The MSI B350 Tomahawk Motherboard Review: Gaming On a Budget
by Gavin Bonshor on March 12, 2018 10:45 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
- AMD
- MSI
- ATX
- Zen
- AM4
- B350
- Ryzen
- Tomahawk
- Raven Ridge
System Performance
Not all motherboards are created equal. On the face of it, they should all perform the same and differ only in the functionality they provide - however, this is not the case. The obvious pointers are power consumption, but also the ability for the manufacturer to optimize USB speed, audio quality (based on audio codec), POST time and latency. This can come down to manufacturing process and prowess, so these are tested.
Power Consumption
Power consumption was tested on the system while in a single ASUS GTX 980 GPU configuration with a wall meter connected to the Thermaltake 1200W power supply. This power supply has ~75% efficiency > 50W, and 90%+ efficiency at 250W, suitable for both idle and multi-GPU loading. This method of power reading allows us to compare the power management of the UEFI and the board to supply components with power under load, and includes typical PSU losses due to efficiency. These are the real world values that consumers may expect from a typical system (minus the monitor) using this motherboard.
While this method for power measurement may not be ideal, and you feel these numbers are not representative due to the high wattage power supply being used (we use the same PSU to remain consistent over a series of reviews, and the fact that some boards on our test bed get tested with three or four high powered GPUs), the important point to take away is the relationship between the numbers. These boards are all under the same conditions, and thus the differences between them should be easy to spot.
On the whole when compared to the other X370/B350 motherboards on test, the MSI B350 Tomahawk sits relatively average. At load however, there are no real advantages to being a budget B350 board.
Non-UEFI POST Time
Different motherboards have different POST sequences before an operating system is initialized. A lot of this is dependent on the board itself, and POST boot time is determined by the controllers on board (and the sequence of how those extras are organized). As part of our testing, we look at the POST Boot Time using a stopwatch. This is the time from pressing the ON button on the computer to when Windows starts loading. (We discount Windows loading as it is highly variable given Windows specific features.)
Most of the POST times on X370 seem to be in the same ball-park, differing by a second or two for the most part.
Rightmark Audio Analyzer 6.2.5
Rightmark:AA indicates how well the sound system is built and isolated from electrical interference (either internally or externally). For this test we connect the Line Out to the Line In using a short six inch 3.5mm to 3.5mm high-quality jack, turn the OS speaker volume to 100%, and run the Rightmark default test suite at 192 kHz, 24-bit. The OS is tuned to 192 kHz/24-bit input and output, and the Line-In volume is adjusted until we have the best RMAA value in the mini-pretest. We look specifically at the Dynamic Range of the audio codec used on the rear panel of the board.
In an expected showing, the Realtek ALC892 comes reasonably close to the ALC1220 options, but can't hit the high.
DPC Latency
Deferred Procedure Call latency is a way in which Windows handles interrupt servicing. In order to wait for a processor to acknowledge the request, the system will queue all interrupt requests by priority. Critical interrupts will be handled as soon as possible, whereas lesser priority requests such as audio will be further down the line. If the audio device requires data, it will have to wait until the request is processed before the buffer is filled.
If the device drivers of higher priority components in a system are poorly implemented, this can cause delays in request scheduling and process time. This can lead to an empty audio buffer and characteristic audible pauses, pops and clicks. The DPC latency checker measures how much time is taken processing DPCs from driver invocation. The lower the value will result in better audio transfer at smaller buffer sizes. Results are measured in microseconds.
None of the boards tested thus far have been optimised for DPC latency, although all of the test boards managed to squeeze under 150 microseconds with relative ease. The B350 Tomahawk does fall behind from the ASRock boards in our testing by around 21 microseconds; not a massive difference in real world scenarios however.
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unlockproject - Monday, August 1, 2022 - link
so is this MB.https://unlock85201.ac-page.com/startup
Myrandex - Monday, March 12, 2018 - link
I despise this too :( although based on the other comment below I'm hoping it actually is 3.1!unlockproject - Monday, August 1, 2022 - link
I'm hoping it actually is 3.1https://unlock85201.ac-page.com/startup
Myrandex - Monday, March 12, 2018 - link
The Krait website for this board says the C is a 3.1 port: https://us.msi.com/Motherboard/B350-KRAIT-GAMINGAnd for this version of the motherboard it appears that it supports 3.1 for the Front Panel connectors, so if connected to a case the front plugs could be good! https://us.msi.com/Motherboard/B350-TOMAHAWK
Geranium - Tuesday, March 13, 2018 - link
Those are USB 3.0 AKA USB 3.1 G1, not real USB 3.1 AKA 3.1 G2 which B350 chipset supports.unlockproject - Monday, August 1, 2022 - link
good Those are USB 3.0 AKA USB 3.1 G1, not real USB 3.1 AKA 3.1 G2 which B350https://linktr.ee/unlock.coach
unlockproject - Monday, August 1, 2022 - link
So what gives with no USB 3.1 Gen2 from the B350 itself?https://unlockproject01.jimdofree.com/
unlockproject - Monday, August 1, 2022 - link
new more getting newshttps://www.creativelive.com/student/unlock-projec...
vkristof - Tuesday, March 13, 2018 - link
The MSI B350 KRAIT GAMING motherboards supports TWO USB 3.1 Gen2 ports (one Type-A, one Type-C), but does it via an "ASMedia® ASM2142 Chipset". It shows the ASM 2142 both in the features and block diagram section of the motherboard manual. The block diagram shows the ASM2142 connected between the USB 3.1 Gen 2 ports and the B350 (PCI express lanes)So what gives with no USB 3.1 Gen2 from the B350 itself?
attractionsandplaces - Monday, March 26, 2018 - link
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