Knuckles and Tails must wait their flip. The ASRock Z790 PG Sonic ($249.99) is an ATX-size Intel motherboard with a Sonic the Hedgehog theme distinctive to the PC constructing world (aside from the corporate’s B760M MicroATX model). Aside from graphics of the Sega speedster, the PG Sonic sports activities 9 USB ports on the rear I/O and ample storage—5 M.2 sockets (one with PCI Categorical 5.0 x4 assist) and eight SATA ports—plus Killer Community-based 2.5Gbps Ethernet, DDR5 assist, and energy supply appropriate for flagship CPUs like our Core i9-13900K. The Sonic is basically ASRock’s Z790 Riptide in a video-game costume, however in case you do not thoughts its lacking Wi-Fi, and thrill to the Hedgehog, it is a well-equipped platform.
Board Design, CPU, and Reminiscence
Clearly, the Sonic the Hedgehog theme is that this motherboard’s major attraction. ASRock’s Riptide has been reskinned with blue silk-screened accents on the board and the brushed aluminum heatsinks and shrouds, plus a big white picture of Sonic on the again of the PCB. The left VRM financial institution sports activities Sonic’s identify and a picture of a hoop that rotates as you modify your viewing angle. The chipset heatsinks present a Sonic headshot, too. A number of RGB LEDs under the underside M.2 heatsink glow brightly with vivid colours. The board seems good, particularly in case you set the RGBs to Sonic blue.
The Z790 PG Sonic helps twelfth and thirteenth Era Intel processors utilizing a 16-phase VRM with 50A MOSFETS. The 700A out there to the CPU is not extreme (14 phases devoted to Vcore), however it dealt with our Core i9-13900K at inventory speeds utilizing the 3x120mm AIO setting. The VRM heatsinks do an ample job of protecting the facility supply working inside spec, however they’ll run sizzling when overclocking or unlocking the CPU to run freely within the BIOS. In case you plan to push a high-powered chip on this platform, make certain the VRMs have ample airflow, as they are going to get toasty.
Reminiscence assist tops out at DDR5-7200+(OC), which is a bit under common for Z790-class boards however applicable at this reasonably priced value level. (A lot above DDR5-6400, you are previous the candy spot of efficiency and price, anyway.) The board helps as much as 192GB of RAM by way of 4 slots that safe reminiscence modules with locking mechanisms on each side.
Our DDR5-5600, DDR5-6000, and DDR5-7200 kits proved steady by setting the suitable inside profiles (XMP or EXPO), although our DDR5-7200 equipment is not even on the board’s QVL record. That mentioned, in case you actually need to push reminiscence speeds, it is best to get a equipment already examined to work on this board. General, the reminiscence assist is stable, and the BIOS has loads of reminiscence timings to tweak if you need that final half a share.
Format and Inner Connectors
Beginning on the prime left nook, we see two 8-pin EPS connectors (one required) to energy the CPU. Flanking these are the silver VRM heatsinks. To the precise of the VRM heatsink between the DRAM slots are the primary two of seven 4-pin fan/pump headers. Every header helps PWM and DC-controlled units. Energy output varies by header (both 1A/12W or 2A/24W), however there may be a lot to go round. Management over these units is dealt with by means of the BIOS or ASRock’s PG-Tune software.
At prime proper are the primary RGB headers, on this case two 3-pin ARGB. The opposite two headers are a 4-pin RGB and a 3rd 3-pin ARGB. Management over the built-in RGBs and any hooked up to those headers could be executed by way of the BIOS or the ASRock Polychrome Sync app.
Persevering with down the precise edge, we run into one other 4-pin fan/pump header, the 24-pin ATX energy lead for the board, a front-panel USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 (20Gbps) Sort-C port, one other fan header, and eventually a 19-pin front-panel USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5Gbps) Sort-A header.
Enlargement, Storage, and Rear I/O
In the course of the board are two full-length enlargement slots and one open-ended x1 slot. The highest slot, the first for graphics playing cards, is bolstered to stop shearing from heavy GPUs. It connects by means of the CPU and runs at PCIe 5.0 x16 speeds. The second full-length slot connects by means of the chipset and peaks at PCIe 4.0 x4, whereas the small backside slot runs as much as PCIe 3.0 x1 speeds. Observe that when M2_5 is occupied the PCIE1 slot downshifts to PCIe 5.0 x8 mode, however real-world efficiency loss is negligible. For these nonetheless hanging onto multi-GPU options, the board does assist AMD CrossFire.
Combined in among the many PCIe slots are 5 M.2 sockets. The highest socket (M2_1) below the understandably bigger heatsink (PCIe 5.0 x4 drives are mentioned to run as sizzling as or hotter than 4.0 x4) connects by means of the CPU and is the one PCI Categorical 5.0 x4 (128Gbps) socket. Sharing the identical area is the M2_5, the opposite CPU-connected socket. This one helps as much as PCIe 4.0 x4 (64Gbps) speeds and, like all of the M.2 sockets, accommodates units as much as 80mm. As you might be able to inform by their bodily orientation, you possibly can’t use each of those sockets on the identical time, so you possibly can run as much as 4 (not 5) M.2 sockets concurrently.
The third and fourth M.2 sockets conceal below the skinny heatsink throughout the underside, getting their PCIe 4.0 x4 bandwidth from the chipset. Totally uncovered between the 2 full-length PCIe slots are the final M.2 socket and a Key-E M.2 socket so as to add a CNVi or CNVi2 Wi-Fi adapter.
Alongside the far edge are six SATA ports. Their connectors lay flat, which helps with cable administration in comparison with vertical ports. In case you’re into drive arrays, the SATA ports run RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10, whereas the NVMe storage units assist RAID 0, 1, and 5.
Alongside the underside fringe of the board are a number of headers, together with extra USB 2.0 ports, fan headers, front-panel audio, a Thunderbolt AIC header, two vertically oriented SATA ports, and the remaining two RGB headers.
On the rear is a preinstalled I/O plate with a white background, grey port labels, and blue accents and Sonic branding. There are 9 USB ports right here, together with one 5Gbps Sort-C and two 10Gbps Sort-A (these two dubbed “Lightning Gaming” ports). Moreover, you will discover 4 5Gbps USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 and two 480Mbps USB 2.0 ports, which needs to be a lot for all of your peripherals. Additionally out again are the triple-plug audio stack, a Killer E3100 2.5Gbps jack, and DisplayPort and HDMI video outputs. If you wish to add Wi-Fi, there are cutouts for an antenna.
A Take a look at the UEFI BIOS and Utilities
Did you assume a Sonic the Hedgehog motherboard would not have a blue BIOS with Sonic on it? The labels are white or yellow and straightforward to learn towards the darker background. The BIOS begins in EZ Mode, the place you will discover details about the processor, RAM, storage, followers, and extra. You’ll be able to allow XMP profiles and even choose the cooler sort, which units how the processor behaves.
The superior portion of the BIOS gives a extra commonplace configuration with main headings throughout the highest together with Important, OC Tweaker, Superior, Device, H/W Monitor, and Boot. The Important web page is informational, primarily drawing on the My Favourite part the place customers could make their very own BIOS web page exhibiting their most ceaselessly used gadgets.
The OC Tweaker part holds the keys to adjusting voltages, RAM, and the CPU and saving profiles for later recall.
Beneath the Superior heading is the place to search for CPU, chipset, storage, NVMe, ACPI, and USB configuration amongst different gadgets. You may as well modify the UEFI’s look and the place it begins (EZ Mode or a selected web page in Superior).
The Instruments part (not pictured) offers entry to ASRock Polychrome RGB for lighting management and SSD and NVMe sanitation (safe erase instruments), in addition to the On the spot Flash utility to flash your BIOS. H/W Monitor shows related system data starting from CPU and motherboard temps to fan speeds and voltages. Right here, you possibly can modify the fan speeds of all of the onboard 4-pin fan headers.
ASRock’s BIOS is as simple to navigate and full-featured as its friends. The Z790 BIOS has loads of performance to overclock the processor and reminiscence—simply watch out pushing too arduous with high-powered CPUs on this board. With choices to manage RGB lighting and followers and even wipe storage clear, the firmware supplies loads of usefulness, and our examined model 7.02 was completely steady throughout our benchmarking and stress-testing.
As for software program, the ASRock Appshop helps you obtain and replace drivers and the PG-Tuning software program tweaks your system. The previous is helpful for downloading ASRock apps together with Polychrome RGB LED and Nahimic3 audio. Along with utilities, it checks for drivers and lets you replace them straight from the Appshop, a helpful various for these not used to grabbing the most recent drivers immediately from web sites.
In case you wish to play together with your system, PG-Tuning is an all-inclusive tweaking app that permits you to modify your fan speeds; see detailed system data, together with temperatures, voltages, and clock speeds and ratios; and tinker with the CPU.
Verdict: ASRock in Sonic Model
The Z790 PG Sonic is one other unique-looking motherboard from ASRock (following the lately reviewed B650 LiveMixer). This one tugs at players’ heartstrings with its Sonic the Hedgehog theme, although in case you do not dig the blue blur, the Z790 Riptide is similar board for about $30 much less. The Sonic has rather a lot going for it, particularly in case you want a number of storage with 4 concurrently usable M.2 sockets and eight SATA ports. You additionally get 9 USB ports, 2.5Gbps Ethernet, a funds audio answer, and energy supply match for flagship CPUs.
ASRock’s personal Riptide is arguably the Sonic’s major competitor, although the Asus TUF Gaming Z790-Plus Wi-Fi D4 ($249.99), the Gigabyte Z790 Aorus Elite AX ($259.99), and MSI MAG Z790 Tomahawk Wi-Fi ($239.99) are legitimate choices within the area. The MSI and Asus have higher audio codecs, however solely the ASRock boards boast a PCIe 5.0 x4 M.2 socket.
