MSI has unveiled its B800 series motherboards supporting AMD’s latest Ryzen processors alongside blazing-fast connectivity. Be it for a speedy gaming rig or a value media consumption machine, there is something for everyone.
On the menu, we have a single B840 and seven B850 boards, available in ATX and Micro-ATX formats. Aside from one model, all come equipped with four DDR5 slots, the latest WiFi 7 wireless connectivity, and enough power phases to run any Ryzen CPU currently available. As usual, the higher the model you get, the more power it can deliver if you fancy some overclocking. But for a build-and-forget machine, any of these should be fine.
MSI MPG B850 Edge Ti WiFi
MPG B850 Edge Ti WiFi seems to be the most feature-rich and thus likely the most expensive of the bunch. It carries 14+2+1 80A power phases on top of an eight-layer PCB. Here you will find all the important aspects of X870 boards without the extras that increase cost. For example, you get a Gen 5 PCIe for graphics cards and storage, support for up to DDR5-8400, plus a handy debug display. There are even some quality-of-life titbits such as easily removable SSD heatsinks and a GPU release button.
On the I/O side, you will be greeted with three USB Type-C maxing out at 10Gb/s, alongside seven USB Type-A ports of varying speeds, not to forget front panel headers. The most notable part however is the inclusion of 5GbE ethernet and WiFi 7 helping future proof your build.
MSI MAG B850 Tomahawk Max WiFi
The Tomahawk is more of the same but in a different style. Again you will find an ATX board with 14+2+1 80A power phases and an eight-layer PCB, but the debug display made room for basic LED indicators. Not a deal breaker for most users who are likely to never need it. The main PCIe for GPU and storage retains the Gen 5 speed, as well as DDR5 which still supports up to 8400MT/s RAM. I/O is also identical to the Edge with three Type-C plus seven Type-A ports, 5GbE LAN, and WiFi 7.
To put it simply the MAG B850 Tomahawk Max WiFi is an MPG B850 Edge Ti WiFi in black with slightly fewer features.
MSI MAG B850M Mortar WiFi
Mortar is a scaled-down Tomahawk, size-wise. The board still carry four DIMM slots supporting up to DDR5-8400 memory plus an eight-layer PCB, but the power delivery system shrunk a little bit to 12+2+1 60A phases. A perfect amount for most users, adequate for a Micro-ATX format. As you can guess, this board gets fewer PCIe slots, though the main one retains Gen 5 speed as well as the M.2 port.
Moving to the side we find plenty of connectivity, namely seven USB Type-A, two USB Type-C, 5GbE LAN, and WiFi 7. Enough for a nice compact machine.
MSI Pro B850 Series
The Pro B850 series includes four models: B850-P WiFi, B850M-A WiFi, B850M-A, and B850M-P WiFi. The B850-P WiFi will likely be the go-to choice for many thanks to its well-rounded specs, featuring 12+2+1 power phases, a six-layer PCB, 5GbE LAN, and DDR5-8200 RAM support.
The B850M-A WiFi and B850M-A are pretty much carbon copies if not for the lack of WiFi on the latter. Both house 8+2+1 60A power phases on a six-layer PCB alongside 5GbE LAN and Gen 5 PCI for the GPU and SSD.
Lastly, the B850M-P WiFi is a further cut-down board packing only 7+2+1 power phases, ironically packing four PCIe slots instead of more M.2 storage. Thanks to its main Gen 5 slot, 5GbE LAN, and WiFi 7, this one could be a great choice for a budget workstation.
MSI Pro B840
Closing the lineup with its five PCIe slots, B840-P WiFi is the only board powered by AMD’s entry-level chipset. This means Gen 4 PCIe at best for both the main graphics card and M.2 slots. The four remaining slots all run at Gen 3 x1 or x4 speeds via the chipset. In other words, only good for non-bandwidth heavy add-on cards.
Other than that, you will find 7+2+1 phases for CPU power, a six-layer PCB, and DDR5-8000 support. Same for I/O, gone are the fast Type-C ports, you have to make do with only one USB Type-C 5Gbps plus six USB Type-A. Thankfully, though reduced, MSI keeps the LAN speed at 2.5GbE instead of going cheap with a 1GbE solution. Same for WiFi 7, which is still present. An ok board that is likely to be the cheapest of the bunch, although prices are still in the wind.
