AMD Ryzen 9 7950X review - Showcase - ASRock X670E Taichi

Showcase - ASRock X670E Taichi

We had the opportunity to examine the X670E Taichi from ASRock. The motherboard is a powerful product. ASRock released two models; we tested the 'regular' black one, but the X670E Taichi and Carrara SE were released. The latter board looks to be a cosmetic upgrade over the vanilla X670E Taichi, with overall characteristics remaining equal. While the X670E Taichi boards differ in appearance, they share the same fundamental feature set, which includes PCIe 5.0 compatibility, DDR5 memory, and twin Thunderbolt 4-enabled USB Type-C connectors on the rear panel. A matte black finish complements this design on the motherboard's top and top-right parts and a line of RGB LEDs on the bottom right. The X670E Taichi Carrara and X670E Taichi are ASRock's most costly mainboards, costing €693 and €661, respectively.

• AMD X670 Chipset
• 26 Phase SPS Dr.MOS Power Design
• Supports DDR5 Memory
• 1 PCIe 5.0 x16, 1 PCIe 5.0 x8
• Graphics Output Options: HDMI
• Realtek ALC4082 7.1 CH HD Audio Codec, ESS SABRE 9218 DAC, WIMA Audio Caps
• 8 SATA3, 1 Blazing M.2 (PCIe Gen5 x4), 3 Hyper M.2 (PCIe Gen4 x4)
• 2 Thunderbolt™ 4/USB4 Type-C, 1 USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Front Type-C
• 5 Rear USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A, 7 USB 3.2 Gen1 (3 Rear, 4 Front)
• Killer E3100G 2.5G LAN, Killer AX1675X 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6E) + Bluetooth

Both ASRock X670E Taichi models boast a 26-phase power delivery, which is quite impressive. DDR5 memory support, two full-length PCIe 5.0 slots (x16, x8/x8), one PCIe 5.0 x4 M.2 slot, three PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 slots, and eight SATA ports are also included. The onboard audio solution on the back panel is powered by a Realtek ALC4082 HD audio codec and an ESS Sabre ES9218 DAC, while a Killer E3100G 2.5 GbE controller and a Killer AX1675 Wi-Fi 6E give robust networking connectivity. 

ASRock is utilizing AMD's enthusiast-grade X670E chipset, which will use the AM5 socket and be capable of accepting future Ryzen series CPUs. There's also next-generation PCIe 5.0 here, for future-generation GPUs and soon-to-be-released PCIe 5.0-powered SSDs. It counts two PCIe x16 5.0 slots (one with eight lanes) and a robust 26 Phase SPS power supply system.

Two USB Type-C ports may be used as either Thunderbolt 4 or USB4 connections, a single front USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type-C port, five rear USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, and seven USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, four of which are meant for front I/O.

Audio is derived from a Realtek ALC4082 audio codec, assisted by an ESS Sabre 9218 DAC. Internet access is provided through a Killer E3100G 2.5Gbps ethernet port and a Killer AX1675X Wi-Fi 6E wireless module. For a total of four M.2 slots, there is a single M.2 Gen5 slot, twin M.2 PCIe Gen4 slots, and a single M.2 slot that can operate either PCIe Gen 4 or SATA 6Gbps based SSDs. On top of this, both boards also feature eight SATA connectors for standard SATA-based hard drives and SSDs.

For the time being, it looks like the Taichi and Taichi Carrara will both serve as ASRock's flagship motherboards on the AM5 platform, with the only difference being aesthetics, but it's conceivable that ASRock may price the Carrara even more.