ASRock PG Z890 NOVA Wi-Fi: Is it a deal breaker?

NOVA series motherboards from ASRock offer a better value to the buyers based on the feature set and price. ASRock tends to provide almost similar features in a cost effective manner with good build quality that you would expect to see on a high-end motherboard. In my last content, I tested MSI MEG Z890 Unify-X motherboard. This time around, I am taking a look at the ASRock Z890 NOVA WiFi.

The Z890 NOVA features 6x M.2 slots with PCIe Gen5 support provided. It has 2x PCIe slots and uses the PCIe EZ release button for the main PCIe E1 slot. This motherboard has a good VRM design using 20+1+2+1+1, almost similar to Z890 Unify-X.

Among other features are WiFi 7, 2.5 and 5Gb LAN ports, 2x Thunderbolt 4.0 ports with display capability, 2 IO controllers and obviously the AI support that we are seeing with the new platform. This motherboard carries a price tag of USD 335.99 / £355.11 on Amazon UK at the time of writing this content and it comes with a 3 year warranty.

Specifications

Packaging

The motherboard and accessories are shipped inside a cardboard box. This box has an indigo/blue color theme. You can spot a picture of the motherboard on the front. This motherboard is from the Phantom Gaming series.

The motherboard is placed inside an anti-static container. Antenna module is packed inside a white cardboard box placed on top of the motherboard.

Unboxing

ASRock has included the following:

• A motherboard
• 4x SATA Data Cables
• 1x M.2 Expansion Card
• 1x ASRock WiFi 2.4/5/6 GHz Antenna
• 1x ARGB Splitter Cable
• 3x Thermistor Cables
• 1x Screw for M.2 Socket
• 1x Standoff for M.2 Socket
• 1x Quick Installation Guide
• 1x Regulatory Notice
• 1x Memory OC Shield Notice

Closer Look

ASRock Z890 NOVA WiFi uses an 8-Layer PCB design on an ATX form factor using 2 Oz copper PCB. The CPU socket drives DIMM slots, Thunderbolt ports, 2x M.2 ports, and 1x PCIe slot. This motherboard supports PCIe Lanes bifurcation. The motherboard has a size of 244x305mm.

The DMI operates at x8 speed. Five M.2 slots are wired to the Z890 chipset.  The Rest of the connectivity options are handled by the Chipset, using various controllers and hubs. 2x IO controllers are employed on this motherboard. Before proceeding, let me mention some limitations:

• M2_4 port will be disabled when using PCIE2 slot.

CPU and Memory Solution

This motherboard comes with Intel LGA1851 socket. Intel has used Narrow ILM design to address the uneven mounting on the LGA1700 socket. However, coolers compatible with Intel LGA1700 socket will work with LGA1851 socket as well.

ASRock has employed stylish heatsink covers over the VRM area. The cover over the IO has a blue/purple/black color combination. The Phantom Gaming branding is backlit. Both covers have dual cutouts in an angular manner. Proper thermal pads are used under these heatsink covers for effective heat transfer.

Speaking of the VRM power delivery, this motherboard has 20+1+2+1+1 power delivery design using SPS utilizing the Renesas RAA229130 PWM controller and R2209004 stages. In comparison, the MOSFETs are the same as on the MSI Z890 Unify-X, however, Unify-X employs a bit better PWM controller. BCLK generator is installed on the PCB and capacitors are rated at 20K with thermal limit of 270ᵒC.

This motherboard is equipped with four DIMM slots, each having a locking latch on both ends. These support CUDIMM/RDIMM with up to 256GB capacity. These are rated for up to 9600 MT/s speed (OC) on a single DIMM. These support Intel POR and JEDEC speeds on Non-ECC and un-buffered memory.

ASRock has employed Memory OC shield between the CPU socket and DIMM slots. They have advised not to remove this shield. The slots are reinforced for signal integrity. The OC shield reduces EMI around DIMM slots, enhancing the signal integrity.

PCIe Solution

Now coming to the PCIe support on this motherboard, this motherboard is equipped with 2x PCIe slots. These are:

• PCIE1 Gen 5 x16 [from CPU]
• PCIE2 Gen4 x16 [rated for x4 from chipset]

Both slots are steel-reinforced. The PCIE1 has more anchored points for a solid connection between the heavy graphics card and the slot. PCIE2 and M2_4 share the same PCIe lane. Hence only one will be enabled.

ASRock has implemented a relay type of switch for a convenient locking/unlocking of the graphics card on the PCIe1 slot. This is the EZ Release button. It has a sliding function.

Storage Options

Now, I will take a look at the storage options of this motherboard.

This motherboard has 4x SATA 6Gbps ports. These are wired to the Z890 chipset.

This motherboard has 6x M.2 ports. One port is located above the PCIE1 slot, whereas the other five ports are between both PCIe slots. These ports have tool-less heatsinks. Pressing and sliding the button and lifting the covers will release them. These ports are:

• M2_1 [CPU]
• M2_2 [CPU]
• M2_3 [Z890 Chipset]
• M2_4 [Z890 Chipset]
• M2_5 [Z890 Chipset]
• M2_6 [Z890 Chipset]

M2_1 is PCIe Gen5 x4 rated whereas the rest of the slots are PCIe Gen4 x4 rated. All of these ports support up to 2280 form factor (Key M).

All M.2 ports have tool-less design and come equipped with single thermal pads, unlike Z890 Unify-X that has double thermal pads. Only M2_1 has double thermal pads provision on the Z890 NOVA.

The tool-less covers have thermal pads.

USB Connectivity

This motherboard has the following USB connections:

• 2x Thunderbolt ports over Type-C (Rear)
• 6x USB 2.0 (2 Rear, 4 Front)
• 4x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type A (Rear)
• 8x USB 3.2 Gen1 (4x Rear, 4x Front)
• 1x USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Type C (Front)

MSI has used GL9904 and other hubs/controllers.

Audio and Networking Solution

ASRock has employed RealTek ALC4082 Codec. This is better than ALC4080 on the Z890 Unify-X. It features 7.1-channel USB high performance audio with 32-bit/384KHz playback on the front panel. S-PDIF output is provided on the rear IO port. ASRock has implemented individual PCB layers for the left and right audio channel. Nahimic audio support is also provided.

In terms of networking, this motherboard is equipped with:

• 2.5/5Gbps LAN port for wired connection
• Wi-Fi 7 Solution for wireless connection
• Bluetooth 5.4 for wireless connection

The main wired connection is powered by RealTek RTL8126 whereas 2.5Gbps connection is handled by Intel Killer E3100G controller. The wireless module is pre-installed in the M.2 Key-E slot. It supports MU-MIMO TX/RX, 2.4GHz/5GHz/6GHz up to 5.8Gbps. It features support for 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be.

Internal and Rear Connections

This motherboard has the following on-board/internal connectivity options:

• 3 x Thermistor Cable Headers
• 1 x SPI TPM Header
• 1 x Power LED and Speaker Header
• 1 x RGB LED Header
• 3 x Addressable LED Headers
• 2 x CPU Fan Connector (4-pin) (Smart Fan Speed Control)
• 4 x Chassis Fan Connectors (4-pin) (Smart Fan Speed Control)
• 1 x AIO Pump Fan Connector (4-pin) (Smart Fan Speed Control)
• 1 x Water Pump Fan Connector (4-pin) (Smart Fan Speed Control)
• 1 x 24 pin ATX Power Connector (Hi-Density Power Connector)
• 2 x 8 pin 12V Power Connectors (Hi-Density Power Connector)
• 1 x Front Panel Audio Connector (15μ Gold Audio Connector)
• 2 x USB 2.0 Headers (Support 4 USB 2.0 ports)
• 2 x USB 3.2 Gen1 Headers (Support 4 USB 3.2 Gen1 ports)
• 1 x Front Panel Type C USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Header (20 Gb/s)
• 1 x Dr. Debug with LED
• 1 x Power Button with LED
• 1 x Reset Button with LED

The 4-pin RGB header is rated for 12V/3A with up to 36W LED strip. The 3-pin ARGB headers are rated for 5V/3A with up to 15W LED strip. The fan headers are controlled by Nuvoton 3961S chips. The CPU_FAN1 supports the fan power up to 1A (12W) whereas the rest of the headers support 3A (36W). The CPU_FAN2, CHA_FAN1~4, AIO_PUMP and W_PUMP can auto detect if 3-pin or 4-pin fan is in use.

The motherboard has a dedicated Power and Reset button in addition to digital debug LED. It also features a Debug LEDs for helping to troubleshoot any fault codes when then occur.

The rear IO connections include:

• 2 x Antenna Ports
• 1 x HDMI Port
• 1 x Optical SPDIF Out Port
• 2 x ThunderboltTM 4 Type-C Ports (40 Gb/s for USB4 protocol; 40Gb/s for Thunderbolt protocol)
• 4 x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A Ports (10 Gb/s)
• 4 x USB 3.2 Gen1 Ports
• 2 x USB 2.0 Ports
• 2 x RJ-45 LAN Ports
• 1 x Clear CMOS Button
• 1 x BIOS Flashback Button
• 1 x Line Out Jack (Gold Audio Jack)
• 1 x Microphone Input Jack (Gold Audio Jack)

The Thunderbolt ports support USB PD 3.0 up to 5V@3A (15W) charging. USB32_56 are Lightning Gaming Ports with dedicated controllers. USB32_34 supports Ultra USB Power.

PCI Expansion Card

ASRock has included a PCI expansion card that has 4x M.2 ports. These ports are rated at PCIe Gen4x1 link speed. The card itself has a x4 link interface. The card supports up to 2280 form factor drives.

Z890 Chipset and Other Chips/Controllers

The above pictures show various controllers that ASRock has employed on this motherboard. This motherboard has a single BIOS 256Mb flash chip. These are AMI UEFI BIOS with GUI support.

This motherboard has two IO controllers. The Nuvoton NCT6686D controls the fan headers, H/W Monitor, T_Sensors, UART port, and Debug LED Port.

The second Nuvoton controller NCT6796D is for H/W Monitor.

Motherboard Rear View

The backside of the motherboard has a stylish, metallic backplate.

UEFI BIOS Run

Unlike MSI’s Click BIOS interface update, ASRock has not changed its BIOS interface. It is still the same as I saw on the Z790 series ASRock motherboards.

BIOS starts in EZ Mode providing handy information to the user about the PC. You can see connected storage drives, Fans/Pump speeds, RAM information, CPU and Motherboard status, etc.

Pressing F6 will load advanced mode. It does not have a first summary page that extends for more options under the sub-menu. It has an old-style page listing. It starts with the Main page with key information page.

OC Tweaker is over-clockers’ paradise. It has categorized the options in three main groups:

• CPU
• RAM
• Voltages

CPU related settings can be found under the CPU listing. You can take it further by exploring more options under the sub-menus. The power settings are listed at the very end after the Turbo Boost and C-States related settings.

You can enable/disable the XMP under the RAM menu. You can control the timings and voltages of the RAM kit from this menu.

The voltage regulation and related settings can be found under the Voltages option.

You can safe user profiles at the end of OC Tweaker main menu.

The chipset related settings, USB settings, NVMe settings, Thunderbolt settings, and even CPU related settings can be found under the Advanced menu/page. You can decide which page loads on next EUFI BIOS startup. The integrated peripherals settings are also located here.

The Boot page has related settings like setting main boot drive, Fast Boot etc. Hardware monitor allows user to customize the connected fans/pumps and monitor the temperatures and voltages. Security page shows its related settings. Tool menu allows you to control the basic lighting where applicable and update the BIOS. Exit page has related settings.

Test Setup

Following configuration is used for testing:

• Intel Core Ultra 265k [Stock, Auto]
• ASRock PG Z890 NOVA WiFi
• Teamgroup Xtreem 2x16GB DDR5 kit at 8000MHz CL38
• ASRock Radeon PG RX 7600 OC 8G
• Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus 1TB NVMe Drive [For OS]
• Teamgroup Vulkan Z 2TB SATA SSD [For Games]
• Teamgroup MP445 2TB NVMe Drive
• Teamgroup Z540 2TB NVMe Drive
• Orico N7000 2TB NVMe Drive
• Biwin NV7400 2TB NVMe Drive
• XPG Blade S70 2TB NVMe Drive
• Sabrent Rocket Q 2TB Thunderbolt Drive
• ID-Cooling DX360 Max
• Fractal Design ION+2 860W Platinum PSU
• Thermaltake Core P6 TG Snow Edition in an open frame layout

Microsoft Windows 11 24H2 is used with the latest updates.

CPU-Z confirms that all components are running to their optimal settings. The x8 link speed of PCIe is by design for RX7600. RAM is working at 8000MT/s CL38 as well.

Test Results

I have tested the motherboard in three broader categories:

• CPU and Memory Performance
• AI Performance
• Storage Performance
• Overall Performance
• Gaming Performance

Let’s take a look at the result starting from CPU and Memory performance.

AIDA64 has shown a remarkable bandwidth on the RAM, however the latency is high compared to 61.9ns from Z790 on the same kit. The Cinebench R23.2 score in multi-core and single-core is good as well. Blender Benchmark has a score of 487 which is competitive. The 182 GIPS on compression and 167 GIPS on decompression is remarkable. CPU Profile shows a healthy performance across the board.

The CPU scored 179 in AI Computer Vision Benchmark using Intel OpenVINO and 227 using WindowsML.

I have populated all 6 M.2 ports and used one SATA 6Gbps drive in addition to a Thunderbolt drive connected to a Thunderbolt Type-C port.

CrystalDiskMark score of near 12000MB/s mark in read and 11800MB/s in write is excellent on the NVMe drive. However, Thunderbolt drive failed to make its mark as it came out significantly slower. The NVMe drive scored 5645 and the Thunderbolt drive scored 1562 in PCMARK Data Drive Benchmark. Again, the Thunderbolt drive has shown low performance. The overall storage performance is satisfactory.

This setup scored 9543 in PCMARK10 overall benchmark, whereas it got 12081 in Performance Test benchmark. This is a good score given the fact I did not use any high-end graphics card since RTX 5080 got delayed.

The overall gaming result is satisfactory.

Motherboard and Frequencies/Thermals/Power

I have already shown that RAM was operating at its tested 8000MHz CL38 with XMP profile. CPU was boosting to 5.5GHz on any/favorite P-Core under 1-T load. P-Cores were boosted to 5.2GHz. Clocks were still high during the idling stage. I did not observe any issue in terms of performance lacking.

CPU was idling at 34ᵒC at an ambient of 23ᵒC and it did 84ᵒC under Cinebench R23.2 30 minutes load on package. Testing was done with Intel default power settings. VRM/Mosfet temperature was 61ᵒC. The system was drawing 50W power on idle and 335W power on gaming load. This is less than what I saw on the MSI MEG Z890 Unify-X motherboard.

Conclusion

I remember being skeptical about NOVA once I heard about it at the time of the Z790 series. But after testing the PG Z890 NOVA WiFi, my impression changed 180ᵒ. That motherboard packed handy features while costing significantly less than the competition in that feature set basket. Same is the case with Z890 NOVA WiFi. ASRock has almost provided quite a powerful motherboard with killer features while offering it at a much lower price tag compared to similar options from competitors.

This motherboard has 20+1+2+1+1 power stages with a powerful Renesas PWM controller and Dr. MOS SPS stages. You will be surprised, ASRock has the same power stages and design as on the MSI MEG Z890 Unify-X, with the only thing being different is ASRock has used Renesas RAA229130 PWM controller, unlike RAA229131 PWM controller on MSI motherboard. The VRM/MOSFET cooling is ensured by XXL aluminum heatsinks interlinked using a thicker heat pipe and probably 7W-mK rated thermal pads.

This motherboard supports Intel Core Ultra Series 2 CPUs and there is no reason why this motherboard can’t handle Core Ultra 9 285k. It has four DIMM Slots supporting CUDIMM with a whopping up to 9600MT/s speed (1DPC 1R). ASRock has implemented Memory OC Shield that reduces EMI around the DIMM slots and improves signal strength.

 Two Thunderbolt 4.0 ports are wired to the CPU socket and they provide display function over DisplayPort 2.1 supporting 4K @ 120Hz and 8K @ 60Hz. These ports support up to 40Gbps on Thunderbolt drives and 20Gbps on USB 4 drives, which is a lackluster in my opinion. If you are into USB 4 connectivity, look at AMD X870 series.

This motherboard has 2x PCIe slots. Top slot is PCIe Gen5 x16 rated and wired to the CPU socket. The PCIE2 is a PCIe Gen4x16 (rated for x4) and is wired to the Z890 chipset. This motherboard has an EZ Release button for easy locking/unlocking and removal of the graphics card. ASRock has included a PCIe Expansion card with 2280 supported (up to) 4x M.2 ports. Each port operates at x1 link speed and the card itself operates at x4 link speed. To be honest, there is nothing fancy about it. ASRock could have saved some bucks and used them for some other feature. Motherboard supports PCIe lane bifurcation.

Despite an ATX form factor, this motherboard has 6x M.2 ports. ASRock has used XXL heatsink on these ports, which area tool-less design. Only the top M.2 slot has dual thermal pads. The rest of the slots have a single thermal pad under the heatsink solution. M.2_4 supports lane or bus with PCIE2 and M2_4 will be disabled if PCIE2 is used. This motherboard has 4x SATA ports wired to the chipset.

This motherboard packs a good USB combination. It has one USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Type-E port on the front. This motherboard packs a total of 19 USB ports in addition to 2x Thunderbolt ports over Type-C interface. This motherboard has Intel Killer E3100G powering the 2.5Gbps LAN port whereas the RealTek RTL8126 powers the main 5Gbps LAN port.  Wireless connectivity is WiFi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 for which an antenna is also provided.

The motherboard has EZ Debug LEDs to troubleshoot the faulty component. There is also a digital EZ Debug LED that displays numbers. Refer to user manual for codes description. This motherboard has a power and reset button on the PCB, which is a wise design. The board has a single BIOS chip.

The audio solution is coming from RealTek ALC4082, which is even better than the one on MSI MEG Z890 Unify-X that has ALC4080. The CPU Fan Headers are rated at 1A whereas the rest of the headers are rated at 3A each. This motherboard has two IO chips from Nuvoton. These are NCT6686D and NCT6796D. The USB Ultra Power ports draw +5V from the +12V rail providing stable power and prevents noise from other devices. Two Lightning Gaming Ports used dedicated controllers, hence reducing the jitter and latency.

This motherboard offers a rock-solid feature set, which I would like to state as well, an optimized feature set in a good price bracket. The overall performance of this motherboard is even better than the MSI MEG Z890 Unify-X motherboard, which is somewhat surprising. Also, this motherboard has lower power draw than the Unify-X. The only area that has seen my eyebrows raised is Thunderbolt. The Thunderbolt drive connected to a port performed significantly worse compared to its performance on Unify-X.

Pros:

• 20+1+2+1+1 Power Stages
• Good VRM Cooling
• 1x Gen5 M.2 Port
• Tool-less handling of M.2 covers
• PCIe Gen5 Steel Reinforced Slot
• PCI EZ Release
• 6x M.2 Slots
• 2.5GbE and 5GbE LAN Ports
• WiFi 7 Module and Antennae
• Audio ALC4082 Codec
• 1x USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Type-C Port
• 2x Thunderbolt 4 Ports
• Clear CMOS Button
• Flash BIOS
• Power Button
• Reset Button
• PCI Expansion Card
• 8x Fan Headers
• Lightning Gaming Ports
• Ultra USB Power
• Debug LEDs
• Digital Debug LED
• Thermistor Headers
• Warranty
• Price

Cons:

• M.2_4 will be disabled if PCIE2 is used
• Poor Thunderbolt storage performance
• Only one USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Port