is included via an AMD module with Bluetooth 5.3. I tested it in my office about 8 metres from my router (through one wall), and speeds were solid – around 850Mbps on my gigabit connection. Not quite as fast as a wired connection, but more than adequate if you can’t run ethernet. The external antennas are adjustable and don’t look completely naff.

The 2.5Gb ethernet is a Realtek controller, which is fine. It’s not Intel, but it’s stable and well-supported in Windows. I had zero issues with driver installation or connectivity during the month of testing.

One thing I genuinely appreciate – MSI includes both HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.4 outputs. If you’re using a Ryzen chip with integrated graphics (like a future APU), you’ve got proper display options. Most boards cheap out and give you HDMI 1.4 or skip DisplayPort entirely.

Internal headers are well-positioned. You get two USB 3.2 Gen1 front panel headers, one USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C header (for modern cases with front USB-C), and all the usual fan headers. There’s even a dedicated pump header with higher current support if you’re running an AIO cooler.

So is the X670E worth £50 more than a good B650 board? If you’re building with a 7900X or 7950X, absolutely yes. The VRM quality difference is significant, and you get PCIe 5.0 for both your GPU and primary M.2 slot. That matters for longevity – even if you don’t have Gen5 hardware now, you might in three years.

If you’re building with a 7600X or 7700X, the B650 route makes more sense. Those CPUs don’t stress the VRM as much, and you probably won’t notice the connectivity differences in daily use.

The newer MSI X870E Tomahawk is better, no question – you get WiFi 7, an extra Gen5 M.2 slot, and slightly improved VRM. But it’s £70-80 more expensive. Is that worth it? Honestly, no. The X670E version does everything most people need.

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The most common praise points are reliability and ease of setup. Loads of buyers mention that EXPO/XMP just worked, POST was successful on first boot, and the board has been stable for months. That’s what you want to hear – boring reliability.

Several buyers specifically mention using this with a 7950X or 7950X3D without issues, which validates my VRM testing. One reviewer mentioned running a 7950X with PBO enabled for six months with zero stability problems. That’s the kind of long-term feedback that matters.

The negative reviews are worth examining. A small percentage mention DOA boards or POST issues, which is unfortunately normal for any motherboard (failure rates are typically 1-3% across the industry). MSI’s RMA process in the UK seems decent based on follow-up comments, though nobody enjoys dealing with warranty claims.

A few buyers mention the BIOS being dated, which aligns with my experience. One person called it “functional but ugly,” which is spot on. Nobody’s buying this board for the BIOS aesthetics though.

Interestingly, several buyers compare this favourably to ASUS equivalents, specifically mentioning better value and easier BIOS navigation. The ASUS ROG Strix X670E-E Gaming is about £100 more expensive, and from what buyers say, you’re mostly paying for RGB and the ROG badge.

A recurring theme in positive reviews – people who upgraded from older AM4 or Intel platforms are genuinely impressed by the feature set and performance. The jump from DDR4 to DDR5, from PCIe 3.0 to 5.0, and from older VRM designs to this modern implementation is massive.

• You’re building with a Ryzen 9 7900X, 7950X, or 7950X3D and need proper VRM that won’t throttle
• You want X670E features (PCIe 5.0 for GPU and M.2) without paying £300+ for a flagship board
• You value reliability and straightforward setup over flashy RGB and fancy BIOS graphics
• You need four M.2 slots for a storage-heavy build
• You’re planning to keep this system for 5+ years and want proper future-proofing

Skip this motherboard if:

• You’re building with a Ryzen 5 7600X or 7700X – a good B650 board will save you £50-60 with no real performance difference
• You absolutely must have the latest WiFi 7 standard (the X870E version has this but costs significantly more)
• You spend hours tweaking fan curves in BIOS – the controls here are basic
• You’re on a tight budget – the Gigabyte B650 EAGLE AX offers 90% of the functionality for £50 less

Is it worth the extra £50 over B650? For high-end CPUs, absolutely. The VRM quality alone justifies the difference, and you get genuinely useful connectivity upgrades. For mid-range builds, it’s less clear-cut.

Is it worth £70 less than the X870E version? Yes. Unless you specifically need WiFi 7 or that second Gen5 M.2 slot, the X670E delivers everything that matters.

For more motherboard reviews and PC building guides, check out our coverage of the GIGABYTE B850 EAGLE WIFI6E for Ryzen 9000 builds, or the MSI MPG B850I EDGE WIFI if you’re considering a Mini-ITX build. And if you’re curious about Intel alternatives, the ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Hero is worth a look, though be prepared to spend considerably more.

For official specifications and BIOS updates, visit MSI’s official product page.