Overclocking and Conclusion

Overclocking

To give a feel for the overclocking performance potential of the Z170A-XPower Gaming Ti motherboard, we attempted to push it to known CPU-supported performance parameters with minimal tweaking. The board was able to hit a maximum base clock speed of 267MHz (thanks to the decoupled CPU clock generator of the Z170 board design) with a CPU speed of 4.5GHz, a matching 4.5GHz ring bus speed, and a 2490MHz memory speed. With the base clock rolled back to 167MHz, we were able to push the CPU to 4.67GHz with a 4.5GHz ring bus and 3340Mhz memory speeds. With the base clock rolled back even further to its stock 100Mhz speed, we pushed the memory to a speedy 3470MHz with the CPU and ring bus humming along at 4.5GHz. All overclocking sessions remained stable for over 4hrs. System stability was tested running the AIDA64 stability test in conjunction with EVGA's OC Scanner X graphical benchmark running at 1280×1024 resolution and 8x MSAA in stress test mode. Note that 16GB (2 x 8GB) of Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4-2666 and 16GB (4 x 4GB) of Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4-3200 memory modules were used for the overclocking tests.

267MHz Base Clock Stats

167MHz Base Clock Stats

100MHz Base Clock Stats with 3200MHz Memory

Performance

The MSI Z170A-XPower Ti motherboard performs equally well at both stock and overclocked settings with performance matching that of the other Intel Z170-based systems.

Pricing

As of October 12, the MSI Z170A-XPower Gaming Titanium Edition motherboard was available at Amazon.com for $299.99 with Prime shipping. The board was also available from Newegg.com for $299.99 and from B&H for $312.99 with free shipping.

Conclusion

MSI went above and beyond with the Z170A-XPower Gaming Titanium Edition motherboard, constructing a unique product in a "tough to differentiate" marketplace. From the unboxing, the board stood out with its silver colored PCB and "shiny" chokes. MSI upped the game with the power circuitry integrated into the board, including the Dr-MOS MOSFET chips as well as Titanium chokes (thus the Titanium Edition moniker) and super high-grade capacitors, ensuring the CPU would not be power starved under any conditions. The reinforced primary and secondary PCIe x16 slots (PCIe x16 slots 1 and 3) ensure that the board can easily handle any sized card with your larger than average cooler. The real measure of the board was in its performance though – it performed flawlessly without much performance difference between it and the other top-scoring Intel Z170-based boards.

The one factor that may come into play with this board is the price. It is a bit on the pricey side given its lack of integrated dual NIC or wireless ports, but it remains price competitive with the other flagship board offerings and does include a lot of high-end and nice-to-have features.

Strengths

  • Stock and Overclocking performance
  • Board aesthetics
  • CPU socket layout and spacing
  • UEFI design and usability
  • CMOS battery placement
  • Quality of integrated Nihimic audio tools and audio subsystem design
  • Inclusion and performance of Intel GigE NIC
  • Dual PCIe x4 M.2 ports
  • OC Dashboard device
  • Overclocking-friendly controls
  • Steel reinforced slot overlays for primary and secondary PICe x16 slots

Weaknesses

  • Price
  • CMOS battery placement with three primary PCIe x16 slots populated
  • Lack of second wired GigE NIC

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