NZXT announced several changes to its recently unveiled (and first ever) N7 Z370 motherboard, citing customer feedback as a primary influence for the product’s alterations.
The company said it's making immediate changes to the N7 Z370 as the result of "overwhelmingly positive feedback from customers" since its launch. The most notable change is to the product's pricing, which we cited as one of the N7 Z370's few detractors in our review. NZXT explained the sudden shift in a statement:
“The feedback we received was, that while the thoughtful layout and beautiful all-metal cover are appealing, the price is a bit too high,” said NZXT Founder Johnny Hou. “We’ve taken steps to address that today with changes to the configuration and price.”
NZXT said it cut costs on the N7 Z370 by ditching a set of RGB LED lighting strips and extension cables the company intended to ship with the board, in addition to pledging to sell it through a more limited channel, which it claimed would reduce operating costs. However, because the first production runs have already shipped, NZXT clarified that initial buyers may find LED strips and extensions in the package (even with the reduced cost), but all future manufacturing runs will ship without them.
The NZXT founder further addressed concerns and feedback about the company’s first-ever motherboard, announcing an increase to the warranty period amid apparent quality concerns from the product’s target market.
“We also heard from the PC gaming community that they are concerned with our ability to produce a high-quality motherboard. We are working with ECS, a company that produces motherboards for some of the world’s largest OEMs. We are very confident in our quality. And to help allay the fears of the community, we are increasing our warranty from 3 to 4 years.”
It’s refreshing to see a company make swift and effective changes to a product based on customer feedback, and the alterations are certainly in NZXT’s best interest. The success (or failure) of the N7 Z370 will likely dictate the future of its fledgling motherboard division, and NZXT is clearly listening to its base and is not above humbling itself to crack into the saturated PC gaming motherboard market.
The NZXT N7 Z370 motherboard now costs $249.99, and it should be available from select retailers by the end of the month.
