MSI Z170A GAMING M3 (MS-7978)

Performance Results


Gaming 19% Surfboard	Desktop 50% Yacht	Workstation 14% Tree trunk


PC Status	Overall this PC is performing below expectations (30th percentile). This means that out of 100 PCs with exactly the same components, 70 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 below average single core score, this CPU can handle email, web browsing and audio/video playback but it will struggle to handle modern 3D games or workstation tasks such as video editing. Finally, with a gaming score of 38.1%, this CPU's suitability for 3D gaming is poor.
Graphics	41.3% 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	49.5% is a reasonable SSD score. This drive enables fast boots and responsive applications.
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

5 years ago, 5 years ago, 5 years ago, 5 years ago, 5 years ago, 5 years ago, 5 years ago, 5 years ago.

System	MSI MS-7978
Motherboard	MSI Z170A GAMING M3 (MS-7978) (all builds)
Memory	13.5 GB free of 16 GB @ 2.4 GHz
Display	1920 x 1080 - 32 Bit colors
OS	Windows 10
BIOS Date	20180125
Uptime	0.4 Days
Run Date	Jul 21 '18 at 13:42
Run Duration	159 Seconds
Run User	GBR-User
Background CPU	10%

PC Performing below expectations (30^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-$113 342,244 User benchmarks, average bench 72% U3E1, 1 CPU, 4 cores, 4 threads Base clock 3.5 GHz, turbo 0.75 GHz (avg) Performing way below expectations (1^st percentile)	38.1% Below average	Memory 62.7 1-Core 25.4 2-Core 49.9 32% 46 Pts	4-Core 81.2 8-Core 80.5 11% 80.8 Pts	64-Core 65.2 4% 65.2 Pts
Poor: 57% ↑ This bench: 38.1% Great: 85%

Graphics Card	Bench	3D DX9	3D DX10	3D DX11
Nvidia GTX 970-$200 834,238 User benchmarks, average bench 49% MSI(1462 3160) CLim: 1455 MHz, MLim: 1752 MHz, Ram: 4GB, Driver: 391.1 Performing below potential (1^st percentile) - GPU OC Guide	41.3% Average	Lighting 45.1 Reflection 63.1 Parallax 67.3 37% 58.5 fps	MRender 70.3 Gravity 63 Splatting 54.1 50% 62.5 fps
Poor: 43% ↑ This bench: 41.3% Great: 54%

Drives	Bench	Sequential	Random 4k	Deep queue 4k
SanDisk SSD Plus 120GB-$42 87,912 User benchmarks, average bench 58% 34GB free (System drive) Firmware: Z33130RL SusWrite @10s intervals: 103 56 70 80 51 64 MB/s Performing below expectations (26^th percentile)	49.5% Average	Read 391 Write 349 Mixed 342 SusWrite 70.7 64% 288 MB/s	4K Read 20 4K Write 40.3 4K Mixed 17.1 74% 25.8 MB/s	DQ Read 153 DQ Write 180 DQ Mixed 33 62% 122 MB/s
Poor: 35% ↑ This bench: 49.5% Great: 78%
Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB-$83 138,859 User benchmarks, average bench 59% 55GB free Firmware: 1AJ10001 SusWrite @10s intervals: 111 135 134 133 136 132 MB/s Performing as expected (46^th percentile)	58.2% Above average	Read 72 Write 37.2 Mixed 57.7 SusWrite 130 55% 74.3 MB/s	4K Read 0.8 4K Write 2.4 4K Mixed 1.1 200% 1.43 MB/s
Poor: 39% ↑ This bench: 58.2% Great: 75%
TOSHIBA External USB 3.0 1TB 116 User benchmarks, average bench 20% 756GB free, PID null SusWrite @10s intervals: 105 104 105 104 105 104 MB/s Performing way above expectations (96^th percentile)	43.5% Average	Read 104 Write 103 Mixed 36.7 SusWrite 104 116% 87.1 MB/s	4K Read 0.5 4K Write 1.8 4K Mixed 0.6 84% 0.97 MB/s
Poor: 8% ↑ This bench: 43.5% Great: 44%

Memory Kit	Bench	Multi core	Single core	Latency
Unknown DDR4-2400 CL16 8GB 2x8GB 2,791 User benchmarks, average bench 71% 2 of 4 slots used 16GB DIMM DDR4 clocked @ 2400 MHz Performing way below expectations (8^th percentile)	44.4% Average	MC Read 14.2 MC Write 16.5 MC Mixed 19.9 48% 16.9 GB/s	SC Read 6 SC Write 9.8 SC Mixed 8.6 23% 8.13 GB/s	Latency 120 33% 120 ns
Poor: 42% ↑ This bench: 44.4% Great: 84%

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 2,330 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 $170Bench 81%, 588,978 samples	826x
Core i5-6600KIntel $113Bench 72%, 342,244 samples	634x
Core i7-6700Intel $170Bench 72%, 282,363 samples	227x

GPU
GTX 1060-6GBNvidia $117Bench 56%, 1,368,019 samples	318x
GTX 1070Nvidia $278Bench 80%, 1,459,281 samples	311x
GTX 970Nvidia $200Bench 49%, 834,238 samples	225x

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 $93Bench 310%, 455,997 samples	55x

RAM
Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000 C15 2x8GBCorsair $48Bench 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: $584

CPU	GPU	SSD
Intel Core i5-12600K $159	Nvidia RTX 4060 $290	Crucial MX500 250GB $39
Intel Core i5-12400F $109	Nvidia RTX 4060-Ti $385	Samsung 850 Evo 120GB $80
Intel Core i5-13600K $260	Nvidia RTX 4070 $550	Samsung 870 Evo 250GB $45

HDD	RAM	USB
Seagate Barracuda 1TB (2016) $37	Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3200 C16 2x8GB $40	SanDisk Extreme 64GB $72
WD Blue 1TB (2012) $39	Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000 C15 2x8GB $48	SanDisk Extreme 32GB $28
Seagate Barracuda 2TB (2016) $62	G.SKILL Trident Z DDR4 3200 C14 4x16GB $351	SanDisk Ultra Fit 32GB $16