MSI Z170A PC MATE vs GIGABYTE GA-Z170-hd3?

Solution
D
The MSI is not really intended for overclocking according to Anandtech.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/9485/intel-skylake-z170-motherboards-asrock-asus-gigabyte-msi-ecs-evga-supermicro/8

"MSI’s PC Mate line is a little bit of an oddball here, not being given the Gaming name. That is because it sits more in that internet café style of system or bulk office ATX design. This means separate PS/2 connectors on the rear panel, the three most common VGA outputs, a single M.2 x4 slot, two USB 3.1-A ports on the rear (the ones on the right), a basic audio codec (looks like ALC892) and a Realtek network controller. The PC Mate motherboard, despite being in the Z170 level of motherboards, is more designed to make a non-overclocking CPU happy with...
The MSI is not really intended for overclocking according to Anandtech.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/9485/intel-skylake-z170-motherboards-asrock-asus-gigabyte-msi-ecs-evga-supermicro/8

"MSI’s PC Mate line is a little bit of an oddball here, not being given the Gaming name. That is because it sits more in that internet café style of system or bulk office ATX design. This means separate PS/2 connectors on the rear panel, the three most common VGA outputs, a single M.2 x4 slot, two USB 3.1-A ports on the rear (the ones on the right), a basic audio codec (looks like ALC892) and a Realtek network controller. The PC Mate motherboard, despite being in the Z170 level of motherboards, is more designed to make a non-overclocking CPU happy with a set of basic functionality to satisfy users who don’t actually own the PC they are working on."

The Gigabyte board did pretty well here:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gigabyte-z170-hd3-lga-1151-intel-motherboard,4279.html

Neither board is really going to be a great overclocker. But the Gigabyte seems the better of the two.

 
Solution