ASRock X670E Taichi Carrara

[ir_cow]

Typo or... ?

View attachment 263243

How?

Not a typo. This is how high you can set it in the BIOS. Doesn't mean it will work though.

 

[ARF]

I know that it won't work at that ridiculous value. DDR5 will never reach those speeds, either at JEDEC spec or some XMP profile.

 

[Tigerfox]

Slight correction, didn't read the whole review: Only four of the eigth SATA-Ports come directly from one PCH, the other four are provided by two ASM1061 Chips, each connected to one PCH by Gen3x1. So two ports each share bandwith, saving two PCIe-Lanes compared to coming directly from the PCH.

I'm honestly very disappointed in the AM5 lineup because almost all boards only have 4xSATA, instead of 6-8 like before. I use six atm.

 

[ARF]

Slight correction, didn't read the whole review: Only four of the eigth SATA-Ports come directly from one PCH, the other four are provided by two ASM1061 Chips, each connected to one PCH by Gen3x1. So two ports each share bandwith, saving two PCIe-Lanes compared to coming directly from the PCH.

I'm honestly very disappointed in the AM5 lineup because almost all boards only have 4xSATA, instead of 6-8 like before. I use six atm.

Can't you consolidate to higher capacity HDDs?

 

[Tigerfox]

Yes, but I will be more limited nonetheless. At the moment I use 2x3TB, 1x4TB, 2x8TB and one ODD, which I'd like to keep. Even if I switch between one HDD and the ODD, I'd still have to replace one and since all of them are pretty full with little chance to clear a lot of space in the near future, Iit have to be 12-16TB to be sure.

It feels kinda wrong to have to do that with such expansive boards. I wouldn't have had this problem on AM4 or 1700.

 

[ir_cow]

Slight correction, didn't read the whole review: Only four of the eigth SATA-Ports come directly from one PCH, the other four are provided by two ASM1061 Chips, each connected to one PCH by Gen3x1. So two ports each share bandwith, saving two PCIe-Lanes compared to coming directly from the PCH.

I'm honestly very disappointed in the AM5 lineup because almost all boards only have 4xSATA, instead of 6-8 like before. I use six atm.

You are correct that one set goes to ASM1061 chip(s) first. Its safe to say all X670E will has at least x4 SATA since those are pretty free with a second chipset. No need to be concerned that two share a PCIe Gen3 1x lane. That is 1 GB/s and with overhead it can sustain 2x SATA 6 Gb/s.

 

[Blaazen]

Some other X670(E) boards have two M.2 slots from CPU and the other two from chipset. Here is only one M.2 from CPU and remaining 4 PCIe lanes are used for the

• 2x USB4 Type-C Ports (40 Gb/s)

 

[Tigerfox]

Which is provided by Intel JHL8540 "Maple Ridge" TB4-Controller BTW, at least on ASUS' Boards.

 

[shilka]

Yes, but I will be more limited nonetheless. At the moment I use 2x3TB, 1x4TB, 2x8TB and one ODD, which I'd like to keep. Even if I switch between one HDD and the ODD, I'd still have to replace one and since all of them are pretty full with little chance to clear a lot of space in the near future, Iit have to be 12-16TB to be sure.

It feels kinda wrong to have to do that with such expansive boards. I wouldn't have had this problem on AM4 or 1700.

Its gotten to a point where everyone hates SATA and wants it to die so it seems that adding a HBA card is about the only solution
That would eat up an X1 or X4 port and lanes on the board which is a hassle in itself and even more so if you have anything besides a GPU and NVME you want to add

I also have 6 SATA devices and unlike you mine are 14, 18 and 20 TB so not really anything much bigger i can upgrade to
I am keeping my X570 board with 8 SATA ports until it die and i have an X1 HBA card with two SATA ports on hand in case i need it

I found an X4 HBA card with 5 SATA ports i am going to order with my next HDD

 

[Jism]

Asrock actually brings a very beefy board here. I mean whats there to miss?

Just amazes me how to install up to 2500 Amps in regards of that VRM setup. Like not that youll ever tap into that number.

 

[trsttte]

Extra m.2 heatsink with fan, USB2 pcie backplate, even a freaking regular fan with a custom colour...

Now I get why AM5 motherboard prices are so high, pad the offerings with random "useless" garbage and let margins go through the roof!

 

[Wirko]

Its gotten to a point where everyone hates SATA and wants it to die so it seems that adding a HBA card is about the only solution
That would eat up an X1 or X4 port and lanes on the board which is a hassle in itself and even more so if you have anything besides a GPU and NVME you want to add

I also have 6 SATA devices and unlike you mine are 14, 18 and 20 TB so not really anything much bigger i can upgrade to
I am keeping my X570 board with 8 SATA ports until it die and i have an X1 HBA card with two SATA ports on hand in case i need it

I found an X4 HBA card with 5 SATA ports i am going to order with my next HDD

Do M.2-to-SATA adapter cards exist at all? (Not counting the passive $2 cards that use the SATA interface in the M.2 B-key connector, of course.)

 

[shilka]

Do M.2-to-SATA adapter cards exist at all? (Not counting the passive $2 cards that use the SATA interface in the M.2 B-key connector, of course.)

The only thing i know of is the SilverStone ECS07 but i have not heard good things about it

ECS07

In order to meet the demands for Micro-ATX and Mini-ITX users with high storage needs and fill the lack of SATA ports, SilverStone created ECS07, a hardware-based SATA 6G Non-RAID M.2 PCIe expansion card. ECS07 offers expansion of up to 5 SATA Gen3 ports, capable of reaching 1700MB/s. Unlike...

www.silverstonetek.com

One drawback is you need to remove the motherboard M.2 heatsinks and on boards that have large cover plates that becomes a problem as you need to remove the whole plate

I personally prefer the Delock low profile X1 and X4 PCI-E cards with 2 and 5 SATA ports

Delock Products 90431 Delock 2 port SATA PCI Express x1 Card - Low Profile Form Factor

www.delock.com

Delock Products 90498 Delock 5 port SATA PCI Express x4 Card - Low Profile Form Factor

www.delock.com

Edit: another flaw with that SilverStone ECS07 is it the fact that its only x2 and not x4 so the max speed you get for the whole drive is 2000 MB/s or 400 MB/s per port if you max out all 5 ports at once
The Delock x4 card has double the bandwidth at 4000 MB/s or 800 MB/s per port which make me wonder why they have not made cards with more than 5-6 ports?

400 MB/s is fine for hard drives but it would limit SATA 3 SSD´s
On the other hand maxing out all 5 drives at once is unlikely

 

[ir_cow]

Just amazes me how to install up to 2500 Amps in regards of that VRM setup. Like not that youll ever tap into that number.

I hear yeah, but the large VRM design is more for lower overall operational temperatures and providing a steady amount of current. Otherwise when the CPU Turbo kicks in, a quick rush of current on a low-end VRM could simply fail to provide enough current to keep up with any active PBO.

 

[R0H1T]

But why Carrara? Was Carrera or Panamera trademarked?

 

[waltc]

Loved the review! Thanks for the work and the detail! Yes, I think early adopters should buckle in for a good 6-12 months of bios revisions...one of the reasons I'm holding off for a while. Actually, right now, I am more interested in seeing what RDNA3 will bring to the table. I'll be surprised if AMD eschews a PCIe 5 GPU (as I was surprised to see that nVidia did that--at least initially.) It's not a big deal, as I expect the mid-to-top range RDNA3 GPUs will include onboard VRAM that is a good deal faster than the PCIe5 bus--just as we're all used to with discrete GPUs. But...it still would be nice to see.

BTW, I did not like the Faux marble look...at all. The plainer, the better for me...

 

[Tigerfox]

Do M.2-to-SATA adapter cards exist at all? (Not counting the passive $2 cards that use the SATA interface in the M.2 B-key connector, of course.)

There are four from Delock, alle are rather crappy and none better than the Silverstone. One uses the ASM1092R Port Multiplier to turn one M.2-SATA into two SATA-Ports, one uses JMircon JMB582 for 2xSATA@Gen3x1, one Marvell 88SE9215 for 4xSATA@Gen2x1 and the last ones Chip I do not know, only that it offers 4xSATA and PCIe Gen2.

The only thing i know of is the SilverStone ECS07 but i have not heard good things about it

ECS07

In order to meet the demands for Micro-ATX and Mini-ITX users with high storage needs and fill the lack of SATA ports, SilverStone created ECS07, a hardware-based SATA 6G Non-RAID M.2 PCIe expansion card. ECS07 offers expansion of up to 5 SATA Gen3 ports, capable of reaching 1700MB/s. Unlike...

www.silverstonetek.com

One drawback is you need to remove the motherboard M.2 heatsinks and on boards that have large cover plates that becomes a problem as you need to remove the whole plate

I personally prefer the Delock low profile X1 and X4 PCI-E cards with 2 and 5 SATA ports

Delock Products 90431 Delock 2 port SATA PCI Express x1 Card - Low Profile Form Factor

www.delock.com

Delock Products 90498 Delock 5 port SATA PCI Express x4 Card - Low Profile Form Factor

www.delock.com

Edit: another flaw with that SilverStone ECS07 is it the fact that its only x2 and not x4 so the max speed you get for the whole drive is 2000 MB/s or 400 MB/s per port if you max out all 5 ports at once
The Delock x4 card has double the bandwidth at 4000 MB/s or 800 MB/s per port which make me wonder why they have not made cards with more than 5-6 ports?

400 MB/s is fine for hard drives but it would limit SATA 3 SSD´s
On the other hand maxing out all 5 drives at once is unlikely

Sorry to disapoint you, since SilverStone ECS07 uses JMicron JMB585 aswell, it can only offer Gen3x2.

There really isn't much better out there, Asmedia ASM1164 or ASM1166 would be similar with 4-6xSATA @Gen3x2, or ASM1064 with 4xSATA@Gen3x1 if you want to use an Gen3x1-Port. There are several PCIe-cards with these chips, except ASM1164.

One could even use this adapter to put an x3-card into a M.2-Slot.

 

[Gmr_Chick]

Actually those Halo boards are for basically nobody.
None of the XOC guys are using those boards, the current record are set on the X670E Gene at half the price of the extreme.
The extra bells and whistles often interferes with BCLK overclocking or strait up just cold bugs. Also pcie 4/5 don't like being overclocked.
Some of the XOC AM4 boards are actually based on B550 for that reason, and for AM5 the new Unify-X and Tachyon will likely be on B650 as well.
The B550 Unify-X for LN2 was like 1/4 the price of the X570 Godlike

I know it'll be priced to high heaven (being an ROG board), but I'm REALLY stoked about that board in particular. I mean, when was the last time we saw a high-end M-ATX board in the AMD camp? I'd love to go MATX as I think it's a perfect "sweet spot" between size and features, but AMD never had any truly great MATX boards on AM4. I'm hoping the ROG Gene on AM5 will be a step in the right direction...even if I can't actually buy it.

 

[shilka]

There are four from Delock, alle are rather crappy and none better than the Silverstone. One uses the ASM1092R Port Multiplier to turn one M.2-SATA into two SATA-Ports, one uses JMircon JMB582 for 2xSATA@Gen3x1, one Marvell 88SE9215 for 4xSATA@Gen2x1 and the last ones Chip I do not know, only that it offers 4xSATA and PCIe Gen2.



Sorry to disapoint you, since SilverStone ECS07 uses JMicron JMB585 aswell, it can only offer Gen3x2.

There really isn't much better out there, Asmedia ASM1164 or ASM1166 would be similar with 4-6xSATA @Gen3x2, or ASM1064 with 4xSATA@Gen3x1 if you want to use an Gen3x1-Port. There are several PCIe-cards with these chips, except ASM1164.

One could even use this adapter to put an x3-card into a M.2-Slot.

Is this also limited to x2?

Delock Products 89042 Delock 6 port SATA PCI Express x4 Card - Low Profile Form Factor

www.delock.com

it uses an ASM1166 chip
Edit: never mind its also limited to x2 so screw those cards they are not x4 at all!

 

[Wirko]

One drawback is you need to remove the motherboard M.2 heatsinks and on boards that have large cover plates that becomes a problem as you need to remove the whole plate

It's 25 mm wide, so unlikely to fit in tight spaces designed for 2280 cards.

I personally prefer the Delock low profile X1 and X4 PCI-E cards with 2 and 5 SATA ports

Delock Products 90431 Delock 2 port SATA PCI Express x1 Card - Low Profile Form Factor

www.delock.com

Delock Products 90498 Delock 5 port SATA PCI Express x4 Card - Low Profile Form Factor

www.delock.com

The second DeLock is supposed to have a PCIe x4 interface but the JMB585 is only x2 ... are there two of them hiding under the heatsink?

I found more Chinese M.2 cards with five SATA connectors (JMB585) or six (ASM1166), they don't look as solid as the ECS07 which has a metal case but they are 22 mm wide.

61.03US $ 8% OFF|M.2 To 5 Port Sata Add On Card Ngff 6gbps Conversion Adapter M2 Key M Sata3.0 Expansion Riser Card Chip Jmicron Jmb585 - Add On Cards & Controller Panels - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

22.38US $ 50% OFF|M.2 Nvme Pci-e Pcie X4 X8 X16 To 6 Port 3.0 Sata Adapter Card Riser Iii Asm1166 6gb/s Chassis Server Pc Computer Expansion - Pc Hardware Cables & Adapters - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

Anyway, it's good to know that solutions exist, even if not very practical, for those who need lots of SATA but don't have PCIe slots in excess.

 

[shilka]

It's 25 mm wide, so unlikely to fit in tight spaces designed for 2280 cards.

The second DeLock is supposed to have a PCIe x4 interface but the JMB585 is only x2 ... are there two of them hiding under the heatsink?

I found more Chinese M.2 cards with five SATA connectors (JMB585) or six (ASM1166), they don't look as solid as the ECS07 which has a metal case but they are 22 mm wide.

61.03US $ 8% OFF|M.2 To 5 Port Sata Add On Card Ngff 6gbps Conversion Adapter M2 Key M Sata3.0 Expansion Riser Card Chip Jmicron Jmb585 - Add On Cards & Controller Panels - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

22.38US $ 50% OFF|M.2 Nvme Pci-e Pcie X4 X8 X16 To 6 Port 3.0 Sata Adapter Card Riser Iii Asm1166 6gb/s Chassis Server Pc Computer Expansion - Pc Hardware Cables & Adapters - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

Anyway, it's good to know that solutions exist, even if not very practical, for those who need lots of SATA but don't have PCIe slots in excess.

It would be so much better if there existed a PCI-E gen 4 x1 or x4 card and a chip that could handle the double bandwidth
2000 MB/s for x1 and 8000 MB/s would mean you could have cards with many more ports than all those crappy x1 and x2 PCI-E gen 3 cards

Only other option is ditching the GPU and buying an x16 mini SAS HD HBA card
I have seen those with up to 16 ports and with 16000 MB/s you dont have a bottleneck even with all 16 ports in use

Maybe i should split my machine in two one for gaming with the cheapest parts that can do the job and another more expensive machine for media use and work using an iGPU

 

[Chrispy_]

Enormous, probably-expensive heatsinks covering most of the board with almost no surface area and an heat-insulating faux-marble plastic decal just make me irrationally angry.

If AMD and board partners are going to label "enthusiast boards" with E, that actually helps because it means that the "E" clearly identifies which boards are unnecessarily:

Extravagant
Expensive
Eccentric
E-ATX
E-peen
ETerrible value for money.

The rest of us can just buy the vanilla X670 and B650 boards with similar build quality and feature set, but a whole lot less of the frilly decoration, profit margin, and 'premium' ego-stroking guff.

 

[trsttte]

Just noticed something, not just 1 but 2 slots nulled out? damn

@lexluthermiester this was I meant with rip pcie slot number 1, here even worse rip number 1 and 2. Add in extra thick graphics cards and there's almost no space for expansion at all.

 

[Gmr_Chick]

Enormous, probably-expensive heatsinks covering most of the board with almost no surface area and an heat-insulating faux-marble plastic decal just make me irrationally angry.

If AMD and board partners are going to label "enthusiast boards" with E, that actually helps because it means that the "E" clearly identifies which boards are unnecessarily:

Extravagant
Expensive
Eccentric
E-ATX
E-peen
ETerrible value for money.

The rest of us can just buy the vanilla X670 and B650 boards with similar build quality and feature set, but a whole lot less of the frilly decoration, profit margin, and 'premium' ego-stroking guff.

Preach!

 

[ir_cow]

Review has been updated to reflect some clarification.

1: Weak memory support is likely to be a AMD AGEAS issue. (no surprise here)
2: USB4 is using a TB4 controller. This is linked through Gen3 x4 (1 GB/s)
3: Blazing OC Tuner software tested
4: Blazing M.2 heatsink thermals tested with Gen4 x4 NVMe drive
5: Realtek ALC4080 Codec /ESS SANRE0219 DAC is wrong. Updated to ALC4082+ESS9218
6: BIOS is now 256MB as listed on the website specification page.
7: Clarify that the Kingston DDR5-6000 FURY RGB was used for this review and with EXPO enabled.
8: Price updated to $529 US
9: Charts and text updated to say Taichi Carrara (ASRock really wanted this even though its the same MB)