Major motherboard manufacturers have rushed to offer Z790 refresh boards that update the Intel chipset platform with native support for 14th Generation "Raptor Lake Refresh" processors like the Core i9-14900K. The least expensive we've seen is the ASRock Phantom Gaming Z790 Lightning Wi-Fi. For $199.99, you get a neutral but busy-looking black board with a mesmerizing gray pattern stenciled on most of the PCB. It sports three M.2 sockets and six SATA ports, eight USB ports on the rear I/O including a 20Gbps Type-C port, 2.5GbE Killer LAN and Intel Wi-Fi, and power delivery capable of handling flagship-class CPUs. The M.2 sockets are PCI Express 4.0 instead of 5.0 and it's Wi-Fi 6E instead of 7, but the Lightning is a well-rounded budget option both hardware- and performance-wise.
Board Design, CPU, and Memory
Since the PG Lightning series is designed to be affordable, a lot of the 8-layer PCB is visible, with only the critical parts under heatsinks and shrouds. A light gray lined pattern covers most of the motherboard including the left VRM heatsink, though it's not as pronounced there. A small heatsink covers one of the three M.2 sockets, while a pushpin-connected heatsink keeps the chipset cool. An RGB element on the back of the board supplies a bit of bling. Overall, it does look like a budget board, and the pattern on the PCB is rather busy, but it should blend in with most build themes.
The PG Z790 Lightning Wi-Fi supports Intel's 12th, 13th, and 14th Gen processors out of the box. The 960A available (via 16 Vcore phases with 60A MOSFETs) handles our flagship Core i9-14900K without mishap, though the VRMs get hot (but still within spec) when running sustained multithreaded loads. Still, even with this budget offering, you're limited by CPU cooling, not the motherboard.
Memory support is listed up to DDR5-7800+ (OC), one of the higher specs among economy models. The Intel sweet spot between performance and cost is somewhere around the DDR5-6000 to DDR5-6400 range, and there's plenty of headroom to increase RAM speeds past that point. As with most Z790 motherboards today, the four DRAM slots support up to 192GB.
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Our standard DDR5-6000 kit was stable by setting the internal profile, as was our Teamgroup DDR5-7200 kit. If you're obsessed with getting the last percent or two of performance, you can overclock your RAM; you get many memory timings and sub-timings to tweak in the BIOS.
Layout, Internal Connectors, Audio, and Expansion
Starting in the top left corner, we spy two 8-pin EPS connectors (with only one actually required for basic operation) to power the CPU. Flanking these connectors are the two VRM heatsinks tasked with cooling the power delivery bits below. Sliding past the socket wedged between the DRAM slots and the top VRM heatsink, we encounter the first of seven 4-pin fan/pump headers. Each header supports PWM and DC-controlled devices with power output varying from 1A/12W to 2A/24W (CPU_FAN2/WP and CHAS_FAN1-4/WP). Control over the attached devices is managed through the BIOS or the FANtastic Tuning section of ASRock's PG-Tune software. You shouldn't have any issues with header count or available power.
Skipping past the unreinforced RAM slots, we find three more 4-pin fan/pump headers. Moving down the right edge, we run into the 24-pin EPS connector to power the board, a front-panel USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5Gbps) Type-A header, and a front-panel USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10Gbps) Type-C header.
The bottom left corner holds an exposed audio section using Realtek's dated ALC897 audio codec. You'll find a few yellow capacitors dedicated to audio, but the setup is missing some premium features including EMI protection for the Realtek chip and integrated amplifiers/DACs. Many users will be satisfied with this budget audio solution, but critical listeners may want something better.
Two full-length expansion slots and two open-ended PCIe x1 slots are in the middle of the board. The top full-length slot (PCIE1, the primary for graphics) is a PCIe 5.0 x16 slot that connects through the CPU. The second full-length slot (labeled PCIE4) connects through the chipset running at PCIe 4.0 x4. The small x1 slots between them (PCIE2 and PCIE3) also connect through the chipset, yielding PCIe 3.0 x1 bandwidth for each.
In and around the PCIe slots are four M.2 sockets with three dedicated to storage (Key-M) and the other (Key-E) for a CNVi/CNVi2 wireless card (a Wi-Fi 6E card is included). The top M.2 socket under the heatsink is your CPU-connected PCIe 4.0 x4 (64Gbps) socket, while the rest source their bandwidth through the chipset and offer the same PCIe 4.0 x4 speeds. All three storage sockets support up to 80mm modules and RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10 modes.
Moving right past the pushpin-connected chipset heatsink are the first four of six SATA ports; the other two are mounted vertically along the bottom edge. For those looking for redundancy or additional speed through RAID, the board supports RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10. Considering this is a budget board, the three M.2 sockets and six SATA ports should be enough for most users. If you're running fast PCIe 4.0 x4 drives, you may want to get heatsinks with them to prevent thermal throttling, as two sockets don't include heatsinks and the one that does isn't the most robust we've seen.
Along the bottom edge of the board are multiple headers including additional USB 2.0 headers, two SATA ports, fan headers, front-panel audio, ARGB and RGB headers, a clear-CMOS jumper, and finally the front-panel header.
A preinstalled rear I/O plate flaunts the same black and gray theme, accent lines, and Phantom Gaming branding. There are eight USB ports here, with the single Type-C port being the fastest (20Gbps USB 3.2 Gen 2x2). Of the seven USB-A ports, there are two USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10Gbps), four USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5Gbps), and one USB 2.0; this budget board doesn't have one of ASRock's Lightning gaming ports.
At left are the Wi-Fi 6E antenna connections, along with the HDMI video output for use with the processor's integrated graphics. The Killer-based (E3100G) 2.5Gbps Ethernet sits above the USB ports, while a three-plug (1/8-inch) audio stack is on the right. There's nothing unusual back here, though a few users might feel limited by seven USB Type-A ports.
A Brief Look at the BIOS and UEFI Utilities
The BIOS is like others we've seen in ASRock's Phantom Gaming line, with a choice of EZ and Advanced modes that share the same PG Gaming theme with red and white text on a dark background. You'll find information about the processor, RAM, storage, and fans in EZ Mode. You can enable XMP profiles, adjust thermal throttling limits, and more.
The advanced portion of the BIOS offers a standard configuration with major headings across the top, including Main, OC Tweaker, Advanced, Tool, H/W Monitor, and Boot. The Main page is informational. Users can make their own BIOS page listing their most frequently used items.
The OC Tweaker section holds the keys to speeding up your system. Here you can adjust voltages, RAM, and the CPU and save profiles for recall later.
The Advanced heading is the place to access CPU, chipset, storage, NVMe, ACPI, and USB configuration along with other items such as Intel Thunderbolt and Trusted Computing. You can also adjust the UEFI's appearance and starting page (EZ Mode, or a particular page in Advanced).
The Tools section (not pictured) gives access to ASRock's Polychrome RGB for lighting control as well as SSD and NVMe sanitation (secure erase tools) and the Instant Flash utility to flash your BIOS. H/W Monitor displays relevant system info ranging from CPU and motherboard temperatures to fan speeds and voltages. Here, you can adjust the fan speeds of all the onboard 4-pin fan headers.
ASRock's BIOS is as easy to read and navigate and fully featured as its competitors. The Z790 BIOS has plenty of functionality to overclock the processor and memory, as you'd expect with the flagship chipset. There's functionality to control RGB lighting, control fans, and even wipe storage clean. Overall, it provides plenty of usefulness, and the latest version (2.05) was stable during our limited testing.
As for software, ASRock offers Appshop to download and update drivers and the PG-Tuning software to tweak your system. The former is helpful for downloading ASRock applications including Polychrome RGB LED, Nahimic 3 audio, and the App Charger. It also checks for drivers and allows you to update them straight from the utility, a great alternative for those not used to grabbing the latest drivers directly from vendor websites.
For those who like to tinker with their systems, ASRock includes its all-inclusive A-Tune software, reskinned and renamed PG Gaming on this board. This app lets you adjust fan speeds, read detailed system data including temperatures, voltages, and clock speeds and ratios, and tweak the CPU. You also get access to the Blazing OC software that is dedicated to overclocking the processor manually or through PBO. The latter doesn't offer as much control as the BIOS, but it gets the job done.
Verdict: A Viable, Affordable Entry-Level Motherboard
ASRock's PG Z790 Lightning Wi-Fi is a capable motherboard at an alluring $199.99 price. The board has native support for Intel's 14th Gen CPUs and offers a PCIe 5.0 slot, three M.2 storage sockets, six SATA ports, integrated Wi-Fi 6E, and ample power delivery. Performance was solid when using 3x120mm AIO cooling, keeping our Core i9-14900K safely within spec. We'd like to see a PCIe 5.0 M.2 socket and Wi-Fi 7, but of course it's unlikely to get all of the latest and greatest hardware specs in one board at this price.
While the ASRock may not be the most attractive board next to the $229.99 Gigabyte Z790 Gaming X or the $209.99 MSI Pro Z790 Gaming Pro Wi-Fi, it's the only one with integrated RGB lighting. The Gigabyte offers Wi-Fi 7 and both it and the MSI have four M.2 storage sockets, but you won't go wrong with any of the three.
ASRock's PG Z790 Lightning Wi-Fi is a well-equipped motherboard for just under $200, offering three M.2 sockets and six SATA ports, integrated Wi-Fi 6E, capable power delivery, and integrated RGB lighting.
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