AMD + ITX + TB3? It's the ASRock X570 Phantom Gaming-ITX/TB3 Motherboard Review
by Gavin Bonshor on October 9, 2019 12:00 PM ESTBoard Features
The X570 Phantom Gaming-ITX/TB3 is the only current small form factor motherboard in ASRock's X570 product stack and commands a price tag of $240. It has a couple of interesting inclusions including an HDMI 2.0 which allows users of AMD's Ryzen APUs the ability to output the integrated graphics. A single DisplayPort 1.2 input allows users to re-route the video signal from a graphics card and output it through the Thunderbolt 3 USB 3.1 G2 Type-C port; one of the main benefits to Thunderbolt 3 is it has a blisteringly fast 40 Gbps throughput which is capable of driving multiple 4K displays at once. Also on the rear panel are two USB 3.1 G2 Type-A and two USB 3.1 G1 Type-A ports. A common limitation of using a small form factor such as mini-ITX is that there is little room for PCIe and X570 Phantom Gaming-ITX/TB3 has just one full-length PCIe 4.0 x16 slot.
ASRock X570 Phantom Gaming-ITX/TB3 ITX Motherboard | |||
Warranty Period | 3 Years | ||
Product Page | Link | ||
Price | $240 | ||
Size | mITX | ||
CPU Interface | AM4 | ||
Chipset | AMD X570 | ||
Memory Slots (DDR4) | Two DDR4 Supporting 64 GB Dual Channel Up to DDR4-4533 |
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Video Outputs | N/A | ||
Network Connectivity | Intel I211-AT GbE Intel AX200 Wi-Fi 6 802.11ax |
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Onboard Audio | Realtek ALC1220 | ||
PCIe Slots for Graphics (from CPU) | 1 x PCIe 4.0 x16 | ||
PCIe Slots for Other (from PCH) | N/A | ||
Onboard SATA | Four, RAID 0/1/10 | ||
Onboard M.2 | 1 x PCIe 4.0 x4/SATA (CPU) | ||
USB 3.1 (10 Gbps) | 2 x Type-A Rear Panel 1 x Type-C Rear Panel (Thunderbolt 3) |
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USB 3.0 (5 Gbps) | 2 x Type-A Rear Panel 1 x Type-A Header (2 x ports) |
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USB 2.0 | 1 x Type-A Header (2 x ports) | ||
Power Connectors | 1 x 24-pin ATX 1 x 8pin CPU |
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Fan Headers | 1 x CPU (4-pin) 1 x Water Pump (4-pin) 1 x System (4-pin) |
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IO Panel | 2 x USB 3.1 G2 Type-A 1 x USB 3.1 G2 Type-C Thunderbolt 3 2 x USB 3.1 G1 Type-A 1 x Network RJ45 (Intel) 5 x 3.5mm Audio Jacks (Realtek) 1 x S/PDIF Output (Realtek)) 2 x Intel AX200 Antenna Ports 1 x HDMI 2.0 Output 1 x DisplayPort 1.4 Input 1 x PS/2 Combo Port 1 x Clear CMOS Button |
For storage, the ASRock X570 Phantom Gaming-ITX/TB3 has just one PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 slot which is mounted onto the rear of the board. The other physical slot located on the front of the PCB is a M.2 Key-E slot which is already populated with an Intel AX200 Wi-Fi 6 802.11ax wireless interface which offers uses BT 5.0 connectivity. This board also features an Intel I211-AT Gigabit NIC which powers the single Ethernet port on the rear panel. Also featured are four SATA ports which support RAID 0, 1, and 10 arrays. Another limitation of mini-ITX is present with just two memory slots which support up to DDR4-4533 and offer a maximum capacity of up to 64 GB. A Realtek ALC1220 HD audio codec powers the five 3.5 mm audio jacks and S/PDIF optical output on the rear panel, as well as the front panel audio header.
Test Bed
As per our testing policy, we take a high-end CPU suitable for the motherboard that was released during the socket’s initial launch and equip the system with a suitable amount of memory running at the processor maximum supported frequency. This is also typically run at JEDEC subtimings where possible. It is noted that some users are not keen on this policy, stating that sometimes the maximum supported frequency is quite low, or faster memory is available at a similar price, or that the JEDEC speeds can be prohibitive for performance. While these comments make sense, ultimately very few users apply memory profiles (either XMP or other) as they require interaction with the BIOS, and most users will fall back on JEDEC supported speeds - this includes home users as well as industry who might want to shave off a cent or two from the cost or stay within the margins set by the manufacturer. Where possible, we will extend out testing to include faster memory modules either at the same time as the review or a later date.
Test Setup | |||
Processor | AMD Ryzen 3700X, 65W, $329 8 Cores, 16 Threads, 3.6 GHz (4.4 GHz Turbo) |
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Motherboard | ASRock X570 Phantom Gaming-ITX/TB3 (BIOS 1.70) | ||
Cooling | ID Cooling Auraflow 240mm AIO | ||
Power Supply | Thermaltake Toughpower Grand 1200W Gold PSU | ||
Memory | 2x8GB G.Skill TridentZ DDR4-3200 16-16-16-36 2T | ||
Video Card | ASUS GTX 980 STRIX (1178/1279 Boost) | ||
Hard Drive | Crucial MX300 1TB | ||
Case | Open Benchtable BC1.1 (Silver) | ||
Operating System | Windows 10 1903 inc. Spectre/Meltdown Patches |
Readers of our motherboard review section will have noted the trend in modern motherboards to implement a form of MultiCore Enhancement / Acceleration / Turbo (read our report here) on their motherboards. This does several things, including better benchmark results at stock settings (not entirely needed if overclocking is an end-user goal) at the expense of heat and temperature. It also gives, in essence, an automatic overclock which may be against what the user wants. Our testing methodology is ‘out-of-the-box’, with the latest public BIOS installed and XMP enabled, and thus subject to the whims of this feature. It is ultimately up to the motherboard manufacturer to take this risk – and manufacturers taking risks in the setup is something they do on every product (think C-state settings, USB priority, DPC Latency / monitoring priority, overriding memory sub-timings at JEDEC). Processor speed change is part of that risk, and ultimately if no overclocking is planned, some motherboards will affect how fast that shiny new processor goes and can be an important factor in the system build.
New Test Suite: Spectre and Meltdown Hardened
Since the start of our Z390 reviews, we are using an updated OS, updated drivers, and updated software. This is in line with our CPU testing updates, which includes Spectre and Meltdown patches. We are also running the testbed with the new Windows 10 1903 update for AMD's Ryzen 3000 series CPUs, and X570 motherboard reviews. The Windows 1903 update improves multi-core and multi-thread performance on AMD's Ryzen processors with topology awareness meaning previous issues in regards to latency have been known to affect performance. As users are recommended to keep their Windows 10 operating system updates, our performance data is reflected with the 1903 update.
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DanaGoyette - Thursday, October 10, 2019 - link
I'll bet nobody buys micro ATX partly because all the micro ATX boards are crippled in things such as audio codec (enjoy your ALC887), Ethernet (yay Realtek), or in Asrock's case, poor VRM efficiency.Nobody buys because there are no good boards, no good boards because nobody buys.
TheinsanegamerN - Thursday, October 10, 2019 - link
I remembre when there were tons of micro ATX chioces, the gigabyte snimer M.3, the asus boards, ece.Even intel only has two good micro ATX boards, both from asus. Nothing from gigabyte, nothing good from MSI or ASrock. At least the TUF micro has a good audio chip (Realtek ALC S1200A) and intel NIC.
Jasmij - Wednesday, October 9, 2019 - link
Throughout the review I see much talk about Thunderbolt but benchmarks are missing.This board failed certification by Intel.
https://thunderbolttechnology.net/products?tid=15&...
Can we get some Thunderbolt compatablity and speed tests?
DCide - Wednesday, October 9, 2019 - link
I would like to see tests too, but I don’t see how this motherboard “failed certification” simply by being absent from a list where the newest motherboard I could find was the 2018 Z390 Designare.jeremyshaw - Wednesday, October 9, 2019 - link
Also, didn't Intel already open standard Thunderbolt? They may not be in charge of certification anymore.DCide - Wednesday, October 9, 2019 - link
Yes, they did - right about the time the list appears to have stopped growing!jab701 - Thursday, October 10, 2019 - link
FYI, they are still in charge of certification.If you want to use the thunderbolt logo on your device you *have* to pass certification.
I read that even though USB 4 (or is it USB4) will integrate thunderbolt, if you wish to use the thunderbolt logo it will *still* have to pass intels certification process. This sounds a bit dodgey but if you think about it, I would rather be sure my graphics card enclosure is going to work properly.
Given The number of USB device out there which *apparently* conform to the USB standard but do not interoperate properly, I would say that USB certification might not be stringent enough.
(I say this as an Electronic Engineer who has found numerous issues getting kit to work together properly in systems I design and use as part of my job).
Cooe - Thursday, December 19, 2019 - link
This is so freaking false I don't even know where to begin. To legally put the official Thunderbolt logo & branding on ANY for sale product, it MUST pass Intel's certification process. This is a certified board, regardless of what you've read. In fact, it's the major price tag that comes with this certification process for all non-Intel hardware that has kept Thunderbolt off AMD (in an officially supported capacity) until this point (Intel waives the certification fee on products w/ Intel CPU's).This is made explicitly clear with the fact that unofficially Thunderbolt 3 works just fine (w/ the Titan Ridge PCIe card) on most all other AM4 as well as X399 boards (with the small exception of device hot swap support not working), but w/o said pricey certification this isn't an "officially" supported setup.
andychow - Wednesday, October 9, 2019 - link
"a DisplayPort 1.4 input for users looking to drive multiple displays with resolutions of up to 4K from a discrete graphics card". How???The DP goes from your discrete graphic card into the motherboard. Then what?
jeremyshaw - Wednesday, October 9, 2019 - link
It is for TB3.