MSI Z97 GAMING 5 (MS-7917)

Performance Results

Benchmarks - missing SSD
Gaming 22% Surfboard	Desktop 71% Battleship	Workstation 17% Surfboard


PC Status	Overall this PC is performing as expected (43rd percentile). This means that out of 100 PCs with exactly the same components, 57 performed better. The overall PC percentile is the average of each of its individual components.
Processor	With a good single core score, this CPU can easily handle the majority of general computing tasks. Despite its good single core score this processor isn't appropriate for workstation use due to its relatively weak multi-core performance. Finally, with a gaming score of 65.6%, this CPU's suitability for 3D gaming is above average.
Graphics	33.4% is a below average 3D score (RTX 2060S = 100%). This GPU can handle older games but it will struggle to render recent games at resolutions greater than 1080p. (Note: general computing tasks don't require 3D graphics)
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.

Very high background CPU (56%). High background CPU reduces benchmark accuracy. How to reduce background CPU.

System	MSI MS-7917
Motherboard	MSI Z97 GAMING 5 (MS-7917) (all builds)
Memory	5.9 GB free of 16 GB @ 1.4 GHz
Display	2560 x 1440 - 32 Bit colors
OS	Windows 10
BIOS Date	20160216
Uptime	2.1 Days
Run Date	Jan 27 '21 at 06:42
Run Duration	155 Seconds
Run User	USA-User
Background CPU	56%

PC Performing as expected (43^rd percentile)

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

Processor	Bench	Normal	Heavy	Server
Intel Core i5-4690K-$53 229,359 User benchmarks, average bench 70% SOCKET 0, 1 CPU, 4 cores, 4 threads Base clock 3.5 GHz, turbo 3.7 GHz (avg) Performing below expectations (28^th percentile)	65.6% Good	Memory 74.8 1-Core 96.3 2-Core 196 69% 122 Pts	4-Core 327 8-Core 323 44% 325 Pts	64-Core 348 22% 348 Pts
Poor: 53% ↑ This bench: 65.6% Great: 82%

Graphics Card	Bench	3D DX9	3D DX10	3D DX11
Nvidia GTX 960-$198 440,282 User benchmarks, average bench 33% EVGA(3842 2966) CLim: 1544 MHz, MLim: 1752 MHz, Ram: 2GB, Driver: 456.71 Performing below potential (65^th percentile) - GPU OC Guide	33.4% Below average	Lighting 42.1 Reflection 34.8 Parallax 42.6 34% 39.8 fps	MRender 36.4 Gravity 42.4 Splatting 37.7 32% 38.8 fps
Poor: 30% ↑ This bench: 33.4% Great: 36%

Drives	Bench	Sequential	Random 4k	Deep queue 4k
Samsung 850 Evo 500GB-$94 695,664 User benchmarks, average bench 112% 22GB free (System drive) Firmware: EMT01B6Q Relative performance n/a - sequential test incomplete		Read 454 Write 414 Mixed 347 90% 405 MB/s	4K Read 34.6 4K Write 77.6 4K Mixed 43.6 149% 51.9 MB/s	DQ Read 379 DQ Write 346 DQ Mixed 359 270% 361 MB/s
Poor: 80% Great: 134%
WD Blue 500GB (2010)-$24 496,077 User benchmarks, average bench 53% 40GB free Firmware: 15.01H15 SusWrite @10s intervals: 118 121 119 117 119 120 MB/s Performing way above expectations (91^st percentile)	66.5% Good	Read 113 Write 116 Mixed 70.5 SusWrite 119 77% 104 MB/s	4K Read 0.6 4K Write 1.8 4K Mixed 0.9 158% 1.1 MB/s
Poor: 24% ↑ This bench: 66.5% Great: 69%
WD Blue 500GB (2008)-$29 203,744 User benchmarks, average bench 48% 25GB free Firmware: 58.01E02 SusWrite @10s intervals: 67 68 67 69 68 69 MB/s Performing below expectations (37^th percentile)	41.8% Average	Read 77.3 Write 75.6 Mixed 50.4 SusWrite 67.9 50% 67.8 MB/s	4K Read 0.7 4K Write 2.5 4K Mixed 1 187% 1.4 MB/s
Poor: 28% ↑ This bench: 41.8% Great: 69%
WD Blue 1TB (2012)-$37 3,105,054 User benchmarks, average bench 83% 218GB free Firmware: 02.01A02 SusWrite @10s intervals: 97 114 112 117 118 116 MB/s Performing below expectations (22^nd percentile)	69.4% Good	Read 129 Write 123 Mixed 81.9 SusWrite 112 82% 112 MB/s	4K Read 1.3 4K Write 2.6 4K Mixed 1.1 224% 1.67 MB/s
Poor: 52% ↑ This bench: 69.4% Great: 109%

Memory Kit	Bench	Multi core	Single core	Latency
Corsair Vengeance Pro DDR3 1866 C9 2x8GB 18,444 User benchmarks, average bench 55% 2 of 4 slots used 16GB DIMM DDR3 1400 MHz clocked @ 1333 MHz Performing below potential (16^th percentile) - Ensure that the top XMP BIOS profile is enabled: How to enable XMP	43.3% Average	MC Read 14.9 MC Write 16.5 MC Mixed 14.1 43% 15.2 GB/s	SC Read 10.1 SC Write 14.3 SC Mixed 12.5 35% 12.3 GB/s	Latency 90.7 44% 90.7 ns
Poor: 31% ↑ This bench: 43.3% Great: 71%

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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

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Typical Z97 GAMING 5 (MS-7917) Builds (Compare 6,770 builds) See popular component choices, score breakdowns and rankings

Gaming 42%

Speed boat

Desktop 84%

Aircraft carrier

Workstation 36%

Jet ski

Motherboard: MSI Z97 GAMING 5 (MS-7917)

CPU
Core i7-4790KIntel $348Bench 79%, 455,746 samples	3,383x
Core i5-4690KIntel $53Bench 70%, 229,359 samples	1,665x
Core i7-4790Intel $135Bench 71%, 255,027 samples	457x

GPU
GTX 970Nvidia $200Bench 49%, 834,238 samples	1,244x
GTX 1070Nvidia $132Bench 80%, 1,459,281 samples	559x
GTX 1060-6GBNvidia $117Bench 56%, 1,368,019 samples	406x

SSD
850 Evo 250GBSamsung $100Bench 103%, 951,591 samples	414x
850 Evo 500GBSamsung $94Bench 112%, 695,664 samples	306x
860 Evo 500GBSamsung $80Bench 105%, 762,998 samples	207x

RAM
Fury DDR3 1866 C10 2x8GBHyperXBench 59%, 122,541 samples	376x
Vengeance Pro DDR3 2400 C11 2x8GBCorsairBench 58%, 40,596 samples	248x
Fury DDR3 1600 C10 2x8GBHyperXBench 54%, 77,652 samples	206x

EDIT WITH CUSTOM PC BUILDER

Value: 60% - Above average

Total price: $648

CPU	GPU	SSD
Intel Core i5-13600K $273	Nvidia RTX 4060 $300	Crucial MX500 250GB $40
Intel Core i5-12400F $133	Nvidia RTX 4060-Ti $385	Samsung 850 Evo 120GB $80
Intel Core i5-12600K $177	Nvidia RTX 4070 $539	Samsung 860 Evo 250GB $52

HDD	RAM	USB
Seagate Barracuda 1TB (2016) $39	Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3200 C16 2x8GB $45	SanDisk Extreme 64GB $72
WD Blue 1TB (2012) $37	Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000 C15 2x8GB $43	SanDisk Extreme 32GB $28
Seagate Barracuda 2TB (2016) $51	G.SKILL Trident Z DDR4 3200 C14 4x16GB $351	SanDisk Ultra Fit 32GB $16