NZXT debuted the motherboard market via the demonstration of its first motherboard, namely the N7, and it is based on the Z370 chipset of Intel. It is an LGA 1151 motherboard that lets users customize color schemes. To compete with the likes of DFI in the concerned market, NZXT has considered other related products while designing the N7.
Similar to H440 and H700i, the N7 has the colors red, glossy blue, and purple for users to choose from in order to customize with the assorted heatsink covers. This means that the motherboard will remain colorful, and you don’t have to depend on RGB lighting for that.
Speaking of RGB lighting, N7 further features HUE+ integration that makes the lighting customizable. NZXT has another integration to offer, the GRID+ V3 digital fan controller. Both the integrations are compatible with the CAM software of the brand. As for the CAM utility, NZXT’s cooling and lighting ecosystem may not be liked by many users out there, according to experts.
Leveraging our years of experience as professional PC builders, we’ve designed the N7 motherboard with a completely new approach. In the face of increasing complexity in the PC gaming market, we want to make building easier and more enjoyable, with the N7 as a cornerstone for this new experience. Everything you need—from easy layout and obvious connections to digital fan control and RGB lighting—is included. We’ve also designed a completely unique motherboard cover so it’s both beautiful and powerful. – Johnny Hou, Founder and CEO of NZXT
As far as ‘powerful’ is taken into account, the N7 possesses a 15-phase digital power design that provides seamless and reliable power to memory, CPU, and PCH chipset, as claimed by the American company.
Among other features, the motherboard packs Intel Optane memory support, two PCIe 3.0×16 slots, two M.2 connectors for high-speed storage drives, two PCIe e.0 x4 slots, and single PCIe 3.0 x1 slots. Also, four DIMM slots support up to 64GB of DDR4-3866 (OC) memory. NZ’s rear I/O features five USB 2.0 ports, four USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports, and HDMI and DisplayPort connectivity, CMOS button, audio ports, and GbE LAN.
It was suspected that the manufacturing of N7 was outsourced, and a company representative said that NZXT worked with ECS to customize the motherboard as per the former’s specs. The company cleared out that N7 is not a motherboard off-the-shelf but one that was designed by them. That means they did not randomly pick a motherboard and put its branding on it.
NZXT said it didn’t have any other future plans regarding motherboards and its primary focus is to launch the N7. It is likely that they want to monitor and understand their status in the market in the aftermath, based on which they would be decisive in progressing.
The N7 motherboard will be released by the end of January for $300 or €324.90. Pre-order is available now. There are optional heatsink covers, with a price tag of $15 but these are yet to be available for purchase.
Would you want to go for the N7? Tell us in comments about your thoughts on the brand new motherboard. Keep following this space for more CES 2018 updates.
