NZXT drops N7 Z370 launch price

NZXT has announced it is cutting the price of its first-ever motherboard, the N7 Z370, following what it describes as 'overwhelmingly positive feedback'.

Announced earlier this month, the NZXT N7 Z370 aims to stand out from the crowd by integrating NZXT's flagship control and customisation products - the Grid+ V3 fan controller and Hue+ digital RGB lighting controller - directly onto the motherboard. While NZXT is responsible for the overall design, it's not a motherboard manufacturer and thus partnered with ECS to build the thing, and that's where the seams began to fray, at least according to comments on the original announcement from the bit-tech community.

Faced with a £329.99 (inc. VAT) launch price, the community response was largely negative. Comments ranged from 'ECS junk' to 'terrible attempt at breaking into the market, especially with its price and poor performance,' with the only faint praise being in support of the integrated cooling and lighting controllers. In apparent response to its misjudgement of the market, NZXT has announced it is cutting the launch price - though, oddly, it's claiming the price cut comes as a result of 'overwhelmingly positive feedback' on the board.

'We were surprised and humbled by the PC gaming community's reaction to our new N7 motherboard. Our focus on simplifying the assembly process for users building their own gaming PC and our unconventional, minimalist approach to design that makes the motherboard disappear into the case has really resonated with people,' claims Johnny Hou, NZXT's founder and chief executive, of the company's sudden volte-face on pricing. 'The feedback we received was, that while the thoughtful layout and beautiful all-metal cover are appealing, the price is a bit too high. We've taken steps to address that today with changes to the configuration and price.'

The price cut will see the US recommended retail price dropped from $299.99 to $249.99 (exc. taxes), which will likely translate into an as-yet unconfirmed £279.99-£289.99 UK launch price (inc. VAT). The company has also announced it is increasing the warranty period from three to four years 'to help allay the fears of the community' over NZXT's - and ECS' - ability to produce a high-end motherboard worthy of such expenditure.

The NZXT N7 Z370 is still set to launch by the end of the month, the company has confirmed.