Considering the price point, it should come as little surprise to see that MSI has opted not to include a backplate. We are of two minds on this design choice. On the one hand, both ASUS boards (and the MSI Edge Ti for that matter) do not include one… and at least MSI did not include any pure cheese ‘inspirational quotes’ on the back like “for those who dare” (to buy a board covered in cringe). On the other hand, backplates do serve two rather important purposes. Firstly, they protect the back from damage when you are installing the RAM… before installing the board into the case. We have all been there, and sometimes we all just forget to stick a thin piece of foam (and ESD protective layer) before stressing welds on the back… and the backplate stops Mr. Murphy from going wild on your build. The other is cooling. These days, even basic boards have insane levels of VRM power on tap. So much so that certain components have been moved to the back of the board. So via the use of a cheap piece or two of heat pads… and presto changeo the backplate is now a shield and a heat spreader. That is why, when possible, we opt for boards that come with this feature. On the other hand, a backplate does increase the MSRP. Considering neither the competition nor the MSI Z890 Edge Ti gets a backplate, it is hard to find fault with this practicality. Even if does make life for a builder a touch more complicated.
Moving on.
We come to one of the biggest pet peeves with MSI and their MAG series. Namely, the use of a 6-layer PCB and not an 8-layer PCB. It is all well and fine to do so on the non-MxG branded series like the MSI Z890 Pro… as they are held to a lower standard and are extremely price-sensitive oriented motherboards. This is a mainstream MSI Arsenal Gaming-branded board. Stop rounding this corner. We say this as the “missing” two layers have multiple downstream knock-on, cumulative effects. Namely, it’s a weaker board that can’t really handle 1KG air coolers, let alone 2KG+ video cards, without additional support. It cannot disperse heat as well as it a thicker PCB board can. It is going to be more EMI prone (aka “nosier”) as there are fewer layers between the audio pathways and the power pathways (e.g., PCIe). Worse still, in some ways, the competition has moved on to 8-layer PCBs and the optics are sub-optimal to say the least. So if a similarly priced TuF can find it in the budget to do so… MSI should have already done it.
End of rant. The star of any motherboard show is the CPU socket and area. Taking a close look, we can see that once again MSI has exceeded expectations… as this is a clean socket area. One that puts the TuF Pro and its overcrowded no-go zone to shame. Equally impressive is that this is a LOTES ILM-based socket. Not a Foxxy Conn. To be fair, both companies make good kit, but we do prefer Lotes to Foxconn… as Foxconn loves to randomly put the ‘con’ in FoxConn. Thus, seeing it on an inexpensive board is noteworthy.
Which segues nicely into the power delivery subsystem (“VRM”) that feeds the hungry beast. Interestingly, MSI has not opted for a Renesas controller. Instead, it is a Monolithic Power Systems “MPS 2427” MP29005-A. As it is part of MPS’s 29xxx digital multiphase controller family, it maxes out at 10 real phases. With anything above that being done via doublers, not native PWM outputs. These ten phases in totality. Including the VRM, System Agent (VCCSA), iGPU / GT rail, and AUX rail. Meaning the TomaHawk Z890 WiFi II is rocking (7+1)+1+1 true configuration… with the “16” 90A Smart Power Stages doubled up on the eight phases that “feed” the CPU cores.
Which is a wee bit suboptimal compared to the Strix‑A… which has a small edge in transient response and thermal headroom compared to the Tommy II. Specifically, the controller ASUS is using has 16×90 A stages arranged in a cleaner, mostly “direct” design. As for the TuF Z890 Pro, it’s a bit of a mixed bag with the Tommy II winning on power stage beefiness (90A vs 80A) but the TuF having a slightly superior controller. However, this is all splitting hairs. 160, 180, 270… ten bajillion Amps per rail is all well past the point of discernment and fully into the ‘insane overkill’ end of the spectrum for entry-level builds. All will provide one with excellent precision on the voltage output. All will run cool and quiet. All will not cause noticeable droop (when properly tweaked via the BIOS). After all, 16x90A is a whopping 1440Amps of power. Meaning any single rail on the TomaHawk II can easily handle an Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and laugh at what the more likely to be used Core Ultra 5 250K (or lower) will demand. Put another way, the Tommy II is using a good VRM with practical levels of overkill applied throughout. As such, we would not step up a STRIX-A just to get a “better” VRM.
The same is somewhat true for the secondaries. MSI is still stubbornly refusing to double up on the phases for the memory, and while it doesn’t matter a hill of beans with rational DDR5 kits (and their onboard voltage controller)… it doesn’t look good on paper. To be precise, even the TuF gets a ‘better’ memory rail with higher total amperage it can handle. Once again, this is mainly an optics issue rather than a legitimate issue, but these days appearances can sometimes matter more than logic.
We briefly went over the VRM heatsinks in the previous aesthetics page, but we were mainly focused on how they looked. Not how they act. In real-world testing, the combination of overkill VRM and two beefy chunks of alloy makes for a rather cool running system. To be precise, the rear-most is 9.75oz worth of hamburger helper units, while the top-most tips the scales at 5.75oz of freedom units for a combined total of ~15.5oz or nearly 0.44KG of metal. Sure, we do wish MSI had included a heat-pipe connector as they do on the Edge Ti models, but for the most part, this cooling solution is well past the point of practicality and firmly into the overkill end of the spectrum. Which is a good thing, as you can never have enough cooling. Even on entry-level builds.
With all that said, the Tommy does come up a wee bit short compared to the TuF and STRIX-A, both of which are using more advanced and more capable (of handling higher heat load) heatsinks. As such, if a heat pipe is out of the question, we would suggest that the secondary “small” chunk of metal be swapped out for the same fin array design found on the Ace Max. Considering even the Carbon’s do not get that advanced cooling solution, MSI is going to have to rethink the optics of their design… as the competition is not just overkill but edging into ‘plaid’ territory.
Moving on. 4-pin fan connectors. This is one area many boards, even ACE-priced ones, get right and yet wrong. What we mean is that MSI typically includes a veritable ton of 4-pin fan headers liberally sprinkled all around the motherboard to make life easier for builders… yet at the very same time, forget to include a rear fan header. Typically, this crucial header is located just below the VRM heatsink and in/around the first PCIe slot area. In this regard, the MAG Z890 TomaHawk WiFi II is better than boards that cost three times as much as it does… because it does include this critical header. In fact, the Tommy II has it… and since the dual EPS headers have been moved, they include a second fan header nestled in between the two VRM heatsinks (top back corner).
This… this makes things incredibly easy. With it, you can easily power a rear case “exhaust” fan and have a second set of 2/3/4 fans on the AIO, all nice and neat with no cables being visible. Conversely, for non-overkill builds, you can have the rear exhaust fan cable tucked up and out of the way, where no one will see it. Either way, it makes for a clean-looking final build.
When compared to the Strix-A (missing this rear 4pin all together) and the TuF Pro (includes just the classic 4-pin rear header), the Tommy II is superior. Noticeably superior in how tidy the final build will be, the flexibility it offers… and in the time and effort it will save you.
Mix in the typical triple cluster of “CPU+Pump+Sys” fan headers placed right at the tippy top front corner, and we are highly impressed with the level of thought and effort that went into this motherboard. Once again, we sincerely hope this double-feature trickles up to the more expensive models ASAP.
Before moving on, we do feel the need to be precise in just how many you get. On a TuF Pro, you get seven (7). On the STRIX-A, you get eight (8). On this motherboard? You get nine. Eight 4-pin fan headers plus the JAF v2. To be even more precise, the CPU fan header is rated for 2A (24W). The water pump is rated for 3A (36W), the six ‘system fans’ are each good for 1A / 12W, and the JAF v2 is good for another 2A (24W). For a combined total of 13Amps… or 156 watts of cooling. On a motherboard that costs less than $350 Canadian.
Moving on. Diagnostics. Every builder hopes and prays to never need to use diagnostic LEDs and/or 2-digit display codes to figure out where Mr. Murphy has dropped off a gremlin… yet we all want both of them included on every board we buy. For minor issues, the LED option makes troubleshooting a breeze. Look in and with just a quick glance at the 4‑LED cluster, you can tell if the gremlin is related to the CPU, the memory, the GPU, or the boot drive. Then, if you need to, you can look at the 2‑digit LED panel, read the code, write down the code, look up the code, and know what to do to evict said gremlin from your system. This one‑two punch is quick, easy, and practical. It is how all motherboards should do things, not just premium‑priced motherboards.
Sadly, not every company has gotten the memo. For example, the ASUS TuF “Pro” only includes the LED cluster, and if you want both, you have to pay the RoG Tax. MSI, however, has gotten the memo. As they wrote it in the first place. As such, it should come as no surprise that this Tommy II comes equipped with not only its 2‑digit “Debug Code LED” panel but also MSI’s (ironically named) “EZ Debug LED” cluster.
Sadly, There Is No Such Thing As A Free Lunch… and in order to get both LEDs and a diagnostic panel, MSI sacrificed both the Power and Reset buttons found on higher models. Which is a bit disappointing, but the number of people who need them is minor, and of those that do, that also don’t own either a screwdriver or a simple 2-pin “pig tail” power switch is a rounding error. So while in theory both the TuF and Strix are superior to the Tommy II… in reality, it is not that big a deal. More than a nothing burger, but certainly not rising to the level of being a deciding factor in your purchasing decision either.
