ASRock Z790 PG Sonic Edition

[ir_cow]

ASRock has teamed up with SEGA for this special Sonic themed Z790 Phantom Gaming motherboard. Marketed towards gamers and Sonic lovers everywhere, ASRock wants you to go fast and collect all the rings. As we look for the Chaos Emeralds, is it possible this Z790 PG Sonic motherboard is actually an Eggman trap? Read the review to find out!

Show full review

 

[ymdhis]

I'd put the "sonic themed" under the negatives.

 

[Space Lynx]

the VRM's are fucking terrible. that is truly a shame. hell my $109 MSI Pro B550-VC motherboard only hits 50-60 celsius on the VRM's. ASRock should be ashamed of themselves.

MSI has been king of VRM cooling for last 3-5 years to my knowledge, even on their budget boards, which is why I always tend to go with them.

 

[Outback Bronze]

I'd put the "sonic themed" under the negatives.

I wouldn't.

Infact I'm thinking about collecting this mobo for the simple fact I'm a huge sonic fan and never seen a Sonic or Mario themed mobo.

You can do some nice themed builds too. Check it out:

Definitely a negative...

 

[Gmr_Chick]

the VRM's are fucking terrible. that is truly a shame. hell my $109 MSI Pro B550-VC motherboard only hits 50-60 celsius on the VRM's. ASRock should be ashamed of themselves.

MSI has been king of VRM cooling for last 3-5 years to my knowledge, even on their budget boards, which is why I always tend to go with them.

To be fair, they would be better paired with an i3 or i5. I always kind of shake my head a little bit whenever I see reviews for entry-level/budget boards and the reviewer decides to slap a 13900K on it and then calls the VRM's inadequate. Like, of course the VRM's are going to be overwhelmed - it's a 13900K!

On the other hand, ASRock has been pulling this kind of shit for years, since Z490 (and probably earlier than that) wherein they make these entry/budget so-called Z series boards, but in reality the boards are more H-series than anything, probably not even able to run a fucking potato, reviewers do their thing (i.e. review them) and call them horribly inadequate (which they are) and then ASRock throws a hissy fit and blacklists the reviewer for "negative press". But it's like, gee ASRock, maybe you shouldn't advertise your boards to be apart of a high-end chipset when it clearly isn't

 

[Space Lynx]

To be fair, they would be better paired with an i3 or i5. I always kind of shake my head a little bit whenever I see reviews for entry-level/budget boards and the reviewer decides to slap a 13900K on it and then calls the VRM's inadequate. Like, of course the VRM's are going to be overwhelmed - it's a 13900K!

On the other hand, ASRock has been pulling this kind of shit for years, since Z490 (and probably earlier than that) wherein they make these entry/budget so-called Z series boards, but in reality the boards are more H-series than anything, probably not even able to run a fucking potato, reviewers do their thing (i.e. review them) and call them horribly inadequate (which they are) and then ASRock throws a hissy fit and blacklists the reviewer for "negative press". But it's like, gee ASRock, maybe you shouldn't advertise your boards to be apart of a high-end chipset when it clearly isn't

it's a $300 board, I think $250 msrp? can't quite remember. that isn't a budget board imo

$300 actual price as its not in stock anywhere I can see at $250. even at $250 vrm's should be good.

budget is my $109 MSI board

 

[Gmr_Chick]

it's a $300 board, I think $280 msrp? can't quite remember. that isn't a budget board imo

$250 is considered the new "budget" price nowdays. So yes, it is considered a budget board. Plus its lack of higher end features, the outdated audio codec, etc.

 

[droopyRO]

the outdated audio codec,

This. How can a ALC 8xx series be part of a motherboard that costs over 100$ in 2023. How much could something like that cost compared to a decent ALC 1220 ?

 

[ir_cow]

To be fair, they would be better paired with an i3 or i5. I always kind of shake my head a little bit whenever I see reviews for entry-level/budget boards and the reviewer decides to slap a 13900K on it and then calls the VRM's inadequate. Like, of course the VRM's are going to be overwhelmed - it's a 13900K!

Its tested with the highest supported. Don't support a CPU that cannot be handled, either by the VRM heatsinks or MOSFETs themselves. If you aren't going to test it fully, why even bother?

I did make a typo and fixing it now. Cinebench R23 was with stock 253 watt limit. It says PL1 4096W.

Edit: Cyberpunk 2077 and R23 graphs are fixed.

$250 is considered the new "budget" price nowdays. So yes, it is considered a budget board. Plus its lack of higher end features, the outdated audio codec, etc.

Budget Z790. B series is the true budget MB.

$300 actual price as its not in stock anywhere I can see at $250. even at $250 vrm's should be good.

I've seen it selling on Newegg between $215-250 since it came out. Your overpaying for $300 unless you are truly a Sonic fan because its just a PG Riptide MB.

 

[Vario]

I'm not a big Sonic fan but I think the branding is done pretty well. They did it in a way that fans of that game series will likely appreciate. It doesn't look forced.

 

[playerlorenzo]

The branding is fine and fits the niche, it's just that it's :
1. Overpriced
2. Glorified H series board just with a Z790 chipset, with potato VRMs, no wifi, no BIOS flashback, outdated audio codec all in the mix.
3. Intel 2.5G ethernet

 

[sLowEnd]

The branding is fine and fits the niche, it's just that it's :
1. Overpriced
2. Glorified H series board just with a Z790 chipset, with potato VRMs, no wifi, no BIOS flashback, outdated audio codec all in the mix.
3. Intel 2.5G ethernet

Being overpriced is a given with these collab boards though. The Gundam and Evangelion boards Asus had a little while ago were more expensive than their regular counterparts too.

 

[zlobby]

All we need now is the Uganda Knuckles version for AMD. You know, to show ua da wae!

 

[Gmr_Chick]

All we need now is the Uganda Knuckles version for AMD. You know, to show ua da wae!

I'd be hyped for a Knuckles version (he's always been my favorite character since S&K)

 

[I_Want_Answers]

Ironic how the aesthetically super gamer-centric mobo is lackluster in almost every way that actually counts.

Guess that's what you get when you brand a PC component with one of the most well known console mascots...

 

[Gmr_Chick]

Ironic how the aesthetically super gamer-centric mobo is lackluster in almost every way that actually counts.

Guess that's what you get when you brand a PC component with one of the most well known console mascots...

Maybe try not to have flagship-tier motherboard expectations for a budget/mainstream-tier board?

And I think ASRock actually did well here in regards to aesthetics, with the silver and subtle splashes of blue and white alongside the tastefully done Sonic graphics - the holographic ring is a cool little touch. Again, tastefully done. Asus could learn a thing or two in this regard when it comes to their obnoxious eye logo.

 

[Dr. Dro]

The branding is fine and fits the niche, it's just that it's :
1. Overpriced
2. Glorified H series board just with a Z790 chipset, with potato VRMs, no wifi, no BIOS flashback, outdated audio codec all in the mix.
3. Intel 2.5G ethernet

Given its target market (it is really just an AsRock Riptide board, which is on the lower end of their offerings) and custom thematic, I think the price is fine. People buying this are after a Sonic thematic, either because they are fans themselves but also because it's a great part to build a basic gaming system for your son, too. Wanna see expensive collabs just take a quick look at the ROG x EVA boards - the Maximus Z690 Hero EVA is still $650 on Amazon!

In general agree with the second and especially third points, though. The potato VRM will be OK with the type of CPU this level of motherboard is truly intended to run (i5-12400 or thereabouts, 13600K max), but even with the 13900K, it'll live. Won't perform to its fullest, but it will live. When I got my now retired and sold 5950X, I gave my brother my old 3900XT as a gift, which he still uses on a B450M Steel Legend (that is a truly weak VRM). CPU practically does not boost in that motherboard, but the motherboard has no issues at its base speeds, and he has been running it that way for over two years now. Codec, flashback etc. are a bummer, unfortunately.

What I will more than stand behind and plead awareness to is the i225-V and i226-V (Foxville) Ethernet chips that have basically flooded the past few generations of hardware. They are extremely buggy, extremely problematic and Intel seems unwilling to do anything about it, if that's even within their reach. Motherboard reviewers should begin to actively score against and call its use out as a negative, particularly after Intel decided to rebrand the 4th bugfix stepping of i225-V (which still didn't stop connection dropout problems!) as a i226-V and continue aggressively pushing them onto motherboard makers (I presume undercutting Realtek, Marvell and Qualcomm for the chips) despite being fully aware of its innate design defects.

 

[lukart]

I wouldn't.

Infact I'm thinking about collecting this mobo for the simple fact I'm a huge sonic fan and never seen a Sonic or Mario themed mobo.

You can do some nice themed builds too. Check it out:

View attachment 286848

Definitely a negative...

That looks crazy good, I didn't even though about watercooling setup with the Sonic motherboard, but it sure looks cool with the blue tubing.

 

[Outback Bronze]

That looks crazy good

Yes, I think so too which why I uploaded it.

I really like the loop which is iconic 'Sonic the Hedgehog'. Have to give credit to the designer.

 

[SOAREVERSOR]

This. How can a ALC 8xx series be part of a motherboard that costs over 100$ in 2023. How much could something like that cost compared to a decent ALC 1220 ?

People don't truly care about audio. Most people gaming are using a USB based headset and those who aren't or who truly care are using an external dac/amp item. While it's good to have, it's sort of like tossing wireless on a product where anyone who'd really buy it is going to use ethernet. Those who want an HTPC are passing it straight through to a reciever and going off that.

 

[TheDeeGee]

Not a sonic fan, but love the color scheme.

 

[hineighbor]

Yes, I think so too which why I uploaded it.

I really like the loop which is iconic 'Sonic the Hedgehog'. Have to give credit to the designer.

Definitely Chemical Plant vibes from Sonic 2!

I freakin' love this board. Brings back so many warm childhood memories.