Product comparison · 2 motherboards

GIGABYTE GA-Z170-HD3 DDR3 (rev. 1.0) vs MSI Z170A GAMING M3

51specifications compared
13differ
38identical
28known for one product only

Key differences

The GIGABYTE GA-Z170-HD3 DDR3 (rev. 1.0) has 1 more USB 2.0 connectors than the MSI Z170A GAMING M3 (2 vs 1). The GIGABYTE GA-Z170-HD3 DDR3 (rev. 1.0) has 2 more USB 3.2 Gen 1 (3.1 Gen 1) connectors than the MSI Z170A GAMING M3 (2 vs 0). The GIGABYTE GA-Z170-HD3 DDR3 (rev. 1.0) has 1 more SATA Express connectors than the MSI Z170A GAMING M3 (3 vs 2). Supported memory types: DDR3-SDRAM on the GIGABYTE GA-Z170-HD3 DDR3 (rev. 1.0), DDR4-SDRAM on the MSI Z170A GAMING M3. ECC сompatibility: ECC & Non-ECC on the GIGABYTE GA-Z170-HD3 DDR3 (rev. 1.0), ECC on the MSI Z170A GAMING M3.

Supported memory types
- GA-Z170-HD3 DDR3 (rev. 1.0):DDR3-SDRAM
- Z170A GAMING M3:DDR4-SDRAM
ECC сompatibility
- GA-Z170-HD3 DDR3 (rev. 1.0):ECC & Non-ECC
- Z170A GAMING M3:ECC
RAID levels
- GA-Z170-HD3 DDR3 (rev. 1.0):0, 1, 5, 10
- Z170A GAMING M3:1, 5, 10
USB 2.0 connectors
- GA-Z170-HD3 DDR3 (rev. 1.0):2
- Z170A GAMING M3:1
USB 3.2 Gen 1 (3.1 Gen 1) connectors
- GA-Z170-HD3 DDR3 (rev. 1.0):2
- Z170A GAMING M3:0
Number of SATA Express connectors
- GA-Z170-HD3 DDR3 (rev. 1.0):3
- Z170A GAMING M3:2
USB 3.2 Gen 1 (3.1 Gen 1) Type-A ports quantity
- GA-Z170-HD3 DDR3 (rev. 1.0):4
- Z170A GAMING M3:0
USB 3.2 Gen 2 (3.1 Gen 2) Type-A ports quantity
- GA-Z170-HD3 DDR3 (rev. 1.0):0
- Z170A GAMING M3:6

Side by side

Differences highlightedShow differences only

Comparison of GA-Z170-HD3 DDR3 (rev. 1.0), Z170A GAMING M3
79 specifications	A GIGABYTE GA-Z170-HD3 DDR3 (rev. 1.0)View product	B MSI Z170A GAMING M3 View product
Processoridentical
Processor manufacturer	Intel	Intel
Processor socket	LGA 1151 (Socket H4)	LGA 1151 (Socket H4)
Compatible processor series	Intel® Celeron®, Intel® Pentium®	Intel® Celeron®, Intel® Pentium®
Intel Core i3/i5/i7/i9 seriesKnown for one	i3-6xxx, i5-6xxx, i7-6xxx	Unknown — not stated by the source
Memory3 differ
Supported memory typesDiffers	DDR3-SDRAM	DDR4-SDRAM
Number of memory slots	4	4
Memory slots type	DIMM	DIMM
Memory channels	Dual-channel	Dual-channel
ECC сompatibilityDiffers	ECC & Non-ECC	ECC
Supported memory clock speedsDiffers	1333,1600,1866,2000,2133,2400,2666,2800,2933,3000,3100,3200 MHz	2133,2400,2600,2800,3000,3200 MHz
Maximum internal memory	64 GB	64 GB
Storage controllers1 differ
Supported storage drive interfaces	M.2, SATA III	M.2, SATA III
RAID levelsDiffers	0, 1, 5, 10	1, 5, 10
Graphicsidentical
Maximum graphics card memoryKnown for one	1024 MB	Unknown — not stated by the source
Parallel processing technology support	2-Way CrossFireX	2-Way CrossFireX
On-board graphics cardKnown for one	Yes	Unknown — not stated by the source
Graphics cardKnown for one	HD Graphics	Unknown — not stated by the source
Maximum resolution	4096 x 2160 pixels	4096 x 2160 pixels
Number of displays supportedKnown for one	3	Unknown — not stated by the source
Internal I/O3 differ
USB 2.0 connectorsDiffers	2	1
USB 3.2 Gen 1 (3.1 Gen 1) connectorsDiffers	2	0
USB 3.2 Gen 2 (3.1 Gen 2) connectorsKnown for one	0	Unknown — not stated by the source
Number of SATA III connectors	6	6
Number of SATA II connectors	0	0
Number of SATA Express connectorsDiffers	3	2
Number of Parallel ATA connectors	0	0
S/PDIF out connectorKnown for one	Yes	Unknown — not stated by the source
Front panel audio connector	Yes	Yes
Front panel connectorKnown for one	Yes	Unknown — not stated by the source
ATX Power connector (24-pin)	Yes	Yes
CPU fan connectorKnown for one	Yes	Unknown — not stated by the source
12V power connectorKnown for one	Yes	Unknown — not stated by the source
Parallel connector	Yes	Yes
Serial port headers	1	1
TPM connector	Yes	Yes
Thunderbolt headersKnown for one	1	Unknown — not stated by the source
Number of chassis fan connectorsKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	3
Chassis intrusion connectorKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	Yes
EPS power connector (8-pin)Known for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	Yes
Rear panel I/O ports3 differ
USB 2.0 ports quantity	2	2
USB 3.2 Gen 1 (3.1 Gen 1) Type-A ports quantityDiffers	4	0
USB 3.2 Gen 1 (3.1 Gen 1) Type-C ports quantityKnown for one	0	Unknown — not stated by the source
USB 3.2 Gen 2 (3.1 Gen 2) Type-A ports quantityDiffers	0	6
USB 3.2 Gen 2 (3.1 Gen 2) Type-C ports quantityKnown for one	0	Unknown — not stated by the source
Ethernet LAN (RJ-45) ports	1	1
eSATA ports quantity	0	0
PS/2 ports quantity	1	1
Firewire (IEEE 1394) ports	0	0
VGA (D-Sub) ports quantityDiffers	1	0
HDMI ports quantity	1	1
HDMI versionKnown for one	1.4	Unknown — not stated by the source
DVI-D ports quantity	1	1
Headphone outputsKnown for one	1	Unknown — not stated by the source
Microphone inKnown for one	Yes	Unknown — not stated by the source
Networkidentical
Ethernet LAN	Yes	Yes
Ethernet interface type	Gigabit Ethernet	Gigabit Ethernet
Featuresidentical
Component for	PC	PC
Motherboard form factor	ATX	ATX
Motherboard chipset family	Intel	Intel
Motherboard chipset	Intel® Z170	Intel® Z170
Audio chipKnown for one	Realtek ALC887	Unknown — not stated by the source
Audio output channels	7.1 channels	7.1 channels
Power source type	ATX	ATX
Windows operating systems supportedKnown for one	Yes	Unknown — not stated by the source
Expansion slots1 differ
PCI Express x1 (Gen 3.x) slots	2	2
PCI Express x16 (Gen 3.x) slots	2	2
PCI slotsDiffers	2	3
Number of M.2 (M) slots	1	1
BIOSidentical
BIOS typeKnown for one	UEFI AMI	Unknown — not stated by the source
BIOS memory sizeKnown for one	16 Mbit	Unknown — not stated by the source
ACPI versionKnown for one	5.0	Unknown — not stated by the source
Clear CMOS jumper	Yes	Yes
Processor special featuresidentical
Intel Extreme Memory Profile (XMP)	Yes	Yes
Weight & dimensions2 differ
WidthDiffers	305 mm	304 mm
DepthDiffers	199 mm	244 mm
Packaging contentidentical
Cables includedKnown for one	SATA	Unknown — not stated by the source
ManualKnown for one	Yes	Unknown — not stated by the source
Drivers includedKnown for one	Yes	Unknown — not stated by the source
Bundled softwareKnown for one	Norton Internet Security (OEM version) Intel Smart Response Technology cFosSpeed	Unknown — not stated by the source

A dash means the value is not stated by the source. Unknown values are never counted for or against a product, and there is no overall score.

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