ASUS Z170-A Review
Category : Z170
Published by Marc Büchel on 28.10.15
With the Z170-A ASUS have a Z170 board in their portfolio, which is available at a competitive price. Apart from that it comes with an interesting feature mix. This is reason enough for us to have a closer look.






With their Signature Series motherboards ASUS always have interesting products in their portfolio and most of the time these boards are very mature right at launch day. For obvious reasons, this makes us really curious about what we can expect from this board on the following pages.


Page 1 - Introduction Page 14 - SiSoft Sandra 2
Page 2 - Specs and Delivery Page 15 - UC Bench
Page 3 - Features Page 16 - Super Pi 1M / 32M
Page 4 - Layout Page 17 - wPrime 1024M Multi Core
Page 5 - Connectors and I/O Page 18 - Cinebench
Page 6 - BIOS Page 19 - Tomb Raider
Page 7 - Test setup Page 20 - Metro Last Light
Page 8 - Preview / Gallery Page 21 - Sleeping Dogs
Page 9 - 3D Mark Page 22 - Power Consumption
Page 10 - 3D Mark 11 Page 23 - Performance Rating
Page 11 - 3D Mark Vantage  Page 24 - Price Comparison
Page 12 - PC Mark 8 Page 25 - Conclusion
Page 13 - SiSoft Sandra 1  
[pagebreak]

Specs and Delivery

Chipset Intel Z170
Memory Dual Channel DDR4, 4 x DIMM, Max. 64 GB DDR4, 3400 (O.C.) / 3333 (O.C.) / 3300 (O.C.) / 3200 (O.C.) / 3000 (O.C.) / 2800 (O.C.) / 2666 (O.C.) / 2400 (O.C.) / 2133 Non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory
Multi-GPU
  • Supports NVIDIA 4-way SLI Technology
  • Supports AMD 4-way CrossFireX Technology
Slots
  • 2 x PCIe 3.0 x16
  • 1 x PCIe 3.0 x4
  • 3 x PCIe 2.0 x1
  • 1 x PCI
  • 1 x M.2 Slots
Sound Realtek ALC892 8-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC
  • Supports : Jack-detection, Multi-streaming, Front Panel Jack-retasking
  • Blu-ray audio layer Content Protection
  • Optical S/PDIF out port(s) at back panel
Storage
  • 1 x SATA Express port
  • 1 x M.2 socket 3
  • 6 x SATA 6Gbps port
  • Supports Intel Rapid Storage Technology
Network
  • Intel I219-V Gigabit LAN
Internal Connectors
  • 2 x USB 3.0 connectors
  • 2 x USB 2.0 connectors
  • 1 x SATA Express connector
  • 1 x M.2 Socket 3
  • 1 x TPM header
  • 1 x COM port(s) connector(s)
  • 6 x SATA 6Gb/s connector(s)
  • 1 x CPU Fan connector(s) (1 x 4 -pin)
  • 1 x CPU OPT Fan connector(s) (1 x 4 -pin)
  • 4 x Chassis Fan connector(s) (4 x 4 -pin)
  • 1 x S/PDIF out header(s)
  • 1 x Thunderbolt header(s)
  • 1 x 24-pin EATX Power connector(s)
  • 1 x 8-pin ATX 12V Power connector(s)
  • 1 x EZ XMP switch
  • 1 x Front panel audio connector(s) (AAFP)
  • 1 x System panel(s) (Q-Connector)
  • 1 x DRCT header(s)
  • 1 x MemOK! button(s)
  • 1 x TPU switch(es)
  • 1 x Power-on button(s)
  • 1 x Clear CMOS jumper(s)
  • 1 x 5-pin EXT_FAN(Extension Fan) connector
  • 1 x USB BIOS Flashback Card header
  • 1 x Water Pump header (4-pin)
  • 1 x 14-1 pin TPM connector
Extrenal Connectors
  • 1 x PS/2 keyboard/mouse combo port(s)
  • 1 x DVI-D
  • 1 x D-Sub
  • 1 x DisplayPort
  • 1 x HDMI
  • 1 x LAN (RJ45) port(s)
  • 1 x USB 3.1 ()Type-C
  • 1 x USB 3.1 (teal blue)Type-A
  • 2 x USB 3.0 (blue) Type-A
  • 2 x USB 2.0
  • 1 x Optical S/PDIF out
  • 5 x Audio jack(s)
Forfactor ATX (30.5cm x 24.4cm)
BIOS Bios (128 Mb flash ROM, UEFI AMI BIOS)


   





Page 1 - Introduction Page 14 - SiSoft Sandra 2
Page 2 - Specs and Delivery Page 15 - UC Bench
Page 3 - Features Page 16 - Super Pi 1M / 32M
Page 4 - Layout Page 17 - wPrime 1024M Multi Core
Page 5 - Connectors and I/O Page 18 - Cinebench
Page 6 - BIOS Page 19 - Tomb Raider
Page 7 - Test setup Page 20 - Metro Last Light
Page 8 - Preview / Gallery Page 21 - Sleeping Dogs
Page 9 - 3D Mark Page 22 - Power Consumption
Page 10 - 3D Mark 11 Page 23 - Performance Rating
Page 11 - 3D Mark Vantage  Page 24 - Price Comparison
Page 12 - PC Mark 8 Page 25 - Conclusion
Page 13 - SiSoft Sandra 1  
[pagebreak]

Features

Digi+

 Since quite some time ASUS has been equipping its boards with digital power designs. Using the right software it is not only possible to adjust voltages while being in Windows on can now also control impedances. Furthermore this board features high quality 10K black metallic capacitor which guarantee a long lifespan.
 

ASUS Fan Xpert 3

 ASUS Fan Xpert 3 provides customizable settings for fans that have been attached directly to the onboard fan headers. With the Fan Auto Tuning feature, ASUS Fan Xpert 3 automatically detects and tweaks all fan speeds and in the end reduces unwanted noise.
 

EPU

 EPU automatically detects the current system load and moderates power usage. It offers a system-wide energy optimization and is able to reduce fan noise.
   

SATA Express

 SATA Express is a new port for storage devices that basically combines two SATA connectors and bundles them. Each SATA Express port has been wired using two PCI Express Gen2 lanes offering a total of 10 Gbps bandwidth. Compared to SATA-III with 6 Gbps bandwidth this is quite an improvement.
 

Crystal Sound 3

 With Crystal Sound 3 you get ASUS' interpretation of high quality onboard audio. Supporting up to eight channels, the Crystal Sound 3 solution received shielding from other onboard components.


Page 1 - Introduction Page 14 - SiSoft Sandra 2
Page 2 - Specs and Delivery Page 15 - UC Bench
Page 3 - Features Page 16 - Super Pi 1M / 32M
Page 4 - Layout Page 17 - wPrime 1024M Multi Core
Page 5 - Connectors and I/O Page 18 - Cinebench
Page 6 - BIOS Page 19 - Tomb Raider
Page 7 - Test setup Page 20 - Metro Last Light
Page 8 - Preview / Gallery Page 21 - Sleeping Dogs
Page 9 - 3D Mark Page 22 - Power Consumption
Page 10 - 3D Mark 11 Page 23 - Performance Rating
Page 11 - 3D Mark Vantage  Page 24 - Price Comparison
Page 12 - PC Mark 8 Page 25 - Conclusion
Page 13 - SiSoft Sandra 1  
[pagebreak]

Layout


With the Z170-A ASUS decided to use the same color scheme, which is already in place with their X99 offerings. You find a black PCB as well as coolers with white elements and a white cover for the back I/O panel. As you might have expected, the layout has been well thought and there is for example enough clearance around the CPU socket to install even todays largest CPU coolers. If you want to install extra long graphics cards, there will be no issues, thanks to the angled SATA ports.



  

The ASUS Z170-A comes with a digital 8+2+1 phase power design. The CPU is backed up by eight phases, the iGPU can rely on two phases and the memory receives stable current supply from one phase. In general the power design on this board is adequate for the job at hand. It's even good for aircooled overclocking every now and then, but we would not recommend this board for extreme or continous high overclocking in combination with watercooling solutions. For that purpose ASUS has more suitable boards in its portfolio.



  

Totally you'll find four DIMM-slots on the Z170-A. Officially supported are DDR4 3400 (O.C.) / 3333 (O.C.) / 3300 (O.C.) / 3200 (O.C.) / 3000 (O.C.) / 2800 (O.C.) / 2666 (O.C.) / 2400 (O.C.) / 2133. There is engough space between the DIMM-slots and the CPU socket which means that you wont encounter compatibility problems with big coolers even when you choose to install RAM with big heatspreaders. Also supported are Xtreme Memory Profiles (XMP) in version 2.0.


On the Z170-A the southbridge is being cooled by a passive cooling block. A closer look at the VRM area shows there are two more individual heatsinks. The overall build quality of the blocks is good , which makes for product that feels very nice, when you're holding it in your hands.

  


Page 1 - Introduction Page 14 - SiSoft Sandra 2
Page 2 - Specs and Delivery Page 15 - UC Bench
Page 3 - Features Page 16 - Super Pi 1M / 32M
Page 4 - Layout Page 17 - wPrime 1024M Multi Core
Page 5 - Connectors and I/O Page 18 - Cinebench
Page 6 - BIOS Page 19 - Tomb Raider
Page 7 - Test setup Page 20 - Metro Last Light
Page 8 - Preview / Gallery Page 21 - Sleeping Dogs
Page 9 - 3D Mark Page 22 - Power Consumption
Page 10 - 3D Mark 11 Page 23 - Performance Rating
Page 11 - 3D Mark Vantage  Page 24 - Price Comparison
Page 12 - PC Mark 8 Page 25 - Conclusion
Page 13 - SiSoft Sandra 1  
[pagebreak]

Connectors and I/O


ASUS equipped the Z170-A with six angled SATA ports. All of them offer 6Gbps bandwidth. Two SATA ports can be combined to one SATA Express connector and also natively wired to the PCH there is an M.2 x4 Gen 3 slot. You won't find practical onboard power- and reset-buttons and there is also no debug LED on this board. What's standard since quite a few generations is the MemOK buttons, which has proven useful quite a few times. ASUS also decided to place a PCIe x1 slot right below the I/O panel on the back of the board. After that one there is a PCIe x16 Gen 3 slot. This means that it's well possible to remove a graphics card even if a large CPU heatsink has been installed.


  

There is a total of six fan headers on the Z170-A which is more than enough, to provide a well equipped high-end or workstation with fresh air. The fan header are located close to the CPU as well as spread over the board. Other than that it's a good thing that all of them feature four pins, which allows for rpm regulation in BIOS as well as under Windows.


  


  

Looking at the external connectors directly at the back-panel ASUS equipped the Z170-A with two USB 3.1 ports, whereas there is one Type-C connector, two USB 3.0 and two USB 2.0 ports, one Intel gigabit ethernet port, as well as an optical out and an analogue audio panel and a PS/2 port. Furthermore there is also an HDMI, a DisplayPort, a VGA port and a DVI connector.




Page 1 - Introduction Page 14 - SiSoft Sandra 2
Page 2 - Specs and Delivery Page 15 - UC Bench
Page 3 - Features Page 16 - Super Pi 1M / 32M
Page 4 - Layout Page 17 - wPrime 1024M Multi Core
Page 5 - Connectors and I/O Page 18 - Cinebench
Page 6 - BIOS Page 19 - Tomb Raider
Page 7 - Test setup Page 20 - Metro Last Light
Page 8 - Preview / Gallery Page 21 - Sleeping Dogs
Page 9 - 3D Mark Page 22 - Power Consumption
Page 10 - 3D Mark 11 Page 23 - Performance Rating
Page 11 - 3D Mark Vantage  Page 24 - Price Comparison
Page 12 - PC Mark 8 Page 25 - Conclusion
Page 13 - SiSoft Sandra 1  
[pagebreak]

BIOS


The most recent version of ASUS’s UEFI BIOS presents itself with an attractive design, and especially the new interface which called EzMode, where we can not only monitor system information, CPU and motherboard temperature, CPU voltage and DRAM status but also set system and CPU fans as well as directly change the boot priority and tune the system to different profiles, is leaving a good impression.

If you wish to go back to the good old times, where you were racing through the menus hammering up and down arrows as well as the enter key ridiculously fast, you just have to press F7 and there you go. Since this motherboard features a very solid power design it is suitable for gaming and high overclocking. The BIOS features all the usual ASUS options, which allow for altering virtually anything when it comes to overclocking. Overall, there is certainly no lack of options in this BIOS.

   


   


   


   


   


Page 1 - Introduction Page 14 - SiSoft Sandra 2
Page 2 - Specs and Delivery Page 15 - UC Bench
Page 3 - Features Page 16 - Super Pi 1M / 32M
Page 4 - Layout Page 17 - wPrime 1024M Multi Core
Page 5 - Connectors and I/O Page 18 - Cinebench
Page 6 - BIOS Page 19 - Tomb Raider
Page 7 - Test setup Page 20 - Metro Last Light
Page 8 - Preview / Gallery Page 21 - Sleeping Dogs
Page 9 - 3D Mark Page 22 - Power Consumption
Page 10 - 3D Mark 11 Page 23 - Performance Rating
Page 11 - 3D Mark Vantage  Page 24 - Price Comparison
Page 12 - PC Mark 8 Page 25 - Conclusion
Page 13 - SiSoft Sandra 1  
[pagebreak]

Test setup

Hardware
Motherboard
  • ASRock Z170 Extreme7+
  • ASUS Maximus VIII Gene
  • ASUS Maximus VIII Hero
  • ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger
  • ASUS Z170 Deluxe
  • ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming
  • ASUS Z170-A
  • Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1
  • MSI Z170A Gaming M7
  • MSI Z170A XPower Gaming Titanium Edition
  • Supermicro C7Z170-SQ
Processor Intel Core i7-6700K @ 4.0 GHz
Memory 8 GB (2x4) G.Skill Ares DDR4-2133 CL15-15-15-2T 350
Graphic card ASUS GeForce GTX 980
Driver ForceWare 353.62
Hard disk Intel 335 Series SSD 120 GB
Power supply Seasonic Platinum Fanless 520W


Page 1 - Introduction Page 14 - SiSoft Sandra 2
Page 2 - Specs and Delivery Page 15 - UC Bench
Page 3 - Features Page 16 - Super Pi 1M / 32M
Page 4 - Layout Page 17 - wPrime 1024M Multi Core
Page 5 - Connectors and I/O Page 18 - Cinebench
Page 6 - BIOS Page 19 - Tomb Raider
Page 7 - Test setup Page 20 - Metro Last Light
Page 8 - Preview / Gallery Page 21 - Sleeping Dogs
Page 9 - 3D Mark Page 22 - Power Consumption
Page 10 - 3D Mark 11 Page 23 - Performance Rating
Page 11 - 3D Mark Vantage  Page 24 - Price Comparison
Page 12 - PC Mark 8 Page 25 - Conclusion
Page 13 - SiSoft Sandra 1
[pagebreak]

Preview / Gallery



Product Picture Link to Gallery
   

ASRock Z170 Extreme7+
   

ASUS Maximus VIII Gene
   

ASUS Maximus VIII Hero
   

ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger
   

ASUS Z170 Deluxe
   

ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming
   

ASUS Z170-A
   

Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1
   

MSI Z170A Gaming M7
   

Supermicro C7Z170SQ
   


Page 1 - Introduction Page 14 - SiSoft Sandra 2
Page 2 - Specs and Delivery Page 15 - UC Bench
Page 3 - Features Page 16 - Super Pi 1M / 32M
Page 4 - Layout Page 17 - wPrime 1024M Multi Core
Page 5 - Connectors and I/O Page 18 - Cinebench
Page 6 - BIOS Page 19 - Tomb Raider
Page 7 - Test setup Page 20 - Metro Last Light
Page 8 - Preview / Gallery Page 21 - Sleeping Dogs
Page 9 - 3D Mark Page 22 - Power Consumption
Page 10 - 3D Mark 11 Page 23 - Performance Rating
Page 11 - 3D Mark Vantage  Page 24 - Price Comparison
Page 12 - PC Mark 8 Page 25 - Conclusion
Page 13 - SiSoft Sandra 1  
[pagebreak]

3D Mark

Ice Storm

3D Mark Ice Storm Score
Review Rating
 Percent
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition   196'281 101.42%
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene   195'178 100.85%
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero   195'737 101.14%
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger   195'491 101.02%
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming   195'151 100.32%
ASUS Z170-A   195'107 100.82%
ASUS Z170 Deluxe   193'524 100.00%
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1   187'768 97.03%
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ   184'489 95.33%
MSI Z170 Gaming M7   186'491 96.37%
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+   185'448 95.83%
more is better


Ice Storm Physics

3D Mark Ice Storm Physics Score
Review Rating
 Percent
ASUS Z170-A   68'073 104.08%
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger   67'026 102.48%
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition   66'616 101.16%
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero   66'332 101.42%
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming   65'716 100.48%
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene   65'681 100.42%
ASUS Z170 Deluxe   65'404 100.00%
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1   63'524 97.13%
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+   62'866 96.12%
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ   62'775 95.98%
MSI Z170 Gaming M7   62'072 94.91%
more is better


Fire Strike

3D Mark Fire Strike Score
Review Rating
 Percent
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ   12'103 100.12%
ASUS Z170 Deluxe   12'089 100.00%
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene   12'085 99.97%
ASUS Z170-A   12'085 99.97%
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger   12'081 99.93%
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming   12'081 99.93%
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1   12'071 99.85%
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition   12'068 99.83%
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero   12'061 99.80%
MSI Z170 Gaming M7   12'061 99.80%
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+   12'059 99.75%
more is better


Fire Strike Physics

3D Mark Fire Strike Physics Score
Review Rating
 Percent
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming   13'050 100.48%
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger   13'043 100.33%
ASUS Z170 Deluxe   13'000 100.00%
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero   12'993 99.95%
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ   12'988 99.91%
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene   12'987 99.90%
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1   12'977 99.82%
ASUS Z170-A   12'972 99.78%
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition   12'966 99.74%
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+   12'938 99.52%
MSI Z170 Gaming M7   12'925 99.42%
more is better


Page 1 - Introduction Page 14 - SiSoft Sandra 2
Page 2 - Specs and Delivery Page 15 - UC Bench
Page 3 - Features Page 16 - Super Pi 1M / 32M
Page 4 - Layout Page 17 - wPrime 1024M Multi Core
Page 5 - Connectors and I/O Page 18 - Cinebench
Page 6 - BIOS Page 19 - Tomb Raider
Page 7 - Test setup Page 20 - Metro Last Light
Page 8 - Preview / Gallery Page 21 - Sleeping Dogs
Page 9 - 3D Mark Page 22 - Power Consumption
Page 10 - 3D Mark 11 Page 23 - Performance Rating
Page 11 - 3D Mark Vantage  Page 24 - Price Comparison
Page 12 - PC Mark 8 Page 25 - Conclusion
Page 13 - SiSoft Sandra 1  
[pagebreak]

3D Mark 11

3D Mark 11 Total
Review Rating
 Percent
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ   16'428 100.27%
MSI Z170 Gaming M7   16'425 100.25%
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger   16'423 100.24%
ASUS Z170-A   16'416 100.20%
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene   16'406 100.13%
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition   16'397 100.08%
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming   16'389 100.03%
ASUS Z170 Deluxe   16'384 100.00%
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1   16'366 99.89%
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+   16'377 99.96%
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero   16'357 99.83%
more is better


CPU

3D Mark 11 Physics
Review Rating
 Percent
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger   11'597 101.27%
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming   11'549 100.85%
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1   11'548 100.84%
ASUS Z170-A   11'531 100.69%
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ   11'531 100.69%
MSI Z170 Gaming M7   11'519 100.59%
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+   11'502 100.44%
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition   11'477 100.22%
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene   11'459 100.06%
ASUS Z170 Deluxe   11'452 100.00%
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero   11'357 99.17%
more is better


Page 1 - Introduction Page 14 - SiSoft Sandra 2
Page 2 - Specs and Delivery Page 15 - UC Bench
Page 3 - Features Page 16 - Super Pi 1M / 32M
Page 4 - Layout Page 17 - wPrime 1024M Multi Core
Page 5 - Connectors and I/O Page 18 - Cinebench
Page 6 - BIOS Page 19 - Tomb Raider
Page 7 - Test setup Page 20 - Metro Last Light
Page 8 - Preview / Gallery Page 21 - Sleeping Dogs
Page 9 - 3D Mark Page 22 - Power Consumption
Page 10 - 3D Mark 11 Page 23 - Performance Rating
Page 11 - 3D Mark Vantage  Page 24 - Price Comparison
Page 12 - PC Mark 8 Page 25 - Conclusion
Page 13 - SiSoft Sandra 1  
[pagebreak]

3D Mark Vantage

3D Mark Vantage Total
Review Rating
 Percent
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger   46'246 100.68%
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming   46'135 100.44%
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero   46'052 100.26%
ASUS Z170 Deluxe   45'932 100.00%
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ   45'903 99.94%
ASUS Z170-A   45'900 99.93%
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene   45'891 99.91%
MSI Z170 Gaming M7   45'881 99.89%
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1   45'793 99.70%
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition   45'725 99.55%
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+   45'717 99.53%
more is better


3D Mark Vantage CPU
Review Rating
 Percent
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming   32'869 100.68%
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger   32'860 100.66%
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene   32'852 100.63%
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero   32'850 100.62%
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1   32'801 100.47%
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ   32'753 100.33%
ASUS Z170 Deluxe   32'646 100.00%
ASUS Z170-A   32'590 99.83%
MSI Z170 Gaming M7   32'461 99.43%
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition   32'380 99.19%
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+   32'304 98.95%
more is better


Page 1 - Introduction Page 14 - SiSoft Sandra 2
Page 2 - Specs and Delivery Page 15 - UC Bench
Page 3 - Features Page 16 - Super Pi 1M / 32M
Page 4 - Layout Page 17 - wPrime 1024M Multi Core
Page 5 - Connectors and I/O Page 18 - Cinebench
Page 6 - BIOS Page 19 - Tomb Raider
Page 7 - Test setup Page 20 - Metro Last Light
Page 8 - Preview / Gallery Page 21 - Sleeping Dogs
Page 9 - 3D Mark Page 22 - Power Consumption
Page 10 - 3D Mark 11 Page 23 - Performance Rating
Page 11 - 3D Mark Vantage  Page 24 - Price Comparison
Page 12 - PC Mark 8 Page 25 - Conclusion
Page 13 - SiSoft Sandra 1  
[pagebreak]

PC Mark 08

Total

PC Mark 08 Total
Review Rating
 Points Percent
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger   4'647 100.37%
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming   4'640 100.22%
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero   4'631 100.02%
ASUS Z170 Deluxe   4'630 100.00%
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene   4'627 99.94%
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1   4'621 99.81%
ASUS Z170-A   4'620 99.78%
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+   4'618 99.74%
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ   4'617 99.72%
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition   4'615 99.68%
MSI Z170 Gaming M7   4'612 99.61%
more is better


Web Browsing - JunglePin
Review Rating
 sec Percent
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero   0.28177 100.08%
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger   0.28182 100.06%
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition   0.28198 100.01%
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+   0.28200 100.00%
ASUS Z170 Deluxe   0.28200 100.00%
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming   0.28209 99.97%
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene   0.28215 99.95%
ASUS Z170-A   0.28219 99.93%
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ   0.28253 99.81%
MSI Z170 Gaming M7   0.28284 99.70%
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1   0.28300 99.65%
more is better


Web Browsing - Amazonia
Review Rating
 sec Percent
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger   0.12176 100.12%
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition   0.12176 100.12%
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero   0.12182 100.07%
ASUS Z170-A   0.12185 100.05%
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene   0.12186 100.04%
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming   0.12186 100.04%
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ   0.12187 100.03%
ASUS Z170 Deluxe   0.12191 100.00%
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+   0.12200 99.88%
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1   0.12200 99.93%
MSI Z170 Gaming M7   0.12256 99.42%
more is better


Writing
Review Rating
 sec Percent
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming   3.06777 101.05%
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger   3.06814 101.04%
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition   3.09132 100.28%
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene   3.09199 100.26%
ASUS Z170 Deluxe   3.10012 100.00%
ASUS Z170-A   3.10024 99.99%
MSI Z170 Gaming M7   3.14001 98.73%
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero   3.11766 99.44%
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ   3.13622 97.82%
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+   3.21000 96.58%
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1   3.21000 96.58%
more is better


Casual Gaming
Review Rating
 fps Percent
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+   140.10 100.96%
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming   139.91 100.82%
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger   139.48 100.51%
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene   139.32 100.40%
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ   139.22 100.32%
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero   139.05 100.11%
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1   138.90 100.09%
ASUS Z170 Deluxe   138.77 100.00%
ASUS Z170-A   138.65 98.97%
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition   138.49 99.80%
MSI Z170 Gaming M7   137.39 98.07%
more is better


Video Chat Playback 1
Review Rating
 fps Percent
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+   30.00 100.00%
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1   30.00 100.00%
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene   30.00 100.00%
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero   30.00 100.00%
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger   30.00 100.00%
ASUS Z170 Deluxe   30.00 100.00%
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming   30.00 100.00%
ASUS Z170-A   30.00 100.00%
MSI Z170 Gaming M7   30.00 100.00%
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition   30.00 100.00%
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ   30.00 100.00%
more is better


Video Chat encoding
Review Rating
 ms Percent
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger   48.00 101.29%
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming   48.00 101.29%
ASUS Z170 Deluxe   48.62 100.00%
MSI Z170 Gaming M7   48.88 99.47%
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene   49.00 99.22%
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero   49.00 99.22%
ASUS Z170-A   49.00 99.22%
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1   49.00 99.22%
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition   49.00 99.22%
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ   49.00 99.22%
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+   50.00 97.24%
more is better


Advanced Photo Editing
Review Rating
 sec Percent
ASUS Z170 Deluxe   0.30548 100.00%
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero   0.30810 99.15%
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger   0.31066 98.33%
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1   0.31100 98.23%
ASUS Z170-A   0.31240 97.78%
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+   0.31300 97.60%
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming   0.31355 97.43%
MSI Z170 Gaming M7   0.31357 97.42%
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ   0.31501 96.97%
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition   0.31558 96.80%
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene   0.31645 96.53%
more is better


Page 1 - Introduction Page 14 - SiSoft Sandra 2
Page 2 - Specs and Delivery Page 15 - UC Bench
Page 3 - Features Page 16 - Super Pi 1M / 32M
Page 4 - Layout Page 17 - wPrime 1024M Multi Core
Page 5 - Connectors and I/O Page 18 - Cinebench
Page 6 - BIOS Page 19 - Tomb Raider
Page 7 - Test setup Page 20 - Metro Last Light
Page 8 - Preview / Gallery Page 21 - Sleeping Dogs
Page 9 - 3D Mark Page 22 - Power Consumption
Page 10 - 3D Mark 11 Page 23 - Performance Rating
Page 11 - 3D Mark Vantage  Page 24 - Price Comparison
Page 12 - PC Mark 8 Page 25 - Conclusion
Page 13 - SiSoft Sandra 1  
[pagebreak]

SiSoft Sandra 1

Arithmetic Benchmark

SiSoft Sandra - Arithmetic Benchmark - Dhrystone
Review Rating
 GIPS Percent
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming   155.67 102.75%
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene   155.23 102.46%
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+   155.20 102.44%
MSI Z170 Gaming M7  

155.10

 102.38%
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero   155.00 102.31%
ASUS Z170-A   155.00 102.31%
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger   152.17 102.44%
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ   154.95 102.28%
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition   154.92 102.26%
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1   152.00 100.33%
ASUS Z170 Deluxe   151.50 100.00%
more is better


SiSoft Sandra - Arithmetic Benchmark - Whetstone
Review Rating
 GFLOPS Percent
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming   108.49 100.58%
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene   108.47 100.57%
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger   108.00 100.13%
ASUS Z170 Deluxe   107.86 100.00%
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ   107.61 99.77%
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero   107.46 99.63%
ASUS Z170-A   107.41 99.58%
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition   107.36 99.54%
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+   107.17 99.36%
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1   106.73 98.95%
MSI Z170 Gaming M7   106.14 98.41%
more is better


Multimedia

SiSoft Sandra - Multimedia - Integer
Review Rating
 MPixels/sec Percent
MSI Z170 Gaming M7   512.34 101.54%
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger   506.53 100.39%
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero   504.69 100.03%
ASUS Z170 Deluxe   504.56 100.00%
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene   502.20 99.53%
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1   501.55 99.40%
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming   501.00 99.29%
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition   499.82 99.06%
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ   499.14 98.90%
ASUS Z170-A   499.12 97.42%
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+   498.84 97.37%
more is better


SiSoft Sandra - Multimedia - Floating Point
Review Rating
 MPixels/sec Percent
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1   495.73 101.83%
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming   492.12 101.09%
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger   491.71 101.01%
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene   490.73 100.81%
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero   490.29 100.72%
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition   490.00 100.66%
MSI Z170 Gaming M7   489.18 100.49%
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+   488.07 100.26%
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ   487.79 100.20%
ASUS Z170 Deluxe   486.80 100.00%
ASUS Z170-A   480.54 98.23%
more is better


Crytography

SiSoft Sandra - Crytography - AES 256
Review Rating
 GB/sec Percent
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene   7.80 101.17%
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero   7.80 101.17%
MSI Z170 Gaming M7   7.78 100.91%
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger   7.77 100.78%
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming   7.77 100.78%
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ   7.77 100.78%
ASUS Z170-A   7.73 100.26%
ASUS Z170 Deluxe   7.71 100.00%
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition   7.71 100.00%
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+   7.68 99.61%
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1   7.66 99.35%
more is better


SiSoft Sandra - Crytography - SHA 256
Review Rating
 GB/sec Percent
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger   1.56 101.96%
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+   1.55 101.31%
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene   1.55 101.31%
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero   1.55 101.31%
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming   1.55 101.31%
ASUS Z170-A   1.55 101.31%
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1   1.55 101.31%
MSI Z170 Gaming M7   1.55 101.31%
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition   1.55 101.31%
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ   1.55 101.31%
ASUS Z170 Deluxe   1.53 100.00%
more is better


Page 1 - Introduction Page 14 - SiSoft Sandra 2
Page 2 - Specs and Delivery Page 15 - UC Bench
Page 3 - Features Page 16 - Super Pi 1M / 32M
Page 4 - Layout Page 17 - wPrime 1024M Multi Core
Page 5 - Connectors and I/O Page 18 - Cinebench
Page 6 - BIOS Page 19 - Tomb Raider
Page 7 - Test setup Page 20 - Metro Last Light
Page 8 - Preview / Gallery Page 21 - Sleeping Dogs
Page 9 - 3D Mark Page 22 - Power Consumption
Page 10 - 3D Mark 11 Page 23 - Performance Rating
Page 11 - 3D Mark Vantage  Page 24 - Price Comparison
Page 12 - PC Mark 8 Page 25 - Conclusion
Page 13 - SiSoft Sandra 1  
[pagebreak]

SiSoft Sandra 2

Memory bandwidth

SiSoft Sandra - Memory bandwidth - Integer
Review Rating
 GB/sec Percent
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero   23.35 101.52%
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene   23.32 101.39%
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ   23.26 101.13%
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming   23.18 100.78%
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger   23.16 100.70%
MSI Z170 Gaming M7   23.12 100.52%
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1   23.11 100.48%
ASUS Z170 Deluxe   23.00 100.00%
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition   23.00 100.00%
ASUS Z170-A   23.00 100.00%
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+   22.91 99.61%
more is better


SiSoft Sandra - Memory bandwidth - floating point
Review Rating
 GB/sec Percent
MSI Z170 Gaming M7   23.34 102.46%
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero   23.11 101.45%
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene   23.00 100.97%
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ   23.00 100.97%
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger   22.92 100.61%
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming   22.92 100.61%
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1   22.86 100.35%
ASUS Z170-A   22.80 100.09%
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition   22.79 100.04%
ASUS Z170 Deluxe   22.78 100.00%
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+   22.67 99.52%
more is better


Memory latency

SiSoft Sandra - Memory latency
Review Rating
 ns Percent
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene   22.8 101.32%
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero   22.9 100.87%
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger   22.9 100.87%
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming   22.9 100.87%
ASUS Z170-A   23.0 100.43%
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+   23.1 100.00%
ASUS Z170 Deluxe   23.1 100.00%
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1   23.1 100.00%
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition   23.1 100.00%
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ   23.1 100.00%
MSI Z170 Gaming M7   23.2 99.57%
less is better more is better


Memory and cache access

SiSoft Sandra - Cache
Review Rating
 GB/sec Percent
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming   207.35 100.41%
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger   207.24 100.35%
MSI Z170 Gaming M7   207.20 100.33%
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero   207.18 100.32%
ASUS Z170-A   206.87 100.17%
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ   206.79 100.14%
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1   206.65 100.07%
ASUS Z170 Deluxe   206.51 100.00%
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene   206.40 99.95%
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition   206.00 99.75%
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+   205.49 99.51%
more is better


Page 1 - Introduction Page 14 - SiSoft Sandra 2
Page 2 - Specs and Delivery Page 15 - UC Bench
Page 3 - Features Page 16 - Super Pi 1M / 32M
Page 4 - Layout Page 17 - wPrime 1024M Multi Core
Page 5 - Connectors and I/O Page 18 - Cinebench
Page 6 - BIOS Page 19 - Tomb Raider
Page 7 - Test setup Page 20 - Metro Last Light
Page 8 - Preview / Gallery Page 21 - Sleeping Dogs
Page 9 - 3D Mark Page 22 - Power Consumption
Page 10 - 3D Mark 11 Page 23 - Performance Rating
Page 11 - 3D Mark Vantage  Page 24 - Price Comparison
Page 12 - PC Mark 8 Page 25 - Conclusion
Page 13 - SiSoft Sandra 1  
[pagebreak]

UC Bench

UC Bench
Review Rating
 PW/sec Percent
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ   1'057.2 100.36%
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming   1'057.1 100.35%
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger   1'056.9 100.33%
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene   1'056.3 100.28%
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero   1'055.9 100.24%
ASUS Z170-A   1'055.9 100.24%
MSI Z170 Gaming M7   1'055.5 100.20%
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+   1'055.1 100.16%
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1   1'054.6 100.11%
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition   1'054.1 100.07%
ASUS Z170 Deluxe   1'053.4 100.00%
more is better


Page 1 - Introduction Page 14 - SiSoft Sandra 2
Page 2 - Specs and Delivery Page 15 - UC Bench
Page 3 - Features Page 16 - Super Pi 1M / 32M
Page 4 - Layout Page 17 - wPrime 1024M Multi Core
Page 5 - Connectors and I/O Page 18 - Cinebench
Page 6 - BIOS Page 19 - Tomb Raider
Page 7 - Test setup Page 20 - Metro Last Light
Page 8 - Preview / Gallery Page 21 - Sleeping Dogs
Page 9 - 3D Mark Page 22 - Power Consumption
Page 10 - 3D Mark 11 Page 23 - Performance Rating
Page 11 - 3D Mark Vantage  Page 24 - Price Comparison
Page 12 - PC Mark 8 Page 25 - Conclusion
Page 13 - SiSoft Sandra 1  
[pagebreak]

Super Pi 1M - 32M

Super Pi 1M

Super Pi 1.5 XS - 1M
Review Rating
 sec Percent
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming   9.057 100.70%
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger   9.068 100.57%
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1   9.079 100.45%
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition   9.094 100.29%
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ   9.094 100.29%
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+   9.095 100.27%
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero   9.095 100.27%
MSI Z170 Gaming M7   9.110 100.11%
ASUS Z170-A   9.111 100.10%
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene   9.111 100.10%
ASUS Z170 Deluxe   9.120 100.00%
less is better more is better

Super Pi 32M

Super Pi 1.5 XS - 32M
Review Rating
 sec Percent
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger   480.688 100.48%
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming   480.919 100.43%
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene   481.135 100.38%
ASUS Z170-A   482.305 100.14%
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1   482.462 100.11%
MSI Z170 Gaming M7   482.789 100.04%
ASUS Z170 Deluxe   482.985 100.00%
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition   484.677 99.65%
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero   485.394 99.38%
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ   486.127 99.35%
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+   487.266 99.12%
less is better more is better


Page 1 - Introduction Page 14 - SiSoft Sandra 2
Page 2 - Specs and Delivery Page 15 - UC Bench
Page 3 - Features Page 16 - Super Pi 1M / 32M
Page 4 - Layout Page 17 - wPrime 1024M Multi Core
Page 5 - Connectors and I/O Page 18 - Cinebench
Page 6 - BIOS Page 19 - Tomb Raider
Page 7 - Test setup Page 20 - Metro Last Light
Page 8 - Preview / Gallery Page 21 - Sleeping Dogs
Page 9 - 3D Mark Page 22 - Power Consumption
Page 10 - 3D Mark 11 Page 23 - Performance Rating
Page 11 - 3D Mark Vantage  Page 24 - Price Comparison
Page 12 - PC Mark 8 Page 25 - Conclusion
Page 13 - SiSoft Sandra 1  
[pagebreak]

wPrime 1024M Multicore

wPrime - 1024M Multi Core
Review Rating
 sec Percent
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger   158.356 100.75%
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming   158.470 100.67%
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero   158.752 100.49%
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene   158.816 100.45%
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ   158.963 100.36%
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+   159.026 100.32%
MSI Z170 Gaming M7   159.042 100.31%
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition   159.262 100.17%
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1   159.401 100.08%
ASUS Z170-A   159.459 100.05%
ASUS Z170 Deluxe   159.536 100.00%
more is better more is better


Page 1 - Introduction Page 14 - SiSoft Sandra 2
Page 2 - Specs and Delivery Page 15 - UC Bench
Page 3 - Features Page 16 - Super Pi 1M / 32M
Page 4 - Layout Page 17 - wPrime 1024M Multi Core
Page 5 - Connectors and I/O Page 18 - Cinebench
Page 6 - BIOS Page 19 - Tomb Raider
Page 7 - Test setup Page 20 - Metro Last Light
Page 8 - Preview / Gallery Page 21 - Sleeping Dogs
Page 9 - 3D Mark Page 22 - Power Consumption
Page 10 - 3D Mark 11 Page 23 - Performance Rating
Page 11 - 3D Mark Vantage  Page 24 - Price Comparison
Page 12 - PC Mark 8 Page 25 - Conclusion
Page 13 - SiSoft Sandra 1  
[pagebreak]

Cinebench R15

Cinebench R11.5 - Multi Core
Review Rating
 pts Percent
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger   887 100.68%
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming   886 100.57%
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ   886 100.57%
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene   884 100.34%
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+   882 100.11%
ASUS Z170 Deluxe   881 100.00%
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition   881 100.00%
ASUS Z170-A   879 99.77%
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero   878 99.66%
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1   877 99.55%
MSI Z170 Gaming M7   874 99.21%
less is better more is better


Page 1 - Introduction Page 14 - SiSoft Sandra 2
Page 2 - Specs and Delivery Page 15 - UC Bench
Page 3 - Features Page 16 - Super Pi 1M / 32M
Page 4 - Layout Page 17 - wPrime 1024M Multi Core
Page 5 - Connectors and I/O Page 18 - Cinebench
Page 6 - BIOS Page 19 - Tomb Raider
Page 7 - Test setup Page 20 - Metro Last Light
Page 8 - Preview / Gallery Page 21 - Sleeping Dogs
Page 9 - 3D Mark Page 22 - Power Consumption
Page 10 - 3D Mark 11 Page 23 - Performance Rating
Page 11 - 3D Mark Vantage  Page 24 - Price Comparison
Page 12 - PC Mark 8 Page 25 - Conclusion
Page 13 - SiSoft Sandra 1  
[pagebreak]

Tomb Raider

Low resolution - 1024 x 768

Tomb Raider (low resolution, low details)
Review Rating
 fps Percent
ASUS Z170 Deluxe   264.6 100.00%
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming   262.6 99.24%
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero   261.0 98.64%
ASUS Z170-A   260.6 98.49%
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene   260.0 98.26%
MSI Z170 Gaming M7   258.1 97.54%
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition   258.0 97.51%
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ   258.0 97.51%
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger   257.2 97.20%
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1   257.1 97.17%
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+   255.1 96.41%
more is better


High resolution - 1920 x 1080

Tomb Raider (high resolution, high details)
Review Rating
 fps Percent
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition   150.0 101.42%
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger   149.8 101.28%
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero   147.9 100.00%
ASUS Z170 Deluxe   147.9 100.00%
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ   147.9 100.00%
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1   145.9 98.65%
MSI Z170 Gaming M7   144.3 97.57%
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+   144.0 97.36%
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming   144.0 97.36%
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene   143.1 96.75%
ASUS Z170-A   142.0 96.01%
more is better


Page 1 - Introduction Page 14 - SiSoft Sandra 2
Page 2 - Specs and Delivery Page 15 - UC Bench
Page 3 - Features Page 16 - Super Pi 1M / 32M
Page 4 - Layout Page 17 - wPrime 1024M Multi Core
Page 5 - Connectors and I/O Page 18 - Cinebench
Page 6 - BIOS Page 19 - Tomb Raider
Page 7 - Test setup Page 20 - Metro Last Light
Page 8 - Preview / Gallery Page 21 - Sleeping Dogs
Page 9 - 3D Mark Page 22 - Power Consumption
Page 10 - 3D Mark 11 Page 23 - Performance Rating
Page 11 - 3D Mark Vantage  Page 24 - Price Comparison
Page 12 - PC Mark 8 Page 25 - Conclusion
Page 13 - SiSoft Sandra 1  
[pagebreak]

Metro Last Light

Low resolution - 1024 x 768

Metro Last Light (low details, low resolution)
Review Rating
 fps Percent
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero   186.03 101.53%
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition   185.90 101.46%
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ   185.70 101.35%
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming   185.63 101.32%
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene   184.71 100.81%
MSI Z170 Gaming M7   184.02 100.44%
ASUS Z170 Deluxe   183.22 100.00%
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1   182.29 99.49%
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger   182.27 99.48%
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+   181.85 99.25%
ASUS Z170-A   181.55 99.09%
more is better


High resolution - 1920 x 1080

Metro Last Light (high details, high resolution)
Review Rating
 fps Percent
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene   57.23 100.81%
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero   56.77 100.00%
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition   56.77 100.00%
ASUS Z170 Deluxe   56.77 100.00%
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ   56.77 100.00%
MSI Z170 Gaming M7   56.70 99.88%
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger   56.60 99.70%
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming   56.60 99.70%
ASUS Z170-A   56.57 99.65%
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1   56.54 99.59%
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+   56.06 98.75%
more is better


Page 1 - Introduction Page 14 - SiSoft Sandra 2
Page 2 - Specs and Delivery Page 15 - UC Bench
Page 3 - Features Page 16 - Super Pi 1M / 32M
Page 4 - Layout Page 17 - wPrime 1024M Multi Core
Page 5 - Connectors and I/O Page 18 - Cinebench
Page 6 - BIOS Page 19 - Tomb Raider
Page 7 - Test setup Page 20 - Metro Last Light
Page 8 - Preview / Gallery Page 21 - Sleeping Dogs
Page 9 - 3D Mark Page 22 - Power Consumption
Page 10 - 3D Mark 11 Page 23 - Performance Rating
Page 11 - 3D Mark Vantage  Page 24 - Price Comparison
Page 12 - PC Mark 8 Page 25 - Conclusion
Page 13 - SiSoft Sandra 1  
[pagebreak]

Sleeping Dogs

Low resolution, low details

Sleeping Dog (low details, low resolution)
Review Rating
 fps Percent
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition   557.7 101.97%
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ   556.6 101.77%
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger   555.9 101.65%
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene   555.2 101.52%
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero   550.4 100.64%
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+   550.2 100.60%
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming   548.4 100.27%
ASUS Z170-A   548.3 100.26%
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1   548.1 100.22%
ASUS Z170 Deluxe   546.9 100.00%
MSI Z170 Gaming M7   545.7 99.53%
more is better


High resolution, high details

Sleeping Dogs (high details, high resolution)
Review Rating
 fps Percent
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger   248.1 101.51%
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition   246.8 100.98%
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming   245.5 100.45%
ASUS Z170 Deluxe   244.4 100.00%
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ   243.6 99.67%
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero   242.5 99.22%
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene   241.7 98.90%
ASUS Z170-A   241.1 98.65%
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1   241.0 98.61%
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+   240.8 98.53%
MSI Z170 Gaming M7   238.4 97.55%
more is better


Page 1 - Introduction Page 14 - SiSoft Sandra 2
Page 2 - Specs and Delivery Page 15 - UC Bench
Page 3 - Features Page 16 - Super Pi 1M / 32M
Page 4 - Layout Page 17 - wPrime 1024M Multi Core
Page 5 - Connectors and I/O Page 18 - Cinebench
Page 6 - BIOS Page 19 - Tomb Raider
Page 7 - Test setup Page 20 - Metro Last Light
Page 8 - Preview / Gallery Page 21 - Sleeping Dogs
Page 9 - 3D Mark Page 22 - Power Consumption
Page 10 - 3D Mark 11 Page 23 - Performance Rating
Page 11 - 3D Mark Vantage  Page 24 - Price Comparison
Page 12 - PC Mark 8 Page 25 - Conclusion
Page 13 - SiSoft Sandra 1  
[pagebreak]

Power Consumption

Idle

Idle
Review Rating
 Watt Percent
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ   43 141.86%
MSI Z170 Gaming M7   48 127.08%
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+   49 124.49%
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene   55 110.91%
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger   55 110.91%
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming   55 100.91%
ASUS Z170-A   56 108.93%
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero   59 103.39%
ASUS Z170 Deluxe   61 100.00%
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1   61 100.00%
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition   62 98.39%
less is better more is better


Load

Load
Review Rating
 Watt Percent
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene   108 123.15%
MSI Z170 Gaming M7   109 122.02%
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero   113 117.70%
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition   117 113.68%
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+   121 109.92%
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ   127 104.72%
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger   131 101.53%
ASUS Z170 Deluxe   133 100.00%
ASUS Z170-A   133 100.00%
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming   133 100.00%
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1   133 100.00%
less is better more is better


Page 1 - Introduction Page 14 - SiSoft Sandra 2
Page 2 - Specs and Delivery Page 15 - UC Bench
Page 3 - Features Page 16 - Super Pi 1M / 32M
Page 4 - Layout Page 17 - wPrime 1024M Multi Core
Page 5 - Connectors and I/O Page 18 - Cinebench
Page 6 - BIOS Page 19 - Tomb Raider
Page 7 - Test setup Page 20 - Metro Last Light
Page 8 - Preview / Gallery Page 21 - Sleeping Dogs
Page 9 - 3D Mark Page 22 - Power Consumption
Page 10 - 3D Mark 11 Page 23 - Performance Rating
Page 11 - 3D Mark Vantage  Page 24 - Price Comparison
Page 12 - PC Mark 8 Page 25 - Conclusion
Page 13 - SiSoft Sandra 1  
[pagebreak]

Performance Rating

3D and Gaming Benchmarks
Review Rating
 Percent
ASUS Maximus VIII Ragner   100.53%
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition   100.32%
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero   100.16%
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming   100.11%
ASUS Z170 Deluxe   100.00%
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene   99.92%
ASUS Z170-A   99.82%
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ   99.49%
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1   99.18%
MSI Z170 Gaming M7   98.80%
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+   98.64%
more is better


2D Benchmarks
Review Rating
 Percent
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming   100.52%
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger   100.51%
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene   100.32%
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero   100.32%
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ   100.01%
ASUS Z170 Deluxe   100.00%
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition   99.94%
ASUS Z170-A   99.82%
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1   99.82%
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+   99.61%
MSI Z170 Gaming M7   99.41%
more is better


Performance per Watt
Review Rating
 Percent
MSI Z170 Gaming M7 79.57%
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ   80.91%
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+   84.57%
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene   89.37%
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger   90.38%
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero   90.68%
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition   94.43%
ASUS Z170-A   98.91%
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1   99.50%
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming   99.86%
ASUS Z170 Deluxe   100.00%
less is better


Page 1 - Introduction Page 14 - SiSoft Sandra 2
Page 2 - Specs and Delivery Page 15 - UC Bench
Page 3 - Features Page 16 - Super Pi 1M / 32M
Page 4 - Layout Page 17 - wPrime 1024M Multi Core
Page 5 - Connectors and I/O Page 18 - Cinebench
Page 6 - BIOS Page 19 - Tomb Raider
Page 7 - Test setup Page 20 - Metro Last Light
Page 8 - Preview / Gallery Page 21 - Sleeping Dogs
Page 9 - 3D Mark Page 22 - Power Consumption
Page 10 - 3D Mark 11 Page 23 - Performance Rating
Page 11 - 3D Mark Vantage  Page 24 - Price Comparison
Page 12 - PC Mark 8 Page 25 - Conclusion
Page 13 - SiSoft Sandra 1  
[pagebreak]

Price comparison

Model
Geizhals.eu
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+
ASUS Maximus VIII Gene
ASUS Maximus VIII Hero
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger
ASUS Z170 Deluxe
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming
ASUS Z170-A
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming G1
MSI Z170 Gaming M7
MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition
Supermicro C7Z170-SQ


Page 1 - Introduction Page 14 - SiSoft Sandra 2
Page 2 - Specs and Delivery Page 15 - UC Bench
Page 3 - Features Page 16 - Super Pi 1M / 32M
Page 4 - Layout Page 17 - wPrime 1024M Multi Core
Page 5 - Connectors and I/O Page 18 - Cinebench
Page 6 - BIOS Page 19 - Tomb Raider
Page 7 - Test setup Page 20 - Metro Last Light
Page 8 - Preview / Gallery Page 21 - Sleeping Dogs
Page 9 - 3D Mark Page 22 - Power Consumption
Page 10 - 3D Mark 11 Page 23 - Performance Rating
Page 11 - 3D Mark Vantage  Page 24 - Price Comparison
Page 12 - PC Mark 8 Page 25 - Conclusion
Page 13 - SiSoft Sandra 1  
[pagebreak]

Conclusion

General   + -
It quite obvious that the Z170-A from ASUS is a product, which attacks with competitive pricing. In Europe this board is listed with prices starting at roughly 140 Euro. For this kind of money you get a motherboard with good looking design and quite a few interesting features. There is for instance a beefed-up audio solution and good flexibility when it comes to connecting storage devices. For that purpose ASUS equipped this board with SATA and SATA Express connectors as well as M.2 slot.   - Design
- Layout
- Price		  
       
Layout   + -
The ASUS Z170-A's layout has been very well thought. Once more practical are the angled SATA connectors but there are no practical power- and reset-buttons and also a debug LED is missing in order to keep the cost down. Apart from that we like the placement of the PCI-Express x16 slots. There is a total of three full sized PCI Express slots and between the first two PCI Express x16 slots there are two PCIe x1 slots. This means that there is plenty of space for graphics card in multi GPU setups to breathe. As we already mentioned we also like the flexibility regarding storage connectors.   - Angled SATA connectors
- Space around the CPU socket - Placement of PCIe slots - Number of different storage connectors 		- No power/reset button and no debug LED
       
Performance   + -
Calculating the average of all 3D benchmarks results we ran, we see that this board scores 7th. When taking the average of all 2D results, this board comes in 8th out of 11 boards tested. On another note, we had a look at power consumption, where we see that this board is quite power hungry.  

 

 - SiSoft Sandra Multimedia
- Tomb Raider High
- Metro Last Light
- Power Consumption
       
Overclocking / BIOS   + -
ASUS has a beautiful looking BIOS when it comes to their Signature series motherboards. The UEFI BIOS gets a black background and there are a few additional blue and white design elements. Meanwhile it's almost normal that a BIOS is complete, offering countless features. If you're looking for overclocking options you'll find a great many of them and they are equally practical for novices and extreme overclockers. We always love the pre-defined profiles, which make overclocking quite a bit more efficient. Boosting our CPU to 5.0 GHz was absolutely no problem at all.   - Sheer amount of options
- Design		  
       
Recommendation   + -
The Z170-A is a competitively priced Z170 motherboard. If you're looking for an ASUS ATX motherboard and you're budget is limited, then you can consider this board.   - Entry Level ATX  
       
Rating
We give the ASUS Z170-A excellent 4 out of 5 stars.





Page 1 - Introduction Page 14 - SiSoft Sandra 2
Page 2 - Specs and Delivery Page 15 - UC Bench
Page 3 - Features Page 16 - Super Pi 1M / 32M
Page 4 - Layout Page 17 - wPrime 1024M Multi Core
Page 5 - Connectors and I/O Page 18 - Cinebench
Page 6 - BIOS Page 19 - Tomb Raider
Page 7 - Test setup Page 20 - Metro Last Light
Page 8 - Preview / Gallery Page 21 - Sleeping Dogs
Page 9 - 3D Mark Page 22 - Power Consumption
Page 10 - 3D Mark 11 Page 23 - Performance Rating
Page 11 - 3D Mark Vantage  Page 24 - Price Comparison
Page 12 - PC Mark 8 Page 25 - Conclusion
Page 13 - SiSoft Sandra 1