A large and feature-rich motherboard

The ASRock X870E Taichi is a premium motherboard built for gamers and enthusiasts who want the best in performance and features. Designed to handle AMD’s latest processors, this motherboard brings impressive upgrades, like support for ultra-fast PCIe 5.0, DDR5 memory, and USB4 connectivity. However, it’s not just about speed; ASRock has also focused on durability, cooling, and power to ensure stability even during intense use. In this review, I’ll go over the ASRock X870E Taichi’s design, performance, connectivity options, and cooling capabilities. By the end, you’ll know if this motherboard is the right fit for building a powerful and reliable PC. Let’s start!

ASRock X870E Taichi: Who is it good for?

The ASRock X870E Taichi is an excellent motherboard for:

• Gamers and PC enthusiasts who want top-tier performance and advanced features
• Overclockers looking for robust power delivery and cooling solutions
• Users building a high-end system with AMD Ryzen 9000 Series processors
• Systems with a Full Tower PC case

Pros and cons

These are the main pros of this motherboard:

• It supports AMD’s latest Ryzen 7000, 8000, and 9000 Series processors
• PCIe 5.0 support for both graphics cards and NVMe SSDs
• It supports DDR5 memory with overclocking capabilities
• USB4 for high-speed data transfer and connectivity
• Robust power design for stable overclocking
• Premium build quality with stylish design and RGB lighting
• Integrated Wi-Fi 7 and 5G LAN for high-speed networking
• Competitive pricing vs. alternatives

As for cons, there are a few worth mentioning:

• Underwhelming bundle of accessories
• The software provided by ASRock could benefit from a visual overhaul

Verdict

The ASRock X870E Taichi is a solid choice for PC builders looking for a high-end motherboard with the latest technology. Priced at $450, it doesn’t require you to break the closest bank branch, and it offers an attractive mix of connectivity options, cooling features, and design elements. The board shines in areas like M.2 and VRM cooling, as well as with its inclusion of Wi-Fi 7 and USB4. ASRock X870E Taichi is a robust motherboard that offers plenty of features for those who want to build a computer capable of delivering high performance and top-notch connectivity. Before buying it, keep in mind it has an E-ATX (Extended ATX) format that’s wider than regular ATX boards. This makes it an ideal choice for Full Tower PCs that require more space for complex configurations, such as water-cooling loops and multiple GPU layouts. While it can be used in Mid Tower PC cases, you may have some trouble fitting it inside, depending on the specific case you’re using.

Unboxing the ASRock X870E Taichi

The ASRock X870E Taichi comes in a good-looking package that immediately lets you know you’re going to deal with a high-end hardware component. The front of the box features a stylish design, with the Taichi logo highlighting some of its key features like PCIe 5.0 and WiFi 7 support.

The packaging for ASRock X870E Taichi promotes some of its key features

Open the box, and you’re greeted by the motherboard itself, securely packed to prevent any damage during transit. Underneath the motherboard, you find the following accessories: four SATA cables, a Wi-Fi antenna, one ARGB splitter cable, three thermistor cables, a quick installation guide, and warranty documents.

All the accessories bundled with ASRock X870E Taichi

Unboxing the ASRock X870E Taichi is an experience that showcases the quality and attention to detail that ASRock has put into this product. The bundle of accessories feels a bit underwhelming, but it’s okay considering this motherboard’s lower price compared to its competitors.

Hardware specifications and design

As soon as you take it out of the box, the ASRock X870E Taichi impresses with its premium build quality and looks. The motherboard has an E-ATX format which means it’s larger than standard ATX boards, so you need to make sure your case is compatible with it. In terms of looks, the board features a predominantly black color scheme with gold accents. The gear-shaped heat-sinks and Taichi logos add to all that, giving the motherboard an elegant “tech stylish” look.

The ASRock X870E Taichi has an E-ATX format

The motherboard is designed with high-quality components, including an 8-layer PCB with 2 oz copper layers, which enhances signal stability and offers higher energy efficiency for overclocking. Moreover, the 24+2+1 power phase design ensures stable power delivery to the computer processor, which also translates into great overclocking potential.

The motherboard uses a 24+2+1 power phase design

The ASRock X870E Taichi comes with an AMD AM5 socket, compatible with Ryzen 9000, 8000, and 7000 Series processors built on the Zen 5 and Zen 4 architectures. This makes it a future-proof option for those looking to get one of AMD’s latest processors.

The board supports AMD Ryzen 7000, 8000, 9000 Series processors

One of the motherboard’s best features is its support for PCIe 5.0 on both the primary and secondary PCIe x16 slots, plus one M.2 slot for extremely fast NVMe SSDs. This provides huge bandwidths for next-generation graphics cards and storage devices, ensuring your system is ready for future tech.

You can use one PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD

The motherboard supports DDR5 memory, with four DIMM slots that can handle up to 256 GB of RAM, and overclocked speeds up to 8200 MT/s (mega transfers per second).

The board supports overclocked DDR5 memory

On the storage front, the ASRock X870E Taichi offers a total of four M.2 slots. As I mentioned earlier, one of them (the one between the CPU socket and the GPU slot) supports PCIe 5.0 x4 speeds, while the others support PCIe 4.0 x4.

Additionally, there are six SATA III ports for traditional HDDs and SSDs, offering plenty of storage expansion options.

There are four M.2 slots on the motherboard

The motherboard comes equipped with wireless connectivity, featuring Wi-Fi 7 technology and offering faster speeds, lower latency, and more stable connections compared to older Wi-Fi standards. In addition, it also includes a Realtek RTL8126 network card for wired network connectivity at 5 Gbps.

The rear I/O panel is equipped with a variety of connectivity options, including two USB4 Type-C ports (up to 40Gbps), five USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A ports (10 Gbps), three USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A ports, and two USB 2.0 ports. There’s also an RJ-45 Ethernet port, an HDMI port, two antenna ports, one optical SPDIF Out port, one Line Out jack, one microphone jack, one Clear CMOS button, and one BIOS Flashback button.

The I/O panel on the rear

TIP: The BIOS Flashback feature lets you update the motherboard’s UEFI without booting into the operating system, while the Clear CMOS button allows you to reset the UEFI settings to default, which can be handy if overclocking or other settings cause boot issues.

ASRock’s Polychrome RGB lighting allows you to customize the motherboard’s lighting effects, and there are headers available for adding other RGB components.

The ASRock X870E Taichi has beautiful RGB lighting

The ASRock X870E Taichi has a robust yet premium design with a sleek black finish and RGB accents. Furthermore, it offers pretty much everything you may want in this day and age in terms of specs and features.

For more detailed information, visit the official product page of the ASRock X870E Taichi.

Using the ASRock X870E Taichi motherboard

Building a PC with the ASRock X870E Taichi is straightforward, thanks to its smart design and clear labeling on each component slot. The layout offers plenty of room around the CPU socket, so installing my all-in-one (AIO) liquid cooler was easy. I believe that will be your experience too, even if you’re new to building computers. For my testing, I used the following setup:

The system I built for this review

For as long as I had it, the ASRock X870E Taichi performed great. Its boot times were fast, and the system ran very reliably, even when handling heavy tasks like the benchmarks you’ll see in the next section of this review.

An inside look at the PC built upon the ASRock X870E Taichi

For gaming, the performance was excellent, handling demanding games like Cyberpunk 2077, Final Fantasy XVI, and Ghost of Tsushima smoothly at ultra graphics settings and 4K resolution. The motherboard’s solid power delivery and effective cooling kept the CPU and power components at safe temperatures, even under load.

Playing Final Fantasy XVI on a PC based on an ASRock X870E Taichi

The ASRock X870E Taichi offers reliable performance and excellent cooling. It works great in any demanding situation and handles gaming without breaking a sweat.

On the next page, I’ll go over benchmark results to see how the ASRock X870E Taichi compares with another motherboard designed to work with the latest AMD Ryzen processors, the ASUS ROG Strix X870-A Gaming WiFi.