The ASRock X399 Phantom Gaming 6 hardware is one of the cheapest X399 motherboard currently on the market and brings the Phantom Gaming name to the high-end desktop market. This entry-level option for Threadripper uses a 2.5 gigabit ethernet controller, and is one of only a few boards to do so. It also offers a trio of M.2 slots, a full x16/x16/x16 for multiple GPUs, but supports only for Threadripper processors up to 16 cores due to its design.

Other AnandTech Ryzen Threadripper Coverage

• The ASRock X399 Taichi Motherboard Review: Cost-Effective Threadripper
• The MSI MEG X399 Creation Motherboard Review: The New 16-Phase Shark In Town
• The ASUS X399 ROG Zenith Extreme Motherboard Review: Top Tier Threadripper
• GIGABYTE's X399 Aorus Extreme: The Threadripper 2 Halo Motherboard
• The ASRock X399 Professional Gaming Motherboard Review: 10G For All
• The GIGABYTE X399 DESIGNARE EX Motherboard Review

The ASRock X399 Phantom Gaming 6 Overview

One of the often labelled criticisms at the high-end desktop market is the motherboard price. In order to take advantage of more cores, more memory slots, and overall more features, users have often needed to step up their motherboard choice, as well as paying $1000 or more for the processor and memory. There are some forces at some of the motherboard companies to bring the high-end desktop motherboard market to something more cost sensitive, and this is what ASRock has produced in the X399 Phantom Gaming 6, which has a list price of only $250. This is extremely beneficial when a lot of motherboards in this segment start at $320. To add to the basket of positives, ASRock also enabled this motherboard with a few unique features, such as 2.5 gigabit ethernet, and expanded on common features, like triple M.2 for storage. The X399 Phantom Gaming 6 represents the cheapest of four Threadripper motherboards from ASRock under $400, with the others being the X399 Taichi ($320), the X399 Fatal1ty Professional Gaming ($390) and the micro-ATX X399M Taichi ($300).

Being cheaper than normal doesn't detract from the feature set. Aside from a Realtek Gaming 2.5 gigabit ethernet, the board has full support for two DIMMs per channel of memory (up to DDR4-3400), three full-sized PCIe slots connected to the CPU, space for an M.2 Wi-Fi module, enhanced audio, and dual networking ports.

One of the ways that makes the X399 Phantom Gaming 6 one of the cheapest boards is the processor support: ASRock has built this motherboard to support AMD Threadripper with a thermal design point of up to 180 W, which means it can only support up to 16 core processors such as the AMD Threadripper 2950X. Because ASRock’s focus for this model is to offer users an entry-level pathway to the high-end desktop, this is a fair compromise. 

Moving away from the old Fatal1ty gaming branding has been a smart move for ASRock. ASRock’s new Phantom Gaming series has adopted a subtler color theme with black metallic heatsinks. The X399 chipset heatsink has integrated RGB LEDs as well as ASRock has included two regular RGB headers and a single addressable RGB header. Users can use the tool within the UEFI firmware or with the ASRock Polychrome RGB software.

ASRock X399 Phantom Gaming 6 Block Diagram

Differing slightly in PCIe slots from the ASRock X399 Taichi that we reviewed, the ASRock X399 Phantom Gaming 6 has three full-length PCIe 3.0 x16 slots with support for both 3-way NVIDIA SLI and AMD Crossfire multi-graphics cards configurations. There are no PCIe 3.0 x1 slots present, but there is a trio of M.2 slots which all have support for NVMe boot drives and ASRock’s U.2 kit which is supplied separately. The eight SATA ports offer support for RAID 0, 1 and 10 arrays.

In our testing, the ASRock X399 Phantom Gaming 6 when paired with a Threadripper 2950X processor was as expected and did perform better than the first generation Threadripper 1950X. The system tests showed that with our test bench, it was quicker at POSTing into Windows than the MSI MEG X399 Creation model, but way off the mark of other boards on test. On the other hand, the deferred procedure call latency performance was much better which can be attributed to the change of processor as much as the board; we do intend to add an addendum with some 1950X testing too in the very near future. In gaming, there is very little difference in performance between the 1950X and 2950X, with Total War: WARHAMMER still showing the same signs of multi-core optimization issues we faced with the 1950X. Other than that, performance is in the same ballpark we would have hoped for.

It’s understandable why the ASRock X399 Phantom Gaming 6 is limited to supporting 180 W due to the 6+2 power phase power delivery. The power delivery consists of six Intersil ISL69147 60 A power stages for the V-Core without doublers. It’s more than ample for 180 W CPUs, but it could struggle with 250 W and the decision to lock down support is appropriate. The overclocking performance with the Ryzen Threadipper 2950X was very competitive and VDroop didn’t show any cause for concern. From 3.9 GHz to 4.2 GHz with our manual overclocks, VDroop was positive with around 0.0.1 V between the CPU Core voltage in the BIOS and when at load. This reversed itself at 4.2 GHz when it undervolted by a margin of around 0.02 V at full load. By default, the ASRock X399 Phantom Gaming 6 doesn’t fully apply Precision Boost Overdrive with the automatic setting and by enabling it, the performance increase at the cost of temperature and power does seem a fair compromise.

The ASRock X399 Phantom Gaming 6 not only enters the market as the cheapest Threadripper board at a price of $250, but it brings about gaming specific features such as the Realtek 2.5 GbE gaming NIC to a more price sensitive point.. ASRock has aimed at the entry level for enthusiasts who like to have fun and capped support at 180 W but offers plenty of premium features commonly associated at the price point. Dual NIC, triple M.2 and three-way SLI support at $250 is impressive and ASRock looks to make the entry point to Threadripper more affordable without sacrificing on the feature-set and overall quality.

Pages In This Review

1. Overview [this page]
2. Visual Inspection: Analysis of the Boards Components
3. BIOS and Software: Looking at the non-hardware portion
4. Board Features and Test Bed: The full specifications, and how we test
5. System Performance: Component testing, such as power, boot times, and DPC Latency
6. CPU Performance
7. Gaming Performance
8. Conclusion

Visual Inspection

The ASRock X399 Phantom Gaming 6 motherboard represents one of two gaming branded models from its Threadripper product stack, the other being the ASRock Fatal1ty X399 Professional Gaming. The ASRock X399 Phantom Gaming 6 ($250) sets its sights on the cheaper end of the Threadripper market, and sets its sights on the 16-core Threadripper processors segment at a more affordable price point.

On the design of the X399 Phantom Gaming 6, the overall theme centres around black aluminium heatsinks and a matte black PCB with red and silver accents on the bottom half of the board. The chipset heatsink follows the same accentuation and adds a Phantom Gaming logo on the silver section. Underneath the chipset heatsink is RGB LED lighting which can be controlled via the ASRock Polychrome RGB software or via the BIOS. Users have the option to add their own RGB LED strips with support for two regular RGB 12V headers and a single addressable RGB header; there is support for Razer Chroma products which can be accessed via the software.

Focusing on the top half of the motherboard, there are two 8-pin 12 V ATX inputs designed to provide the CPU with the required power from the PSU. Flanking either side of the Threadripper TR4 socket is a total of eight memory slots; four on either side. Threadripper processors have support for quad-channel memory and this board specifically supports up to 128 GB of DDR4-3400. Cooling support stretches around the board's edge with a total of five 4-pin headers present. These are divided into three sections; one for the CPU fan, one for a water pump/AIO and three for chassis fans.

On the power side, the ASRock X399 Phantom Gaming 6 uses a 6+2 configuration with two individual AMD SVI2 PWM controllers. This includes an Intersil ISL69147 PWM controller handling the 6-phase CPU Vcore and an ISL69144 4-phase PWM controller taking care of the 2-phase SoC section. ASRock’s MOSFET of choice is the Intersil ISL99227 power stages rated at 60 A and feature direct metal contacts which make up all the boards eight phases; no doublers in sight on this model. Making up the rest of the power delivery is eight 60 A inductors with one assigned to each power stage and is using Nichion Black 12K capacitors throughout.

X399 Motherboard CPU Power Delivery (Gavin's Reviews)
Motherboard	Controller	H-Side	L-Side	Chokes	Doubler
ASRock X399 Phantom Gaming 6	ISL69147 6+0	6	6	6	-
ASUS X399 ROG Zenith Extreme	ASP1405 8+0	8	8	8	-
MSI MEG X399 Creation	IR35201 8+0	16	16	16	8 x IR3599

Providing power to the CPU is two 8-pin 12 V ATX CPU power inputs and the X399 Phantom Gaming 6 has support for Threadripper processors up to 180 W TDP. For a chip such as the Threadripper 2950X, the power delivery is very capable for all but the most extreme of overclockers and enthusiasts, users and gamers will find a power setup like this good enough for the boards price point.

ASRock has implemented three full-length PCIe 3.0 x16 slots which operate all with full bandwidth. Each slot is protected with ASRock Steel Armor and ASRock hasn’t included any PCIe 3.0 x1 slots. The ASRock X399 Phantom Gaming includes three M.2 slots all capable of supporting NVMe SSDs, with the third slot supporting both PCIe 3.0 x4 and SATA drives. On the top slot, up to M.2 22110 drives can be installed while the other two slots located level with each other support up to M.2 2280 drives. At the bottom right-hand corner of the board is eight SATA slots with support for RAID 0, 1 and 10 arrays.

ASRock X399 Phantom Gaming 6 CPU PCIe Layout
Number of Installed PCIe Cards on CPU	PCIe_2	PCIe_4	PCIe_5
x1	x16	-	-
x2	x16	x16	-
x3	x16	x16	x16

Located at the bottom of the right-hand side of the board is the audio section with a Realtek ALC1220 HD audio codec which is completed with five Japanese Nippon Chemi-Con gold audio capacitors. The audio is separated from the rest of the PCB and includes a front panel audio header with a right-angled connector; the ALC1220 codec doesn’t include an EMI shield. ASRock has also included a Texas Instruments NE5532 header amplifier to bolster the quality of the front panel audio.

Just to the right of the audio PCB is a variety of headers with one of the RGB 12 V headers and a single addressable RGB 5 V header; the second RGB 12 V header is located at the top right of the board. Also present is a TPM header, two chassis fan headers, two USB 2.0 headers allowing for four ports, one of the two USB 3.1 G1 headers, a clear CMOS button, a reset and power button, as well as front panel connectors for power switches.

Touching on more of the USB connectivity, the rear panel has just two USB 3.1 G2 ports consisting of a single Type-A and Type-C, with a further eight USB 3.1 G1 Type-A ports. The X399 Phantom Gaming 6 has the capability to host up to eighteen USB ports when the two USB 3.1 G1 and two USB 2.0 (two ports each) headers are factored in coupled with the rear panel ports. Also located on the rear panel is dual RJ-45 LAN consisting of a Realtek Dragon RTL8125AG 2.5 GbE Gaming NIC and an Intel I211-AT 1 GbE controller; the I211-AT has support for PXE. The Realtek ALC1220 audio codec offers five 3.5 mm color coded audio jacks and S/PDIF optical output, as well as a legacy PS/2 keyboard and mouse combo port. 

What's in The Box

The ASRock X399 Phantom Gaming 6 comes supplied with a basic, yet handy bundle with a quick installation guide, software CD, rear panel IO shield four SATA cables, a two-way SLI HB bridge and four M.2 screws. Also featured is a Wi-Fi bracket for users adding their own Key E M.2 2230 Wi-Fi modules.

• User manual and quick installation guide
• Software setup guide
• Software installation CD
• Four SATA cables (two right-angled, two straight-angled)
• Two-Way SLI HB bridge
• Four M.2 screws
• Rear panel Wi-Fi bracket (M.2 Key E module sold separately)

BIOS

In our last review of the an ASRock motherboard, the Z390 Phantom Gaming-ITX/ac, we highlighted the consistency in its UEFI firmware. The HEDT X399 Phantom Gaming 6 swerves slightly away from this with a simpler set of overclocking related settings. The design of the firmware consists of a simple red and black Phantom Gaming themed GUI, with white text for added pop. It is presented in a well-organized manner and resembles the simplicity with ASRock models over the last couple of generations - no EZ or advanced modes on the X399 Phantom Gaming 6, just one overall and amalgamated UEFI BIOS.

Pressing either the F2 or Del key during POST will automatically land users onto the main section of the BIOS. The initial splash screen highlights a very basic overview of the installed processor, the processor speed and firmware version. Located below this is a basic list of the RAM installed into which slot; nothing on the type, but more so the capacity and speed. A capacity total is present which in this case is 32 GB and that it's running in quad channel memory mode.

Moving onto the next section is the OC Tweaker; the place to overclock the CPU and memory. Featured is a basic set of overclocking options expected from a platform that does support overclocking, but with little overhead due to temperature issues associated with high core counts. Users can change CPU frequency and set voltages manually, or leave them on automatic, as well as enable XMP 2.0 memory profiles on compatible DRAM. Selectable is the Precision Boost Overdrive setting which can be left on auto, enabled or disabled. By default, and from our testing, auto doesn’t mean enabled and users looking to make use of it should enable it. This setting will draw more power and create more heat. The ASRock X399 Phantom Gaming 6 by default uses a load-line calibration setting of Level 3.

Due to memory frequency limitations on AMD platforms when compared directly against Intel, the ASRock X399 Phantom Gaming 6 officially supports up to DDR4-3400. ASRock has capped the memory frequency at DDR4-4000 in the BIOS which is more than acceptable. Within the memory settings is a list of tweakable latency timings which is very basic when compared with ASRock boards previously reviewed such as the ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming-ITX/ac, but still offers more than users will need when tuning RAM on a Threadipper based system.

The advanced section allows users access to the board’s controller set including the enabling and disabling of network ports and the onboard audio. Users can enable IOMMU for virtual machines, or view and customize storage-related devices such as SATA hot plug settings. All the AMD CBS related options are located here and include CPU power state settings, advanced memory options and even allows users to change throttling settings.

Within the firmware is a basic tool for customizing the effects and the color of integrated and extended RGB LEDs. There is no color wheel present so users looking to set colors to match their specifications will need the RGB color code. Users can apply the settings to single channels or to all at once. It’s very basic and users looking for more extensive options can use the ASRock Polychrome RGB software.

ASRock includes its Fan-Tastic Tuning utility within the firmware and gives users control of the cooling performance of fans and pumps installed into the 4-pin headers. Users can allow the firmware to perform the tuning automatically or set their own profiles. The settings can either be synced across all the available headers or set individually, both through a set profile or a custom fan curve profile.

For a platform such as Threadripper, the ASRock X399 Phantom Gaming 6 firmware is more than enough to get things operation and even do some overclocking. The settings aren’t as extensive as the more premium ASRock X399 Taichi model, and the EZ mode is dropped in favor of a simpler all-round UEFI BIOS. Even though the firmware generally flows well, I did experience some input lag from the mouse which could be a little frustrating, but the keyboard input was sharp as expected.

Software

ASRock’s X399 software bundle with the Phantom Gaming 6 isn’t too dissimilar from the mainstream software. The core of the software is reliant on the ASRock Phantom Gaming Tuning utility which is a rebadged and rebranded version of the A-Tuning software. For traffic shaping and management, ASRock has included the Phantom Gaming 2.5 GbE LAN software which complements the 2.5 GbE Realtek networking, and its Polychrome Sync RGB software to customize the built-in RGB LEDs. Other notable software includes the ASRock Live Update and App Shop and the Restart to UEFI software.

With the ASRock Phantom Gaming Tuning software, it’s essentially a remade version of the A-Tuning software, which is a remake of the F-Stream utility. The only differences come in the theme and with young Phantom Gaming brand, the software is consistent with an associated red and black theme. The Phantom Gaming Tuning software allows users to do CPU overclocking within Windows and offers customization on settings such as CPU frequency, CPU voltage and even DRAM voltage on both channels. There aren’t any memory frequency or latency timing settings and EZ OC has been disabled within the software as it’s not supported on the X399 chipset.

Built-in to the Phantom Gaming Tuning software is the FAN-Tastic Tuning utility. Very similar to what’s in the firmware, the software allows users to customize fan profiles on the fly and what’s more, it looks much more modern and stylistic. Users can set custom profiles based five-point curve with CPU temperature, motherboard temperature and TCTRL all featured.

All the boards RGB LED capabilities can be accessed and customized via the Polychrome Sync RGB software. The ASRock X399 Phantom Gaming 6 has two standard RGB headers and a single addressable RGB header which can be individually set or can be synced together for uniformity. ASRock’s Polychrome Sync is one of the better RGB utilities and lets users customize RGB memory, as well letting users sync up Razer Chroma compatible devices; this requires users to have Razer Synapse enabled. Various settings including static, rainbow, wave is selectable, and users can select their desired color either with a color wheel, or a set of red, blue and green sliders.

Accompanying the new Realtek 2.5 GbE NIC is the ASRock Phantom Gaming LAN software. It’s basically a traffic monitoring and shaping utility. On the design, it matches up with the Phantom Gaming theme and has three main screens; main page, setting and info. Users can view a basic overview of the connection including the IP address, MAC address and speed of the network. For users on a metered connection, the software has a nifty alarm feature which can notify users based on network use.

One thing I like about the ASRock Live Update and App Shop is users can update the relative firmware and drivers on the current model installed with a couple of mouse clicks. The app store has lots for users to choose from including Google Chrome, ASRock utilities including the Polychrome RGB software, and even the Sapphire Trixx graphics card overclocking tool. It also has a lot of junky gambling related games such as slots filling out the store. 

Onboard audio is an important aspect that manufacturers focus on; a good audio codec and software suite can make a user’s experience something to remember. This is the second ASRock board in recent times that has had issues when installing third-party audio software; the other being the ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming-ITX/ac. On the ASRock X399 Phantom Gaming 6’s official product page, there’s a download link for the Sound Blaster Cinema 3, but it needs to be noted that the marketing materials in the overview advertise Sound Blaster Cinema 5 support; I couldn’t find a download link anywhere. When we installed the software supplied from the product page, we couldn’t get it to work with the Realtek ALC1220 codec no matter what we did. Even with two different Windows 10 installs, one fully updated above and beyond our test suite with everything at their latest versions, it was fruitless. The issue seems to be commonplace on various forums and it could be firmware related.

For users that cannot install the Sound Blaster Cinema 3 software, the Realtek Audio Console is ever reliable and allows users to make basic tweaks to their auditory experience. Each of the different connections get their own screen, the five 3.5 mm audio jacks and the digital S/PDIF optical output, and users can change the audio bitrate. Unfortunately, the Realtek Audio Console is very basic and doesn’t allow users to customize their own EQ profiles or select from any EQ presets.

Board Features

The ASRock X399 Phantom Gaming 6 is an ATX motherboard and offers users an entry-level option at just $250 onto the Threadripper socket. Some of the major features on offer include triple M.2 which all support NVMe drives, and dual LAN capability with the inclusion of a Realtek 2.5 GbE RTL8125AG Gaming NIC, which is complemented by a second Intel I211AT NIC. All three of the full-length PCIe 3.0 x16 slots run at the full available bandwidth and offer support for three-way NVIDIA SLI and AMD CrossFire multi-graphics setups.

ASRock X399 Phantom Gaming 6 ATX Motherboard
Warranty Period	3 Years
Product Page	Link
Price	$250
Size	ATX
CPU Interface	TR4 / SP3r2
Chipset	AMD X399
Memory Slots (DDR4)	Eight DDR4 Supporting 128GB Quad Channel Up to DDR4-3400
Video Outputs	N/A
Network Connectivity	Realtek RTL8125AG (2.5 GigE) Intel I-211AT Gigabit (1 GigE)
Onboard Audio	Realtek ALC1220
PCIe Slots for Graphics (from CPU)	3 x PCIe 3.0 (x16)
PCIe Slots for Other (from PCH)	N/A
Onboard SATA	Eight, RAID 0/1/10
Onboard M.2	1 x PCIe 3.0 x4 (top slot) - 22110 1 x PCIe 3.0 x4 (left middle slot) - 2280 1 x PCIe 3.0 x4/SATA (right middle slot) - 2280
USB 3.1 (10 Gbps)	1 x Type-A 1 x Type-C
USB 3.0 (5 Gbps)	8 x Rear Panel (Type-A) 2 x Header (four ports)
USB 2.0	2 x Header (four ports)
Power Connectors	1 x 24-pin ATX 2 x 8-pin CPU
Fan Headers	1 x CPU (4-pin) 1 x CPU/Pump (4-pin) 3 x System (4-pin)
IO Panel	1 x USB 3.1 Type-A (USB 3.1 Gen 2) 1 x USB 3.1 Type-C (USB 3.1 Gen 2) 8 x USB 3.1 Type-A (USB 3.1 Gen 1) 1 x Network RJ-45 (Realtek) 1 x Network RJ-45 (Intel 5 x 3.5 mm Audio Jacks (Realtek) 1 x S/PDIF (Realtek) 1 x PS/2 Combo Port

On back panel is just two USB 3.1 G2 ports with a Type-A and Type-C both featured; a further eight USB 3.1 G1 Type-A ports make up the boards rear panel extensive USB block on the rear panel. While the cheapest board on the chipset usually contains a budget-focused controller set, the ASRock X399 Phantom Gaming 6 is different in that it’s just as premium as other options with a Realtek ALC1220 audio codec and dual LAN, except for limited support for just 180 W processors. This includes CPUs such as the Threadripper 2920X and 2950X CPUs.

Test Bed

As per our testing policy, we take a high-end CPU suitable for the motherboard that was released during the socket’s initial launch, and equip the system with a suitable amount of memory running at the processor maximum supported frequency. This is also typically run at JEDEC subtimings where possible.

It is noted that some users are not keen on this policy, stating that sometimes the maximum supported frequency is quite low, or faster memory is available at a similar price, or that the JEDEC speeds can be prohibitive for performance. While these comments make sense, ultimately very few users apply memory profiles (either XMP or other) as they require interaction with the BIOS, and most users will fall back on JEDEC supported speeds - this includes home users as well as industry who might want to shave off a cent or two from the cost or stay within the margins set by the manufacturer. Where possible, we will extend out testing to include faster memory modules either at the same time as the review or a later date.

Test Setup
Processor	AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X, 16 Cores, 32 Threads, 3.5 GHz (4.4 GHz Turbo)
Motherboard	ASRock X399 Phantom Gaming 6 (BIOS P1.10)
Cooling	Thermaltake Floe Riing RGB 360
Power Supply	Thermaltake Toughpower Grand 1200W Gold PSU
Memory	4x8GB GSkill TridentZ RGB DDR4-3200
Memory Settings	DDR4-2666, 1.2 V, 16-18-18-35 1T
Video Card	ASUS GTX 980 STRIX (1178/1279 Boost)
Hard Drive	Crucial MX300 1TB
Case	Open Test Bed
Operating System	Windows 10 Pro 64-bit

Readers of our motherboard review section will have noted the trend in modern motherboards to implement a form of MultiCore Enhancement / Acceleration / Turbo (read our report here) on their motherboards. This does several things, including better benchmark results at stock settings (not entirely needed if overclocking is an end-user goal) at the expense of heat and temperature. It also gives, in essence, an automatic overclock which may be against what the user wants. Our testing methodology is ‘out-of-the-box’, with the latest public BIOS installed and XMP enabled, and thus subject to the whims of this feature. It is ultimately up to the motherboard manufacturer to take this risk – and manufacturers taking risks in the setup is something they do on every product (think C-state settings, USB priority, DPC Latency / monitoring priority, overriding memory sub-timings at JEDEC). Processor speed change is part of that risk, and ultimately if no overclocking is planned, some motherboards will affect how fast that shiny new processor goes and can be an important factor in the system build.

New Test Suite: Spectre and Meltdown Hardened

Since the start of our Z390 reviews, we are using an updated OS, updated drivers, and updated software. This is in line with our CPU testing updates, which includes Spectre and Meltdown patches. 

Many thanks due to...

Thank you to ASUS for providing us with GTX 980 Strix GPUs. At the time of release, the STRIX brand from ASUS was aimed at silent running, or to use the marketing term: '0dB Silent Gaming'. This enables the card to disable the fans when the GPU is dealing with low loads well within temperature specifications. These cards equip the GTX 980 silicon with ASUS' Direct CU II cooler and 10-phase digital VRMs, aimed at high-efficiency conversion. Along with the card, ASUS bundles GPU Tweak software for overclocking and streaming assistance.

The GTX 980 uses NVIDIA's GM204 silicon die, built upon their Maxwell architecture. This die is 5.2 billion transistors for a die size of 298 mm2, built on TMSC's 28nm process. A GTX 980 uses the full GM204 core, with 2048 CUDA Cores and 64 ROPs with a 256-bit memory bus to GDDR5. The official power rating for the GTX 980 is 165W.

The ASUS GTX 980 Strix 4GB (or the full name of STRIX-GTX980-DC2OC-4GD5) runs a reasonable overclock over a reference GTX 980 card, with frequencies in the range of 1178-1279 MHz. The memory runs at stock, in this case 7010 MHz. Video outputs include three DisplayPort connectors, one HDMI 2.0 connector and a DVI-I.

Further Reading: AnandTech's NVIDIA GTX 980 Review

Thank you to Crucial for providing us with MX200/MX300 SSDs. Crucial stepped up to the plate as our benchmark list grows larger with newer benchmarks and titles, and the 1TB units are strong performers. The MX200s are based on Marvell's 88SS9189 controller and using Micron's 16nm 128Gbit MLC flash, these are 7mm high, 2.5-inch drives rated for 100K random read IOPs and 555/500 MB/s sequential read and write speeds. The 1TB models we are using here support TCG Opal 2.0 and IEEE-1667 (eDrive) encryption and have a 320TB rated endurance with a three-year warranty.

Further Reading: AnandTech's Crucial MX200 (250 GB, 500 GB & 1TB) Review

Thank you to Corsair for providing us with Vengeance LPX DDR4 Memory

Corsair kindly sent a set of their Vengeance LPX low profile, high-performance memory. The heatsink is made of pure aluminum to help remove heat from the sticks and has an eight-layer PCB. The heatsink is a low profile design to help fit in spaces where there may not be room for a tall heat spreader; think a SFF case or using a large heatsink.

System Performance

Not all motherboards are created equal. On the face of it, they should all perform the same and differ only in the functionality they provide - however, this is not the case. The obvious pointers are power consumption, but also the ability for the manufacturer to optimize USB speed, audio quality (based on audio codec), POST time and latency. This can come down to the manufacturing process and prowess, so these are tested.

For 2019, we are running an updated version of our test suite, including OS and CPU cooler. This has some effect on our results.

For this review, we had to test with a 2950X as the 1950X we normally use with X399 had to be returned. This has some effect on benchmark data, however it is still rated to the same 180W TDP as the 1950X.

Power Consumption

Power consumption was tested on the system while in a single ASUS GTX 980 GPU configuration with a wall meter connected to the Thermaltake 1200W power supply. This power supply has ~75% efficiency > 50W, and 90%+ efficiency at 250W, suitable for both idle and multi-GPU loading. This method of power reading allows us to compare the power management of the UEFI and the board to supply components with power under load, and includes typical PSU losses due to efficiency. These are the real world values that consumers may expect from a typical system (minus the monitor) using this motherboard.

While this method for power measurement may not be ideal, and you feel these numbers are not representative due to the high wattage power supply being used (we use the same PSU to remain consistent over a series of reviews, and the fact that some boards on our test bed get tested with three or four high powered GPUs), the important point to take away is the relationship between the numbers. These boards are all under the same conditions, and thus the differences between them should be easy to spot.

Power draw on the ASRock X399 Phantom Gaming 6 isn't too far away from the competition at full load with a total power draw on our test suite of 274 W. At long idle and idle power stages however, the slight reduction in controllers and features onboard could be at play with the lowest X399 power results attained so far.

Non-UEFI POST Time

Different motherboards have different POST sequences before an operating system is initialized. A lot of this is dependent on the board itself, and POST boot time is determined by the controllers on board (and the sequence of how those extras are organized). As part of our testing, we look at the POST Boot Time using a stopwatch. This is the time from pressing the ON button on the computer to when Windows starts loading. (We discount Windows loading as it is highly variable given Windows specific features.)

When compared directly against boards such as the ASRock X399 Taichi, the ASRock X399 Phantom Gaming 6 in POST did suffer somewhat with some of the worst results so far. Only the MSI MEG X399 Creation has performed worse so far and while the Phantom Gaming 6 was noticeably better than this, it's still off the mark we expect.

DPC Latency

Deferred Procedure Call latency is a way in which Windows handles interrupt servicing. In order to wait for a processor to acknowledge the request, the system will queue all interrupt requests by priority. Critical interrupts will be handled as soon as possible, whereas lesser priority requests such as audio will be further down the line. If the audio device requires data, it will have to wait until the request is processed before the buffer is filled.

If the device drivers of higher priority components in a system are poorly implemented, this can cause delays in request scheduling and process time. This can lead to an empty audio buffer and characteristic audible pauses, pops and clicks. The DPC latency checker measures how much time is taken processing DPCs from driver invocation. The lower the value will result in better audio transfer at smaller buffer sizes. Results are measured in microseconds.

All of the X399 motherboards on test haven't had manual DPC optimizations out of the box, but the ASRock X399 Phantom Gaming 6 managed to achieve the best latency result by a decent margin over boards such as the ASUS X399 ROG Zenith Extreme and the ASRock X399 Taichi.

CPU Performance, Short Form

For our motherboard reviews, we use our short form testing method. These tests usually focus on if a motherboard is using MultiCore Turbo (the feature used to have maximum turbo on at all times, giving a frequency advantage), or if there are slight gains to be had from tweaking the firmware. We put the memory settings at the CPU manufacturers suggested frequency, making it very easy to see which motherboards have MCT enabled by default.

For 2019, we are running an updated version of our test suite, including OS and CPU cooler. This has some effect on our results.

For this review, we had to test with a 2950X as the 1950X we normally use with X399 had to be returned. This has some effect on benchmark data, however it is still rated to the same 180W TDP as the 1950X.

3D Movement Algorithm Test v2.1: link

3DPM is a self-penned benchmark, taking basic 3D movement algorithms used in Brownian Motion simulations and testing them for speed. High floating point performance, MHz and IPC wins in the single thread version, whereas the multithread version has to handle the threads and loves more cores. For a brief explanation of the platform agnostic coding behind this benchmark, see my forum post here. We are using the latest version of 3DPM, which has a significant number of tweaks over the original version to avoid issues with cache management and speeding up some of the algorithms.

Rendering - LuxMark v3.1: link

As a synthetic, LuxMark might come across as somewhat arbitrary as a renderer, given that it's mainly used to test GPUs, but it does offer both an OpenCL and a standard C++ mode. In this instance, aside from seeing the comparison in each coding mode for cores and IPC, we also get to see the difference in performance moving from a C++ based code-stack to an OpenCL one with a CPU as the main host.

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Rendering - Blender 2.78: link

For a render that has been around for what seems like ages, Blender is still a highly popular tool. We managed to wrap up a standard workload into the February 5 nightly build of Blender and measure the time it takes to render the first frame of the scene. Being one of the bigger open source tools out there, it means both AMD and Intel work actively to help improve the codebase, for better or for worse on their own/each other's microarchitecture.

Rendering – POV-Ray 3.7.1b4: link

The Persistence of Vision Ray Tracer, or POV-Ray, is a freeware package for as the name suggests, ray tracing. It is a pure renderer, rather than modeling software, but the latest beta version contains a handy benchmark for stressing all processing threads on a platform. We have been using this test in motherboard reviews to test memory stability at various CPU speeds to good effect – if it passes the test, the IMC in the CPU is stable for a given CPU speed. As a CPU test, it runs for approximately 2-3 minutes on high end platforms. 7-Zip 9.2: link

Synthetic – 7-Zip 9.2: link

As an open source compression tool, 7-Zip is a popular tool for making sets of files easier to handle and transfer. The software offers up its own benchmark, to which we report the result.

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Neuron Simulation - DigiCortex v1.20: link

The newest benchmark in our suite is DigiCortex, a simulation of biologically plausible neural network circuits, and simulates activity of neurons and synapses. DigiCortex relies heavily on a mix of DRAM speed and computational throughput, indicating that systems which apply memory profiles properly should benefit and those that play fast and loose with overclocking settings might get some extra speed up. Results are taken during the steady state period in a 32k neuron simulation, and represented as a function of the ability to simulate in real time (1.000x equals real-time).

Gaming Performance

Due to the change of graphics card on the X399 test bench from an AMD RX 570 to a slightly more powerful NVIDIA GTX 980, for game testing, we're comparing it to our AM4 chipset boards. The Ryzen 7 1700 and Ryzen Threadripper 2950X share the similar Zen core architecture ported over to 12 nm which does perform similarly in gaming scenarios. The Ryzen Threadripper 2950X was tested in our game benchmark suite with both SMT enabled and disabled as in previous testing, it has shown that SMT can actually hinder in-game performance due to the lack of high thread optimization within certain games.

CHECK OVER - The only anomaly came in our Total War: WARHAMMER benchmark testing with the 1950X performing considerably worse than the Ryzen 1700. Every other test provided the expected results.

For 2019, we are running an updated version of our test suite, including OS and CPU cooler. This has some effect on our results.

For this review, we had to test with a 2950X as the 1950X we normally use with X399 had to be returned. This has some effect on benchmark data, however it is still rated to the same 180W TDP as the 1950X.

Ashes of the Singularity

Seen as the holy child of DirectX12, Ashes of the Singularity (AoTS, or just Ashes) has been the first title to actively go explore as many of DirectX12s features as it possibly can. Stardock, the developer behind the Nitrous engine which powers the game, has ensured that the real-time strategy title takes advantage of multiple cores and multiple graphics cards, in as many configurations as possible.

Rise Of The Tomb Raider

Rise of the Tomb Raider is a third-person action-adventure game that features similar gameplay found in 2013's Tomb Raider. Players control Lara Croft through various environments, battling enemies, and completing puzzle platforming sections, while using improvised weapons and gadgets in order to progress through the story.

One of the unique aspects of this benchmark is that it’s actually the average of 3 sub-benchmarks that fly through different environments, which keeps the benchmark from being too weighted towards a GPU’s performance characteristics under any one scene.

Thief

Thief has been a long-standing title in PC gamers hearts since the introduction of the very first iteration which was released back in 1998 (Thief: The Dark Project). Thief as it is simply known rebooted the long-standing series and renowned publisher Square Enix took over the task from where Eidos Interactive left off back in 2004. The game itself utilises the fluid Unreal Engine 3 engine and is known for optimised and improved destructible environments, large crowd simulation and soft body dynamics.

Overclocking

Experience with ASRock X399 Phantom Gaming 6

Even though the ASRock X399 Phantom Gaming 6 is targeting gamers and users looking for an entry-level Threadripper motherboard, there is some plenty of appeal for enthusiasts looking to overclock. Now it has to be noted that the X399 Phantom Gaming 6 has its power rating capped to support Threadripper processors with a TDP up to 180 W, but this doesn’t detract from the quality and the 16-core Threadripper 2950X is still a high-end option. The ASRock X399 Phantom Gaming 6 is more than equipped to handle its power and push it a bit further within the limitations of the silicon.

Overclocking in the BIOS with ASRock motherboards is an easy task if one is familiar with tweaking the core settings such as CPU frequency, CPU voltage and DRAM settings. Applying the XMP 2.0 memory profiles is a case of selecting the profile from a short drop-down menu under ‘Load XMP Setting’. Focusing on ASRock Phantom Gaming firmware, all the overclock settings are listed within the OC Tweaker section.

The AMD Threadripper 2950X does have limited overclocking headroom and not just from the high 16-core count - the Zen+ architecture for the better part on average silicon isn’t known for reaching super high frequencies. With the second generation of Threadripper processors, a lot of the extra performance can come from the Precision Boost Overdrive option. This uses system limits on temperature, VRM current and the PPT limits to attempt to overclock the processor, meaning a better cooler can do wonders here.. We’ve tested with precision boost enabled and disabled, as well as auto to conclude whether it is enabled on the X399 Phantom Gaming 6 by default.

All the overclocking settings that are needed are easily located and the firmware is as simple as it gets - there is no EZ Mode, but the OC Tweaker isn’t split into subsections and it’s all in one place. Setting manual overclocks can be done on the processor by simply adjusting CPU frequency and CPU voltage; it’s unlikely that more is needed and while the 6+2 power delivery might be underwhelming for the 250 W TDP chips, it’s more than enough for the Ryzen Threadripper 2950X with 180 W.

Methodology

Our standard overclocking methodology is as follows. We select the automatic overclock options and test for stability with POV-Ray and OCCT to simulate high-end workloads. These stability tests aim to catch any immediate causes for memory or CPU errors.

For manual overclocks, based on the information gathered from previous testing, starts off at a nominal voltage and CPU multiplier, and the multiplier is increased until the stability tests are failed. The CPU voltage is increased gradually until the stability tests are passed, and the process repeated until the motherboard reduces the multiplier automatically (due to safety protocol) or the CPU temperature reaches a stupidly high level (100ºC+). Our test bed is not in a case, which should push overclocks higher with fresher (cooler) air.

Overclocking Results

The two biggest limitations when overclocking a processor such as the 16-core AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X are thermals and silicon quality. In the case of our 2950X sample, we managed to hit a maximum of 4.2 GHz with a core voltage of 1.425 V - with Vdroop this was 1.408 V under load. Touching on the VDroop, it wasn't too bad from between 3.9 GHz and 4.1 GHz with an addition of around 0.01 V extra than was set in the BIOS. At 4.3 GHz it reversed roles and undervolted by nearly 0.02 V; this didn't make us overclock unstable as such, but it could have done on a lesser quality board. Even though the ASRock X399 Phantom Gaming 6 is currently one of the cheapest offering on the chipset, it's 6+2 power delivery does a good job. It is however easy to understand why it's locked down to support 180 W chips and not go beyond; it's good for 180 W, but it probably wouldn't be as reliable for 250 W.

There aren't any overclocking presets to choose from, with the exception of the Performance Bias Config 1 setting. From our testing, it didn't actually perform much more than stock settings in POV-Ray and thermally, it performed much worse. The CPU VCore load voltage jumped from 1.216 V at default settings, all the way to 1.264 V without that much extra performance to show for it. From our testing, the ASRock X399 Phantom Gaming 6 has Precision Boost Overdrive set to automatic by default (which is actually disabled) and extra performance can be gained from turning this on; it does draw more than 100 W more power and runs around 15°C higher, but it seems worth it.

ASRock X399 Phantom Gaming 6 Conclusion

The ASRock X399 Phantom Gaming 6 is an ATX sized offering with the aims to dominate the entry-level segment of Threadripper motherboards. It has an MSRP of $250, which puts it $30 cheaper than the GIGABYTE X399 Aorus Pro ($280) and $70 lower than the ASRock X399 Taichi ($350). On paper, the ASRock X399 Phantom Gaming 6 offers more in terms of feature set than the GIGABYTE X399 Aorus Pro. 

ASRock also enabled this motherboard with a few unique features, such as 2.5 gigabit ethernet, and expanded on common features, like triple M.2 for storage and triple x16 for add-in graphics. Its biggest caveat is in the CPU support list, with the ASRock X399 Phantom Gaming 6 offering support for Threadripper processors with a TDP up to 180 W. The power delivery is actually quite good for the 180W CPUs, running in a 6+2 configuration which is spearheaded by an Intersil ISL69147 7-phase PWM controller and six Intersil ISL99227 power stages that have direct mental contacts with a large 60 A rating. This kind of setup is fine for 180 W processors under optimal thermal conditions, but it’s not extensive enough for 250 W and the decision to limit it to 180 W is a good call. That gives the ASRock X399 Phantom Gaming 6 a unique position against the other competitors in that more useful and premium features can be added for users who opt for CPUs such as the Threadripper 2950X.

Performance in our test suite and in overclocking the Ryzen Threadripper 2950X processor proved competitive and shows that the X399 Phantom Gaming 6 is no slouch. The biggest win for the Phantom Gaming branded model was in DPC latency with a better than average score than the rest of the pack previously tested. Our CPU performance and gaming performance results we’re consistent with what was expected. The only real negative came in POST time with the second worst result on the X399 platform. We managed to achieve an overclock of 4.2 GHz with 1.425 V on the CPU Vcore and didn’t experience too much in the way of VDroop; it undervolted our CPU by just under 0.02 V. This is acceptable and didn’t cause any issues regarding the stability of the overclock.

Calling a $250 Threadripper compatible motherboard ‘budget’ is a bit of a stretch, but ASRock has a highly competitive and well-positioned model in the X399 Phantom Gaming 6. The design is modern and neutral and users looking for RGB will appreciate the two RGB headers and single addressable RGB header; the ASRock Polychrome Sync RGB software is one of the best utilities on the market as far as motherboards go. For users looking for a cheaper and feature-rich foundation for Threadripper based system and like gaming features such as 2.5 GbE NIC, the ASRock X399 Phantom Gaming 6 adds to a small X399 selection, but with something very appealing and offers good value. Workstation users looking to build a Threadripper 2990WX based system aren’t likely to grumble at $100 more for a beefier motherboard, and ASRock’s decision to limit CPU power to 180 W isn’t a detriment, but actually focuses cost where it needs to. At the price point, the ASRock X399 Phantom Gaming 6 is a serious board for the Threadripper entry level market and is certainly one to be considered.

Other AnandTech Ryzen Threadripper Coverage

• The ASRock X399 Taichi Motherboard Review: Cost-Effective Threadripper
• The MSI MEG X399 Creation Motherboard Review: The New 16-Phase Shark In Town
• The ASUS X399 ROG Zenith Extreme Motherboard Review: Top Tier Threadripper
• GIGABYTE's X399 Aorus Extreme: The Threadripper 2 Halo Motherboard
• The ASRock X399 Professional Gaming Motherboard Review: 10G For All
• The GIGABYTE X399 DESIGNARE EX Motherboard Review