MSI Z170A GAMING M3 (MS-7978)

Performance Results


Gaming 25% Surfboard	Desktop 60% Destroyer	Workstation 18% Surfboard


PC Status	Overall this PC is performing below expectations (25th percentile). This means that out of 100 PCs with exactly the same components, 75 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 an average single core score, this CPU can handle browsing the web, email, video playback and the majority of general computing tasks including light gaming when coupled with an appropriate GPU. Finally, with a gaming score of 52.6%, this CPU's suitability for 3D gaming is average.
Graphics	41.7% 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	66.2% 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 10 is not the most recent version of Windows, it remains a great option.

Run History

6 years ago, 6 years ago, 6 years ago.

System	MSI MS-7978
Motherboard	MSI Z170A GAMING M3 (MS-7978) (all builds)
Memory	14 GB free of 16 GB @ 2.1 GHz
Display	1920 x 1080 - 32 Bit colors
OS	Windows 10
BIOS Date	20160516
Uptime	0 Days
Run Date	Sep 21 '17 at 22:25
Run Duration	159 Seconds
Run User	USA-User
Background CPU	10%

PC Performing below expectations (25^th 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-$130 342,244 User benchmarks, average bench 72% U3E1, 1 CPU, 4 cores, 4 threads Base clock 3.5 GHz, turbo 0.85 GHz (avg) Performing way below expectations (3^rd percentile)	52.6% Above average	Memory 88.5 1-Core 24.7 2-Core 51.7 41% 55 Pts	4-Core 101 8-Core 100 14% 101 Pts	64-Core 103 6% 103 Pts
Poor: 57% ↑ This bench: 52.6% Great: 85%

Graphics Card	Bench	3D DX9	3D DX10	3D DX11
Nvidia GTX 780-$329 50,279 User benchmarks, average bench 45% EVGA(3842 0784) 3GB CLim: 1306 MHz, MLim: 1502 MHz, Ram: 3GB, Driver: 385.69 Performing below potential (21^st percentile) - GPU OC Guide	41.7% Average	Lighting 47.5 Reflection 50.5 Parallax 66.2 39% 54.7 fps	MRender 67.5 Gravity 62.9 Splatting 48.4 48% 59.6 fps
Poor: 41% ↑ This bench: 41.7% Great: 49%

Drives	Bench	Sequential	Random 4k	Deep queue 4k
Samsung 850 Evo 500GB-$90 695,664 User benchmarks, average bench 112% 434GB free (System drive) Firmware: EMT01B6Q Max speed: SATA 3.0 600 MB/s Performing way below expectations (2^nd percentile) (ID) Attribute Now Worst Value (05) Reallocated sector count 100 100 0 (09) Power-on hours count 98 98 9464 (0C) Power cycle count 99 99 106 (B1) Unknown 99 99 14 (B3) Unknown 100 100 0 (B5) Unknown 100 100 0 (B6) Unknown 100 100 0 (B7) Unknown 100 100 0 (BB) vendor-specific 100 100 0 (BE) vendor-specific 68 51 32 (C3) Hardware ECC recovered 200 200 0 (C7) UDMA CRC error rate 100 100 0 (EB) Unknown 99 99 31 (F1) Unknown 99 99 16484813586	66.2% Good	Read 497 Write 395 Mixed 417 97% 436 MB/s	4K Read 22 4K Write 30.4 4K Mixed 15.2 69% 22.6 MB/s	DQ Read 30.8 DQ Write 40.3 DQ Mixed 15.2 17% 28.7 MB/s
Poor: 80% ↑ This bench: 66.2% Great: 134%
Seagate Backup+ Desk 4TB 3,378 User benchmarks, average bench 61% 3.5TB free Firmware: 040B Performing way above expectations (93^rd percentile)	96.3% Outstanding	Read 173 Write 163 Mixed 134 117% 157 MB/s	4K Read 0.64 4K Write 1.76 4K Mixed 0.21 83% 0.87 MB/s
Poor: 15% ↑ This bench: 96.3% Great: 99%

Memory Kit	Bench	Multi core	Single core	Latency
G.SKILL Ripjaws 4 DDR4 2400 C15 2x8GB-$51 7,248 User benchmarks, average bench 71% 2 of 4 slots used 16GB DIMM DDR4 clocked @ 2133 MHz Performing way below expectations (6^th percentile)	42.1% Average	MC Read 14.4 MC Write 14.9 MC Mixed 13 40% 14.1 GB/s	SC Read 8.5 SC Write 14.9 SC Mixed 14.4 36% 12.6 GB/s	Latency 69 58% 69 ns
Poor: 41% ↑ This bench: 42.1% Great: 86%

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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 2,314 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	819x
Core i5-6600KIntel $130Bench 72%, 342,244 samples	631x
Core i7-6700Intel $180Bench 72%, 282,363 samples	227x

GPU
GTX 1060-6GBNvidia $117Bench 56%, 1,368,019 samples	316x
GTX 1070Nvidia $132Bench 80%, 1,459,281 samples	305x
GTX 970Nvidia $200Bench 49%, 834,238 samples	223x

SSD
850 Evo 250GBSamsung $100Bench 103%, 951,591 samples	117x
850 Evo 500GBSamsung $90Bench 112%, 695,664 samples	74x
970 Evo Plus NVMe PCIe M.2 1TBSamsung $67Bench 310%, 455,997 samples	55x

RAM
Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000 C15 2x8GBCorsair $43Bench 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: 86% - Excellent

Total price: $589

CPU	GPU	SSD
Intel Core i5-13600K $269	Nvidia RTX 4060 $295	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