MSI Z97A Gaming 6 Motherboard Review

1. Introduction2. MSI Z97A Gaming 6: Packaging and Bundle3. MSI Z97A Gaming 6: Board Layout and Features4. MSI Z97 Gaming: BIOS5. MSI Z97 Gaming: Software6. Testing Methodology7. Tests: System-related8. Tests: Processor-related9. Tests: Gaming-related10. Tests: Motherboard-related11. Overclocking: Frequencies12. Overclocking: Performance13. Technical: Power Consumption14. Closing Thoughts15. View All Pages

We measured the power consumption with the system resting at the Windows 7 desktop, representing idle values.

The power consumption of our entire test system (at the wall) is measured while loading only the CPU using Prime95′s in-place large FFTs setting. The rest of the system’s components were operating in their idle states, hence the increased power consumption values (in comparison to the idle figures) are largely related to the load on the CPU and motherboard power delivery components.

Low idle power consumption levels are a positive for the Z97A Gaming 6. The board rapidly adjusts system voltages when higher performance is not required.

Load power consumption is comparably low at the stock clock speeds, however this is not the case for the overclocked configuration which require slightly more CPU VCore than some of the other motherboards.

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