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ASRock Z890 Steel Legend WiFi

The technical specifications:

• SOCKET: LGA1851
• CPU (MAX SUPPORT): Intel Core Ultra Processors
• CHIP SET: Intel Z890
• DDR5 MEMORY: Up to 9466 MHz
• MEMORY CHANNEL: Dual Channel
• DIMM SLOTS: 4
• MAX MEMORY (GB): 256 GB
• PCI-E X16: 2
• PCI-E X4: 1
• PCI-E X1: 0
• SATA III: 4
• RAID: 0/1/5/10
• M.2 CASTLE: 4
• LAN: 1x 2.5G (Dragon RTL8125BG)
• Wifi: 2x2 Wifi 7
• AUDIO: Realtek ALC1220 CODEC
• FORM FACTOR: ATX
• SLI: No
• CROSSFIRE: No
• OPERATING SYSTEM: Support for Windows 11

About the ASRock Z890 Steel Legend WiFi

ASRock Z890 Steel Legend WiFi is an advanced motherboard with Intel's Z890 chipset, designed for demanding gaming and multitasking. It has PCIe Gen5 support that enables faster data transfer to graphics cards and SSDs, as well as DDR5 RAM support for improved performance. With integrated WiFi 7 and 2.5G LAN, it offers lightning-fast internet connection, while the robust cooling system ensures stable operation under heavy load. Furthermore, its reinforced construction and extensive connectivity options provide a future-proof solution for enthusiastic PC builders.

ASRock Z890 Steel Legend WiFi has an industrial design in black and gray camouflage with RGB lighting that can be customized as needed. The cooling consists of large VRM and M.2 heatsinks, which efficiently handle heat generation and ensure stability under intense load. With built-in heatpipes and multiple fan connectors, the motherboard supports overclocking and high performance without the risk of overheating. The design balances style and functionality, making it ideal for both gaming and high-performance PC builds.

ASRock Z890 Steel Legend WiFi comes with an 18+1+1+1+1 Dr. MOS power stage design that provides solid and reliable power delivery for high-performance CPUs. This digital power design ensures precise voltage control and reduced energy loss, maximizing efficiency. The 18 power stages are dedicated to the CPU, while the others ensure optimal power for both SOC, VCCGT and VCCAUX components, which is crucial for stability during overclocking and heavy multitasking. This makes the motherboard extremely robust and ideal for intensive tasks and gaming.

ASRock Z890 Steel Legend WiFi is equipped with a versatile PCIe configuration that supports both speed and flexibility. The primary slot is a PCIe Gen5 x16, optimized for the latest high-bandwidth graphics cards for gaming and professional applications. In addition, the motherboard has a PCIe Gen4 x16 slot for additional GPUs or expansion cards, ensuring excellent performance and compatibility. Finally, there is a PCIe x4 slot, which allows for further additions such as SSDs or network cards. All slots are reinforced with steel brackets for increased durability, especially when using heavier components.

The ASRock Z890 Steel Legend WiFi comes with four DIMM slots that support up to 256GB of DDR5 RAM, providing plenty of memory for even the most demanding applications. The motherboard supports frequencies of up to 9466 MHz (OC), enabling extremely fast data transfer and response, ideal for high-performance gaming and professional workloads. With dual-channel configuration, it provides improved bandwidth and stability, and the slots are compatible with both ECC and non-ECC RAM, making it a robust solution for users who want both high speed and reliability.

The ASRock Z890 Steel Legend WiFi has an integrated sound card based on the Realtek ALC1220 sound chip, which is known for delivering high-resolution sound quality for both gaming and multimedia. The sound card supports 7.1-channel surround sound and provides an immersive sound experience, perfect for movies, games and music. With Premium ELNA audio capacitors, the motherboard ensures a low noise profile and sharp sound reproduction, providing clarity in all audio frequencies. ASRock's sound optimization software makes it possible to customize the sound experience further, ensuring a flexible and high-quality sound experience for demanding users.

ASRock Z890 Steel Legend WiFi is equipped with four M.2 slots, three of which support PCIe Gen4 x4 NVMe SSDs, and one slot is dedicated to PCIe Gen5 x4, enabling the use of the latest and fastest SSDs on the market . In addition, the motherboard has four SATA 6Gbps ports for traditional HDDs and SATA SSDs. This combination gives users the flexibility to build a storage system with both high speed via NVMe and additional capacity through SATA devices.

ASRock Z890 Steel Legend WiFi's I/O panel is designed for extensive connectivity and high flexibility. The panel includes two antenna outputs for WiFi connection and an HDMI port for video output. There are also two Thunderbolt ports, which provide lightning-fast data transfer and connection of external devices. The I/O panel also offers two USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A ports, four USB 3.2 Gen1 ports and two USB 2.0 ports, so there are plenty of options for connecting both modern and older devices. An RJ45 port handles wired network connectivity, while a BIOS Flashback button makes firmware updates easy. For audio, the panel has an optical audio output, line out and a microphone input, which ensures flexible audio connection to headsets and speakers.

Price

It has been possible to find the Z890 Steel Legend WiFi from ASRock, with a price tag of 380$.

If you want to read more about Z890 Steel Legend Wifi from ASRock, you can click on the banner above.

Conclusion

The ASRock Z890 Steel Legend WiFi proves to be a well-balanced and high-performance motherboard, specially designed for gamers and enthusiasts who want future-proof technology and flexibility. With Intel's Z890 chipset, users get access to the latest features, including PCIe Gen5 support, which allows for extremely fast data transfers with upcoming generations of graphics cards and SSDs. DDR5 RAM support with capacity up to 256 GB and overclocking frequencies up to 9466 MHz enable a system with high performance and stability, making the motherboard suitable for demanding multitasking and heavy processor work.

ASRock has integrated a wide range of modern connections into this motherboard. Two Thunderbolt ports on the I/O panel provide fast connectivity and are excellent for peripherals and displays. In addition, the motherboard supports WiFi 7, which ensures the latest and fastest wireless connection, while the 2.5G LAN port allows for a stable wired Internet connection. On the storage side, the motherboard offers four M.2 slots, one of which is a PCIe Gen5 x4 and the rest support PCIe Gen4. At the same time, there are four SATA ports, which provides flexibility for users who want both fast NVMe solutions and traditional storage.

The design of the motherboard is a clear plus. The black and gray camouflage with RGB lighting makes it a visual pleasure, and with large heat sinks and heat pipes, good heat management is ensured, even during intensive use. The combination of an 18+1+1+1+1 Dr. MOS power stage design and solid cooling characteristics make this motherboard suitable for overclocking and heavy load. The reinforced PCIe slots are an advantage for those using heavy graphics cards and ensure long-term stability of the system.

Despite all these advantages, the motherboard also has some disadvantages. The sound card, which uses the Realtek ALC1220, lags behind newer sound chips, and although the sound quality is good, there are higher resolutions on the market. Additionally, the motherboard lacks traditional USB-C ports, aside from the Thunderbolt connections, which may be a limitation for some users. If you rely on multiple USB-C devices, this can be a point where the motherboard lags behind. At the same time, the number of SATA ports can also be experienced as a limitation, as only four are available. For users planning a large storage solution with many SATA devices, this can be a minus.

In terms of price, the ASRock Z890 Steel Legend WiFi is around 380$, which, considering the functions and quality, is quite a reasonable price for a motherboard in this class. For those looking for advanced upgrade options and performance, this motherboard is a strong investment. But for those with smaller needs who don't expect to use PCIe Gen5 and DDR5 to their full potential, it might be overkill.

Overall, the ASRock Z890 Steel Legend WiFi comes across as an attractive choice with its future-proofing, high performance and solid construction. It has great potential to support demanding systems, but the few shortcomings around sound quality and USB-C availability could be worth considering depending on needs. For the technical enthusiast who wants a motherboard with excellent features and high stability at an affordable price, ASRock delivers a strong product here. It therefore ends with a stable 9 out of 10.

Benefits

• Stylish design
• Four M.2 connections.
• PCIe 5.0
• Good onboard components
• High RAM capacity and frequency
• Two Thunderbolt inputs
• 2.5G LAN
• Wifi 7
• Price

Disadvantages

• "only" ALC1220
• No USB-C inputs, other than Thunderbolt

Score: 9