MSI Z170A GAMING M3 (MS-7978)

Performance Results


Gaming 6% Tree trunk	Desktop 56% Gunboat	Workstation 6% Tree trunk


PC Status	Overall this PC is performing as expected (41st percentile). This means that out of 100 PCs with exactly the same components, 59 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 59.6%, this CPU's suitability for 3D gaming is average.
Graphics	1.82% is too low to play 3D games or use CAD packages. (Note: general computing tasks don't require 3D graphics)
Boot Drive	83.1% 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.

Very high background CPU (62%). High background CPU reduces benchmark accuracy. How to reduce background CPU.

System	MSI MS-7978
Motherboard	MSI Z170A GAMING M3 (MS-7978) (all builds)
Memory	13.3 GB free of 16 GB @ 2.4 GHz
Display	1920 x 1200 - 32 Bit colors, 1920 x 1200 - 32 Bit colors
OS	Windows 10
BIOS Date	20161017
Uptime	0 Days
Run Date	Jan 28 '22 at 22:59
Run Duration	153 Seconds
Run User	USA-User
Background CPU	62%

PC Performing as expected (41^st percentile)

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

Processor	Bench	Normal	Heavy	Server
Intel Core i3-6100-$66 110,166 User benchmarks, average bench 55% U3E1, 1 CPU, 2 cores, 4 threads Base clock 3.7 GHz, turbo 3.7 GHz (avg) Performing above expectations (68^th percentile)	59.6% Above average	Memory 67.5 1-Core 91.4 2-Core 162 62% 107 Pts	4-Core 299 8-Core 305 40% 302 Pts	64-Core 298 18% 298 Pts
Poor: 29% ↑ This bench: 59.6% Great: 68%

Graphics Card	Bench	3D DX9	3D DX10	3D DX11
Nvidia GeForce 9500 GT 27,834 User benchmarks, average bench 2% EVGA(3842 C954) 512MB Ram: 512MB, Driver: 341.95 Performing as expected (59^th percentile)	1.82% Terrible	Lighting 2.1 Reflection 3.8 Parallax 0.7 2% 2.2 fps	MRender 4 Gravity 0.6 Splatting 2.8 2% 2.47 fps
Poor: 1% ↑ This bench: 1.82% Great: 2%

Drives	Bench	Sequential	Random 4k	Deep queue 4k
Samsung 860 Evo 500GB-$76 762,998 User benchmarks, average bench 105% 395GB free (System drive) Firmware: RVT02B6Q SusWrite @10s intervals: 298 284 300 303 303 304 MB/s Performing way below expectations (12^th percentile)	83.1% Excellent	Read 412 Write 300 Mixed 255 SusWrite 298 71% 316 MB/s	4K Read 19.9 4K Write 77.2 4K Mixed 29.2 108% 42.1 MB/s	DQ Read 372 DQ Write 307 DQ Mixed 244 209% 308 MB/s
Poor: 74% ↑ This bench: 83.1% Great: 129%
Seagate ST31000340AS 1TB-$136 7,908 User benchmarks, average bench 46% 838GB free Firmware: SD15 SusWrite @10s intervals: 98 97 97 99 100 100 MB/s Performing way above expectations (92^nd percentile)	57.6% Above average	Read 102 Write 93.6 Mixed 50 SusWrite 98.4 63% 86 MB/s	4K Read 0.8 4K Write 1.2 4K Mixed 0.8 144% 0.93 MB/s
Poor: 28% ↑ This bench: 57.6% Great: 59%
TOSHIBA External USB 3.0 3TB 3,868 User benchmarks, average bench 36% 2TB free, PID a202 Operating at USB 2.1 Speed SusWrite @10s intervals: 7.6 7.6 7.5 7.7 7.6 7.6 MB/s Performing way below expectations (2^nd percentile)	11.1% Very poor	Read 21.9 Write 13.8 Mixed 14.3 SusWrite 7.6 18% 14.4 MB/s	4K Read 0.5 4K Write 2 4K Mixed 0.6 90% 1.03 MB/s
Poor: 15% ↑ This bench: 11.1% Great: 53%
Seagate FreeAgent Pro 1TB 62 User benchmarks, average bench 15% 440GB free, PID 3110 Operating at USB 2.0 Speed SusWrite @10s intervals: 7.7 7.6 7.6 7.6 7.6 7.6 MB/s Performing way below expectations (2^nd percentile)	5.62% Terrible	Read 20 Write 3.7 Mixed 8.5 SusWrite 7.6 11% 9.95 MB/s	4K Read 0.6 4K Write 0.3 4K Mixed 0.7 36% 0.53 MB/s
Poor: 9% ↑ This bench: 5.62% Great: 20%

Memory Kit	Bench	Multi core	Single core	Latency
Crucial BLS16G4D240FSC.16FBD 1x16GB 1,306 User benchmarks, average bench 43% 1 of 4 slots used 16GB DIMM DDR4 clocked @ 2400 MHz Performing as expected (52^nd percentile)	42.7% Average	MC Read 15.9 MC Write 15.6 MC Mixed 13.7 43% 15.1 GB/s	SC Read 12.7 SC Write 12.7 SC Mixed 12.1 36% 12.5 GB/s	Latency 107 37% 107 ns
Poor: 36% ↑ This bench: 42.7% Great: 47%

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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 M3 (MS-7978) Builds (Compare 2,323 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 $180Bench 81%, 588,978 samples	822x
Core i5-6600KIntel $130Bench 72%, 342,244 samples	633x
Core i7-6700Intel $180Bench 72%, 282,363 samples	227x

GPU
GTX 1060-6GBNvidia $117Bench 56%, 1,368,019 samples	317x
GTX 1070Nvidia $132Bench 80%, 1,459,281 samples	309x
GTX 970Nvidia $200Bench 49%, 834,238 samples	223x

SSD
850 Evo 250GBSamsung $100Bench 103%, 951,591 samples	117x
850 Evo 500GBSamsung $94Bench 112%, 695,664 samples	74x
970 Evo Plus NVMe PCIe M.2 1TBSamsung $95Bench 310%, 455,997 samples	55x

RAM
Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000 C15 2x8GBCorsair $45Bench 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: 85% - Excellent

Total price: $591

CPU	GPU	SSD
Intel Core i5-13600K $273	Nvidia RTX 4060 $280	Crucial MX500 250GB $39
Intel Core i5-12400F $133	Nvidia RTX 4060-Ti $385	Samsung 850 Evo 120GB $80
Intel Core i5-12600K $168	Nvidia RTX 4070 $490	Samsung 860 Evo 250GB $52

HDD	RAM	USB
Seagate Barracuda 1TB (2016) $39	Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3200 C16 2x8GB $39	SanDisk Extreme 64GB $72
WD Blue 1TB (2012) $32	Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000 C15 2x8GB $45	SanDisk Extreme 32GB $28
Seagate Barracuda 2TB (2016) $62	G.SKILL Trident Z DDR4 3200 C14 4x16GB $351	SanDisk Ultra Fit 32GB $16