MSI MAG Z490 Tomahawk DDR4 Intel Motherboard

The MSI MAG Z490 Tomahawk is an ATX form-factor motherboard built on Intel's Z490 chipset and designed for Intel 10th Generation Core, Pentium Gold, and Celeron processors using the LGA1200 socket. Its extended heatsink layout and M.2 Shield Frozr thermal solution are engineered to manage heat across both the VRM and storage subsystems, allowing the board to sustain demanding workloads without thermal throttling. Connectivity is a major strength of this board. A dual-LAN configuration pairs a Realtek RTL8125B-CG 2.5G controller with an Intel I219V 1G controller, giving users flexible networking options. The rear panel includes a USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type-C port (ASMedia ASM3241 controller) capable of 20Gbps throughput — among the fastest USB standards available at the time of its release. Additional rear USB ports include one USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps Type-A, four USB 3.2 Gen 1 5Gbps Type-A, and two USB 2.0 ports, complemented by internal headers for further expansion. For storage, the board provides six SATA 6Gb/s ports and two M.2 Key-M slots. M2_1 supports up to PCIe 3.0 x4 and SATA devices in 2242/2260/2280/22110 form factors; M2_2 supports PCIe 3.0 x4 and SATA in 2242/2260/2280 form factors. RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10 are supported for SATA, while RAID 0 and RAID 1 are available for M.2 PCIe devices. Intel Optane Memory is also supported. The audio subsystem uses a Realtek ALC1200-VD1 codec delivering 7.1-channel High Definition Audio with S/PDIF optical output. Expansion slots include one PCIe 3.0 x16 slot from the CPU and one PCIe 3.0 x16 slot (running at x4 mode) from the PCH, along with two PCIe x1 slots. The board supports 2-Way AMD CrossFire via its Steel Armor-reinforced PCIe slots. RGB and ARGB fan and lighting headers, a pre-installed I/O shield, and a TBT header for optional Thunderbolt cards (RTD3-capable) round out the feature set. VERIFIED SPECIFICATIONS Chipset: Intel Z490 | Socket: LGA1200 | Form Factor: ATX (12 in. x 9.6 in. / 30.5 cm x 24.4 cm) Memory: 4x DDR4 slots, up to 128GB, up to 4800+(OC) MHz, Dual-Channel, XMP supported Storage: 6x SATA 6Gb/s, 2x M.2 (PCIe 3.0 x4 / SATA), Intel Optane Ready USB (Rear): 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 20Gbps Type-C, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps Type-A, 4x USB 3.2 Gen 1 5Gbps Type-A, 2x USB 2.0 LAN: Realtek 2.5G + Intel I219V 1G (dual LAN) Audio: Realtek ALC1200-VD1, 7.1-CH HD Audio, S/PDIF out Display Out: 1x HDMI (4096x2160 @ 30Hz), 1x DisplayPort (4096x2304 @ 60Hz) Multi-GPU: 2-Way AMD CrossFire Warranty: 3 Years