MSI motherboards with B560 chipset unlock M.2 slots with Intel Core 10 gen
The M.2 slot connected to the CPU
10th generation Intel Core i9. As mentioned, mounting a 10th generation Intel Core processor on a motherboard with a B560 chipset implies in many cases the inability to use the M.2 slot connected to the CPU. What is due to the incompatibility?It all depends on the PCI Express 4.0 lines, which on this type of motherboard end up being disabled when you decide to install one of the processors in question. The tenth generation Intel is in fact not compatible with the latest PCIe protocol and, consequently, cannot manage that data channel leading to the impossibility of exploiting the M.2 slot which refers directly to the CPU.
A physical switch
MSI MAG B560 Tomahawk WiFi, one of the motherboards with the famous switch. Since the issue of the M.2 slot is linked to a limitation of the 10th generation Intel Core processors, MSI has seen fit to solve the problem by introducing a physical switch that in practice implements a data deviation from the CPU to the chipset.The PCI Express 4.0 channel is therefore not used as is normally the case with 11th generation Intel Core processors, but the PCI Express 3.0 lines present on the motherboard. Well, which MSI products boast this unique solution?
Compatible MSI motherboards
MSI MAG B560 Tomahawk WiFi. There are nine motherboards produced by MSI with B560 chipset equipped with the switch we have just talked about. Depending on the configuration, they allow one or two M.2 slots to be used even with 10th Generation Intel Core processors.Motherboard with Intel 10 gen CPU Slot M.2_1 Slot M.2_2 Slot M.2_3 MPG B560I Gaming Edge WiFi PCIe 3.0 x4 PCIe 3.0 x4 - MAG B560 Tomahawk WiFi disabled PCIe 3.0 x4 PCIe 3.0 x4 MAG B560 Torpedo disabled PCIe 3.0 x4 PCIe 3.0 x4 MAG B560M Mortar / WiFi PCIe 3.0 x4 PCIe 3.0 x4 - MAG B560M Bazooka PCIe 3.0 x4 PCIe 3.0 x4 - B560M PRO-VDH / WiFi PCIe 3.0 x4 PCIe 3.0 x4 - B560M-A PRO PCIe 3.0 x4 - - B560M PRO PCIe 3.0 x4 - - B560M PRO-E PCIe 3.0 x4 - - Motherboard with Intel 11 gen CPU Slot M.2_1 Slot M.2_2 Slot M.2_3 MPG B560I Gaming Edge WiFi PCIe 4.0 x4 PCIe 3.0 x4 - MAG B560 Tomahawk WiFi PCIe 4.0 x4 PCIe 3.0 x4 PCIe 3.0 x4 MAG B560 Torpedo PCIe 4.0 x4 PCIe 3.0 x4 PCIe 3.0 x4 MAG B560M Mortar / WiFi PCIe 4.0 x4 PCIe 3.0 x4 - MAG B560M Bazooka PCIe 4.0 x4 PCIe 3.0 x4 - B560M PRO-VDH / WiFi PCIe 4.0 x4 PCIe 3.0 x4 - B560M-A PRO PCIe 4.0 x4 - - B56 0M PRO PCIe 4.0 x4 - - B560M PRO-E PCIe 3.0 x4 - -
MSI MAG B560 Tomahawk WiFi
MSI MAG B560 Tomahawk WiFi Having recently published the review of the MSI MAG B560 Tomahawk WiFi, it seemed sensible to go into detail on one of the motherboards included in the list, the Tomahawk in fact, which provides two M.2 slots on PCI Express 3.0 where a 10th generation Intel Core processor is installed.Of course, the ATX motherboard in question does not just offer this specific feature, but boasts a series of exclusive features such as Core Boost technology for maximum performance, a six-layer PCB with almost 57 grams of copper, a heatsink extended in the port area and the M.2 Shield Frozr system to keep the temperatures of the NVMe SSDs low.
In terms of connectivity, the MSI MAG B560 Tomahawk WiFi boasts a very complete set of ports, which includes a LAN 2.5G, WiFi 6E i integrated, two USB-C 3.2 (one front and one rear), six USB 3.2 (two front, four rear), four USB 2.0, one HDMI 2.0b and one DiplayPort 1.4.
MSI data sheet MAG B560 Tomahawk WiFi
Form factor: ATX Socket: LGA 1200 Chipset: Intel B560 Memory slot: 4 x DDR4 up to 128 GB Memory speed: up to DDR4-5600 in overclock PCI Express slot : 2 x16, 1 x1 Storage: 6 x SATA 6 Gbps, 3 x M.2 Ports: 2 x USB-C 3.2, 6 x USB-A 3.2, 4 x USB-A 2.0, HDMI 2.0b, DiplayPort 1.4, LAN 2.5G Connectivity: WiFi 6E
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