O-Sense
INTRODUCTION
The Z590 chipset currently powers the top of the line systems in Intel's consumer line (with the Z690 chipset just around the corner) and thanks to the wealth of supported features it offers just like with past models (Z390/Z490) motherboards based on it are far from the lowest cost ones in the market. Still not everyone out there is willing to spend big on an Z590 motherboard which is why some manufacturers have allocated resources in the development and release of models without the extra features (from electrical ones aimed at improved overclocking to special onboard sound cards and available outputs and inputs) found in others. A great example is the people over at NZXT who recently released the N7 Z590 model which although rather basic in terms of features it's available in both black and white colors making it ideal for modders, enthusiasts and even gamers.
Founded in 2004, NZXT is a leader of gaming products and services. Their award-winning products include computer cases, PC cooling solutions, RGB lighting kits, power supplies, and their free PC monitoring software, NZXT CAM. NZXT was created out of a passion for PC gaming and is dedicated to improving products and services to achieve extraordinary gaming experiences.
The NZXT N7 Z590 motherboard is based on the LGA 1200 socket (meaning it’s still compatible with LGA 115x coolers and both 10th and 11th generation Intel CPUs) and so it features PCIe Gen v4.0 for one of its PCIe x16 slots (also EMI shielded and reinforced) and one of its M.2 2242/2260/2280 slots. It also sports a 14 power phase design (12+2DrMOS) and a total of 4 DDR4 DIMM slots allowing for up to 128GB of RAM at speeds surpassing 4600MHz. Of course, it also packs the AX201 Dual-Band WiFi 6/BT 5.2 wireless adapter, Realtek ALC1220 HD audio card, single PCIe 3.0 x16 slot, three PCIe 3.0 x1 slots, M.2 PCIe 3.0 slot, 4 native Intel SATA 6Gb/s ports (support RAID 0/1/5/10), 2 NZXT RGB headers, 5V ARGB header and an 12V RGB header. In terms of rear connectivity, the N7 Z590 offers and HDMI v2.0 port, 2 USB 2.0 ports, 4 intel USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A ports, 4 USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports (3 Type-A, 1 Type-C), single Realtek RTL8125BG 2.5GbE (10/100/1000/2500) Ethernet port, 2x2 wireless antennas, 5.1 channel jacks and an S/PDIF (a clear CMOS button is also present). So, is the N7 Z590 motherboard by NZXT the one to get if you're on a budget? Let's find out just that.
SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES
PACKAGING AND CONTENTS
NZXT uses a white box to ship the N7 Z590 inside and as you can see the black and white version is printed at the front (even though this is the full black version).
The motherboard features are listed on both sides of the box in 12 languages (unfortunately i somehow forgot to take a picture of the opposite side).
Turning the box around we find the full specifications of the N7 Z590 printed in 3 languages.
The motherboard is wrapped inside a static free bag and placed in a formed piece of cardboard.
NZXT has also cut some corners when it comes to bundle since inside the box you'll only find the two WiFi antennas, two SATA 6Gb/s cables, two M.2 mounting screws and the user manual.
THE N7 Z590
The all-black N7 Z590 certainly looks very nice, may not be as aggressive as the EVGA Z590 DARK but it could be a better match with some systems.
The 14 power phase design NZXT used with the N7 Z590 should be quite enough for reasonable overclocking.
Offering 4 DDR4 DIMM slots is good since it allows people to further expand their RAM later on.
Aside the 24pin power cable the N7 Z590 also requires one 8pin and one 4pin power cables.
Power on/off and reset buttons are located on the lower right corner of the motherboard.
Equipping the N7 Z590 with a total of 5 PCIe slots was a good move by NZXT (most Z590 models have 3-4).
Taking a look at the rear I/O we find the clear CMOS button, 2 Antenna ports, HDMI v2.0 port, 2 USB 2.0 ports, 4 USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports (3 Type-A, 1 Type-C), 4 intel USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A ports, Realtek RTL8125BG 2.5GbE Ethernet port, 5.1 channel jacks and an S/PDIF out.
As expected, (especially from a budget-friendly model) there's no protective plate underneath the motherboard.
NZXT has placed two M.2 slots on the N7 Z590, one on top and one at the bottom as seen above.
With the Intel Core-i9 11900K and the Acer Predator Apollo 32GB 4GHz RAM installed (among other things) the N7 Z590 is up and running.
NZ Z590 P1.30 BIOS
For this review i used BIOS P1.30 which as you can all features the usual simple and advanced modes (of course as with all my motherboard tests fan speed is set to full from the get go).
This BIOS is divided into 7 tabs with the main tab just giving you a few details about the CPU and RAM.
Once again almost everything related to overclocking is placed under the overclocking Tab. Here you can change ratios, set the BCLK frequency and of course adjust every voltage you could ever want to or have the need for (as with my Z390 and Z490 reviews for all Z590 tests the I9-11900K will be set at 5GHz with a RING/Cache ratio of 47). NZXT also places the RAM settings under the same tab (you can use available XMP profiles, set the frequency, adjust voltages and of course you can also adjust the timings).
Under the Advanced tab you can access the various CPU technologies, check information on the CPU and of course adjust everything else related to the mainboard and all the included peripherals such as the audio card, LAN and WiFi card (unfortunately i don't recall seeing an option about resizable BAR support).
You can secure erase and sanitize your SSD from the tools tab (the BIOS update feature is listed here too).
As revealed by its name the PC monitoring tab monitors system health such as current temperatures, fan speeds and voltages.
Under the security tab you can set a BIOS/System password and enable Intel's platform trust technology.
Of course, as always you can adjust various boot options from the Boot tab.
NZXT CAM
The first page of NZXT's Cam software is basically a system monitor indicating the current status of the CPU, GPU, RAM and network.
More details are available if you click on any of those graphs.
You can find details about your system under the system specs tab.
Via the NZXT A/RGB headers you can choose up to 7 effects for compatible devices.
NZXT also allows you to overclock your GPU via the NZXT Cam software.
Needless to say, you can also adjust the speed of the fans/pump via the NZXT Cam.
TESTING METHODOLOGY
Exactly like used to do in the past each mainboard to arrive in the lab will get mounted on an open-air test bench and will be used for no less than two full weeks (daily tasks and gaming) with a fresh Windows 10 Pro installation. All motherboards arriving here will be tested with the top CPU of that line available at the time of each review (I9-9900K for Z390/I9-10900K for Z490/I9-11900K for Z590) together with 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 4GHz RAM for the Z390/Z490 motherboards and 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 4GHz RAM for the Z590 motherboards. Now I don’t know if I will need to change this anytime soon but for now all CPUs will be set at 5000MHZ (CPU ratio set to 50 - of course voltages may vary slightly from motherboard to motherboard) with their RING/Cache frequency at 4700MHZ (ratio set to 47).
I did think about pushing each motherboard to the max to see which is the better overclocker but 5GHZ 24/7 is more than plenty today, not only in terms of performance but also temperatures (not to mention there are colleagues of mine who have been focusing on maximum overclock potential). Instead i decided that it'd be far more interesting (not to mention accurate) to see which motherboard is the fastest when using the same exact hardware components/configuration (CPU/RAM/COOLER) with the same exact overclocking frequencies *. To figure that out I’ll be using several benchmarking programs (6 repeats after which the average numbers will get recorded in the charts) like AIDA64, CINEBENCH R20, CPUZ, Passmark Performance Test, RealBench and the Sisoftware Sandra Titanium 2020 version. Needless to say, that between different system configurations these charts also do a great job pointing out the difference in CPU performance.
* Charts will contain other system configurations as well in order to better showcase the performance of each reviewed system.
TEST RESULTS - AIDA64 / CINEBENCH R20
TEST RESULTS - CPUZ / PASSMARK PERFORMANCE TEST
TEST RESULTS - REALBENCH / SISOFTWARE SANDRA TITANIUM 2020
CONCLUSION
NZXT is certainly not the very first nor second name to come up in regards to motherboards which is why they clearly chose to release a rather basic Z590 model. By basic of course I mean that it lacks certain features found in higher-end models like the Z590 DARK by EVGA or the Z590 Aorus Master by Gigabyte, features aimed towards overclockers and more demanding users. Still, these aren’t features most consumers out there are really eager to acquire/use and that stands even truer for people looking to get a more budget-friendly 11th generation Intel CPU like for example the Core i9-11700K rather than the 11900K used in this review. Of course, the higher-end Z590 DARK does outperform the N7 Z590 in most of the tests I use but the price/performance ratio of the latter will obviously matter a lot more for people on a budget. And then there’s looks and as far as I’m aware only NZXT makes their motherboards available in all black and black and white (although just the plastic covers change), which also probably matters for anyone who’s about to build a white system.
At just USD279.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and 279.99Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) the N7 Z590 motherboard by NZXT lands right in the middle in terms of price when compared to all other Z590 models. This perfectly represents exactly what you’re getting with the NZXT N7 Z590, a balanced model with a good set of features and performance well worth of the Golden Award.
PROS
- Reinforced & EMI Shielded PCIe X16 4.0 Slot
- M.2 PCIe 4.0 Slot
- HDMI v2.0 Video Output
- ARGB Lighting
- 5 PCIe Slots
- 2.5GbE Ethernet Port
- Available In Black & White Colors
- 3 Year Limited Warranty
- Price
CONS
- Bundle
- Overclocking Settings / Specifications
- Available Ports / Outputs
