ASRock X470 Taichi
Unbeatable price and performance.
Who says you need to blow the bank to have a good night out on the town (or sitting at your desk playing games)? ASRock has yet again upped the ante when it comes to value, with this exceptionally affordable motherboard keeping up with those that cost up to 30% more, in both performance and features.
There’s no need to cover the physical PCIe lanes, as they’re the same on every motherboard in this roundup. However, the top two x16 lanes have some of the sturdiest steel reinforcement we’ve seen; if only the twin M.2 slots were as well protected, as there’s no heat-spreader for these thermally active little critters. This is the only ‘ board in the roundup to include eight SATA 3 ports, using an ASMedia ASM1061 chip to deliver the additional two over the X470’s default of six.
We have to say we’re fans of ASRock’s recent aesthetic changes, with their Taichi range using coolers and print designs that look very steampunk thanks to the various cog-shaped appendages, such as the lower heatsink. Compared to other brands, ASRock has gone for a minimalist lighting design, with just a few light zones to accent key areas of the ‘ board. They’re still fully RGB, though.
Wi-Fi is delivered thanks to an Intel solution, which mirrors the ASUS’s external twin antennae on the rear I/O port and also delivers Bluetooth 4.2. The same company delivers the I211AT Gigabit Ethernet port. The 16-phase power design should deliver exceptionally ripple-free power to the CPU, but there aren’t any on-board buttons to facilitate easier overclocking. There is a clear CMOS button on the I/O panel, thankfully — a feature that we think every motherboard should now include. On the flipside, there aren’t quite as many USB ports on the I/O panel as the likes of the ASUS, with eight in total, including a single Type-C. It also doesn’t have quite as many fan headers as the ASUS ‘ board (right), nor are they as versatile. There’s still more than most users will know what to do with, but if you want your PC to hover when it powers on, you’ll need to look elsewhere for additional, more powerful fan connections.
Realtek doles out the decibel duties with its ALC1220 audio codec, and ASRock claims it has the same 120dB SNR DAC quality as more expensive boards. In other words, you don’t need a discrete or external sound card unless you’re a total audiophile.
A nice touch is the front panel USB Type-C connection, something that we’re starting to see more cases support.
“This is the only board in the roundup to include eight SATA 3 ports.”