Product comparison · 2 motherboards

GIGABYTE Mainboards Intel® Z97 LGA 1150 (Socket H3) ATX vs MSI Z170A GAMING M5

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  • 49specifications compared
  • 18differ
  • 31identical
  • 29known for one product only

Key differences

The MSI Z170A GAMING M5 has 32 GB more maximum internal memory than the GIGABYTE Mainboards Intel® Z97 LGA 1150 (Socket H3) ATX (64 GB vs 32 GB). The GIGABYTE Mainboards Intel® Z97 LGA 1150 (Socket H3) ATX has 1 more USB 3.2 Gen 1 (3.1 Gen 1) connectors than the MSI Z170A GAMING M5 (1 vs 0). The MSI Z170A GAMING M5 has 1 more SATA Express connectors than the GIGABYTE Mainboards Intel® Z97 LGA 1150 (Socket H3) ATX (2 vs 1). Processor socket: LGA 1150 (Socket H3) on the GIGABYTE Mainboards Intel® Z97 LGA 1150 (Socket H3) ATX, LGA 1151 (Socket H4) on the MSI Z170A GAMING M5. Supported memory types: DDR3-SDRAM on the GIGABYTE Mainboards Intel® Z97 LGA 1150 (Socket H3) ATX, DDR4-SDRAM on the MSI Z170A GAMING M5.

  • Processor socket
    • Mainboards Intel® Z97 LGA 1150 (Socket H3) ATX:LGA 1150 (Socket H3)
    • Z170A GAMING M5:LGA 1151 (Socket H4)
  • Supported memory types
    • Mainboards Intel® Z97 LGA 1150 (Socket H3) ATX:DDR3-SDRAM
    • Z170A GAMING M5:DDR4-SDRAM
  • ECC сompatibility
    • Mainboards Intel® Z97 LGA 1150 (Socket H3) ATX:Non-ECC
    • Z170A GAMING M5:ECC
  • Maximum internal memory
    • Mainboards Intel® Z97 LGA 1150 (Socket H3) ATX:32 GB
    • Z170A GAMING M5:64 GB
  • RAID levels
    • Mainboards Intel® Z97 LGA 1150 (Socket H3) ATX:0, 1, 5, 10
    • Z170A GAMING M5:1, 5, 10
  • USB 3.2 Gen 1 (3.1 Gen 1) connectors
    • Mainboards Intel® Z97 LGA 1150 (Socket H3) ATX:1
    • Z170A GAMING M5:0
  • Number of SATA Express connectors
    • Mainboards Intel® Z97 LGA 1150 (Socket H3) ATX:1
    • Z170A GAMING M5:2
  • USB 2.0 ports quantity
    • Mainboards Intel® Z97 LGA 1150 (Socket H3) ATX:4
    • Z170A GAMING M5:2

Side by side

Differences highlightedShow differences only (on)
Comparison of Mainboards, Z170A GAMING M5
78 specifications
Processor1 differ
Processor socketDiffersLGA 1150 (Socket H3)LGA 1151 (Socket H4)
Intel Core i3/i5/i7/i9 seriesKnown for onei3-4xxx, i3-5xxx, i5-4xxx, i5-5xxx, i7-4xxx, i7-5xxxUnknown — not stated by the source
Memory4 differ
Supported memory typesDiffersDDR3-SDRAMDDR4-SDRAM
Number of memory slotsKnown for one4Unknown — not stated by the source
ECC сompatibilityDiffersNon-ECCECC
Supported memory clock speedsDiffers1333,1600,1800,1866,2000,2133,2200,2400,2600,2666,2800,2933,3000,3100,3200 MHz2133,2400,2600,2800,3000,3200 MHz
Maximum internal memoryDiffers32 GB64 GB
Storage controllers1 differ
RAID levelsDiffers0, 1, 5, 101, 5, 10
Graphics1 differ
Maximum graphics card memoryKnown for one512 MBUnknown — not stated by the source
Parallel processing technology supportDiffers2-Way CrossFireX, 2-Way SLI, 3-Way CrossFireX2-Way SLI, 3-Way CrossFireX
On-board graphics cardKnown for oneYesUnknown — not stated by the source
Graphics cardKnown for oneHD GraphicsUnknown — not stated by the source
Discrete graphics supportKnown for oneYesUnknown — not stated by the source
Internal I/O2 differ
USB 3.2 Gen 1 (3.1 Gen 1) connectorsDiffers10
USB 3.2 Gen 2 (3.1 Gen 2) connectorsKnown for one0Unknown — not stated by the source
Number of SATA Express connectorsDiffers12
S/PDIF out connectorKnown for oneYesUnknown — not stated by the source
Front panel connectorKnown for oneYesUnknown — not stated by the source
12V power connectorKnown for oneYesUnknown — not stated by the source
Number of chassis fan connectorsKnown for oneUnknown — not stated by the source3
Chassis intrusion connectorKnown for oneUnknown — not stated by the sourceYes
EPS power connector (8-pin)Known for oneUnknown — not stated by the sourceYes
Parallel connectorKnown for oneUnknown — not stated by the sourceYes
Rear panel I/O ports4 differ
USB 2.0 ports quantityDiffers42
USB 3.2 Gen 1 (3.1 Gen 1) Type-A ports quantityDiffers40
USB 3.2 Gen 1 (3.1 Gen 1) Type-C ports quantityKnown for one0Unknown — not stated by the source
USB 3.2 Gen 2 (3.1 Gen 2) Type-A ports quantityDiffers06
USB 3.2 Gen 2 (3.1 Gen 2) Type-C ports quantityKnown for one0Unknown — not stated by the source
VGA (D-Sub) ports quantityDiffers10
HDMI versionKnown for one1.4aUnknown — not stated by the source
Headphone outputsKnown for one1Unknown — not stated by the source
Microphone inKnown for oneYesUnknown — not stated by the source
S/PDIF out portKnown for oneYesUnknown — not stated by the source
Networkidentical
LAN controllerKnown for oneAtheros Killer E2201Unknown — not stated by the source
Features1 differ
Motherboard chipsetDiffersIntel® Z97Intel® Z170
Audio chipKnown for oneRealtek ALC1150Unknown — not stated by the source
Windows operating systems supportedKnown for oneYesUnknown — not stated by the source
Expansion slots2 differ
PCI Express x1 (Gen 2.x) slotsKnown for one3Unknown — not stated by the source
PCI Express x16 (Gen 2.x) slotsKnown for one1Unknown — not stated by the source
PCI Express x16 (Gen 3.x) slotsDiffers23
Number of M.2 (M) slotsDiffers12
PCI Express x1 (Gen 3.x) slotsKnown for oneUnknown — not stated by the source4
BIOS1 differ
BIOS typeDiffersUEFI AMIUEFI
BIOS memory sizeKnown for one16 MbitUnknown — not stated by the source
ACPI versionKnown for one5.0Unknown — not stated by the source
Weight & dimensions1 differ
DepthDiffers225 mm244 mm
Packaging contentidentical
Bundled softwareKnown for oneNorton Internet Security (OEM version) Intel Rapid Start Technology Intel Smart Connect Technology Intel Smart Response TechnologyUnknown — 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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