MSI Z170A GAMING M3 (MS-7978)

Performance Results

Benchmarks - missing GPU
Gaming 0% Incomplete	Desktop 0% Incomplete	Workstation 0% Incomplete


PC Status	Overall this PC is performing as expected (59th percentile). This means that out of 100 PCs with exactly the same components, 41 performed better. The overall PC percentile is the average of each of its individual components.
Processor	With an outstanding single core score, this CPU is the cat's whiskers: It demolishes everyday tasks such as web browsing, office apps and audio/video playback. Additionally this processor can handle moderate workstation, and even light server workloads. Finally, with a gaming score of 84.7%, this CPU's suitability for 3D gaming is very good.
Boot Drive	69.9% is a good SSD score. This drive enables fast boots, responsive applications and ensures minimum system IO wait times.
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 7 is still a viable option, it's now 14 years and 10 months old. This system should be upgraded to Windows 10 which is generally faster and has an improved set of core utilities including better versions of explorer and task manager.

Sub-optimal background CPU (16%). High background CPU reduces benchmark accuracy. How to reduce background CPU.

Run History

7 years ago, 7 years ago, 7 years ago, 7 years ago, 7 years ago, 7 years ago, 7 years ago, 7 years ago, 7 years ago, 7 years ago, 7 years ago, 7 years ago, 7 years ago, 7 years ago, 7 years ago. (Only the first run influences device rankings)

System	MSI MS-7978
Motherboard	MSI Z170A GAMING M3 (MS-7978) (all builds)
Memory	14.2 GB free of 16 GB @ 2.4 GHz
Display	1920 x 1080 - 32 Bit colors
OS	Windows 7
BIOS Date	20161221
Uptime	0 Days
Run Date	Feb 08 '17 at 16:06
Run Duration	363 Seconds
Run User	THA-User
Background CPU	16%

PC Performing as expected (59^th percentile)

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

Processor	Bench	Normal	Heavy	Server
Intel Core i7-6700K-$219 588,978 User benchmarks, average bench 81% U3E1, 1 CPU, 4 cores, 8 threads Base clock 4 GHz Performing above expectations (79^th percentile)	84.7% Excellent	Memory 94 1-Core 126 2-Core 253 89% 158 Pts	4-Core 406 8-Core 711 67% 558 Pts	64-Core 712 44% 712 Pts
Poor: 70% ↑ This bench: 84.7% Great: 90%

Graphics Card	Bench	3D DX9	3D DX10	3D DX11
Nvidia GTX 970-$200 834,238 User benchmarks, average bench 49% Zotac(19DA 2370) ≥ 4GB CLim: 1557 MHz, MLim: 1800 MHz, Ram: 4GB, Driver: 376.9 Relative performance n/a - benchmarks incomplete		Lighting 69.3 Reflection 75.3 Parallax 66.6 56% 70.4 fps	Gravity 64.8 Splatting 59.8 55% 62.3 fps
Poor: 43% Great: 54%

Drives	Bench	Sequential	Random 4k	Deep queue 4k
SanDisk SSD Plus 240GB-$30 133,640 User benchmarks, average bench 61% 151GB free (System drive) Firmware: Z32070RL Max speed: SATA 3.0 600 MB/s Performing above expectations (69^th percentile) (ID) Attribute Now Worst Value (05) Reallocated sector count 100 100 0 (09) Power-on hours count 0 100 609 (0C) Power cycle count 100 100 216 (A5) Unknown 100 100 1159665484131 (A6) Unknown 100 100 2 (A7) Unknown 100 100 0 (A8) Unknown 100 100 10 (A9) Unknown 100 100 0 (AA) Unknown 100 100 0 (AB) Unknown 100 100 0 (AC) Unknown 100 100 0 (AD) Unknown 100 100 5 (AE) Unknown 100 100 36 (BB) vendor-specific 100 100 0 (BC) Unknown 100 100 0 (C2) HDA temperature 57 41 253403070507 (C7) UDMA CRC error rate 100 100 0 (E6) GMR head amplitude 100 100 506811056246 (E8) Unknown 100 100 100 (E9) Unknown 100 100 1263 (EA) Unknown 100 100 3329 (F1) Unknown 253 253 2154 (F2) Unknown 253 253 3262 (F4) Unknown 0 100 0	69.9% Good	Read 512 Write 319 Mixed 291 83% 374 MB/s	4K Read 23.9 4K Write 88.4 4K Mixed 0.04 83% 37.4 MB/s	DQ Read 136 DQ Write 219 DQ Mixed 3.73 52% 120 MB/s
Poor: 35% ↑ This bench: 69.9% Great: 86%
Seagate Constellation ES.3 1TB-$22 9,374 User benchmarks, average bench 84% 458GB free Firmware: SN04 Max speed: SATA 3.0 600 MB/s Performing above expectations (67^th percentile) (ID) Attribute Now Worst Value (01) Raw read error rate 78 64 82634156 (03) Spinup time 97 96 0 (04) Start/Stop count 100 100 449 (05) Reallocated sector count 100 100 0 (07) Seek error rate 78 60 78605516 (09) Power-on hours count 100 100 637 (0A) Spinup retry count 100 100 0 (0C) Power cycle count 100 100 213 (B8) Unknown 100 100 0 (BB) vendor-specific 100 100 0 (BC) Unknown 100 100 0 (BD) vendor-specific 100 100 0 (BE) vendor-specific 67 62 555810849 (BF) G-sense error rate 100 100 0 (C0) Power-off retract count 100 100 28 (C1) Load/Unload cycle count 100 100 547 (C2) HDA temperature 33 40 68719476769 (C3) Hardware ECC recovered 21 10 82634156 (C5) Current pending sector count 100 100 0 (C6) Offline scan uncorrectable count 100 100 0 (C7) UDMA CRC error rate 200 200 0	92.2% Outstanding	Read 164 Write 157 Mixed 62 94% 128 MB/s	4K Read 1.34 4K Write 2.92 4K Mixed 0.61 178% 1.63 MB/s
Poor: 56% ↑ This bench: 92.2% Great: 103%
SanDisk Cruzer Blade 8GB 30,139 User benchmarks, average bench 10% 5GB free, PID 5567 Operating at USB 2.0 Speed Performing way below expectations (17^th percentile)	7.27% Terrible	Read 22.4 Write 2.9 Mixed 5.36 9% 10.2 MB/s	4K Read 5.67 4K Write 0.67 4K Mixed 1.13 82% 2.49 MB/s
Poor: 6% ↑ This bench: 7.27% Great: 13%

Memory Kit	Bench	Multi core	Single core	Latency
HyperX Fury DDR4 2400 C15 2x8GB-$299 20,912 User benchmarks, average bench 79% 2 of 4 slots used 16GB DIMM DDR4 clocked @ 2400 MHz Performing above expectations (62^nd percentile)	83% Excellent	MC Read 30.3 MC Write 31.8 MC Mixed 25.4 83% 29.2 GB/s	SC Read 19.4 SC Write 32.6 SC Mixed 25.4 74% 25.8 GB/s	Latency 59.7 67% 59.7 ns
Poor: 46% ↑ This bench: 83% Great: 91%

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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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Typical Z170A GAMING M3 (MS-7978) Builds (Compare 2,328 builds) See popular component choices, score breakdowns and rankings

Gaming 51%

Yacht

Desktop 87%

Aircraft carrier

Workstation 44%

Speed boat

Motherboard: MSI Z170A GAMING M3 (MS-7978) - $150

CPU
Core i7-6700KIntel $219Bench 81%, 588,978 samples	825x
Core i5-6600KIntel $122Bench 72%, 342,244 samples	634x
Core i7-6700Intel $219Bench 72%, 282,363 samples	227x

GPU
GTX 1060-6GBNvidia $117Bench 56%, 1,368,019 samples	317x
GTX 1070Nvidia $132Bench 80%, 1,459,281 samples	310x
GTX 970Nvidia $200Bench 49%, 834,238 samples	225x

SSD
850 Evo 250GBSamsung $100Bench 103%, 951,591 samples	117x
850 Evo 500GBSamsung $85Bench 112%, 695,664 samples	74x
970 Evo Plus NVMe PCIe M.2 1TBSamsung $91Bench 310%, 455,997 samples	55x

RAM
Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000 C15 2x8GBCorsair $48Bench 82%, 606,405 samples	98x
Ripjaws V DDR4 2400 C15 2x8GBG.SKILL $31Bench 71%, 98,777 samples	83x
Fury DDR4 2133 C14 2x8GBHyperX $125Bench 73%, 59,072 samples	71x

EDIT WITH CUSTOM PC BUILDER

Value: 83% - Excellent

Total price: $633

CPU	GPU	SSD
Intel Core i5-12600K $176	Nvidia RTX 4060 $293	Crucial MX500 250GB $39
Intel Core i5-12400F $125	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 $44	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