ASUS
ROG Crosshair X870E Hero
AM5 · X870E · PCIe 5.0 · 5 Gb LAN
93
/ 100
From $699
VS
ROG Crosshair X870E Hero wins by 5
MSI
MSI B860 Tomahawk Wi-Fi
LGA1851 · B860 · Wi-Fi 7 · $229
88
/ 100
From $229
Specdex verdict
ROG Crosshair X870E Hero takes it — here’s why.
In our weighted Specdex score, ROG Crosshair X870E Hero lands at 93 and MSI B860 Tomahawk Wi-Fi at 88. That puts ROG Crosshair X870E Hero ahead by 5 points — a decisive margin driven mostly by its strengths in the categories below.
Pick ROG Crosshair X870E Hero if…
- ✓Full PCIe 5.0 loadout
- ✓Excellent VRM
- ✓5G + 10G networking options
Pick MSI B860 Tomahawk Wi-Fi if…
- ✓Great value Arrow Lake board
- ✓Wi-Fi 7 + 2.5 GbE
- ✓Solid VRM for mid-range
Score breakdown
ROG Crosshair X870E Hero
93 vrm 96
features 96
bios 92
value 80
MSI B860 Tomahawk Wi-Fi
88 vrm 88
features 88
bios 88
value 94
Specs side-by-side
Spec
ROG Crosshair X870E Hero
MSI B860 Tomahawk Wi-Fi
Socket
AM5
LGA1851
Chipset
X870E
B860
VRM phases
20+2
—
RAM slots
4× DDR5-8000+
4× DDR5-7200
PCIe
2× PCIe 5.0 x16
—
Networking
5 GbE + Wi-Fi 7
2.5 GbE + Wi-Fi 7
ROG Crosshair X870E Hero
Pros
- +Full PCIe 5.0 loadout
- +Excellent VRM
- +5G + 10G networking options
Cons
- −Expensive
- −Only 2 DIMMs for memory overclocking headroom
- −Fan control UX
MSI B860 Tomahawk Wi-Fi
Pros
- +Great value Arrow Lake board
- +Wi-Fi 7 + 2.5 GbE
- +Solid VRM for mid-range
Cons
- −Only 1× PCIe 5.0 x16
- −No USB4
- −Memory overclocking headroom limited
FAQ: ROG Crosshair X870E Hero vs MSI B860 Tomahawk Wi-Fi
Which is better, ROG Crosshair X870E Hero or MSI B860 Tomahawk Wi-Fi? +
ROG Crosshair X870E Hero scores 93 on our weighted rubric — ahead by 5. Your best pick depends on the sub-scores above.
Is ROG Crosshair X870E Hero worth the price? +
At $699, ROG Crosshair X870E Hero delivers a Specdex score of 93 — strongest in vrm.
Is MSI B860 Tomahawk Wi-Fi worth the price? +
At $229, MSI B860 Tomahawk Wi-Fi delivers a Specdex score of 88 — strongest in value.
Does ROG Crosshair X870E Hero or MSI B860 Tomahawk Wi-Fi last longer? +
Based on our long-term update and support ratings, both ship with multi-year support. Battery and reliability scores are visible in the breakdown above.