ASRock X870E Taichi White Motherboard Review: A Taichi washed in white, now with 10 GbE

In late 2024, we reviewed ASRock’s X870E Taichi motherboard and loved its feature set, DIY-friendly nature, and loads of USB ports on the rear IO. Fast-forward to today and we’re covering the newly released ASRock X870E Taichi White. In addition to the different colorway and updated aesthetics, it also receives some iterative feature updates. This includes native 9950X3D support, faster Ethernet, and it’s ASRock’s first motherboard to feature all-white components. But the biggest changes with are the board’s improved looks.

Priced at $449.99 (or $438.99 on Newegg), it’s not inexpensive. But ASRock’s Taichi lineup always delivered the goods, offering flagship-class hardware that cost less than the competition. It may not have a fancy LCD screen like others, but it doesn’t have that same flagship price. Still, it does come with high-end features, including overbuilt power delivery (now with active cooling), 10 GbE (up from 5 GbE), a flagship audio solution with an integrated DAC, and even support for multi-GPU (AMD CrossFire). You get the same M.2 count (four), but fewer SATA ports (three, from six), DIY-friendly features, and plenty of USB ports on the rear IO, including two USB4 (40 Gbps) and Lightning Gaming ports. In short, it’s handsomely equipped.

Performance testing proceeded without a hitch, and the results were average overall. The results showed it was not only a solid productivity machine, be it rendering, encoding, or office work, but also showed it’s a competent gamer too. While it didn’t set the world on fire performance-wise, it was relatively consistent across the board.

Below, we’ll examine the Taichi White’s performance and other features, and decide if it has a chance to make our list of the best motherboards. But before we share test results and discuss details, here are the specifications from the ASRock website:

Specifications of the Taichi White

Inside the Box

Inside the box with the motherboard are a few accessories to get you started. You get four SATA cables (for three ports), three thermistor cables, an ARGB splitter cable, and last but not least, the Wi-Fi antenna. It’s not much, but it will at least get you a good wireless internet connection and let you attach SATA-based drives without a trip to the store.

Design and Features of the Taichi White

The Taichi White, like the original, keeps the same general design, with a vertical M.2 socket to the right of the RAM, and it uses a white, 8-layer PCB with beefy heatsinks covering the VRMs and two M.2 sockets, with the rest more of a plate-style cooling. Gone is the polarizing look of the original, with the gold dots and distinct cogs as the main design feature, moving to a more subtle look. We spy the Taichi branding on the left VRM heatsink, and you can see the small VRM fan, which is a unique look.

There are two RGB lighting zones: one hidden below the plate heatsink across the bottom and the other on the left VRM heatsink, which lights up the whole surface by the fan. ASRock’s Polychrome Sync software controls the lighting, with several canned light patterns, and most you can adjust (speed and color). The appearance is improved compared to the first X870E Taichi, but you’ll have to design an all-white build to take advantage of it.

Looking at the top left corner, we see your typical configuration with two 8-pin EPS connectors (one required) and the VRM heatsink. The latter uses a heatpipe to connect the top portion of the VRMs to the main, actively cooled portion of the heatsink. The tiny little fan remains off at idle and ramps up under load. It was quieter than the AIO we use, so there are no worries about noise. You can control the device in the BIOS and through Windows software. However, there’s better control through the latter. Here we see a tamer version of the Taichi theme, with the Taichi branding written vertically in chrome.

To the right of the socket area, we see the four DRAM slots, with locking mechanisms on both sides. ASRock lists support up to DDR5-8200, which is well above AMD’s sweet spot for the platform, but still a bit lower than some other high-end boards. We didn’t have any issues with our kits, including the DDR5-8000 kit with our APU.

Above the DRAM slots are the first three (of eight) 4-pin fan/pump headers. Each header supports PWM and DC-controlled devices through the BIOS. The lion’s share of these headers (CPU_FAN2, CHA_FAN1-4, and both AIO_PUMP headers support a whopping 3W/36A each and also auto-detect 3-pin/4-pin, while the CPU_FAN1 supports up to 1A/12W. There’s plenty of output available.

To the right of the DRAM slots is a vertically oriented M.2 socket that uses ASRock’s M.2 Key Latch to hold the device down and the M.2 heatsink quick release to attach and detach quickly—this socket, M.2_2, is a PCIe 4.0 (64 Gbps) M.2 socket. Don’t let the heatsink fool you. It’s labeled as “Blazing” M.2 (typically reserved for PCIe 5.0-capable sockets), but it’s PCIe 4.0 (what ASRock calls “Hyper”).

Along the right edge, starting in the top-right corner, we spy the two-character Dr. Debug diagnostic panel that displays POST codes in bright white, and below that are LED-backlit Power and Reset buttons. Below those are the first two 3-pin ARGB headers, followed by the 24-pin ATX power lead for the board, a 19-pin USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps), and finally a front panel USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 (20 Gbps) Type-C connector.

Power delivery on the X870E Taichi White uses the same robust configuration as the original. There are 25 phases total, with an incredible 22 dedicated to Vcore. Power flows from the 8-pin EPS connectors to the Renesas RA229628 controller (there’s a second controller for the SOC, etc.). From there, power goes to the Renesas R2209004 110A SPS MOSFETs. The 2,420A available will handle any processor you throw at it with aplomb. Be it stock, overclocked, or even extreme overclocking, the power bits and active VRM cooler won’t have any issues, even with a Ryzen 9 9950X or the Ryzen 9 9950X3D2.

On the bottom half of the board, starting on the left and hidden under a shroud, is the audio section. ASRock uses the flagship Realtek ALC4082 codec (along with several dedicated audio capacitors) and the ESS SABRE9219 DAC for real panel audio. It also supports direct-drive technology on the front headphone port, supporting up to 600 Ohm headsets. This combination of codec and DAC is one of the best native audio solutions on motherboards.

In the middle of the board are two full-length slots, both of which connect through the CPU and split up x16 PCIe 5.0 lanes. The top slot supports up to x16 while the bottom is up to x8. When both are in use, it’s x8/x8.

Mixed in and around the PCIe slots are three M.2 sockets. Above the PCIe slot is the one and only PCIe 5.0 x4 (128 Gbps)-capable M.2 socket hidden under a significant heatsink. Recently, we tested motherboard heatsink contact on the primary M.2 heatsink (also with a quick release) and found that a majority do NOT make good contact with the devices they’re supposed to cool. The good news is the Taichi White was one (of six) that made adequate contact on both sides. The other two M.2 sockets in this area, both PCIe 4.0 x4 (64 Gbps), reside under the plate heatsink. Note: The Taichi White doesn’t share bandwidth with PCIe slots, USB ports, or anything. So feel free to stuff this board like a Thanksgiving turkey and get everything possible out of your USB, M.2, and PCIe slots.

Moving right, past the chipset to the edge are your three SATA ports. This is one place where ASRock cut back (from six), but these days, most people can get by with three SATA ports and four M.2 sockets. If you’re into RAID configurations, the SATA ports support RAID 0/1 modes while NVMe supports RAID 0/1/10. Finally, we’ve included a few images of the board’s active ICs. ASRock uses a mix of Realtek (PWM controller, audio, MOSFETs) and Marvell ICs.

At the bottom are several headers, including front-panel audio and USB ports. A complete list of connectivity is listed below (from L to R):

• Front panel audio
• 4-pin RGB
• 3-pin ARGB
• (3) 2-pin Thermistor headers
• (2) USB 2.0 headers
• (4) 4-pin fan headers
• 19-pin USB 3.2 Gen 1 header
• 2-pin Clear CMOS jumper
• Speaker
• Front panel

Flipping the board around to the rear IO, you can see it’s chock-full of colorful USB and other ports. On the left are Clear CMOS and BIOS Flashback buttons. Next to those are the Wi-Fi 7 (remember, it’s ‘only’ 160 Hz) antenna connections and the HDMI (v2.1) port. Next to that are stacks of colored USB ports. In total, there are 12: two USB 4 (40 Gbps) Type-C ports that double as video outputs; five USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps), two of which are the Lightning USB ports (yellow – designed to reduce latency by using different controllers). Three USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) ports (purple) support USB PD 3.0 charging up to 5V@3A (15W). Lastly, there are two USB 2.0 ports in black. Above one of the Type-C ports is the Marvell (Aquantia) 10 GbE, and finally, on the right end, is the audio stack with two 3.5mm and SPDIF outputs.

If you’re an esports gamer where every millisecond counts, the lighting gaming ports could come in handy. Otherwise, it’s not really something that adds value to the average user.

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Firmware

Like other X870E ASRock boards, the X870E Taichi White starts in the informative Easy Mode, but it also lets you adjust several options (XMP, profiles, boot order, access to Fan-Tastic Tuning, etc.) here. The Taichi White uses a grey background and black characters, more or less matching the new Taichi’s theme. The high contrast also makes it easy to read. The standard BIOS displays headings across the top, with subheadings and details below.

You can tweak everything here, as ASRock includes every option you can think of. Overclocking is straightforward, with most options readily available. The layout is logical, and the mouse movement is smooth. We have no significant complaints about the ASRock firmware, but it could certainly use a facelift if it wants to keep up with recent Gigabyte and MSI offerings.

Software

ASRock offers several different software options. These include the App Shop, which lets users install drivers and software; the Nahimic 3 audio control panel; the A-Tuning application that lets you overclock and control fans; the Polychrome RGB software; and more. There’s also a Blazing OC Tuner and a convenient pop-up to install drivers when the system first boots. ASRock’s software provides everything users need to manage and tweak their systems.

Test System / Comparison Products

We’ve updated our test system to Windows 11 (23H2) 64-bit OS with all updates applied as of late September 2024 (this includes the Branch Prediction Optimizations for AMD). Hardware-wise, we’ve updated the RAM kits (matching our Intel test system), cooling, storage, and video card. Unless otherwise noted, we use the latest publicly available non-beta motherboard BIOS. The hardware we used is as follows:

TEST SYSTEM COMPONENTS:

• CPU – AMD Ryzen 9 9900X
• Cooling – Arctic Liquid Freezer II 420
• Storage – Crucial 2TB T705 M.2 PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD
• RAM – Kingston Fury Beast DDR5-6000 CL36 (KF560C36BBEAK2-32)
  Teamgroup T-Force Delta DDR5-7200 CL34 (FF3D518G7200HC34ABK)
  Klevv Cras XR5 RGB DDR5-8000 (KD5AGUA80-80R380S)
• GPU – Asus TUF RTX 4080 16G
• PSU – EVGA Supernova 850W P6
• Windows 11 64-bit (23H2 – 22631.4169)NVIDIA Driver 561.09

Benchmark Settings

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Our standard benchmarks and power tests are performed using the CPU’s stock frequencies (including any default boost/turbo) with all power-saving features enabled. We set optimized defaults in the BIOS and the memory by enabling the XMP profile. The Windows power scheme is set to Balanced (default) for this baseline testing, so the PC idles appropriately.

Synthetic Benchmarks

Synthetics offer a valuable method for evaluating a board’s performance, as identical settings are expected to yield similar results. Turbo boost wattage and advanced memory timings are areas where motherboard manufacturers can still optimize for stability or performance, though, and these settings can impact specific testing scenarios.

Starting with the synthetic benchmarks, the Taichi White performed average to below average. Nothing was inordinately slow (or fast), but some results, like POV-ray and Blender, fell on the slower side of average.

Timed Applications

Results from the timed applications were similar and around the average of our tested boards—nothing anomalous here either.

3D Games and 3DMark

Starting with the launch of Zen 5, we’ve updated our game tests. We’re keeping the F1 racing game but have upgraded to F1 24. We also dropped Far Cry 6 in favor of an even more popular and good-looking game in Cyberpunk 2077. We run both games at 1920×1080 resolution using the Ultra preset (details listed above). Cyberpunk 2077 uses DLSS, while we left F1 24 to native resolution scaling.

The goal with these settings is to determine if there are differences in performance at the most commonly used (and CPU/system-bound) resolution with settings most people use or strive for (Ultra). We expect the difference between boards in these tests to be minor, with most falling within the margin of error. We’ve also added a minimum FPS setting, which can affect your gameplay and immersion.

The Taichi White did well in the 3DMark benchmarks and was towards the top of our results. In the actual games, it was slightly below the average, though you wouldn’t be able to tell without a frame counter staring you in the face.

Overclocking

Over the past few CPU generations, overclocking headroom has been shrinking on both sides of the fence, while the out-of-the-box potential has increased. For overclockers, this means there’s less fun to have. For the average consumer, you’re getting the most out of the processor without manual tweaking. Today’s motherboards are more robust than ever, and they easily support power-hungry flagship-class processors, so we know the hardware can handle them. There are multiple ways to extract even more performance from these processors: enabling a canned PBO setting, manually tweaking the PBO settings, or just going for an all-core overclock. Results will vary and depend on the cooling as well. In other words, your mileage may vary. Considering all the above, we will not be overclocking the CPU. However, we will try out our different memory kits to ensure they meet the specifications.

For memory testing, we start with our fastest non-clock driver kit: Klevv 32GB (2×16) DDR5-8000. Per usual on this platform, it booted to Windows but wouldn’t pass a stress test with our 9900X. It did pass with the 8600G APU as expected.

The Team Group DDR5-7200 kit worked without issue. Those speeds are well past AMD’s ‘sweet spot’ for the platform. And because today’s RAM prices are so out of whack, we doubt many are shooting for these higher speeds anyway.

Power Consumption / VRM Temperatures

We used AIDA64’s System Stability Test with Stress CPU, FPU, cache, and Memory enabled for power testing, using the processor’s peak power consumption value. The wattage reading is obtained from the wall using a Kill-A-Watt meter, which captures the entire PC (excluding the monitor). The only variable that changes is the motherboard; all other parts remain the same. Please note that we have moved to using only the stock power-use/VRM temperature charts, as this section aims to ensure that the power delivery can handle flagship-class processors.

Stress testing this board with our DDR5-7200 kit showed it using a little more power than the average of all our X870 and B850 boards. At idle, it sat around 94W, slightly higher than average, and it peaked at 270W, one of the lower results under load. This averages out to 182W and is a bit more power-hungry than the average board.

VRM temperatures were good during our testing, peaking at just over 51 degrees Celsius on our sensor and 53 degrees on the hottest internal sensor. With 110A MOSFETs pushing ~150W loads, it’s a solid result with plenty of headroom left for a more powerful processor and/or overclocking.

Bottom Line

The ASRock X870E Taichi White ($449.99) takes everything we liked about the original Taichi and wraps it in a notably cleaner, all-white aesthetic while adding a few meaningful upgrades. The jump to 10 GbE, overkill power delivery with active VRM cooling, ample USB ports on the rear IO, and useful DIY-friendly features make it a compelling option for enthusiasts building a high-end AM5 rig.

The elephant in the room is that the original X870E Taichi still exists, and does so at a much lower price point of $319.99. In essence, if you don’t want a white build or don’t need 10 GbE, you can save quite a bit of money going with the original. You can also get the Asus ROG Strix X870E-A Gaming WiFi 6 Neo ($469.99), and while it’s missing a 10 GbE port (it has 5 GbE), it includes two PCIe 5.0 M.2 slots (four total). MSI’s popular X870E Carbon Wifi ($379.99 on sale) is a less expensive option without 10 GbE, but it also offers two PCIe 5.0 M.2 slots and 5 GbE. However, it is black. Gigabyte’s X870E Aorus Pro X3D Ice ($339.99 on sale, normally $436.99) is also a viable option in white, but lacks 10 GbE and, like the others, a flagship-class audio codec or integrated DACs.

Overall, we like the new X870E Taichi White, but it doesn’t quite have what it takes to make our best motherboards list. Although there are some iterative updates, the white aesthetic is the real winner. Not many users can use 10 GbE (you can also buy a 10 GbE card for your existing PC for around $72), but if you’re looking for a high-end white board and don’t want to spend $450, other appealing options are available.

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