ASRock Phantom Gaming B850i Lighting WiFi Review: Small But Powerful

Sajjad Hussain

As Tech4Gamers’ Founder and Editor-in-Chief, I bring over 13 years of PC Hardware Reviewing and 8+ years of IT Project Management experience. Certified in Google IT Support , my focus is on providing honest product reviews and analysis and fostering a strong gaming community with 130k+ members in PPG.

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Ali

I intitally started by writing CPU comparisons and since then have written articles of all kinds, from Wikis and How-Tos to dedicated CPU reviews. Currently, I test and review CPUs, motherboards, and sometimes, RAM.

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The AMD’s B850 chipset motherboards are finally here, and the ASRock Phantom Gaming B850i Lightning Wi-Fi is no exception. This is a Mini-ITX mid-range motherboard that is mostly targeted towards mid-range PC builders with a knack for small form factor PCs. The motherboard costs $209.99 USD; that doesn’t look too bad for this form factor. However, let’s dig in deeper to see what it offers and what it lacks.

Key Takeaways

• The motherboard offers impressive performance during games as well as in productivity applications.
• The ASRock PG B850i Lighting WiFi is an aesthetically pleasing motherboard that looks great when matched with a decent chassis and other components.
• The VRMs on this run a little hotter than usual so you have to keep a check on their temperature levels.

You can look at the specs of the motherboard here: 

Packaging & Unboxing

The motherboard is nicely packed in a cardboard box that is purple on most parts. Also, the overall design of the box is updated to match modern aesthetics.

Starting with the front side of the box, there’s not a lot of stuff to discuss; we can see the ASRock Phantom Gaming B850i Lightning motherboard itself. Parallel to the motherboard is the Phantom Gaming logo; underneath that, we can see the board’s name. Moreover, we can witness ASRock’s very own RGB control software branding as it comes with the support. 

Let’s head over to the flip side of the box, where we can see everything in detail. From Wi-Fi 6E to the Killer E3100 LAN to its VRM phase solution, which is 10+1+1 and Blazing Gen5 M.2 support. The back side has everything in detail. We can also see the whole spec sheet inside the purple lane. Right in there, there are two QR codes as well, which you can scan to reach out to ASRock’s support via social media and the website.

• 2x SATA Cables
• 2x ASRock WiFi 6 GHz Antennas
• 2x Screws for M.2 Sockets
• 1x Thermistor Cable
• Quick Installation Guide
• 2x ASRock Cable Ties

For a motherboard of this form factor, I would say it’s a decent amount of accessories bundled in. Not to forget the special find, which is the thermistor cable. This comes in handy when you’re looking to monitor your components’ temperatures a bit in-depth, as it provides an extra perspective to look from. Besides this, the rest of the stuff is quite basic and common among all motherboards.

Design

The motherboard itself has a black-themed PCB with black heatsinks with a brushed aluminum finish. However, the motherboard does include the purple sticker covering half of its VRM heatsink to match the box’s purple aesthetics. Moreover, the VRM heatsink also has the “Lightning” branding right under the sticker area. Another thing worth mentioning is that the motherboard doesn’t feature any kind of onboard RGB lighting.

Switching to the back side of the motherboard, the PCB is mostly naked except for the VRM solution area. Where a small backplate is installed to further cool down the power delivery solution. Furthermore, we can also see the 2nd M.2 Gen4 slot right on the back side of the front Gen5 M.2 slot. As for the PCB’s build quality, it features an 8-layer PCB design that ensures sturdiness and stable signal pass-through.

Like other B850 chipsets, and even the X870 chipset, it features the same single PROM21 chip. This means we can’t expect flagship tier I/O, but it’s still strong enough to cover almost everything. The CPU covers the support for the fast DDR5 memory, PCIe Gen5 x16 for the graphics card, and Gen5 x4 slot for the M.2 drive. Besides those, it also provides life to the rear USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A and Type-C ports and audio.

The chipset manages the rear USB 3.2 Gen1 and 2.0 ports and the front USB 3.2 Gen2/1 and USB 2.0 ports. In addition to the USB port selection, the chipset also manages the Wi-Fi, LAN, and SATA ports, along with the secondary M.2 storage expansion.

CPU Socket & Power Delivery Solution

The motherboard features the standard AM5 socket present in all other AMD motherboards supporting minimum AMD Ryzen 7000 processors. The socket is called the LGA1718 socket, which you see in the pictures uploaded above. 

As for the power delivery, it’s quite fine, as the motherboard features a 10+1+1 VRM phase design. Moreover, these are with 110A SPS, where 10 phases are for the VCore, 1 for SOC, and 1 for VDD_MISC. The Dr.MOS design ensures smooth power delivery for better OC as well as stock performance.

To provide ample and stable power to the CPU, ASRock has provided a single high-density 8-pin EPS power connector. It’s more than enough for the most part, especially in the mid-range PC build segment.

ASRock has provided an enlarged heatsink with fins on its sides and thick thermal pads at the bottom to ensure maximum heat dissipation to keep the power delivery within safe temperature limits.

DIMM Slots

Taking things further, we can talk about its memory capacity and capabilities. The motherboard offers two DIMM slots that support DDR5 standard memory kits in dual-channel mode. Additionally, we can stack two 64 GB modules in there with speeds reaching up to 8200+ MT/s (OC) right out of the box with the available X.M.P and EXPO memory profiles.

Storage Options

Since it’s a mini-ITX motherboard, we can’t expect a lot of storage expansion slots, and that is indeed the case here. Though it does make use of the available space on its back. With that taken into account, we get a main Gen5x4 M.2 drive slot on the front with a heatsink for cooling. As for its back, there we can see the Gen4x4 M.2 slot without a heatsink. Also, both the M.2 slots support 2280 cut drives only. Other than NVMe drive slots, the motherboard also has two SATA3 6.0 Gb/s ports to further expand the storage on your computer.

PCIe Slots

Swaying further to the other components on the motherboard, we have come up with its PCIe offering. The ASRock Phantom Gaming B850i Lightning Wi-Fi offers a single PCIe 5.0 x16 with SMT technology. This ensures maximum signal flow and stability, which isn’t possible with the old DIP standard PCIe slot. Moreover, the PCIe slot has ASRock’s reinforced steel housing to enhance the slot’s durability and not break down easily when heavy cards are installed.

USB Connectivity

As far as the connectivity options are concerned on this motherboard, they’re not extraordinary and are good enough to move forward with your day at acceptable data transfer speeds. You get a total of 13 USB ports, including both the front and rear sides. These are all the USB ports that you can utilize:

• 4x USB 2.0 ports (Rear)
• 2x USB 2.0 ports (Front)
• 1x USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A port (Rear)
• 2x USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A ports (Front)
• 1x USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-C port (Front)
• 2x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A ports (Rear)
• 1x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C port (Rear)

The USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C port at the rear supports DP 1.4 and can be used as a display out with max resolution support of 4K at 60Hz in DP-alt mode. This is the only port with an extra perk; the rest of the ports are standard data transfer ports.

Network and Connectivity

No motherboard is complete with some kind of network solution baked into it, either wired or wireless. This motherboard, however, offers both, as it features an Intel Killer E3100G 2.5G LAN port for wired connectivity. While on the flip side, it also boasts an 802.11axe Wi-Fi 6E module that supports Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2. Do remember, though, that there is no driver available for Windows 10 to get the 6E module working at its full potential. So, you have to stick to Windows 11 to get the most out of it.

Audio Solution

The motherboard has a 7.1 CH HD-supported Realtek ALC1220 audio codec with content protection that takes care of the audio in and out. Also makes sure that you get the most engaging audio experience with its Nahimic audio integration by Steelseries. 

Internal Connectors & Components

Here’s the list of the internal connectors and components that the motherboard offers:

• 1x 24-pin Power Connector
• 2x Addressable LED Headers
• 1x Thermistor Cable Header
• 1x 4-pin Chassis Fan Connector 
• 1x 4-pin CPU Fan Connector 
• 1x 4-pin AIO Pump Fan Connector 
• 1x 8-pin Hi-Density EPS Power Connector 
• 1x Front Audio Connector 
• 1x USB 3.2 Gen1 Header with support for two USB ports
• 1x USB 2.0 Header with support for two USB 2.0 ports
• 1x Front Panel Type-C USB 3.2 Gen1 Header 

The highlighting feature here is the thermistor connector, which can be used to monitor any component’s temperature to get a second reading for further clarification or something else.

Rear I/O Panel

Firstly, the rear I/O features an integrated I/O to save you the hassle of trying to attach the shield separately. As for the rear ports, here’s the list of everything the motherboard offers:

• 1x HDMI Port
• 1x Optical SPDIF OutPort
• 2x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A Ports (Up to 10 Gbps)
• 1x USB 3.2 Gen1 Port
• 1x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C Port (10 Gbps with Dp-alt mode support)
• 2x Antenna Ports
• 4x USB 2.0 Ports
• 1x BIOS Flashback Button
• 1x 2.5G LAN Port
• 1x Mic Input Jack
• 1x Line Out Jack 

The USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C port with DP-alt support is impressive as it can be utilized as a display out port as well instead of just being used as a data transfer or device connecting port.

Test Setup

These are the specs that we’re throwing in with the motherboard for the benchmarks:

Here is our test bench and configuration:

• AMD Ryzen 9 9950X 16C/32T
• ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 420 Liquid CPU Cooler
• G. Skill Trident Z5 Royal NEO DDR5-6000 CL28 EXPO Kit (2×16 = 32GB)
• XPG Lancer RGB 32GB 7200MHz DDR5 RAM
• Nvidia GeForce Gigabyte RTX 4090 Gaming OC
• Western Digital SN850 Black 500GB NVMe SSD [For OS]
• Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus 2TB Gen4x4 NVMe SSD [For Software]
• Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus 4TB Gen4x4 NVMe SSD [For Games]
• Sabrent Rocket NANO V2 4TB Portable SSD
• Corsair HX1200i Platinum PSU
• Windows 11 Pro Build 23H2
• BIOS Version 3.08
• AGESA 1.2.0.2 firmware

Synthetic Benchmarks

The ASRock PG B850i Lighting WiFi performed excellently and secured 2nd place in Cinebench 2024 with 140 points for single core and 2304 scores for multi-core benchmark run.

The story is slightly different when it comes to Geekbench 6. In its multi-threaded test, the ASRock PG B850i Lighting WiFi ended up being 4th against the rest with 21711 points. 

The ASRock PG B850i Lighting WiFi completed the Blender 4.0.2 rendering run in 54 seconds, placing it in the 2nd last spot on our result chart. However, the time difference isn’t huge. 

Surprisingly enough, the ASRock PG B850i Lighting WiFi beat all other competing motherboards by completing the Corona 11 test run in 63.1 seconds. Sure, the other boards aren’t too far behind, but it’s still a win.

In our V-Ray benchmark run, the ASRock PG B850i Lighting WiFi completed its run with 48785 points. 

Gaming Benchmarks

In our Cyberpunk 2077 benchmark, with this motherboard, the PC was able to hit 143 average FPS and 108 minimum FPS. The difference is pretty much non-existent compared to other motherboards.

The story is quite similar when it comes to Starfield as well. The PC managed to get 109 average FPS and 79 minimum FPS – only lagging behind other motherboards by 1 to 2 FPS.

We chose Far Cry 6 for our third and last gaming benchmark, and this is no surprise that the PC performed similarly and fell behind with just 1-2 FPS at most.

Power Consumption, Boot Times, And VRM Temperatures

Since it’s a mini-ITX motherboard, we are not surprised with the lower power consumption on this. The ASRock PG B850i Lighting WiFi eats 101W of power at Idle, 119W during gaming sessions, and 361W on full load.

The ASRock PG B850i Lighting WiFi is also impressive when it comes to boot times, the motherboard completes its boot sequence in 22 seconds right behind the winner B850 Tomahawk which boots up in 21 seconds.

The ASRock PG B850i Lighting WiFi isn’t that great when it comes to its VRM temperatures, sure they are higher than the rest but still fall under the safe temperature limits.

Should You Buy It?

Buy It If:

✅You want to build a mini-ITX PC: If you’re looking to build a mini-ITX PC and seeking the best option among motherboards then the ASRock PG B850i Lighting WiFi serves that purpose very well without compromising on performance.

✅You want decent performance: This mini-ITX motherboard sure looks small, but offers excellent performance as can seen in our tests, so if you’re looking for decent performance, this board is a neat pick. 

Don’t Buy It If: 

❌If your PC chassis has bad airflow: The VRMs on this motherboard run a little hotter than the rest so if your place is quite hot and you don’t have a decent airflow in your PC chassis too, then better look for something else or use with care and under safe limits.

My Thoughts

We have yet again reached the point where we have to get everything together and throw out our final words on the product. Starting off with its aesthetics, the motherboard doesn’t fall behind and looks great in its all-black PCB color scheme with matching heatsinks all over it. 

While the board does cost you $209.99, the motherboard justifies it pretty well with its competitive performance figures that speak volumes for its excellence. Moreover, the support for higher-speed memory is also a plus here and impressed us the most alongside the number of I/O options that it features.

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Ali

[Hardware Reviewer]

Hi! I’m Ali Tauseef, and I have been writing for Tech4Gamers since 2022. I love all things computer hardware but am particularly fond of CPUs and motherboards, and I like to stay up-to-date about the latest advancements in these worlds, and when possible, write about it. When I’m not doing that, I like to get into a little FPS action in CS2 or get lost in the vast world of RDR2.

Get In Touch: ali@tech4gamers.com