Closer Look
ASRock Z490 Phantom Gaming-ITX/TB3 motherboard arrived in a retail package which well described as all ASRock motherboards. The box design reminds us Phantom Gaming series, but at the same time, it’s totally different. The cube-shape box looks interesting, but it’s clear that this shape is optimal for a small motherboard and additional accessories.
Inside the box, we will find a well-protected motherboard, user’s manual, drivers and software DVD, SATA data cables, and M.2 screws. Inside is also a gamer’s pack with stickers, cable ties, and some more. Pretty much all we need for installation.
As in all new higher series motherboards, the I/O shield is pre-installed. It makes installation easier and has no disadvantages.
The motherboard looks quite unusual due to an additional card that is equipped with an M.2 socket, two SATA ports, and other connectors. In this way, it is easier to keep M.2 and chipset cool, and it saves space. M.2 sockets are supporting 2262 and 2280 standards and are compatible with SATA and PCIe 3.0 SSD. There is no PCIe 4.0 bridge like in larger ATX motherboards, but so far, there are no PCIe 4.0 drives or graphics cards worth investing in this standard.
The motherboard is equipped with two fans. One is under the I/O cover while another one is on the VRM heatsink. Both fans have automatic speed adjustment, which is starting from 0RPM. Fans are not spinning when PC is under low load, and even at higher speed, they’re quiet. Some users may say that fans are not required, and in fact, the motherboard would run fine without them. However, to provide optimal airflow while water cooling is in use, it’s recommended to help heatsinks with additional fans.
The motherboard has a 9-power phase design. It’s enough for the latest Intel processors like the i9-10900K. The power section isn’t overheating even with all ten cores under high load. Everything was fully stable during all our tests.
I’m glad to see a nice network combo, which includes WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.1, and 2.5Gbit LAN from Realtek. 10Gbit LAN would be better, but we can find it mostly in the most expensive or workstation series motherboards. Realtek Dragon NIC provides a fast and stable connection, so we can’t complain at that. In games, low latency is more important than high bandwidth. Realtek LAN also doesn’t have stability problems related to Intel i225-v NIC, which is still in use by some competitive brands.
The Z490 PG-ITX/TB3 supports up to 64GB RAM in two 32GB memory modules. It’s more than enough for most users, especially that on the market, we can already find fast memory kits at such high capacity. Most users won’t pass 16GB as it’s enough for gaming, and we can overclock memory higher, or we can simply buy something faster, which is on the motherboard’s QVL. The current QVL includes memory kits up to DDR4-4800, and in fact, on our processor, we were able to reach DDR4-4800 using Micron E based memory kit.
The motherboard presents fantastic and should be a perfect base for a small gaming PC. The same as all Phantom Gaming products, also here were can find mostly black, red, and silver colors. Those users who want can also connect RGB and ARGB illumination. The Z490 PG-ITX/TB3 has some LEDs installed on the back of the PCB, but for those who love any kind of lighting, it won’t be enough. ASRock software supports all popular devices and is compatible with various memory kits, lighting bars, fans, headsets, mice, and keyboards.
One more great feature is ASRock’s BIOS/UEFI, which I will describe on the next page of this review.
