Introduction

We have reached another milestone of AMD's quest to overtake the PC market. First, we were introduced to the Ryzen Zen CPU in 2017. This was quickly followed up by Zen+. Next, with the Zen 2 launch, came a new X570 chipset using the same X naming convention, as the follow-up to X470. The initial launch of the X570 along with Ryzen PCIe Gen4 support in 2019 was a bit frustrating for many users, as being new, it suffered from a few quirks.

The most notable addition was the inclusion of a fan on the X570 chipset. This was in part due to the x4 PCIE 4.0 uplink to the CPU, which allowed more M.2 and PCIE slots to use this extra bandwidth. That combined with certain configurations reportedly caused overheating issues and lead to a fan being installed on most of these X570 motherboards. Some of these created unwanted noise with an occasional fan failure as well.

After the highly successful B550 chipset launch that cut back on the CPU uplink, thus lowering power consumption, AMD has decided to give the X570 some extra love. Now, the chipset is passively cooled with the "S" in "X570S" standing for silent. With this refresh, motherboard manufacturers now have a new opportunity to refresh each X570 lineup with new features, including Wi-FI 6E, USB 3.2 20 Gbps connectivity, and higher supported memory frequencies that just weren't available three years ago. It should be noted that it is up to the board manufacturers to include these features.

Because of the higher bandwidth provided to the Southbridge over the budget-originated B550 chipset, the X570 has more to offer when it comes to additional PCIe Gen4 and M.2 slots for consumers to take advantage of when available. Both of these have their place in the market and are competitive to the Intel lineup, which now hosts PCIe Gen4 lanes as well on the latest Intel Z590 chipset paired with an 11th Gen Intel Core processor.


In today's review, we will be taking a close look at the ASRock X570S PG Riptide. Featuring a PCIe 4.0 ready solution with 2.5 GbE Ethernet powered by the Killer E3001G, Wi-Fi Ready, DDR4-5000+ memory support, unique GPU support bracket, and ASRock's software suite to round out the experience, it is time to jump in and find out what the Riptide is all about!

Specifications

Packaging and Contents

The front of the box shows the Riptide logo, name of the product, and chipset being used. Nothing fancy, and it gets the point of what you are buying with big enough lettering not to get mixed up between a variety of similar SKUs across.

Flipping the box around, the back has all the highlights: a top-down shot of the board, several panels detailing prominent features, a diagram outlining the rear I/O, and the specifications list. The box design is well-executed and matches the board nicely. This is what I want to see with every product. It is clearly laid out and quickly explains the features, which makes the buying decision much easier.


The accessories are bare-bones. Two SATA cables, the manual, installation disk, and an ASRock sticker. The rear I/O shield is not integrated into the board, which is something I have been spoiled by as of late. This is not a deal breaker, just one more step before installation into a case. The extra hardware is a GPU support bracket that mounts to the motherboard. We will give that a more in-depth look later in the review.

The full list of accessories includes:

• Quick installation guide, support CD
• 2x SATA data cables
• M.2 socket standoff
• 2x Screws for M.2 sockets

Board Layout

The X570S PG Riptide has the modern contemporary aesthetic that is a standard look for 2021. It consists of a black PCB matched with black heatsinks and silver accents. Once the board is powered on, the logo on the chipset lights up with RGB LEDs.


The CPU socket is adequate for most air coolers. The VRM heatsink is fairly tall, which will block any coolers managing to reach into this area.


There are two M.2 slots on the ASRock X570S PG Riptide; one above the first PCIe x16 slot that supports PCIe 4.0 connectivity directly from the CPU and another below the second PCIe x16 slot, wired for x4, which runs through the X570S chipset. Only the top slot features a full-coverage heatsink.


The ASRock X570S PG Riptide offers three PCI Express x16 slots, with the top slot steel-reinforced and PCIe 4.0 compatible. The other two Gen4 PCIe x16 slots are actually wired as x4, as seen from the pin layout on the backside of the PCB. An additional three PCI Express 4.0 x1 slots are included as well. Every PCIe slots besides the top, real x16 slot is connected to the chipset as listed in the manual. To reiterate, only the top M.2 and PCIe x16 slots have the bandwidth supplied directly by the CPU. This is normal for many motherboards. However, quite a number of boards do have the second x16 slot wired for 8x; it can be split with the first slot. This is not the case with this particular ASRock board.

The board has a total of six SATA 6 Gb/s ports on the side, angled 90 degrees from the board. As often is the case, not all SATA ports will be functional if the second M.2 slot is used. Ports five and six will be disabled due to bandwidth allocations. This bugs me a bit, and you will often see one of the PCIe slots can be disabled instead. Choose your poison, so to speak. That said, not everyone will be using the same storage configurations.


Above the audio section is the M.2 socket (Key E) for Wi-Fi. It supports type 2230 WiFi/BT PCIe WiFi modules. The manual states no additional PCIe slots will be disabled when this M.2 slot is in use.


One of ASRock's main selling points is this GPU support bracket. It uses the same mounting holes as a case. Instead of using the supplied screws with the case, ASRock has included two sets of screws for different types of threads. At first, I thought neither screw set fit my Phanteks standoffs, but it turns out the thread-locker glue was the culprit of my problems.


Networking on the ASRock X570S PG Riptide is handled by a Killer E3001G 2.5 Gb/s controller.


The ASRock X570S PG Riptide has taken a bare-bones approach to I/O offerings. The only notable expectation is the PS/2 port that could be handy for backwards compatibility. I said in the beginning of the review that the X570 chipset offers more in terms of connectivity, but it does have to be implemented. The ASRock PG Riptide is a prime example of a refresh without adding anything new in terms of connectivity.

• 1x Antenna bracket (empty)
• 1x PS/2 mouse/keyboard port
• 1x HDMI port
• 1x Optical SPDIF Out port
• 1x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A Port (10 Gb/s)
• 1x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C Port (10 Gb/s)
• 4x USB 3.2 Gen1 ports
• 2x USB 2.0 ports
• 1x RJ-45 LAN port with LED
• BIOS flashback button with LED
• HD audio jacks