CPUs & Motherboards

MSI Z170A KRAIT GAMING Review

David Mitchelson
October 26, 2015 15 Min Read
3 0

Are you looking for a classy Intel Z170 motherboard, want decent features but on a tight budget? KRAIT GAMING might be the ideal solution.



Product on Review Z170A KRAIT GAMING Motherboard
Manufacturer & Sponsor: MSI
Street Price: £100 GBP / $150 USD

Over the last few months we’ve reviewed quite a number of Intel Z170 motherboards, some of which have included offerings from MSI. Inside their Intel Z170 portfolio there are a plethora of motherboards to choose from, many of which are specifically designed for overclocking or that combine features which both overclockers, enthusiasts and gamers favour, but today we’re to look at a motherboard which is specifically tailored to gamers.

In the spotlight today is MSI’s Z170A KRAIT GAMING – an Intel Z170 motherboard which is designed to serve the gamer as its primary audience. KRAIT GAMING adopts distinct black and white styling which is certain to make a strong and lasting impression with users who like to build a configuration with a stylish theme.


About MSI
Micro-Star International Co., Ltd (MSI) was established in August 1986 in Jhonghe, Taipei by 5 founders, one of the world’s largest information technology manufacturers with more than 12,700 employees, including those in Taipei headquarters, Baoan Plant (Shenzhen), Kunshan Plant and sales staff around the world.

MSI started from the motherboard and graphics card industries and extended into consumer and commerical electronics including notebooks, All-in-One PCs, servers, workstations, industrial PCs, household appliances, car infotainment products, barebone systems, multimedia, communication devices, and others.

Technical Specifications


CPU
• Supports 6th Gen Intel® Core™ i3/i5/i7 processors, and Intel® Pentium® and Celeron® processors for Socket LGA1151
* Please refer to CPU Support for compatible CPU; the above description is for reference only.

Chipset
• Z170 Express Chipset

Main 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, un-buffered memory
• Supports Intel® Extreme Memory Profile (XMP)

Slots
• 3 x PCIe 3.0 x16 slots (support x16/x0/x4 or x8/x8/x4 modes)
• 3 x PCIe 3.0 x1 slots
• 1 x PCI slot

Onboard Graphics
• 1 x HDMI™ port, support a maximum resolution of 4096×2160@24Hz, 2560×1600@60Hz
• 1 x DVI-D port, support a maximum resolution of 1920×1200@60Hz

Multi-GPU Support
• Supports 3-Way AMD® CrossFire™ Technology
• Supports 2-Way NVIDIA® SLI™ Technology

Storage
• Intel® Z170 Express Chipset
• 6 x SATA 6Gb/s ports* (2 ports reserved for SATA Express port)
• 1 x M.2 slot*
– Supports PCIe 3.0 x4 and SATA 6Gb/s standards, 4.2cm/ 6cm/ 8cm length M.2 SSD cards
– Supports PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe Mini-SAS SSD with Turbo U.2 Host Card**
– 1 x SATAe port (PCIe 3.0 x2)***
– Supports Intel® Smart Response Technology for Intel Core™ processors

* SATA5 and SATA6 ports will be unavailable when installing the M.2 module in M.2 slot.
** The Turbo U.2 Host Card is not included, please purchase separately.
*** SATAe port is backward compatible with SATA. SATA and SATAe ports maximum support 6x SATAs or 1x SATAe + 4x SATAs.

RAID
• Intel® Z170 Express Chipset
– Supports RAID 0, RAID1, RAID 5 and RAID 10 for SATA storage devices

USB
• ASMedia® ASM1142 Chipset
– 2 x USB 3.1 Gen2 (SuperSpeed USB 10Gbps) ports on the back panel

• Intel® Z170 Express Chipset
– 6 x USB 3.1 Gen1 (SuperSpeed USB) ports (4 ports on the back panel, 2 ports available through the internal USB 3.1 Gen1 connector)
– 6 x USB 2.0 (High-speed USB) ports (2 ports on the back panel, 4 ports available through the internal USB 2.0 connectors)

Audio
• Realtek® ALC1150 Codec
– 7.1-Channel High Definition Audio
– Supports S/PDIF output

LAN
• 1 x Intel® I219-V Gigabit LAN controller

Internal I/O Connectors
– 1 x 24-pin ATX main power connector
– 1 x 8-pin ATX 12V power connector
– 6 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors (2 ports reserved for SATA Express port)
– 1 x SATAe connector
– 2 x USB 2.0 connectors (supports additional 4 USB 2.0 ports)
– 1 x USB 3.1 Gen1 connector (supports additional 2 USB 3.1 Gen1 ports)
– 2 x 4-pin CPU fan connectors
– 3 x 4-pin system fan connectors
– 1 x Front panel audio connector
– 2 x Front panel connectors
– 1 x TPM module connector
– 1 x Chassis Intrusion connector
– 1 x Clear CMOS jumper

Back Panel I/O Ports
– 1 x PS/2 keyboard/ mouse port
– 2 x USB 2.0 ports
– 1 x DVI-D port
– 2 x USB 3.1 Gen2 ports
– 4 x USB 3.1 Gen1 ports
– 1 x HDMI™ port
– 1 x LAN (RJ45) port
– 1 x Optical S/PDIF OUT connector
– 5 x OFC audio jacks

BIOS
• The motherboard BIOS provides “Plug & Play” BIOS which detects the peripheral devices and expansion cards of the board automatically.
• The motherboard provides a Desktop Management Interface(DMI) function which records your motherboard specifications.

Dimension
• 12 in. x 9.25 in. (30.5 cm x 23.4 cm)
• ATX Form Factor

Mounting
• 6 mounting holes

Unboxing & Closer Look


For this review we’ve produced a video which reveals the packaging, bundle and a close, detailed overview of the motherboard. Please check out the video below for a comprehensive look at the feature-set:

Intel Z170 Features


Intel’s initial release schedule for Skylake was planned well in advance, long before Microsoft officially announced the launch date of Windows 10. Most of August was set aside for conferences and seminars including the Intel Developers Forum in San Francisco, all with the aim of taking the wraps off and going deep into the technology within this new CPU architecture. Unfortunately bringing forward the release date of ‘K-series’ SKUs has meant that they’re unable to furnish detailed technical info to reviewers and members of the press, and won’t be releasing this information until IDF. The following is information which has been released thus far.

Developed under the codename Sunrise Point, Intel’s 100-series chipset is designed to operate hand-in-hand with an Intel ‘Skylake’ 6th Generation core processor. It utilises an LGA 1151 socket, underscoring the fact that neither CPU nor motherboard are backwards compatible with any of the previous generation hardware. As a result Sunrise Point is free to add additional features not present in x90-series and earlier chipsets.

Memory and Overclocking

Most notably from a consumer perspective Sunrise Point is the first Intel mainstream computing platform to be compatible with DDR4, and most Z170 and H170 designs are indeed likely to feature this memory technology rather than continue with DDR3L (a memory spec which Skylake CPUs can also handle). Default support is at DDR4-2133, however speeds above this are possible if a Z170 motherboard and K-Series CPU are used in tandem. One year on from the release of Haswell-E DDR4 pricing is quickly becoming more bearable, and so whilst it’s an additional expense to swallow compared with Haswell/Z97 it may not be quite the price premium you expect.

With Skylake Intel are, for the first time in many generations of Core architectures, once again re-enabling fine grade overclocking of memory at the Base Clock (BCLK) level. The PCI subsystem clock is now independent of BCLK, allowing for robust overclocking support which dispenses with coarse ratios in favour of a MHz by MHz stepping to far higher levels. Pre-launch testing by board partners have ascertained that stable BCLK’s of up to 400MHz are possible (with a stepping down of CPU multiplier), a far cry from even last year’s Haswell Refresh.

It should be noted that overclocking support has also been improved through greater control over individual CPU voltage inputs. Haswell made use of a Fully Integrated Voltage Regulator on the CPU itself; in essence, the motherboard supplied one input voltage and the FIVR divided this into individual on-board component inputs. With Skylake/Z170 the motherboard chipset controls each of these voltages individually, allowing direct adjustment for greater stability where necessary. This could theoretically be a great boon to enthusiast overclockers eager to get every last smidgen of performance out of a system.


Chipset and PCH Features

As we noted in our review of the two launched Skylake CPUs, up to 16 PCI-Express 3.0 lanes exist as a direct low-latency connection between CPU and 3rd party hardware such as graphics cards. These can operate in a 1×16 lane, 2×8 lane or 1×8 lane and 2×4 lane setup for multi-GPU configurations depending on the hardware implementation chosen by the board partners, but aren’t sufficient alone to support additional hardware options such as PCI-Express storage. The Platform Controller Hub therefore provides additional PCI-Express lanes to peripheral controllers.

In contrast to Intel’s 9-series motherboards Sunrise Point can supply up to an additional 20 PCI-Express 3.0 lanes, potentially resulting in double the bandwidth compared with the 20 PCIe 2.0 lanes of the previous generation. These new lanes augment the chipset storage options, most notably in respect to PCIe storage with many designs now featuring multiple next-generation storage options rather than a singular M.2 or SATA-Express port. Whilst not the low-latency connection you require for effective graphics processing, they will be more than suitable for new high-speed storage options including RAID for PCI-Express thanks to an upgraded DMI connection between PCH and CPU.

Further augmenting the platform’s storage capabilities is the adoption of new Intel Rapid Storage Technology protocols allowing PCI-Express storage to be used as caching drives for slower media. Potentially still a niche technology, the stark benefits of next-generation SSDs over mechanical drives as well as future SSDs could be just the breakthrough Intel RST needs to capture mainstream adoption.

In an additional change from the 9-series motherboards support has been added for up to 10 native USB 3.0 ports and 14 USB 2.0 ports, with a maximum of 16 ports in some combination thereof. It should be noted that so far as we can tell USB 3.1 isn’t actually native to the Sunrise Point chipset. Implementation is up to motherboard vendors through 3rd party controllers, and it’s to their credit that many have adopted the new high-speed standard without any fuss. For some both USB 3.1 Type-A and Type-C connectors are available, with Type-C the most common otherwise.

Those who make use of on-board CPU graphics can now enjoy support for up to three digital display outputs, or make use of the Intel 530 Graphics capabilities in tandem with discrete graphics. Microsoft Windows 10 (via DirectX 12) includes new options which allow disparate graphics hardware to be used in tandem, making best use of processing power where possible. Even without this, the transcoding capabilities of Intel QuickSync make it a tempting proposition for fast and efficient h.265 encoding and decoding, even if your discrete graphics hardware is formidable.

With unchanged support for six conventional SATA III storage ports, Intel 10/100/1000Mbps Ethernet, Intel Audio options and comprehensive UEFI BIOS options, Sunrise Point (and by extension all Z170 motherboards) are choc-full of features. That’s not to say that there aren’t some omissions – lack of native USB 3.1 support being the most obvious, whilst native U.2 connectors are a premium feature supplied by board partners – but as a whole the platform is a significant step forward overall.

KRAIT GAMING BIOS Video Tour


Below is a video tour showing the interface of the KRAIT GAMING BIOS and the options which are available. In keeping with other editions of MSI Click BIOS, KRAIT adopts a black and white version and maintains consistency of having overall navigation very smooth. The overall look is refined and professional. Advanced tweaking and customisation options are available from a variety of different menus:

Test Setup & Methodology


Test Setup
CPU Intel Core i7-6700K
Cooling Corsair H100i GTX
Motherboard MSI Z170A KRAIT GAMING
Memory 16GB Corsair Vengeance LPX 3200MHz
Graphics XFX R7970 Black Edition
Storage OCZ Vector 180
PSU Corsair HX1050 80 Plus Gold Certified PSU


Benchmarks
Cinebench R15 – CPU/OpenGL Score
x264 HD 4.0 – 1st and 2nd pass encoding
SiSoftware SANDRA 2014 – CPU & Memory benchmarks
AIDA64 – CPU benchmarks
PCMark 8 – Home Suite
3DMark FireStrike – DX11 3D Benchmark
Games – Tomb Raider, THIEF


Other Software
Temperature Analysis: Real Temp
Stress Testing Software: AIDA64 Stability Test
CPU Specification Monitoring: CPU-Z


Overclocking

Overclocking with Skylake is now fully flexible since we can adjust many variables including BCLK and ratio/multiplier.

Our current milestone is 4.7GHz with the Intel Core i7-6700K and we managed to achieve 4.5GHz with KRAIT GAMING – though not our best result, this is still a fairly decent achievement.

Overclocking with this motherboard wasn’t as straight forward as with other Intel Z170 motherboards from other vendors and from MSI themselves. We soon discovered that the current/power limits were set to a far too conservative level under “AUTO” and significant modifications to the intricate settings within CPU Features needed adjusting to achieve even a moderate overclock. For those who are interest, we altered the following options (these are the absolute maximum values – setting them is to be done at your own risk):

Long Duration Power Limit – 4096
Long Duration Maintained – 128
Short Duration Power Limit – 4096
CPU Current Limit – 256

Benchmarks: Power Consumption

It’s interesting to note the power consumption across all motherboards. Although they are using the Z170 chipset, energy results can fluctuate between manufacturers due to the features and specifications that are integrated. First of all, for the idle tests the system is cold booted into Windows and no additional applications are executed – the watts are noted on the external energy monitor we use and then the system is loaded with 3DMark FireStrike – watts are again monitored for the duration of the test and the highest rated wattage result is then noted down. Below are the results of this energy test.

Benchmarks: X264 HD

Simply put, this test measures how fast your machine can encode a short, DVD quality MPEG-2 video clip into a high-quality x264 video clip. What’s x264, you ask? It’s more or less the next-generation Xvid/DivX codec. I think it’s ideal for a benchmark because the application (x264.exe) reports fairly accurate compression results (in frames per second) for each pass of the video encoding process, and it uses multi-core processors very efficiently.



Benchmarks: AIDA64

AIDA64 Product Page
This simple integer benchmark focuses on the branch prediction capabilities and the misprediction penalties of the CPU. It finds the solutions for the classic “Queens problem” on a 10 by 10 sized chessboard. At the same clock speed theoretically the processor with the shorter pipeline and smaller misprediction penalties will attain higher benchmark scores. For example — with HyperThreading disabled — the Intel Northwood core processors get higher scores than the Intel Prescott core based ones due to the 20-step vs 31-step long pipeline. CPU Queen test uses integer MMX, SSE2 and SSSE3 optimizations.





Benchmarks: Cinebench R15

CINEBENCH is a real-world cross platform test suite that evaluates your computer’s performance capabilities. CINEBENCH is based on MAXON’s award-winning animation software CINEMA 4D, which is used extensively by studios and production houses worldwide for 3D content creation. MAXON software has been used in blockbuster movies such as Iron Man 3, Oblivion, Life of Pi or Prometheus and many more.



Benchmarks: SiSoftware SANDRA

SANDRA isn’t always a benchmark that is included in hardware reviews but I believe it shouldn’t be ignored. SANDRA provides a vigorous package that tests your system in a rather large array of benchmarks. There are many aspects of benchmark that can be executed. We will be considering – CPU and memory tests.











Benchmarks: 3DMark

3DMark FireStrike Product Page
Fire Strike is our new showcase DirectX 11 benchmark designed for high-performance gaming PCs. It is our most ambitious and technical benchmark ever, featuring real-time graphics rendered with detail and complexity far beyond what is found in other benchmarks and games today. Fire Strike will only be available in the Windows editions of 3DMark initially.

Benchmarks: PCMark 8

PCMark 8 combines performance benchmarking with battery life measurement and includes tests based on popular Adobe and Microsoft applications. Whether you are looking for long battery life, or maximum power, PCMark 8 will help you find the devices that offer the perfect combination of efficiency and performance for your needs. It’s the complete PC performance benchmark for home and business.

Benchmarks: Tomb Raider & THIEF

It’s important for us to perform a number of game benchmarks as well as the synthetic tests because gamers will want to know if there are any significant benefits. So here we have two popular and recent gaming titles which feature a dedicated benchmark tool within them to display results.



Conclusion


Motherboard designers appear to have reached the limit of their endeavours as they explore new and exciting ways to present a solution which is positively different in terms of the visual appearance and yet MSI appear to have opened a new door with KRAIT GAMING.

Pairing up hardware to follow a coloured-scheme has been a pursuit for many a system builder in recent years and the usual theme to follow is either red or blue and so, by MSI introducing KRAIT GAMING with a black and white configuration this expands the possibilities further. Looking at a variety of product categories proves that there are indeed quite a good selection of black and white components to choose from and thus match up with a motherboard such as KRAIT GAMING to create a sleek and stylish arrangement.

This board has some obvious cutbacks due to two reasons; the price-point and the target audience, the gamer. Nevertheless, the existing features are very well implemented and still deliver generous functionality. Dotted around the motherboard there are signs of Military Class 5 components being used and features like Audio Boost 3 are present – at least two points which verify KRAIT GAMING is a decent offering. There are also additional inclusions which will undoubtedly be handy to have too, such as M.2 support, SATA Express and USB 3.1 Gen1/2.


Putting KRAIT GAMING through its paces in our benchmarking suite revealed a capable motherboard. Against other previously tested Intel Z170 boards, today’s sample didn’t shy away from demonstrating good results. During our overclocking phase we managed to push the Intel Core i7-6700K to 4.5GHz, which is a reasonable achievement albeit not our best on this platform. Applying such a modification does require a few extra tweaks due to the current/power limit being set to auto and at a level which is too conservative.

The big attraction to KRAIT GAMING is probably its price which rests at £100 GBP / $150 USD. At this price-point this motherboard is regarded as quite a bargain based on what it offers in terms of features, performance, looks and warranty.

If you’re on the hunt for an affordable Intel Z170 motherboard, you can’t go far wrong with MSI’s Z170A KRAIT GAMING; this motherboard is stylish, is packed with useful features, performs well and above all comes with an attractive price-tag.

VIDEO REVIEW – VORTEZ TV



Pros
+ Stunning, sleek appearance
+ Plenty of functionality
+ Military Class 5 components
+ Great performance
+ Good storage options
+ Affordable

Cons
– Current/Power limits need adjusting to overclock
– Thinner dimensions mean no far-right mounts

Click here for an explanation of our awards at Vortez.net.

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Intel Z170MSI

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David Mitchelson