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ATTO Disk Benchmark
The ATTO disk benchmark is a Windows-based utility for testing storage performance of any storage drive or controller. We use the default benchmark setup.
M.2 PCIe Performance
For M.2 testing we use a Toshiba OCZ RD400 256GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD.
No problems with the PCIe M.2 performance from the single port on MSI's B350 Tomahawk. This slot is fed directly by an AM4 CPU and MSI chooses not to add a second M.2 slot that is driven by chipset-based lanes.
The lack of cooling for an M.2 SSD may lead to throttling when used with a hot M.2 device such as the Samsung 950 Pro.
USB 3.0 5Gbps & USB 3.1 Gen 2 10Gbps Performance
We test USB 3.0 5Gbps and USB 3.1 Gen 2 10Gbps performance using a pair of Corsair Force LE 120GB SSDs in RAID 0 connected to an Icy Box RD2253-U31 2-bay USB 3.1 enclosure powered by an ASMedia ASM1352R controller.
MSI trails ASRock in the USB 3.0 5Gbps transfer rate department. There is no USB 3.1 Gen 2 10Gbps connectivity on the B350 Tomahawk, meaning that transfer rates of around 430MBps are as fast as it gets for external connectivity.
MSI's X-Boost utility did not improve USB 3.0 5Gbps transfer rates in our testing. This is disappointing as we have seen the software improve USB 3.1 Gen 2 transfer speeds on other motherboard models from MSI.
SATA 6Gbps Performance
For SATA 6Gbps testing we use a SK Hynix SE3010 960GB SSD.
Performance from the AMD-based SATA 6Gbps ports is right where it should be. MSI does not equip the B350 Tomahawk with an add-on SATA controller to increase its onboard port count.
Audio
Rightmark Audio Analyser is a freeware benchmarking utility designed to objectively test the performance characteristics of audio solutions. We setup a line-in line-out loop and execute the record/playback test before generating the results report you see below. A sampling mode of 24-bit, 192 kHz was tested.
Audio performance from the B350 Tomahawk is overall ‘very good' according to RMAA. MSI's solution looks to be slightly superior to that of ASRock's in some of the key metrics.
Thanks!
Hey Kitguru did you run into any issues with main board thermal sensor during your testing or rather do you know what the main board thermal sensor is actually measuring because I’m running the main board with a r5 1600 at 4ghz 1.4v and Main board sensor is reporting 98°C after 15min of prime95. Which seems stupidly hot given that I’ve got 4Nidec Servo GentleTyphoon 120 mm 2150 RPM fan’s in the case. I kinda just wanna know first of all if that thing is the VRM sensor or “chipset” because which ever one it is guess I’ll add to the custom loop. Because 98°C during stress test just doesn’t sit well with me.
“MSI’s RGB lighting control tool is sub-par on the Tomahawk SKU as MSI is clearly trying to push RGB aficionados towards ‘Gaming’ branded models.”
What kills me about this is that you can only “push me” into a higher priced model IF YOU TELL ME about the shortcomings of the cheaper model! Granted, this many fan headers and an LED header on a $90 board were all a major win but come on. If MSI made it clear I’d only have 7 colors I would have happily sprung the extra $25 for a better featured board. Instead, they called it “RBG” and make mentions of Mystic Light and its16.8 million colors on the product page. Not only misleading, but they fouled up the whole strategy of driving me to a more expensive board.
I know they fixed a few of the Tomahawk’s issues with the PLUS model, which has no legacy PCI slots and more colors than just red for the on-board LEDs. I wonder if they made the LED header full RGB, too. Hard to find an answer on this.