MSI's B760 MAG Tomahawk Motherboard Looks Sharp And Ready For Battle Ahead Of Launch
We're still waiting on Intel to flesh out its 700 series chipset portfolio with mid-range and entry-level additions, which will slot in underneath its existing Z790 for Raptor Lake. Make no mistake, they're coming. In the meantime, Intel's hardware partners are readying motherboards around the upcoming chipset additions, with MSI's B760 MAG Tomahawk breaking cover ahead of launch.
The leaked renders offer up one of the first looks (if not the first look) at a B760 motherboard before they officially arrive, presumably timed with the release of non-K 13th Gen Raptor Lake CPUs that are rumored to be announced at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) early next month. There is a caveat, however.
Recent leaks out of China suggest that B760 motherboards could end up being around 10 percent more expensive than current-generation B600 models. That will be something to keep an eye on, as the upcoming chipset additions are supposed give builders more affordable options to choose from, for those who don't need all the bells and whistles of a Z790 motherboard.
As for MSI's MAG B760 Tomahawk, the folks at Videocardz managed to procure a handful of renders, which serves as further proof that a release is right around the corner. Overall, the B760 model looks similar to MSI's existing MAG B660 Tomahawk. As such, it appears as though the B760 variant will retain the same 12+1+1 power stage design as its predecessor.
Full specifications are not provided, though we can make out a few details. It's a standard ATX motherboard (as opposed to the larger E-ATX form factor or any of the smaller form factors) with a pair of PCI Express x16 slots, one of which is reinforced. It's also said that there are three M.2 slots hiding underneath heat shields. The render of the retail box mentions "Lightning Gen5," so we can safely assume that at least one of them supports PCIe 5.0 solid state drives.
The version shown is a DDR4 variant, though MSI is expected to also make available a DDR5 model. Either way, we're looking at four DIMM slots. Other features include onboard Wi-Fi (with included antennas) and a fairly robust I/O with a 2.5G LAN port, DisplayPort and HDMI outputs, and a spattering of USB connectivity including a USB Type-C port.
There's word on how much the MAG B760 Tomahawk will cost, though as a point of reference, the B660 version in DDR4 form costs $189.99 on Amazon.
