ASRock X870 Nova WiFi Motherboard Review: Lots of storage, not without sacrifice

Priced at $269.99 at the time of this writing, the X870 Nova WiFi is a reasonably priced and handsomely equipped option in the budget X870 category. Around that price point, you can expect a well-rounded motherboard, and ASRock doesn’t disappoint, including a high-quality audio solution and arguably one of the better (though flashy) designs among its peers. It sports the familiar Phantom Gaming purple accents and integrated RGBs.

Hardware-wise, you get five M.2 sockets (2x PCIe 5.0), plenty of USB ports—including 40 Gbps USB4 ports—‘native’ 5 GbE and Wi-Fi 7 networking, a flagship-grade audio codec, and the Nova’s distinctive style with purple accents and bright LEDs running along under the bottom M.2 heatsink. Remember though, this is the X870 chipset (non-E), so you miss out on the second Prom21/chipset and the extra expansion that comes with it. Although there’s a lot of connectivity, much of the bandwidth is shared among M.2 sockets, USB, PCIe, and SATA, which we’ll get into later.

Performance was generally good in our testing, and it was the first of our recent ASRock motherboards to run the Kingston DDR5 kit that we use to measure performance. The board performed well overall and was often at or above average in most tests. It proved itself to be a capable all-around platform when utilizing the default BIOS settings and our mid-range RAM speeds.

Below, we’ll examine the board's details and determine whether it deserves a spot on our Best Motherboards list. But before we look at test results and discuss the details, check out the specifications below, provided by ASRock.

Specifications of the ASRock X870 Nova Wifi

Inside the Box of the ASRock X870 Nova WiFi

In line with most motherboards in this price range, the packaging includes only the essential accessories: two SATA cables, a Wi-Fi antenna, a thermistor cable, and an ARGB splitter cable. Nothing exciting here.

Design of the X870 Nova

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The ASRock X870 Nova motherboard boasts an elegant, all-black, 8-layer server-grade PCB. Its capable VRMs are covered by large heatsinks, with the primary one on the left showcasing a striking blue-to-purple color scheme and a chrome/gray Phantom Gaming symbol. The bottom half features full-plate heatsinks for four M.2 sockets and the chipset, as well as a larger heatsink over one of the PCIe 5.0 sockets. A hidden RGB strip beneath the bottom heatsink emits a vibrant, rainbow glow, enhancing the case's interior. This aesthetically pleasing board will seamlessly integrate into most build themes. But if you don’t want any lighting, you should probably look elsewhere.

In the upper left is the large heatsink responsible for the VRMs on the left, while a smaller, all-black heatsink covers the top bank (not connected to the VRMs). Also here are two high-density 8-pin EPS connectors (one required) to power the processor.

On the right side of the socket are four unreinforced DRAM slots with locking mechanisms on one (top) side. The Nova supports up to 256GB, and with two sticks, running at speeds of up to DDR5-8400. However, there are a few reasons to run that fast on this platform. Our Kingston memory kit worked on this ASRock board, as did the faster DDR5-7200 kit. It didn’t play nice with the 8000MHz kit, but to be fair, few AMD boards have.

Above the DRAM slots are the first three (of seven) 4-pin fan headers (CPU_Fan1/2 and AIO Pump). Each header works with PWM- and DC-controlled devices. The CPU_FAN1 header outputs up to 1A/12W, while the remainder outputs up to 3A/36W. CPU_FAN2, CHA_FAN1-3, and the AIO_PUMP header auto-detect whether they are connected to 3- or 4-pin devices.

Power delivery isn’t the highest we’ve seen, with 21 total phases (18 for Vcore) and 80A Monolithic Power Systems MPS2425 MOSFETs. Still, they, along with the MPS2434/MP2857 controller, will handle the 9950X or 9950X3D, even with some PBO and increased power.

On the bottom half of the board, on the left, we see the flagship Realtek ALC4082 audio codec, along with a few dedicated audio capacitors. Being on the budget end of the spectrum, you won’t find any other DACs or amplifiers, but that’s to be expected in the sub-$300 price bucket.

Two PCIe slots flank the large plate-style heatsink in the middle of the board. The reinforced PCIe slot at the top connects directly to the CPU and supports PCIe 5.0 x16 (with most processors). The bottom full-length slot connects through the chipset and runs PCIe 4.0 x4 speeds.

In the middle of the board, and all under the heatsink, are four M.2 sockets, with a fifth located above the top PCIe slot under its own (larger) heatsink. The top slot is the first that’s PCIe 5.0-capable, with a second just below it. There are two additional PCIe 4.0 x4 sockets and another, slower PCIe 3.0 x2 (16 Gbps/SATA-capable) socket hidden underneath as well.

So how does that all shake out with only one chipset? Settle in (and maybe read the manual).

First, when M2_2 is occupied, the rear USB4 Type-C ports and M2_2 downgrade to x2 mode. In other words, it’s PCIe 5.0, but at 64 Gbps (PCIe 4.0 speeds). You can force this socket to x4 mode in the BIOS, but you’ll lose both USB4 ports in the process. If you want to use M2_3, you lose both SATA ports. Last, if you populate M.2_5, the PCIE2 slot downgrades to x2 mode. Only M2_1 and M2_4 don’t share bandwidth with another part. That all being said, it may not be a big deal unless you need or want to run an all M.2 setup with several drives.

Past the chipset, along the right edge, is a 19-pin front panel USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) connector, and below that are the two SATA ports—standard fare.

Across the bottom are several headers for additional connectivity. From left to right, you get:

• Front Panel audio
• 4-pin RGB, 3-pin ARGB
• (2) USB 2.0 headers
• (4) 4-pin Chassis Fan headers
• 2-pin Thermistor header
• 19-pin USB 3.2 Gen 1 header
• 2-pin Clear CMOS
• Front Panel

Focusing on the rear IO, there’s plenty of connectivity back here. You get 11 total USB ports (2x 40 Gbps Type-C, 3x 10 Gbps, 2x 5 Gbps - the lighting ports on their own controller, and 4x USB 2.0), along with the standard fare, including the NIC and Wi-Fi connectors, HDMI output for using the iGPU, and an audio stack with two 3.5mm jacks and SPDIF output. Outside of that are the handy Clear CMOS and BIOS Flashback buttons.

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