Msi z170a xpower gaming titanium edition review

MSI, one of the best manufacturers of motherboards and graphics cards in the world, has sent us in a national exclusive its new motherboard with Z170 chipset : MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition, which predominates for having the best phases, military components and a precious PCB in color. pearl white. Want to know more about her? In this analysis we will explain in detail all its benefits.

We thank MSI Spain for trusting the product for its analysis:

Technical characteristics

Features MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition
CPU	6th Generation Intel® Socket 1151 Core ™ i7 / i5 i3 Core ™ / Core ™ / Pentium® / Celeron® processors Supports Intel® 14nm CPU Supports Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0
Chipset	Intel® Z170 Express Chipset
Memory	• 4 x DDR4 memory slots, support up to 64GB • Supports DDR4 3600 (OC) / 3200 (OC) / 3000 (OC) / 2800 (OC) / 2600 (OC) / 2400/2133 MHz • Dual channel memory architecture • Supports ECC, non-buffer memory • Supports Intel® Extreme Memory Profile (XMP)
Multi-GPU Compatible	• 4 x PCIe 3.0 x16 slots (supports x16 / 0/0 / x4, x8 / 0 / x8 / x4 or x8 / x4 / x4 / x4 modes) • 3 x PCIe 3.0 x1 slots • 4-Way AMD® CrossFire Technology Support • 2-Way NVIDIA SLI ™ Technology Integrated Support: • 2 x HDMI ™ ports, support a maximum resolution of 4096 × 2160 @ 24Hz, 2560 × 1600 @ 60Hz • 1 x DisplayPort, supports a maximum resolution of 4096 × 2304 @ 24Hz, 2560 × 1600 @ 60Hz, 3840 × 2160 @ 60Hz, 1920 × 1200 @ 60Hz
Storage	• Intel Z170 Express Chipset • 8x SATA 6Gb / s ports * • 2x M.2 ports - Compatible with PCIe 3.0 x4 and SATA 6Gb / s standards, 4.2cm / 6cm / 8cm in length M.2 SSD cards - Supports PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe Mini-SAS SSD with Turbo U.2 host card • 2x SATAe ports (PCIe 3.0 x2) • Supports Intel® Smart Response technology for Intel Core processors
USB and ports.	• ASMedia® ASM1142 Chipset - 2 x USB 3.1 Gen2 (SuperSpeed USB 10Gbps) ports on the back panel • Intel® Z170 Express Chipset - 7x USB 3.1 Gen1 (SuperSpeed USB) ports (4 ports on the back panel, 1 internal port, 2 ports available through the internal USB connector) - 7x USB 2.0 (High-speed USB) ports (3 ports on the back panel, 4 ports available through the internal USB connectors)
LAN	1 x Intel® I219-V Gigabit LAN controller
Rear connections	• 1 x PS / 2 keyboard / mouse combo port • 3 x USB 2.0 ports * 1 x HOTKEY port * 1 x BIOS FLASHBACK + port • 1 x Clear CMOS button • 2 x HDMI ™ ports • 1 x DisplayPort • 2 x USB 3.1 Gen2 ports • 4 x USB 3.1 Gen1 ports • 1 x LAN (RJ45) port • 1 x Optical S / PDIF OUT connector • 5 x OFC audio jacks
Audio	• Realtek® ALC1150 Codec - 7.1-Channel High Definition Audio - Supports S / PDIF out
Format	ATX format; 30.5 cm x 24.4 cm
BIOS	The motherboard BIOS provides "Plug & Play" that detects peripheral devices and expansion cards on the motherboard automatically. • The motherboard provides a Desktop Management Interface (DMI) function that records the specifications of the motherboard.
Price	149 euros.

MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition

MSI gives us a gala presentation with its flagship on Z170 motherboards: MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium in a shiny silver base box, where the screen printing of all certifications and compatibility with Intel Skylake processor comes. In the previous part we have all the characteristics and once we open the box we see two compartments where the first houses the motherboard and the second all the accessories. The bundle is made up of:

MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition motherboard, back plate, instruction manual and quick guide, CD with drivers, SATA cables, SLI bridges, stickers, door sign and cables for voltage measurement, USB cable for connection to OC Dashboard.

It is a classic ATX motherboard with dimensions of 30.5cm x 24.4cm, so we will not have a problem when we install it in any box on the market with this format. Its design predominates the combination of white on the PCB (which is beautiful) and black in the slots.

It has four DDR4 RAM memory sockets that allow us to install 64 GB with a frequency of 3600 Mhz with prior overclocking and is fully compatible with the XMP 1.3 profile.

We go a little more in detail about the cooling, we have a very effective heatsink in the phase area, ignoring its great appearance it is quite effective and when we apply a lot of voltage it is noticeable that it heats up, but with good cooling in the box it will be enough to keep temperatures low. While the Z170 chip is also protected in the South zone, it hardly gets hot since the functions are increasingly limited.

i5-6600k installed

EXTREME SOCKET DESIGN

It is among the best motherboards to have 16 power phases and incorporates Military Class V technology with Titanium Choke that improves tolerance to high temperatures and is capable of operating up to 220ºC and giving 40% higher support than other models. It also has Hi-C Cap capacitors that allow 93% energy efficiency and DARK CAP that has an aluminum core design that offer a low equivalent resistance (ESR) to 10 years of life.

What is OC Dashboard ? it is the necessary tool to break records: DirectOC, +/-, Slow Mode, Fast Boot and Full Download. Experience easier overclocking even under the most extreme conditions without the fear of worrying about freezing from the built-in buttons. So it is more focused for expert users who are going to compete, for the normal user it will be of little use.

In the PCI Express connections it has 4 PCI Express 3.0 ports compatible with 2way Nvidia SLI technology and 4 way-CrossFireX.

The board incorporates DUAL M.2 offering speeds of up to 32Gb / s using Gen3 x4 with Turbo technology. That this is about 5 times faster than the normal SATA III connection! This means that it will make us enjoy a system boot and load games very fast. Good job MSI!

With Audio Boost 3 and the work done by Nahimic Sound Technology, they offer the best sound quality thanks to the use of Premium quality components. This way you get crystal clear quality sound and music through 8-channel HD Audio or high-impedance headphones to master the game.

It has 6 SATA connections, where it shares four of the SATAS ports with two SATA Express connections with a 16 GB / s interface . For a plate of more than 300 euros it seems to me quite scarce although it incorporates an EXTRA USB connection on the plate, but it is a point to improve.

Finally, I detail the complete rear connections:

2 x USB 2.0.1 x D-SUB1 x HDMI.1 x USB 3.1 Type A & C.3 x USB 3.01 x Gigabit LAN.Digital audio output. 7.1.

WE RECOMMEND YOU Gigabyte AORUS 15 W9 Review in Spanish (Complete analysis)

Test bench and tests

TESTING BENCH
Processor:	Intel i5-6600k.
Base plate:	MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition
Memory:	4 × 4 16GB DDR4 @ 3200 MHZ Corsair LPX DDR4
Heatsink	Noctua NH-D15s
HDD	Samsung 840 EVO 250GB.
Graphic card	Nvidia GTX 780.
Power supply	EVGA SuperNOVA 750 G2

To check the stability of the processor and motherboard, we've overclocked up to 4500mhz with Intel XTU and air cooling. While we have managed to reach the speed of 4800 mhz

EYE! this version of CPU-Z has read error, we set a high voltage of 1.38v

The graphics that we have used is an Nvidia GTX780, without further distractions let's see the results obtained in our tests with a 1920 × 1080 monitor.

BIOS

MSI incorporates a UEFI BIOS which improves on its previous versions. This new format controls your system under two modes: EZ mode, with the most used functions and settings. Advanced mode with the most detailed settings and fine tuning options to increase the performance of your system.

Final words and conclusion

The MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming is one of the best motherboards on the market both in terms of design with a white PCB and its excellent components: 16 phases of power, cooling, DUAL M2 system, Military Class V technology, 64GB support of RAM memory up to 3600 Mhz and the excellent Audio Boost 3 card.

One of the points that stands out the most is that it has been able to reach 4800 mhz in our processor, although we passed the tests at 4500 mhz like the rest of motherboards. Our experience could not have been more good, MSI has done its homework very well.

I found the incorporation of only 6 SATA connections for a board of more than 300 euros very little. Although it is enough for a normal person, but these components are exclusive for the most siberitas of computing. In its favor it must be said that it incorporates a SATA Express and dual M2 connection. with a bandwidth of 32GB / s.

In short, if you are looking for a motherboard with a spectacular design and the best components to overclock today, few can cough up the Z170 Xpower from MSI. Its price in an online store like Aussar is 318 euros.

ADVANTAGE	DISADVANTAGES
+ INCREDIBLE DESIGN.	- ONLY 6 SATA CONNECTIONS.
+ MILITARY CLASS V COMPONENTS.	- SOMETHING HIGH PRICE.
+ DUAL M.2.
+ EXCELLENT OVERCLOCK.
+ ACCEPT MEMORIES OF UP TO 3600 MHZ.
+ AUDIO BOOST AND OC DASHBOARD