If you’re on Team Red and you’ve been wanting a touch of that class, NZXT has graced us with a B550 motherboard. Everyone, meet the NZXT N7 B550.
CPU | AMD Socket AM4 Ryzen™ Processors (3000, 4000, and 5000 Series Processors) AMD Ryzen™ 5 3400G and Ryzen™ 3200G (Not Supported) |
DIMM Slots | 4, 128GB MAX, Dual Channel OC Frequency (Vermeer CPUs) 4666+ MHz OC Frequency (Matisse CPUs) 4666+ MHz OC Frequency (Renoir APUs) 4733+ MHz Base Frequency 3200/ 2933/ 2667/ 2400/ 2133 |
Expansion Slots | PCIe x16 (x16 mode) 1 (Vermeer & Matisse - PCIe 4.0, Renoir - PCIe 3.0) PCIe x16 (x4 mode) 1 PCIe 3.0 x1 2 |
Storage (Chipset) | M.2 Type 2242/2260/2280 (x4 mode) 1 (Vermeer & Matisse - PCIe 4.0, Renoir - PCIe 3.0) M.2 Type 2242/2260/2280 (PCIe 3.0 x2 & SATA mode) 1 SATA 6Gb/s 6* (M2_2 and SATA3_5_6 share lanes) |
Wireless | Intel® Dual-Band Wireless AX210 Wi-Fi 6E Protocol 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax Frequency Bands 2.4 / 5 / 6GHz MU-MIMOSupported Bluetooth V5.2 |
| Audio | Realtek® ALC1220 Codec 8-Channel High Definition Audio Playback 32-bit / 192kHz DAC Nichicon Fine Gold Series |
| Rear I/O | USB 3.2 Gen 2 (Type-C) 1 USB 3.2 Gen 2 (Type-A) 3 USB 3.2 Gen 1 (Type-A) 4 USB 2.0 2 HDMI™ 2.1 1 Wireless Antenna 2 (2T2R) LAN (RJ45) Port 1 5.1-Channel Audio Jacks 1 Optical S/PDIF 1 BIOS Flashback Button 1 Clear CMOS Button 1 |
Internal I/O | M.2 (M Key), Type 2242/2260/2280 1 (PCIe 4.0/3.0 x4 mode), 1 (PCIe 3.0 x2 & SATA mode) M.2 (E Key) (For wireless cards) 1 SATA 6Gbps Ports 6 USB 3.2 Gen 2 Header (Type-C) 1 USB 3.2 Gen 1 Header 1 (Up to 2 ports) USB 2.0 Header 3 (Up to 6 ports) Front Panel Audio 1 CPU_FAN Connector 1 (Up to 24W) AIO_PUMP Connector 1 (Up to 24W) SYS_FAN Connector 5 (Up to 24W) NZXT RGB LED Header 2 5V ARGB Header 1 12V RGB Header 1 24-pin EATX Power 1 8-pin ATX 12V Power 1 4-pin ATX 12V Power 1 Power Button 1 Reset Button 1 POST LEDs 4 |
Price | $254.99 SRP (Php13,000) |
PACKAGING
NZXT didn’t miss out on equipping the box of the N7 B550 with its traditional purple and white flair. Not really that compact but presentation-wise it looks a whole lot different compared to traditional mailer boxes bearing motherboards. Not really a definitive way of judging motherboards, so let’s get on with the contents.
Simple enough, NZXT packs in the antenna, two M.2 screws, SATA cables, and a manual inside. That’s about it. Not sure if it’s different in retail packaging but we’re still hoping we get some sort of bonuses that would sweeten the purchase like it was a gift. Not a dealbreaker, but again could be better on this front. Dear NZXT, a badge or even a sticker, please?
DESIGN AND LAYOUT
This thing is beautifully classy. If you have to buy this, buy the white version since there’s a whole lot of options already for black motherboards. But hey, if black is still what you’d want to go for, go ahead.
Okay moving ahead, if you’re familiar with NZXT’s cases, the N7 B550 fits right at home with it. Those strong angled heavy metal shroud keep the design language with the company’s cases. No RGB here, which is a good thing so you’re not overwhelmed with that and it’s not going to appear in random places. There’s 12V RGB and 5V ARGB header at the bottom that’s clearly indicated, and two NZXT RGB headers at the top as well.
For layout, the N7 B550 is stacked with fan headers. 1 CPU Fan header, 1 AIO_PUMP header, and 5 SYS_FAN headers located all over the board.
There’s also a power button and a reset button at the bottom situated beside the front panel headers and the POST LEDs. They come quite handy if you’re looking for a test bench or you just need to debug things quick. Three USB 2.0 headers at the bottom, which likely are made for NZXT products for its CAM connection. There’s also six SATA 6Gbps ports on the side, between front panel USB 3.2 Gen 1 headers. A front panel USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C header is located on the right below the 24-pin ATX power connector. And also to note, the N7 B550 has an 8+4-pin 12V power connector on the upper left.
The two M.2 slots have a magnetic cover, with both supporting 2242/2260/2280. They look super clean but the lack of cooling might pose some issues later on.
You’ll also get four DDR4 RAM slots here. The integrated IO shield is also a nice touch, and from there you’ll get 1 USB 3.2 Gen 2 (Type-C), 3 USB 3.2 Gen 2 (Type-A), 4 USB 3.2 Gen 1 (Type-A), and 2 USB 2.0 ports. Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth V5.2 are also here.
PERFORMANCE
I’ve been eager to see the performance difference for the Radeon RX 6600 XT for all AMD chipsets, and now seems like a good time to do just that. For starters, there’s a Ryzen 5 3600X on stock on the N7 B550 with memory at 16GB 3600MHz (XMP).
TEST SYSTEM SETUP
Motherboard | NZXT N7 B550 |
CPU | AMD Ryzen 5 3600X |
GPU | Biostar Radeon 6600 XT |
RAM | ZADAK 16GB DDR4 |
Cooler | Noctua NH-D15 |
| Storage | Plextor 512GB NVMe SSD |
PSU | CORSAIR RM750 |
OS | Windows 10 |
Display | ASUS VP249QGR 24-inch Full HD 144Hz Monitor |
3DMark Time Spy
3DMark Time Spy is a DirectX 12 benchmark test for Windows 10 gaming PCs. Time Spy is one of the first DirectX 12 apps to be built the right way from the ground up to fully realize the performance gains that the new API offers. With its Extreme counterpart rendering visuals in 4K.
3DMark Firestrike
Fire Strike is a showcase DirectX 11 benchmark for modern gaming PCs. Its ambitious real-time graphics are rendered with detail and complexity far beyond other DirectX 11 benchmarks and games. With Extreme and Ultra versions raising resolution in 25650 x 1440 and 4K.
Port Royal
3DMark Port Royal is the world's first real-time ray tracing benchmark for gamers. It shows you how well your PC handles ray tracing effects in real-time.
Borderlands 3
Borderlands 3 is an action role-playing first-person shooter video game developed by Gearbox Software and published by 2K Games.
Settings:
Badass Settings Preset
Temporal Anti Aliasing
Ultra Texture Streaming
Ultra Material Quality
Anisotropic Filtering 16x
Shadows Ultra
Draw Distance Ultra
Ambient Occlusion Ultra
FidelityFX Sharpening Off
Vsync Off
Far Cry 6 is a 2021 action-adventure first-person shooter game developed by Ubisoft Toronto and published by Ubisoft. It is the sixth main installment in the Far Cry series.
Settings:
Graphics Quality: Ultra
Texture Filtering: Ultra
Shadows: Ultra
Geometry and Vegetation: Ultra
Environment: Ultra
Water: Ultra
Terrain: Ultra
Volumetric Frog:
Anti-Aliasing: TAA
DXR: Off
FidelityFX CAS: Off
FidelityFX Super Resolution: Off
Edge of Eternity
Edge of Eternity is an indie turn-based JRPG made by Midgar Studio. It's a JRPG that combines sci-fi elements in a fantasy world. It also features both FSR and DLSS, so you can try it out for yourself if you wish.
Settings:
Ultimate Graphics Settings Preset
Vsync Off
FSR Off
DLSS Off
Anti-aliasing: TAA
Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition
Metro Exodus is a first-person shooter video game developed by 4A Games and published by Deep Silver.
CPU-Z
CPU-Z is a handy tool that lets users view information regarding their systems from CPU, Cache, Mainboard, Memory, SPD and Graphics. It also features a benchmark tool that tests Single Thread and Multi Thread performance.
wPrime
wPrime tests your processor performance by calculating square roots with a recursive call of Newton's method for estimating functions. 1024M and 32M scores are recorded.
Cinebench is a real-world cross-platform test suite that evaluates your computer's hardware capabilities. Improvements to Cinebench Release 23 reflect the overall advancements to CPU and rendering technology in recent years, providing a more accurate measurement of Cinema 4D's ability to take advantage of multiple CPU cores and modern processor features available to the average user.
FINDINGS
We're looking at the NZXT N7 B550 as an upgrade path from previous chipsets or how it stands against the cheaper A520 alternative. The difference is there and at some parts glaringly obvious.
That's not the only reason you'll be looking into getting NZXT's offering here, I believe. The N7 B550 is designed to work well within NZXT's ecosystem with CAM and other components like cooling and lighting. Now, at the price it comes off as a bit intimidating given that there are cheaper alternatives with the same chipset. But then again, it's more of a competition in feature set rather than performance alone.
Now, at this price range as well, there are several X570 motherboards here that won't be limited in PCIe lane count as opposed to B550. Not to mention the active VRM cooling. It's important to note that not all would be hellbent on storage so the limit might be out of equation to some. The performance difference on stock is also negligible when it comes to gaming comparing the two.
I'm pressed here because while the N7 B550 looks great and it's a definite yes if you're going for thematic builds, this could have been a greater presented option if it came in mini ITX form factor. But that's a matter of preference, I guess?
So, would the NZXT N7 B550 be worth it? Performance is wonderful and it's a great looking motherboard that sets itself apart from the competition. Not sure about the remaining life of AM4 right now, but presently? It's still kicking hard.
COMMENTS