Moving on to the bottom half of the motherboard, we feel the need to point out one thing at the start: there is no dreaded bifurcation bullshi… shenanigans to worry about. You can use all three PCIe slots and all four M.2 slots. At the same time. Hell, you can use all of them and populate all the USB ports and not worry about robbing Peter to pay Paul.
The downside is simple. The Z890 chipset and Core Ultra 200 / 200 Plus only have so many PCIe lanes to go around. That means the second and third “x16” PCIe slots are electronically PCIe 4.0 x4 slots. The upside is that any PCIe board is compatible with them. The device just needs to be able to downshift to four lanes from x16/x8. Also on the positive side is that the top-most PCIe x16 slot is a 16-lane PCIe slot. Specifically, a PCIe 5.0 x16 slot that is connected to the CPU. Not the chipset. All the time. No matter what else you installed onto the motherboard.
For the majority of non-exotic builds, this combination means you (or your clients’) video card will be running in full tilt boogie even if you also slap an Intel BattleMage B580 in for transcoding work… and say an Intel 40/20/10GbE Networking card in to increase the Ethernet performance. The only hitch is that the third PCIe card must be a single-slot form-factor device. It doesn’t even matter if your case is taller than some and has more room between the ‘bottom’ of the motherboard and the start of the PSU area… as it is not the limiting factor.
To be precise, in addition to the usual issues like covering fairly important headers (which can all be worked around), there is also the issue of the less-than-optimal 8-pin PCIe supplemental power port location. MSI still stubbornly refuses to put this up where it belongs: next to the 24-pin “motherboard” power header. To be fair, neither the TuF nor the Strix-A includes this feature, so while the Tommy II is rocking a suboptimal (and in desperate need of re)location, something is better than nothing.
Realistically speaking, the two ASUS boards don’t need it because the Strix-A only has two PCIe slots, and while the TUF comes festooned with two x1 and a x4 to go along with its dual x16 form-factored slots… ASUS knows you won’t actually be using all of them. At best, you will be using the top x16, the middle x4, and the bottom “x16″… and only then if you are using 3-slot or fewer video cards and are okay with an x4 device being ‘cozy’ with the GPU.
Dialing in on the PCIe slots, we already went over the fact that the top-most gets the EZ Armor treatment, and while the ASUS options do not go for full EMI shielding like MSI does, they do use “SafeSlot Technology” which basically reinforces the PCIe slot in a similar manner to MSI. Making it somewhat of a parity between the three.
What is not arguably at parity is the top-most PCIe slot locking mechanism. Instead, the Tommy II is so far ahead of the curve that TomaHawk WiFi II buyers can’t even see the competition in their rearview mirrors. Sure, ASUS uses its “Q-Release” configuration. Sure, it is easier than the old school flip latch mechanism. It is also a pain in the butt, confusing, and generally speaking, not as reassuringly robust as the MSI EZ PCIe Release setup. Which, in our opinion, is best in class. This 21st-century take on locking mechanisms offers all the security of the original gangster latch without the headaches and hassles of said itty bitty latch.
Basically, unlike ASUS, which not only expects but demands you put vertical pressure on the PCIe tab, tongue, and slot to unlock your card, with MSI, it is like a ballpoint pen. Push a button to use it, push the button to retract it. As it is a button setup. A button setup where when you push it, it actuates a lever that in turn moves the metal spring-loaded latch into its proper position. No additional pressure on the delicate electronics required, no wonkiness with a narrow operating window to worry about. No worries over whether your GPU that costs more than the motherboard is secure… or not.
Instead, push the button to make sure it is in the locked position. Install the card with two hands. To uninstall, push the button and then remove the card with both hands. This is not only safer, but because the latch is still spring‑loaded, you can hear an audible “click” when the card first pushes the latch out of the way and then springs back into the locked position when your card is fully seated. Thus making it the best configuration to date… and it simply smokes the new “tilt to un/lock” design Asus has gone to (and in a couple of years, some poor schmoe is going to kill the socket and maybe the card by forgetting about the whole tilt‑to‑remove nonsense).
Now, with all that said, it still is not perfect… and the same complaints we had with previous MSI motherboards featuring this EZ PCIe Release system have been carried over. Namely, it needs to be even more user‑friendly. Yes, it gives audible and tactile feedback. Yes, they include a small window to show the status of the PCIe latch. Neither, however, are they all that helpful for novices. First, that window is too small to see the locked and unlocked icons from any worthwhile distance. It needs to be changed to a bigger window that changes to a solid RED or WHITE to easily indicate the status of the locking mechanism.
Mix in the fact that the button itself is a solid color and only moves by about ~2.5mm… and a lot of people (even ourselves, who actually read the manual the first time we encountered this feature “in the wild”) will be playing a guessing game of “is it or is it not” when this board is installed in a working system with a big honking GPU installed. To be blunt, MSI should not only increase the size and color of the window but make the button itself a two‑tone affair: see a white ring on the button? It’s unlocked. Can’t see the ring? It’s in the locked position.
Also in the “sure to be confusing” end of the spectrum is the fact that you install the card while the latch is in the locked position, not the unlocked position, as one might logically assume. Once again: press to lock and install; press to unlock for uninstall. Not press to unlock, install, press again to lock, as some would logically conclude. So yes, we fully expect a lot of irate first‑time users whose card is not fully seated because they “forgot” that step. We understand the reasoning behind this quirk, as it is why the top of the PCIe latch is curved metal and how MSI can give you that audible “click” feedback… but it is a tiny bit counter‑intuitive.
Make no mistake. This is the easiest, the safest, and the most robust “easy” configuration we have seen to date. It just happens to have a couple of rough edges rounded off in future iterations. At which point it will go from being merely best‑in‑class to the gold standard against which all others must be measured, must be weighed… and probably found wanting.
The other minor issue with this setup is… MSI really can only include it on one, possibly two, slot(s)… as it takes up a lot of board real-estate. That is why the middle and lower ‘x16’ slots are the old school lock and latch setup we all know and ‘love’. On the positive side, all three slots are usable in the majority of builds. There is a full ‘3 slot’ gap between the primary and secondary slots, and there is a 2 slot gap between the secondary and tertiary. Since the secondary and tertiary are both PCIe 4.0 x4 slots that both connect to the Z890 chipset, it really doesn’t matter which you use. Both work equally well. Neither ‘rob’ bandwidth from the primary. While the same is true on the TuF to some extent, MSI’s x16 form-factor vs. ASUS’s x1 vs. x4 issue does make it superior… as you don’t have to worry about using up the single x4 slot with an x1 device. As for the STRIX-A, ASUS made it simpler: you get two slots: a x16 via CPU and a PCIe 4.0 x4 via the chipset. Meaning, if you need to install more than two cards, you are SOL if you are trying to use the STRIX. Once again, MSI is thinking in practical terms and what will make life easier in the real-world versus worrying about paper specifications… as on paper, the “5” PCIe slots of the TuF do look better.
Moving back to the M.2 ports. We have already gone over most of the pros and cons of these critical storage ports. However, let’s dial in on what each port offers… and does not offer.
As previously mentioned, only the top-most M.2 port is PCIe 5.0 x4 enabled, and the rest are PCIe 4.0 x4. For the price range of builds this board is going to be (mostly) used in this (mostly) fine as, while it certainly is not great… it is “good enough”. There are plenty of very good PCIe 4.0 SSDs out there that offer more than good enough performance for secondary storage duties. Thus, only having a single cutting-edge PCIe 5.0 x4 M.2 port is good enough.
Interestingly enough, this primary M.2 port has two features also worth mentioning. The first is that it only supports 60 and 80-mm-length drives. No little M.2 2230 no 2242s… and no extra-long 22x110mm M.2 support. Which is a bit disappointing as this motherboard does not come with a backplate heat spreader and as such does not have that excuse to fall back on as to why there is no 110mm support on the primary M.2. To be fair, we can understand why there is no 110mm support on the primary as it would nuke that 4-pin fan header. So if it came down to either/or… we would rather the 4-pin header to a niche edge case M.2 support. Of course, we would like MSI to do what ASUS does on their STRIX-A… and do both. Do both by swapping the heatsink latch from the back to the front of the port. Freeing up enough room for both 110mm M.2 support and a 4-pin fan header.
The other quirk is the fact that it is using the old M.2 EZ Clip gen 1 mounting mechanism. Not the newer Gen 2. Which makes a certain amount of sense… but only a bit. If you squint really hard, basically, the newer ‘wiggle ball’ design is a bit more difficult to work with when using some aftermarket M.2 heatsinks if you are not used to its quirks. Specifically, when it comes time to release/uninstall it… and the heatsink is covering easy access to that tiny tilt-a-whirl latch. At which point… ye olde plastic spudger is the sanist, easiest method for actuation. Not a screwdriver, some resort to. Conversely, the old swing arm gen 1 either works or it does not with a given aftermarket M.2 NVMe SSS model… and even a novice will have no trouble figuring it out.
This brings us to the second M.2 slot, and where things get… strange, and why the topmost rocking a Gen 1 does not make a lot of sense. This secondary M.2 slot supports 60mm, 80mm, and bigboi 110mm M.2 drives. Which is great and not at all unusual. What is… MSI has installed both a Gen 1 and a Gen 2 EZ Clip. With the 2280 mounting being Gen 2, and the longer M.2 22110 using the Gen 1. Which makes zero sense. Especially when the accessories included two extra M.2 EZ Clip gen 2 posts. Meaning the build cost factors in Gen 2s into its final bill of materials. So why not install all Gen 2 and have the Gen 1s as backup / for prima-donna M.2 drives that don’t play nice with Gen 2 posts? It’s… it is just confusing, and we cannot think of a reasonable explanation for using both like they have.
Which brings us to the two M.2 headers hidden underneath the tertiary/bottom-most M.2 heatsink… and at this point, we seriously think MSI may just be trolling us. As you can see, the rear-most M.2 uses gen 1, and the forward-most M.2 uses gen 2. Why? In the immortal words of this generation’s bard, “Don’t knooooow”.
On the positive side, the third and fourth M.2 ports both support M.2 22×30,x42,x60, and 80mm drives. Equally impressive is that MSI has given the M.2_4 (forward most) header SATA backwards compatibility! While the M.2 form-factored SATA drives are going the way of the dodo, they still are floating around, and we have “carried over” a couple from an old to a new system. As such, we do like seeing M.2 SATA support baked into at least one M.2 port.
Rounding out SATA storage is a pair of dual header blocks. Giving a grand total of 5 SATA SSD ports on tap. Which is the same as how ASUS does it on both their TuF and STRIX-A models… and these days if you ‘need’ more than four SATA ports, you probably are going to want to invest in a good HBA. Otherwise, the state of the entire marketplace will annoy you to no end. Which is a shame as for a while there MSI were doing 6 + 1 SATA ports on the Tommy line.
In typical MSI tradition, the Z890 TomaHawk WiFi II still only comes with one USB 5G header. Meaning you will need a USB adapter card if you want/need/desire more than two USB 3 headers to fully populate your case’s front header capabilities. Unlike most, we cannot complain too much about it only being one… as that is bog standard for 2026. Even the more expensive STRIX-A only offers you one of these dual-port headers. Which is a shame.
You also get one Type‑C front header port. Which is decent for its class. Certainly not perfect, but decent considering it is also a 27‑watt PD-compliant header. Which is better than the STRIX-A, which is only good for 3A / 15W… but not as good as the ASUS TuF Pro’s front Type-C header, which is capable of 30Watts. To be fair, 27 vs. 30 really doesn’t matter all that much. Either will allow you to supercharge(ish) your Type-C port and allow it to pretty much charge darn near any (normal) portable device you can think of. On the other hand. The components needed to transform this from 27W to 60W is only a couple of bucks. Thus, this single port is decent, certainly competitive, and generally speaking, “good enough”, albeit with room for improvement. To be perfectly candid, including only Type-C on any 2026 mainstream motherboard is a pet peeve of ours. These days, two should be the default. Not one. That is the standard MSI should strive to meet and even exceed.
Moving on. Running along the bottom of the motherboard is a good assortment of headers. In typical MSI fashion, the front‑panel header cluster is neatly positioned for easy access. Of course, they could have stuck it anywhere, and we would not complain, as this board has been given the “EZ Front Panel Cable” treatment. This cable makes it so you can plug in all your case’s cables to this adapter and then simply plug it into the motherboard.
Asus used to routinely include a similar “Q Connector” type accessory, and yet in recent years has stopped doing so. Since MSI still includes this time saver accessory, it alone makes the Tommy Wifi II way, way more user‑friendly than its low asking price would imply. For those who have never used it before, we cannot stress how big a deal this is. For example, own a large case with short cables? No problem, as it inherently extends the cable length. Good case, but it’s pitch‑black down in the corner? No problem, it’s keyed so it cannot be installed “wrong”. We cannot stress how novice‑friendly this cable adapter is and how it neatly sidesteps many a pitfall that first‑time builders run into when they think they are in the home stretch.
Furthermore, MSI has also broken the front‑fan‑header section into two separate and distinct clusters that are not even remotely close to one another. Specifically, the Power, Reset, HDD, and Power LED headers (AKA JFP1) are in their usual bottom‑right‑corner location, but the 4‑pins for the speaker are not. This “JFP2” header is sensibly located slightly above the JFP1. Making life a lot easier if you want to install a short header to a mini-speaker adapter directly onto the motherboard.
Lastly, we come to the soundcard portion of the motherboard. With the integrated sound solution, we once again see MSI’s philosophy of practicality over premiumness in action… but they may have taken things a smidgen too far. We say that, as while we are not surprised to see a Realtek ALC1220P codec instead of say a Realtek ALC4080-based configuration (that the STRIX-A is rocking), what is surprising is the fact that it is nekkid. No EMI shield. No big hunk of alloy covering like on the Carbon. Just a couple of Chemi-con caps, an opamp for the headphone, and a 1220P codec IC bare-arsed nekkid with nothing between it and electro-magnetic waves that inevitably bounce around inside a modern system.
So while yes, the front headphone port does get its own dedicated opamp… and yes. The entire portion of the motherboard is electronically separated from the rest. Neither matters as much as the fact that this is going to be a noisier sound solution than the TuF Pro. A motherboard that also uses this ALC1220P codec, but ASUS spent the ten cents for a piece of tin “EMI shield” to cover its modesty. Mix in the fact that Asus TuF Pro also includes a custom de‑pop circuit, and the Tommy is not exactly “ship shape and Bristol fashion” by 2026 standards. Still in the good enough end of the spectrum… but just barely.
With that said, we would place the importance of this issue right about at the same level of concern as the missing backside M.2 heatsinks. We say this as this is still a very decent integrated sound solution. It will produce ‘good enough’ output that most buyers will not notice a difference between them unless they are 1) really, really listening for it and 2) swap out there ten dollar speakers and/or overpriced Beats by Dre headphones for actually good kit. In other words, MSI should have at least included an EMI shield, but we understand why they did not… as good enough is typically good enough. For those who disagree, we would suggest that you have already outgrown integrated audio solutions and should take the savings from opting for the Tommy over the Strix and get a good USB-based DAC. That is about the only way you will be satisfied… as you have drunk the Kool-Aid and are now one of us: an audiophile with a rather expensive addiction.
