ASRock X570 Phantom Gaming-ITX/TB3 Motherboard Review

Rating: 8.0.

AMD’s high-performance Zen 2-based processors have opened up a new tier of performance to mainstream platform buyers. Key beneficiaries from the uptick in CPU performance are Mini-ITX and Small Form Factor (SFF) aficionados who can now squeeze a new level of compute performance into their mini PCs. ASRock’s X570 Phantom Gaming-ITX/TB3 takes that compute powerhouse argument one step further by also throwing Thunderbolt 3 support into the mix.

Despite featuring ‘gaming’ in the name, ASRock’s X570 Phantom Gaming-ITX/TB3 motherboard is clearly geared towards users who want a small compute workstation. In addition to the obvious support of up to 16-core Ryzen 3000 processors, ASRock deploys a Thunderbolt 3 Type-C port capable of 40Gbps bandwidth, high-res display output, and up to 15W of power delivery. At 2-4x the speed of competing Type-C solutions that use a 10Gbps or 20Gbps connection, the desire for Thunderbolt 3 is obvious.

Aside from the flagship Thunderbolt 3 feature, you also get 2.4Gbps Wi-Fi 6 802.11ax support, plenty of USB connections, and a rear-mounted M.2 SSD slot. One notable feature is the LGA 115X CPU cooler mounting holes. This alleviates many cooling headaches to long-time SFF users who want to upgrade their system without buying a new heatsink.

With a healthy ten-stage power delivery solution and the usual array of RGB and integrated IO shield bonuses, how will ASRock’s X570 Phantom Gaming-ITX/TB3 motherboard perform in our testing?

Features (information taken from the ASRock webpage):

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