MSI Z170A GAMING M3 (MS-7978)

Performance Results

Benchmarks - missing SSD
Gaming 8% Tree trunk	Desktop 38% Jet ski	Workstation 6% Tree trunk


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 extremely low single core score, this CPU can barely handle email and light web browsing. Finally, with a gaming score of 28.3%, this CPU's suitability for 3D gaming is very poor.
Graphics	23.9% 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)
Boot Drive	The boot partition is located on a mechanical or hybrid drive. Moving the system to an SSD will yield far faster boot times, better system responsiveness and faster application load times.
Memory	8GB is enough RAM to run any version of Windows and it's sufficient for the vast majority of games. 8GB is also enough for moderate file and system caches which result in a very responsive system.
OS Version	Although Windows 10 is not the most recent version of Windows, it remains a great option.

Sub-optimal background CPU (15%). High background CPU reduces benchmark accuracy. How to reduce background CPU.

Run History

5 years ago, 5 years ago.

System	MSI MS-7978
Motherboard	MSI Z170A GAMING M3 (MS-7978) (all builds)
Memory	3.5 GB free of 8 GB @ 2.1 GHz
Display	1920 x 1080 - 32 Bit colors
OS	Windows 10
BIOS Date	20151218
Uptime	0.1 Days
Run Date	Aug 01 '18 at 17:42
Run Duration	179 Seconds
Run User	GBR-User
Background CPU	15%

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 i7-6700K-$180 588,978 User benchmarks, average bench 81% U3E1, 1 CPU, 4 cores, 8 threads Base clock 4 GHz, turbo 0.8 GHz (avg) Performing way below expectations (1^st percentile)	28.3% Poor	Memory 41.7 1-Core 24.9 2-Core 47.9 25% 38.2 Pts	4-Core 81.5 8-Core 118 12% 99.6 Pts	64-Core 126 8% 126 Pts
Poor: 70% ↑ This bench: 28.3% Great: 90%

Graphics Card	Bench	3D DX9	3D DX10	3D DX11
Nvidia GTX 760-$209 161,132 User benchmarks, average bench 26% Asus(1043 847A) 2GB CLim: 1110 MHz, MLim: 1512 MHz, Ram: 2GB, Driver: 398.36 Performing below potential (19^th percentile) - GPU OC Guide	23.9% Poor	Lighting 27.4 Reflection 25.5 Parallax 38 22% 30.3 fps	MRender 37.8 Gravity 33.5 Splatting 29.3 27% 33.5 fps
Poor: 24% ↑ This bench: 23.9% Great: 28%

Drives	Bench	Sequential	Random 4k
Seagate ST2000LM003 HN-M201RAD 2TB 50,772 User benchmarks, average bench 51% 1.5TB free Firmware: 2BE10001 SusWrite @10s intervals: 122 121 120 123 121 122 MB/s Performing way above expectations (97^th percentile)	70.7% Very good	Read 124 Write 89.2 Mixed 63.8 SusWrite 122 73% 99.8 MB/s	4K Read 0.6 4K Write 2.7 4K Mixed 1.1 197% 1.47 MB/s
Poor: 23% ↑ This bench: 70.7% Great: 70%
WD Blue 1TB (2012)-$37 3,105,054 User benchmarks, average bench 83% 147GB free (System drive) Firmware: 01.01A01 SusWrite @10s intervals: 80 89 88 85 94 95 MB/s Performing way below expectations (4^th percentile)	44.6% Average	Read 66.5 Write 68 Mixed 43.8 SusWrite 88.5 49% 66.7 MB/s	4K Read 1 4K Write 2.2 4K Mixed 1 194% 1.4 MB/s
Poor: 52% ↑ This bench: 44.6% Great: 109%

Memory Kit	Bench	Multi core	Single core	Latency
Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 2133 C13 2x4GB 12,708 User benchmarks, average bench 68% 2 of 4 slots used 8GB DIMM DDR4 clocked @ 2133 MHz Performing way below expectations (3^rd percentile)	39.7% Below average	MC Read 14.6 MC Write 15.8 MC Mixed 16.7 45% 15.7 GB/s	SC Read 4.1 SC Write 7 SC Mixed 6.6 17% 5.9 GB/s	Latency 194 21% 194 ns
Poor: 48% ↑ This bench: 39.7% Great: 80%

Take a copy of your results How to check your in-game FPS

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 Z170A GAMING M3 (MS-7978) Builds (Compare 2,313 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	818x
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 $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 $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 $273	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 $179	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