Component Analysis

There's very little by way of interesting components on the PCB, with that partly being down to the B850 chipset requiring just one part, unlike the dual chipsets of X870E. There's also no USB4. Here, the chipset gets a reasonably large heatsink all to itself, with no contact being made between it and the M.2 heatsink below.


ASRock has picked Realtek's ALC4082 audio codec to power your headphones or speakers, with some similar or cheaper options downgrading to ALC897, so it's good to see something more decent here. Next to this is the Ethernet controller, again from Realtek in the form of the RTL8125BG, which offers 2.5 Gbps.


Wi-Fi 7 is included too and unlike other value-conscious ASRock boards out there, the module is hidden under the I/O shroud instead of in an unsightly plastic case in full view on the PCB. This is cooled from above by the shroud with a thermal pad and the casing too acts like a heatsink, thanks to a large thermal pad making contact with the Wi-Fi module, in this case a MediaTek MT7925B22M/RZ717. This is easily removable, but you'll need to remove the I/O shroud heatsink and I/O panel.