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Asus MAXIMUS VIII RANGER Motherboard
Asus MAXIMUS VIII RANGER
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MSI Z170A Gaming M5 Motherboard
MSI Z170A Gaming M5
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MSI Z170A Gaming M7 Motherboard
MSI Z170A Gaming M7
Editiorial reviews
5
5 editorial reviews
Our first Intel Z170 motherboard review comes in the form of the ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) Maximus VIII Hero. Let's take a close look now.Read more
Z87 saw cost-effective gaming-calibre motherboards take the limelight. All of the big vendors releasRead more
ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger: 5 out of 5 stars on Australia's largest opinion site ProductReview.com.au.Read more
Read editorial reviews
6
6 editorial reviews
MSI was among the first to participate in our Z170 review series. Will the now-mature firmware give its $180 Z170A Gaming M5 a lead in the upper-midrange LGA 1151 enthusiast segment?Read more
MSI has been on a roll lately and their 'Gaming' series has been at the forefront of a newly revived motherboard lineup. Much like GIGABYTE’s own Gaming-branded products and ASUS’ RoG brand these boards cater to gamers and overclockers alike with a unique mix of features and capabilities that...Read more
With a great price and cutting-edge features, like USB 3.1 Gen 2 and dual M.2 support, the MSI Z170A Gaming M5 motherboard is a standout pick for a Skylake-based gaming build.Read more
Read editorial reviews
10
10 editorial reviews
ASRock, MSI and Supermicro offered up their Z170 Extreme6, Z170A Gaming M7 and C7Z170-SQ (respectively) for our initial Z170 motherboard roundup.Read more
An upmarket Z170 board for the well-heeled gameRead more
The MSI Z170 GAMING M7 not only takes on MSI's new philisophy towards delivering the best gaming performance, but it looks good too!Read more
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User rating
34
4.2 out of 5
34 user ratings
5 stars
47 %
4 stars
29 %
3 stars
20 %
2 stars
2 %
1 stars
0 %
33
4.2 out of 5
33 user ratings
5 stars
39 %
4 stars
45 %
3 stars
15 %
2 stars
0 %
1 stars
0 %
41
4.1 out of 5
41 user ratings
5 stars
34 %
4 stars
43 %
3 stars
21 %
2 stars
0 %
1 stars
0 %

General

Motherboard typeATXATXATX
Processor socket
LGA 1151
LGA 1151
LGA 1151

Memory

Supported memory bus clock
  • 2133 MHz
  • 2800 MHz
  • 2666 MHz
  • 2400 MHz
  • 3000 MHz
  • 3200 MHz
  • 3300 MHz
  • 3400 MHz
  • 3333 MHz
  • 2400 MHz
  • 2133 MHz
  • 2800 MHz
  • 2600 MHz
  • 3000 MHz
  • 3200 MHz
  • 3600 MHz
  • 2400 MHz
  • 2133 MHz
  • 2800 MHz
  • 2600 MHz
  • 3000 MHz
  • 3200 MHz
  • 3600 MHz
RAM technologyDDR4DDR4DDR4
Memory slots typeDIMMDIMMDIMM
Maximum RAM size64 GB64 GB64 GB
Number of memory slots4
N/A
4
Unbuffered memoryyes
N/A
yes
Memory channelsDualDualDual
Non-ECCyes
N/A
yes
Extreme Memory Profile (XMP)yesyesyes
ECC
N/A
yesno

Audio properties

Audio codecSupremeFX 2015Realtek ALC1150Realtek ALC1150
Audio output channels7.17.17.1

Graphics

Parallel processing technology support
  • 3-Way CrossFireX
  • Quad-GPU SLI
  • 2-Way SLI
  • 3-Way CrossFireX
  • 2-Way SLI
  • 3-Way CrossFireX
Maximum resolution
  • 4096
  • 2304
  • 4096
  • 2160
  • 4096
  • 2304
DirectX version
N/A
N/A
12.0

Technical details

Compatible processor series
  • Intel Celeron
  • Intel Pentium
  • Intel Celeron
  • Intel Pentium
  • Intel Celeron
  • Intel Pentium
Maximum number of processors111

BIOS

BIOS typeUEFI AMIUEFIUEFI
BIOS features
  • WfM 2.0 support
  • Multilingual BIOS
  • ASUS O.C. Profile
  • USB BIOS Flashback
  • UEFI BIOS
  • ACPI 5.0 support
  • ASUS EZ Flash 3
  • DMI 3.0 support
  • SMBIOS 3.0 support
  • DMI support
  • UEFI BIOS
  • BIOS FlashBack+
  • MSI ClickBIOS 5
  • DMI support
  • UEFI BIOS
  • BIOS FlashBack+
  • MSI ClickBIOS 5
BIOS memory size16.0 mB
N/A
N/A
ACPI version5.0
N/A
N/A

Storage

Supported storage drive interfacesSerial ATA III
  • M.2
  • Serial ATA III
  • M.2
  • Serial ATA III
RAID levels
  • 0
  • 1
  • 5
  • 10
  • 1
  • 5
  • 10
  • 0
  • 1
  • 5
  • 10

Expansion slots

Number of M.2 (M) slots122

Internal I/O ports

CPU fan connectoryesyesyes
Number of EATX power connectors1
N/A
N/A
Number of chassis fan connectors43
N/A
EPS power connector (8-pin)yesyes
N/A
ATX Power connector (24-pin)YYY
Number of SATA III connectors666
Number of SATA Express connectors222
Serial port headers
N/A
1
N/A
TPM connector
N/A
yesyes

Rear panel I/O ports

S/PDIF out portyes
N/A
yes
HDMI ports quantity112
Ethernet LAN (RJ-45) ports111
PS/2 ports quantity111
USB 3.2 Gen 2 (3.1 Gen 2) Type-A ports quantity263
USB 3.2 Gen 1 (3.1 Gen 1) Type-A ports quantity2
N/A
N/A
DisplayPorts quantity1
N/A
1
DVI-D ports quantity
N/A
1
N/A
USB 3.2 Gen 2 (3.1 Gen 2) Type-C ports quantity
N/A
N/A
1

Network

Ethernet LAN (Network)yesyesyes
LAN controllerIntel I219-V
N/A
Atheros Killer E2400
Ethernet interface typeGigabit EthernetGigabit EthernetGigabit Ethernet

Dimensions

Width12.01 in12.01 in12.01 in
Depth9.61 in9.61 in9.61 in

Often compared with Asus MAXIMUS VIII RANGER

Asus MAXIMUS VIII RANGER Motherboard
Asus MAXIMUS VIII HERO
AsusMAXIMUS VIII RANGER
AsusMAXIMUS VIII HERO

Often compared with MSI Z170A Gaming M5

MSI Z170A Gaming M5 Motherboard
MSI Z170A Gaming M7
MSIZ170A Gaming M5
MSIZ170A Gaming M7

Often compared with MSI Z170A Gaming M7

MSI Z170A Gaming M7 Motherboard
MSI Z170A Gaming M5
MSIZ170A Gaming M7
MSIZ170A Gaming M5