The NZXT N7 Z790 motherboard equipped with the brand-new Intel Z790 chipset, after being upgraded to 16+1+2 phase power supply, DDR5 memory support, PCIe slot bandwidth and other specifications, is redesigned in matte black and matte white. Appearing in front of players, what kind of expansion and power supply capabilities does the super-looking and limited edition N7 Z790 have? Compared with the previous generation N7 Z690, is there any need for a special upgrade to buy the new Z790?
Motherboard Specifications:
Dimensions: ATX 30.5 x 24.4cm
Processor support: Intel 12th/13th Core i9/ i7/ i5/ i3, Pentium, Celeron
Processor pin: LGA1700
CPU power supply phase: 16+1+2 phase 60A Dr.MOS
Chipset: Intel Z790
Memory: 4x DDR5 DIMM 6000+(OC) MT/s, maximum capacity 128GB
Memory certification: Intel XMP 3.0 (Extreme Memory Profile)
Display output: HDMI
Expansion slots: 1x PCIe 5.0 x16, 2x PCIe 4.0 x16 (support x4 mode), 2x PCIe 3.0 x1
Storage slots: 4x SATA3 6Gb/s, M2_1 2280/2260/2242 PCIe Gen4 x4, M2_2 22110/2280/2260/2242 PCIe Gen4 x4, M2_3 2280/2260/2242 SATA3 6Gb/s & PCIe Gen4 x4
Network: Realtek RTL8125BG (2.5G)
Wireless: Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX211NGW, Bluetooth 5.2
Audio: Realtek ALC1220
USB ports (front expansion): 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 Type-C, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 (supports two front USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports), 2x USB 2.0 (supports four front USB 2.0 ports)
USB埠 (後方 I/O)：1x USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 Type-C、2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A、3x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A、2x USB 2.0
RGB：2x ARGB 5v 3-Pin、4x NZXT RGB
FAN：1x 4-Pin CPU Fan、1x 4-Pin AIO_PUMP、5x 4- Pin SYS_FAN
NZXT NZ Z790 motherboard unboxing
In addition to the N7 Z790 that was unpacked this time, NZXT has invested in the fourth generation of Intel motherboard products. It has been keeping up with every Intel chipset update since the Z490 chipset. This time the same is true for the N7 Z790, which supports Intel. The 12th/13th generation Core i9/ i7/ i5/ i3 processors and DDR5 memory, use memory support to avoid the embarrassing problem of Z790/Z690 having little difference in expandability specifications, and clearly divide two different chips Group’s N7 motherboard product positioning.
The N7 Z790 is equipped with 16+1+2 phase 60A Dr.MOS power supply, and the PCB is composed of 2oz copper to bring more stable power supply performance to the processor. It supports DDR5 memory and Intel XMP 3.0 one-key overclocking certification. It is advertised that it can reach 6000+ (OC) MT/s frequency (based on the official memory QVL form).
The wireless connection is provided by Wi-Fi 6E plus Bluetooth V5.2 to provide novel transmission specifications, and the wired network is used for network transmission through the 2.5G LAN of the Realtek RTL8125BG chipset. The storage part has a total of three M.2 PCIe Gen4 x4 slots and four SATA 6Gb/s slots.
∆ Motherboard boxed.
∆ There are basic paper specifications and various features on the back.
The NZ Z790 motherboard is ATX 30.5 x 24.4cm. The mainstream ATX size can provide sufficient expansion performance, and it is also compatible with the current mainstream mid-tower size case. White metal is installed on most of the motherboard. The top cover achieves NZXT’s own simple style theme. In addition to the all-white model that was unpacked this time, there are also all-black models that can be purchased.
The previous generation of Z690, perhaps in order to introduce a more affordable price for players to buy, launched two versions of N7/N5 at that time. The most intuitive difference between the N5 model is the removal of the metal decorative cover, but it also bears the burden of deviation from the brand. The notoriety of the concept spindle, it is obvious that NZXT fans have requirements for motherboards. In addition to sufficient expandability and power supply performance of the motherboard, the simple appearance of NZXT cannot be sacrificed!
∆ The all-white N7 Z790 of the ATX board type is covered by a white metal decorative cover covering a large area.
∆ Overview of the PCB on the back of the motherboard.
In order to provide sufficient overclocking performance for Intel 12th / 13th Core K series processors, the VRM power supply block of the motherboard is equipped with an L-shaped heat sink to provide sufficient heat dissipation for the 16+1+2 phase 60A Dr.MOS power chip underneath Performance, in order to allow players to use it stably in high-load multi-core and other usage scenarios.
NZXT Z790 supports Intel LGA 1700 pin processors, and is compatible with Intel 12th / 13th Core i9/ i7/ i5/ i3, Pentium, and Celeron processors. However, the N7 Z790 CPU Support List on the official website is the main list, but Since both N7 Z690/Z790 can support Intel 12th / 13th processors, if players already have N7/N5 Z690 motherboards and want to upgrade to Intel 13th processors, they don’t need to buy a new motherboard.
∆ Support LGA 1700 Intel 12th / 13th Core, Pentium, Celeron processors.
The rough paper specifications are introduced here first, and then I will show you the various expansion slots of the N7 Z790. There is an 8+4 Pin processor ATX_12V power supply slot on the upper left corner of the motherboard.
∆ ATX_12V 8+4 Pin processor power supply socket on the upper left corner of the motherboard.
It is located above the memory slot, which is the upper right corner of the motherboard. From left to right, there are CPU_FAN, AIO_PUMP, NZXT_RGB1/2, SYS_FAN5/4 slots. If there are players using integrated water cooling, install the water cooling PUMP for power It is recommended to install it in the AIO_PUMP slot first.
∆ CPU_FAN, AIO_PUMP, NZXT_RGB1/2, SYS_FAN5/4 (chassis fan slot) and other slots.
NZXT also launched the N7 Z690 motherboard during the Z690 chipset, but the N7 Z690 supports the previous generation of DDR4 memory; while the N7 Z790 supports the latest DDR5 memory. Recently, the price of DDR5 memory has become more and more friendly. It’s time to upgrade the DDR5 memory platform!
The four-slot DDR5 DIMMs single-side snap-in memory slot supports four DDR5 memories with a total capacity of 128GB, that is, the maximum capacity of a single memory is 32GB, and the memory overclocking frequency is advertised as up to 6000+ MT/s (but the official memory QVL Table-based), supports Intel XMP 3.0 (Extreme Memory Profile) memory one-key overclocking technology certification.
It is recommended to install the 2 DIMMs dual-channel memory set that is often purchased when ordering, and install it in the A2 and B2 slots (the second and fourth slots from the left), and install the two memories in these two positions. Memory can more easily operate at higher frequencies.
∆ Four-slot single-clip DDR5 memory slot, supports 128GB memory expansion and XMP 3.0.
The right half of the motherboard is quite neat and tidy, and the remaining small slots of NZXT are moved to other positions on the motherboard. On the right side, there are only 24-Pin power supply slots on the motherboard, and a front Type-C USB 3.2 Gen2x2 (20Gb/s) slot, one USB 3.2 Gen1 slot (supports two front USB 3.2 Gen1 ports), four SATA3 6Gb/s.
∆ Mainboard 24-Pin power supply and Type-C USB 3.2 Gen2x2 expansion slot on the front of the case.
∆ The USB 3.2 Gen1 slot can expand two front USB 3.2 Gen1 ports, and there are four SATA slots.
The bottom of the N7 Z790 is equipped with a system panel slot, power-on and reset buttons, two NZXT RGB, Post LED, three 4-Pin SYS_FAN power supply slots, two USB 2.0 (supports four front USB 2.0 installation ports), Two 5V 3-Pin ARGB, EZ Debug self-test code light, HD_AUDIO audio source slot.
There are a total of four NZXT RGB slots on the motherboard. Other NZXT RGB devices can be connected to the motherboard through this slot, and the lighting effects can be controlled and customized through the NZXT CAN software.
∆ System panel slot, power on and reset button, NZXT RGB, 4-Pin SYS_FAN power supply slot.
∆ USB 2.0, 5V 3-Pin ARGB, EZ Debug self-test code light, HD_AUDIO audio slot.
∆ EZ Debug can quickly identify the self-test results, whether there are CPU, DRAM, VGA, BOOT faults or undetected problems.
PCIe expansion provides a total of five slots that can be used, and the channel specification and bandwidth of the slots are more complete than the previous generation. The first PCIe 5.0 x16 slot (PCIEX16_1), which is often used for graphics card installation, has additional metal slots Strengthen your own physical strength, after all, the current display cards are getting heavier and heavier.
The bottom two PCIe 4.0 x16 (PCIEX16_2/PCIEX16_3) support x4 channel split mode, and there are two PCIe 3.0 x1 (PCIEX1_1/PCIEX1_2), which can be used to expand the capture card or sound card, etc., whether it is It is no problem to expand the N7 Z790 with dual graphics cards or multiple devices.
∆ PCIe 5.0 x16 metal graphics slot, two PCIe 4.0 x16, two PCIe 3.0 ×1.
The N7 Z790 has a total of three M2 PCIe Gen4 x4 SSD expansion slots. This part is the same as the Z690 model. All three slots support PCIe Gen4x4 2242/2260/2280 specification NVME M.2 SSD installation, M2_2 slot It can be installed to the longer 22110 size. If the player has left the early M.2 SATA SSD for expansion, it must be used through the M2_3 slot.
There are white decorative covers on the top of the three M.2 SSD installation positions. The upper cover magnetically fixed by a strong magnet has no heat conduction effect. Only the first M2_1 slot can be seen after removing the white decorative cover. A heat sink with thermal pad can help M.2 SSD dissipate heat.
∆ After removing the magnetic white decorative cover, you will find that there is a heat sink fixed above the M2_1 socket.
∆ After removing the heat sink, you can see the complete three M.2 SSD expansion slots.
∆ Metal trim cover for the M.2 block and a heat sink.
There is an M Key M.2 slot next to the PCIe slot, which supports 2230-spec Intel CNVi Wi-Fi/BT network card, and the N7 Z790 is pre-installed with an Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX211NGW network card. The network card also supports the Bluetooth 5.2 protocol.
∆ Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX211NGW network card, CMOS battery.
The I/O behind the motherboard provides Clear CMOS buttons, HDMI, Wifi 6E antenna port, two USB 2.0, three USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A, USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Type-C (20 Gbps), two USB 3.2 Gen2 Type -A (10 Gb/s), RJ-45 2.5G LAN wired network port, optical S/PDIF digital audio output, five-hole audio port.
∆ Overview of rear I/O interfaces.
N7 Z790 motherboard accessories are also quite simple, three M.2 SSD screws, one M.2 SSD copper pillar, two SATA transmission cables, Wi-Fi antenna.
∆ Accessories only include M.2 SSD screws, M.2 SSD copper posts, SATA transmission cables, and Wi-Fi antennas.
∆ The antenna is the smallest black rod style, and it must be connected if you want to use the Wi-Fi/Bluetooth function.
NZXT NZ Z790 motherboard power supply material / 16+1+2 60A Dr.MOS
After looking at the expansion slots of the motherboard, we will show you the power supply materials and various small components under this motherboard. NZXT NZ Z790 has 16+1+2 phase 60A Dr.MOS power supply.
∆ Overview of the motherboard PCB.
∆ 16+1+2 Power Phase Design。
∆ RENESAS ISL99360 60A Smart Power Stage (SPS)
∆ PWM controller is RENESAS RAA229131.
∆ Genesys GL9904USB Type-C 10 Gbps Redriver.
∆ Realtek RTL8125BG 2.5Gb LAN chip.
∆ P13EQX USB 3.2 Gen 2 ReDriver chip.
∆ REALTEK 5452E is a Type-C power supply control chip (Power Delivery Controller).
∆ Realtek ALC1220 audio chip.
∆ NXP LPC51U68 microprocessor.
∆ asmedia ASM1074 USB 3.0 expansion chip.
∆ NUVOTON NCT6796D-E (Super I/O) environmental control chip, mainly used for temperature measurement, fan speed control, and monitoring system voltage.
∆ Z790 motherboard chip.
∆ Motherboard heat sink and white metal decorative cover.
BIOS settings and various function menus
After the motherboard has passed the self-certification process, press the F2 or DEL button to enter the EZ MODE of the BIOS. Players can set basic functions in EZ MODE, such as XMP configuration files, boot sequence, and basic hardware information. View and so on.
∆ NZXT style BIOS in purple and white color.
Press F6 in the EZ MODE easy mode to switch to the advanced mode to adjust more detailed motherboard settings.
∆ Basic information can be viewed in the main menu of advanced mode, including BIOS version and processor information.
∆ Overclocking tools page.
∆ CPU setting.
∆ Load XMP settings in memory settings to enable XMP 3.0 one-key overclocking function.
∆ Memory timing small parameter setting.
∆ Voltage setting.
∆FIVR setting.
∆ Advanced menu.
∆ Advanced menu/CPU settings.
∆ Re-Size BAR Support in Chipset Settings is enabled by default.
∆ SATA storage device setting.
∆ Tool options.
∆ Hardware monitoring page.
∆ Adjust the order of the boot hard drives.
NZXT CAM integrates software/hardware monitoring, lighting effect control, and overclocking.
NZXT CAM includes hardware monitoring, system specification viewing, lighting effect setting, graphics card overclocking, etc. All kinds of all-encompassing functions are all integrated in the software. There are four NZXT RGB slots on the motherboard that can be connected to other NZXT products, including Such as fan hubs, integrated water cooling, etc., the motherboard lighting effects are synchronized by NZXT CAM.
∆ Computer hardware and information monitoring, which can quickly observe various usage information of PC.
∆ List of system specifications, the test platform uses i7 13700K and NZXT N7 Z790 motherboard.
∆ Lighting option is a lighting effect setting function.
∆ The motherboard itself does not have RGB lighting effects.
∆ Display card overclocking function.
∆ The speed of water cooling and fan slots can be adjusted in cooling.
NZXT NZ Z790 motherboard performance test
This motherboard performance test uses NZXT NZ Z790 with 13th generation Intel i7-13700K processor with 8 P-Cores and 8 E-Cores totaling 16 cores and 24 threads, and updated NZXT BIOS UEFI to 3.01 version, the memory uses KLEVV CRAS XR5 RGB DDR5 6200MT/s 16Gx2 dual-channel kit. During the process of building a test platform for testing, except for the XMP 3.0 configuration file, the rest of the memory uses the default mode.
testing platform
Processor: Intel Core i7-13700K
Radiator: NZXT Kraken Z63 RGB
Motherboard: NZXT NZ Z790 (UEFI 3.01)
Memory: KLEVV CRAS XR5 RGB DDR5 6200MT/s 16Gx2
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Founders Edition
Operating System: Windows 11 Home Edition 21H2
Power Supply: 1200W PSU
First of all, CPU-Z checks the hardware information of this test platform. The processor Intel Core i7-13700K is code-named Raptor Lake, Intel-7 10nm process, 8 P-Core+8 E-Core cores, a total of 16 cores and 24 execution threads , the motherboard uses NZXT NZ Z790 to support PCI-E 5.0 channels, the memory uses DDR5 6200MT/s dual-channel capacity with a total capacity of 32GB, and ran the CPU-Z built-in test Version 17.01.64 at the same time, the CPU single thread got 875.4 points, more The execution thread is 12662.3 points.
∆ CPU-Z information overview and Version 17.01.64 built-in test results.
Then there are the common processor benchmarking software CINEBENCH R20 and R23, which are often used to evaluate the 3D rendering and drawing performance of the processor itself. This software is developed by MAXON based on Cinema 4D.
In the Release 20 version, the i7-13700K achieved multi-core 11759pts and single-core 811pts in the test, while the new version of R23 achieved multi-core 30764pts and single-core 2099pts.
∆ CINEBENCH Release 20。
∆ CINEBENCH R23。
AIDA64 memory and cache test This time, DDR5 6200MT/s 16GBx2 dual-channel memory was used to open the XMP 3.0 profile for testing. The read speed was 94067 MB/s, the write speed was 84468 MB/s, and the copy speed was 85241 MB /s, while the delay is 72.9 ns.
∆ AIDA64 cache and memory test.
3D Mark CPU Profile This test will test the performance of MAX, 16, 8, 4, 2, and 1 threads respectively, and the performance above 16 threads is more used for 3D rendering or professional audio-visual work. Currently, the mainstream Most of the DX12 game performance can refer to the scores of 8 threads, and the scores of 4 and 2 threads are related to the old games developed with DX9.
The i7-13700K’s maximum thread score is 12941 points, while the 8 threads and 4 threads that mainstream gamers can use for reference are 8564 and 4531 points respectively.
∆ 3D Mark CPU Profile。
In addition, the author also used 3D Mark Fire Strike and 3D Mark Time Spy, which are commonly used in game performance simulation tests, and used NVIDIA RTX 4080 graphics card for testing. In Fire Strike, which simulates 1080p quality DX11 situational game simulation tests, 43092 points were obtained. Physical score, while simulating 1440p quality DX12 situational game simulation test in Time Spy, got 21645 CPU score.
∆ 3D Mark Fire Strike。
∆ 3D Mark Time Spy。
V-Ray 5 Benchmark has three different test scenarios, and the V-Ray project is tested for processor rendering performance. The i7-13700K test platform scored 20472 points in the test.
∆ V-Ray 5 Benchmark。
CrossMark has a total of 25 items, including productivity, creative content work, system responsiveness and other work simulation load tests. The following three scores have different scoring standards and usage scenarios. Productivity includes file editing, spreadsheets, For web browsing, the second item of creativity (Creativity) includes photo editing, photo organization, and video editing, and the last item of response (Responsiveness) includes situations such as opening files, file response speed, and multitasking.
In the CrossMark test, it scored a total of 2527 points, 2290 points for productivity, 2816 points for creativity, and 2450 points for reaction.
∆ CrossMark daily use scene test items.
PCMark 10 also simulates the test situation to obtain the overall performance of the computer. Commonly used basic function items include application startup, web browsing and video conferencing tests. The productivity item simulates the writing of documents and spreadsheets. However, due to the last item cannot pass the video content creation test, so only the first two results are provided for your reference.
Commonly used basic functions in this test have 10475 points and productivity 11251 points.
∆ PCMark 10 test.
NZXT N7 Z790 Summary
This time, the Z790 motherboard chipset, which was updated along with Intel’s 13th generation processor, adopts the upgrade strategy of cutting half the PCIe 3.0 lanes and adding PCIe 4.0 lanes in the expansion specification. Therefore, the differences in specifications of Z790/Z690 of various brands Not much, but the difference between the two Z690/Z790 motherboards of NZXT N7 is only in the upgrade of the number of power supply phases, DDR4/DDR5 memory support, and PCIe slot bandwidth specifications.
Therefore, is it necessary to upgrade from N7 Z690 to N7 Z790? It depends on whether fans want to upgrade to DDR5 memory by the way, and whether they will use devices with higher channel specifications for expansion of devices such as capture cards or PCIe SSDs. PCIe expansion slot, use these requirements to decide whether to upgrade to the Z790 version.
NZXT N7 Z790 has launched two models of matte black and matte white, and the Taiwan sales channel is priced at NT$11,000. If you are a fan of NZXT and want to assemble a faith host, you must not miss it! NZXT motherboards are sold in limited quantities every time. If you miss it, you will be gone.
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