Product comparison · 2 motherboards

GIGABYTE GA-Z170-HD3 DDR3 (rev. 1.0) vs MSI Z170A GAMING M7

54specifications compared
19differ
35identical
40known for one product only

Key differences

The GIGABYTE GA-Z170-HD3 DDR3 (rev. 1.0) has 1 more SATA Express connectors than the MSI Z170A GAMING M7 (3 vs 2). The MSI Z170A GAMING M7 has 1 more USB 2.0 ports quantity than the GIGABYTE GA-Z170-HD3 DDR3 (rev. 1.0) (3 vs 2). The GIGABYTE GA-Z170-HD3 DDR3 (rev. 1.0) has 4 more USB 3.2 Gen 1 (3.1 Gen 1) Type-A ports quantity than the MSI Z170A GAMING M7 (4 vs 0). Supported memory types: DDR3-SDRAM on the GIGABYTE GA-Z170-HD3 DDR3 (rev. 1.0), DDR4-SDRAM on the MSI Z170A GAMING M7. ECC сompatibility: ECC & Non-ECC on the GIGABYTE GA-Z170-HD3 DDR3 (rev. 1.0), Non-ECC on the MSI Z170A GAMING M7.

Supported memory types
- GA-Z170-HD3 DDR3 (rev. 1.0):DDR3-SDRAM
- Z170A GAMING M7:DDR4-SDRAM
ECC сompatibility
- GA-Z170-HD3 DDR3 (rev. 1.0):ECC & Non-ECC
- Z170A GAMING M7:Non-ECC
Parallel processing technology support
- GA-Z170-HD3 DDR3 (rev. 1.0):2-Way CrossFireX
- Z170A GAMING M7:2-Way SLI, 3-Way CrossFireX
Maximum resolution
- GA-Z170-HD3 DDR3 (rev. 1.0):4096 x 2160 pixels
- Z170A GAMING M7:4096 x 2304 pixels
Number of SATA Express connectors
- GA-Z170-HD3 DDR3 (rev. 1.0):3
- Z170A GAMING M7:2
USB 2.0 ports quantity
- GA-Z170-HD3 DDR3 (rev. 1.0):2
- Z170A GAMING M7:3
USB 3.2 Gen 1 (3.1 Gen 1) Type-A ports quantity
- GA-Z170-HD3 DDR3 (rev. 1.0):4
- Z170A GAMING M7:0
USB 3.2 Gen 2 (3.1 Gen 2) Type-A ports quantity
- GA-Z170-HD3 DDR3 (rev. 1.0):0
- Z170A GAMING M7:3

Side by side

Differences highlightedShow differences only

Comparison of GA-Z170-HD3 DDR3 (rev. 1.0), Z170A GAMING M7
94 specifications	A GIGABYTE GA-Z170-HD3 DDR3 (rev. 1.0)View product	B MSI Z170A GAMING M7 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	Non-ECC
Supported memory clock speedsDiffers	1333,1600,1866,2000,2133,2400,2666,2800,2933,3000,3100,3200 MHz	2133,2400,2600,2800,3000,3200,3600 MHz
Maximum internal memory	64 GB	64 GB
Unbuffered memoryKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	Yes
Storage controllersidentical
Supported storage drive interfaces	M.2, SATA III	M.2, SATA III
RAID levels	0, 1, 5, 10	0, 1, 5, 10
Graphics2 differ
Maximum graphics card memoryKnown for one	1024 MB	Unknown — not stated by the source
Parallel processing technology supportDiffers	2-Way CrossFireX	2-Way SLI, 3-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 resolutionDiffers	4096 x 2160 pixels	4096 x 2304 pixels
Number of displays supportedKnown for one	3	Unknown — not stated by the source
DirectX versionKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	12.0
Internal I/O1 differ
USB 2.0 connectors	2	2
USB 3.2 Gen 1 (3.1 Gen 1) connectors	2	2
USB 3.2 Gen 2 (3.1 Gen 2) connectors	0	0
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 connector	Yes	Yes
12V power connectorKnown for one	Yes	Unknown — not stated by the source
Parallel connectorKnown for one	Yes	Unknown — not stated by the source
Serial port headersKnown for one	1	Unknown — not stated by the source
TPM connector	Yes	Yes
Thunderbolt headersKnown for one	1	Unknown — not stated by the source
Chassis intrusion connectorKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	Yes
Rear panel I/O ports7 differ
USB 2.0 ports quantityDiffers	2	3
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 quantity	0	0
USB 3.2 Gen 2 (3.1 Gen 2) Type-A ports quantityDiffers	0	3
USB 3.2 Gen 2 (3.1 Gen 2) Type-C ports quantityDiffers	0	1
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 quantityDiffers	1	2
HDMI versionKnown for one	1.4	Unknown — not stated by the source
DVI-D ports quantityDiffers	1	0
Headphone outputsKnown for one	1	Unknown — not stated by the source
Microphone inKnown for one	Yes	Unknown — not stated by the source
DisplayPorts quantityKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	1
S/PDIF out portKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	Yes
Networkidentical
Ethernet LAN	Yes	Yes
Ethernet interface type	Gigabit Ethernet	Gigabit Ethernet
LAN controllerKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	Atheros Killer E2400
Features1 differ
Component for	PC	PC
Motherboard form factor	ATX	ATX
Motherboard chipset family	Intel	Intel
Motherboard chipset	Intel® Z170	Intel® Z170
Audio chipDiffers	Realtek ALC887	Realtek ALC1150
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 slots3 differ
PCI Express x1 (Gen 3.x) slotsDiffers	2	4
PCI Express x16 (Gen 3.x) slotsDiffers	2	3
PCI slotsKnown for one	2	Unknown — not stated by the source
Number of M.2 (M) slotsDiffers	1	2
BIOS1 differ
BIOS typeDiffers	UEFI AMI	UEFI
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
Clear CMOS buttonKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	Yes
Processor special featuresidentical
Intel Extreme Memory Profile (XMP)	Yes	Yes
Conflict-FreeKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	Yes
Intel ME Firmware VersionKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	11
Intel Rapid Storage TechnologyKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	Yes
Intel Stable Image Platform Program (SIPP)Known for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	No
Intel Trusted Execution TechnologyKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	No
Intel Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d)Known for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	Yes
Intel® High Definition Audio (Intel® HD Audio)Known for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	Yes
Intel® Small Business Advantage (Intel® SBA)Known for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	No
Intel® Smart Response TechnologyKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	Yes
Intel® Virtualization Technology (Intel® VT)Known for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	VT-d
Weight & dimensions1 differ
Width	305 mm	305 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
Other featuresidentical
Intel® vPro™ Platform EligibilityKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	No

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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