{"id":1514101,"date":"2026-03-01T12:16:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-01T12:16:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/enrnCgUnwLfyUurcCPTM6N"},"modified":"2026-03-01T12:16:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-01T12:16:08","slug":"msi-mag-b850-gaming-plus-max-wifi-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/msi-mag-b850-gaming-plus-max-wifi-review\/","title":{"rendered":"MSI MAG B850 Gaming Plus Max WiFi review"},"content":{"rendered":"
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We\u2019re in the middle of AMD\u2019s 800-series chipset lifecycle and several manufacturers including MSI have seen fit for a motherboard refresh. This often includes tweaks to designs to improve performance, include modern features or even add support for new CPUs. The MSI MAG B850 Gaming Plus Max WiFi will retail for around $260, so what do you get for your money?<\/p>\n

Its headline features aren\u2019t huge, but could be useful for those that want to maximise their future proofing or have an additional easy way to overclock their system.<\/p>\n

Firstly, the BIOS size has increased from 32 MB to 64 MB, which opens the door to housing drivers such as Wi-Fi controllers directly in this storage space, allowing Windows to access your Wi-Fi network during installation. Future features and CPU support are also reasons for a larger BIOS according to MSI.<\/p>\n

A base clock generator chip allows for separate adjustment to this frequency so it\u2019s not tied to the rest of the system, providing an additional way to overclock and gain free performance. You can even adjust this on the fly outside of the EFI using two jumpers on the PCB.<\/p>\n

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MAG B850 Gaming Plus Max WiFi specs<\/div>\n
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(Image credit: Future)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Socket:<\/strong> AMD Socket AM5
Chipset<\/strong>: AMD B850
CPU compatibility:<\/strong> AMD Ryzen 7000\/8000\/9000 desktop
Form factor<\/strong>: ATX
Memory support:<\/strong> DDR5-4800 to DDR5-8200 (OC), up to 256 GB
Storage:<\/strong> 3x M.2, 4x SATA
USB (rear)<\/strong>: 2x USB 3.1 Type-C 10 Gbps, 1x USB 3.1 Type-A 10 Gbps, 1x USB 3.0 Type-A 5 Gbps, 4 x USB 2.0
Display:<\/strong> 1x DisplayPort
Networking:<\/strong> Realtek 5G LAN, Wi-Fi 7
Audio:<\/strong> Realtek ALC897
Price: <\/strong>$259<\/a> | \u00a3TBC | $AU TBC<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

MSI has gone all out here with the white theme on this $260 B850 chipset motherboard, even including the PCIe and DIMM slots as well as the CPU cooler mounting brackets and GPU release button mechanism, so if you have a white PC case, it\u2019s already a contender. It\u2019s attractive, uncluttered, but does lack its own RGB lighting, if that\u2019s your thing.<\/p>\n

Aside from its minor feature updates that include the 64 MB BIOS as well as separate base clock adjustment and physical jumper buttons to tweak that on the fly, the usual bits are here such as PCIe 5.0 GPU and M.2 SSD support, although cooling for the latter may be an issue due to the tiny heatsink included here, which is also devoid of underside cooling too.<\/p>\n

Still, the heatsink and SSD installation across the board in its three M.2 slots are all tool-free so there are no tiny screws to deal with. The first M.2 slot is PCIe 5.0 compatible, the second PCIe 4.0 with four lanes, but the third is PCIe 4.0 with only two lanes, so you\u2019ll likely want to avoid that one unless your SSD specifically meets that slower speed.<\/p>\n

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The MSI MAG B850 Gaming Plus Max WiFi also has an impressive four PCIe slots, which are made up of the primary PCIe 5.0 slot, a PCIe 4.0 slot with four lanes and two PCIe 3.0 slots with just a single lane each, so there\u2019s no much flexibility here. The slower slots here also share bandwidth with the PCIe 4.0 slot, which gives up two lanes if either of the former are used. Due to the number of slots, the board also has an additional 8-pin PCIe power connector.<\/p>\n

Fans and RGB lighting headers are plentiful with seven 4-pin headers for fans, including one using MSIs EZ Conn-header connector and it\u2019s included splitter cable. In total there\u2019s also one 4-pin and four 3-pin and RGB headers. There does seem to be an unusual number of headers on the board in general, but this is partly thanks to a pair of 2-pin headers being added to provide on-the-fly base clock adjustment.<\/p>\n

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If you like plenty of fast USB ports, unfortunately this is one area that\u2019s left wanting. The Type-C front panel port only offers USB 3.0 speed rather than sprightlier USB 3.2 Gen 2×2\u2019s 20 Gbps. The rear I\/O panel has a very mediocre six Type-A ports and four of those are only USB 2.0. This is no worse than this board\u2019s predecessor, but then it currently costs considerably less.<\/p>\n

We do get a pair of USB 3.2 Gen 2 10 Gbps Type-C ports, but it also cuts corners with audio too, only mustering Realtek\u2019s low-end ALC897 codec rather than ALC4080 or ALC1220. The rear I\/O panel does at least have buttons for clearing the CMOS and using USB BIOS Flashback and there\u2019s also 5 Gbps Ethernet.<\/p>\n

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