ASRock’s Z790 Steel Legend is a full-size ATX motherboard that supports Intel’s 12th and 13th generation processors. Currently (as of this writing) it is priced at $229.99, making it an affordable option in the Z790 space. You get an attractive black and silver highlight look and integrated RGB lighting. In terms of specifications, a total of 5 M.2 sockets and 8 SATA ports, high-speed networking and integrated Wi-Fi 6E, DDR5 support up to DDR5-7200+(OC), proprietary eDP port (internal display), and old budget audio codecs. All in all, a solid choice in the budget Z790 space.
In terms of specs, Steel Legend compares well with its competitors when it comes to hardware. Starting with the power delivery, 16 phases dedicated to Vcore along with SPS type MOSFETs that can easily handle the added stress of overclocking, tons of storage including 5 M.2 sockets (1 PCIe 5.0), rear IO’s It has many USB ports. , PCIe 5.0 slot, 20 Gbps Type-C port for front panel. In terms of performance, the Steel Legend was about average, depending on our testing, but nothing worrisome or out of the ordinary.
Below, we dig into the board details to see if Steel Legend has what it takes to make it onto our board. best motherboard Listing – but spoilers: It’s a good one! But before we get into testing and board details, we’ll start by listing ASRock’s specs.
Specifications: ASRock Z790 Steel Legend
| socket | LGA1700 |
| chipset | Z790 |
| form factor | ATX |
| voltage regulator | 18 phases (16x 60A SPS MOSFET for Vcore) |
| video port | (1) HDMI (v2.1) |
| (1) DisplayPort (v1.4) | |
| (1) eDP (v1.4) | |
| USB port | (1) USB 3.2 Gen 1 (10Gbps), Type-C |
| (1) USB 3.2 Gen 1 (10Gbps) | |
| (8) USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5Gbps) | |
| network jack | (1) 2.5GbE |
| audio jack | (5) Analog |
| (1) SPDIF | |
| Legacy port/jack | ✗ |
| Other Ports/Jacks | ✗ |
| PCIe x16 | (1) v5.0 (x16) |
| (1) v4.0 (x4) | |
| (1) v3.0 (x2) | |
| PCIe x8 | ✗ |
| PCIe x4 | ✗ |
| PCIe x1 | ✗ |
| Crossfire/SLI | ✗ |
| DIMM slots | (4) DDR5 7200+(OC)*, 192GB capacity |
| 1DPC 1R up to 7200+ MHz (OC), native 4800 MHz. | |
| 1DPC 2R up to 6000+ MHz (OC), 4400 MHz native. | |
| 2DPC 1R up to 5600+ MHz (OC), 4000 MHz native. | |
| 2DPC 2R up to 4800+ MHz (OC), native 3600 MHz. | |
| M.2 socket | (1) PCIe 5.0 x4 (64Gbps) / PCIe (up to 80mm) |
| (4) PCIe 4.0 x4 (64Gbps) / PCIe (up to 80mm) | |
| SATA port | (8) SATA3 6Gbps (supports RAID 0/1/5/10) |
| USB header | (1) USB v3.2 Gen 1, Type-C (5Gbps) |
| (1) USB v3.2 Gen 1 (5Gbps) | |
| (1) USB v2.0 (480Mbps) | |
| fan/pump header | (5) 4-pin (CPU, CPU/Water Pump, Chassis/Water Pump) |
| RGB header | (3) aRGB (3 pin) |
| (1) RGB (4 pin) | |
| diagnostic panel | (1) Post status checker (4 LEDs) |
| Internal button/switch | ✗ |
| SATA controller | ASMEDIA ASM1061 |
| ethernet controller | (1) Realtek Dragon RTL8125BG (2.5GbE) |
| Wi-Fi/Bluetooth | Intel Wi-Fi 6E (2×2, MU-MIMO, ax, BT5.3) |
| USB controller | (2) AS Media ASM1074 |
| HD audio codec | Realtek ALC897 |
| DDL/DTS | ✗ / ✗ |
| guarantee | 3 years |
Inside the box of ASRock Z790 Steel Legend
Inside the retail box you will find some accessories. ASRock includes the basic features you would expect from a budget motherboard, but nothing more.
- user manual
- 2 SATA cables
- ASRock WiFi 2.4/5/6GHz Antenna
- 4 screws for M.2 socket
- graphics card holder
steel legend design
image 1 of 3
The Z790 Steel Legend is mounted on a matte black 6-layer PCB with some reinforced slots, a silver heatsink and some areas with black, white and gray digital camouflage highlights. All in all, it looks good, but there’s a lot of PCB showing, giving it a low-budget feel (as opposed to other similarly priced models online). If you’re into integrated RGB lighting, the Steel Legend features a ton of RGB lighting in his two locations – under the IO area and M.2, as well as the chipset heatsink along the bottom. Lighting control is handled through the BIOS or ASRock’s Polychrome Sync application. His RGB lighting on this board is bright and saturated and will draw attention to your system. Again, I like the way it looks, and it looks great in many themed builds, but the design is far from high-end.
Starting in the top left corner, the first thing you’ll see inside the heatsink are two 8-pin EPS connectors (one required) for powering the processor. His VRM heatsink in the surrounding silver is much taller and has enough mass and surface area to keep the power bit below working within specs. The cover over the IO bits has an ASRock branded and Steel series ‘S’ and is illuminated from below by RGB LEDs.
Moving past the socket area to the left of the DRAM slots are the first two (of seven) 4-pin fan headers. Each header supports PWM and DC controlled devices ranging from 1A/12W (CPU_FAN1) to 2A/24W (rest), giving you enough power to support multiple devices. Be careful not to overload it. Control of these headers is handled through the BIOS or the A-Tune application.
To the right of the socket are four hardened DRAM slots with locking mechanisms on both sides. ASRock list supports up to DDR5-7200+(OC), but actual usage may vary. There were no issues with the three kits, including the fastest Teamgroup DDR5-7200 set not on the QVL list. ASRock has generally done a good job with memory compatibility on this platform, and Steel Legend is no different.
Beyond the DRAM slots are two more 4-pin fan headers and two 3-pin ARGB which are the first RGB headers. There are two additional headers at the bottom of the board. Below you get another 3-pin ARGB (3 total) and only one 4-pin RGB header. Remember: these are controlled through the BIOS or the Polychrome Sync app. Continuing down the right edge is the 24-pin ATX connector that powers the board, a front panel USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 (20 Gbps) Type-C port, a front panel USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) port, and another 4-pin fan header.
ASRock lists Steel Legend’s power delivery with a total of 18 phases, 16 of which are dedicated to Vcore. Power is supplied from the 8-pin EPS connector and feeds the Renesas RAA229131 PWM controller. Next are 16 60A Intersil ISL99360 SPS MOSFETs dedicated to Vcore using a team configuration. The 960A available isn’t groundbreaking, but it still served our needs. Intel Core i9-13900K During testing and overclocking in stock. Be prepared, as most boards require cooling before powering.
The bottom half of the board has three full-length PCIe slots and a whopping five M.2 sockets. Starting on the far left is a fully exposed audio section with a budget Realtek ALC897 codec and four audio capacitors. The codec is certainly not the best, but it’s typical to see at this price. Another nice add-on in this area (above the audio and M.2 Wi-Fi Key-E sockets) is the eDP connector above the audio area. With this port, you can add a display that supports the connector to extend your desktop to the screen inside the case.of ASRock 13.3 inch Side Panel Kit It’s a natural fit.
Start with the PCIe slot in the middle of the board. There are 3 in total. The top two slots have stiffeners to reduce the possibility of shearing heavy video cards and are said to help reduce EMI. The top slot (PCIE1) is connected through the CPU and is the primary graphics slot running at PCIe 5.0 x16 speeds. The second slot (PCIE2) connects through the chipset and operates at speeds up to PCIe 4.0 x4. Finally, the bottom non-enhanced slot (PCIE3) is also connected through the chipset and runs at speeds up to PCIe 3.0 x2.
Sandwiched in, around, and between these slots are five M.2 sockets. Due to physical orientation (and wiring), only four can be used at once. it’s either M2_1 is a PCIe 5.0 x4 (128 Gbps) capable socket, the second socket runs PCIe 4.0 x4 (64 Gbps). The other three sockets connect through the chipset and run up to PCIe 4.0 x4 (64 Gbps). All of them can accommodate up to 80mm modules and support RAID0/1/5 modes for NVMe storage devices. Once M2_2 is occupied, PCIE1 will drop to x8 mode, so you’ll lose a bit of bandwidth on your primary graphics port, but unless you’re trying to break overclocking records, it’s nothing to worry about.
Moving right past the chipset area to the edge where 4 of the 8 SATA ports are housed. I can type into all these ports at the same time and everything works. The other four ports are on the bottom edge and mounted vertically. For RAID SATA drives, the board supports RAID0/1/5/10 modes.
Several headers are exposed on the bottom of the board. It has the usual stuff like an extra USB port, an RGB header, and a power/reset button. Below is the complete list from left to right.
- front panel audio
- 3-pin ARGB header
- 4-pin RGB header
- Thunderbolt AIC Header
- clear CMOS jumper
- (2) system fan header
- USB 2.0 header
- TPM header
- (4) SATA3 6Gbps ports
- system panel header
The Z790 Steel Legend’s rear IO plate comes pre-installed on the motherboard, which is still a nice touch at this price (although it’s becoming more common these days). The Steel Legend theme continues here, with black labels on the ports on a black and white background. There are 10 USB ports scattered on the rear IO. There is one USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) Type-C port, one Type-A 10 Gbps port, and eight other USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) ports. As for video, the Steel Legend has HDMI and DisplayPort for those who want to use processor-integrated graphics. Finally, we have a 2.5 GbE port, Wi-Fi connectivity, and a 5-plug analog plus SPDIF output for your audio stack.
more: best motherboard
more: How to choose a motherboard
more: All Motherboard Content
