Performance

While performance is the goal, in the context of this review the numbers between the different Z170 boards don’t really mean much. I test the boards and document the performance to get an overall idea of performance with a good GPU and CPU and also to pinpoint if there are any glaring performance issues. For the most part there is a lot of parity between the boards because they share the same chipset, CPU, and GPU. It’s more important to focus on the subsystems where there can be more of a variance. Not to mention the performance numbers change more from updates in the graphics card drivers than anything else.

That said how did the MSI Z170I Gaming Pro AC Perform? Well our benchmark includes synthetic benchmarks like 3DMark and Passmark and then moves on to real world testing in PCMark 8 and in a few in game benchmarks. In most of the tests the numbers were spot on with the previous MSI board as well as the Gigabyte board. In 3Dmark the Gigabyte board did outperform both MSI boards by 200 points that can’t be accounted for with driver updates. In PCMark and Passmark the ITX board pulled ahead from the other two slighting. All in all the MSI Z170I Gaming Pro AC showed that you aren’t going to see a difference in performance going from a full ATX setup with one card to a single card ITX build, something a lot of people seem to think when they see the small ITX boards.

3DMark
Motherboard Overall Score Graphics Score Physics Score
MSI Z170A Gaming M5 8653 9635 12451
Gigabyte Z170X Gaming 7 8849 9783 13622
MSI Z170I Gaming Pro AC 8693 9524 13694
PCMark 8 Home Accelerated Score
MSI Z170A Gaming M5 4712
Gigabyte Z170X Gaming 7 4798
MSI Z170I Gaming Pro AC 4906
Passmark Overall Score
MSI Z170A Gaming M5 5507.6
Gigabyte Z170X Gaming 7 5669.8
MSI Z170I Gaming Pro AC 5831.3
Bioshock Infinite Average FPS
MSI Z170A Gaming M5 108.28
Gigabyte Z170X Gaming 7 108.96
MSI Z170I Gaming Pro AC 108.05
Tomb Raider Average FPS
MSI Z170A Gaming M5 57.8
Gigabyte Z170X Gaming 7 57.9
MSI Z170I Gaming Pro AC 55.5
Hitman: Absolution Average FPS
MSI Z170A Gaming M5 46.8
Gigabyte Z170X Gaming 7 46.3
MSI Z170I Gaming Pro AC 46.5
Sleeping Dogs Average FPS
MSI Z170A Gaming M5 60.3
Gigabyte Z170X Gaming 7 61.1
MSI Z170I Gaming Pro AC 59.6

 

Log in to comment

garfi3ld's Avatar
garfi3ld replied the topic: #37566 16 Jan 2016 02:20
Today I check out the Z170I Gaming Pro AC from MSI, their gaming focused Mini-ITX board
VaporX's Avatar
VaporX replied the topic: #37567 16 Jan 2016 02:38
I have reached the point I do not like the "gaming" motherboards. You can often get the same performance, minus a little overclocking potential for as much as 30% less, especially in ITX format.

We have 2019 guests and no members online

supportus