ASRock Preps Phantom Gaming Motherboards: Initial SKU to Feature 2.5G Ethernet
by Anton Shilov on October 3, 2018 2:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
- AMD
- Intel
- ASRock
- 2.5GBase-T
- Multi-Gig
- Phantom Gaming
ASRock is readying another lineup of motherboards aimed specifically at gamers. The Phantom Gaming mainboards will join ASRock’s Radeon graphics cards that carry the same brand. The first products in the series will feature 2.5G Ethernet.
Right now, ASRock has five families of motherboards, including the Extreme, Taichi, Fatal1ty Gaming, OC Formula, and Pro. Based on a teaser that ASRock recently published over at its YouTube channel, the company is prepping “next generation” Phantom Gaming-branded mainboards.
One of the key features of the Phantom Gaming motherboards will be “2.5G Ethernet with low latency.” At present it is unclear whether the platform is set to use a controller from Aquantia (presumably the AQtion AQC108 in this case) or a yet unannounced silicon from Rivet Networks. In any case, 2.5G Ethernet will be a welcome addition to a gamers-oriented mainboard.
While ASRock does not disclose other specs of its upcoming Phantom Gaming motherboards, we can speculate that the initial family will include at least one platform based on Intel’s upcoming Z390 chipset. Eventually, the lineup will get broader as AMD and Intel introduce their next-gen chipsets.
What remains unclear is whether the new Phantom Gaming lineup will complement the existing families of motherboards, or rather replace one of them going forward. Meanwhile, keeping in mind that ASRock does not publish teasers well in advance of actual product launches, it is likely that we will learn more about its Phantom Gaming motherboards shortly.
Related Reading:
- Aquantia Launch AQtion 5G/2.5G/1G Multi-Gigabit Ethernet Cards (NICs) for PCIe
- The ASRock X470 Taichi Ultimate Motherboard Review: Aquantia 10GbE on Ryzen
- ASRock Announces X299 Professional Gaming i9 with 3-Way Multi-GPU, 10Gb Ethernet, & Wi-Fi
- ASUS Launches XG-C100C 10 GBase-T Adapter: Aquantia AQC107, $99
- GIGABYTE’s GC-AQC107 10G Ethernet PCIe Card Launched and Listed
- Aquantia’s Gamer Edition AQtion AQN-107 10 GbE NIC Available
Sources: ASRock YouTube, TechPowerUp
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Dug - Wednesday, October 3, 2018 - link
I hope it has lots of flashy lights. I won't buy anything without flashy light.CaedenV - Wednesday, October 3, 2018 - link
What is the holdup on not just putting 10gig NICs in things? Even if the average home network can only support 2.5 or 5gbps and not a full 10gig it would at least give people options, and manufacturers a standard target to hit. I just really don't like these partial standards between major roadmap standards. I mean, it is better than nothing, and I don't have a 2.5gig switch to plug it into, so why am I complaining.Also... still waiting for cheap home routers and switches that have 2-4 10gig ports for ~$150 (without it being a used device, or some industrial thing with lots of noisy fans).
close - Wednesday, October 3, 2018 - link
Mostly the price of the hardware (NIC/switch) + cabling. Maybe also power.brunis.dk - Friday, October 5, 2018 - link
Just buy some used Mellanox cards and do point to point. If it's for gaming you want low latency right? .. What games share more than 100 MB/Sec across the internet? .. ridiculous marketing.Joffer - Monday, October 8, 2018 - link
Or maybe the Realtek 8125 chip (2.5G ethernet)