ASRock’s Z890I Nova WiFi Overview / Review – Intel Core Ultra Debuts on ITX

Nova – Derived from the Latin word “Novus”, meaning new. This is the second generation of Nova branded boards from ASRock, however this is indeed the first M-ITX variant. Of note to those who are familiar with ASRock’s product lines, it seems that the Phantom Gaming branding is taking some what of a step back in this new generation of boards – leading to a more “professional” rather than “gamer” aesthetic for these products.
Since the ASRock Z890I Nova WiFi supports a new generation of Intel processor, let’s quickly run over this. I’ll do a deeper dive into the architectural changes in an upcoming review of the processor itself.
Intel’s Core Ultra 200 breaks with the “i” moniker – which replaced “Core(2)” many, many years ago. There are 5 SKUs available at launch, starting off with the Ultra 9 285K, a 24 thread processor (8 Performance Cores and 16 Efficiency Cores), all the way down to the 14 thread (6 P Cores, 8 E Cores) Core Ultra 5 245KF. One thing to note is that Intel, after...

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[SaperPL]

Will read this fully tomorrow, but I like that it's another board that should allow console layout with single PCB riser, hopefully meaning Asrock is not going away from this design soon.

 

[MarcParis]

@confusis thanks for this review.
Definitively, this Asrock Z890i Nova is the best featured mini ITX motherboard currently.
I got this Motherboard with Ultra 7 265K, however combo did not even power up (tried with 2 different PSUs).

I decided to ship back everything and take something else.

 

[confusis]

@MarcParis that sucks to hear, hopefully it's a one off. Will keep an ear out - articles can always be updated and awards rescinded if it becomes a widespread issue.

 

[MarcParis]

@MarcParis that sucks to hear, hopefully it's a one off. Will keep an ear out - articles can always be updated and awards rescinded if it becomes a widespread issue.

By the way, it was a first time for me. I suppose it was an stupid issue related to front panel connection, but I was unsuccesful to solve it.

I was just able to launch flashback successfully.

Fingers crossed I was just a isolated case.

PS : maybe in your review you can add a specific point on the RL-ILM that allows a very good contact with heatsink. I was very pleased to notice thermal paste so well spread across the CPU.

 

[confusis]

By the way, it was a first time for me. I suppose it was an stupid issue related to front panel connection, but I was unsuccesful to solve it.

I was just able to launch flashback successfully.

Fingers crossed I was just a isolated case.

PS : maybe in your review you can add a specific point on the RL-ILM that allows a very good contact with heatsink. I was very pleased to notice thermal paste so well spread across the CPU.

I was going to cover that in a second article, more focused on the platform itself - but I do see that the RL-ILM is "optional" so I'll add a point to this review later today

 

[MarcParis]

I was going to cover that in a second article, more focused on the platform itself - but I do see that the RL-ILM is "optional" so I'll add a point to this review later today

this "optional" is curious. At least my version had it.

 

[confusis]

this "optional" is curious. At least my version had it.

Oh, I should have phrased that better. The use of the RL-ILM is "optional" for motherboard manufacturers. I'd wager 90% of boards will have it, except maybe the super budget ones. It's not a consumer-side choice.

 

[Rhialto]

I got this Motherboard with Ultra 7 265K, however combo did not even power up (tried with 2 different PSUs).

Dang I have this board with some parts still on the way and plan is to get a 265K. Waiting for BF.

 

[MarcParis]

Dang I have this board with some parts still on the way and plan is to get a 265K. Waiting for BF.

Don't worry too much. My case was most probably isolated case.

 

[kaukas]

Fantastic overview with all dimensions and disassembly, it will be very helpful when building a passive ventilation system.
P.S. I'm a little worried about the user's guess about compatibility with 265k because that's exactly the solution I was thinking of.

 

[hrh_ginsterbusch]

Fantastic overview with all dimensions and disassembly, it will be very helpful when building a passive ventilation system.
P.S. I'm a little worried about the user's guess about compatibility with 265k because that's exactly the solution I was thinking of.

Before installing the CPU, you may have to update the BIOS to the latest version. For this you just need to connect the board with the ATX power plug, nothing else - Asrock has (several) detailed installation guide(s) for this, too.

There is a a specific changelog for each BIOS version available on the Asrock website, and the "support" tab on the subpage for each mainboard shows you what BIOS version you need at least for specific features. Eg. in my case, 3.03 is the first to support the Plus refresh CPUs, and my board shipped with 3.04.

Edit: Link to the CPU suport list which shows from what BIOS version on specific CPUs are supported.

For Asrock mainboards, the BIOS revision number is usually placed somewhere prominently on the board itself; my unit has it placed on the side of the PCIe port, stating BIOS revision, and some other numbers, probably the serial number (just guessing here).

Other ITX boards by Asrock, e.g the PG-ITX/TB4 Z690 and Z790, both have a nice sticker placed on the side of the back IO heatsink (at the same side where the PCIe slot is located).

cu, w0lf.