MSI MAG B550 TOMAHAWK,want some genuine help/explanation.

ooStevo

ooStevo

ooStevo

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So i've got this PC pretty much built. I was going to install an SSD,but the cable management is really peeing me off. So i thought ok i'll just order an M2 drive/NVME whatever. This board has PCIE 3,4,and other connections that are leaving me puzzled. Can i just insert an NVME and have it standing vertically? Or shall i put it in the bottom slot? I have a Ryzen 5500.

The main thing though,is that i've got all these 3 and 4 pin connectors everywhere on the board.. What the hell is 'JRAINBOW' ? And JUSB4. And JTPM1?
I'd love to know what they do,and mean.
 
I believe I have this motherboard.

Not sure what you mean about "standing vertically" but for your NVME drive as far as I'm aware there are two slots and you want to use the top one (which is next to the GPU, so you might want to remove that for easier access) to get the full gen 4 speed. You can stick a second drive in the lower slot if you want, but for maximum performance you don't want to only be using the lower slot.
 
Yeah that makes sense. I've been out of the game,so to speak,for so long i'm having to learn everything all over again. But why would i need a TPM header? I thought that was just for people who could'nt install Windows 11. I'm probably talking pish lol. But hey if you don't ask.....

So if i come back say maybe tomorrow,you can tell me what all these things are on this board? Because i'd like to know its capabilities. There's no point knowing how to slap together a PC,and then you're sitting there wondering what all these letters and numbers mean.

Also i have two M.2 slots. One is PCIE4(i think) and the other is PCIE3. The other two are PCIE3 1.0X slots(i think) and they are vertical. Maybe i'm just tired,but that's what i'm seeing.
 
ooStevo said:
Yeah that makes sense. I've been out of the game,so to speak,for so long i'm having to learn everything all over again. But why would i need a TPM header? I thought that was just for people who could'nt install Windows 11. I'm probably talking pish lol. But hey if you don't ask.....

So if i come back say maybe tomorrow,you can tell me what all these things are on this board? Because i'd like to know its capabilities. There's no point knowing how to slap together a PC,and then you're sitting there wondering what all these letters and numbers mean.

Also i have two M.2 slots. One is PCIE4(i think) and the other is PCIE3. The other two are PCIE3 1.0X slots(i think) and they are vertical. Maybe i'm just tired,but that's what i'm seeing.
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When you say the slots are vertical, are you perhaps looking at the GPU slot?

Here's an MSI video that shows the correct orientation for installing an NVME:


As I already posted, you want to be using the top slot to get Gen 4 speed.

Regarding all your other questions about the features of the board, sounds as though a read of the manual and maybe an Internet search would be a good way forward.
 
If you look at the video you posted,yes i understand the M.2 slots are horizontal. Just under the text on the video,see that black PCIE slot pointing upwards? After looking at it i'm guessing they are for Add ins like sound cards or something?

The last time i built a PC was with a Q8300 and a HD5850,so forgive me if i'm coming across as a bit stupid.
 
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I'm looking to buy an M.2 drive but unsure of what to go for. What about these

Corsair MP510, Force Series, 480GB M.2 NVMe PCIe x4 Gen3 SSD (Sequential Read Speeds of up to 3,480 MB/s, Write Speeds of up to 2,000 MB/s) Black​

Crucial P3 500GB M.2 PCIe Gen3 NVMe Internal SSD - Up to 3500MB/s - CT500P3SSD8​

Samsung 980 500 GB PCIe 3.0 (up to 3500mbs) NVMe M.2 Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) (MZ-V8V500BW)​

 
ooStevo said:
The main thing though,is that i've got all these 3 and 4 pin connectors everywhere on the board.. What the hell is 'JRAINBOW' ? And JUSB4. And JTPM1?
I'd love to know what they do,and mean.
Click to expand...

All the connections are listed in the manual. MSI board manuals are normally alright. On the tomahawk there will probably be a wealth of features you don't need/want.
 
ooStevo said:
I'm looking to buy an M.2 drive but unsure of what to go for. What about these

Corsair MP510, Force Series, 480GB M.2 NVMe PCIe x4 Gen3 SSD (Sequential Read Speeds of up to 3,480 MB/s, Write Speeds of up to 2,000 MB/s) Black​

Crucial P3 500GB M.2 PCIe Gen3 NVMe Internal SSD - Up to 3500MB/s - CT500P3SSD8​

Samsung 980 500 GB PCIe 3.0 (up to 3500mbs) NVMe M.2 Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) (MZ-V8V500BW)​

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None of those, get a Crucial P5+.
 
download the motherboard manual from their website

page 13, the Nvme goes in M2_1 ( if you have two Nvme then put the 2nd one in M2_2 )

page 18 shows how to fit them or watch a video to make sure you dont damage anything.
 
ooStevo said:
But why would i need a TPM header? I thought that was just for people who couldn't install Windows 11.
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Pretty much, that's the only reason I've ever seen someone buy one, but you don't actually need a hardware TPM on anything recent since they already have them built-in. Hardware TPMs can sometimes have less problems with sleep states 'n stuff and I believe if you use a firmware-TPM and replace the CPU that can also be an issue.

ooStevo said:
I'm looking to buy an M.2 drive but unsure of what to go for. What about these

Corsair MP510, Force Series, 480GB M.2 NVMe PCIe x4 Gen3 SSD (Sequential Read Speeds of up to 3,480 MB/s, Write Speeds of up to 2,000 MB/s) Black​

Crucial P3 500GB M.2 PCIe Gen3 NVMe Internal SSD - Up to 3500MB/s - CT500P3SSD8​

Samsung 980 500 GB PCIe 3.0 (up to 3500mbs) NVMe M.2 Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) (MZ-V8V500BW)​

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980 is better than the P3 (uses TLC and has nearly 3x the endurance, 300 versus 110 TB written), I'm not sure about the MP510.

ooStevo said:
After looking at it i'm guessing they are for Add ins like sound cards or something?
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Correct.
 
ooStevo said:
I can spend about 40 quid on an nvme,any pointers would be really helpful,thanks.
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Is this a boot drive or a game drive?

The big problem with £40 is that you're mostly limited to 500GB drives @ OCUK and that doesn't make much sense, because for only £10-£15 more, you get double the capacity (1TB).

If you're committed to something cheap and around 500GB, then the Kioxia is a better price per GB for just 500GB.

If you're willing to spend a bit more for value for money, then add £5 to the budget for the Spatium 1TB.

If you want a boot drive and the budget limit is soft, then I'd get the P5 Plus.

If it has to be one of the three you mentioned, then I'd take the Samsung 980.

My basket at OcUK:

Total: £180.95 (includes delivery: £7.99)​
 
Yeah it will primarily be used for just booting Windows. I was thinking I could partition say 100gb for Windows(is that enough?) and then with the remaining space I might install a few games,probably some emulator stuff as well. I've got loads of HDD's probably about 4-5TB worth,but they are getting on quite a bit. So I might go for new HDD or a second nvme. Just unsure what to do ATM,cos Xmas is coming and I've gotta put money away for my 3 kids,well,2 teenagers.
 
ooStevo said:
Just unsure what to do ATM,cos Xmas is coming and I've gotta put money away for my 3 kids,well,2 teenagers.
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If money is tight I'd just get the Exceria, a cheap drive to get you going with some space for a game or two. Though, I don't know if there's a minimum delivery spend to qualify for free delivery. If there is, spending a bit more for the 1TB Spatium would make sense.
 
Tetras said:
If money is tight I'd just get the Exceria, a cheap drive to get you going with some space for a game or two. Though, I don't know if there's a minimum delivery spend to qualify for free delivery. If there is, spending a bit more for the 1TB Spatium would make sense.
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Thanks for the input. I may just shop around and see whats what. 2 questions i have for you if that's ok...

1. I want a drive that has a really long life. Last thing you want is a dead nvme with no way to recover your stuff.

2.The case i got from the rainforest was a cheap-ish case. I think i paid £30 for it it's been so long i cant remember,i may be able to provide a link in a bit. The case came with 3 blue LED fans. They all have a 3-pin connector,and a 4 pin molex. Can you tell me what you think of them? This is the code on the box. MFG NO.:12SLR-BLUE. Theres also a much longer number below the barcode if you need that. Sorry for being a pita.
 
ooStevo said:
1. I want a drive that has a really long life. Last thing you want is a dead nvme with no way to recover your stuff.
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The general recommendation for long life is to get a proven controller, quality TLC with a decent endurance (TBW) rating and onboard DRAM (especially if the drive is a boot drive).

My own experience is: it doesn't matter. The junk fails and the high-end drives fail, so there's really no substitute for making backups.

ooStevo said:
2.The case i got from the rainforest was a cheap-ish case. I think i paid £30 for it it's been so long i cant remember,i may be able to provide a link in a bit. The case came with 3 blue LED fans. They all have a 3-pin connector,and a 4 pin molex. Can you tell me what you think of them? This is the code on the box. MFG NO.:12SLR-BLUE. Theres also a much longer number below the barcode if you need that. Sorry for being a pita.
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The last time I knew stuff about fans was when I was obsessed with silence, which I'd guess was 10-15 years ago :D

In other words: are they not outrageously noisy and do they still spin? If answer to both of those is yes, that's the extent of my knowledge about them.
 
@Tetras - MP510 is TLC PCIe3.0 (unless they've sneakily changed it to QLC) I have the 960GB version and after 4+ years, it's showing 97% after 35TB writes (rated 720TBW, 360 for the 480GB).
Both rated 3400+ mbps read, but the 480 is 2k writes vs 3k for the 960GB (weirdly the 1920GB is 2700 write, but higher proportional TBW at 3120!)

@ooStevo - out of the options Tetras has listed, I'd go for the MSI Spatium 1TB, if you can stretch the extra £5 - seems a great deal for the specs. As he said they can all fail, just luck of the draw! (they are rated in mean-time-before-failure)

I've got mine split 200GB for OS and a 700GB+ games drive, mainly just to make it easier if I need to re-install the OS, you'd probably be fine with 100-150GB OS (unless, like me, you have a ton of music/video editing software on there).

I'd redirect things like your document and download folders to a larger mechanical HDD. If you're worried about the age of your HDDs, then back up important stuff (documents, important photos) to multiple places (either multiple drives, or cloud services - you should do this regardless of what SSD you buy or the age of your HDDs!!!)

Also yes, the PCIe 1x slots are for things like soundcards/network cards!
 
Tetras said:
The general recommendation for long life is to get a proven controller, quality TLC with a decent endurance (TBW) rating and onboard DRAM (especially if the drive is a boot drive).

My own experience is: it doesn't matter. The junk fails and the high-end drives fail, so there's really no substitute for making backups.


The last time I knew stuff about fans was when I was obsessed with silence, which I'd guess was 10-15 years ago :D

In other words: are they not outrageously noisy and do they still spin? If answer to both of those is yes, that's the extent of my knowledge about them.
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This is the case btw.


I bought it with the vision i would transport everything from the X58 build into it,but i quickly learned it would'nt work. So now i'm stuck with this case,unless i buy another one. Take a look if you can please,i really want to get this new PC up and running.
 
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