MSI Z170A Gaming M7 Motherboard

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Overclockers Club has spent a little quality time with the MSI Z170A Gaming M7 motherboard. Overall, it seems the OCC crew was very pleased with this motherboard.

Using the Game Boost option to overclock allows the enthusiast to use a dial an overclock feature in both hardware and software modes from the EZ Mode in the Click BIOS 5. There are options from 4.3GHz to 5GHz all by spinning the knob through seven different positions.
 
The included Do Not Disturb door hanger is what really got me interested :D


In all seriousness this board seems like a very solid contender, the more I read about it the more I like it.

I have not used a board with Killer NIC before,are there any known issues?
 
I really want this new series by MSI when I decide to take the plunge and upgrade my Sandybridge to Skylake.

Since I'm on a bit of a budget -- I will more than likely have to go with the M5, as the extra price doesn't seem worth it for a lot of the top tier features (like the OC knob)


What I'm most interested in is getting 2X 256GB M2 SATA chips and running them as a raid0 array --- 2000GB/sec bandwidth anyone?
 
collegeboy69us said:
What I'm most interested in is getting 2X 256GB M2 SATA chips and running them as a raid0 array --- 2000GB/sec bandwidth anyone?
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What advantage in real world use could that offer you over just getting a single drive?

You will add expense and increase the possibility of failure.
 
Less wires - no need to screw with data or power cables, everything running over the PCIe bus for extreme speed, plut it just looks cool :)

The last time I ran a raid0 array was with two 40GB Maxtor drives probably 16 years ago lol -- you can guess the reliability issues I had. With SSD's today, I'd have no issue running a 24/7 Raid0 with a proper backup implemented. Plus, dat speed yo.
 
zaniix said:
The included Do Not Disturb door hanger is what really got me interested :D


In all seriousness this board seems like a very solid contender, the more I read about it the more I like it.

I have not used a board with Killer NIC before,are there any known issues?
Click to expand...

The Killer NIC is the one thing holding me back on this board. I had a very old Killer NIC add-on card that seemed like snake oil that I eventually ditched, and since then they've changed hands and seem like little more than a software layer.

Would prefer to go with Intel, but it doesn't seem like a deal breaker.
 
yeah i the killer nic doesnt seem anything special, if it's software, that's just another layer in the way, screw that.

I have 120Mbit service to my house, ping of 15 to 30ms, who cares if I get "10% less latency" All the bullshit compensator crap games pull these days negates any good effect
 
collegeboy69us said:
yeah i the killer nic doesnt seem anything special, if it's software, that's just another layer in the way, screw that.

I have 120Mbit service to my house, ping of 15 to 30ms, who cares if I get "10% less latency" All the bullshit compensator crap games pull these days negates any good effect
Click to expand...


Dont think the killer NIC hurts any, it just adds a bunch of stuff you could do via software. I guess the way I see it is I wouldn't buy the board because of it or not buy it, its just a NIC and I really do not put much thought into what NIC is used anymore.
 
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Ugh, I really wish these reviews would go more in dept with reviewing the audio portion of these boards and weather these extra audio processors are making a real difference.
 
LiquidX said:
Ugh, I really wish these reviews would go more in dept with reviewing the audio portion of these boards
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Yes , i`m no audiophile , but my headphones need amp`ing for me hear something and most cheap board can barely drive them to a decent volume.
the last thing i want is to migrate my Xonar DGX that i got purely for the headphone amp (also the cleaner, noiseless audio)
 
Could always get an external/discrete amp, depending on what headphones you have it might be worth it... There's some pretty decent stuff at $50-100.

I was against it for a while since I had a Xonar STX and liked the volume control on my K90, but a Schiit amp definitely made a difference with some of my newer headphones (really ought to update sig) and I rather like that nice volume pot on my desk... Even if the amp is adding to the heat buildup in the room. :p

Still rocking the STX too tho (optical out, Dolby Headphone for some games), so I guess I just approach audio differently.
 
My cpu fans and case fans are all 3 pins. Will I be able to control their speed since the motherboards pin heads are all 4 pointe?
 
I will say no

This is direct from the board manual

Fan connectors can be classified as PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) Mode and
Voltage Mode. PWM Mode fan connectors provide constant 12V output and adjust fan
speed with speed control signal. Voltage Mode fan connectors control fan speed by
changing voltage. Therefore, when you plug a 3-pin (Non-PWM) fan to a PWM Mode
fan connector, the fan speed will be always maintained at 100%, and that could be
noisy.

I did not see anywhere that allowed for the PWM connectors to be switched to DC control like some other boards have.
 
collegeboy69us said:
yeah i the killer nic doesnt seem anything special, if it's software, that's just another layer in the way, screw that.

I have 120Mbit service to my house, ping of 15 to 30ms, who cares if I get "10% less latency" All the bullshit compensator crap games pull these days negates any good effect
Click to expand...


The general consensus I read about them is that they are shit. I'd prefer to have an Intel NIC any day.
 
The Gaming 7 has BOTH the Intel and Killer NIC.
It's the G1 top tier board that has TWO killer NICs.

Personally, i've ordered the gaming 7.
 
I installed my M7 last night, now if I only had a CPU...

On the fan header question. CPU1 and CPU2 are PWM only according to the manual. The three SYS_FAN headers aren't PWM.

I've had no issues with Killer NICs in the past, but never saw a need to leverage any of their features. I was frustrated to find the Intel NICs that manufacturers have been using lately often don't work on Server 2012 R2.
 
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