Benchmark Testing
Synthetic Benchmark Testing
SiSoft Sandra 2012
The Sandra benchmarks remain a fast and easy way to determine how well the system's CPU and memory are functioning. The Z97 Gaming 7 board performed well against the other system's with its scores falling within acceptable tolerances. Performance on par with that of other same class systems indicates CPU and memory subsystem performance within expected operational parameters.
LinX
LinX is a graphical interface for CPU-based testing using the Intel Linpack benchmarks. It serves as a good indicator of proper system CPU functioning and is considered one of the most intensive CPU benchmarks currently available. LinX was run with Memory set to All and for a total of 3 runs. This test was repeated three times with the highest repeatable GFlops (Giga-Floating Point Operations Per Second) score recorded.
This CPU torture test is a proven method for identifying possible issues with the CPU to motherboard interface layer. The MSI Z97 Gaming 7 board again came in with a strong performance in comparison with the other test systems.
Multimedia and System Benchmark Testing
Maxon Cinebench 11.5
Maxon’s Cinebench 11.5 benchmark can be used determine a system's ability to render 3D content based on their Cinema 4D animation software. The CPU benchmark test was run three times, with the highest reproducible Cinebench points score recorded.
No surprises here. The Z97 Gaming 7 motherboard performs exactly as expected.
Nice write up, Morry. I may
Nice write up, Morry. I may have missed it, but I have a question:
Can you enter and view the UEFI settings if you just plug an HDMI monitor into the motherboard? In the past, I’ve never gotten it to work so I don’t know if that’s possible now.
Thanks!
I did not try with this
I did not try with this motherboard, but have had varying success with other boards.
The trick I've found for HDMI output of the UEFI BIOS is that the HDMI cable must be the only cable plugged into the card. If any other cables are plugged in, I've never had success getting an HDMI signal. You could also try from the onboard graphics HDMI port, but you would have to remove the secondary video card for it to work…
Thanks for dedicating more
Thanks for dedicating more than half of an entire section to aftermarket CPU cooler fitting (with good pictures to boot!). I don’t often see that in motherboard reviews. +5 cool points for Morry!
Interesting that you oced
Interesting that you oced with the 166 strap. Any reason for using that strap over the 100 strap?
you get a slight performance
you get a slight performance bump using bc overclocking combined with ratio overclocking over pure ratio overclocking. And t also proves that the board is stable at the higher strap speed…
Hi Morry. I see this MSI
Hi Morry. I see this MSI board has an optical/spdif out for audio. However a number of other MSI Z97 boards do not provide this header.
Do you know, in cases like the above, how do I get optical out?
Do I get it by getting a splitter cable for the HDMI port that I can tap the optical audio from, or am I simply out of luck?
Thanks much.
Hi Morry,
I have just
Hi Morry,
I have just purchased this motherboard and built my machine with all the parts.
Unfortunately I’ve encountered a problem which I have narrowed down to the RAM slots.
With both 8GB RAM in slots 1 and 2 the machine will power itself on and off repeatedly, providing the LED Status code C0.
Once I remove the RAM from slot 2 and try again it will work perfectly. Similarly, if I switch the RAM sticks it will also work. The problem is only when both are applied.
I got the RAM as a packaged deal(Kingston 2x8GB 2400Hz) with the motherboard so I am sure it had been tested beforehand.
I am just wondering if you had encountered this error and can suggest a cause/solution or if not, please advise, could placing the RAM in slots 3 and 4 (leaving 1 and 2 blank) cause any damage or should it work?
Thanks and kind regards,
Andrew
Looking at the manual if you
Looking at the manual if you are using 2 sticks of ram they need to be in slots 2 and 4. Have you tried that? Mine works just fine with slots 2 and 4 filled.
hi,what memory do i need to
hi,what memory do i need to purchase for this MSI Z97 GAMING 7 ? I HAVE SOME G.SKILL RIPJAWS x ,F3 WILL THIS MEMORY WORK WITH THIS MOTHERBOARD and it is ddr 3 1600 cl 10-10-10-301.50v,and the memory i have is pc3-12800 8gx2 intel XMP AND AGAIN WILL IT WORK ON THIS BOARD i do hope to hear back from you soon,yours GABRIEL O CONNOR.PS this is my 1 build.
Yes, it will work fine. Get
Yes, it will work fine. Get that capslock key fixed.
Hey people, if you want to
Hey people, if you want to know what parts are compatible google PCpartpicker and then select this mother board it it will only show you parts that are compatible.
bios came right up on my
bios came right up on my 1080p tv via hdmi no problem
I have the same problem and i
I have the same problem and i dont now what to do, i have four slots filed whit corsair dominator platinium whit 16Gb at 1866Hz i already check, and they are camtible whit the MSI Gaming 7 Board, it only works whit 1 dimms in the Thirth slot or the Fourth slot, or works whit Thirth and fourth Slots, 1 and 2 not work, i reset by itself, and dont work even whit 4 slots full. I need help am about to burs this Motherboard.
u need to match the ram and
u need to match the ram and processor frequency. Also the voltage at which your ram and processor operate
To all those having ram
To all those having ram problems, I eventually found that on mine, the problem was bent CPU socket pins. Do check for those if all else fails.