NZXT N7 Z490 Motherboard Renders Revealed

[btarunr]

Here are some of the first pictures of the N7 Z490 motherboards by NZXT. Historically, NZXT is known to source its motherboard through OEMs such as ECS, but with great design and quality oversight, which could be the case with the Z490-based N7 board, too. Built in the ATX form-factor, the N7 Z490 draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX, and 8+4 pin EPS power connectors, conditioning it for the CPU with a 12-phase VRM. The board is characterized by a front shroud that covers most of the business side of the PCB, and comes either in matte black or white, blending into the design scheme NZXT uses for its cases.

Expansion slots on the N7 Z490 appear to include one PCI-Express 3.0 x16, one x16 (electrical x4), and three x1 slots. Storage options include two M.2-2280 slots, each with PCI-Express 3.0 x4 wiring; and four SATA 6 Gbps ports. USB connectivity includes two 10 Gbps USB 3.1 gen 2 ports (from which one is type-C), and four 5 Gbps USB 3.1 gen 1 ports. An HDMI port provides the sole display output. Networking options include 802.11ax + Bluetooth 5 provided by an Intel AX201 WLAN card; and 2.5 GbE wired networking from a Realtek RTL8125BG controller. The onboard audio solution uses premium Realtek ALC1220 HD audio codec. There's no information on pricing or availability.



View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[The Quim Reaper]

Their previous two Motherboard efforts have been the very definition of 'Style over substance'...third time lucky, perhaps?

 

[ThermoCycle]

Damn... I know it will be a mediocre motherboard, but the white version looks sick

 

[bonehead123]

the white version looks sick

It would, IF it was truly WHITE, instead of white & black....

f.A.i.L...

 

[Valantar]

So to install or swap an m.2 drive you need to remove your GPU to get the shielding off? Brilliant design choice.

 

[Caring1]

Their previous two Motherboard efforts have been the very definition of 'Style over substance'...third time lucky, perhaps?

Care to explain?
They certainly aren't lacking in physical features, but the BIOS could use some work.

So to install or swap an m.2 drive you need to remove your GPU to get the shielding off? Brilliant design choice.

No, the first slot is above the GPU, the lower slot is near the lower edge of the board.

 

[The Quim Reaper]

Care to explain?
They certainly aren't lacking in physical features, but the BIOS could use some work.

The reviews are out there...nobody was particularly impressed by them.

 

[Caring1]

Quoting myself from a post a couple of weeks ago.

I'd love to see more Motherboards by them.

 

[claster17]

Look at all the VRM cooling surface this board doesn't have.

 

[Caring1]

Look at all the VRM cooling surface this board doesn't have.

My NZXT Z370 with an AIO is at 28C.
The covers over the VRM sections are well ventilated, sure a fan over them would help, but i'm happy with the low temps mine runs at.

 

[Valantar]

Care to explain?
They certainly aren't lacking in physical features, but the BIOS could use some work.


No, the first slot is above the GPU, the lower slot is near the lower edge of the board.

The top slot cover has... let's call them tabs that extend down to the PCIe retention clip, meaning that the shield will be partially underneath any GPU installed in that slot. If the GPU has a backplate, it will be even more obstructed. The second slot is of course not impacted by this, but is all the more blocked by anything in the second x16 slot. That latter case is of course much more rare, but any instsllation, removal or swap in the top slot will be a serious hassle.

 

[Tomorrow]

The all black version looks sexy AF. I wonder tho if the shroud is metal or plastic?
Having owned a board before that had an all plastic shroud covering tthe entire motherboard i never had any temp issues. That that was back at P67 days when Intel did not generate that much heat.

 

[ExplodingCaps]

My NZXT Z370 with an AIO is at 28C.
The covers over the VRM sections are well ventilated, sure a fan over them would help, but i'm happy with the low temps mine runs at.

Your vrm is at 28°C? Are you talking about idle temp or load temp? No vrm can achieved that temp underload, since oc'ed 8700k easily feeds 100A-120A under load, it'll be 60-70°C in best scenario. Beside, we are talking about z490 here, which can easily reach 180A-200A underload if it paired with 10900k, those vrm must be beefy enough if they're going to focus in aesthetic. From what I see here, there isn't much of surface area of that heatsink.

 

[nickbaldwin86]

Your vrm is at 28°C? Are you talking about idle temp or load temp? No vrm can achieved that temp underload, since oc'ed 8700k easily feeds 100A-120A under load, it'll be 60-70°C in best scenario. Beside, we are talking about z490 here, which can easily reach 180A-200A underload if it paired with 10900k, those vrm must be beefy enough if they're going to focus in aesthetic. From what I see here, there isn't much of surface area of that heatsink.

I assume he is referring to his CPU at idle.. LOL he also lives in a fridge. I cant imagine any VRM ever being at 28C even at idle, maybe in BIOS

He just sounds like a fanboi of a motherboard that has meh reviews and is more about the style then the abilities (that said you'll never get him to change his mind set). they are clean looking boards but I will stick to functional boards from the better know board brands.

 

[GorbazTheDragon]

That's some really embarressing I/O lmao

Knowing NZXT this thing will be priced up next to the M12H but it only has 2 M.2 slots, 4 SATA ports, 6 USB ports, and a single display out??? Even setting aside the fact that it will probably have mediocre VRM and the cooling will probably be rubbish it looks pretty pathetic. And I'm not going to speak about NZXT being a small mobo vendor so their memory support is probably rubbish too.

But hey I guess they have something they can stuff in their prebuilts and sell to the few fanboys who really must have an NZXT board

Also can we stop advertising 8+4 pin CPU power as a feature? Or start advertising 20+4 power connectors as well?

 

[Caring1]

Your vrm is at 28°C? Are you talking about idle temp or load temp? No vrm can achieved that temp underload, blah blah blah....

I see comprehension is a big problem here, nowhere did I state the VRM on my board was at 28C.
I did however say my system runs at 28C (idling online, browsing and replying to people like you).

The all black version looks sexy AF. I wonder tho if the shroud is metal or plastic?
Having owned a board before that had an all plastic shroud covering tthe entire motherboard i never had any temp issues. That that was back at P67 days when Intel did not generate that much heat.

I can only say that my board which is a couple of versions earlier in production has metal shrouding, except for the plastic M2 covers.

 

[Chrispy_]

Their previous two Motherboard efforts have been the very definition of 'Style over substance'...third time lucky, perhaps?

Nope, this time the morons in charge have successfully deprived the VRMs and Z490 chipset of cooling better than they did the last two times.

Reviews of the last two boards were not kind when it came to build quality, pricing, BIOS quality, or cooling, but at least there was some ventilation around the socket. This one looks like they've gone out of their way to protect those poor little VRMs from dangerous fresh air.

 

[ExplodingCaps]

I see comprehension is a big problem here, nowhere did I state the VRM on my board was at 28C.
I did however say my system runs at 28C (idling online, browsing and replying to people like you).

Whoa whoa, I'm sorry then, I thought we were talking about vrm temp not the processor's, since processor temp has very little context here.

I assume he is referring to his CPU at idle.. LOL he also lives in a fridge. I cant imagine any VRM ever being at 28C even at idle, maybe in BIOS

He just sounds like a fanboi of a motherboard that has meh reviews and is more about the style then the abilities (that said you'll never get him to change his mind set). they are clean looking boards but I will stick to functional boards from the better know board brands.

I agree, but if they're going to decide to put high end 70A power stages at least 10 phase of them below what that they called "heatsink", they probably can getaway with the temp though. I just hope nzxt and ecs know what they're doing this time.

 

[watzupken]

Aesthetically, this is great. Board build quality, questionable. Considering this likely won't be cheap due to the aesthetics, I rather go for a brand that specializes/ more experienced in making motherboards.

 

[Caring1]

I rather go for a brand that specializes/ more experienced in making motherboards.

Assuming this one also is made by ECS for NZXT, they have plenty of experience and have been around for quite a long time.

 

[BArms]

Assuming this one also is made by ECS for NZXT, they have plenty of experience and have been around for quite a long time.

Hopefully they at least added basic overclocking features, iirc their Z370 version had none.

 

[nickbaldwin86]

Hopefully they at least added basic overclocking features, iirc their Z370 version had none.

what really? how can it be a Z370 without overclocking.... H370 is for no overclocking :|

Who is even buying these boards if you cant OC on them? just people that want to make a RGB rig and look at it?

 

[Caring1]

Hopefully they at least added basic overclocking features, iirc their Z370 version had none.

Riiiiight, my NZXT N7 Z370 shows differently.
Maybe you should update the Bios on yours.