MSI Z170A GAMING M3 (MS-7978)

Performance Results

Benchmarks - missing SSD
Gaming 27% Raft	Desktop 73% Battleship	Workstation 21% Surfboard


PC Status	Overall this PC is performing as expected (55th percentile). This means that out of 100 PCs with exactly the same components, 45 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 71.3%, this CPU's suitability for 3D gaming is good.
Graphics	35.4% 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)
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.

Very high background CPU (45%). High background CPU reduces benchmark accuracy. How to reduce background CPU.

Run History

3 years ago, 3 years ago.

System	MSI MS-7978
Motherboard	MSI Z170A GAMING M3 (MS-7978) (all builds)
Memory	2.9 GB free of 8 GB @ 2.1 GHz
Display	1920 x 1080 - 32 Bit cores
OS	Windows 10
BIOS Date	20160516
Uptime	0.3 Days
Run Date	Jun 19 '20 at 18:55
Run Duration	125 Seconds
Run User	PRT-User
Background CPU	45%

PC Performing as expected (55^th percentile)

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

Processor	Bench	Normal	Heavy	Server
Intel Core i5-6500-$67 241,476 User benchmarks, average bench 64% U3E1, 1 CPU, 4 cores, 4 threads Base clock 3.2 GHz, turbo 3.3 GHz (avg) Performing way above expectations (90^th percentile)	71.3% Very good	Memory 81.6 1-Core 91.7 2-Core 176 68% 116 Pts	4-Core 352 8-Core 359 47% 356 Pts	64-Core 335 21% 335 Pts
Poor: 43% ↑ This bench: 71.3% Great: 73%

Graphics Card	Bench	3D DX9	3D DX10	3D DX11
Nvidia GTX 960-$198 440,282 User benchmarks, average bench 33% Asus(1043 854D) CLim: 1493 MHz, MLim: 1752 MHz, Ram: 4GB, Driver: 446.14 Performing way above expectations (91^st percentile)	35.4% Below average	Lighting 46 Reflection 44.7 Parallax 40.2 38% 43.6 fps	MRender 38.7 Gravity 39.6 Splatting 36.8 31% 38.4 fps
Poor: 30% ↑ This bench: 35.4% Great: 36%

Drives	Bench	Sequential	Random 4k	Deep queue 4k
Kingston SSDNow V300 120GB-$38 339,020 User benchmarks, average bench 54% 2GB free (System drive) Firmware: 608ABBF0 Relative performance n/a - sequential test incomplete		Read 223 Write 143 Mixed 167 39% 178 MB/s	4K Read 18.3 4K Write 72.4 4K Mixed 31 106% 40.6 MB/s	DQ Read 118 DQ Write 147 DQ Mixed 110 89% 125 MB/s
Poor: 30% Great: 73%
WD Blue 1TB (2012)-$37 3,105,054 User benchmarks, average bench 83% 585GB free Firmware: 01.01A01 SusWrite @10s intervals: 87 124 110 126 135 138 MB/s Performing below expectations (33^rd percentile)	75.5% Very good	Read 143 Write 145 Mixed 95.3 SusWrite 120 93% 126 MB/s	4K Read 1 4K Write 2.3 4K Mixed 1.1 206% 1.47 MB/s
Poor: 52% ↑ This bench: 75.5% Great: 109%

Memory Kit	Bench	Multi core	Single core	Latency
G.SKILL Ripjaws V DDR4 3200 C16 2x4GB 3,571 User benchmarks, average bench 87% 2 of 4 slots used 8GB DIMM DDR4 clocked @ 2133 MHz Performing below potential (7^th percentile) - ensure that a dual+ channel XMP BIOS profile is enabled: How to enable XMP	61.5% Good	MC Read 23.7 MC Write 24 MC Mixed 19.9 64% 22.5 GB/s	SC Read 11.8 SC Write 18 SC Mixed 13.3 41% 14.4 GB/s	Latency 77.7 52% 77.7 ns
Poor: 59% ↑ This bench: 61.5% Great: 112%

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 $81Bench 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 $300	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 $40	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