Final Thoughts on the ASRock X870E Taichi Motherboard
Like most ASRock Taichi motherboards we’ve seen in the past the X870E Taichi is loaded with all of the features you would want, and expect on a flagship X870E motherboard. In this generation those features include PCI-Express 5.0 for graphics and storage, USB 4, WiFi 7, and plenty of ports. You’ll find all of those things here on the X870E Taichi.
ASRock has also added one of the most powerful VRM designs we’ve seen on an X870E board. The 24+2+1 power phase design with 110A power stages means that if you plan on running a Ryzen 9 CPU and overclocking it you’ll be covered. All of the power delivery components are nicely cooled as well.
When it comes to looks I have to say this board is a bit toned back compared to previous Taichi designs we’ve seen, but that seems to be the trend. It does however have the most RGB lighting we’ve seen on a motherboard in this generation, which I personally like to see. You do need to keep in mind that this is an extended ATX (E-ATX) motherboard so you’ll have to pair it up with a case that will support it. Being a bit larger than a normal ATX motherboard means that ASRock was able to fit in an M.2 slot towards the edge of the board. Not only will this slot be easier to access, but it also is in a better spot for cooling.
I am finally happy to see ASRock really embrace ease of use features of their boards. I swear they were the last company to make fully tool-less M.2 slots. So not only do you have tool-less heatsinks on two of your M.2 slots, all M.2 slots have a tool-less locking mechanism. Finally no tiny little screws that you end up losing (I’ve lost many over the years!). The top graphics card slot also makes use of an “EZ Release” level, which works well and makes it very easy to release your graphics card.
Where I think ASRock falls behind compared to other vendors is their software and BIOS (more the software). It seems everyone has these software suites and pretty good motherboard companion software, but ASRock is still using the A-Tuning software which just seems super-dated at this point. The BIOS is the same BIOS we’ve seen from ASRock for a while, it gets the job done, but I would definitely like to see things organized better.
Right now you can pick this motherboard up at our favorite online retailer for $509.94. If you are building a new AM5-based system this is going to be a solid choice! Overall ThinkComputers gives the X870E Taichi Motherboard a 9 out of 10 score!
Pros:
– Sleek Design & Good RGB
– Robust VRM design
– PCI-Express 5.0 on graphics and storage
– 12 USB ports on the rear I/O
– WiFi 7
– Tool-less features and graphics card release lever
Cons:
– Software & BIOS seem dated
– E-ATX won’t fit in all cases
