MSI MAG B860M MORTAR WIFI Unboxing & First Impressions

Low Boon Shen
5 Min Read

Time for Intel’s B860 chipset to enter the ring – today, MSI officially unveils its new motherboard powered by the new mid-range chipset designed for Core Ultra 200S series processors. The MAG B860M MORTAR WIFI represents the mainstream offering as usual, and here’s our initial impressions.

MSI MAG B860M MORTAR WIFI: Unboxing

The box design are rarely the stand-out sort of stuffs these days, but it is perhaps effective in communicating that it is a MAG motherboard. Like the Z890 TOMAHAWK WIFI we previously reviewed, it features the same “Ultra Connect” designation that indicates latest connectivity technologies available on this system.

The B860M MORTAR WIFI is a micro-ATX motherboard, which means it’s shorter in height and has less PCIe/SSD slots available. We count two PCIe slots and three SSD slots – oddly, the second one (right below the GPU PCIe slot) lacks any heatsink, and the bottommost heatsink plate seemingly the third slot as the second one. As the MAG series product (which stands for MSI Arsenal Gaming), the motherboard is seen with neon green accents sprinkled throughout.

It too has the same Easter Egg we found on the Z890 TOMAHAWK WIFI, though this time the SSD heatsink merely labels the “AUG 1986” bit, the time when MSI was established in Taipei; the Plus Code (that directs to its Taipei HQ) found on the high-end counterpart is not present here.

The MAG B860M MORTAR WIFI also benefits from the trickle-down effect of new additions introduced in the MAG Z890 model. The primary SSD slots now use tool-less latches to secure both the SSD itself and its heatsink, while the PCIe slot locking mechanism is controlled through a button at the right side of the motherboard.

Also new is the EZ Conn connector, though in this case it’s the 7-pin JAF_1 variant that carries both PWM and ARGB signals into a single combo connector. (For reference, the 11-pin JAF_2 found in the MAG Z890 carries 4 extra pins for USB 2.0 communications). You are provided with the corresponding cable that can be used to connect existing fan headers, or alternatively, if you own a compatible MSI cooling accessory, they may come with a direct connection instead to keep cables tidy.

Remember the “Ultra Connect” branding we just mentioned? This means the motherboard includes a Thunderbolt 4 port, 5-Gigabit Ethernet, and Wi-Fi 7 – the 5GbE LAN in particular is likely a stand-out among other motherboards today as most mid-range models still offer 2.5GbE LAN. Still, it’s not going to be immediately beneficial unless you run local networks that can utilize the bandwidth, as local ISPs today maxes out at 2Gbps (and you have more bottlenecks elsewhere to worry about before saturating the connection).

Accessories

Two notable accessories that we’d like to point out in the packaging: the first one is the JAF_1 connector we just mentioned that cleans up the fan cable connections. This is a brand-new addition just introduced late last year for its X870/Z890 motherboards, and here’s the detailed explainer on how it works.

Meanwhile, the second one is a big live-saver. Specifically, it’s the front panel combo header that lets you sort out the tiny connections outside the case, then put it all together at once with the female receptacle connecting to the motherboard itself. You’ll probably need to refer the motherboard itself to figure what each pin does since it’s not labeled directly, but that’s still better than trying to align the pins at uncomfortable angles while hurting your eyes at the same time.

And that wraps up our first look at the MSI’s new MAG B860M MORTAR WIFI motherboard – for more in-depth reviews, stay tuned on Pokde.NET and watch this space.

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1 Comment
  • Why the heck is MSI sampling a board that roughly 5 people will buy instead of the B850M, which has an actually useful socket.

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