ASRock Z690 Phantom Gaming-ITX TB4 review

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Final Words & Conclusion

Final Words 

Mini ITX is gorgeous, and you know it; this motherboard is surely attractive in appearance. With current trends pricing, I would not have been shocked if this was a $400 USD motherboard. However, much to my surprise, this motherboard is reasonably priced at $299 USD or approximately 299 EUR.


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While we would normally recommend DDR5 usage in favor of DDR4 on Alder Lake, we have to factor in the component shortage, DDR4 memory certainly is cheaper than a 5200 MHz DDR5 kit so we would have liked to see this motherboard in a DDR4 variant. In that respect, it could make absolute sense to re-use that DDR4 of yours on a compatible Z690 motherboard in combination with any Alder lake Core 12th gen processor of choice, as really, the differential in between the two technologies currently is petite, whereas you can easily save 50~75 bucks with such a decision.  

Energy efficiency

Added chips, RGB, and BIOS configuration are a bothersome factor when testing stuff like this. the ASRock Z690 Phantom Gaming ITX/TB4 performs really well and comes back at 65 Watts power draw in IDLE. Mind you that's with an RTX 3090 and liquid cooling installed.  Under total stress on the processors, the system comes back at roughly 211 Watts with a 12600K. Energy efficiency for this motherboard and processors as such are moderate. Keep that in mind with your cooling choice, as processor wattage usually is 1:1 in line with cooling performance. We recommend LCS cooling.



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Noteworthy is that Intel no longer provides a total design power (TDP), instead referring to a 'processor base power' of 125W and a 'maximum turbo power' that is significantly greater. Intel, at the very least for the overclockable K processors, has ended the confusion that the PL1 and PL2 power constraints produced in previous generations with this announcement. The current norm for these CPUs is that they can boost indefinitely unless the PC maker (or, in the case of self-build, the user) decides otherwise to keep within the limitations of the cooling and power supply systems.


Overclocking

We see the same results on all Z690 motherboards we tested; ergo, the limiting factor is the processor and not the motherboard. There are numerous approaches to overclock an Intel platform depending on your objectives. You'll achieve roughly 5.1 GHz across all performance cores. And the proc is going to need something like 1.4 Volts. Most modern motherboards will have an automated setting for that.  Tweak with BLCK if you have a nin K model, also increasing the PL2 Wattage states and duration can greatly increase performance on long duration load.


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The conclusion

I enjoy Mini ITX, as I'm always amazed at how much high-performance gear motherboard makers can stuff into such a small footprint. And yes, with PCIe 5.0 graphics, a  duo of M2 slots even overclocking capability thanks to a robust VRM, we just can't complain. ASRock stuffed this motherboard with premium features, yet ~300 USD/EUR is a lot of money. Having said that, I am not dissatisfied with this product whatsoever. Among the premium features are dual M2 slots, WIFI6E, and 2.5 GigE. There's also the single M2 shield and, of course, the sheer performance, as the Z690 chipset with an Alder Lake CPU and feature set performs extremely well. Additionally, the 17x17cm board supports three SATA3 drivers. Thus, your bases are covered (and all your base are belong to us). To summarize,  if you're looking for a tiny yet robust motherboard capable of housing 12th Gen Intel multi-core processors, the ASRock Z690 Phantom Gaming-ITX TB4 should be at the top of your list. The performance of the storage, network and audio solutions are good. 

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