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NZXT N7 Z590 Motherboard Review: Unique Style, and Capable

A solid Rocket Lake mid-ranger

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NZXT N7 Z590
(Image: © NZXT)

Firmware

To give you a sense of the Firmware, we’ve gathered screenshots showing most of the BIOS screens.

NZXT worked with ASRock to help develop this board, and it shows with the overall setup of the BIOS. It looks the same except it uses black and purple, NZXT’s colors. Across the top are several headers, including Main, Overclocking, Advanced, Tool, PC Monitoring, and more. Editable fields are on the left, while descriptions of each selection are on the right. 

The BIOS is black, white and purple, matching NZXT’s brand colors while also being easy to read. Most options are found just under the sub-heading(s), and you do not have to dig down to find commonly used features. That said, CPU, DRAM, and Voltage have their own sections. We didn’t have any issues.

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Software

On the software side, NZXT uses an all-in-one utility named CAM. The CAM utility controls RGB lighting, overclocking, power, audio, fan speed and more. On the left side of the software are menus/sections, while the right side displays information and is where adjustments happen. Overall, the software worked well in our limited use during testing.

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Test System

As of March 2021 we’ve updated our test system to Windows 10 64-bit OS (20H2) with all threat mitigations applied. On the hardware front, we’ve switched to all PCIe 4.0 components. We upgraded our video card to an Asus RTX 3070 TUF Gaming and the storage device to a 2TB Phison PS5-18-E18 M.2. Along with the hardware changes, we’ve also updated the games to F1 2020 and Far Cry: New Dawn. We use the latest non-beta motherboard BIOS available to the public unless otherwise noted (typically during new platform launches). The hardware used is as follows: 

TEST SYSTEM COMPONENTS
CPUIntel i9-11900K
RAMGSkill Trident Z Neo 2x8GB DDR4 3600 (F4-3600C16Q-32GTZN)
GSkill Trident Z Royale 2x8GB DDR4 4000 (F4-4000C18Q-32GTRS)
GPUAsus TUF Gaming RTX 3070
CPU CoolerCorsair H150i
PSUCorsair AX1200i
Operating SystemWindows 10 64-bit 20H2
Graphics DriverNVIDIA Driver 461.40
SoundIntegrated HD audio
NetworkIntegrated Networking (GbE or 2.5 GbE)

Benchmark Settings

Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings
PCMark 10Version 2.1.2508 64
Essentials, Productivity, Digital Content Creation, MS Office
3DMarkVersion 2.17.7137 64
Firestrike Extreme and Time Spy Default Presets
Cinebench R20Version RBBENCHMARK271150
Open GL Benchmark - Single and Multi-threaded
Application Tests and Settings
LAME MP3Version SSE2_2019
Mixed 271MB WAV to mp3: Command: -b 160 --nores (160Kb/s)
HandBrake CLIVersion: 1.2.2
Sintel Open Movie Project: 4.19GB 4K mkv to x264 (light AVX) and x265 (heavy AVX)
Corona 1.4Version 1.4
Custom benchmark
7-ZipVersion 19.00
Integrated benchmark
Game Tests and Settings
F1 2020Ultra Preset - 1920 x 1080, TAA, 16xAF (Australia, Clear, Dry)
Far Cry: New DawnUltra Preset - 1920 x 1080

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6 Comments Comment from the forums
  • pixelpusher220
    "You get four USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports (3x Type-A, 2x Type-C) "

    There is only 1 Type C and there are 3 Type A. The Specifications table has it correctly but the text of the article is wrong.
    Reply
  • DookieDraws
    Looks may not matter to some, but that is one God awful ugly motherboard! 💩
    Reply
  • Co BIY
    DookieDraws said:
    Looks may not matter to some, but that is one God awful ugly motherboard! 💩

    The people who like to open the hood of their car and see a giant piece of plastic with one hole for windshield fluid will love this board.

    I'm more neutral on it. Boring yes, but also clean looking. Do I need a MB cover inside a case ? Not really.

    I think it's humorous that this board is based on the Steel Legend because that board has the design sense of a pachinko game. Added together and averaged out they are right down the middle.

    Reply
  • jpe1701
    You say that it has a unique style but it looks like all of nzxt's previous motherboards. I guess you meant unique as in different from the other current offerings from competitors, but they have been using almost the same look ever since they started selling motherboards and I think giving them credit for being unique is stretching it at this point.
    Reply
  • exploding_psu
    Man, that's one of the finest looking board I've ever seen. Very clean. Thinking of picking up their B550 one in my next upgrade

    EDIT : after reading the comments I guess this is an unpopular opinion. Each to their own, right?
    Reply
  • jpe1701
    exploding_psu said:
    Man, that's one of the finest looking board I've ever seen. Very clean. Thinking of picking up their B550 one in my next upgrade

    EDIT : after reading the comments I guess this is an unpopular opinion. Each to their own, right?
    It does look good, my gripe is it looks the same as all of their boards. But hey at least they are consistent. Lol.
    Reply