Asrock z390 phantom gaming 7 review in Spanish (complete analysis)

Well now it is the turn for this impressive ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 7 board, just a few days ago we analyzed the Steel Legend version, and now we continue with the brand's main dish. A motherboard with a Z390 chipset for 8th and 9th generation Intel CPU that is one of its top range. We have an expanded VRM to 10 phases and higher performance heatsinks, 2.5 Gbps Ethernet connectivity, RGB lighting and above all greater overclocking capacity for high-end CPUs.

And the good thing about ASRock is that it always keeps its prices fairly contained, offering great performance. Without further ado let's start with this review.

But first we need to thank ASRock for giving us the product and their trust in us to carry out this review.

ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 7 technical features

Unboxing

This ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 7 has been presented together with what is the top model of the brand, the Phantom Gaming X, a board that also includes Wi-Fi 6 for the first time and three M.2 slots. But today what we are dealing with is this Phantom gaming, a high-performance gaming board at a contained price to offer the best in terms of overclocking and connectivity.

It is worth making a separate section for your Unboxing since these plates usually bring enough accessories with them. Well, the presentation consists of a double wrapping where we have a first box, made of finite cardboard with a mere aesthetic interest. In it we see a huge Phantom series logo on the main face and photos on the back along with the most relevant characteristics that the manufacturer wants to give its buyers.

The next box is the one that counts, one made of thick rigid cardboard that allows the plate to be stored in a completely protected manner. We have it in an antistatic bag next to a polyethylene foam mold attached with several clips to the plate.

Without further ado, let's see what this plate offers us in bundle:

ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 7 motherboard 4 SATA data cables One dual-channel SLI bridge 3 screws for M.2 fixing User guide CD-ROM with drivers and software

In this case, the motherboard includes the port panel board already included, so that saves us. We also don't have thermal pads for the M.2, as these come directly pre-installed on the heatsinks.

And it will be very interesting to include a SLI connector to connect two Nvidia graphics cards in parallel in a possible gaming computer. This cable is specifically the second generation, with a double connector to allow us to have an upstream and downstream data channel. Also, we should not confuse it with the new NVLink for RTX.

Design and Specifications

And of course, we'll start by looking at the aesthetics of this stunning high-end ASRock motherboard. As always, manufacturers invest much of their efforts in creating a product that is not only powerful but also beautiful, since practically everything we have today a chassis with glass in our house. In this case we are offered a completely rectangular plate without cut edges like the Steel Legend, and why not say it, less loaded but more elegant.

We have a screen-printed design in sharp lines on the entire surface of the board in black, gray and red colors that match the different heatsinks located in the elements with the highest energy consumption. Remember that this, in addition to aiding aesthetics, also helps protect and isolate power lines.

Something that could attract the attention of the rear, is that in this case we do not have any type of metal backplate that reinforces the rigidity of this plate or increases heat dissipation, something currently widely used by other manufacturers in their range plates high. In any case, we have a protection layer that, just like in the front area, also protects power lines from external action.

Something that we can clearly appreciate is the support that holds the plate of the port panel, which is held in place by a thin metal plate taken with two screws. Similarly, we have a thick steel plate that secures the CPU socket support together with the four heatsink fixing screws. In this case we do not have RGB lighting in this rear area as it happens with the Gaming X and the Steel Legend.

ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 7 also uses a high-density glass fabric to shape the internal structure of the PCB. In this way the different layers of lines and circuits are separated, thus avoiding interference. It really is a material that gives the plate a lot of lightness and high rigidity.

In the upper area we do have RGB LED lighting with Polychrome RGB technology both in the area of the chipset heatsink and in the side protection plate of the port panel. It goes without saying that this board has been built with standard ATX measurements of 305 mm high by 244 mm wide.

Now it is time to see the power phase system or VRM of this ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 7 board. To make this element more visible, we have decided to remove all the heatsinks that the MOSFETS that are responsible for transmitting the electrical signal are safe. This system consists of two XL size aluminum heatsinks joined by a copper heat pipe to increase thermal efficiency. At its base, a highly efficient thermal pad system has been placed to improve heat transfer.

The VRM in question has a total of 10 supply phases that are made up of Dr.MOS power stages that generate up to 50A for each supply phase. In fact, the CHOKES used are those of ASRock with a maximum capacity of 60A. At the next and last level and to stabilize the signal, we have 820 µF and 100 µF capacitors that are guaranteed to have a life of over 12, 000 hours plus more quality in the Vcore for aggressive overclocking. We will soon see how these elements have behaved in our review.

After seeing the VRM, we also need to know which elements are responsible for supplying this power. The general system of the board will be powered by the traditional 24-pin ATX connector. Next to it, and exclusively for the CPU, we have an 8-pin EPS connector next to another 4-pin connector.

Overall it's a VRM that promises us great performance on this board, clearly geared towards installing high-powered CPUs like the unlocked Core i7 and i9.

Well, if we have the Intel Z390 chipset installed, the most normal thing is that the LGA 1151 socket is also included from Intel. Recall that this chipset is the most powerful available for this socket, and that it has a total of 24 PCI LANES for storage and peripherals, along with a capacity of up to 14 USB seats, among which the different generations must be distributed. The socket on the other hand, offers us compatibility with 8th and 9th generation Intel Core processors. this is important because it is not backwards compatible with 6th and 7th generation.

A good thing about all this is that we will obtain a maximum capacity of up to 128 GB of RAM, thanks to four DIMM slots that will support modules of up to 32 GB DDR4 in Dual Channel configuration and with a frequency overclocking of up to 4600 MHz. Consequently, it perfectly supports XMP profiles. The manufacturer also informs users that it supports UDIMM ECC memories.

The next aspect to deal with in ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 7 is the PCIe slot configuration of this board. And both number and quality increase significantly, squeezing out the LANES available on Intel CPUs. Recall that these slots are in direct contact with the CPU on its north bridge. We will start with the smallest, the PCI-Express 3.1 x1, of which we have a total of 3. You know, they offer an individual upload and download speed of 1000 MB / s.

But the strong point is in the three PCI-Express 3.1 x16 slots that this motherboard offers us, which are also reinforced with steel plates to better support the weight of the GPUs or expansion cards installed in them. As always, we must pay attention to what the manufacturer tells us, since only the first of the slots offers us a x16 speed in the installed GPU. If we use the first two, we will obtain a speed of x8 / x8 in both, while if we use all three at the same time, the speed will be x8 / x8 / x4.

These three slots support a three-way AMD CrossFire configuration, and an Nvidia Quad SLI configuration, thanks to the connector that is included in the purchase bundle. If we prefer, we can also use a dual NVLink configuration with Nvidia RTX, specifically with the cards that include this interface in parallel.

Now it's time to talk about another important issue, which is the storage and capacity that we have. And we will start precisely with the fastest, that is, the two M.2 slots that will work under the PCIe 3.0 x4 interface and NVMe protocol at a maximum speed of 4000 MB / s, or also under the SATA III interface at 600 MB / s. obviously theirs is to use the first mode.

The second slot (M2_2), which in this case is the one located in the lower area, offers compatibility with 2230/2242/2280/22110 units, that is, measures 22 mm wide and 110 long. While the first slot (M2_1), located just above the first PCIe x16, supports 2230/2242/2280. Abas is compatible with Intel Optane storage and also with U.2 if we buy the corresponding compatibility quit. We are not provided with data on whether we can perform RAID 0 and 1, but we imagine that it is.

We also have 8 SATA III 6 Gbps connectors on the side of the board. These ports will be compatible with Intel Rapid Storage, and NCQ, AHCI and Hot Plug protocols. Two of them will also be independently managed by an ASMedia ASM1061 controller with identical compatibility. Of course here we do have support for RAID 0, 1, 5 and 10. In addition we must know the limitations in terms of LANES of the chipset when simultaneously connecting SATA and M.2:

M2_1 and SATA 0 and 1 share bus. If M2_1 is busy, connector SATA 1 and SATA 0 (normal) will be disabled, M2_2 and SATA 4 and 5 share bus. If the M2_2 is busy, the SATA 5 and SATA 4 connectors will be disabled. Likewise, if any of the SATA mentioned is busy, the other two bus sharing ports will be disabled.

Well, we leave here the diagram obtained from the user manual so that you know the numbering of each M.2 and SATA port, which will be important when connecting peripherals.

To discover the ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 7 M.2 slots, it was previously necessary to remove the different heatsinks that are installed in the places of interest. In addition, we have taken the opportunity to also remove the protector from the port panel. All these heatsinks are made of aluminum and fixed to the plate by means of screws with a star head, not stratospheric.

We have already indicated that both the chipset heatsink and the rear panel protector have lighting, in these photos we can both elements have a direct four-pin connector to the board that we will need to disconnect to remove them.

The most interesting will undoubtedly be the M.2, which already incorporates a thermal pad in the upper area and also previously protected with a plastic that we will have to remove to make contact with the M.2 unit. Make sure to remove it, since with the generated heat it could melt and roll it brown. Similarly, there is another thermal pad in contact with the chipset dissipation block.

Now it is time to talk about other important elements of ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 7 such as network connectivity and sound card. And the truth is that here we have important news, being located in a high range.

We will start with the network connectivity that is presented to us with two chips, and therefore with two RJ-45 connectors. The most powerful chip consists of a Realtek Dragon RTL8125AG that provides a maximum speed of 2.5 gigabits per second and can be managed using ASRock Phantom Gaming LAN software. The second RJ-45 connector provides us with a speed of 10/100/1000 Mbps thanks to a normal Intel I219V chip. We can also place Wi-Fi connectivity thanks to the M.2 M-Key slot compatible with Intel CNVi AC cards, for example, the 1550i.

In the audio section we also have a high-end configuration and focused on games, thanks to a Realtek ALC1220 Audio Codec chip capable of generating HD Audio in 7.1. But in addition , a high-quality DAC with 120 dB SNR and a NE5532 amplifier for headphones of up to 600 Ω have been incorporated by the manufacturer Nichicon. Without a doubt, manufacturers make a great effort to provide the best on the market in terms of gaming sound quality.

We still have interesting elements on this board such as a Debug LED, the digital panel in charge of showing the status of the motherboard as a replacement or support for traditional beeps.

We also have power and reset buttons for direct interaction with the board without the need to install an F_Panel. They are elements that are increasingly incorporated into a high-performance board with the aim of testing and overclocking.

We are nearing the end of this feature description, but still remaining the internal and external connectors of ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 7. In fact, we are going to start with the exterior ones, located on its rear panel.

4x USB 3.1 Gen1 1x USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-A 1x USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C1x PS / 2 Mouse or Keyboard 1x HDMI1x DisplayPort 1.22x RJ-455x Audio connectors and micro1x Optical S / PDIF Support Wi-Fi antenna holes

5 USB Type-A ports do not seem too many for a board of this level, since any user would expect to connect illuminated peripherals that almost always have a double USB connector. In summary, two more would have been great.

And the internal ports will also be interesting to know the options for USB connectivity, fans and lighting. So we have:

TPM1x connector addressable LED header2x RGB headers5x connectors for ventilation / pumpFront panel audio connectorConnector for AIC Thunderbolt2x headers for USB 2.02x headers for USB 3.1 Gen1 1x header for USB Type-C gen1

testing bench

This time we will also use our second test bench, although of course with Intel Core i9-9900K CPU.

TESTING BENCH
Processor:	Intel Core i9-9900K
Base plate:	ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 7
Memory:	16 GB G.Skill Sniper X
Heatsink	Corsair H100i Platinum SE
HDD	Adata SU750
Graphic card	Asus ROG Strix GTX 1660 Ti
Power supply	Be Quiet! Dark Power Pro 11 1000W

BIOS

In this case the ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 7 board offers us a UEFI type BIOS and also with a dual 128 MB flash chip. This is clearly focused on overclocking, as a recovery method before the main BIOS fails thanks to a backup one and with the factory settings.

In any case, we have a BIOS with a truly full HD resolution in terms of options although with the traditional distribution of the new generation BIOS from ASRock. It has a total of 8 sections among which is O C Tweaker, in charge of all the overclocking management and advanced hardware parameters, Tool, where we have integrated applications such as lighting management or BIOS update, and the typical boot, security and monitor sections.

Management software

The presence of the different programs that ASRock offers us for the management of your board and hardware could not be missing either. The main one is A-Tuning, a program that allows basic overclocking management from the operating system, as well as monitoring temperatures and fan status.

But we will have some more like Restart to UEFI, which allows direct access to the BIOS after a restart of the PC. ASRock Polychrome Sync, to configure lighting from Windows, and ASRock APP Shop, which is software that allows us to update the different drivers of the board and install applications sponsored by the brand. They are not fundamental, but they allow some interesting functions.

Overclocking, consumption and temperatures

ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 7 shows that it is a motherboard oriented to gaming and overclocking. With our 8-core 16-core Intel Core i9-9900K test CPU thanks to Hyper Threading, we have managed to achieve a stable 24/7 stress frequency of 5.1 GHz with a voltage of 1.39 V and in LLC configuration level 2 in BIOS. That it is not bad at all we must say, in fact, it is one of the few in which we have achieved such results.

Under this overclocking, we have monitored the CPU with the HWiNFO program stressing it for 12 hours with the Prime95 program. Keep in mind that not all CPUs are exactly the same, and yours may come more or less frequently depending on cooling and manufacturing.

In addition to the temperatures that the thermal camera of the VRM shows us, we have also collected multiple average temperature measurements with the stock CPU both with and without stress, as well as during overclocking.

Temperature	Relaxed stock	Full stock	Overclocking 4.9 GHz @ 1.35 V	Peak overclocking
ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 7 + Core i9-9900K	29 ^o C	67 ^o C	82 ^o C	100 ^o C
VRM	35 ^o C	84 ^o C	97.1 ^o C	100 ^o C

We are somewhat concerned with the results with overclocking frequencies. We are facing high temperatures and it has nothing to do with other models we have tested. One point for ASRock to improve.

Similarly, we have taken measurements of the power consumed by the complete test bench in the same circumstances as before, also adding stress to the GTX 1660 Ti GPU using Furmark.

Consumed potence	Relaxed stock	Full stock (CPU only)	Overclocking 5.1 GHz @ 1.39 V	Overclocking 5.1 GHz @ 1.39 V + GPU stress
ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 7 + Core i9-9900K + GTX 1660 Ti	49 W	202 W	350 W	383 W

Finally, we have benchmarked the CPU at this 5.1 GHz frequency. Do not trust what it puts on the ranking list because the measurements have not been taken at the frequency shown.

We have well exceeded 2180 points, while at a frequency of 4.9 in the Steel Legend we reached 2094. This shows that the VRM is capable of supplying enough power during the process to this powerful CPU. Similarly, we have reached 220 points in the benchmark with a single core, compared to 212 at 4.9 GHz.

Final words and conclusion about ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming

ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 7 is one of those motherboards that offers you practically everything on the high-end and at a fairly contained price. A great choice for those who want to ask for extra for their high-end hardware. In addition, the design accompanies, aggressive, gaming and with RGB lighting in its heatsinks.

Undoubtedly one of its strong points is the great overclocking capacity we have, reaching 5.1 GHz relatively easily with the 9900K and offering VRM at high temperatures but in a stable way. We also have support for 128 GB of RAM at 4600 MHz + OC, which is practically the maximum today.

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Storage options are also interesting, with two Ultra M.2 and 8 SATA, two of them managed independently. Something to consider is that we do not have a pre-installed Wi-Fi card, but a compatible M.2 and the space for the antennas on the rear panel. But we do have dual LAN and also at 2.5 Gbps ideal for gaming and file transfer at high speed.

The ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 7 board can be found already on the market for a price of approximately 227 euros. One of the most powerful from ASRock with permission from the Phantom Gaming X, although with a more content price and almost the same features, except for Wi-Fi, which we can install if we buy the corresponding card. For our part, this is it, a recommended product at a good price. What do you think of this ASRock board?

ADVANTAGE	DISADVANTAGES
+ DESIGN AND QUALITY OF MANUFACTURE	- NO INCORPORATED WI-FI CNVI CARD
+ GOOD OVERCLOCKING CAPABILITY	- FEW USB ON THE REAR PANEL
+ RGB LIGHTING AND XL HEATSINKS	- VERY HIGH VRM TEMPERATURE
+ DOUBLE LAN CONNECTIVITY AND 2.5 GBPS
+ IDEAL FOR HIGH-END GAMING PC