B650 ASRock Steel Legend vs MSI Tomahawk

[NSR]

HUB's motherboard reviews really praise the Steel Legend and recommend it over the Tomahawk but prices are skewed in the UK.

The Tomahawk is £170 and the Steel Legend is £200 minimum. The Steel Legend is the worse deal here, no?

ASRock has a mATX that's £180 instead but the Tomahawk ATX is still £10 cheaper.

I'm looking to upgrade for additional M2 and DRAM slots from my current MOBO.

 

[Sunny and 75]

The Tomahawk is aesthetically more pleasing to my eyes.

 

[Shou Miko]

The Tomahawk is aesthetically more pleasing to my eyes.

That might be but what make the Steel Legend best feature wise is PCI-E 5.0 for the main pci port not just the primary nvme port.

The Tomahawk is still a solid board but only PCI-E 4.0 for the main pci port.

I built a few computers using the steel legend with 7800X3D cpu's and they been rock solid.

 

[Sunny and 75]

The ASRock board does provide PCIe 5.0 for both the graphics card and the NVMe and that's what makes it a bit more expensive.

Non-essential though, I'll take the Tomahawk any day.

 

[Deleted member 245263]

are you aware pcie-nvme adapters exist?

if you include pcie-nvme bifurcation you can connect 6x nvme and GPU at pcie 4 x 8 to this board. That is 4 CPU connected nvmes

nothing can be done about the RAM slots obv

 

[NSR]

The Tomahawk is aesthetically more pleasing to my eyes.

My AM4 MOBO was a Tomahawk, loved it. I'm now on a budget AM5 ASRock MOBO which is also great. Since my build has a tinted window I can look past ASRock's artistic freedom.

That might be but what make the Steel Legend best feature wise is PCI-E 5.0 for the main pci port not just the primary nvme port.

The Tomahawk is still a solid board but only PCI-E 4.0 for the main pci port.

I'll be thinking about it for the next 6-ish hours before I order one from Amazon for tomorrow. I guess the question would be if the additional feature set is worth paying the extra.

are you aware pcie-nvme adapters exist?

if you include pcie-nvme bifurcation you can connect 6x nvme and GPU at pcie 4 x 8 to this board. That is 4 CPU connected nvmes

nothing can be done about the RAM slots obv

View attachment 399274
View attachment 399275

Interesting, I can always do this after upgrading if I need even more NVME slots.

In any case, my current build hasn't got the space. My GPU covers the lower PCIE slot since my MOBO is only mATX so not much space.

 

[Deleted member 245263]

B650 Tomahawk? considering 60hz video outputs and no pcie5 even for the nvme i would consider it a downgrade from b650m-hdv/m.2

 

[Sunny and 75]

if the additional feature set is worth paying the extra.

Why not get a B850?

MSI B850 Gaming Plus WIFI

 

[NSR]

Why not get a B850?

MSI B850 Gaming Plus WIFI

Wait, this is just way better than the Steel Legend, right?

I don't know as much about the little details of MOBOs but it looks like it has better features.

Accounting for price also. Since the Steel Legend is still more expensive than this one.

 

[Sunny and 75]

There are pros and cons, that's for you to decide which one is better.

MSI B850 Gaming Plus WIFI:
DDR5-8200
5Gb/s LAN
Wi-Fi 7

ASRock B650 Steel Legend WiFi:
Realtek ALC4082 Audio
Slightly better VRM

Accounting for price also. Since the Steel Legend is still more expensive than this one.

Sure.

In addition, all those audio chips are on-board anyway so if you're an audiophile then you should purchase a separate device for that.

 

[NSR]

There are pros and cons, that's for you to decide which one is better.

MSI B850 Gaming Plus WIFI:
DDR5-8200
5Gb/s LAN
Wi-Fi 7

ASRock B650 Steel Legend WiFi:
Realtek ALC4082 Audio
Slightly better VRM


Sure.

In addition, all those audio chips are on-board anyway so if you're an audiophile then you should purchase a separate device for that.

I just noticed I've been confusing the B850 Steel Legend for the B650. It's the B850 that I am seeing at £200. I also just learned it has an additional M.2 so x4 in total which is enticing (1 runs at GEN 5 and the rest at GEN 4)

The B650 Steel Legend is listed for £341 so clearly some oversea shenanigans going on with that model.

 

[Sunny and 75]

I just noticed I've been confusing the B850 Steel Legend for the B650. It's the B850 that I am seeing at £200.

It's alright.

an additional M.2 so x4 in total which is enticing

Indeed.

If I'm not mistaken, MSI BIOS updates are more stable than ASRock's, so take that into consideration as well.

 

[Shou Miko]

It's alright.


Indeed.

If I'm not mistaken, MSI BIOS updates are more stable than ASRock's, so take that into consideration as well.

Bryan from Tech Yes City might have found the Asrock issue with Ryzen 9000 series cpus and why they die, it looks to be a soc voltage problem.

 

[NSR]

@Shou Miko @Sunny and 75

Thanks for the information and help.

I've decided to order the B850 Steel Legend from CCL for £200.

I really want that extra M.2. That's worth the extra £20 for me. I don't see myself using all those PCIE slots on the Gaming Plus either tbh.

 

[Deleted member 245263]

@Shou Miko @Sunny and 75

Thanks for the information and help.

I've decided to order the B850 Steel Legend from CCL for £200.

I really want that extra M.2. That's worth the extra £20 for me. I don't see myself using all those PCIE slots on the Gaming Plus either tbh.

"If M2_4 is occupied, PCIE2 will be disabled."

there is no extra m.2. It is just build in pcie-nvme adapter

 

[Shou Miko]

@Shou Miko @Sunny and 75

Thanks for the information and help.

I've decided to order the B850 Steel Legend from CCL for £200.

I really want that extra M.2. That's worth the extra £20 for me. I don't see myself using all those PCIE slots on the Gaming Plus either tbh.

Totally understand you, I wasn't thinking about B850 chipsets but yeah the B850 Steel Legend is still a board I would take just the micro-atx version if I upgrade my board.

"If M2_4 is occupied, PCIE2 will be disabled."

there is no extra m.2. It is just build in pcie-nvme adapter

Not many people use the pci-e x4 at the button since it goes through the chipset a lot of times and many just use the main pci-e slot but it's good to point out.

 

[NSR]

"If M2_4 is occupied, PCIE2 will be disabled."

there is no extra m.2. It is just build in pcie-nvme adapter

Oh yeah, I'm aware of that. It works out better for me still with how large my GPU and support bracket are. The other adapter would be a headache.

 

[chrcoluk]

Bryan from Tech Yes City might have found the Asrock issue with Ryzen 9000 series cpus and why they die, it looks to be a soc voltage problem.

He might be on to something there, the downside of dynamic voltage is overshoot when it moves up and down.

 

[Deleted member 245263]

Totally understand you, I wasn't thinking about B850 chipsets but yeah the B850 Steel Legend is still a board I would take just the micro-atx version if I upgrade my board.

definitely b850m sl is the best board mentioned in this topic

Not many people use the pci-e x4 at the button since it goes through the chipset a lot of times and many just use the main pci-e slot but it's good to point out.

what are you talking about this is always a chipset slot

He might be on to something there, the downside of dynamic voltage is overshoot when it moves up and down.

seriusly it took them a couple of months it is SOC burning their cpus again? Brian figured it out after looking at the hwinfo?

 

[Shou Miko]

what are you talking about this is always a chipset slot

Some cards just don't play nice going through the chipset like capture cards and such.

 

[Deleted member 245263]

Some cards just don't play nice going through the chipset like capture cards and such.

are you serious?

 

[Sunny and 75]

I've decided to order the B850 Steel Legend from CCL for £200.

Congratz on the purchase.

May it serve you well.

 

[Space Lynx]

HUB's motherboard reviews really praise the Steel Legend and recommend it over the Tomahawk but prices are skewed in the UK.

The Tomahawk is £170 and the Steel Legend is £200 minimum. The Steel Legend is the worse deal here, no?

ASRock has a mATX that's £180 instead but the Tomahawk ATX is still £10 cheaper.

I'm looking to upgrade for additional M2 and DRAM slots from my current MOBO.

I have had B650 Steel Legend for almost two years now, it's rock solid and I absolutely love everything about it.

@Shou Miko @Sunny and 75

Thanks for the information and help.

I've decided to order the B850 Steel Legend from CCL for £200.

I really want that extra M.2. That's worth the extra £20 for me. I don't see myself using all those PCIE slots on the Gaming Plus either tbh.

Smart choice, just remember to update the BIOS to latest BIOS before you do a clean install of OS.

 

[NSR]

I have had B650 Steel Legend for almost two years now, it's rock solid and I absolutely love everything about it.

ASRock seems to be killing it in the motherboard market. My B650M-HDV/M.2 has been very good to me. I'll probably just keep it until I upgrade CPU in a year or so. Then I can just bundle it with the 7600X and sell them off.

Smart choice, just remember to update the BIOS to latest BIOS before you do a clean install of OS.

Congratz on the purchase.

May it serve you well.

 

[Sunny and 75]

ASRock seems to be killing it in the motherboard market. My B650M-HDV/M.2 has been very good to me. I'll probably just keep it until I upgrade CPU in a year or so. Then I can just bundle it with the 7600X and sell them off.

That looks like Chow Yun-fat, if I'm not mistaken