Already at launch MSI has a complete portfolio of Z170 motherboards. On the following pages we're going to have a close look at the Z170A Gaming M7, which is a high-end Z170 motherboard. Already at a first glance you can see that there is a great looking design in place and the PCB is definitely not short on features.
Chipset | Intel Z170 |
Memory | Dual Channel DDR4, 4 x DIMM, Max. 64 GB DDR4, 3600 (O.C.) / 3200 (O.C.) / 2800 (O.C.) / 2666 (O.C.) / 2400 (O.C.) / 2133 Non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory |
Multi-GPU |
|
Slots |
|
Audio | Realtek ALC1150
|
Storage | Intel Z170 chipset
|
Network |
|
Internal Connectors |
|
Extrenal Connectors |
|
Forfactor | ATX (30.5cm x 24.4cm) |
BIOS | 1 x 64Mb flash ROM, UEFI AMI BIOS |
Military Class 5 Components |
Since years MSI has been using digital power designs. On this board we find the latest implementation of their Military Class Components, which is meanwhile in its fifth generation. This board comes equiped with Hi-c Caps, Titanium Chokes and Dark CAPs for high stability, durability and efficiency. | |
MSI Steel Armor |
There are two PCIe x16 slots on this particular board, which have been equipped with a steel frame. If you place a large and heavy gaming graphics card, while the board is mounted in a case, you will notice, that over time the slots starts to bend by a little bit. Furthermore, when transporting a system it can happen, that the PCIe slot break by the sheer force, when somebody is not dealing carefully with an assembled system. In both cases the steel armor should help increasing protection of the PCIe slots. | |
DDR4 Boost + XMP LED |
MSI equipped this board with fully isolated traces from the CPU to the DDR4 memory. This should help increasing stability and it should also be possible to reach higher maximum DDR4 clock speeds. XMP LED shows when you're using an optimal XMP profile. |
|
Audio Boost 3 |
MSI equips its latest and greatest motherboard with an improved audio solution which includes the Realtek ALC1150 chip, Dual headphone amplifier. At the I/O shield we find golden audio jacks which is to improve the audio signals as well as high quality capacitors from nichicon and the PCB separation, as well as USB audio power to enhance USB audio quality and stable 5V power and better signal transmission over USB. | |
Killer Ethernet |
It is rather obvious that MSI is not only optimizing this board for overclocking but for gaming as well. Next to the beefed up audio solution there is a Killer Ethernet chip, which gives gamers additional control over a variety of network settings, which in the end can help reduce latency. The application, which comes with the board allows the user to proritize network/internet traffic on an application level. If you're internet connection is limited you can define that gaming traffic receives the highest priority, which will allow for a smooth gaming experience even if you're downloading large files in the background. | |
M.2 Support |
The Z170A Gaming M7 motherboard from MSI features two M.2 slots which are placed between the PCIe slots. This motherboard can be equipped with SSDs in M.2 format. Both slots are connected via four PCIe x4 lanes, offering up to 32 Gbps bandwidth. These slots can also be equipped with NVMe adapters, which are optionally available. |
MSI equipped the Z170A Gaming M7 motherboard with a 14-phase digital power design
and an ISL6388 chip from Intersil is taking care of the CPU VRM. As it's the case with all high-end
motherboards from MSI the solid capacitors are part
of MSI's Military Class 5 group of components so we are looking at an overall
higly capable power
design, as there are for instance titanium chokes on this motherboard.
A closer look at the power design related to the memory reveals a 2-phase digital power design here driven by
a PV3205 digital, dual-channel buck phase controller from powervation.
As far as the memory goes, you can find four DIMM-slots on the Z170A Gaming M7 motherboard.
Officially supported are the DDR4 3600 (O.C.) / 3200 (O.C.) / 2800 (O.C.) / 2666 (O.C.) / 2400 (O.C.) / 2133MHz. There is enough space between the
DIMM-slots and the CPU socket which means that you will not run into any issues
with large coolers, even if you choose to install memory with big heatspreaders.
Also supported are the Xtreme Memory Profiles (XMP) in version 2.0.
The PCH as well as the current converters are being held at adequate
temperatures via passive heatsinks. The heatsink for current converters is made from
a single aluminium block that uses one 6mm nickel-plated copper heatpipe. The
PCH heatsink has not been been integrated into the heatpipe loop and is quite
simple and flat. The cooling blocks have been very well made and also they are perfetcly attached to the board to provide enough pressure on the components
they have to cool. The aluminium blocks are entirely black with red sheet metal covers, overall resembling a completly new design.
The MSI Z170A Gaming M7 motherboard features a total of five fan headers, which is enough to provide a normal gaming rig with enough of fresh air. A closer look at the pictures below shows where they have been placed. All five fan headers feature 4 pins and support PWM functionality. Therefore it's possible to control fan speeds from within Windows as well as the BIOS.
Hardware |
|
Motherboard |
|
Processor | Intel Core i7-6700K @ 4.0 GHz |
Memory | 8 GB (2x4) G.Skill Ares DDR4-2133 CL15-15-15-2T 350 |
Graphic card | ASUS GeForce GTX 980 |
Driver | ForceWare 353.62 |
Hard disk | Intel 335 Series SSD 120 GB |
Power supply | Seasonic Platinum Fanless 520W |
3D Mark Ice Storm Score |
Review Rating |
Percent | |
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition | 196'281 | 101.42% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene | 195'178 | 100.85% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero | 195'737 | 101.14% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger | 195'491 | 101.02% | |
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming | 195'151 | 100.32% | |
ASUS Z170-A | 195'107 | 100.82% | |
ASUS Z170 Deluxe | 193'524 | 100.00% | |
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1 | 187'768 | 97.03% | |
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ | 184'489 | 95.33% | |
MSI Z170 Gaming M7 | 186'491 | 96.37% | |
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+ | 185'448 | 95.83% | |
more is better |
3D Mark Ice Storm Physics Score |
Review Rating |
Percent | |
ASUS Z170-A | 68'073 | 104.08% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger | 67'026 | 102.48% | |
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition | 66'616 | 101.16% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero | 66'332 | 101.42% | |
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming | 65'716 | 100.48% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene | 65'681 | 100.42% | |
ASUS Z170 Deluxe | 65'404 | 100.00% | |
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1 | 63'524 | 97.13% | |
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+ | 62'866 | 96.12% | |
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ | 62'775 | 95.98% | |
MSI Z170 Gaming M7 | 62'072 | 94.91% | |
more is better |
3D Mark Fire Strike Score |
Review Rating |
Percent | |
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ | 12'103 | 100.12% | |
ASUS Z170 Deluxe | 12'089 | 100.00% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene | 12'085 | 99.97% | |
ASUS Z170-A | 12'085 | 99.97% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger | 12'081 | 99.93% | |
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming | 12'081 | 99.93% | |
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1 | 12'071 | 99.85% | |
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition | 12'068 | 99.83% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero | 12'061 | 99.80% | |
MSI Z170 Gaming M7 | 12'061 | 99.80% | |
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+ | 12'059 | 99.75% | |
more is better |
3D Mark Fire Strike Physics Score |
Review Rating |
Percent | |
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming | 13'050 | 100.48% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger | 13'043 | 100.33% | |
ASUS Z170 Deluxe | 13'000 | 100.00% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero | 12'993 | 99.95% | |
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ | 12'988 | 99.91% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene | 12'987 | 99.90% | |
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1 | 12'977 | 99.82% | |
ASUS Z170-A | 12'972 | 99.78% | |
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition | 12'966 | 99.74% | |
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+ | 12'938 | 99.52% | |
MSI Z170 Gaming M7 | 12'925 | 99.42% | |
more is better |
3D Mark 11 Total |
Review Rating |
Percent | |
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ | 16'428 | 100.27% | |
MSI Z170 Gaming M7 | 16'425 | 100.25% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger | 16'423 | 100.24% | |
ASUS Z170-A | 16'416 | 100.20% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene | 16'406 | 100.13% | |
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition | 16'397 | 100.08% | |
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming | 16'389 | 100.03% | |
ASUS Z170 Deluxe | 16'384 | 100.00% | |
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1 | 16'366 | 99.89% | |
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+ | 16'377 | 99.96% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero | 16'357 | 99.83% | |
more is better |
3D Mark 11 Physics |
Review Rating |
Percent | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger | 11'597 | 101.27% | |
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming | 11'549 | 100.85% | |
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1 | 11'548 | 100.84% | |
ASUS Z170-A | 11'531 | 100.69% | |
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ | 11'531 | 100.69% | |
MSI Z170 Gaming M7 | 11'519 | 100.59% | |
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+ | 11'502 | 100.44% | |
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition | 11'477 | 100.22% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene | 11'459 | 100.06% | |
ASUS Z170 Deluxe | 11'452 | 100.00% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero | 11'357 | 99.17% | |
more is better |
3D Mark Vantage Total |
Review Rating |
Percent | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger | 46'246 | 100.68% | |
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming | 46'135 | 100.44% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero | 46'052 | 100.26% | |
ASUS Z170 Deluxe | 45'932 | 100.00% | |
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ | 45'903 | 99.94% | |
ASUS Z170-A | 45'900 | 99.93% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene | 45'891 | 99.91% | |
MSI Z170 Gaming M7 | 45'881 | 99.89% | |
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1 | 45'793 | 99.70% | |
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition | 45'725 | 99.55% | |
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+ | 45'717 | 99.53% | |
more is better |
3D Mark Vantage CPU |
Review Rating |
Percent | |
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming | 32'869 | 100.68% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger | 32'860 | 100.66% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene | 32'852 | 100.63% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero | 32'850 | 100.62% | |
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1 | 32'801 | 100.47% | |
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ | 32'753 | 100.33% | |
ASUS Z170 Deluxe | 32'646 | 100.00% | |
ASUS Z170-A | 32'590 | 99.83% | |
MSI Z170 Gaming M7 | 32'461 | 99.43% | |
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition | 32'380 | 99.19% | |
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+ | 32'304 | 98.95% | |
more is better |
PC Mark 08 Total |
Review Rating |
Points | Percent |
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger | 4'647 | 100.37% | |
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming | 4'640 | 100.22% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero | 4'631 | 100.02% | |
ASUS Z170 Deluxe | 4'630 | 100.00% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene | 4'627 | 99.94% | |
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1 | 4'621 | 99.81% | |
ASUS Z170-A | 4'620 | 99.78% | |
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+ | 4'618 | 99.74% | |
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ | 4'617 | 99.72% | |
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition | 4'615 | 99.68% | |
MSI Z170 Gaming M7 | 4'612 | 99.61% | |
more is better |
Web Browsing - JunglePin |
Review Rating |
sec | Percent |
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero | 0.28177 | 100.08% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger | 0.28182 | 100.06% | |
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition | 0.28198 | 100.01% | |
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+ | 0.28200 | 100.00% | |
ASUS Z170 Deluxe | 0.28200 | 100.00% | |
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming | 0.28209 | 99.97% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene | 0.28215 | 99.95% | |
ASUS Z170-A | 0.28219 | 99.93% | |
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ | 0.28253 | 99.81% | |
MSI Z170 Gaming M7 | 0.28284 | 99.70% | |
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1 | 0.28300 | 99.65% | |
more is better |
Web Browsing - Amazonia |
Review Rating |
sec | Percent |
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger | 0.12176 | 100.12% | |
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition | 0.12176 | 100.12% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero | 0.12182 | 100.07% | |
ASUS Z170-A | 0.12185 | 100.05% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene | 0.12186 | 100.04% | |
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming | 0.12186 | 100.04% | |
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ | 0.12187 | 100.03% | |
ASUS Z170 Deluxe | 0.12191 | 100.00% | |
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+ | 0.12200 | 99.88% | |
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1 | 0.12200 | 99.93% | |
MSI Z170 Gaming M7 | 0.12256 | 99.42% | |
more is better |
Writing |
Review Rating |
sec | Percent |
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming | 3.06777 | 101.05% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger | 3.06814 | 101.04% | |
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition | 3.09132 | 100.28% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene | 3.09199 | 100.26% | |
ASUS Z170 Deluxe | 3.10012 | 100.00% | |
ASUS Z170-A | 3.10024 | 99.99% | |
MSI Z170 Gaming M7 | 3.14001 | 98.73% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero | 3.11766 | 99.44% | |
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ | 3.13622 | 97.82% | |
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+ | 3.21000 | 96.58% | |
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1 | 3.21000 | 96.58% | |
more is better |
Casual Gaming |
Review Rating |
fps | Percent |
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+ | 140.10 | 100.96% | |
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming | 139.91 | 100.82% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger | 139.48 | 100.51% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene | 139.32 | 100.40% | |
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ | 139.22 | 100.32% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero | 139.05 | 100.11% | |
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1 | 138.90 | 100.09% | |
ASUS Z170 Deluxe | 138.77 | 100.00% | |
ASUS Z170-A | 138.65 | 98.97% | |
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition | 138.49 | 99.80% | |
MSI Z170 Gaming M7 | 137.39 | 98.07% | |
more is better |
Video Chat Playback 1 |
Review Rating |
fps | Percent |
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+ | 30.00 | 100.00% | |
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1 | 30.00 | 100.00% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene | 30.00 | 100.00% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero | 30.00 | 100.00% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger | 30.00 | 100.00% | |
ASUS Z170 Deluxe | 30.00 | 100.00% | |
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming | 30.00 | 100.00% | |
ASUS Z170-A | 30.00 | 100.00% | |
MSI Z170 Gaming M7 | 30.00 | 100.00% | |
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition | 30.00 | 100.00% | |
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ | 30.00 | 100.00% | |
more is better |
Video Chat encoding |
Review Rating |
ms | Percent |
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger | 48.00 | 101.29% | |
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming | 48.00 | 101.29% | |
ASUS Z170 Deluxe | 48.62 | 100.00% | |
MSI Z170 Gaming M7 | 48.88 | 99.47% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene | 49.00 | 99.22% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero | 49.00 | 99.22% | |
ASUS Z170-A | 49.00 | 99.22% | |
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1 | 49.00 | 99.22% | |
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition | 49.00 | 99.22% | |
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ | 49.00 | 99.22% | |
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+ | 50.00 | 97.24% | |
more is better |
Advanced Photo Editing |
Review Rating |
sec | Percent |
ASUS Z170 Deluxe | 0.30548 | 100.00% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero | 0.30810 | 99.15% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger | 0.31066 | 98.33% | |
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1 | 0.31100 | 98.23% | |
ASUS Z170-A | 0.31240 | 97.78% | |
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+ | 0.31300 | 97.60% | |
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming | 0.31355 | 97.43% | |
MSI Z170 Gaming M7 | 0.31357 | 97.42% | |
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ | 0.31501 | 96.97% | |
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition | 0.31558 | 96.80% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene | 0.31645 | 96.53% | |
more is better |
SiSoft Sandra - Arithmetic Benchmark - Dhrystone |
Review Rating |
GIPS | Percent |
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming | 155.67 | 102.75% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene | 155.23 | 102.46% | |
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+ | 155.20 | 102.44% | |
MSI Z170 Gaming M7 | 155.10 |
102.38% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero | 155.00 | 102.31% | |
ASUS Z170-A | 155.00 | 102.31% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger | 152.17 | 102.44% | |
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ | 154.95 | 102.28% | |
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition | 154.92 | 102.26% | |
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1 | 152.00 | 100.33% | |
ASUS Z170 Deluxe | 151.50 | 100.00% | |
more is better |
SiSoft Sandra - Arithmetic Benchmark - Whetstone |
Review Rating |
GFLOPS | Percent |
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming | 108.49 | 100.58% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene | 108.47 | 100.57% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger | 108.00 | 100.13% | |
ASUS Z170 Deluxe | 107.86 | 100.00% | |
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ | 107.61 | 99.77% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero | 107.46 | 99.63% | |
ASUS Z170-A | 107.41 | 99.58% | |
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition | 107.36 | 99.54% | |
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+ | 107.17 | 99.36% | |
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1 | 106.73 | 98.95% | |
MSI Z170 Gaming M7 | 106.14 | 98.41% | |
more is better |
SiSoft Sandra - Multimedia - Integer |
Review Rating |
MPixels/sec | Percent |
MSI Z170 Gaming M7 | 512.34 | 101.54% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger | 506.53 | 100.39% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero | 504.69 | 100.03% | |
ASUS Z170 Deluxe | 504.56 | 100.00% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene | 502.20 | 99.53% | |
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1 | 501.55 | 99.40% | |
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming | 501.00 | 99.29% | |
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition | 499.82 | 99.06% | |
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ | 499.14 | 98.90% | |
ASUS Z170-A | 499.12 | 97.42% | |
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+ | 498.84 | 97.37% | |
more is better |
SiSoft Sandra - Multimedia - Floating Point |
Review Rating |
MPixels/sec | Percent |
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1 | 495.73 | 101.83% | |
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming | 492.12 | 101.09% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger | 491.71 | 101.01% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene | 490.73 | 100.81% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero | 490.29 | 100.72% | |
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition | 490.00 | 100.66% | |
MSI Z170 Gaming M7 | 489.18 | 100.49% | |
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+ | 488.07 | 100.26% | |
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ | 487.79 | 100.20% | |
ASUS Z170 Deluxe | 486.80 | 100.00% | |
ASUS Z170-A | 480.54 | 98.23% | |
more is better |
SiSoft Sandra - Crytography - AES 256 |
Review Rating |
GB/sec | Percent |
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene | 7.80 | 101.17% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero | 7.80 | 101.17% | |
MSI Z170 Gaming M7 | 7.78 | 100.91% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger | 7.77 | 100.78% | |
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming | 7.77 | 100.78% | |
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ | 7.77 | 100.78% | |
ASUS Z170-A | 7.73 | 100.26% | |
ASUS Z170 Deluxe | 7.71 | 100.00% | |
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition | 7.71 | 100.00% | |
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+ | 7.68 | 99.61% | |
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1 | 7.66 | 99.35% | |
more is better |
SiSoft Sandra - Crytography - SHA 256 |
Review Rating |
GB/sec | Percent |
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger | 1.56 | 101.96% | |
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+ | 1.55 | 101.31% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene | 1.55 | 101.31% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero | 1.55 | 101.31% | |
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming | 1.55 | 101.31% | |
ASUS Z170-A | 1.55 | 101.31% | |
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1 | 1.55 | 101.31% | |
MSI Z170 Gaming M7 | 1.55 | 101.31% | |
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition | 1.55 | 101.31% | |
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ | 1.55 | 101.31% | |
ASUS Z170 Deluxe | 1.53 | 100.00% | |
more is better |
SiSoft Sandra - Memory bandwidth - Integer |
Review Rating |
GB/sec | Percent |
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero | 23.35 | 101.52% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene | 23.32 | 101.39% | |
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ | 23.26 | 101.13% | |
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming | 23.18 | 100.78% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger | 23.16 | 100.70% | |
MSI Z170 Gaming M7 | 23.12 | 100.52% | |
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1 | 23.11 | 100.48% | |
ASUS Z170 Deluxe | 23.00 | 100.00% | |
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition | 23.00 | 100.00% | |
ASUS Z170-A | 23.00 | 100.00% | |
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+ | 22.91 | 99.61% | |
more is better |
SiSoft Sandra - Memory bandwidth - floating point |
Review Rating |
GB/sec | Percent |
MSI Z170 Gaming M7 | 23.34 | 102.46% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero | 23.11 | 101.45% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene | 23.00 | 100.97% | |
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ | 23.00 | 100.97% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger | 22.92 | 100.61% | |
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming | 22.92 | 100.61% | |
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1 | 22.86 | 100.35% | |
ASUS Z170-A | 22.80 | 100.09% | |
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition | 22.79 | 100.04% | |
ASUS Z170 Deluxe | 22.78 | 100.00% | |
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+ | 22.67 | 99.52% | |
more is better |
SiSoft Sandra - Memory latency |
Review Rating |
ns | Percent |
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene | 22.8 | 101.32% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero | 22.9 | 100.87% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger | 22.9 | 100.87% | |
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming | 22.9 | 100.87% | |
ASUS Z170-A | 23.0 | 100.43% | |
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+ | 23.1 | 100.00% | |
ASUS Z170 Deluxe | 23.1 | 100.00% | |
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1 | 23.1 | 100.00% | |
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition | 23.1 | 100.00% | |
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ | 23.1 | 100.00% | |
MSI Z170 Gaming M7 | 23.2 | 99.57% | |
less is better | more is better |
SiSoft Sandra - Cache |
Review Rating |
GB/sec | Percent |
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming | 207.35 | 100.41% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger | 207.24 | 100.35% | |
MSI Z170 Gaming M7 | 207.20 | 100.33% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero | 207.18 | 100.32% | |
ASUS Z170-A | 206.87 | 100.17% | |
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ | 206.79 | 100.14% | |
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1 | 206.65 | 100.07% | |
ASUS Z170 Deluxe | 206.51 | 100.00% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene | 206.40 | 99.95% | |
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition | 206.00 | 99.75% | |
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+ | 205.49 | 99.51% | |
more is better |
UC Bench |
Review Rating |
PW/sec | Percent |
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ | 1'057.2 | 100.36% | |
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming | 1'057.1 | 100.35% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger | 1'056.9 | 100.33% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene | 1'056.3 | 100.28% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero | 1'055.9 | 100.24% | |
ASUS Z170-A | 1'055.9 | 100.24% | |
MSI Z170 Gaming M7 | 1'055.5 | 100.20% | |
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+ | 1'055.1 | 100.16% | |
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1 | 1'054.6 | 100.11% | |
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition | 1'054.1 | 100.07% | |
ASUS Z170 Deluxe | 1'053.4 | 100.00% | |
more is better |
Super Pi 1.5 XS - 1M |
Review Rating |
sec | Percent |
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming | 9.057 | 100.70% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger | 9.068 | 100.57% | |
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1 | 9.079 | 100.45% | |
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition | 9.094 | 100.29% | |
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ | 9.094 | 100.29% | |
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+ | 9.095 | 100.27% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero | 9.095 | 100.27% | |
MSI Z170 Gaming M7 | 9.110 | 100.11% | |
ASUS Z170-A | 9.111 | 100.10% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene | 9.111 | 100.10% | |
ASUS Z170 Deluxe | 9.120 | 100.00% | |
less is better | more is better |
Super Pi 1.5 XS - 32M |
Review Rating |
sec | Percent |
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger | 480.688 | 100.48% | |
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming | 480.919 | 100.43% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene | 481.135 | 100.38% | |
ASUS Z170-A | 482.305 | 100.14% | |
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1 | 482.462 | 100.11% | |
MSI Z170 Gaming M7 | 482.789 | 100.04% | |
ASUS Z170 Deluxe | 482.985 | 100.00% | |
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition | 484.677 | 99.65% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero | 485.394 | 99.38% | |
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ | 486.127 | 99.35% | |
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+ | 487.266 | 99.12% | |
less is better | more is better |
wPrime - 1024M Multi Core |
Review Rating |
sec | Percent |
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger | 158.356 | 100.75% | |
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming | 158.470 | 100.67% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero | 158.752 | 100.49% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene | 158.816 | 100.45% | |
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ | 158.963 | 100.36% | |
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+ | 159.026 | 100.32% | |
MSI Z170 Gaming M7 | 159.042 | 100.31% | |
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition | 159.262 | 100.17% | |
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1 | 159.401 | 100.08% | |
ASUS Z170-A | 159.459 | 100.05% | |
ASUS Z170 Deluxe | 159.536 | 100.00% | |
more is better | more is better |
Cinebench R11.5 - Multi Core |
Review Rating |
pts | Percent |
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger | 887 | 100.68% | |
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming | 886 | 100.57% | |
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ | 886 | 100.57% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene | 884 | 100.34% | |
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+ | 882 | 100.11% | |
ASUS Z170 Deluxe | 881 | 100.00% | |
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition | 881 | 100.00% | |
ASUS Z170-A | 879 | 99.77% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero | 878 | 99.66% | |
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1 | 877 | 99.55% | |
MSI Z170 Gaming M7 | 874 | 99.21% | |
less is better | more is better |
Tomb Raider (low resolution, low details) |
Review Rating |
fps | Percent |
ASUS Z170 Deluxe | 264.6 | 100.00% | |
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming | 262.6 | 99.24% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero | 261.0 | 98.64% | |
ASUS Z170-A | 260.6 | 98.49% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene | 260.0 | 98.26% | |
MSI Z170 Gaming M7 | 258.1 | 97.54% | |
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition | 258.0 | 97.51% | |
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ | 258.0 | 97.51% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger | 257.2 | 97.20% | |
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1 | 257.1 | 97.17% | |
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+ | 255.1 | 96.41% | |
more is better |
Tomb Raider (high resolution, high details) |
Review Rating |
fps | Percent |
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition | 150.0 | 101.42% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger | 149.8 | 101.28% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero | 147.9 | 100.00% | |
ASUS Z170 Deluxe | 147.9 | 100.00% | |
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ | 147.9 | 100.00% | |
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1 | 145.9 | 98.65% | |
MSI Z170 Gaming M7 | 144.3 | 97.57% | |
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+ | 144.0 | 97.36% | |
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming | 144.0 | 97.36% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene | 143.1 | 96.75% | |
ASUS Z170-A | 142.0 | 96.01% | |
more is better |
Metro Last Light (low details, low resolution) |
Review Rating |
fps | Percent |
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero | 186.03 | 101.53% | |
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition | 185.90 | 101.46% | |
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ | 185.70 | 101.35% | |
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming | 185.63 | 101.32% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene | 184.71 | 100.81% | |
MSI Z170 Gaming M7 | 184.02 | 100.44% | |
ASUS Z170 Deluxe | 183.22 | 100.00% | |
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1 | 182.29 | 99.49% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger | 182.27 | 99.48% | |
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+ | 181.85 | 99.25% | |
ASUS Z170-A | 181.55 | 99.09% | |
more is better |
Metro Last Light (high details, high resolution) |
Review Rating |
fps | Percent |
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene | 57.23 | 100.81% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero | 56.77 | 100.00% | |
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition | 56.77 | 100.00% | |
ASUS Z170 Deluxe | 56.77 | 100.00% | |
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ | 56.77 | 100.00% | |
MSI Z170 Gaming M7 | 56.70 | 99.88% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger | 56.60 | 99.70% | |
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming | 56.60 | 99.70% | |
ASUS Z170-A | 56.57 | 99.65% | |
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1 | 56.54 | 99.59% | |
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+ | 56.06 | 98.75% | |
more is better |
Sleeping Dog (low details, low resolution) |
Review Rating |
fps | Percent |
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition | 557.7 | 101.97% | |
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ | 556.6 | 101.77% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger | 555.9 | 101.65% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene | 555.2 | 101.52% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero | 550.4 | 100.64% | |
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+ | 550.2 | 100.60% | |
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming | 548.4 | 100.27% | |
ASUS Z170-A | 548.3 | 100.26% | |
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1 | 548.1 | 100.22% | |
ASUS Z170 Deluxe | 546.9 | 100.00% | |
MSI Z170 Gaming M7 | 545.7 | 99.53% | |
more is better |
Sleeping Dogs (high details, high resolution) |
Review Rating |
fps | Percent |
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger | 248.1 | 101.51% | |
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition | 246.8 | 100.98% | |
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming | 245.5 | 100.45% | |
ASUS Z170 Deluxe | 244.4 | 100.00% | |
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ | 243.6 | 99.67% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero | 242.5 | 99.22% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene | 241.7 | 98.90% | |
ASUS Z170-A | 241.1 | 98.65% | |
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1 | 241.0 | 98.61% | |
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+ | 240.8 | 98.53% | |
MSI Z170 Gaming M7 | 238.4 | 97.55% | |
more is better |
Idle |
Review Rating |
Watt | Percent |
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ | 43 | 141.86% | |
MSI Z170 Gaming M7 | 48 | 127.08% | |
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+ | 49 | 124.49% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene | 55 | 110.91% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger | 55 | 110.91% | |
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming | 55 | 100.91% | |
ASUS Z170-A | 56 | 108.93% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero | 59 | 103.39% | |
ASUS Z170 Deluxe | 61 | 100.00% | |
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1 | 61 | 100.00% | |
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition | 62 | 98.39% | |
less is better | more is better |
Load |
Review Rating |
Watt | Percent |
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene | 108 | 123.15% | |
MSI Z170 Gaming M7 | 109 | 122.02% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero | 113 | 117.70% | |
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition | 117 | 113.68% | |
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+ | 121 | 109.92% | |
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ | 127 | 104.72% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger | 131 | 101.53% | |
ASUS Z170 Deluxe | 133 | 100.00% | |
ASUS Z170-A | 133 | 100.00% | |
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming | 133 | 100.00% | |
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1 | 133 | 100.00% | |
less is better | more is better |
3D and Gaming Benchmarks |
Review Rating |
Percent |
ASUS Maximus VIII Ragner | 100.53% | |
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition | 100.32% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero | 100.16% | |
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming | 100.11% | |
ASUS Z170 Deluxe | 100.00% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene | 99.92% | |
ASUS Z170-A | 99.82% | |
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ | 99.49% | |
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1 | 99.18% | |
MSI Z170 Gaming M7 | 98.80% | |
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+ | 98.64% | |
more is better |
2D Benchmarks |
Review Rating |
Percent |
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming | 100.52% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger | 100.51% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene | 100.32% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero | 100.32% | |
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ | 100.01% | |
ASUS Z170 Deluxe | 100.00% | |
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition | 99.94% | |
ASUS Z170-A | 99.82% | |
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1 | 99.82% | |
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+ | 99.61% | |
MSI Z170 Gaming M7 | 99.41% | |
more is better |
Performance per Watt |
Review Rating |
Percent |
MSI Z170 Gaming M7 | 79.57% | |
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ | 80.91% | |
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+ | 84.57% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene | 89.37% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger | 90.38% | |
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero | 90.68% | |
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition | 94.43% | |
ASUS Z170-A | 98.91% | |
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1 | 99.50% | |
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming | 99.86% | |
ASUS Z170 Deluxe | 100.00% | |
less is better |
General | + | - | |
A closer look at the motherboard lineup from MSI reveals that the Z170A Gaming M7 is a high-end model, regarding their gaming branded products. Of course it comes with some really neat features, like for example a Game Boost, OC Genie and the new updated UEFI BIOS. The MSI Z170A Gaming M7 motherboard is powered by an 14-phase CPU VRM which is enough for an overclocked system even if you wanted to do extreme benching using liquid nitrogen as coolant. MSI also equipped this board with features specific to gamers including a beefed-up audio solution as well as the latest Killer E2400 Ethernet chip. The Killer LAN chip always comes bundled with a good software, which for example allows traffic shaping. Apart from that there is an adequate bundle, containing everything necessary to start building a new rig. | -
Design - Layout - Features - 2 x M.2 x4 Slot |
||
Layout | + | - | |
Overall, the MSI Z170A Gaming M7's layout
has been well thought. Once more practical are the angled SATA
connectors that you can find on almost all motherboards nowadays. Other
than that there are also two internal USB3 headers. We always love it when we find practical power- and reset-buttons alongside
a clr_CMOS button, which is
located on the I/O panel. Furthermore there is even a debug display.
This one is always higly useful in case you should have issues with a component in your
system or the board itself. It also features three PCI Express Gen3 x16
slots, which have been very well positioned. You have four PCIe Gen3 x1 connectors onboard, and
they can be found in between the PCIe Slot. Furthermore the Gaming M7 has
also been equipped with two M.2 x4 Gen 3 slots.
Apart from that you get four USB3.0, three USB2.0, six SATA3 ports and two internal
USB3 headers for four additional USB3 ports as well as two USB2 connectors for
four more USB2.0 ports. As this is a high-end MSI motherboard you also find an OC Genie button. |
- Angled SATA connectors
- Power/Reset-Button onboard - Debug display - Space around the CPU socket - Audio Solution |
||
Performance | + | - | |
Calculating the average of all 3D benchmarks we ran, we see that this board ranks 10th out of 11 boards tested. When taking the average of all 2D results this board again comes on the 11th out of 11 ranks. In general there are quite a few tests where this board is behind the competition. On the other hand the Z170A Gaming M7 is doing really well when it comes to power consumption, which in the end makes it the overall most energy efficient board we've tested so far. | - 3DMark 11 - Memory Bandwidth - Power Consumption3D Performance |
- 3DMark Ice Storm - 3DMark Fire Strike - PCMark 08 - Cinebench R15 - Sleeping Dogs |
|
Overclocking / BIOS | + | - | |
MSI has put a lot of time and effort into making their BIOS look nicer and more user friendly. Especially when we compare this version of MSI BIOS to the first UEFI BIOS from MSI, it simply cannot be compared, since the two are worlds apart. What's almost self-explanatory is that you get a lot of tuning and tweaking options in order to optimize the system towards your needs. We also like the entry screen which displays a lot of useful information. Apart from that overclocking our test CPU to 5.0 GHz was straight forward and there were no issues whatsoever. | - Sheer amount of
options - Design |
||
Recommendation | + | - | |
The Z170A Gaming M7 is a very well equipped Z170 motherboard. Unfortunately this board is slower than its competitors but at the same time it features great energy efficiency. Currently this board costs 199 Euro and at this price we can definitely recommend it. | -
Price
-
Gaming - Enthusiast - Overclocking |
||
Rating | |||
We give the MSI Z170A Gaming M7 good 4 out of 5 stars. |