AMD’s X870 chipset was amazing in terms of price-to-performance ratio, and we believed it couldn’t be topped. However, AMD’s latest B850 chipset is yet another surprise. It provides a more budget-friendly option for consumers upgrading to the Ryzen 9000 series CPUs. ASRock was gracious enough to provide us with one of their latest mid-range budget options: the ASRock Phantom Gaming B850 Riptide WiFi.

The Phantom Gaming motherboards are known to provide better value for gamers, so let’s see how this particular product performs in our benchmarks and what goodies ASRock has prepared for us this time around.

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Key Takeaways

• The ASRock Phantom Gaming B850 Riptide WiFi is a mid-range motherboard with a $219 price tag. It provides all the juicy bennies: WiFi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, PCIe Gen 5 slots, and more.
• It’s amazing if you want a decent motherboard on a lower budget for AMD’s latest CPU lineup.
• I recommend staying away if you want to occupy both PCIe expansion slots and all four M.2 slots at once.

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Here’s a quick rundown of the motherboard’s specifications:

ASRock PG B850 Riptide WiFi	Specifications
CPU Support	AMD Ryzen 7000, Ryzen 8000, Ryzen 9000
Memory Support	DDR5 8,000MHz
PCIe Slots	1x PCIe 5.0 x16, 1x PCIe 4.0 x4, 1x vertical M.2 socket
M.2 Slots	1x PCIe 5.0 x4, 1x PCIe 4.0 x4, 2x PCIe 4.0 x4
SATA Ports	4x 6Gbps
Audio	Realtek ALC4082 Audio Codec
Network & Connectivity	1x 2.5G LAN, 1x 802.11be 2×2 WiFi 7, Bluetooth 5.4
USB Ports	20 ports, including 1x USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Type-C (Front)
Size	ATX Form Factor: 305mm x 248mm
MSRP	$219

Some changes over the last generation ASRock B650E PG Riptide WiFi include PCIe 5.0 expansion and M.2 slots, WiFi 7 over WiFi 6E, and Bluetooth 5.4 over Bluetooth 5.2. I would have liked to see a 5G LAN, but unfortunately, ASRock has decided to stay on 2.5G for the B850 this time around as well.

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Packaging & Unboxing

Unlike its last-gen motherboards like the B650E PG ITX, the B850 Riptide has changed its packaging color considerably. You can see quite the color shift, which I don’t mind.

There’s not much to see on the front of the box, with just the motherboard’s name, its WiFi 7 certification, and “AMD Ryzen 9000 Desktop Ready”. However, the back of the box is filled with design information, VRMs, and capacitance. The basic specifications and an I/O overview are also readily available.

Here’s what you’ll find inside the box:

• Quick installation guide
• Regulatory notice
• 2x SATA data cables
• 1x A-RGB splitter cable
• 2x ASRock WiFi 2.4/5/6GHz antennas
• 1x thermistor cable

You don’t have many accessories, but the SATA cables and the A-RGB splitter cable will be handy. If you’re a newbie PC builder, keep the quick installation guide close. The installation process isn’t too difficult, so you shouldn’t worry. The accessories also include 2x WiFi 2.4/5/6GHz antennas and a thermistor cable, but the former is unnecessary with WiFi 7 connectivity.

There aren’t many EZ build features except for a GPU lite release and a tool-less M.2 heatsink, which makes sense considering its pricing, even among other B850 motherboards.

Design

Focusing its branding on gamers, the ASRock Phantom Gaming B850 Riptide WiFi motherboard has a more colorful design than other budget options. While the product isn’t dipped in RGB, you get a blue hue underneath the M.2 heatsink, complementing the motherboard’s blue aesthetic design. Besides that, the motherboard is fully black and has little to look at.

The B850 Riptide WiFi is built on an 8-layer PCB, which helps provide stable signal traces and power shapes, resulting in lower temperatures and overall greater efficiency. The higher quality PCB is great for memory overclocking, although Ryzen 9000 series CPUs mainly benefit from 6,400MHz RAM.

The above block diagram shows what the CPU and the chipset provide power to. For example, the CPU powers the DDR5 RAM slots, an HDMI port, the PCIe 5.0 expansion slot, and the M.2 slot. The CPU also powers an M.2 PCIe 4.0 x4 slot and 3x USB 3.2 ports. On the other hand, the chipset powers 4x USB 3.2 ports and 2x USB 2.0 ports. Besides that, the audio codec and remaining PCIe slots are also powered by the chipset, along with WiFi 6E and SATA ports.

Power Delivery System

Like all other motherboards using the B850 chipset, the B850 Riptide utilizes the AM5 LGA1718 socket and supports Ryzen 7000, 8000, and 9000 series CPUs.

As for the VRMs, the motherboard houses a 14+2+1 phase power design, with 80A Dr.MOS SPS for VCore and SOC. The duet-rail design on the VRMs is a better solution than a doubler phase, but it’s not as good as one stage per controller setups. In total, the CPU gets 1,120A, which is more than enough for even high-end Ryzen 9000 CPUs when overclocked.

Upon closer inspection, the motherboard has the exclusive 1000uF capacitors, rated for 20K capacitance and providing up to 20,000 hours of lifespan. It seems ASRock did not hold back at all with the capacitors for the lower-end chipset. I’m excited to see how it performs in real world.

We see standard 2×8-EPS connectors for the CPU, utilizing ASRock’s Hi-Density power connector system designed to withstand higher current loads. This design will help keep the system stable and perform better overclocks without facing annoying crashes.

The aluminum heatsinks use a stacked fin design with 6x fins, and we see plenty of thermal pads to keep the VRMs cool. Again, design-wise, we don’t see much except for the motherboard’s name and a decent blue design on the I/O heatsink.

DIMM Slots

Pretty standard stuff over here, with the motherboard housing 4x DIMM slots with a maximum capacity of 256GB and a maximum speed of 8,000MHz. A handy feature I liked is that the motherboard supports both Intel XMP and AMD EXPO settings, allowing an easier transition from Intel to AMD.

The DIMM slots are placed fairly far apart from the CPU socket, so you shouldn’t face any RAM and CPU cooler compatibility issues unless your RAM is extremely tall. It’s also important to note that Ryzen 7000 and 9000 series CPUs don’t like RAM speeds over 6,400MHz, as the FLCK value drops to 1:2, negatively affecting performance.

PCIe Slots

The ASRock Phantom Gaming B850 Riptide WiFi motherboard has two PCIe slots, and the PCIe 1 expansion slot utilizes PCIe 5.0 x16, which should be used for your graphics card. The PCIe 2 slot uses PCIe 4.0 x16, but if the M2_4 slot is occupied, this PCIe slot will be disabled. We also see a vertical M.2 socket which supports WiFi or Bluetooth modules.

The PCIe 1 expansion slot also houses the Graphics Card Lite release mechanism to ease troubleshooting and installation processes. The enlarged latch must be pressed, and you can easily pull the GPU out of the slot.

Storage

The motherboard has four M.2 slots. The M2_1 slot utilizes PCIe Gen 5.0 x4 — ideally, your priority slot. The M2_2 and M2_3 slots utilize PCIe Gen 4.0 x4. The problematic M2_4 slot also runs on PCIe Gen 4.0 x4. According to ASRock, all the NVMe M.2 storage drives can be configured for RAID 0, RAID 1, or RAID 10.

The M.2 heatsinks also have a toolless design, with a quick-release mechanism on the motherboard, making them user-friendly. ASRock has also introduced an anti-drop screw design on the M.2 heatsinks, making it impossible for you to lose any screws during installation.

These are the M.2 types the motherboard supports:

• M2_1: 2280
• M2_2, M2_4: 2260/2280
• M2_3: 2230/2260/2280

Three heatsinks cover three M.2 NVMe SSDs, while the M2_2 runs without a heatsink on top. I would have preferred either a heatsink on the M.2_2 or switching the positions of the M2_2 and M2_4. Thankfully, all the heatsinks have a toolless design and can be easily removed. This is what the heatsinks look like after being removed:

The three covered slots use double-sided thermal pads, so you won’t have to worry about the temperatures. It should be pretty standard in most motherboards by now, but it’s a good feature to see.

USB Connectivity

The motherboard houses 20x USB slots:

• 2x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C (Rear)
• 2x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A (Rear)
• 3x USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A (Rear)
• 1x USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Type-C (Front)
• 4x USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A (Front)
• 4x USB 2.0 (Rear)
• 4x USB 2.0 (Front)

To maintain cost-effectiveness, ASRock has opted not to provide a USB4 port; instead, we see only a single USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Type-C port on the front. I’m happy to see support for ESD protection on all the USB ports, ensuring there’s no physical damage during transient spikes.

Network & Connectivity

I’m disappointed with the motherboard’s wired 2.5G LAN connectivity. However, the wireless connectivity options are decent, providing WiFi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4. ASRock has included the Killer Control Center feature, which was originally for Intel’s CPUs. The program examines applications and prioritizes the most speed-critical applications for increased bandwidth. You can also manually customize the program according to your needs.

If you want to utilize WiFi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4, you’ll need Windows 11 24H2.

Audio Solution

The motherboard uses the mid-range Realtek ALC4082 audio codec with a few improvements. ASRock has implemented Steelseries’ Nahimic Audio software, which enhances audio quality from audio devices. The audio engine improves background noise suppression, cancels echo, and stabilizes voice for better communication.

The audio codec is isolated, and the PCB layers are separated to power the right and left audio channels. The isolated design helps provide clear audio because the audio jacks are in a different framework. Moreover, the motherboard houses Direct Drive Technology on the front headphone port, which supports up to 600 Ohm headsets.

Internal Connectors And Components

Here’s a rundown of all the connectors on the motherboard:

• 1x SPI TPM header
• 1x thermistor cable header
• 1x power LED and speaker header
• 1x RGB LED header
• 3x addressable LED headers
• 2x CPU fan connectors (4-pin) (Smart Fan Speed control)
• 3x chassis fan connectors (4-pin) (Smart Fan Speed control)
• 1x AIO pump fan connector (4-pin) (Smart Fan Speed control)
• 1x 24-pin ATX power connector (Hi-Density power connector)
• 2x 8-pin 12V power connectors (Hi-Density power connector)
• 1x front panel audio connector
• 2x USB 2.0 headers (support 4 USB 2.0 ports)
• 2x USB 3.2 Gen1 headers (support 4 USB 3.2 Gen1 ports)
• 1x front panel Type C USB 3.2 Gen2x2 header (20Gb/s)

This motherboard’s connectors are standard: a 2×8-pin 12V and a 24-pin ATX connector. ASRock didn’t forget about its Hi-Density power connector feature, so there won’t be any issues if you try to squeeze out more power while overclocking. However, I doubt many of you will be using this motherboard to test the limits of your PC hardware.

The motherboard uses the Nuvoton NCT6687D super I/O controller chip to manage I/O functions, fan control speeds, hardware monitoring, and legacy device support.

The ASRock B850 Riptide WiFi uses the Post Status Checker (PSC) to diagnose any issues with the computer on boot-up. A solid red LED means an issue with the CPU, solid yellow for DRAM, solid white for VGA, and solid yellow-green for BOOT. If the PC is working properly, no LEDs will light up, and these LEDs won’t turn off until the issue is resolved.

Heatsinks Removed

Here’s what your motherboard will look like with all of its heatsinks removed.

Rear I/O Shield Panel

Here’s a list of all the rear I/O shield panel connections on the motherboard:

• 2x antenna ports
• 1x HDMI port
• 1x optical SPDIF outport
• 2x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C ports (10Gb/s)
• 3x USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A ports
• 2x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A ports (10Gb/s)
• 4x USB 2.0 ports
• 1x RJ-45 LAN port
• 1x BIOS flashback button
• 1x line out jack (gold audio jack)
• 1x microphone input jack (gold audio jack)

Unfortunately, ASRock hasn’t included a CMOS reset button, but at least we have a BIOS flashback. All the ports are labeled for ease of use, and we see an Ultra USB Power USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A port beside a Lighting Gaming Port USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C.

You need to press the BIOS flashback switch for about three seconds, after which the LED will start to blink. Wait until the blinking subsides, which means the process has finished. However, if the LED turns a solid green color, it means the BIOS flashback is not operating properly.

Test Bench

Here are the specifications of my test bench where I tested the motherboard:

• AMD Ryzen 9 9950X 16C/32T
• ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 420 Liquid CPU Cooler
• G. Skill Trident Z5 Royal NEO DDR5-8000 CL36 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

Synthetic Benchmarks

Here are my synthetic benchmarks with the ASRock Phantom Gaming B850 Riptide WiFi motherboard:

The motherboard was the fastest on the list for the Blender 4.0.2 benchmark at 50 seconds.

In Cinebench 2024, the board scored 2,312 points in multi-core and 141 points in single-core, once again ranking at the top.

The board showed a 63.4-second render time in Corona 11.

There’s not much of a difference in the Geekbench 6 score, with the ASRock B850 Riptide WiFi leading with 21,726 points.

The board falls slightly in the V-Ray test, scoring 48,893 points.

Overall, the motherboard performed very well in the synthetic tests and was on top of most benchmarks.

Gaming Benchmarks

Let’s see how the motherboard performs in the gaming tests:

We see an average FPS of 143 in Cyberpunk 2077 with a minimum of 108 FPS.

The motherboard botched the Far Cry 6 test, as well, with an average and minimum FPS of 183 and 138, respectively.

The Starfield test is pretty good on the motherboard, providing a 110 FPS average with a minimum FPS of 80.

Overall, the motherboard is losing in the gaming benchmarks, but you probably won’t notice a difference of one or two FPS.

Power Consumption And VRM Temperatures

Here’s an overview of the total power consumption of the CPU and motherboard on our test bench. We have used Cinebench 2024 to stress test the system:

The ASRock B850 Riptide WiFi is pretty efficient. It consumes 374W at 100% load and only 118W during gaming, which is only 6W higher than at idle.

I’m pretty happy with the VRM temperatures, averaging at 60°C even at 100% load. Remember the bulky VRM heatsink I showed earlier? This is why I loved it.

Boot Times

The ASRock B850 Riptide WiFi boots up in 22 seconds, only 1 second slower than the MSI MAG B850 Tomahawk WiFi.

Should You Buy It?

Time for the main question: Is it worth the investment?

Buy It If

✅ You want a mid-range motherboard that excels in productivity performance: The ASRock Phantom Gaming B850 Riptide WiFi motherboard topped most of our synthetic benchmarks amongst its mid-range peers; it’s pretty decent for its price.

✅ You don’t want to miss out on the bells and whistles: This motherboard gives you lots of good features, like low VRM temperatures, the Killer Control Center feature, EZ features for easier installation, WiFi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, and much more.

Don’t Buy It If

❌ You want to utilize all the PCIe and M.2 slots at once: When occupying the M2_4 slot, the PCIe 2 expansion slot will be disabled. So, if you want to utilize all the PCIe and M.2 slots, you may have to look elsewhere.

❌ You require high-speed internet: While the motherboard provides WiFi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 network connectivity options, it’s unfortunate that it has stayed on a 2.5G LAN network.

My Thoughts

The ASRock Phantom Gaming B850 Riptide WiFi motherboard is an outstanding mid-range budget version priced at a low $219. Even though it is lower priced, we see a few features that match the X870 version of this motherboard, like the 1000uF capacitors, rated for 20K capacitance. The motherboard also provides an impressive 14+2+1 phase power design VRMs, with 80A Dr.MOS SPS for VCore and SOC. There are no problems with the cooling, with the average temperature at 60°C on the VRMs.

The motherboard only has 2x PCIe slots, of which the PCIe 2 expansion slot will be disabled if the M2_4 slot is occupied. The primary is obviously a PCIe Gen 5.0 x16 slot for the graphics card. The secondary is a PCIe Gen 4.0 x16 slot, useful for a sound card or storage adapter. The GPU slot has an EZ clip mechanism for easier installation and removal. Furthermore, the motherboard has 4x M.2 drives, with the M2_1 providing PCIe Gen 5.0 x4 for ultra-fast speeds. The dual-sided thermal pads are appreciated.

While the B850 Riptide WiFi doesn’t provide any USB4 connectors, we’re happy with the 20x total USB connectors on the motherboard. Of these, we have 1x USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Type-C for ultra-fast transfer speeds. For networking, ASRock could have improved the LAN connectivity and shifted to a 5G network rather than reusing the same 2.5G LAN network. Other than that, the WiFi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 connectivity are decent additions.

The motherboard’s design is gamer-centric, with a blue color scheme throughout. There’s slight RGB under the M.2 heatsink, but other than that, you won’t find much else. It shouldn’t come as a surprise, considering its pricing.

All in all, for a $219 package, the ASRock Phantom Gaming B850 Riptide WiFi ate and left no crumbs (okay, maybe it left a few). Perhaps a 5G LAN network and an active PCIe 2 slot could have perfected this motherboard. Other than that, it’s quite a decent purchase that will gladly house any Ryzen 7000 or 9000 series CPU.

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.

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Key Takeaways

• The motherboard offers impressive performance during games as well as in productivity applications.
• The ASRock PG B850i Lightning 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.

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You can look at the specs of the motherboard here: 

CPU Support	Up to Ryzen 9000 Series
Memory Support	Up to DDR5 8200+ MT/s (OC)
PCIe Slots	1x PCIe 5.0 x16
M.2 Slots	1x PCIe 5.0 x4, 1x PCIe 4.0 x4
SATA Ports	2x SATA3 6Gb/s
Audio	Realtek ALC 1220 Nohimic Audio Codec
Network & Connectivity	1x Intel Killer E3100G LAN, WiFi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2
USB Ports	13x Ports (Rear & Front)
Size	170 mm x 170 mm, Mini-ITX
MSRP	$209.99 USD

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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

Synthetic Benchmarks

The ASRock PG B850i Lightning 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 Lightning WiFi ended up being 4th against the rest with 21711 points. 

The ASRock PG B850i Lightning 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 Lightning 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 Lightning 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 Lightning WiFi eats 101W of power at Idle, 119W during gaming sessions, and 361W on full load.

The ASRock PG B850i Lightning 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 Lightning 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 Lightning 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.