The Z170 GAMING M7 is the first motherboard to feature as part of our Intel Z170 coverage and we’ve been mightily impressed by what this product has to offer on many different levels.

MSI has long been an advocate of flair in the styling department and the Z170A GAMING M7 epitomises this very notion. If you thought last season’s motherboards were pretty stylish then you’re in for a surprise with the new wave of LGA 1151 motherboards. GAMING M7 oozes panache and has stunning aesthetics.

Moving on from the visual appearance, the actual board itself contains many innovative features including some extras which go beyond the basics of what the Intel Z170 chipset offers. DDR4 Boost, M.2 Twin Turbo and AUDIO BOOST 3 are three which stand out and will be useful to not only gamers but enthusiasts too.


Pitting the motherboard against an Intel Z97 and another rival Z170 motherboard reveals a strong candidate on this new platform. GAMING M7 is consistent in its performance and we liked it that much that we opted to use it for our Intel Skylake 6600K and 6700K coverage. The reason for choosing this board was quite simple, it’s equipped with Military Class 5 components and has class-leading features. Although it’s still early days we managed to achieve a 4.7Hz overclock with GAMING M7 and attaining this milestone was a breeze thanks to the easy to use BIOS and overclocking feature-set.

Z170A-GAMING M7 is priced at £170 GBP – somewhat more expensive than its predecessor and yet offering similar features. This motherboard does pack in a multitude of features but MSI need to be careful with their markup.

GAMING M7 brings stellar performance in a luxurious shell. This motherboard is jam-packed with features allowing gamers (and enthusiasts) to get the most out of their Skylake CPU.