NZXT Z370 N7 Motherboard Review
Up Close
The packaging for the N7 looks very professional. It is almost a treatise on modern minimalist design. Simple, clean, efficient.
Opening the box gives a similar feeling of having stepped into an Apple store or architects office. Everything has its place and there is a place for everything.
This crisp and clean aesthetic continues onto the N7 motherboard itself. NZXT have utilised a PCB cover that should be familiar to anyone who has followed certain extinct tiger motherboard models. Whether you like it or not, it’s usually nice to see the chips and capacitors covered up in this manner. As you can see from the pictures below though, the N7 covering isn’t so much hewn from a single piece, but rather looks a bit like it’s been put together from a selection of disparate parts.
This feeling of a cover that wasn’t designed as a whole is only exacerbated by the different coloured whites. It’s almost like a trip back to the early days of white hardware wherein the whites were slightly yellow. The main event is certainly not as white as the additional coverings which lends a piecemeal feel to the whole proceedings.
One thing that the N7 most definitely doesn’t lack for is cooling options. Dedicated pump headers and fan headers abound on both the top end of the motherboard above the CPU socket, and the bottom edge alongside the USB headers. If you’re the type of person who demands maximum air-cooling possibilities then you’ll be pleased with what the N7 has to offer.
Thankfully if you aren’t overly keen on the “four different shades of white” housing it is easy to remove, and given that NZXT have taken the curious step of using plastic for the M.2 heatspreader – or rather heat insulator – then it’s something worth seriously considering.
Lastly the IO section has a reasonable selection of USB ports and display outputs, although once again the lack of USB 3.1 Type-C connectors, and indeed WiFi, on a motherboard at this price point is disappointing.
