MSI MAG X870E Tomahawk Max WIFI upgrades

Released 2026 · on sale

ATX desktop motherboard: 3x PCIe expansion slots (Gen5 x16 from CPU, Gen3 x1, Gen4 x4 physically x16) and no card reader. CPU choice gates storage: Ryzen 8500/8300 kill M.2_2 entirely and reduce the GPU slot bandwidth. M.2_2 shares bandwidth with the rear USB4 40 Gbps ports (force x4 disables them). ECC/registered memory is NOT supported, so workstation buyers needing ECC should pick another platform. Wi-Fi 7 / BT 5.4 need Windows 11 24H2. Verify the exact SKU: the non-MAX and 'PZ' (back-connector) variants differ.

Upgrade guide → What fits, step by step, and official documents.

4x DDR5 DIMM (UDIMM) slots: 4 × DDR5 DIMM · up to 256 GB total · 8400 MT/s
4x M.2 NVMe + 4x SATA 6Gb/s: 4 × SSD / HDD M.2 22110 / M.2 2260 / M.2 2280 (NVMe / SATA)
Socket AM5 (LGA-1718), 1 CPU: AM5 · Ryzen 7000, Ryzen 8000G, Ryzen 9000

Slot map

Schematic of the upgradeable slots (not to scale). Check the owner's manual for their exact positions.

4x DDR5 DIMM (UDIMM) slots 4 × DDR5 DIMM · up to 256 GB total · 8400 MT/s

Non-ECC unbuffered UDIMM only (no ECC/RDIMM). The 8400 MT/s figure is 1DPC 1R with Ryzen 9000; populating all 4 slots drops the ceiling to ~6400 MT/s. JEDEC stock is 4800-5600 MT/s; AMD EXPO supported. CUDIMM works only in clock-driver bypass mode and may fail to boot on some CPUs. Max 64 GB/module is derived from 256 GB total (MSI lists total only).

No compatible offers right now.

4x M.2 NVMe + 4x SATA 6Gb/s 4 × SSD / HDD M.2 22110 / M.2 2260 / M.2 2280 (NVMe / SATA)

M.2_1 (CPU, 22110/2280, Gen5 with Ryzen 9000/7000, Gen4 with 8000); M.2_2 (CPU, 2280/2260, Gen5) is DISABLED with Ryzen 8500/8300 and shares its link with the rear USB4 ports - both drop to x2 unless BIOS forces x4, which kills USB4. M.2_3/4 (chipset) are Gen4 2280/2260. NVMe (Key M) only - no SATA M.2. M.2_1 ships with heatsink; others may need one. No manufacturer capacity limit. NVMe RAID 5 needs Ryzen 9000, RAID 10 needs Ryzen 9000/7000.

No compatible offers right now.

Socket AM5 (LGA-1718), 1 CPU AM5 · Ryzen 7000, Ryzen 8000G, Ryzen 9000

Ryzen 7000/8000/9000 desktop CPUs. MSI states no numeric TDP limit; the 2x 8-pin EPS and X870E VRM are designed for 170 W parts (e.g. 9950X/7950X) - verify against MSI's CPU support list for exotic chips. Ryzen 8500/8300 disable M.2_2 and cut the GPU slot to Gen4 x4; Ryzen 8000 APUs run the CPU M.2 slots at Gen4 only. BIOS offers 65 W ECO / PBO thermal profiles.

No compatible offers right now.