Pros: The x870e Tomahawk offers a solid blend of features and affordability. With four M.2 slots, convenient arrangement of ports for front panel and connectors, ample space for other components to live and breathe. I had no trouble assembling a modern computer (GTX 5080, AMD 9800X3D, 64GB DDR5 6000 RAM, RM1000x PSU). Compared to old arrangements, the care they took to ensure easy connectors for modern cases where many of the cables can route to the back, or connect to the side, makes for an elegant final build. I especially appreciate the ease of installing up to four M.2 hard drives with integrated heatsinks, but it can also support plenty of 2.5" to 3.5" SATA and SSD drives as well. The BIOS is clear with many settings for beginners and experts alike to fine-tune. Right out of the box it worked fine. The drivers are included on a USB stick to make it easy to get up and running, where you can then grab the latest updates through MSI Center. The on-screen display doubles as a CPU temperature, and is convenient for eyeballing any issues or performance. It has plenty of RGB and fan connectors including a dedicated one for a water cooler (System Pump), CPU, case fans. I have it all running flawlessly and am happy to have taken the leap and upgraded.

Cons: Depending on the GPU you install, it is likely to obscure two of the four M.2 ports. So if you do expand your storage with additional M.2 drives after installing a GPU, you will need to remove it to gain access to these other slots.

Overall Review: This is my first new motherboard and PC in 10 years. So much has changed, that it can feel alien. But MSI has done well at creating a logical and easily serviceable motherboard.