ASRock X870 Motherboards - Upgrade to the State of the Art

ASRock's X870 and X870E refresh motherboards are ready for work and play

AMD's Ryzen 9000-series processors have won more than a fair share of praise here at TweakTown. Their single and multi-threaded performance and power efficiency are highlights, while the 9000X3D processors with 3D-Vache are the best gaming CPUs on the market right now.

To get the best out of these processors, you need a motherboard built for your purposes. ASRock's updated and upgraded X870 and X870E motherboards are ready for anything you care to throw at them. They come with all the latest technologies, including WiFi 7, USB4, support for PCIe 5.0 graphics cards and SSDs, and truly impressive expansion and upgradability potential.

Such features are not exclusive to the new ASRock X870 boards, but their designs, engineering, and implementations are more mature. ASRock took the opportunity to refine the PCBs of the boards. That means support for more (or faster) memory, superior overclocking performance, and optimized layouts.

There are improvements to the power delivery subsystems, BIOS refinements, DIY friendly features, and a focus on reliability. All of this means the new ASRock X870 boards are among the most feature-rich motherboards in their respective price ranges.

ASRock has released several new boards, covering a range of price points. We'll cover four in this article, beginning with the flagship X870E Taichi OCF. It's designed to extract every last drop of overclocking performance from your CPU and memory. This is a board that happily pairs with any Ryzen CPU, and its dual memory slot design is perfect for use with very high-speed overclockable memory.

The X870 Taichi Creator is built with the demands of creators in mind. It features an extensive range of connectivity and expansion options for demanding users. It's a great option if you're planning a high-end build with a 16-core Ryzen 9950X CPU with lots of memory - even up to 256GB - and multiple M.2 SSDs.

The X870 Nova WiFi is aimed at gamers. It would make a great pairing with a 9000X3D series CPU for a top-tier gaming rig. Don't forget to check the ASRock website for the latest BIOS updates to ensure the best level of stability when using an X3D CPU.

Finally, there's the X870 LiveMixer WiFi. This board features up to 25 USB ports and sports a very attractive price, making it an excellent option for creators who want to stick to a worldly budget. A CPU such as a Ryzen 9 9900X would be a natural match. A good quality 2x32GB DDR6-6000 memory kit would suit the X870 LiveMixer WiFi well.

Best Deals: ASRock X870 Nova WiFi AM5 Motherboard

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The ASRock X870E Taichi OCF - The legendary OC Formula makes a welcome AMD debut

Casual and extreme overclockers alike will be well familiar with ASRock's OC Formula motherboards, which until now have been exclusive to Intel platforms. That's all changed as the series now comes to AMD for the first time, in the form of the X870E Taichi OCF.

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The X870E Taichi OCF is packed with OC functionality, and it's built to handle the demands of those seeking world records. But, even if you're looking to build a flagship-tier PC, the Taichi OCF still has all the features you'd expect from a high-end motherboard.

It begins with a 22+2+1 phase VRM with 110A stages, which is enough to power any AM5 CPU you care to name with any type of cooling and workload. The VRM itself is cooled by large blocks joined by a heatpipe. There's also an embedded fan that spins up when it's presented with heavy loads.

Two DIMM slots are preferred to four slots for the best memory performance. It means greater signal integrity, optimized trace lengths, and it unlocks the ability to push beyond the DDR5-10000 barrier. Of course, that's dependent on the memory controller of your CPU, its cooling, and the quality of your memory, but the X870E Taichi OCF will serve as the foundation for such speeds.

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The X870E Taichi OCF includes a complete set of tools, buttons, and switches to make OC easy. It gives you the ability to adjust clock speeds on-the-fly and store profiles. The latter isn't just for extreme overclockers tuning for individual benchmarks. A gamer can set up an overclocked profile that can be activated with a single button press and then disabled once the gaming session is over.

Not everyone is interested in liquid nitrogen overclocking. The board includes an extensive array of fan headers for water-cooled rigs, too. And of course, it has a range of features you'd expect from a high-end board, including dual USB4 ports, WiFi 7 and 5G LAN, high-quality audio with ESS Sabre DAC, and a range of ease-of-use features.

The board also comes with six M.2 slots, two of which support the latest PCIe 5.0 SSDs, and dedicated heatsinks to cool all six.

The X870E Taichi OCF is a board that will appeal to extreme overclockers, power users, and PC enthusiasts alike. It's simply a fantastic and powerful motherboard designed to extract the maximum performance from your PC and its components.

The ASRock X870 Taichi Creator - beautiful design and built for purpose

The X870 Taichi Creator is not just another board with a trendy tag assigned to it. Creators really do have a set of requirements that often cannot be met by a mainstream board. Creators need expansion and connectivity options. That may include things like a capture card, microphones, NAS, or any manner of external USB devices.

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That's precisely where a board like the X870 Taichi Creator comes in. It's designed to maximise expansion potential, allowing creators to connect all the devices they'd wish for, but without excessive and unnecessary bling. In short, it's a board built to get the job done, enabling you to achieve your vision without needing to pay for more expensive workstation-class options.

A powerful VRM is a must for a board designed to handle the long-term loads of a high-core-count CPU like a Ryzen 9 9950X. The X870 Taichi delivers, with an 18+2+1 VRM with 80A stages. With its large finned heatsinks, it's more than enough to handle a CPU like the 9950X with PBO enabled, and it has a lot of headroom to spare.

Four DIMM slots support up to 256GB of memory, which is essential for tasks such as rendering, encoding, and multitasking. You can even run things like virtual machines.

The networking of the X870 Taichi is a real highlight. Few consumer-level boards include 10G LAN, and fewer still have 5G LAN as well. As users with SSD NAS devices can attest, having a dedicated high-speed LAN port is a great way to share data with colleagues without compromise if you're connected to a local area network or fast internet, particularly when high-speed uploads are a must. Add WiFi 7 to these two ports and you'll be able to stream, download, upload, or share all at the same time.

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The X870 Taichi Creator includes a pair of PCI Express 5.0 slots for use with the latest graphics cards. This means users can utilize NVIDIA or AMD's ecosystems for encoding, streaming, or rendering, or they can use the second slot for a device like a capture card.

Four M.2 slots, including a pair of PCIe 5.0 supporting slots, enable users to read, write, and copy data to a scratch disk, a feature appreciated by streamers and YouTube creators. SATA ports are becoming rarer these days, but with four ports, there are enough for bulk storage hard drives.

Two USB4 40 Gbps ports plus a front USB 20Gbps port (which supports 36W power delivery), and plenty of USB 10Gbps, 5Gbps, and USB 2.0 ports, allow users to connect a myriad of external devices. Four of the rear-mounted USB ports support ASRock's Ultra USB power, which is derived from the 12V rail of the power supply. This implementation provides clean power, free of interference from noisy peripherals. Things like microphones and audio devices will benefit, free from the jitter or interference that can occur from noisy 5V USB peripherals.

With its subtle design, powerful features, expansion potential, extensive networking and connectivity potential, the X870 Taichi Creator is a seriously impressive option for users wanting something more than a mainstream board can offer.

The X870 Nova WiFi - built for gaming greatness

The X870 Nova WiFi is a part of ASRock's Phantom Gaming lineup. It's an excellent choice for a CPU like a Ryzen 7 9800X3D or Ryzen 9 9950X3D. Its powerful 18+2+1 phase VRM and large heatsinks are easily capable of handling the power demands of such CPUs, whether using PBO or manually overclocked.

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Three ARGB headers and ASRock's Polychrome app mean gamers can easily tailor the looks of their system, but even if RGB is not your style, the board itself looks great with its deep purple finish. I have this board on hand, too, and let me just say that it feels exceptionally solid and well-built. Its hefty heatsinks, which cover all five slots independently of the chipset, make this board a good choice for gamers with extensive game libraries.

Fast networking is a must for gamers. The X870 Nova WiFi features WiFi 7 and 5G LAN, ensuring stable connectivity in even the most crowded high-density living environments. With low pings and minimized interference, you can maximize your network's capabilities.

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The X870 Nova WiFi includes the latest Realtek ALC4082 audio with Nahimic processing. Add to that dual USB 4 ports, a front USB 20Gbps port with 36W power delivery support, and independently sourced Lightning USB ports - perfect for sensitive mice and rapid keyboard presses - and the X870 Nova WiFi is a motherboard with real gaming features and expansion potential-ideal for partnering with a Ryzen X3D CPU and a high-end graphics card.

The X870 LiveMixer WiFi - connect all your devices

It's pretty hard to find any motherboard that supports up to 25 USB devices at any price, let alone at the affordable end of the spectrum, as the ASRock X870 LiveMixer WiFi is. It's one of the most feature-rich motherboards in its price range.

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If the X870 Taichi is a little bit of overkill for your creative needs, then the X870 LiveMixer WiFi deserves your attention. It still manages to pack in dual USB 4, a powerful 16+2+1 phase VRM, dual PCIe 5.0 M.2, and the DIY friendly design and features common to the boards mentioned above.

But what really stands out is the amount of expansion potential on offer, alongside WiFi 7 and 5G LAN. Those 25 USB ports deliver an incredible amount of expansion potential. Basic devices such as a keyboard, mouse, printer, and headset leave ample ports for things like external SSDs, a DAC, a high-end microphone setup, or a user with a capture card. Even if you're a sim enthusiast with several controllers, you'd have ports to spare.

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The X870 LiveMixer WiFi also includes a well-placed pair of PCIe x4 expansion slots, so if you've got a treasured expansion card, you can keep it, even if you have a monster-sized graphics card.

ASRock's new X870 motherboards include the latest technologies and features - with more to come

AMD's AM5 socket is now in the middle of its lifecycle, but there's more to come. It's all but certain that current X870 motherboards will support at least one more generation of CPU. Choosing the latest generation motherboards means users are well placed for the future. Things like USB5, PCIe 6.0, or WiFi 8 are years away from becoming a reality, so investing in a high-quality X870 refresh board means you'll be set for the long term. These are not one-and-done motherboards. They're built for the long haul.

ASRock's durable, feature-rich, and refined motherboards have been designed to meet the needs of a diverse range of users. Whether you're a gamer, a creator, an overclocker, or a casual user, there's an ASRock X870 motherboard to suit. With a promising upgrade path and incredible expansion and connectivity potential, you won't need to upgrade to another motherboard anytime soon.