![]() Gigabyte has been smart about the way it's specced out the Aorus Pro. There are cheaper DDR4 boards around-Gigabyte also makes an Aorus Pro in DDR4 flavor, too, though that's not sold in the US or EU-but if you want to get the absolute most out of the new Intel platform you want DDR5. Sure, in the last CPU generation $300+ was seen as high-end, but for the 12th Gen platform that's positively mid-range. Even so, the Gigabyte Z690 Aorus Pro almost bucks that trend by offering a rounded feature set along with DDR5 support for around $330. That is compounded by the premium attached to anything which mentions DDR5. It was almost inevitable that the top-end chipset for Intel's next-gen Alder Lake CPUs would end up being super-expensive. Do you need to spend more? I'd say you probably don't. Perhaps its lack of PCIe 5.0 M.2 support counts against and it requires good airflow if you subject it to heavy loads, but the MSI MAG Z790 Tomahawk is still a solid, feature-rich board that delivers a core feature set that will suit 95% or more of users. Ask yourself if you need more? If you do, be prepared to take a step up in price. Wi-Fi 6E, 2.5G LAN, a strong VRM capable of handling 13900K, lots of USB ports including 3.2 Gen 2x2, a solid BIOS, and a discrete design ready to blend in with just about any build theme. The checklist is complete for most users. Things like USB4 or 10G LAN are what board makers use to justify the price of motherboards costing double the money of the Z790 Tomahawk. If you make up a checklist of what you want from a motherboard, the MSI Z790 Tomahawk should have most of what you need. The VRM is a real highlight compared to competing offerings in its price range. Some boards costing a lot more come with only four SATA. For bulk storage, SATA still has a place and those seven ports alone may be a deal maker for some users. The Z790 Tomahawk comes with seven SATA ports. Unlike some PCIe 5.0 SSD supporting boards, such as the more expensive Gigabyte Aorus Z790 Master with its massive M.2 heatsink, the Tomahawk doesn’t need one, sticking with a low profile design that doesn’t require lots of surface area. A good quality PCIe 4.0 drive will be more than sufficient for years to come, much like a good PCIe 3.0 drive still remains relevant today. Would it be nice to have? Yes, but along with a total lack of PCIe 5.0 drives, the Z790 platform requires an 8x/8x split between the 16x primary slot and the M.2 slot, meaning it's not something that's vital to have at this point in time. ![]() The Tomahawk includes support for four M.2 drives, though PCIe 5.0 SSD support is missing. DDR4 is very much at the end of its life and the 13th Gen platform is almost certainly its last hurrah. There's also a DDR4 version should you have a good set of DDR4 memory on hand, though if you need to buy memory too, the DDR5 version is definitely the way to go. There's tough competition from the other vendors in its price range though. At $319 / £337 / AU$569 it's not cheap, though compared to what some premium tier boards are selling for, it's not badly priced at all. It sits above the Pro range and below the MPG and high-end MEG range. The MSI MAG Z790 Tomahawk WiFi-as the name suggests-is a part of MSI's MAG range, its second tier sub brand. I've tested a bunch of AMD and Intel motherboards over the past year, from Mini-ITX to E-ATX form-factors, so you can make the best choice based on the best motherboard for your lifestyle. Intel's 13th Gen CPUs, on the other hand, are backward compatible with the 12th Gen's LGA1700 socket, so a Z690 or Z790 chipset will do you fine. When it comes to AMD, the enduring AM4 socket and X570 chipset is finally phasing out since current Zen 4 CPUs use the new AM5 socket with B650 or X670 chipsets. If you're in it for the long haul, you need to be sure that the board's socket or chipset can support this (and preferably the next round of) high-end processors. Now we have to consider the most important thing about motherboards future-proofing. This isn't always bad, especially if you don't plan on getting a new motherboard for several years. Before committing to a motherboard, you must ask yourself: How big is your PC case? Do you want to be able to overclock your CPU? Do you need high-performance RAM support? Do you need a block of USB ports? Bluetooth? Wi-fi? If your wish list increases, expect to spend extra.
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