ASRock's $200 Mini-ITX motherboard to support Intel Core i9-14900K
Small and powerful.
ASRock is prepping its new Mini-ITX motherboard that promises to enable compact high-end PCs without breaking the bank. The Phantom Gaming B760I Lightning Wi-Fi will support Intel's range-topping Core i9-14900K, a decent voltage regulating module (VRM), and respectable connectivity, all for $200.
ASRock's Phantom Gaming B760I Lightning Wi-Fi motherboard is designed to combine relative affordability with premium features and build quality. The mainboard supports Intel's unlocked CPUs in LGA1700 packaging, including a top-of-the-line Core i9-14900K processor, and enables decent overclocking potential using a 14+1+1 voltage regulating module covered with massive heatsinks. Since the Mini-ITX motherboard is (naturally) equipped with two DDR5 memory slots, expect the platform to offer great memory overclockability, too.
The Phantom Gaming B760I Lightning Wi-Fi motherboard is equipped with pretty much everything expected from a decent gaming platform, including a PCIe x16 slot for graphics cards, an M.2-2280 slot for SSDs with a built-in heat spreader, and two SATA ports.
On the connectivity side of matters, ASRock's Phantom Gaming B760I Lightning has a relatively standard set of wireless and wired technologies, including a Wi-Fi 6E + Bluetooth adapter (as the name of the motherboard suggests), a 2.5 GbE port, three display outputs (DisplayPort, HDMI, USB-C rated for 10 Gbps), multiple USB Type-A 3.0 connectors rated for 5 Gbps, two audio connectors, and an S/P DIF.
The key selling point of ASRock's Phantom Gaming B760I Lightning Wi-Fi motherboard is certainly its combination of advanced features aimed at gamers, overclocking potential, and a relatively low price. Meanwhile, ASRock's Phantom Gaming B760I Lightning Wi-Fi is certainly not the only gaming-oriented platform out there that costs around $200. For example, Asustek's ROG Strix B760-I Gaming Wi-Fi is available for $183.99. Therefore, it looks like we will see some tough competition between Intel's B760-based motherboards in this segment in the coming months, which is certainly not bad.
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Anton Shilov is a contributing writer at Tom’s Hardware. Over the past couple of decades, he has covered everything from CPUs and GPUs to supercomputers and from modern process technologies and latest fab tools to high-tech industry trends.
- Paul AlcornManaging Editor: News and Emerging Tech