MSI Z170-A PRO (MS-7971)

Performance Results


Gaming 38% Jet ski	Desktop 82% Aircraft carrier	Workstation 30% Sail boat


PC Status	Overall this PC is performing below expectations (31st percentile). This means that out of 100 PCs with exactly the same components, 69 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 good single core score, this CPU can easily handle the majority of general computing tasks. Additionally this processor can handle very light workstation, and even some very light server workloads. Finally, with a gaming score of 77.7%, this CPU's suitability for 3D gaming is good.
Graphics	43% 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	83.9% is a very good SSD score. This drive is suitable for moderate workstation use, it will facilitate fast boots, responsive applications and ensure minimum 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 10 is not the most recent version of Windows, it remains a great option.

High background CPU (21%). High background CPU reduces benchmark accuracy. How to reduce background CPU.

System	MSI MS-7971
Motherboard	MSI Z170-A PRO (MS-7971) (all builds)
Memory	9.3 GB free of 16 GB @ 2.1 GHz
Display	2560 x 1440 - 32 Bit colors
OS	Windows 10
BIOS Date	20160723
Uptime	0.1 Days
Run Date	May 31 '21 at 21:12
Run Duration	162 Seconds
Run User	USA-User
Background CPU	21%

Watch Gameplay: 480 + 9600K How to compare your gameplay

PC Performing below expectations (31^st percentile)

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

Processor	Bench	Normal	Heavy	Server
Intel Core i5-6600K-$81 342,244 User benchmarks, average bench 72% U3E1, 1 CPU, 4 cores, 4 threads Base clock 3.5 GHz, turbo 3.6 GHz (avg) Performing above expectations (77^th percentile)	77.7% Very good	Memory 88.3 1-Core 90.4 2-Core 202 73% 127 Pts	4-Core 397 8-Core 341 51% 369 Pts	64-Core 373 23% 373 Pts
Poor: 57% ↑ This bench: 77.7% Great: 85%

Graphics Card	Bench	3D DX9	3D DX10	3D DX11
AMD RX 480-$75 261,163 User benchmarks, average bench 46% XFX(1682 9480) CLim: 1288 MHz, MLim: 2000 MHz, Ram: 8GB, Driver: 21.5.2 Performing below potential (34^th percentile) - GPU OC Guide	43% Average	Lighting 51.6 Reflection 60.4 Parallax 88.1 42% 66.7 fps	MRender 62.9 Gravity 61 Splatting 44.6 45% 56.2 fps
Poor: 35% ↑ This bench: 43% Great: 53%

Drives	Bench	Sequential	Random 4k	Deep queue 4k
Corsair Force MP500 NVMe PCIe M.2 120GB-$69 11,475 User benchmarks, average bench 128% 9GB free (System drive) Firmware: 02.1 Max speed: PCIe 16,000 MB/s SusWrite @10s intervals: 122 118 117 124 123 124 MB/s Performing way below expectations (6^th percentile)	83.9% Excellent	Read 859 Write 131 Mixed 226 SusWrite 121 72% 334 MB/s	4K Read 28.2 4K Write 42.5 4K Mixed 24.8 97% 31.8 MB/s	DQ Read 496 DQ Write 72.3 DQ Mixed 123 131% 231 MB/s
Poor: 83% ↑ This bench: 83.9% Great: 185%
Samsung 860 QVO 1TB-$109 201,200 User benchmarks, average bench 89% 193GB free Firmware: RVQ01B6Q SusWrite @10s intervals: 325 272 84 83 83 83 MB/s Performing below expectations (24^th percentile)	73.8% Very good	Read 487 Write 395 Mixed 377 SusWrite 155 79% 353 MB/s	4K Read 32.2 4K Write 39.1 4K Mixed 33.5 112% 34.9 MB/s	DQ Read 362 DQ Write 85.4 DQ Mixed 120 115% 189 MB/s
Poor: 49% ↑ This bench: 73.8% Great: 121%
WD Blue 2TB (2015)-$78 253,816 User benchmarks, average bench 65% 482GB free Firmware: 80.00A80 SusWrite @10s intervals: 116 114 104 106 113 105 MB/s Performing below expectations (28^th percentile)	56.3% Above average	Read 86 Write 116 Mixed 69.5 SusWrite 110 70% 95.2 MB/s	4K Read 0.9 4K Write 2 4K Mixed 1 186% 1.3 MB/s
Poor: 40% ↑ This bench: 56.3% Great: 84%
Seagate Barracuda 2TB (2016)-$51 462,780 User benchmarks, average bench 92% 608GB free Firmware: CC26 SusWrite @10s intervals: 124 120 122 128 125 129 MB/s Performing way below expectations (11^th percentile)	68.6% Good	Read 114 Write 98.5 Mixed 64.5 SusWrite 125 74% 101 MB/s	4K Read 0.6 4K Write 1.5 4K Mixed 0.6 119% 0.9 MB/s
Poor: 63% ↑ This bench: 68.6% Great: 114%

Memory Kit	Bench	Multi core	Single core	Latency
Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 2133 C13 2x8GB-$46 47,721 User benchmarks, average bench 69% 2 of 4 slots used 16GB DIMM DDR4 clocked @ 2133 MHz Performing below potential (34^th percentile) - ensure that a dual+ channel XMP BIOS profile is enabled: How to enable XMP	67.4% Good	MC Read 25.5 MC Write 26.7 MC Mixed 21 70% 24.4 GB/s	SC Read 12.7 SC Write 21.2 SC Mixed 17.2 49% 17 GB/s	Latency 69.2 58% 69.2 ns
Poor: 42% ↑ This bench: 67.4% Great: 80%

Take a copy of your results

System Memory Latency Ladder

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

Custom PC Builder (Explore upgrades for this PC) Build your perfect PC: compare component prices, popularity, speed and value for money

CHOOSE AN UPGRADE:

CPU

GPU

SSD

HDD

RAM

MBD

Typical Z170-A PRO (MS-7971) Builds (Compare 2,606 builds) See popular component choices, score breakdowns and rankings

Gaming 61%

Destroyer

Desktop 82%

Aircraft carrier

Workstation 48%

Yacht

Motherboard: MSI Z170-A PRO (MS-7971) - $180

CPU
Core i5-6600KIntel $81Bench 72%, 342,244 samples	906x
Core i7-6700KIntel $180Bench 81%, 588,978 samples	688x
Core i5-6500Intel $67Bench 64%, 241,476 samples	276x

GPU
GTX 1070Nvidia $132Bench 80%, 1,459,281 samples	394x
GTX 1060-6GBNvidia $117Bench 56%, 1,368,019 samples	380x
GTX 970Nvidia $200Bench 49%, 834,238 samples	180x

SSD
850 Evo 250GBSamsung $100Bench 103%, 951,591 samples	130x
850 Evo 500GBSamsung $109Bench 112%, 695,664 samples	66x
860 Evo 1TBSamsung $130Bench 112%, 602,853 samples	61x

RAM
Ripjaws V DDR4 2400 C15 2x8GBG.SKILL $40Bench 71%, 98,777 samples	117x
Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000 C15 2x8GBCorsair $43Bench 82%, 606,405 samples	95x
Vengeance LPX DDR4 3200 C16 2x8GBCorsair $40Bench 85%, 653,654 samples	68x

EDIT WITH CUSTOM PC BUILDER

Value: 97% - Outstanding

Total price: $533

CPU	GPU	SSD
Intel Core i5-13600K $279	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 $182	Nvidia RTX 4070 $409	Samsung 860 Evo 250GB $52

HDD	RAM	USB
Seagate Barracuda 1TB (2016) $39	Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3200 C16 2x8GB $40	SanDisk Extreme 64GB $72
WD Blue 1TB (2012) $30	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