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Asus MAXIMUS VIII RANGER vs MSI Z170A Gaming M5

    Asus MAXIMUS VIII RANGER Motherboard
    Asus MAXIMUS VIII RANGER
      MSI Z170A Gaming M5 Motherboard
      MSI Z170A Gaming M5
      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
      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 %

      Full Comparison

      Units:

      General

      Asus MAXIMUS VIII RANGERAsus MAXIMUS VIII RANGER
      MSI Z170A Gaming M5MSI Z170A Gaming M5
      Motherboard typeATXATX
      Processor socket
      LGA 1151
      LGA 1151

      Memory

      Asus MAXIMUS VIII RANGERAsus MAXIMUS VIII RANGER
      MSI Z170A Gaming M5MSI Z170A Gaming M5
      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
      RAM technologyDDR4DDR4
      Memory slots typeDIMMDIMM
      Maximum RAM size64 GB64 GB
      Memory channelsDualDual
      Extreme Memory Profile (XMP)yesyes

      Audio properties

      Asus MAXIMUS VIII RANGERAsus MAXIMUS VIII RANGER
      MSI Z170A Gaming M5MSI Z170A Gaming M5
      Audio codecSupremeFX 2015Realtek ALC1150
      Audio output channels7.17.1

      Graphics

      Asus MAXIMUS VIII RANGERAsus MAXIMUS VIII RANGER
      MSI Z170A Gaming M5MSI Z170A Gaming M5
      Parallel processing technology support
      • 3-Way CrossFireX
      • Quad-GPU SLI
      • 2-Way SLI
      • 3-Way CrossFireX
      Maximum resolution
      • 4096
      • 2304
      • 4096
      • 2160

      Technical details

      Asus MAXIMUS VIII RANGERAsus MAXIMUS VIII RANGER
      MSI Z170A Gaming M5MSI Z170A Gaming M5
      Compatible processor series
      • Intel Celeron
      • Intel Pentium
      • Intel Celeron
      • Intel Pentium
      Maximum number of processors11

      BIOS

      Asus MAXIMUS VIII RANGERAsus MAXIMUS VIII RANGER
      MSI Z170A Gaming M5MSI Z170A Gaming M5
      BIOS typeUEFI AMIUEFI
      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

      Storage

      Asus MAXIMUS VIII RANGERAsus MAXIMUS VIII RANGER
      MSI Z170A Gaming M5MSI Z170A Gaming M5
      Supported storage drive interfacesSerial ATA III
      • M.2
      • Serial ATA III
      RAID levels
      • 0
      • 1
      • 5
      • 10
      • 1
      • 5
      • 10

      Expansion slots

      Asus MAXIMUS VIII RANGERAsus MAXIMUS VIII RANGER
      MSI Z170A Gaming M5MSI Z170A Gaming M5
      Number of M.2 (M) slots12

      Internal I/O ports

      Asus MAXIMUS VIII RANGERAsus MAXIMUS VIII RANGER
      MSI Z170A Gaming M5MSI Z170A Gaming M5
      CPU fan connectoryesyes
      Number of chassis fan connectors43
      EPS power connector (8-pin)yesyes
      ATX Power connector (24-pin)YY
      Number of SATA III connectors66
      Number of SATA Express connectors22

      Rear panel I/O ports

      Asus MAXIMUS VIII RANGERAsus MAXIMUS VIII RANGER
      MSI Z170A Gaming M5MSI Z170A Gaming M5
      HDMI ports quantity11
      Ethernet LAN (RJ-45) ports11
      PS/2 ports quantity11
      USB 3.2 Gen 2 (3.1 Gen 2) Type-A ports quantity26

      Network

      Asus MAXIMUS VIII RANGERAsus MAXIMUS VIII RANGER
      MSI Z170A Gaming M5MSI Z170A Gaming M5
      Ethernet LAN (Network)yesyes
      Ethernet interface typeGigabit EthernetGigabit Ethernet

      Dimensions

      Asus MAXIMUS VIII RANGERAsus MAXIMUS VIII RANGER
      MSI Z170A Gaming M5MSI Z170A Gaming M5
      Width12.01 in12.01 in
      Depth9.61 in9.61 in

      Pros & Cons

      Pros
          Cons

              Often compared with Asus MAXIMUS VIII RANGER

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              Often compared with MSI Z170A Gaming M5

              MSI Z170A Gaming M5 Motherboard
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