MSI Z170A GAMING M5 (MS-7977)

Performance Results


Gaming 18% Surfboard	Desktop 47% Yacht	Workstation 14% Tree trunk


PC Status	Overall this PC is performing way below expectations (4th percentile). This means that out of 100 PCs with exactly the same components, 96 performed better. The overall PC percentile is the average of each of its individual components. Use the charts in the benchmark sections of this report to identify problem areas.
Processor	With a relatively low single core score, this CPU can handle email, light web browsing and basic audio/video playback, but it will struggle to handle CPU intensive tasks. Finally, with a gaming score of 32%, this CPU's suitability for 3D gaming is poor.
Graphics	42.8% is a reasonable 3D score (RTX 2060S = 100%). This GPU can handle the majority of recent games but it will struggle with resolutions greater than 1080p at ultra detail levels. (Note: general computing tasks don't require 3D graphics)
Boot Drive	162% is an exceptional SSD score. This drive is suitable for heavy workstation use, it will facilitate fast boots, responsive applications and allow for fast transfers of multi-gigabyte files.
Memory	16GB is enough RAM to run any version of Windows and it's more than sufficient for nearly all games. 16GB also allows for very large file and system caches, software development and batch photo editing/processing.
OS Version	Although Windows 10 is not the most recent version of Windows, it remains a great option.

Sub-optimal background CPU (15%). High background CPU reduces benchmark accuracy. How to reduce background CPU.

Run History

4 years ago, 4 years ago, 4 years ago, 4 years ago.

System	MSI MS-7977
Motherboard	MSI Z170A GAMING M5 (MS-7977) (all builds)
Memory	10.7 GB free of 16 GB @ 2.1 GHz
Display	2560 x 1440 - 32 Bit colors
OS	Windows 10
BIOS Date	20150722
Uptime	9.5 Days
Run Date	Nov 23 '19 at 07:59
Run Duration	123 Seconds
Run User	USA-User
Background CPU	15%

PC Performing way below expectations (4^th percentile)

Actual performance vs. expectations. The graphs show user score (x) vs user score frequency (y).

Processor	Bench	Normal	Heavy	Server
Intel Core i5-6500-$60 241,476 User benchmarks, average bench 64% U3E1, 1 CPU, 4 cores, 4 threads Base clock 3.2 GHz, turbo 0.8 GHz (avg) Performing way below expectations (2^nd percentile)	32% Below average	Memory 47.3 1-Core 25.9 2-Core 50.4 27% 41.2 Pts	4-Core 97.6 8-Core 98 13% 97.8 Pts	64-Core 100 6% 100 Pts
Poor: 43% ↑ This bench: 32% Great: 73%

Graphics Card	Bench	3D DX9	3D DX10	3D DX11
Nvidia GTX 970-$200 834,238 User benchmarks, average bench 49% EVGA(3842 2978) ≥ 4GB CLim: 1531 MHz, MLim: 1752 MHz, Ram: 4GB, Driver: 399.24 Performing below potential (7^th percentile) - GPU OC Guide	42.8% Average	Lighting 46.2 Reflection 54.2 Parallax 64.6 38% 55 fps	MRender 73.9 Gravity 64.3 Splatting 58.6 53% 65.6 fps
Poor: 43% ↑ This bench: 42.8% Great: 54%

Drive	Bench	Sequential	Random 4k	Deep queue 4k
Samsung 970 Evo NVMe PCIe M.2 500GB-$43 381,216 User benchmarks, average bench 273% 294GB free (System drive) Firmware: 2B2Q Max speed: PCIe 16,000 MB/s SusWrite @10s intervals: 752 449 561 596 600 612 MB/s Performing way below expectations (1^st percentile)	162% Outstanding	Read 1,745 Write 1597 Mixed 1,053 SusWrite 595 278% 1,248 MB/s	4K Read 38.9 4K Write 56.3 4K Mixed 40.2 140% 45.1 MB/s	DQ Read 305 DQ Write 268 DQ Mixed 282 213% 285 MB/s
Poor: 199% ↑ This bench: 162% Great: 340%

Memory Kit	Bench	Multi core	Single core	Latency
G.SKILL Ripjaws V DDR4 2400 C15 2x8GB-$31 98,777 User benchmarks, average bench 71% 2 of 4 slots used 16GB DIMM DDR4 clocked @ 2133 MHz Performing way below expectations (6^th percentile)	45.5% Average	MC Read 15.9 MC Write 16.7 MC Mixed 20.4 50% 17.7 GB/s	SC Read 6.1 SC Write 9.9 SC Mixed 8.8 24% 8.27 GB/s	Latency 171 23% 171 ns
Poor: 44% ↑ This bench: 45.5% Great: 88%

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System Memory Latency Ladder

L1/L2/L3 CPU cache and main memory (DIMM) access latencies in nano seconds

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SSD

HDD

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MBD

Typical Z170A GAMING M5 (MS-7977) Builds (Compare 4,951 builds) See popular component choices, score breakdowns and rankings

Gaming 68%

Battle cruiser

Desktop 87%

Aircraft carrier

Workstation 57%

Gunboat

Motherboard: MSI Z170A GAMING M5 (MS-7977) - $140

CPU
Core i7-6700KIntel $170Bench 81%, 588,978 samples	2,485x
Core i5-6600KIntel $113Bench 72%, 342,244 samples	1,161x
Core i7-6700Intel $170Bench 72%, 282,363 samples	313x

GPU
GTX 1070Nvidia $278Bench 80%, 1,459,281 samples	863x
GTX 1080Nvidia $195Bench 102%, 1,082,454 samples	444x
GTX 970Nvidia $200Bench 49%, 834,238 samples	369x

SSD
850 Evo 500GBSamsung $94Bench 112%, 695,664 samples	302x
850 Evo 250GBSamsung $100Bench 103%, 951,591 samples	285x
970 Evo Plus NVMe PCIe M.2 1TBSamsung $93Bench 310%, 455,997 samples	125x

RAM
Ripjaws V DDR4 2400 C15 2x8GBG.SKILL $31Bench 71%, 98,777 samples	273x
Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000 C15 2x8GBCorsair $48Bench 82%, 606,405 samples	245x
Vengeance LPX DDR4 3200 C16 2x8GBCorsair $40Bench 85%, 653,654 samples	199x

EDIT WITH CUSTOM PC BUILDER

Value: 75% - Very good

Total price: $713

CPU	GPU	SSD
Intel Core i5-12600K $176	Nvidia RTX 4060 $290	Crucial MX500 250GB $39
Intel Core i5-12400F $124	Nvidia RTX 4060-Ti $385	Samsung 850 Evo 120GB $80
Intel Core i5-13600K $260	Nvidia RTX 4070 $550	Samsung 870 Evo 250GB $45

HDD	RAM	USB
Seagate Barracuda 1TB (2016) $37	Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3200 C16 2x8GB $40	SanDisk Extreme 64GB $72
WD Blue 1TB (2012) $39	Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000 C15 2x8GB $48	SanDisk Extreme 32GB $28
Seagate Barracuda 2TB (2016) $62	G.SKILL Trident Z DDR4 3200 C14 4x16GB $351	SanDisk Ultra Fit 32GB $16