CONCLUSION

   It’s been a while since I had a motherboard model by ASRock in front of me so I was very surprised to see that the X670E Taichi is one of the most feature-rich models to arrive in the lab. Both overclocking potential and general performance are very good as well with the Ryzen 9 7900X performing slightly better with the latest beta BIOS compared with the previous ones. I have to admit that I was a bit surprised to see the ARGB zones located both at the side of the motherboard and on the southbridge (which gets obscured by 2/3-slot graphics cards) but I guess it’s better than not at all? PCIe 5.0 compatibility is also a great feature that should cover most users for years, even though I do expect the next models to provide better performance and support for it. If you also happen to have a Wi-Fi 6 modem/router like the AVM 7590 AX which I happen to be testing these days then the KILLER wireless adapter will impress you with its performance (actually both the Wi-Fi and ethernet adapters will). Testing the built-in soundcard is not something I did a lot but for the period I did use it I wasn’t really impressed (still it sounds just a tad better compared to what most manufacturers are using currently with other models). Now I would had liked it more had ASRock used a full backplate (instead of a partial one) and perhaps even redesign their BIOS a bit (too colourless for my taste) but at least they bundle an active M.2 heatsink which does work well (loud however at full speed, just like the VRM fan).

   With less than 2 months in the market the X670E Taichi motherboard by ASRock currently retails for USD522.96 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 684.39Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de). Strangely enough the Taichi model is more expensive on this side of the Atlantic compared to the Taichi Carrara model (the exact opposite applies on the other side) so if white is not an issue you can always opt for that instead. Pricing aside however the X670E Taichi is a solid motherboard across the board for the latest Ryzen 7000 family of CPUs by AMD and for that it gets the Platinum Award.

PROS

- Very Good Build Quality
- OC Potential (Fan Cooled 26 Phase Digital VRM)
- 2 Reinforced & EMI Shielded PCIe 5.0 slots
- M.2 PCIe 5.0 Socket
- Three M.2 PCIe 4.0 Sockets
- 4 DIMM Slots (128GB Max)
- Available BIOS Settings
- ES9218 SABRE DAC
- HDMI v2.1 Output
- KILLER Adapters (Performance & Features)

CONS

- Price (For Some)
- Only 2 PCIe Slots