When AMD released the B550 chipset many people were excited as they would see lower cost motherboards. Unlike X570, the B550 chipset gives you less down-stream PCI-Express 4.0 lanes. So typically only the top PCI-Express slot and one M.2 slot will operate at PCI-Express 4.0 speeds. With X570 motherboards quite expensive many people have opted for B550 as a less expensive alternative. Well today we are taking a look at one such B550 motherboard that might not exactly fit that criteria as it comes in at $299. It is ASRock’s B550 Taichi, which sits as a premium offering in the B550 space with a 16-phase digital VRM, 2.5G LAN, WiFi 6, USB 3.2 Gen 2, and possibly one of the best board designs we’ve seen from ASRock. Does it live up to its premium price? Read on as we find out!
Special thanks to ASRock for providing us with the B550 Taichi motherboard to review.
Features
– Supports 3rd Gen AMD AM4 Ryzen™ / Future AMD Ryzen™ Processors
– 16 Power Phase Design, Digi Power, Dr. MOS
– Supports DDR4 5200+ (OC)
– 3 PCIe 4.0/3.0×16, 2 PCIe 3.0 x1
– Graphics Output Options: HDMI, DisplayPort
– AMD 3-Way CrossFireX™
– 7.1 CH HD Audio (Realtek ALC1220 Audio Codec), Nahimic Audio
– 8 SATA3, 1 Hyper M.2 (PCIe Gen4 x4), 1 Ultra M.2 (PCIe Gen3 x4 & SATA3)
– 3 USB 3.2 Gen2 (Rear Type A+C, Front Type-C), 8 USB 3.2 Gen1 (4 Front, 4 Rear)
– Intel® 2.5G LAN, Wi-Fi 6 802.11ax (2.4Gbps) + BT 5.1
Packaging
The B550 Taichi comes in ASRock’s typical vertical motherboard box. On the front it says “B550 Taichi” and there is a gear towards the top right.
Flipping the box over to the back there is an overview of the board and some of the main features are detailed. There is also a run-down of the rear I/O ports and a full list of specifications.
As far as accessories go besides the board you’ll get a WiFi antenna, velcro ties, ASRock stickers, a hex bolt screwdriver, screws and mounts for the M.2 slots, an ASRock post card, user’s guide, software setup guide, and a driver and utility CD.