Introduction

After Computex and E3, there is no denying that the public eye has shifted to the team in red. With all the hype and buildup around the new Ryzen processors and X570 chipset, it can be easy to forget who still reigns supreme in enthusiast gaming. ASRock hasn't forgotten. Along with some stunning new products within the X570 ecosystem, ASRock has brought a brand new flagship to their Z390 family, the ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming X.

ASRock introduced the Phantom Gaming line last year as a more aggressively styled alternative to their existing Taichi product lines. The Phantom Gaming family covers a broad range of components, from motherboards all the way to cases. In the motherboard space, the first iteration of Phantom Gaming shared a lot of design and parts with the award-winning Taichi boards. While that is not necessarily a bad thing, ASRock wisely invested in an updated look that better differentiates the two product stacks. The ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming X represents the new top dog in this Phantom Gaming stack.

Now, there are several features that set the ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming X apart. Firstly, a monstrous 14 phase VRM. Secondly, the ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming X takes the modern Phantom Gaming style to a new level with an updated aesthetic that includes such luxuries as better RGB illumination, an integrated rear I/O shield, and a metal backplate. The ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming X maintains the draws of the Phantom Gaming line with 2.5 G LAN support, but takes it one step further with WiFi 6 (802.11ax). It is also one of the first products to market to support the new standard, and it is a perfect fit in the Phantom Gaming theme.

So, it has the looks and features, but does it have the performance to be the top motherboard in a line of excellent boards?

Specifications

Our exhaustive coverage of AMD 7/7 Launch Day includes the following content:
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 12-core processor | AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 8-core processor | AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT graphics card | AMD Radeon RX 5700 graphics card | AMD Zen 2 Memory Performance Scaling | Ryzen 3900X and 3700 on X470 vs X570 platforms | Radeon RX 5700 XT Navi PCI-Express 4.0 Performance Scaling | ASRock X570 Taichi motherboard | ASUS Prime X570-Pro motherboard