ASRock Z490 Taichi Preview

Black Haru · May 11, 2020

ASRock's award winning Taichi line is back, and aiming for the top of ASRock's Z490 stack. The cog and gear theme returns, along with a new VRM thermal solution with a finned heat sink and active cooling. What other new tricks has ASRock included in the ASRock Z490 Taichi?

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P4-630 · May 11, 2020

Has AMD's long support of the AM4 socket on its newer generation processors inspired Intel to take similar steps?

Intel released the lga1200 socket for the new Comet Lake-S processors, but presumably that socket will only last two generations. Alder Lake-S is planned for 2021, but would have another socket: lga1700.

Alder Lake-S getting the lga1700 socket is stated on Lit-Tech's website, which sells hardware kits to test power supply. It calls the generation and its associated chipset, where Alder Lake-S stands for lga1700. Lga1200 has only just been introduced and would therefore only last two generations, making a motherboard probably not a long-term investment this time.

After Comet Lake-S, it would still be usable with Rocket Lake-S, which was to come later this year. A bright spot is that the boards here and there support PCIe 4.0 for Rocket Lake-S.

'Intel LGA1200-socket in 2021 alweer vervangen door LGA1700'

Intel bracht nog geen week geleden de lga1200-socket uit voor de nieuwe Comet Lake-S-processors, maar vermoedelijk gaat die socket slechts twee generati...

nl.hardware.info

Assimilator · May 11, 2020

Dual EPS power inputs, stop lying to yourself ASRock, nobody's going to be drawing that much power. Ditto for the VRM fans.

Why is one of the USB 3.0 front panel connectors straight, while the other one right next to it is at 90 degrees? Why is the front panel USB-C connector rotated like that, do you have any idea the amount of stress that will put on the connector and cable?

Placement of the IO panel audio connectors is bizarre. Has ASRock finally given up on the "isolated audio" snake oil?

The final poop in the pudding is the use of Realtek 2.5Gb LAN on this supposedly high-end board. Why, when you could have Intel for both ports?

I'm gonna guess this board's street price will be ~$500. In reality it won't be worth half that.

Blaazen · May 11, 2020

@ The final poop in the pudding is the use of Realtek 2.5Gb LAN on this supposedly high-end board. Why, when you could have Intel for both ports?

Maybe because of this: https://www.techpowerup.com/266335/...ce-rocket-lake-s-2h-2020-production-confirmed

But what's purpose of the M2_4 slot? It's not explained in manual either.

Falkentyne · May 11, 2020

Assimilator said:
Dual EPS power inputs, stop lying to yourself ASRock, nobody's going to be drawing that much power. Ditto for the VRM fans.

Why is one of the USB 3.0 front panel connectors straight, while the other one right next to it is at 90 degrees? Why is the front panel USB-C connector rotated like that, do you have any idea the amount of stress that will put on the connector and cable?

Placement of the IO panel audio connectors is bizarre. Has ASRock finally given up on the "isolated audio" snake oil?

The final poop in the pudding is the use of Realtek 2.5Gb LAN on this supposedly high-end board. Why, when you could have Intel for both ports?

I'm gonna guess this board's street price will be ~$500. In reality it won't be worth half that.

It's going to the case anyway. I don't think that matters since the cable is long enough anyway, especially for cases that route the I/O through the edge of the case first.

AnarchoPrimitiv · May 11, 2020

2.5Gbe is just a marketing gimmick.. There's no 2.5gig ONLY switches, any switch capable of 2.5G is a multigig switch so therefore the switch is capable of 10G so anyone who bought the switch is 99.99% likely going to use it for 10G.

I don't see wide adoption of 2.5g in the marketplace and then stagnation on that for years like with 1gig. I think it'll jump to 10gig based on the growth of nvme SSDs and how more and. Ore motherboards are coming with 10GBase-T ports in them at lower and lower cost every year. At a very minimum, it might be 5 gig as the next "in every home" networking protocol, but I'd rather see 10gig.

evernessince · May 11, 2020

Assimilator said:
Dual EPS power inputs, stop lying to yourself ASRock, nobody's going to be drawing that much power. Ditto for the VRM fans.

Why is one of the USB 3.0 front panel connectors straight, while the other one right next to it is at 90 degrees? Why is the front panel USB-C connector rotated like that, do you have any idea the amount of stress that will put on the connector and cable?

Placement of the IO panel audio connectors is bizarre. Has ASRock finally given up on the "isolated audio" snake oil?

The final poop in the pudding is the use of Realtek 2.5Gb LAN on this supposedly high-end board. Why, when you could have Intel for both ports?

I'm gonna guess this board's street price will be ~$500. In reality it won't be worth half that.

It doesn't matter what CPU gen you look at, top end motherboards are always overbuilt. That said, in general, if the number of phases is increasing and they are adding VRM fans they very likely means power consumption is going up.

Caring1 · May 11, 2020

Assimilator said:
The final poop in the pudding is the use of Realtek 2.5Gb LAN on this supposedly high-end board. Why, when you could have Intel for both ports?

As mentioned in another post, the 2.5Gb Intel part is flawed and effectively runs at 1Gb, this is a hardware fix only so the change to Realtek is necessary .

SL2 · May 11, 2020

evernessince said:
It doesn't matter what CPU gen you look at, top end motherboards are always overbuilt. That said, in general, if the number of phases is increasing and they are adding VRM fans they very likely means power consumption is going up.

That's confirmed AFAIK.

Intel's Comet Lake Absence at CES Reportedly Related to Power Consumption Wall

Reports are flooding the web regarding Intel's total lack of reference to their upcoming Comet Lake family of CPUs, which will be branded under the Intel Core 10000 series. As reports would have it, motherboard makers had stock of LGA 1200 motherboards ready to showcase at CES, but were told to...

www.techpowerup.com

Comet Lake-S may require hefty CPU coolers: Core i9-10900F shown to have a 170 W PL1 (TDP) and 224 W PL2 for a 4.6 GHz all-core boost

It looks like Intel may have hit a hard limit on optimizing the power draws of the upcoming 10th gen Comet Lake-S if a recent stress test leak of the Core i9-10900F is anything to go by. The test shows that the Core i9-10900F has a PL1 of 170 W but requires a PL2 of 224 W to sustain an all-core...

www.notebookcheck.net

Assimilator said:
Dual EPS power inputs, stop lying to yourself ASRock, nobody's going to be drawing that much power.

So does Asus, Biostar, EVGA, Gigabyte and MSI.

The Intel Z490 Overview: 44+ Motherboards Examined

www.anandtech.com

deu · May 11, 2020

Assimilator said:
Dual EPS power inputs, stop lying to yourself ASRock, nobody's going to be drawing that much power. Ditto for the VRM fans.

Why is one of the USB 3.0 front panel connectors straight, while the other one right next to it is at 90 degrees? Why is the front panel USB-C connector rotated like that, do you have any idea the amount of stress that will put on the connector and cable?

Placement of the IO panel audio connectors is bizarre. Has ASRock finally given up on the "isolated audio" snake oil?

The final poop in the pudding is the use of Realtek 2.5Gb LAN on this supposedly high-end board. Why, when you could have Intel for both ports?

I'm gonna guess this board's street price will be ~$500. In reality it won't be worth half that.

Asrock generally like putting alot of loco outputs on their boards. It is somewhat their thing!

Gmr_Chick · May 12, 2020

@Black Haru -- I caught an error on the "Packaging & Contents" page:

"The front of the ASRock TRX40 Taichi box is split, with the left side hosting a brushed gray background and the right side featuring the trademark Taichi cogs and gears. "TRX40 Taichi " is in the bottom left, with brand badging below it along the bottom-left edge."

EarthDog · May 12, 2020

Gmr_Chick said:
@Black Haru -- I caught an error on the "Packaging & Contents" page, referring to the board as a "TRX40" twice, rather than Z490

copy/paste will get ya.. I know!

Black Haru · May 12, 2020

Blaazen said:
@ The final poop in the pudding is the use of Realtek 2.5Gb LAN on this supposedly high-end board. Why, when you could have Intel for both ports?

Maybe because of this: https://www.techpowerup.com/266335/...ce-rocket-lake-s-2h-2020-production-confirmed

But what's purpose of the M2_4 slot? It's not explained in manual either.

M2_4 is for future PCIe 4.0 support. I am not sure why a separate slot is necessary, I will try to get more info from ASRock for the full review.

Gmr_Chick said:
@Black Haru -- I caught an error on the "Packaging & Contents" page:

"The front of the ASRock TRX40 Taichi box is split, with the left side hosting a brushed gray background and the right side featuring the trademark Taichi cogs and gears. "TRX40 Taichi " is in the bottom left, with brand badging below it along the bottom-left edge."

Fixed, thanks

EarthDog said:
copy/paste will get ya.. I know!

Every time!

EarthDog · May 12, 2020

Black Haru said:
M2_4 is for future PCIe 4.0 support. I am not sure why a separate slot is necessary, I will try to get more info from

The others arent wired for 4.0. Why they chose different is a great question.

Assimilator said:
Why is one of the USB 3.0 front panel connectors straight, while the other one right next to it is at 90 degrees?

The flat one allows the GPU and the FP 3.0 port to be used. A good design choice IMO.

Edit: wrong board...that's the velocita iirc...no idea... most dont use two?? Lol

Vayra86 · May 12, 2020

What a trainwreck, damn

chodaboy19 · May 12, 2020

Those tiny fans... more noise...

AtlasRush · May 12, 2020

There's a mistake also in the table for VRMs. It's not 12 vCPU + 2 vSOC. It's 12 vCPU + 2 IGPU, therefore it's not a 700 Amps VRM, it's a 600 Amps VRM.

Gmr_Chick · May 13, 2020

chodaboy19 said:
Those tiny fans... more noise...

Annnd the bitch fest continues... :cry:

Black Haru · May 13, 2020

Hades said:
There's a mistake also in the table for VRMs. It's not 12 vCPU + 2 vSOC. It's 12 vCPU + 2 IGPU, therefore it's not a 700 Amps VRM, it's a 600 Amps VRM.

Was intended as total output, but I clarified in all previews for consistency.

gamefoo21 · May 14, 2020

Bah...

What's Asrock doing... DerpMOS stages... You could get away with it on the X570 TaiChi because it was price vs performance. The price tag on the Z490 TaiChi puts it up against better equipped boards...

System Name	AlderLake / Laptop
Processor	Intel i7 12700K P-Cores @ 5Ghz / Intel i3 7100U
Motherboard	Gigabyte Z690 Aorus Master / HP 83A3 (U3E1)
Cooling	Noctua NH-U12A 2 fans + Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut Extreme + 5 case fans / Fan
Memory	32GB DDR5 Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB 6000MHz CL36 / 8GB DDR4 HyperX CL13
Video Card(s)	MSI RTX 2070 Super Gaming X Trio / Intel HD620
Storage	Samsung 980 Pro 1TB + 970 Evo 500GB + 850 Pro 512GB + 860 Evo 1TB x2 / Samsung 256GB M.2 SSD
Display(s)	23.8" Dell S2417DG 165Hz G-Sync 1440p / 14" 1080p IPS Glossy
Case	Be quiet! Silent Base 600 - Window / HP Pavilion
Audio Device(s)	Panasonic SA-PMX94 / Realtek onboard + B&O speaker system / Harman Kardon Go + Play / Logitech G533
Power Supply	Seasonic Focus Plus Gold 750W / Powerbrick
Mouse	Logitech MX Anywhere 2 Laser wireless / Logitech M330 wireless
Keyboard	RAPOO E9270P Black 5GHz wireless / HP backlit
Software	Windows 11 / Windows 10
Benchmark Scores	Cinebench R23 (Single Core) 1936 @ stock Cinebench R23 (Multi Core) 23006 @ stock

System Name	Firelance.
Processor	Threadripper 3960X
Motherboard	ROG Strix TRX40-E Gaming
Cooling	IceGem 360 + 6x Arctic Cooling P12
Memory	8x 16GB Patriot Viper DDR4-3200 CL16
Video Card(s)	MSI GeForce RTX 4060 Ti Ventus 2X OC
Storage	2TB WD SN850X (boot), 4TB Crucial P3 (data)
Display(s)	3x AOC Q32E2N (32" 2560x1440 75Hz)
Case	Enthoo Pro II Server Edition (Closed Panel) + 6 fans
Power Supply	Fractal Design Ion+ 2 Platinum 760W
Mouse	Logitech G602
Keyboard	Logitech G613
Software	Windows 10 Professional x64

System Name	Lightbringer
Processor	Ryzen 7 2700X
Motherboard	Asus ROG Strix X470-F Gaming
Cooling	Enermax Liqmax Iii 360mm AIO
Memory	G.Skill Trident Z RGB 32GB (8GBx4) 3200Mhz CL 14
Video Card(s)	Sapphire RX 5700XT Nitro+
Storage	Hp EX950 2TB NVMe M.2, HP EX950 1TB NVMe M.2, Samsung 860 EVO 2TB
Display(s)	LG 34BK95U-W 34" 5120 x 2160
Case	Lian Li PC-O11 Dynamic (White)
Power Supply	BeQuiet Straight Power 11 850w Gold Rated PSU
Mouse	Glorious Model O (Matte White)
Keyboard	Royal Kludge RK71
Software	Windows 10

Processor	Ryzen 7800X3D
Motherboard	ASRock X670E Taichi
Cooling	Noctua NH-D15 Chromax
Memory	32GB DDR5 6000 CL30
Video Card(s)	MSI RTX 4090 Trio
Storage	Too much
Display(s)	Acer Predator XB3 27" 240 Hz
Case	Thermaltake Core X9
Audio Device(s)	Topping DX5, DCA Aeon II
Power Supply	Seasonic Prime Titanium 850w
Mouse	G305
Keyboard	Wooting HE60
VR HMD	Valve Index
Software	Win 10

System Name	Black Box
Processor	Intel Xeon E3-1260L v5
Motherboard	MSI E3 KRAIT Gaming v5
Cooling	Tt tower + 120mm Tt fan
Memory	G.Skill 16GB 3600 C18
Video Card(s)	Asus GTX 970 Mini
Storage	Kingston A2000 512Gb NVME
Display(s)	AOC 24" Freesync 1m.s. 75Hz
Case	Corsair 450D High Air Flow.
Audio Device(s)	No need.
Power Supply	FSP Aurum 650W
Mouse	Yes
Keyboard	Of course
Software	W10 Pro 64 bit

System Name	Bo-minator (my name is bo)
Processor	AMD 3900X
Motherboard	Gigabyte X570 AORUS MASTER
Cooling	Noctua NH-D15
Memory	G-SkiLL 2x8GB RAM 3600Mhz (CL16-16-16-16-36)
Video Card(s)	ASUS STRIX 1080Ti OC
Storage	Samsung EVO 850 1TB
Display(s)	ACER XB271HU + DELL 2717D
Case	Fractal Design Define R4
Audio Device(s)	ASUS Xonar Essence STX
Power Supply	Antec HCP 1000W
Mouse	G403
Keyboard	CM STORM Quick Fire Rapid
Software	Windows 10 64-bit Pro
Benchmark Scores	XX

System Name	The Captain (2.0)
Processor	Ryzen 7 7700X
Motherboard	Gigabyte X670E AORUS Master
Cooling	280mm Arctic Liquid Freezer II, 4x Be Quiet! 140mm Silent Wings 4 (1x exhaust 3x intake)
Memory	32GB (2x16) G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo (6000Mhz)
Video Card(s)	MSI GeForce RTX 3070 SUPRIM X
Storage	1x Crucial MX500 500GB SSD; 1x Crucial MX500 500GB M.2 SSD; 1x WD Blue HDD, 1x Crucial P5 Plus
Display(s)	Aorus CV27F 27" 1080p 165Hz
Case	Phanteks Evolv X (Anthracite Gray)
Power Supply	Corsair RMx (2021) 1000W 80-Plus Gold
Mouse	Varies based on mood/task; is currently Razer Basilisk V3 Pro or Razer Cobra Pro
Keyboard	Varies based on mood; currently Razer Blackwidow V4 75% and Hyper X Alloy 65

Processor	i7 8700k 4.6Ghz @ 1.24V
Motherboard	AsRock Fatal1ty K6 Z370
Cooling	beQuiet! Dark Rock Pro 3
Memory	16GB Corsair Vengeance LPX 3200/C16
Video Card(s)	ASRock RX7900XT Phantom Gaming
Storage	Samsung 850 EVO 1TB + Samsung 830 256GB + Crucial BX100 250GB + Toshiba 1TB HDD
Display(s)	Gigabyte G34QWC (3440x1440)
Case	Fractal Design Define R5
Audio Device(s)	Harman Kardon AVR137 + 2.1
Power Supply	EVGA Supernova G2 750W
Mouse	XTRFY M42
Keyboard	Lenovo Thinkpad Trackpoint II
Software	W10 x64

System Name	Antares V4
Processor	Intel Core i9-13900K
Motherboard	MSI MEG Z690 ACE
Cooling	Custom Liquid Cooling (480 rad, EKWB Velocity RGB, Noctua NF-A12x25 fans, Alphacool Distro D5)
Memory	XPG Lancer RGB 32 GB DDR5-6000 C30
Video Card(s)	Sapphire Nitro+ RX 6950 XT Pure
Storage	Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus 2 TB + 4 TB, Sabrent Rocket 3.0 4 TB, Sabrent Rocket Q 8 TB
Display(s)	LG 27UK650 x2
Case	Corsair Obsidian 1000D
Power Supply	Corsair AX1500i Titanium
Mouse	Razer Viper Ultimate Cyberpunk 2077
Keyboard	Cooler Master MK730

System Name	R2V2 *In Progress
Processor	Ryzen 7 2700
Motherboard	Asrock X570 Taichi
Cooling	W2A... water to air
Memory	G.Skill Trident Z3466 B-die
Video Card(s)	Radeon VII repaired and resurrected
Storage	Adata and Samsung NVME
Display(s)	Samsung LCD
Case	Some ThermalTake
Audio Device(s)	Asus Strix RAID DLX upgraded op amps
Power Supply	Seasonic Prime something or other
Software	Windows 10 Pro x64