facebook rss twitter

Review: MSI Z370 Gaming Pro Carbon AC

by David Ross on 13 October 2017, 11:00

Tags: Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), MSI

Quick Link: HEXUS.net/qadmlk

Add to My Vault: x

Testing Methodology

Comparison Motherboard Configurations

Model
Aorus Z370 Gaming 7
MSI Z370 Carbon Pro Gaming AC
Asus ROG Strix
Z370-F Gaming
Reviewed Price
£270
£190
£190
Firmware Version
F4a
A13
0410
Chipset
Z370
CPU
Intel Core i7-8700K
CPU Cores / Threads
6 / 12
CPU Base Clock / Turbo
4.8GHz / 4.8GHz
3.7GHz / 4.7GHz
CPU Cache
12MB
CPU TDP
95W
Memory
G.Skill 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4-3,200
Memory Speed
DDR4-3200
DDR4-2666
Memory Timings
16-16-18-36-2T
Graphics
EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 FTW
Graphics Driver
GeForce 376.19
Storage Device(s)
SK hynix Canvas SC300 512GB
Samsung 950 Pro 256GB M.2 256GB
Power Supply
be quiet! Dark Power Pro 10 (1,000W)
Operating System
Windows 10 Home AE (64-bit)

CPU Benchmarks

HEXUS PiFast Our number-crunching benchmark stresses a single core by calculating Pi to 10m places.
Cinebench R15 Using Cinebench's multi-CPU render, this cross-platform benchmark stresses all cores.
Handbrake 0.10.5 Free-to-use video encoder that stresses all CPU cores.

Storage Benchmarks

CrystalDiskMark Popular free-to-use storage benchmark, used to gauge read and write performance via M.2 (256GB Samsung 950 Pro NVMe), SATA (512GB SK hynix Canvas SC300) and USB 3.1 (512GB SK hynix Canvas SC300).

Memory Benchmarks

AIDA64 v5.80.4283 Benchmark that analyses memory bandwidth and latency

Gaming Benchmarks

3DMark Time Spy Graphics test run using the Time Spy default test
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided 2,560x1,440, ultra settings
Hitman 2,560x1,440, ultra settings

Miscellaneous Benchmarks

Power Consumption Noted at idle, while running the HandBrake video-transcoding test and when playing ROTTR.

Notes

As we did in the Aorus review earlier this week, we have decided to increase the speed of the CPU to an all-core 4.8GHz at 1.25V and see how the board performs once we have a decent overclock in place. What's more, following the same tack, the memory speed is increased to DDR4-3200, as well.

It is more important to evaluate the speed of the MSI in a state that most enthusiasts will put it in. The Asus Z370-F Gaming, meanwhile, will show you what to expect if running at stock speeds.