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ASRock is a huge manufacturer in the motherboard space, with many of their new options being go-to options for consumers building a PC for the first-time. Other than being known for creating great boards, ASRock are also somewhat well known for a rather unique design and aesthetic that comes with their boards. Those familiar with their Z790 range of boards will be aware of the LiveMixer, and Steel Legend boards, that bring an awesome design to the market that shies away from the more traditional, all-black, or all-white colour schemes that we’re so used to seeing.
We’ve missed out one in particular, which is the board that we’re taking a brief look at in today’s daily deal article – the Z790 PG Sonic. This board offers an interesting brushed steel aesthetic across all of the heatsinks, clad with familiar Sonic the Hedgehog logos and imagery, along with some blue colouring too. A 16-bit spinning ring can also be seen on top of the rear IO cover, which you’ll be able to see as soon as you’ve powered your motherboard. Although this board might not be for everyone, I’m a big fan of the aesthetic, ASRock is one of the only manufacturers moving away from traditional motherboard designs, and provides something a bit more refreshing.
Moving onto features, the PG Sonic offers a 14+1+1 VRM phase design, providing smooth power delivery to your CPU, alongside decent overclocking capability too. The Z790 chipset is the only option within the 13th-Gen range that provides CPU overclocking support, so it can be worth making use of it for some extra performance gains.
Connectivity wise, consumers can leverage two Gen5 PCI-E slots for both an SSD and a GPU. Although we don’t technically have any PCI-E 5.0 capable GPUs on the market as of yet, this will prepare users that plan on buying one when they release. This board is also DDR5 only, so you’ll be able to utilise blazing-fast DDR5 kits that should help with tougher workloads.
Moving around to the rear IO, there are a vast range of ports on this motherboard, ideal for those with plenty of peripherals and extra accessories. On the rear you’ve got two USB 3.2 Gen2 ports, along with a Gen1 Type-C option. There’s also four extra USB 3.2 Gen1 ports, alongside two USB 2.0. We would’ve liked to see a USB 3.2 Gen2x2 port on the rear as well, but consumers with a case that supports it can utilise this on the front IO instead. The front IO also provides support for two USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A ports, and four USB 2.0 ports, providing you with plenty of options across the entire board.
As a general rule, Z790 motherboards can be pretty expensive, but the PG Sonic is one of the best priced options right now. You don’t get access to any WiFi, which is a bit of a shame. But if you’re willing to put this aside, I’d say this motherboard is very well equipped considering the price tag. Most DDR5 boards tend to sit over $200 straight out of the gate, and don’t normally offer dual PCI-E 5.0 capability without a significant price hike. Regardless, we’d urge consumers that plan on building a new Intel 13th-Gen PC, to take a look at this board, as it’s an excellent option, coming in at a more than reasonable price point.
At just over $200 at the time of writing, we think this is an excellent buy:
ASRock Z790 PG Sonic Specs
Specification | ASRock Z790 PG Sonic |
---|---|
Form Factor | ATX |
GPU Slots | 1x PCI-E 5.0 x16 Slot 1x PCI-E 4.0 x16 Slot 1x PCI-E 3.0 x1 Slot |
SSD Slots | 1x PCI-E 5.0 x4 Slot 4x PCI-E 4.0 x4 Slots |
RAM Type, Speed, and Capacity | 192GB DDR5 up to 7200MHz |
Rear IO | 2x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A 1x USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-C 4x USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A 2x USB 2.0 |
Front IO | 1x USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Type-C 2x USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A 4x USB 2.0 |
Networking | 2.5 Gigabit LAN |