The MSI Z170A Gaming M7 Review: The Step Up to Skylake
by Ian Cutress on September 21, 2015 12:30 PM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
- Gaming
- MSI
- Skylake
- Z170
MSI Z170A Gaming M7 Conclusion
Of the motherboards we received for review before the launch of Skylake, we had a reasonable mix of the regular price bands, from $160 to $250, and even up at the top for $500. These more mid-range price bands are typically where most motherboard manufacturers duke it out for sales, despite the fact that the bulk of sales is usually below this. At $160-$300, it allows the manufacturers to stretch in terms of technical prowess and their view of the market.
The MSI Z170A Gaming M7 comes in at $230, arguably at the higher end of most people's budgets but enough to satisfy the enthusiast space. From a hardware perspective, the M7 focuses on its key marketing points towards gaming, such as the Killer E2400 network port, Nahimic audio software, easy overclocking functionality and new easier to use BIOS interface for new users. Other features come in as well - metallic guards to strengthen the PCIe slots when heavy graphics cards are in place, USB 10Gbps ports in 3.1-A and 3.1-C, dual M.2 slots that run at PCIe 3.0 x4 mode and SATAe connectivity.
Negative points off the bat start with the Nahimic audio software. It completely cuts out the EQ, even when you uninstall it - a big no-no from anyone who genuinely likes to customize their sound quality. Most of the features the Nahimic software provides are essentially EQ adjustments anyway, leaving me to wonder why MSI is paying through the nose for license fees (and passing that cost to the buyer) rather than doing basic modifications to the Realtek software that comes free with the codec. Additional to this, even with the Nahimic implementation disabled, audio performance in our tests did not set the world alight. Power consumption at load (at stock) was a little high as a result of the motherboard applying more voltage to the processor than expected. This might be related to the MultiCore Enhancement used.
Also to note is that our overclock testing, perhaps due to the beta BIOS versions we were using at the time, seem to be behind some other products. But because a review is a snapshot in time, we perhaps shouldn't hold it against the board unless other MSI motherboards in the future perform similarly. Also, at $230, one might have expected either a second network port (wireless or wired) or at least an Intel network controller. For most users that care about the network controller, Killer comes across more of a marketing checkbox compared to the control normally attributed to the Intel network ports.
Where the MSI Z170A Gaming M7 wins comes down to our BIOS implementing MultiCore Enhancement by default, resulting in a better stock performance. As a result, all our base processor tests but the MSI ahead. The new EZ mode in the BIOS is a good design worth playing around with, as well as MSI having the best driver/software update software for motherboards we've ever seen. This becomes more useful given that later BIOSes should become available as time goes on.
At the end of the day, MSI might struggle to sell this for $230 MSRP. The market will have other motherboards to play with that offer more features with less marketing buzz (Killer/Nahimic) at the same price or lower, perhaps pushing users towards the Gaming M5 and below. There are some take home positives, such as the new easy overclock tool and the drive towards catering for their intended market, though pushing it in to a higher than expected price band may drop it off some build lists sooner than MSI would have hoped for. As we test more motherboards, we should be able to develop a taste for the ecosystem as a whole and understand how each of the motherboard manufacturers are approaching the Skylake platform.
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tygrus - Tuesday, September 29, 2015 - link
Check RAM and contact the shop you bought the MB from. You can ask for them to check the MB (and other components bought from them) and may be ask to swap the MB if you think it's the guilty component.Morawka - Monday, September 21, 2015 - link
I love the motherboard but i cant get by with only that few usb ports on the back... Mouse, Keyboard, Printer, Xbox 360 wireless adapter, UPS and i'm full (and that's using every type a port on the back). Still need room for Wireless AC adapter, and a full time backup USB 3.0 External HDD. hate to use the front ports for any of the stuff i mentioned above.I guess if you don't mind having a hub taking up space on your desk, and all the cable clutter that comes with it, then this board is for you.. My monitors even have usb 3.0 hubs but i am really hesitant to use them since they don't work when the monitor goes into standby.
With all that said, this is a amazing looking board.. I love the high quality PCI Express headers, and the Red Memory wire traces. that is sick. All other i/o options look ok as long as your not rolling DVI monitors.. to this day, display port still has tons of issues related to hotplugging. when you turn your monitor off, it thinks it's totally disconnected. DVI doesn't do that. Some power saving profiles and standby settings can really screw up display port driver, causing you to have to swap ports to get the monitor back on.
Captmorgan09 - Monday, September 21, 2015 - link
You could always use a front panel USB adapter like this to give you more USB options on the back. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9S...Impulses - Monday, September 21, 2015 - link
You're telling me... I have a UPS, keyboard (x2 ports), backup HDD, and a display hub connected directly...Then I've got the mouse connected to that keyboard and off the one display hub I've got two other display hubs; THEN on those two there's some non essentials like desk lighting strips, webcam, Bluetooth dongle, and wireless mouse dongle.
Leaves me with one free Type C port on the back, one on the displays, and then the front ports.
Luckily the ASUS Z170 board I chose has a decent number of front headers (2x 3.0 & 1x 2.0 IIRC) despite only having 6x on the back, so I have those free for a card reader, game pads, thumb drives, etc.
Would've been nice to have at least 8 on the back in case I ever switch my DAC from optical to USB and whatnot tho.
Michael Bay - Sunday, September 27, 2015 - link
>desk lighting strips, webcam, Bluetooth dongleREMOVE
LauRoman - Monday, September 21, 2015 - link
Left of the onboard power buttons, i see two usb2 headers and you could use a backplate usb adapter. If you want usb3 on the back, between the atx header and the sata connectors i see two usb3 hearders.LauRoman - Monday, September 21, 2015 - link
LE i forgot to mention that boards have come with connectors such as this for at least a dozen years. Sure, some have had weird/exotic layouts, but most have had a standard set.Morawka - Monday, September 21, 2015 - link
yeah but those usb brackets demolish any hope of having a window case build with a clean look. They to short 100% of the time to route behind the motherboard.bigboxes - Tuesday, September 22, 2015 - link
LOL. I like a clean look as anyone else. However, I'm all about function over form. I have no window in my case and it sits under my desk and out of the way. Whatever the case, you do know that you can buy an extension cable or a USB card that fits in an PCIe expansion slot?Morawka - Tuesday, September 22, 2015 - link
yeah i could buy add in cards, or i could just buy a different motherboard... my point was, they should have added another x2 stack of usb ports on top of that lone HDMI connector (huge amount of wasted space)it effectively has 2 USB 3.0 ports and 1 USB 3.1 port (The type c port cant even be used for a year or two, nothing exist that you would plug in the back, and still use type c)