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 |
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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.
| Hardware Providers for CPU and Motherboard Reviews | |||
| Sapphire RX 460 Nitro | MSI GTX 1080 Gaming X OC | Crucial MX200 + MX500 SSDs |
Corsair AX860i + AX1200i PSUs |
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| G.Skill RipjawsV, SniperX, FlareX |
Crucial Ballistix DDR4 |
Silverstone Coolers |
Silverstone Fans |
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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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drexnx - Wednesday, October 9, 2019 - link
even before I knew it was a blink 182 reference, I still read it as "all the...small things"Tuxie - Wednesday, October 9, 2019 - link
I'm still waiting for a Mini-ITX board with AM4, 2x M.2 and 10GbE. No need for WiFi, SATA, TB or onboard DP/HDMI.jeremyshaw - Wednesday, October 9, 2019 - link
The last part is what kills this board for me. It wastes space on DP and HDMI (technically, just HDMI, since the DP is an input for the TB3), when it already has a TB3/USB-C connection to handle video output. If someone insists on using a $220 board for a 3400G (and I am being extremely generous here), let them fall on their own sword. Let them spend the extra $20-30 on a DP-->HDMI adapter. Don't waste precious space on this board with a HDMI connector.Even worse, the Intel version of this board has all of the same outputs, PLUS two more USB ports and another M.2 slot. So no matter how I slice it, this board is down on features vs existing ASRock boards. From what I understand, ASRock didn't link the M.2 slot to the extra 4 PCIe lanes from the CPU, either, so it's sharing bandwidth from the chipset (with LAN & TB3), just like the Intel board. What a waste.
umano - Friday, October 11, 2019 - link
I totally agree, let's hope in the futureFiveOhFour - Saturday, January 11, 2020 - link
i agree but the hdmi part isn't fair it makes sense given how common this form factor is for use as a home theatre pcFiveOhFour - Saturday, January 11, 2020 - link
thats a major dissapointment though for sure, so whats the best option for x570 boards with thunderbolt, aside from the $1,000 white one. I don't need a certain form factor, though it would've been nice, just the best/most features and quality and priceValantar - Wednesday, October 9, 2019 - link
They're not going to make a premium ITX board without WiFi - too risky in terms of lost sales. A lot of SFF PC users move their PCs around, and not all places have Ethernet available. Also, ditching SATA seems early - people have legacy devices still (though cutting it down to 2 SATA probably wouldn't be a deal breaker for many). Likely all of this could be fit on board if they went with some sort of stacked m.2 layout like the Gigabyte or the Strix.Beyond that, I agree on faster networking though. Even one of those Realtek 2.5GB controllers would be a huge (well, 2.5x) improvement. Fitting a 10GbE controller might be too tight of a fit, sadly. But maybe on a daughterboard/some sort of vertical m.2 board like WiFi controllers?
DanNeely - Wednesday, October 9, 2019 - link
I doubt we'll see many 2 sata boards anytime soon; but the total is dropping and starting to shift downward. Looking at newegg listings, and limiting AMD to x70 boards since the remainder of the 5xx series isn't out yet:x370 3x 4 ports, 29x 6 ports, 76x 8 ports, 2x 10 ports.
x470 21x 4 ports, 147x 6 ports, 19x 8 ports
x570 36x 4 ports, 181x 6 ports, 83x 8 ports.
10 ports has disappeared as an option. 4 ports has grown from 3 to 11% of the total, and despite bouncing back a bit this year 8 port models are a minority of designs now vs the default in x370 boards.
On the intel side, and sticking to Z series boards to stay with the same general market segment as AMD:
Z170: 3x 2 port boards, 20x 4 port, 68x 6 ports, 8x 8 ports.
Z270: 9x 4 port, 74x 6 port, 19x 8 ports.
Z370: 43x 4 port, 129x 6 port, 1x 8 port
Z390: 66x 4 port, 476x 6 port, 18x 8 port.
Similar trends overall; 8 port is much less common on Intel boards because their consumer chipsets only have 6 sata ports available; 8+ requires a 3rd party controller and has been much less common for years as a result.
With both brands I suspect the transition will be slow because consumer boards suffer from feature checkboxitis and the connectors are cheap. Reducing support on the chipset would push things faster but sata controllers are relatively small/cheap compared to top of the line USB/PCIe ones and both companies are doing variations of the flexible IO port thing so it doesn't cost them much either. It'll happen eventually, but I don't expect to see much movement until the price/GB gap narrows at lot between SSD and HDDs because of people wanting to make DIY NAS/Storage servers.
Heavenly71 - Wednesday, October 9, 2019 - link
Sadly this board severly lacks USB ports. And it also doesn't have an internal header for front panel USB-C.imaheadcase - Wednesday, October 9, 2019 - link
That isn't really a issue considering all the options you can add usb to a system now-a-days.