Motherboards

Start with your CPU: the board's socket and chipset must match it. Intel Core Ultra (Series 2) uses LGA 1851 with chipsets like Z890; AMD Ryzen 9000, 8000 and 7000 use AM5 with chipsets like X870E and B850. Then check form factor, memory type, M.2 slots, networking and rear USB for your build.

Current NZXT motherboards use DDR5 memory. The N9 X870E, for example, has four DDR5 slots in dual-channel and supports both Intel XMP and AMD EXPO memory profiles, so you can enable rated memory speeds with one setting in the BIOS.

Both are AMD AM5 chipsets for Ryzen 7000, 8000 and 9000 processors. On NZXT boards, the N9 X870E adds two USB4 ports, four M.2 slots, Wi-Fi 7 and 5G LAN. The N7 B850 keeps PCIe 5.0 graphics and a PCIe 5.0 M.2 slot, with three M.2 slots, Wi-Fi 6E and 2.5G LAN.

Yes. The N9 X870E has tri-band Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4 and 5 GbE wired networking built in, so you don't need a separate network card.

Yes. NZXT boards include 4-pin PWM fan and AIO pump headers, NZXT RGB and 5V ARGB headers, and NZXT 8-pin RGB + PWM headers for NZXT fans. NZXT RGB devices are detected automatically in NZXT CAM, and 5V ARGB devices can be set up in CAM's Lighting tab.