NZXT N7 Z590 REVIEW.
Another year, another Intel motherboard release from NZXT. This time around, it’s the N7 Z590 with support for Intel’s 10th and 11th gen processors. However, this isn’t just a copy and paste of last year’s model, as the company has incorporated feedback from the community to make a clear improvement, especially when it comes to the rear IO and overclocking potential. This is the GameRevolution review.
Next-gen Intel
Opening up the oversized NZXT N7 Z590 box immediately greeted me with the super clean black design. After reviewing both the N7 Z490 and N7 B550, you would think I’d no longer be surprised by the aesthetic, but once again I took a moment to appreciate the metal cover design. It’s also available in white, as usual, making it one of the best options for any all-white or Stormtrooper-style builds.
The ultimate stylish combo would be pairing this NZXT board with an “H” case and “Z” cooler, but that’s obviously not a requirement. The N7 range is standard ATX in size, keeping it versatile. With that said, I would love to see some ITX variants in the future, as smaller PCs are becoming more popular, but that’s a topic for another day.
Listening to feedback
When it comes to actually building on the motherboard, NZXT in combination with ASRock have delivered a PC builder’s dream, with a sensible layout. This is great for both newcomers and veterans, as the former can easily distinguish what goes where and the latter can quickly put a build together with limited cable management required. There would be nothing worse than messing up the clean aesthetic with cable mess.
Once everything is up and running, it’s time to boot into BIOS. As a daily driver of an ASRock motherboard, the BIOS layout is immediately familiar. However, there is a bit of NZXT flair that adds to the experience. Setting my RAM XMP profile was simple and I could immediately replicate the CPU overclock I had achieved on a higher-end ASUS board. Zero headaches so far!
Where last year’s Z490 let me down was with rear IO. For someone like me, who regularly creates content using many different USB devices at the same time, the more ports the better. Thankfully, as was initially seen with the N7 B550, NZXT’s 2021 MOBO releases have significantly expanded IO.
When it comes to future-proofing your PC build, the N7 Z590 has PCIe Gen 4.0 support, Wi-Fi 6E, and Bluetooth 5.2.
Clearly, NZXT is listening to feedback and working with ASRock to quickly make changes between each launch. I think the next step will be to work on M.2 SSD cooling. I wonder if NZXT could come up with something ultra-effective, yet still clean.
The software side
NZXT CAM continues to be improved and, in recent years, has evolved to become genuinely useful to use. Chances are that if you’re springing for an N7 board for the clean aesthetic, you’re combining it with an NZXT CPU pump, case, and perhaps fans, and so are already committing to the CAM ecosystem.
Thankfully, CAM is now much less obtrusive and problematic than it was in years past, making it easy to monitor and make adjustments to various components. It’s especially good for RGB management across multiple manufacturers. The board itself might not sport RGB, but its connectors allow for lighting fans to go wild.
NZXT N7 Z590 Review: The final verdict
At $279.99, the NZXT N7 Z590 launches as a competitively-priced — at least for this chipset — motherboard that once again features a unique aesthetic. Fortunately, while in the past going for the N7 meant forgoing rear IO and top-tier overclocking performance, the Z590 rights those wrongs and delivers performance that should satisfy greatly.
With the N7 Z590, NZXT has proven that it is listening to feedback and rapidly working to make improvements in the next iteration. The latest N7 board has both style and substance. Here’s hoping that the company continues to support future Intel and AMD chipsets, as the clean N7 aesthetic is a wonderful option to have.
N7 Z590 review unit was provided by NZXT.
