MSI Z170A SLI Plus Motherboard Review
Designed to deliver full gaming performance at reduced cost, the Z170A SLI Plus arrives with MSI's hope for a value award. Today, we put the ATX motherboard to the test.
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Test Results, Overclocking And Conclusion
Test System Configuration
To assure accurate comparisons, we repeat the benchmark configuration from our initial Z170 roundup in every Z170 motherboard review. The Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming K4's performance and overclocking capabilities are compared to previously-reviewed $115 to $160 Z170 motherboards.
Drivers
Graphics | GeForce 353.30 |
---|---|
Chipset | Intel INF 10.0.27 |
Benchmark Suite
Synthetics | |
---|---|
3DMark 11 | Version: 1.0.5.0, Benchmark Only |
3DMark Professional | Version: 1.2.250.0 (64-bit), Fire Strike Benchmark |
PCMark 8 | Version: 1.0.0 x64, Full Test |
SiSoftware Sandra | Version 2014.02.20.10, CPU Test = CPU Arithmetic / Multimedia / Cryptography, Memory Bandwidth Benchmarks |
Games | |
Battlefield 4 | Version 1.0.0.1, DirectX 11, 100-sec. Fraps "Tashgar"Test Set 1: Medium Quality Preset, No AA, 4X AF, SSAOTest Set 2: Ultra Quality Preset, 4X MSAA, 16X AF, HBAO |
Grid 2 | Version 1.0.85.8679, Direct X 11, Built-in BenchmarkTest Set 1: High Quality, No AATest Set 2: Ultra Quality, 8x MSAA |
Arma 3 | Version 1.08.113494, 30-Sec. Fraps "Infantry Showcase"Test Set 1: Standard Preset, No AA, Standard AFTest Set 2: Ultra Preset, 8x FSAA, Ultra AF |
Far Cry 3 | V. 1.04, DirectX 11, 50-sec. Fraps "Amanaki Outpost"Test Set 1: High Quality, No AA, Standard ATC, SSAOTest Set 2: Ultra Quality, 4x MSAA, Enhanced ATC, HDAO |
Applications | |
Adobe After Effects CC | Version 12.0.0.404: Create Video which includes 3 Streams, 210 Frames, Render Multiple Frames Simultaneosly |
Adobe Photoshop CC | Version 14.0 x64: Filter 15.7MB TIF Image: Radial Blur, Shape Blur, Median, Polar Coordinates |
Adobe Premeire Pro CC | Version 7.0.0 (342), 6.61 GB MXF Project to H.264 to H.264 Blu-ray, Output 1920x1080, Maximum Quality |
iTunes | Version 11.0.4.4 x64: Audio CD (Terminator II SE), 53 minutes, default AAC format |
Lame MP3 | Version 3.98.3: Audio CD "Terminator II SE", 53 min, convert WAV to MP3 audio format, Command: -b 160 --nores (160 kb/s) |
Handbrake CLI | Version: 0.99: Video from Canon Eos 7D (1920x1080, 25 FPS) 1 Minutes 22 SecondsAudio: PCM-S16, 48000 Hz, 2-Channel, to Video: AVC1 Audio: AAC (High Profile) |
TotalCodeStudio 2.5 | Version: 2.5.0.10677: MPEG-2 to H.264, MainConcept H.264/AVC Codec, 28 sec HDTV 1920x1080 (MPEG-2), Audio: MPEG-2 (44.1 kHz, 2 Channel, 16-Bit, 224 kb/s), Codec: H.264 Pro, Mode: PAL 50i (25 FPS), Profile: H.264 BD HDMV |
ABBYY FineReader | Version 10.0.102.95: Read PDF save to Doc, Source: Political Economy (J. Broadhurst 1842) 111 Pages |
Adobe Acrobat 11 | Version 11.0.0.379: Print PDF from 115 Page PowerPoint, 128-bit RC4 Encryption |
Autodesk 3ds Max 2013 | Version 15.0 x64: Space Flyby Mentalray, 248 Frames, 1440x1080 |
Blender | Version: 2.68A, Cycles Engine, Syntax blender -b thg.blend -f 1, 1920x1080, 8x Anti-Aliasing, Render THG.blend frame 1 |
Visual Studio 2010 | Version 10.0, Compile Google Chrome, Scripted |
WinZip | Version 18.0 Pro: THG-Workload (1.3 GB) to ZIP, command line switches "-a -ez -p -r" |
WinRAR | Version 5.0: THG-Workload (1.3 GB) to RAR, command line switches "winrar a -r -m3" |
7-Zip | Version 9.30 alpha (64-bit): THG-Workload (1.3 GB) to .7z, command line switches "a -t7z -r -m0=LZMA2 -mx=5" |
Comparison Motherboards
MSI's Z170A SLI Plus competes most directly with ASRock's Z170 Extreme4, since both are low-cost overclocking boards. MSI's product is currently a little cheaper. Both of these are bracketed by the ultra-low-cost Z170-HD3 and the mid-priced Z170-Claymore.
Synthetic Benchmarks
Synthetic benchmarks highlight small performance differences that aren't typically visible in real-world applications, but there's not much to see until we reach Sandra Memory Bandwidth; there, one of MSI's competitors stands out as being slightly behind the pack.
3D Games
Another of MSI's competitors falls slightly behind at a couple specific game settings, and again we see the Z170A SLI Plus performing as-expected.
Timed Applications
There aren't any noteworthy exceptions in timed workloads either. That leaves features and overclocking as the drivers of our value analysis.
Power, Heat And Efficiency
Employing the full benefits of Intel's power-savings technologies requires us to enable various settings in firmware, particularly when we're reviewing boards that are designed for overclocking. Fortunately, we did that for all samples before running the performance analysis. That means the power savings in MSI's Z170A SLI Plus should lead to true efficiency.
With a 0.1 percent above-average performance ranking and 10 percent below-average power consumption, the Z170A SLI Plus comes out 11.7 percent above-average in efficiency. We should note that the efficiency rankings seen here use the average of all fourteen Z170 motherboards we've reviewed, not just the four closest competitors shown in the charts.
Overclocking
MSI Z170A SLI Plus Frequency And Voltage Settings | |
---|---|
BIOS | P1.30 (02/22/2016) |
Base Clock | 98-341 MHz (10 kHz) |
CPU Multiplier | 8x-83x (1x) |
DRAM Data Rates | 800-4133 (100/133.3 MHz) |
CPU Vcore | 0.60-1.55V (5mV) |
System Agent | 0.60-2.00V (10 mV) |
CPU I/O | 0.60-2.00V (10 mV) |
PCH Voltage | 0.60-2.00V (10 mV) |
DRAM Voltage | 0.60-2.20V (10 mV) |
CAS Latency | 4-31 Cycles |
tRCD | 4-31 Cycles |
tRP | 4-31 Cycles |
tRAS | 28-63 Cycles |
The Z170A SLI Plus is tied for first place in sub-$140 Z170 motherboard overclocking, matching the similarly-priced Z170 Extreme4. ECS's pricier Z170-Claymore isn't really optimized for overclocking, and the far-cheaper Z170-HD3 doesn't have the voltage stability needed to add that extra 1 MHz BCLK at a 45x multiplier.
One thing that isn't represented in the numbers is overclocking experience. The Z170A SLI Plus reboots several times upon every overclocked boot, and this reboot cycle can take over a minute before a boot is finally successful. Because of this, we'd probably choose a lower multipliers and let software (such as MSI Command Center) increase the base clock if we wanted our system to boot up quickly.
Some motherboard manufacturers use slow tertiary timings to allow memory overclocking, which spoils the reasons for memory overclocking. Fortunately, both the Z170A SLI Plus being tested today and the Z170 Extreme4 it's being compared to produce good bandwidth numbers at non-reference settings.
As of this writing, the Z170A SLI Plus is available for $130, while the Z170 Extreme4 can be found for $135. That $5 difference gets buyers of the competing board an extra firmware ROM that's both manually selectable and socket mounted for easy replacement, plus a two-digit system status display that eases the diagnostic of overclocking failures (among other things). Those prices also include a temporary discount on the competing board, but do not include that competitor's $10 mail-in-rebate. If we were to buy this on another other day they'd probably be a little farther apart in price, giving both products similar features-per-dollar. Both are worth your further consideration, and both get the same stamp of approval.
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Thomas Soderstrom is a Senior Staff Editor at Tom's Hardware, covering Cases, Cooling, Memory and Motherboards. Follow him on Twitter.
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logainofhades I was considering this board, for my own upgrade, but fell into a good deal on a placeholder H170 board. May consider this board, at a later date, should I get around to upgrading my board.Reply -
Uri___Pisarev Is it just me or this MOBO has too many useless connectors, m/2 or whatever they call it for old style mouse, VGA and even that audio jack thing (aside from headphones and mic).Reply
Industry really needs to scrap these old items and free up space for new and additional items, more m.2, more USB 3.0 and C. -
Onus With a 0.1 percent above-average performance ranking and 10 percent below-average person consumption...
So, it won't go through a large family as quickly, but once it has picked the next member to devour, it chases that one down slightly more quickly?
On those OC reboots, does it keep cycling like that every time, if there's an OC set in BIOS, or just the first time that OC is to be used and thereafter it's "normal?"
I think in general MSI has surprised me. They're really trying to put those miserable 970A-G4x boards behind them.
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0InVader0 - Intel's gamer-friendly i219V networkReply
AVOID THIS LIKE THE PLAGUE!!! I refunded my motherboard, because this ethernet adapter didn't work properly. I couldn't even get an IP address or when I did, I had up to 50% packet loss. I've seen plenty other people on the internet having this issue as well and so far it has no fix or workaround
I tried everything: disabling WoL and power management options, flashing/resetting bios, fresh windows install (both 7 and 10), various driver versions... I even changed the bootloader. Tried Linux as well, no luck there.
Killen GLAN might be equally bad, but at least it has fixable problems. (no drivers for win10 though) -
logainofhades 17806093 said:Is it just me or this MOBO has too many useless connectors, m/2 or whatever they call it for old style mouse, VGA and even that audio jack thing (aside from headphones and mic).
Industry really needs to scrap these old items and free up space for new and additional items, more m.2, more USB 3.0 and C.
Some gamers still prefer older mechanical keyboards, and PS2 mice. None of the driver issues, that USB can have either. VGA is still ok, and not sure what you are talking about, with regards to audio. -
joz They missed an opportunity: Blackout the rear connectors as well as darkred/black the pci-e connectors.Reply -
Eximo Power, Heat, EfficiencyReply
"10 percent below-average person consumption"
Now I am scared of this sacrificial friendly motherboard. -
sincreator Couldn't the slow reboot while overclocking issue get resolved by a simple Bios update? I would think it would be addressed pretty quickly, and really not end up being a con anymore. After which, this board would be a total win for a budget friendly build.Reply -
RedJaron I think two PS2 connectors is excessive. One for a keyboard of course, but who is still using a PS2 mouse? Two additional USB ports for peripherals would be more useful.Reply
And while the Skylake iGPU can handle three output displays, Z boards are aimed at enthusiasts and power users. How many of them are using displays that are still VGA only? Three ports in a mix of HDMI and DisplayPort would better match that market, I think, maybe even a DVI. Keep the VGA on the H and B boards that are going to consumers with older displays. -
tical2399 I think two PS2 connectors is excessive. One for a keyboard of course, but who is still using a PS2 mouse? Two additional USB ports for peripherals would be more useful.
And while the Skylake iGPU can handle three output displays, Z boards are aimed at enthusiasts and power users. How many of them are using displays that are still VGA only? Three ports in a mix of HDMI and DisplayPort would better match that market, I think, maybe even a DVI. Keep the VGA on the H and B boards that are going to consumers with older displays.
Who is still using a ps2 keyboard?????