Introduction

The 9th generation of Core processors from Intel has arrived, though finding chips in stock is still a little tricky. By now, the performance of the new platform is well documented. The i9-9900K has thoroughly taken the trophy for fastest gaming CPU, but not for being the most cost effective. Given Intel's focus on the gaming market for this release, it is only fitting that motherboard manufacturers follow suite. ASRock in particular has introduced the new "Phantom Gaming" line of boards featuring 2.5 Gigabit LAN capabilities.

Before I get into what makes the Phantom Gaming special, I will briefly outline the improvements to the Z390 chipset as a whole. First, USB 3.1 Gen2 is now natively supported, where on the Z370 chipset, motherboard manufacturers would need to use third-party storage controllers. The second major change is CNVi support, which is Intel's high speed wireless solution. The 2x2 802.11ac connection boasts up to 1.73 Gb/s throughput. The Z390 chipset is compatible with 8th Gen Core processors as well.

The ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 9 I have here today is the flagship of this new lineup. The board boasts a full-coverage M.2 heatsink, dual Gigabit LAN, and ASRock Hyper BCLK Engine II. Not only are there three M.2 slots, but eight SATA 6 Gb/s ports, of which two ports are powered by an additional ASMedia controller. The feature ASRock is most excited to present, and rightfully so, is the new Phantom Gaming 2.5 Gb/s LAN. The new hardware ups throughput potential by a theoretical factor of 2.5 over Intel Gigabit offerings, and the software utility will let gamers prioritize gaming traffic for better latency as well. The ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 9 is a bold take on ASRock's tried and true motherboard formula.

Specifications

Packaging and Contents

The front of the ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 9 box is dominated by a highly stylized "PG" and "PHANTOM GAMING" in the center. ASRock and a host of brand badges feature along the top, and "Z390 PHANTOM GAMING 9" is on the bottom right. There is a Velcro flap, which, once opened, has a window to the board, as well as a description of a few standout features.


The back of the box hits all the standard points: a top-down shot of the board, a number of panels detailing prominent features, a diagram outlining the rear I/O, and the specifications list. ASRock is pushing the 2.5 Gb/s LAN feature hard for this new lineup, and it is featured most prominently top and center. The overall box design is very well done, a bit above standard.


The inner packaging consists of two boxes; one a tray with the ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 9 zip-tied into protective foam, the other a box for the manual and accessories. No anti-static bag is included, and this is my personally preferred packaging style. The focus is on presentation, but no compromises are made in protection.


Stepping back to the accessories, the ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 9 has a typical assortment on offer. Notable additions are an SLI hard bridge and a rear I/O cover that is finished in a matching Phantom Gaming theme.

The full list of accessories includes:

• Manual and support DVD
• Post card and software setup guide
• 4x SATA 6 Gb/s sleeved cables
• 1x WiFi antenna
• 1x SLI HB bridge L
• 1x Rear I/O cover
• 3x M.2 mounting screws

Board Layout

If you are familiar with ASRock's Taichi line of boards, you may recognize many of the same elements here. The ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 9 makes use of the same VRM heatsink, M.2 heatsink, and rear I/O shroud as the Z390 Taichi line. Where the Phantom Gaming 9 differs is the PCB printing, which has streaks of gray and red on a black background. The chipset is a black and silver block with a red and black streak and stylized "PG" instead of the Taichi's cog and gear theme.

The back of the ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 9 is a similar black, but not empty. ASRock has placed a few key controllers on the back of this board, most notably for the 2.5 Gb/s LAN. Although very attractive overall, the board is less neutral than the Taichi because of its red accents.


The CPU socket is open enough to accommodate most coolers, and the VRM heatsink looks quite capable.


There are three M.2 slots on the ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 9; the first two are above and below the first PCIe x16 slot, while the last sits just below the chipset, between the second and third PCIe x16 slots. This third slot has a nice full-coverage heatsink and represents one of the biggest changes to this board over its predecessors. Previous Taichi boards include similar heatsinks, but always in the topmost M.2 slot. By moving the heatsink to the bottom slot and offsetting that slot to the right, the installed M.2 drive should get better airflow in most situations because it has been moved away from the GPU. This is the same new configuration that I praised on the recent ASRock Z390 Taichi, and I'm glad it wasn't an exception.


The ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 9 offers three PCI Express 3.0 x16 slots, all encased in steel armor, as well as two PCI Express 3.0 x1 slots. The board has a total of eight SATA 6 Gb/s ports, and all are angled 90 degrees from the board. Six of these ports are powered by the Z390 chipset, while the last two are supported by an ASMedia ASM1061 controller.


The ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 9 has a good rear I/O offering made up of three LAN ports, a "Clear CMOS" button, and Optical S/PDIF Out port. The USB ports come in three slightly different colors, so I feel I should clarify a bit. The first four in a medium dark blue are USB 3.1 Gen1, while the two dark blue and very light blue (as well as the Type-C) ports are USB 3.1 Gen2.

• 1x "clear CMOS" button
• 2x Antenna ports
• 1x HDMI port
• 1x DisplayPort 1.2
• 1x PS/2 keyboard and mouse combo connector
• 4x USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-A ports
• 3x USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-A ports
• 1x USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C port
• 3x RJ-45 LAN ports
• 1x Optical SPDIF out port
• 5x 3.5 mm audio jacks

Networking on the ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 9 is handled by a Giga PHY Intel I2119V and a GigaLAN Intel I211AT, while wireless is handled by an Intel 802.11ac Wi-Fi module.