MSI Z170A GAMING M3 (MS-7978)

Performance Results

 
Gaming
Gaming 55%
Gunboat
Desktop
Desktop 88%
Aircraft carrier
Workstation
Workstation 49%
Yacht
PC StatusOverall this PC is performing above expectations (85th percentile). This means that out of 100 PCs with exactly the same components, 15 performed better. The overall PC percentile is the average of each of its individual components.
ProcessorWith a brilliant single core score, this CPU is the business: 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 86%, this CPU's suitability for 3D gaming is very good.
Graphics56.3% 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 Drive73.9% is a good SSD score. This drive enables fast boots, responsive applications and ensures minimum system IO wait times.
Memory16GB 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 VersionAlthough 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.
High background CPU (28%). High background CPU reduces benchmark accuracy. How to reduce background CPU.
Run History
SystemMSI MS-7978
MotherboardMSI Z170A GAMING M3 (MS-7978)  (all builds)
Memory14.1 GB free of 16 GB @ 3 GHz
Display1920 x 1080 - 32 Bit colors
OSWindows 7
BIOS Date20161221
Uptime0 Days
Run DateFeb 08 '17 at 16:28
Run Duration108 Seconds
Run User THA-User
Background CPU 28%

 PC Performing above expectations (85th percentile)

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

Processor BenchNormalHeavyServer
Intel Core i7-6700K-$170
U3E1, 1 CPU, 4 cores, 8 threads
Base clock 4 GHz
Performing above expectations (84th percentile)
86% Excellent
Memory 95.2
1-Core 115
2-Core 199
80% 136 Pts
4-Core 414
8-Core 704
68% 559 Pts
64-Core 734
46% 734 Pts
Poor: 70%
This bench: 86%
Great: 90%
Graphics Card Bench3D DX93D DX103D DX11
Nvidia GTX 970-$200
Zotac(19DA 2370) ≥ 4GB
CLim: 1557 MHz, MLim: 1800 MHz, Ram: 4GB, Driver: 376.9
Performing way above expectations (100th percentile)
56.3% Above average
Lighting 69.6
Reflection 75.2
Parallax 66.6
57% 70.5 fps
MRender 78.7
Gravity 65.8
Splatting 61.8
56% 68.8 fps
Poor: 43%
This bench: 56.3%
Great: 54%
Drives BenchSequentialRandom 4kDeep queue 4k
SanDisk SSD Plus 240GB-$30
151GB free (System drive)
Firmware: Z32070RL Max speed: SATA 3.0 600 MB/s
Performing above expectations (76th percentile)
73.9% Very good
Read 486
Write 399
Mixed 337
90% 407 MB/s
4K Read 14.5
4K Write 87.4
4K Mixed 5.9
76% 35.9 MB/s
DQ Read 216
DQ Write 189
DQ Mixed 0.06
56% 135 MB/s
Poor: 35%
This bench: 73.9%
Great: 86%
Seagate Constellation ES.3 1TB-$23
458GB free
Firmware: SN04 Max speed: SATA 3.0 600 MB/s
Performing above expectations (64th percentile)
91.3% Outstanding
Read 164
Write 154
Mixed 54.9
91% 124 MB/s
4K Read 1.1
4K Write 2.23
4K Mixed 0.58
152% 1.3 MB/s
Poor: 56%
This bench: 91.3%
Great: 103%
Memory Kit BenchMulti coreSingle coreLatency
HyperX Fury DDR4 2400 C15 2x8GB-$299
2 of 4 slots used
16GB DIMM DDR4 clocked @ 3000 MHz
Performing way above expectations (99th percentile)
98.7% Outstanding
MC Read 36
MC Write 39.3
MC Mixed 31.1
101% 35.5 GB/s
SC Read 19.9
SC Write 36.5
SC Mixed 28.8
81% 28.4 GB/s
Latency 56.5
71% 56.5 ns
Poor: 46%
This bench: 98.7%
Great: 91%

 System Memory Latency Ladder

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

Typical Z170A GAMING M3 (MS-7978) Builds (Compare 2,332 builds) See popular component choices, score breakdowns and rankings
Gaming
Gaming 51%
Yacht
Desktop
Desktop 87%
Aircraft carrier
Workstation
Workstation 44%
Speed boat

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

EDIT WITH CUSTOM PC BUILDER Value: 85% - Excellent Total price: $584
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