Tackling the premium gaming market, MSI outfits the Z170A Gaming M7 with a number of features that will have eager buyers licking their lips. Alongside the eye-catching red and black colour scheme, hardware features include an enhanced audio system, two high-speed M.2 slots, and USB 3.1 Type-A and Type-C ports.
Retailing around the £170-mark, MSI is targeting gamers who are happy to pay a premium for a feature-filled motherboard to accompany their Core i7-6700K processor. MSI pays close attention to styling, as is necessitated by premium gaming buyers spending extra to acquire aesthetically pleasing hardware to complement their build.
Aside from the hefty allocation of storage hardware and the enhanced audio system, MSI allocates resources for a Killer E2400 series NIC and the useful network managing software accompanying it. Additional usability features are delivered in the form of onboard buttons and a two-digit debug LED. The twelve-phase power delivery system utilises Titanium-based chokes and is cooled by a sizeable pair of attractive heatsinks.
Can MSI's Z170A Gaming M7 shine in a segment of the market where it takes more than a healthy feature set and eye-catching colours to attract enthusiasts?
Features:
- Supports DDR4-3600+(OC) Memory
- DDR4 Boost: Give your DDR4 memory a performance boost
- USB 3.1 Gen2 2X FASTER: USB 3.1 Gen2 offers performance twice as fast as a regular USB 3.0 connection
- Twin Turbo M.2 64Gb/s + Turbo U.2 ready + USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C + Type-A combo + SATA 6Gb/s
- GAMING LAN with LAN Protect, powered by Killer™: The best online gaming experience with lowest latency
- Audio Boost 3: Reward your ears with studio grade sound quality
- Nahimic Audio Enhancer: Immersive sound quality that pushes the limits of reality
- Game Boost: This one goes up to eleven; 1-seconds of easy overclocking
- GAMING Hotkey: Assign macros, launch your favorite games or do real-time overclocking using a single button
- XSplit Gamecaster v2: 1 year free premium license to show off your skills and achievements to the world
- Military Class 5: The latest evolution in high quality components featuring the brand new Titanium Chokes
- MULTI-GPU with Steel Armor: Steel Armor PCI-E slots. Supports NVIDIA SLI™ & AMD Crossfire™
- Click BIOS 5: Award-winning brand new Click BIOS 5 with high resolution scalable font
- BIOS Flashback+: Easy BIOS recovery without the need of a CPU, memory and VGA card
- GAMING CERTIFIED: 24-hour on- and offline game testing by eSports players for the best gaming experience
MSI ships the Z170A Gaming M7 in a bright red box that would catch the attention of potential buyers in a retail environment.
A sectioned image of the motherboard is found on the front of the box, with in-depth feature information residing on the rear.
MSI includes a decent bundle with the motherboard. Aside from the usual four SATA cables, flexible black SLI ribbon, and explanatory rear IO shield, MSI also includes its ever-convenient M-connector blocks.
The well-sized case sticker features MSI's typical gaming branding with the now-infamous dragon.
The standard affair of manual, quick installation guide, and drivers CD are supplied. In addition, MSI also provides a door hanger instructing people to refrain from disturbing your gaming session. And for those users with multiple SATA drives, the labels should assist with cable management duties.
MSI gives the Z170A Gaming M7 an eye-catching red and black styling that is typical for the company's gaming series products. The shiny shade of red compliments the dark blacks in an appealing manner.
The design team at MSI deserves credit for consistently producing eye-catching motherboards that aren't gawky or too in-your-face.
Up to 64GB of DDR4 memory can be installed in the four double-latch DIMM slots. MSI states frequency support for 3600MHz DDR4 via overclocking, however such speeds will also rely on the BIOS stability and CPU IMC strength.
Close to the 24-pin power connector is one of the two internal USB 3.0 headers. The outwards-facing header obtains its 5Gbps links from the Z170 chipset and is convenient for users with a narrow chassis. MSI deploys multiple ASM1464 USB re-drivers across the motherboard in order to enhance signal delivery.
Voltage check points in the board's top-right corner are convenient for testing purposes outside of the chassis.
MSI cools the fourteen sets of power delivery phases with two solid heatsinks that are connected via a heatpipe. The heatsinks are large and seem to do a good job at cooling the MOSFETs, however their physical dimensions could present interference issues with sizeable CPU coolers. Our Noctua NH-D14 CPU cooler operated without interference.
The power delivery hardware consists of fourteen Nikos PK616BA MOSFETs and a further fourteen PK632BA units from the same vendor in a high and low side configuration. Not all of the power delivery phases are dedicated directly to the CPU – some are also allocated for operation of the integrated GPU.
Intersil's ISL95856 PWM controller manages the power delivery system alongside a number of the same vendor's ISL6625 MOSFET drivers. Management of the two-phase memory subsystem is handled by a Powervation PV3205 controller. A separate IDT clock generator is used for managing the BCLK adjustments that Skylake CPUs allow for.
MSI uses Military Class 5 components, including Titanium-core chokes which are proclaimed to have a superior temperature threshold and greater current capacity. There does, however, seem to be a slight coil whine coming from the board when the system is shut down. This is similar to what we heard from MSI's Z170A XPower Gaming Titanium Edition, which also utilised Titanium chokes.
All six of the SATA 6Gbps ports are delivered from the Z170 chipset. Four of those ports, alongside a dedicated PCIe link, can be switched to provide a pair of two-lane SATA-Express ports. Front panel USB 3.1 bay adapters are a new accessory that have revived the SATA-Express interface.
The board's second internal USB 3.0 header is positioned in a right-angled orientation which allows for easier cable management. Two 80mm-capable, 32Gbps (PCIe 3.0 x4) M.2 connectors are used on the board, both of which also support SATA 6Gbps functionality at the expense of two SATA 6Gbps ports.
Positioning of the first M.2 connector allows it to stay away from a graphics card's hot zone, however an ugly green PCB will be visible. This location also makes the application of a U.2 adapter feasible as there is no graphics card interference. The second M.2 connector is found beneath the secondary full-length PCIe slot and may suffer from interference or thermal issues.
The M.2 ports can be used to RAID a pair of PCIe (and NVMe) SSDs thanks to the updates included with Intel's latest RST revision for the Z170 platform.
MSI's distribution of PCIe lanes throughout the motherboard is superb. The choices for lane routing are sensible and accurately resemble the plausible system configurations for enthusiast gamers (who are highly unlikely to be happy putting a third GPU in a PCIe 3.0 x4 slot on Z170).
Advanced interpretation of the design specifications implies that a total of up to twelve lanes can be delivered through the SATA and M.2 connectors. SATA links, however, are limited to a maximum of six, with the M.2 SATA connector taking up two links. PCIe M.2 devices can take up to four links each, simultaneously.
A pair of dedicated pages in the motherboard manual highlight the possible storage configurations. For example, two PCIe M.2 SSDs can be used alongside four of the SATA 6Gbps ports and a pair of CPU-fed graphics cards. PCIe and SATA M.2 devices can also be used simultaneously.
While something as simple to a board vendor as including a page in the manual may be seen as a small point, it isn't. Small, yet extremely helpful, inclusions such as these storage pages and the board's block diagram highlight the time and effort that MSI's team puts into the entire user experience.
Trying to figure out if two PCIe M.2 SSDs can be used alongside a number of SATA drives is a procedure that could have even the most advanced users scratching their heads for a significant period of time. The usage flexibility provided by the Z170 chipset's lanes is superb.
Up to 3-card CrossFire is supported and two-card SLI due to the latter's requirement for an eight-lane PCIe link. MSI splits the LGA 1151 CPU's sixteen PCIe lanes between the two uppermost full-length slots, both of which are reinforced by steel brackets. A single card in the uppermost slot gets a full sixteen PCIe 3.0 lanes, while two cards receive eight each.
The lowermost full-length PCIe slot can receive up to four Gen 3 lanes from the chipset, making it ideal to serve an Intel SSD 750 PCIe drive. With that said, those four lanes are shared with the second and fourth PCIe x1 slots. Installing cards in the aforementioned PCIe x1 slots will reduce the lowest full-length PCIe connector's bandwidth to PCIe 3.0 x2 derived from the Z170 chipset.
All four of the PCIe 3.0 x1 slots are open-ended. This allows them to provide support for physically larger PCIe expansion cards which do not have bandwidth-critical operations.
MSI's layout of the expansion slots is as ideal as it gets for this calibre of motherboard; a one-slot cooling gap is maintained between a pair of dual-slot graphics cards. Alternatively, a pair of triple-slot cards is also supported. And both of these configurations can run alongside a PCIe x1 device, such as a video capture card, in the uppermost slot.
The standard USB 2.0 and audio headers are found along the board's bottom edge. MSI includes a two-digit debug LED which is convenient for troubleshooting purposes. Once the system has booted, the LEDs are used to display the current CPU temperature.
Onboard power and reset buttons are convenient for users who are testing their system outside of a chassis. And the Game Boost dial is useful for those who would rather a physical application of the overclocking preset rather than the UEFI-set alternative.
MSI also allocates an onboard flashback button that can be used with the dedicated BIOS Flashback+ USB port in order to update the BIOS without components (such as a CPU) installed.
MSI’s Audio Boost 3 system is based around the Realtek ALC 1150 codec. Two Texas Instruments OP1652 operational amplifiers are used to drive high-impedance headphones. Nippon Chemi-Con audio capacitors are also utilised.
EMI reduction is conducted by carrying the audio signals along segregated PCB paths, covering the Realtek codec, and using gold-plated audio jacks.
Nahimic audio software is provided for use inside the operating system.
A healthy variety of ports is deployed on the rear IO section. Old-school users and those familiar with troubleshooting will welcome the PS/2 connector. I love seeing the pair of USB 2.0 ports for keyboard and mouse duty; why waste a pair of USB 3.0 links for serving low-bandwidth peripherals?
The blue LED-lit clear CMOS button is extremely useful for users overclocking their board inside a chassis (Asus, take note!). That right-angled USB 2.0 port doubles up as the BIOS Flashback port that allows a BIOS update to be performed without a CPU installed. A pair of Z170-fed 5Gbps USB 3.0 ports is found beneath the Killer E2400-powered Gigabit Ethernet jack.
ASMedia's ASM1142 controller provides the two 10Gbps USB 3.1 ports. One of those ports is delivered in the standard Type-A form, while the other is deployed as the reversible Type-C connector. Gold-plated audio jacks help to reduce interference through MSI's Audio Boost 3 system.
Video outputs consisting of two HDMI 1.4 ports and a single DisplayPort 1.2 output are fine for this type of motherboard. While the DisplayPort connector is capable of a 4K UHD resolution at 60Hz, the HDMI ports are limited to a maximum 60Hz output of 2560×1600. Nevertheless, most gamers buying this motherboard will use a dedicated graphics card rather than Skylake's iGPU. Two NXP PTN3360DBS shifters handle video output switching.
MSI uses a thin metal rear IO shield which features the Gaming M7 product name. This red and black piece of metal is far more attractive than bare silver IO ports.
Five 4-pin fan headers are distributed around the motherboard. Two of those headers are specifically allocated CPU fan duties. An additional connector close to the CPU socket is ideal for powering an AIO liquid cooler's pump. The remaining headers are well-placed for serving the rear chassis and front or side panel fans.
Management of the fan headers, as well as system monitoring duties, is handled by a Nuvoton NCT6793D. Additional Nuvoton NCT5605Y devices are used for supplementary system functions.
UEFI
Firstly, we are pleased to report that our generic wireless mouse worked to its usual standard in the MSI Z170 UEFI. We’ve found the wireless mouse to be troubling with UEFI support in the past, so when it functions correctly in the interface, that is usually a good sign for overall mouse support.
Note: MSI's UEFI is almost identical across its range of Z170 Gaming motherboards. As such, we have reused many of the screenshots from our review of the Z170 XPower Gaming Titanium Edition motherboard.
Entry for MSI's new Click BIOS 5 interface is the task of a new page that features the system's core information.
This is an approach that Asus has successfully used with its UEFI and it is something that I like as it feeds core information to less-experienced users without flooding them with confusing and in-depth system information.
Scrolling down the entry page highlights the overclocking presets that deploys via the eight-point onboard OC dial. I like seeing multiple presets being supplied for i5 and i7 users as it gives greater choice to the system operator.
MSI also gives quick access to the fan speed curves.
Pressing F7 takes users into the UEFI's advanced section where the core values relating to voltages, clock speeds, and other features can be controlled.
MSI provides a good range of adjustable settings for overclocking users. There is a selector that allows a normal or expert mode to be applied, based upon your overclocking preferences.
Plenty of options are provided for the CPU VCore operation. MSI includes two load-line calibration options and does well to display a graph that explains their operation.
Plenty of adjustments can be made to system memory. MSI includes a divider up to 31x which allows for a frequency of 4133MHz using a 100MHz BCLK. The granularity of the memory dividers will appeal to overclockers wanting to fine tune their system precisely.
Memory profiles presets are also supplied by MSI, with a number of configurations provided for use with Hynix, Samsung, and Micron DDR4.
Up to six settings profiles can be named and saved as well as transferred via a USB drive.
MSI's fan control method uses a 4-point fan speed percentage against temperature curve to control the CPU and system fans. There is also the option to disable manual fan speed control with such refinement.
While MSI's manual control method is good and undoubtedly superior to some of the competing solutions, there are no ‘silent‘ and ‘standard‘ fan speed presets that we see from the likes of Asus and ASRock.
MSI's Board Explorer is a useful tool that I like seeing provided. It is particularly helpful when troubleshooting – for example a faulty stick of RAM can be identified as missing through the tool and one can check that all storage drives are connected to the most appropriate SATA ports without removing the chassis side panel.
I am glad to report that MSI's M-Flash utility has the ability to search through a drive's directories and folders. The tool works without issue.
UEFI Comments
MSI has made a number of notable improvements for its Click BIOS 5 implementation found on Z170 motherboards. The addition of a simplified UEFI entry screen is positive and the sheer quantity of overclocking presets not only for the CPU, but also the memory, is welcomed. M-Flash now works in the way that competing vendors' solutions also do. MSI's strong, if not market-leading, fan control methods have also been retained.
While I still think that Asus has the most complete UEFI implementation on the market, MSI has conjured up a solution that competes with the market-leading competitor in many aspects and actually beats it in some (Board Explorer). The UEFI's strengths are widespread and its areas for improvement are relatively minor.
Software
MSI's Command Center software suite provides users with ways of monitoring and controlling their system's operation.
There are sections for the CPU, fans, memory, iGPU, and overclocking presets.
It must be noted that MSI's Command Center software seems to be quite resource heavy and resulted in a noticeable reduction in Cinebench performance (of around 20 points). As such, Command Center should not be launched if you are performing tasks that require maximum systems resources.
Command Center also has break-out windows for activities such as monitoring voltages and temperatures.
Two further break-out windows can be useful for monitoring temperatures in a visual manner, as well as tracking operating statistics.
MSI includes a tool to create a RAMDisk. This is convenient for users who may have an excess of system memory for their everyday needs and want fast access to certain files. Importantly, there are options to backup the RAMDisk to a permanent storage drive and restore it upon system boot.
The Gaming App is another piece of software that provides numerous useful functions. The primary page allows clock speed control, and one of the options can optimise a monitor's display configuration towards certain tasks.
MSI's On-Screen Display (OSD) is a cool feature that allows system information to be displayed in the corner of one's screen while gaming. It is a useful piece of software that serves as a more basic implementation of tools such as MSI's own Afterburner.
The Gaming App has functionality for applying hotkeys and mouse optimisations.
The Nahimic software tool allows specific audio presets to be set and adjusted based on user preference. One of the options is for a HD audio recorded which can be used alongside streaming applications such as XSplit offerings and OBS.
MSI's Eco Center allows a variety of system components, such as the add-on USB controllers and system fans, to be manually disabled in order to save power.
The Live Update tool can be used to schedule driver and utility updates.
Software Comments
The variety of software that MSI provides with its Gaming series motherboard is superb. There are applications to keep gamers, general enthusiasts, and even power-conscious users pleased. And those who aren't fond of Killer's Network Manager software suite can install the basic NIC driver instead.
Intel's Skylake processors are just the latest Intel CPU architecture to see many of the critical system operations handled by the processor. As such, benchmarking a motherboard becomes more of a test to certify that the part operates correctly and meets the anticipated performance levels.
We will be outlining the MSI Z170A Gaming M7 motherboard's performance with the Core i7-6700K CPU at its stock frequency (4.2GHz due to forced turbo). Overclocked performance will be outlined later in the review.
The MSI Z170A Gaming M7 motherboard automatically applies multi-core turbo (MCT) and forces the 6700K to a constant 4.2GHz when XMP is enabled. This will be displayed as the ‘stock’ setting.
Despite listing the CPU Cache frequency as 4100MHz in the UEFI, CPU-Z reported an operating frequency of 4000MHz. This may have a slight negative effect on the performance of MSI's board in comparison to other stock-clocked competitors.
MSI applies a MCT voltage of around 1.208V under load. This level is sensible and stable and results in an easy cooling task for even moderate air heatsinks.
Z170 Motherboard Test System:
- Processor: Intel Core i7-6700K (4.2GHz forced turbo).
- Memory: 16GB (4x4GB) Corsair Vengeance LPX 3200MHz 16-18-18-36 DDR4 @ 1.35V.
- Graphics Card: Nvidia GTX 980 Ti.
- System Drive: 250GB Crucial BX100 SSD.
- CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14.
- Case: NZXT Phantom 630.
- Power Supply: Seasonic Platinum 760W.
- Operating System: Windows 7 Professional with SP1 64-bit.
Compared Z170 Motherboards:
- ASRock Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming K6+.
- ASRock Z170 Extreme4.
- Asus Maximus VIII Hero.
- Asus Sabertooth Z170 Mark 1.
- Gigabyte Z170XP-SLI.
- Gigabyte Z170X-Gaming 7.
- MSI Z170A XPower Gaming Titanium Edition.
Software:
- MSI Z170A Gaming M7 BIOS v1.90.
- GeForce 353.30 VGA drivers.
Tests:
- Cinebench R15 – All-core CPU benchmark (System)
- HandBrake 0.10.2 – Convert 1.23GB 1080P game recording using the High Profile setting and MP4 container (System)
- 7-Zip 15.05 beta – Manual video archival (System)
- 3DMark 1.5.915 – Fire Strike Ultra (Gaming)
- Grand Theft Auto V – 1920 x 1080, near-maximum quality (Gaming)
- Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor – 1920 x 1080, ultra quality (Gaming)
- ATTO – SATA 6Gbps and USB 3.0 transfer rates (Motherboard)
- RightMark Audio Analyzer – General audio performance test (Motherboard)
Cinebench
We used the ‘CPU’ test built into Cinebench R15 .
Handbrake Conversion
We measured the average frame rate achieved for a task of converting a 1.23GB 1080P game recording using the High Profile setting and MP4 container.
7-Zip
We manually archive a 1.23GB MP4 game recording to test the performance in 7-Zip.
MSI's Z170A Gaming M7 shows strong performance in our set of CPU-heavy benchmarks. None of the scores present any concern for performance deficits against the competition.
3DMark
We used 3DMark‘s ‘Fire Strike Ultra’ benchmark which is designed to be used on high-resolution gaming PCs.
Grand Theft Auto V
We apply very near maximum settings in Grand Theft Auto V and a 1920×1080 resolution to push today’s hardware. Our data was recorded using the built-in benchmark. The game's latest updates may slightly affect performance on the more recently tested motherboards compared to competitors tested many weeks ago.
Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor
We used a 1920×1080 resolution and the Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor built-in benchmark set to ‘Ultra’ quality.
Gaming performance from the MSI Z170A Gaming M7 is solid. Performance differentials between competing motherboards are all within the margin of error of our tests.
Automatic CPU Overclocking:
A convenient list of the board's overclocking presets is found in the UEFI's opening page. The placement of the overclocking options allows less-experienced users to view the Game Boost frequencies without diving into the complicated UEFI sections.
I don't quite understand MSI's counting method for the Game Boost settings, but the numbers are easy to tie in with physical dial positions, nevertheless. And the variety of settings is superb – those who want to push their hardware are covered, as are those who want more minor speed boosts. All but the fastest – 5GHz – option retain XMP functionality.
There is also the option to select any of the overclocking presets via the UEFI, without direct access to the physical dial (ideal for those who have already installed their board inside a chassis).
While the inclusion of overclocking presets which are forced to apply ‘safe' (higher than the majority of CPUs will require) voltages is a good, simple method, it isn't as fancy as some of the overclocking tuning options that competitors offer. Asus and Gigabyte, for example, have good systems which allow a chip's operating performance to be analysed and better tuned with relevant settings.
We opted for the 4.69GHz i7-6700K setting as we think this is the best balanced preset. Opting for the three settings above 4.69GHz results in a significant voltage boost towards the 1.4V level. While 1.4V seems to be stable for Skylake users with high-end cooling hardware, we would assume that such buyers will instead rely on manual overclocking.
Despite setting 1.35V via the UEFI, around 1.32V is delivered to the 4.69GHz CPU under heavy load. MSI achieves the 4.69GHz processor frequency by a combination of a BCLK increase to 102MHz and a CPU ratio of 46x.
The increased BCLK results in overclocked memory, which may present stability concerns for high-speed XMP sticks operating to their limit. Memory timings are loosened compared to the XMP settings to compensate for potential instabilities.
CPU Cache frequency is reduced to less than 4GHz, which is more than 100MHz lower than we typically see when using 3200MHz XMP memory sticks on some competing vendors' boards. That said, such a small reduction is likely to cause a very minor drop in performance for most heavy workloads, and will barely affect gaming frame rates.
Under heavy Prime95 load, this 4.69GHz overclocking preset resulted in CPU temperatures in the mid-60s with a Noctua NH-D14 cooler. Lower-priced, mid-range CPU coolers should be perfectly capable of cooling this configuration.
Manual CPU Overclocking:
To test the MSI Z170A Gaming M7 motherboard’s CPU overclocking potential, we first increased the CPU VCore to 1.40V and set the PCH voltage to 1.10V. We selected ‘Auto‘ load-line calibration (LLC) after trial and error showed that it delivered a practically identical voltage drop under load to the Mode 1 alternative setting. The CPU Cache ratio was set to 45x.
MSI's UEFI is very easy to use for simple overclocking gains. While the OC section's rather large list of options may seem a little untidy, it doesn't force users to search for the settings that are required. The only time that a separate section is required is to reach the CPU LLC settings.
MSI should definitely be including a colour system to show when selected voltage levels are getting high. Given that buyers of gaming motherboards may not be the most knowledgeable of overclockers, a simple system that switches between white/green, yellow, and red to indicate safe, moderate, and high voltages, respectively, would be very helpful.
The colour warning system is something that Asus does very well in its UEFI, and it is beneficial in educating gamers who want to learn more about safe overclocking. It is also beneficial to those who may know about overclocking on older platforms, but are not so familiar with safe voltages and settings for Skylake CPUs.
A CPU voltage of 1.368V was recorded under full load. This is a 32mV drop compared to the 1.40V that we selected in the UEFI and that was delivered whilst under low load. We saw similar performance from Gigabyte's Z170X-Gaming 7 motherboard, which uses the same Intersil ISL95856 PWM controller as the Z170A Gaming M7.
A 32mV drop is a disappointing level for a gaming motherboard that is targeting a high-end market segment. Both of the two LLC settings displayed the same results, giving an indication that they are practically pointless with our applied settings.
While this voltage drop did not result in instability for our configuration, I would advise conducting some testing and accounting for the voltage drop in your UEFI-applied levels.
It seems that MSI has applied the ‘manually compensate for it' logic for their overclocking presets; the Z170A Gaming M7 sees a UEFI-set 1.352V for the 4.69GHz preset, whereas the Z170A XPower Gaming Titanium Edition set 1.315V for the exact same frequency preset.
We will outline the performance increases that can be obtained from using the MSI Z170A Gaming M7 motherboard to overclock our system. Our overclocked processor frequency was 4.8GHz and memory speed was maintained at 3200MHz.
As a performance comparison, we have included the overclocked results from six other Z170 motherboards. The maximum overclocked configuration achieved with each board was a 4800MHz (48 x 100MHz) processor frequency and memory speed was 3200MHz CL16 where the board supported it (not on the ASRock Z170 Extreme4).
CPU and Cache overclocking deliver solid performance gains for the MSI Z170A Gaming M7 based system. A very minor frame rate improvement is recorded in GTA V, however the increase in the Cinebench and 3DMark Physics scores is significant.
SATA
For SATA 6Gb/s testing we use a Kingston HyperX 3K (SandForce SF-2281) SSD.
SATA 6Gbps performance from MSI's Z170A Gaming M7 is not going to bottleneck a relevant SSD. There is no cause for concern with the board's result.
USB 3.0
We tested USB 3.0 performance using the Kingston HyperX 3K SSD connected to a SATA 6Gb/s to USB 3.0 adapter powered by an ASMedia ASM1053 controller. The test system uses Windows 7 with SP1 as the OS.
USB 3.0 performance from the board is about as fast as it gets without a UASP-activating piece of software for our Windows 7 test system. Asus' boards still rule the speed scene for Windows 7 users thanks to the vendor's supplementary UASP-activating software tool.
Higher transfer rates should be expected when using the Windows 8.1 and 10 operating systems thanks to their inclusion of UASP support.
Audio
We use RightMark Audio Analyzer (RMAA) to analyse the performance of the motherboard’s onboard audio solution. A sampling mode of 24-bit, 192 kHz was tested.
Audio performance is rated as ‘Very Good‘ by RMAA. Noise level and Dynamic range are particular strengths thanks to the Realtek ALC1150 audio codec. The pair of Texas Instruments OP1652 op-amps is also useful in driving high-impedance headphones.
Power
We measured the power consumption with the system resting at the Windows 7 desktop, representing idle values.
The power consumption of our entire test system (at the wall) is measured while loading only the CPU using Prime95′s in-place large FFTs setting. The rest of the system’s components were operating in their idle states, hence the increased power consumption values (in comparison to the idle figures) are largely related to the load on the CPU and motherboard power delivery components.
Idle power consumption from MSI's Z170A Gaming M7 is good thanks to the speed at which the Intersil PWM controller drops CPU voltage under lower loads. MSI's sensible MCT CPU voltage level of around 1.2V also benefits the board's load power consumption with the CPU at 4.2GHz.
The overclocked load power consumption should be interpreted with care; the MSI board's CPU voltage drop results in reduced power draw for the system.
The MSI Z170A Gaming M7 is a well-designed motherboard that is very effectively tweaked to deliver what typical enthusiast gamers desire most. From the motherboard layout and PCIe lane distribution to the UEFI options and bundled software, MSI's focus on the board's gaming audience is superb.
Performance from the Z170A Gaming M7 is as good as you would expect from this calibre of Z170 motherboard. High-speed DDR4 support is good, as are the options for applying an overclocking preset to suit your needs (even if MSI's OC preset approach is a little less fancy than Asus' and Gigabyte's tuning alternatives).
Overclocking performance is solid thanks to a number of factors. The UEFI layout is easy for an overclocker to navigate, even if it is a little messy in certain areas. And the board's stability was very good throughout testing, thanks in large to a solid BIOS implementation and good power delivery system.
Voltage accuracy, however, was disappointing. We recorded a voltage drop in the region of 32mV when overclocking, which is a significant level that has the potential to cause system instability. The two load-line calibration settings didn't seem to do much, either. It should be simple; if one asks for 1.40V in the BIOS, the board should deliver close to 1.40V, not 1.368V.
MSI deploys a strong array of features on the Z170A Gaming M7. There is USB 3.1 Type-A and Type-C connectivity, a strong audio solution, and network optimisation abilities via Killer's E2400 NIC. Overclocking and usability features in the form of onboard buttons, display LEDs, and dedicated BIOS flashback functionality add to the formula.
The flexibility and potential for MSI's deployed storage subsystem is superb. There's support for a pair of M.2 PCIe SSDs alongside a SATA-Express device and further SATA 6Gbps drives. And that's just one of the number of potential configurations. Let's not forget that the aforementioned storage configuration is in addition to a pair of graphics cards and a supplementary high-bandwidth PCIe device.
If you're a fan of red and black, MSI's design team has once again delivered an attractive solution. The decisions made for general motherboard layout are also smart and ensure that interference and thermal problems are minimised.
Available for £176.99 from OverclockersUK, MSI's Z170A Gaming M7 faces stiff competition at this price point from Asus' Maximus VIII Hero, Gigabyte's Z170X-Gaming 7, and ASRock's Z170 Gaming K6+. Each of those boards has notable features, such as Asus' superb software, Gigabyte's Intel USB 3.1, and ASRock's USB 3.1 front bay, however MSI's offering does well to balance many features from each competitor into a single gaming-orientated motherboard.
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Pros:
- Smart design decisions for motherboard layout.
- Superb PCIe lane distribution allowing for flexible storage configurations alongside high-end gaming hardware (GPUs).
- Onboard buttons and debug LEDs are nice additions.
- Good variety of included software which generally functions well.
- MSI's UEFI is very stable and easy to use, even if some pages are a little untidy.
- A good set of included overclocking presets.
Cons:
- Level of voltage drop when overclocking is disappointing.
- MSI Command Center software can have a negative impact on benchmark performance.
KitGuru says: If you're in the market for a high-end Z170 motherboard to partner your Core i7-6700K CPU, MSI's well-balanced Z170A Gaming M7 will not be a disappointment.