The Intel Z490 Overview: 44+ Motherboards Examined
by Gavin Bonshor on April 30, 2020 10:00 AM ESTASRock Z490 Phantom Gaming ITX/TB3
For the launch of Intel's Comet Lake desktop processors and the LGA1200 socket, ASRock has just one mini-ITX model in its arsenal in the way of the ASRock Z490 Phantom Gaming ITX/TB3. With official support for Thunderbolt 3 via a Type-C port on the back panel, it also includes an 8-phase power delivery, has two PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 slots, as well as four SATA ports. Also featured is an Intel Wi-Fi 6 wireless interface with BT 5.1 support, and a Realtek based 2.5 G Ethernet controller. It represents a premium small form factor offering on the Z490 chipset, which is one of just a small handful of mini-ITX models on the LGA1200 socket at present.
Due to the limitations of a small form factor such as mini-ITX, the ASRock Z490 Phantom Gaming ITX/TB3 has a single PCIe 3.0 x16 slot, with two PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 slots, one on the front underneath a heatsink, and another located on the rear of the board. There are also four SATA ports which support RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10 arrays. Memory support is usually strong on mini-ITX models, and the Z490 Phantom Gaming ITX/TB3 has support for up to 64 GB of DDR4-4666 memory in dual channel. The power delivery is also high-end with a 6-phase power delivery with the CPU controlled by an ISL69269 PWM controller and consists of six Intersil 90 A power stages. Cooling both the 6-phase CPU power delivery is a heatsink which doubles up as a rear panel cover, with a single heat pipe connecting it to the chipset and M.2 slot heatsink.
The rear panel of the Z490 Phantom Gaming ITX/TB3 is solid for a mini-ITX motherboard and includes a single Thunderbolt 3 compliant Type-C port. Also included are three USB 3.2 G2 10 Gbps Type-A, and two USB 3.2 G1 Type-A ports. The networking support includes a single Realtek RTL8125BG 2.5 G Ethernet port, antenna ports for the Intel AX201 Wi-Fi 6 wireless interface with BT 5.1 device support, as well as five 3.5 mm audio jacks and S/PDIF optical output powered by a Realtek ALC1220 HD audio codec. Finishing off what's on the rear panel is a PS/2 keyboard and mouse combo port, as well as a small clear CMOS button.
Typically well-known for its solid mini-ITX desktop-based models, the ASRock Z490 Phantom Gaming ITX/TB3 delivers once again when compared to previous versions such as the AMD ASRock X570 Phantom Gaming ITX/TB3 which we previously reviewed. Combining Thunderbolt 3 support in a small frame, with dual PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 slots and four SATA ports does offer plenty of support for users building a mini-ITX Z490 based system. Content creators will appreciate Thunderbolt 3, while gamers and enthusiasts will also appreciate the 90 A DrMOS power stages and the large power delivery heatsink. Currently, there is no set price for the Z490 Phantom Gaming-ITX/TB3 but we will update this as more information is available.
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Tomatotech - Friday, May 1, 2020 - link
Get better hubs then. At least mains powered hubs.I understand not everyone has wifi/ ethernet printers, bluetooth / radio mouse / keyboard / headset, or usb hubs in their monitors, but there does seem to be slightly less need for lots of USB ports compared to a few years ago.
Beaver M. - Saturday, May 2, 2020 - link
Not an option due to several reliability issues and issues recognizing claimed "better hubs" in the first place. Even well known big companies produce crappy USB hubs.As a normal user I have
a printer
a mouse
a keyboard
a gamepad with USB dongle
a USB headset
an external HDD
several external USB ports for USB sticks, temporary Bluetooth dongles, charging devices, etc., which can be up to 4 at a time
Specialized
things:
a joystick
a USB microphone interface
Not really unusual.
Add webcams, card readers, Wifi adapters and many other not really unusual stuff and you still wont have anything rare.
Lots of USB ports are important. Period. And it doesnt even matter if its an ATX board or a NUC. They are always very important.
duploxxx - Friday, May 8, 2020 - link
wow so many USB that you need in the back, how long have you been searching on the internet to find all of these? You can buy cases that also serve USB, or backend brackets….a printer : wireless
a mouse - keyb sure
a gamepad, connected from the back? often to short cable
a USB headset ---- audio connection which you can link with USB mic….
a USB External HDD.... zzz one that you can put away for backup or just horrible initial design from storage perspective
several external USB.... all front unless you Always use your usb dongles and put them in the back "loooooool"
joystick.... yeah use gmaepad and joystick at the same time. same as the gamepad regarding cable length
webcam... easy connection in monitor hub
card readers... again in the back used all day right....
USB wifi adapters? really are you joking?
in other words lots of pathetic feedback... learn to design a desktop computer
Beaver M. - Saturday, May 2, 2020 - link
Low USB port count has been a problem far longer than 5 years.Only Asus seem to have gotten the hint at some point, but Asus is crappy quality and CS.
Seeing Gigabyte adding enough now is a good sign, because they usually were the ones having the least amount of them.
I agree on the hubs. Not only do they die, some of them even nuke your mainboards USB ports through feedback loops. Not to mention they always either have connection problems or issues with sleep or hibernation.
Chaitanya - Friday, May 1, 2020 - link
Whats wierd is most of the boards from Asus and Asrock have multiple 40mm fans to cool VRMs while they seem to stick solid slabs of Aluminium and calling it a day unlike Gigabyte and Msi(on top end atleast) who have proper finned heatsinks.Deicidium369 - Friday, May 1, 2020 - link
The only reason people think Asus are a high end manufacturer is their price and the truckloads of equipment they give to anyone with more than 10 subs on Youtube. Gigabyte or go home.Beaver M. - Saturday, May 2, 2020 - link
Agreed. Same with ASRock and their crappy customer support and massive USB issues.Gigabyte always tried to add important features. Remember when they added their "extra ounces" of copper? All other manufacturers whined that it doesnt do anything and Gigabyte should stop because its a "waste of resources". LOL!
Now they all do it because it makes the mainboard much more reliable.
Sure, they dont have the best OC boards, but in the last few years OC has become very niche, because you cant really OC CPUs well anymore, unless you want to use LN or custom liquid coolers.
Andrew LB - Sunday, May 10, 2020 - link
I've been building/repairing/upgrading computers for people for close to 30 years and I've had more problems with Gigabyte than any other current major brand. Abit was even worse but they're long gone. I'm willing to bet that those of you who say a company has bad customer service was due to you contacting them via e-mail. Pickup the phone next time and i bet it will go much easier.Best CS from my experience is EVGA.
taz-nz - Saturday, May 2, 2020 - link
To many board still don't have attached back plates, should be standard now.Nice to see gigabyte bring proper finned heatsink to Mid range board, pity so many other boards still have cosmetic lumps of aluminum, instead of proper VRM heatsinks, and worse that so many still choose to cover the those so called heatsinks with cosmetic plastic covers that only reduce airflow and hurt thermal performance more, while also interfering with large air cooler fitment.
Oxford Guy - Saturday, May 2, 2020 - link
"What's interesting is how similar the Z490 and Z390 chipsets are in terms of specifications, which adds the question of why Intel has opted for a new socket, on what is effectively a refresh of its 14 nm process node."Baffling is a better word than interesting.
If AMD weren't so competitive then it would make more sense to paint oneself into a corner even more.