The AMD X570 Motherboard Overview: Over 35+ Motherboards Analyzed
by Gavin Bonshor on July 9, 2019 8:00 AM ESTASRock X570 Phantom Gaming X
Another of the most high-end options from ASRock is the X570 Phantom Gaming X. The ASRock X570 Phantom Gaming X is a red, silver, and black themed premium gaming-focused model with some notable inclusions common to the Phantom Gaming branding. The most notable inclusion is the Realtek RTL8125AG 2.5 G LAN which is aimed at arming gamers with networking options.
In between the three full-length PCIe 4.0 slots is two PCIe 4.0 x1 slots, with support for up to three-way AMD CrossFire, and two-way NVIDIA SLI multi-graphics card configurations. Memory support is also much improved for Ryzen 3000 with official support for up to DDR4-4666, with a total of four slots available for users; this model also supports up to 128 GB of system memory. ASRock's X570 Phantom Gaming X is also geared for enthusiasts with a 14-phase power delivery which uses an 8-pin, and 4-pin pairing of 12 V ATX CPU power inputs. On the rear is a steel PCB brace which adds support to the PCB, as well as extra weight. On the storage front, there are three PCIe 4.0 M.2 slots, eight SATA ports, and ASRock's U.2 kit which available separately is also supported.
On the rear panel is a single USB 3.1 G2 Type-A, one USB 3.1 G2 Type-C, and six USB 3.1 G1 Type-A ports. The onboard audio is driven by the Realtek ALC1220 HD audio codec and offers uses five 3.5 mm audio jacks, a single S/PDIF optical output, with software support for Creative's Sound Blaster Cinema 5 software The rear panel also includes a Realtek RTL8125AG 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet port with a secondary Intel Gigabit port for dual LAN. Also featured is an Intel AX200 802.11ax Wi-Fi wireless interface, a Realtek ALC1220 HD audio codec, a single HDMI 1.4 video output, a clear CMOS button and a BIOS Flashback button.
The ASRock X570 Phantom Gaming X isn't as high-end as some of the other its new models such as the X570 Aqua, or X570 Creator, but gamers will find plenty of useful features to sink their teeth into. The ASRock X570 Phantom Gaming X has an MSRP of $350 and represents its flagship gaming model; a Realtek 2.5 G NIC and an Intel AX200 Wi-Fi 6 wireless interface add extra cost, but the board does lack a lot on the USB G2 connectivity on the rear panel, which is a little disappointing given the mid-range price tag.
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The_Assimilator - Wednesday, July 10, 2019 - link
Nope, I really do need that many USB ports! In the past I've used various add-in cards and hubs to achieve this, but my experiences with these devices, and their drivers, and compatibility has been spotty at best, and they also take up space or PCIe slots - hence why I'd much prefer if it was all just integrated on the board.Just to be clear, I don't need 10 USB 3 ports - 8 USB 3 and a pair of 2.0 would be perfect. Considering almost all of these boards have a pair of USB 2.0 headers for 4 ports in total, but cases today don't offer more than a single USB 2.0 front-panel connector - plus that these boards' IO panels have plenty of extra room - I don't see why manufacturers can't drop one of those headers and just give us an extra two rear 2.0 ports as standard.
Qasar - Thursday, July 11, 2019 - link
why not pick up a usb header to slot plate adapter, im sure you have unused card openings on the back of your case under the video cardDanNeely - Wednesday, July 10, 2019 - link
More ports on the back mean fewer available headers for internal connections. x570 has 12 total USB 3.x ports; so most boards maxing out at 8 on the back and 2 headers (2 ports/header) internal seems about right. Going higher means adding either USB3 controller chips (eats PCIe lanes but gives independent ports for greater total system throughput) or on board USB3 hubs; both of which drive up costs. With making the boards PCIe4 capable already driving up costs a lot the board makers are looking to economize elsewhere.shabby - Thursday, July 11, 2019 - link
I noticed the cheap asrock boards have 8 usb3 ports in the back.plonk420 - Tuesday, July 9, 2019 - link
THANK YOU SO MUCH for the VRM information! i don't even OC but i like to keep an eye on what VRMs boards are using... hopefully will help with longevity if i'm going to thrash either Vcore or SoC (keeping components like caps cooler)thomasg - Tuesday, July 9, 2019 - link
In my opinion, all those boards are just silly.All they bring over the 2 years old X370 platform is PCIe 4.0 support, a bit more USB 3 Gen2 as well as often a second m.2 slot.
On the other hand, the southbridge fan is a ridiculous idea, especially consindering all the silly enormous heatsinks they mount to everything BUT the chipset.
And for that, they go for a premium of about 60% over X370 when it was fresh.
I paid 170 dollars for my PRIME X370-Pro day 1 (over 2 years ago), now the successor is 270 dollars.
The WS is the only board looking buyable, but then again, it also is actively cooled and doesn't even bring NBase-T.
I could forgive that, wouldn't they charge well above 300 dollars for it (while the other boards are close to MSRP in germany, the WS is already far below its MSPR).
Nope, thanks, I'm skipping X570.
Death666Angel - Wednesday, July 10, 2019 - link
"I paid 170 dollars for my PRIME X370-Pro day 1 (over 2 years ago), now the successor is 270 dollars."Take that up with ASUS. I can get the X570 Phantom 4 from AsRock with (4x2) power stages (which means easier 3950X oc vs your x370 Pro) for 170€.
And for me, I'm starting to think that having 3 whole x4 slots (2 M.2, one x16) of 4.0 speeds is a nice addition versus the one 3.0 x4 M.2 and one 3.0 x2 or 2.0 x4 slot with another 2.0 x4 slot all the 4xx and 3xx mainboards offer. If I'm spending ~500€ anyway (32GB and 8 core), I might as well just spend another 170 on the mainboard vs 100 on a B450 (I need mATX, so only the MSI Mortar and AsRock Pro4 suite my needs).
And if you need Thunderbolt or over GbE speeds, these boards are the only way to go, frankly, since the 2.0 chipset lanes of the older chipsets are just terrible for this.
This doesn't satisfy your niche? Great, move along. That's the incredible thing about AMD supporting AM4 for this long. But no need to shit over a product that is pretty great overall, just because you don't need it's features.
thomasg - Thursday, July 11, 2019 - link
Indeed, it doesn't satisfy my niche, I'm just complaining about the new downsides of the new X570 platform, and specifically the available implementations.I'm not telling anyone not to get one, anyone who wants to take advantage of the extras is of course free to adopt the new boards.
I think I should be able to freely "shit over a product" as I wish without you having to take personal offense.
fearby - Tuesday, July 9, 2019 - link
Being in a hot climate I'd love to know what one has the best chipset cooling.gavbon - Wednesday, July 10, 2019 - link
We are doing X570 chipset thermal analysis in our motherboard testing ;)