The AMD X570 Motherboard Overview: Over 35+ Motherboards Analyzed
by Gavin Bonshor on July 9, 2019 8:00 AM ESTASRock X570 Phantom Gaming 4
The ASRock X570 Phantom Gaming 4 is the more value orientated model of the three Phantom Gaming branded X570 models at launch. Retaining a lot of similar features from the other models, the X570 Phantom Gaming 4 focuses more on offering value for money with a mix of good quality components, simple yet effective aesthetics, and represents its mid-range gaming inspired option. The overall design consists of a black and grey themed PCB, with a black and grey actively cooled chipset heatsink, and a grey power delivery heatsink which is designed to keep the CPU VCore area cool.
On the bottom half of the board is two full-length PCIe 4.0 slots which operate at x16, and x16/x4. This is due to the Ryzen 3000 series processors driving the top lane at x16, while the bottom full-length PCIe slot is driven by the X570 chipset. There are also two PCIe 4.0 x1 slots, as well as two M.2 slots with the top slot supporting PCIe 4.0 x4, and the bottom M.2 slot allowing for both PCIe 4.0 and SATA SSDs. Also featured are eight SATA ports which support RAID 0, 1, and 10 arrays. ASRock's U.2 adapter kit which is available separately is also supported on the X570 Phantom Gaming 4. The ASRock X570 Phantom Gaming 4 also uses a 10-phase power delivery with a single 8-pin 12 V ATX CPU power input, and also includes support for DDR4-4066 memory with four slots available and allowing for a maximum of 64 GB.
The rear panel includes a mid-range offering of connections including two USB 3.1 G2 Type-A, six USB 3.1 G1 Type-A ports, as well as a pair of video outputs consisting of a DisplayPort 1.2, and an HDMI output. There is no USB Type-C featured on this model, but there are an Intel I211-AT Gigabit Ethernet port and three 3.5 mm color coded audio jacks powered by a Realtek ALC1200 HD audio codec. Finishing off the rear panel is a PS/2 combo port, and three antenna ports on the IO shield itself due to the inclusion of an M.2 Key E 2230 slot for users to install their own wireless interface.
Overall the ASRock X570 Phantom Gaming 4 represents a more modest option with a Gigabit Ethernet port, a slightly cut down Realtek ALC1200 HD codec (compared to the ALC1220), and two full-length PCIe 4.0 slots. This model caters to the entry-level gamer with a price that is currently set at $155.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
225 Comments
View All Comments
abufrejoval - Tuesday, July 9, 2019 - link
It's amazing how quickly you run out of PCIe lanes, when you don't have switches to multiplex and translate between PCIe revisions and lanes (e.g. PCIe v4 x2 <-> PCIe v2 x8).I find myself using USB 3.x NBase-T NICs and NVMe adapters, simply because they *do* switch.
Bensam123 - Tuesday, July 9, 2019 - link
Maybe a bit more depth on the power delivery page. I have absolutely no idea how to go about parsing what's there. More chokes is better? What denotes a power phase?A5 - Tuesday, July 9, 2019 - link
+1. Some analysis of that information would be helpful.MrSpadge - Tuesday, July 9, 2019 - link
+1bunkle - Wednesday, July 10, 2019 - link
The controller column includes the total number of phases supported split between CPU cores and SoC e.g. (6+1) = 6 CPU phase and 1 SoC phase. More is *usually* better but has diminishing returns regarding tighter and tighter voltage regulation. Some controllers are better than others (can operate at high frequency e.g. 500KHz v 1000KHz, include other features to improve performance) mitigating the need for more phases.Each phase is a buck converter comprised of a low/high side MOSFET (can be integrated in a single package) and choke. Some controllers can support doubling up the PWM signal to driver more MOSFETs. Doublers can also be added as discrete components if not built into the controller.
Current rating of the MOSFET (e.g. Sic639=40A IR3555=60A) indicates the total power deliverable. MOSFETs are not 100% efficient and vary in efficiency. The more current they provide the hotter they get and the less efficient they become, with better MOSFETs producing less heat for a given current. Thus using doubles can improve temperatures and efficiency without the benefits of the tighter voltage tolerance that *real* phases provide.
Hope that’s helpful!
bunkle - Wednesday, July 10, 2019 - link
A lot more detailed explanation: https://en.wikichip.org/wiki/voltage_regulator_mod...bug77 - Tuesday, July 9, 2019 - link
The description for AsRock X570(M) Pro4 says "5 jack + 1 SPDIF". Unfortunately, those boards lack SPDIF and only come with 3 jacks ;)Smell This - Tuesday, July 9, 2019 - link
I'm thinking the *ASRock Thunderbolt AIC* ...https://thunderbolttechnology.net/product/asrock-t...
would cover all your TBT peripheral needs, including optical.
DanNeely - Tuesday, July 9, 2019 - link
Do X570 boards still need an extra chip per USB port to support USB-C reversibility?The additional expense and needed PCB space were cited as among the reasons why earlier generation boards (IIRC both Intel and AMD) almost never had more than 1 C port; but it was never clear to me if that was an inherent implementation penalty for the C port or an artifact of Intel's tech stack being stalled out and AMD outsourcing to ASMedia which built the chipsets on an ancient (55nm) platform.
DigitalFreak - Tuesday, July 9, 2019 - link
Gavin - X370 and X470 only supported PCIe 2.0. The connection between the CPU and chipset was 3.0, but all the ports on the chipset were 2.0.