ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 9 Motherboard Review

Verdict and Conclusion

What can I say about the ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 9 motherboard? Firstly, if you’re after features then this motherboard has plenty. Take for example, the SuperAlloy feature from ASRock, 3 x Ultra M.2 slots for SSDs (with 1 full coverage M.2 heatsink), USB 3.1 Gen1 and Gen2 (both Type-A and Type-C), Creative Cinema 5 sound via Realtek’s 7.1 HD audio, dual Intel gigabit LAN, dial AC wifi, and of course the Polychrome RGB and well as the 2.5 GB/s LAN by Realtek. It also supports all Intel 8th and 9th gen processors (including the new stepping), memory speeds of u[p to DDR4-4200+ (OC), Intel Optane Memory, Nvidia Quad SLI and AMD’s 3-Way CrossfireX multi-GPU configuration. Is that enough for you?

As far as performance is concerned, it produced good scores in all of our benchmarks including a high score of 5,983 in PCMark10 and 6,496 in Time Spy. With further tweaking of the CPU and memory settings, you could get higher scores.

For overclocking, we managed to overclock our Core i7-8700K to a respectable 5.0GHz. A modest overclock, but with the right cooling it should go higher. Remember, this motherboard is mainly designed with gamers in mind (not for extreme overclocking) … hence the name “Phantom Gaming” in its SKU.

As I mentioned earlier, the motherboard’s unique selling feature is the included Realtek 2.5 GB/s LAN connectivity. This, along with an extra 2 x Intel gigabit ethernet, makes it an ideal motherboard for content creator and online gamers to stream their high-quality content. Not all home routers will support these fast connections, but recently launched gaming routers will … such as the ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 or the Netgear Nighthawk AX8 and AX12, all of which comes at a premium price. Having said that, we’re still predicting an increase of motherboards, that will offer 2.5GB/s, 5GB/s and 10GB/s LAN connectivity in the coming months.

One thing I do like about this motherboard is the onboard power-on and reset buttons, along with the diagnostic LEDs as well as the 4-pin RGB headers. They’re not hugely important features, but essential for custom mods and PC project builds, such as the one which we will be building … Project Battle Angel Alita.

You can buy the ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 9 Motherboard from various online retailers including Amazon for around USD $220 – https://amzn.to/2I0UPyi. You won’t a better value, feature-packed motherboard this price. Seriously.

Pros:

• Supports all 8th and 9th Gen Intel processors (inc new stepping)
• Intel Z390 chipset
• Good overall performance
• Good overclocking options for both CPU and memory
• 3 x PCIE x16 slots for Nvidia SLI or AMD CrossfireX
• 1 x Realtek Gaming 2.5GB/s LAN plus 2 x Intel Gigabit LAN
• 3 x Ultre M.2 slots for SSD with 1 full coverage heatsink

Cons:

• None I can think of 

Final Words:

All-in-all, the ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 9 is a fantastic motherboard that come absolutely packed with great features, at a price you won’t believe. If you want a high-end gaming motherboard based on the Z390 chipset, then take a serious look at the ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 9. We did … and we fully recommend it!