News Z390 ITX boards.

Here we go with the board leaks!

MSI Z390 I GAMING EDGE
https://cdn.videocardz.com/1/2018/09/MSI-Z390I-Gaming-Edge-MPG.jpg

GIGABYTE Z390 I AORUS PRO WIFI

https://videocardz.com/newz/gigabytes-z390-i-aorus-pro-wifi-leaked

ASUS ROG STRIX Z390-I
https://videocardz.com/newz/asus-rog-strix-z390-i-and-prime-z390-a-motherboards-leaked


ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming-ITX/AC
ASRock Z390M-ITX/ac
Pictured here: https://videocardz.com/newz/asrock-z390-series-motherboards-leaked

Gone is the Fatal1ty tag on ASRock's premium gaming boards (about time too imo). Those boards are now rebranded "Phantom Gaming".
 
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loader963

King of Cable Management
Jan 21, 2017
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Thanks @Rankless

One thing I want to mention. Anyone notice the line “ up to 40 pci lanes” in the specs sheet? I see it on amazon’s details but haven’t seen that on any motherboard reviews, might just be a typo.
 

rfarmer

Spatial Philosopher
Jul 7, 2017
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Damn Newegg they did this same thing when the 8700k was first released, they used to be good at keeping their prices at the MSRP I guess not any more.
 

rfarmer

Spatial Philosopher
Jul 7, 2017
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Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Pro WiFi is the first board other than Asus to offer a USB-C front panel header, it is Gen 1 but they also offer a Gen 2 USB-C on the rear IO. I know @Necere will be interested in this since he has been watching for other itx motherboards to offer the front panel header.
 

VegetableStu

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Aug 18, 2016
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Actually I'm interested to see the block diagram for Asrock Z390 ITX board o_o how have they managed to have 2 M.2 connections and thunderbolt on the same board? (are they all from the PCH? o_o)
 

Necere

Shrink Ray Wielder
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Feb 22, 2015
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Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Pro WiFi is the first board other than Asus to offer a USB-C front panel header
About time.

it is Gen 1
/facepalm
May as well just use the 19pin...

edit: okay, that's a little hyperbolic. The native Type C header does offer the advantage of not requiring any extra electronics in the cable (which running Type C off the 19pin does), reducing cost and size. It's a start, at least.
 
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NOKYARD

Trash Compacter
Jul 7, 2018
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Has this been mentioned yet? Supermicro C9Z390-CG-IW

Features:
- two PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 slots, one on front and one on back
- three USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-A, one USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C
- USB 3.1 Gen2 header

 
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HottestVapes

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Oct 13, 2018
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I've ordered the ASRock Z390i Phantom Gaming, but I'm pretty interested in more information on the MSI board and what the VRMs are like with that. It's considerably cheaper than the ASRock and Asus boards.


I'm also really disappointed in the Asus Z390 board, coming from a Asus B350i which I've found to be fantastic and it was reasonably priced, the Z390 offering just seems like an overly stylized and overpriced bit of kit.
 
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fabio

Shrink Ray Wielder
Apr 6, 2016
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Actually I'm interested to see the block diagram for Asrock Z390 ITX board o_o how have they managed to have 2 M.2 connections and thunderbolt on the same board? (are they all from the PCH? o_o)
But I think on a desktop motherboard I've never seen Thunderbolt routed to the CPU. Am I wrong?
This on the ASrock (that is just a Z370 Fatal1ty with different heatsink) is always only 2 lane.

I've checked carefully each Z390, and for now the best, in my opinion, is the Gigabyte. MSI went cheap with Audio and WIFI module.
 
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chx

Master of Cramming
May 18, 2016
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What's the point of tthe massive aluminium VRM heatsinkblock if the surface is not formed into fins?
 
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Randolf

Caliper Novice
Sep 14, 2018
27
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I'm new to PC BUilding. So which Z390i should I go with ..?? Do they really make a difference other than the ports ? I'm looking for the best audio and WIFI possible. Im planning to get an i5 9600K pairing with a RTX 2070. Thank you very much.
 

|||

King of Cable Management
Sep 26, 2015
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TweakTown has posted their review of the ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming-ITX/ac following up their preview of it. It earned their top Editor's Choice award and seems like one of the best of all Z390 boards, not only of the ITX boards.

This board is available on sale through tomorrow for $150 on Newegg after rebate.

TweakTown said:
What's Hot

Strong VRM
: The VRM on the Z390 Phantom Gaming-ITX/ac is using Intersil's latest Smart Power Stages with exposed metal on the top, and it makes a big difference. It makes such a difference that this motherboard's backside VRM temperature is 3C lower than the Z390 Taichi, which not only has a better VRM heat sink but also larger VRM PCB area for heat dissipation on top of more phases. These results are from stock operation, but we didn't expect these results. We are shocked in a good way. However, we did have active cooling in a standardized environment, so do ensure proper VRM cooling in a tight ITX case.

WIFI, Thunderbolt 3, and HDMI 2.0: ASRock added WIFI to this motherboard, and in this case, they didn't use a 1x1 controller limited to 433Mbps and instead used Intel's latest 1.733Gbps controller. While we get the low power variant of Thunderbolt 3, it's still a nice feature to have. We also get HDMI 2.0 on this motherboard, so streaming 4K content is easier through the internal iGPU.

Dual M.2: ASRock made sure that the motherboard carries two x4 PCI-E 3.0 M.2 slots, one is on the rear, and the other is on the front and has a heat sink.

What's Not

USB port colors: All the rear IO USB ports are the same color, so you can't tell which are USB 3.1. Thankfully there is an IO shield with labels.

Final Thoughts

We really like this little monster of a motherboard. It's feature packed, has excellent connectivity, and really is all around good. We had a hard time finding things not to like, there is the low power TB3 controller that operates on half the PCI-E lanes of the full speed one, but how can we complain about a motherboard with so many other features under $200?

We did read online that the WIFI isn't Hackintosh compatible since it's the newer Intel WIFI, but that card in itself is an upgrade over most WIFI modules we find these days as it's the latest Intel WIFI card. Audio is top notch, ASRock added in a lot of features, and they didn't skimp on VRM quality. Those five phases for the main CPU handle the 9900K at stock with ease and let us overclock to 5.2GHz and pass our tests. If you are looking for a fully loaded mini-ITX motherboard with a lot of bang for the buck and the ability to properly handle a 9900K, give the Z390 Phantom Gaming ITX/ac a look.

Product Summary Breakdown
Performance 92%
Quality 95%
Features 95%
Value 90%
Overall TweakTown Rating 93%



The Bottom Line: ASRock's Z390 Phantom Gaming-ITX/ac is one of the best mini-ITX motherboards we have seen, we actually believe it's underpriced at just under $200.

VRM Analysis here.

OCN User VRM Analysis said:
For the Phantom ITX/ac with the heatpipe , the ISL99227B has a higher efficiency which allows for a 5 phase to compete. We know on the Z370 version it is capable of 200W. At 193A over 5 phases you're looking at around 4.5W , at 160A over 5 phases you're looking at a bit over 2.5W (much safer) per figure 10.

https://www.intersil.com/content/dam...l99227-27b.pdf

The thermal resistance is stated at 10.7°C/W which is lower and at 400LFM of airflow you have 9.3°C/W. With those sort of numbers you'll end up with ~60-75°C . Once again I would caution following these thermal resistance numbers since they assume a large PCB to dissipate heat. However it is quite apparent the Phantom ITX is a superior board not only due to 5 PWM phases but also due to the higher efficiency.[/URL]