The Intel Z490 Overview: 44+ Motherboards Examined
by Gavin Bonshor on April 30, 2020 10:00 AM ESTASRock Z490 Phantom Gaming 4, ac, ax & 2.5G
The ASRock Z490 Phantom Gaming 4 is part of a series of four models which caters towards the entry-level market segment, with each board based upon the same design with silver heatsinks and a silver and black printed PCB. Each model from the Phantom Gaming 4 series on Z490 offers different networking capability. Everything else remains the same across all four PG4 models with two PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 slots, six SATA ports, two full-length PCIe 3.0 slots and a Realtek ALC892 HD audio codec.
ASRock Z490 Phantom Gaming 4/AC Motherboard
The different options available include one base model with Gigabit Ethernet, with another with Gigabit Ethernet plus Wi-Fi 5 support, another with Gigabit and a Wi-Fi 6 wireless interface, and a model with 2.5 G Ethernet. Everything else hardware-wise remains the same with two full-length PCIe 3.0 slots which operate at x16/+4, with three PCIe 3.0 slots. There are two PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 slots, with six SATA ports; four right-angled and two straight angled. For memory, there are four slots with support for up to DDR4-4400 with a maximum capacity of up to 128 GB. ASRock is advertising the Z490 Phantom Gaming 4 and all its variants to include a 10-phase power delivery, which has an 8-pin and 4-pin pair of 12 V ATX CPU power inputs.
ASRock Z490 Phantom Gaming 4/AX Rear Panel
Starting off with networking, the base ASRock Phantom Gaming 4 model includes an Intel I219-V Gigabit Ethernet port, while the Z490 Phantom Gaming 4/ac (Wi-Fi 5) and ax (Wi-Fi 6) variants include a wireless interface. The ASRock Z490 Phantom Gaming 4/2.5G includes a Realtek RTL8125BG 2.5 G Ethernet controller but doesn't include wireless connectivity. Across all four Z490 Phantom Gaming 4 models are one USB 3.2 G2 Type-C, one USB 3.2 G2 Type-A, two USB 3.2 G1 Type-A, and two USB 2.0 ports. There is a single HDMI video output, a PS/2 combo port, and three 3.5 mm audio jacks powered by a Realtek ALC892 HD audio codec.
The ASRock Z490 Phantom Gaming series offers good value for money on paper, especially for users building an affordable gaming system featuring a single NVIDIA graphics card, or two supported AMD Radeon cards in single or two-way Crossfire. It has a budget controller set, but ASRock offers variety, all at a similar price point.
The base ASRock Z490 Phantom Gaming 4 model has an MSRP of $150, while the Z490 Phantom Gaming 4/ac, while the ASRock Z490 Phantom Gaming 4/2.5G has a price tag of $160, just $10 more for 2.5 G Ethernet. We currently don't have pricing for the Z490 Phantom Gaming 4/ac and ax models at this time.
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plonk420 - Sunday, May 3, 2020 - link
noice! thanks for the VRM information! amusingly (to myself), i look at VRM stuff before i look at I/O :Dkwinz - Monday, May 4, 2020 - link
I genuinely don't know why this new chipset exists. It bringa virtually nothing new. DMI 3.0 in a new chipset is a disgrace.Oxford Guy - Thursday, May 7, 2020 - link
"I genuinely don't know why this new chipset exists."Smoke and mirrors is fun?
Landfills are hungry?
mrvco - Monday, May 4, 2020 - link
Gotta keep those mobo mfgs busy I guess. Hopefully Intel’s Groundhog Day antics don’t distract them too much from the B550 boards I’m waiting patiently on.MadAd - Monday, May 4, 2020 - link
Not again, yet another tired selection of ATX clunkers, with a few mandatory ITX thrown in .When on earth are we/the industry going to move on from this prehistoric outdated form format!AdditionalPylons - Tuesday, May 5, 2020 - link
Very glad to see 2.5GbE finally becoming more common. Hopefully this convinces network switch manufacturers to get out some cheaper 2.5+ GbE switches soon.DarkAndHungryGod - Thursday, May 7, 2020 - link
The Intel Smart Sound support is duplicated in the first table, Intel Chipset Comparison, and there is one difference between both entries.duploxxx - Friday, May 8, 2020 - link
conclusion: an amazing high count of motherboards for a wasted CPU generation….who ever believes that this is a platform to buy think twice. Knowing Intel I would not fall into the Multi generationCPU / chipset support..... i am sure the super turbo will look nice from benchmark perspective….
nonoverclock - Thursday, May 21, 2020 - link
I'm upgrading from an i7 4770 and want to get the latest, so for me, I'm quite interested in this gen.joshw351 - Wednesday, May 13, 2020 - link
I like how these mobo manufacturers think they can charge 1k for a motherboard when you can throw a 150-200$ waterblock from EK on a regular mobo.