MSI Z170A Gaming M7 review

An upmarket Z170 board for the well-heeled game

MSI Z170A Gaming M7
MSI Z170A Gaming M7

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We liked

This is a great looking motherboard which really carries off that premium vibe, and it's very nicely featured as well. The M7 did well in our benchmarks, and pulls all this off without the price tag getting silly as seen with some other premium boards.

We disliked

While this MSI effort proved itself in our various benchmarks, it really isn't any faster than some cheaper boards. The neat sounding Game Boost feature also fell flat on its face.

Final verdict

The M7 has no easy answers for the ever-present value conundrum. Like all premium boards, it can't fully justify its price in performance terms – but it's an appealing proposition. If we could afford it, we'd probably pull the trigger.

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Technology and cars. Increasingly the twain shall meet. Which is handy, because Jeremy (Twitter) is addicted to both. Long-time tech journalist, former editor of iCar magazine and incumbent car guru for T3 magazine, Jeremy reckons in-car technology is about to go thermonuclear. No, not exploding cars. That would be silly. And dangerous. But rather an explosive period of unprecedented innovation. Enjoy the ride.

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