ASRock PHANTOM GAMING X870E Nova WiFi opinions

[Zach_01]

I’m seriously thinking of buying this board for an AM5 build. I’d like some input experience and thoughts in general about this board.
It will be my first AsRock board ever.

I’m thinking to pair it with a 9700X to get my entry into AM5 and later (2-3years) getting a Zen6.

9700X will not run stock at 65W TDP. I’m into tuning it with PBO, CO and also do some DRAM tuning also.

Primary usage is entertainment, gaming, video, movies. I know that X3D is the ultimate CPU for gaming but trying to keep budget in check as 9700X is almost half priced here compared to 9800X3D.

GPU is 7900XTX and monitor a Dell oled ultra wide 3440x1440p. See system specs.

 

[Space Lynx]

I really think you should get a more budget mobo, and just get a 9800x3d now with the extra 150+ savings from the mobo. ASRock has served me well so far. its the only mobo manufacturer that has memory context restore turned on by default, its not caused me any issues at all, but @ir_cow the memory reviewer for tpu does not like this feature to my knowledge

 

[ir_cow]

It's only ever given me problems with dual-rank memory and when the memory is manually turned. It is also easy to turn off though.

I rather see manufacturers follow AMD defaults instead of turning on a function that could cause stability issues just so they look better in reviews.

 

[Space Lynx]

My memory is single rank, so I suppose that is why I have not had any issues. I do fine tune 4 of the values though, still not had any issues, but yeah... good to know. If I do, I will just turn this feature off, no fine tune, and turn on EXPO and leave it be.

It's crazy how fast the boot times are with it turned on though. So, I am leaving it default on until I start getting reboots or issues in general.

 

[Super Firm Tofu]

My memory is single rank, so I suppose that is why I have not had any issues. I do fine tune 4 of the values though, still not had any issues, but yeah... good to know. If I do, I will just turn this feature off, no fine tune, and turn on EXPO and leave it be.

It's crazy how fast the boot times are with it turned on though. So, I am leaving it default on until I start getting reboots or issues in general.

Confirming another positive experience with MCR on ASRock. Running 2x32GB on an X670E RS Pro, and stable as a table. MSI and GB sucked with MCR for me. Power button to login screen in under 30 seconds.

My MSI X670E Tomo. also with 2x32GB has a 76 second BIOS time each boot. So power button to login is ~90 seconds.

Also of the mindset that save a little on the board and just start off with the X3D.

That being said, I did want to replace the MSI with the X870E Nova, but it hasn't been in stock for months, and at this point I don't really care anymore.

 

[Space Lynx]

My MSI X670E Tomo. also with 2x32GB has a 76 second BIOS time each boot. So power button to login is ~90 seconds.

I am so glad I went with ASRock now, I haven't actually measured my boot time, but yeah I have heard the stories such as this one. That sounds terrible to me, because I am strange and prefer to turn off my PC, not just do standby or hibernate.

 

[A Computer Guy]

Confirming another positive experience with MCR on ASRock.

MCR?

 

[Space Lynx]

MCR?

memory context restore feature in AM5 motherboards, basically it locks in EXPO settings and doesn't allow EXPO to adjust anymore, allowing for quicker boot times. but most AM5 boards can't implement it properly, but for some reason ASRock figured out the magic trick to it, and they leave it on by default for all their mobo's, every other brand keeps it turned off by default

 

[ir_cow]

For me when MCR is on, I'll randomly get a failed memory overclock message or it simply is stuck on boot and requires clear CMOS to get it back. Though I haven't used ASRock in a bit, MSi, GB and ASUS does this to me for dual-rank Memory. Maybe AsRock is special??

 

[A Computer Guy]

I’m seriously thinking of buying this board for an AM5 build. I’d like some input experience and thoughts in general about this board.
It will be my first AsRock board ever.

I’m thinking to pair it with a 9700X to get my entry into AM5 and later (2-3years) getting a Zen6.

9700X will not run stock at 65W TDP. I’m into tuning it with PBO, CO and also do some DRAM tuning also.

Primary usage is entertainment, gaming, video, movies. I know that X3D is the ultimate CPU for gaming but trying to keep budget in check as 9700X is almost half priced here compared to 9800X3D.

GPU is 7900XTX and monitor a Dell oled ultra wide 3440x1440p. See system specs.

I don't intend to be negative but here are my thoughts and questions about this motherboard.

• The (x2) x16 slot at the bottom.
  • AIC's more than a 1 slot height is likely to interfere with the bottom connectors.
• PCIe Expansion
  • Not a fan of only x1 and x2 slots for expansion. x4 or x4+x4 would have been more useful. but this is my complaint pretty much across all AM5 motherboards.
• GPU EZ Release
  • How well does this work? Does it break easy?
• 5GB LAN
  • Being somewhat rare does it suffer from the same issues as other 2.5GB LAN?

Otherwise I kind of like this board.

Things I like...

• 3 temperature sensors - I wonder if fan speed can be controlled by these sensors? If so than that is a huge plus for WC setups.
• 3 ARGB + 1 RGB - That's nice to have multiple headers for that.
• 8 fan headers (2 for WP capable)
• Wide gap between antenna mounts. (I hate it when they are too close together)
• HDMI 4K 120Hz
• 2 USB4 @40Gb/s with power delivery 5v 3A (15w) charging ( but that seems a bit weak for PD )
• Onboard power and reset button and post code

Issues...

• Looking at the socket photos it looks to have the same compatibility issue my ASRock motherboard has for Thermal Grizzly AM5 Offset Mounting Kit if that's something you are considering. You won't get the full 7mm offset for the CPU mount because of the tabs on the CPU socket blocking the downward mounts from the screws. In addition the 1st NVMe heatsink might interfere with the offset mount. (this note only applies for the Thermal Grizzly kit, Noctua's offset kits should be fine for their heatsinks because they clear above the socket)

 

[Shakallia]

I’m seriously thinking of buying this board for an AM5 build. I’d like some input experience and thoughts in general about this board.
It will be my first AsRock board ever.

I’m thinking to pair it with a 9700X to get my entry into AM5 and later (2-3years) getting a Zen6.

9700X will not run stock at 65W TDP. I’m into tuning it with PBO, CO and also do some DRAM tuning also.

Primary usage is entertainment, gaming, video, movies. I know that X3D is the ultimate CPU for gaming but trying to keep budget in check as 9700X is almost half priced here compared to 9800X3D.

GPU is 7900XTX and monitor a Dell oled ultra wide 3440x1440p. See system specs.

I recommend it, that's the mb I chose and I'm very happy, feels very sturdy, runs quite cool, no lane sharing, cheap compared to other X870e mb's, good bios, nothing but positive so far for me.

 

[A Computer Guy]

memory context restore feature in AM5 motherboards, basically it locks in EXPO settings and doesn't allow EXPO to adjust anymore, allowing for quicker boot times. but most AM5 boards can't implement it properly, but for some reason ASRock figured out the magic trick to it, and they leave it on by default for all their mobo's, every other brand keeps it turned off by default

I think I have it turned on for my motherboard. No issues with it as far as I know but my RAM doesn't use EXPO anyway just the default RAM profile.

 

[Code3]

Hi, I mounted this card under the Christmas holidays and my experience after an initial rma can only be positive the only defect found after I received the working replacement was that I had to unscrew the pin to install nvme pci5 as it could not go down completely to fix it, small stuff. The gaming function gives some fps for those who have low-end gpu the "magic" MCR works great and my Domniator RAMs work very well despite not being in the list of "QVL", the sound card is crap, but this applies to all motherboards I immediately took an AE-7 and disabled the integrated crap and the small fan is heard only at boot, the only sharing as you know is if you want to use a fifth SSD which by the way also goes very slow and of type 2230 format with PCIE_3.
In circulation the x870e there are no cards that allow you to mount 4 nvme ssds without coming to terms and sharing and like me also use 2 pci at a price at the moment even lowered after all acceptable, I think it is also possible to a limitation and criticism on my part of only one port for nvme and pci 5, But I can live with it by choosing an SSD that doesn't catch fire