# AsRock Z370 Taichi worth it over Extreme 4?



## puma99dk| (Jul 21, 2018)

I wanted to try a AsRock board for years and now when I can't get Blu-Ray to run on my X299 setup (Thanks you Intel's for the lack of SGX support)  I am strongly considering going over to "Coffee Cups" and get a AsRock board together with a Intel Core i7-8086K.

I been looking at the Taichi series for since they came out and with new "Gear/Clockwork" heatsink I really love the aesthetics of the Taichi and the dual Intel NIC with Teaming support would be awesome but it's 83USD/72eur/64gbp more expensive then a AsRock Z370 Extreme 4 with the same 12 phase vrm and yes this board does lacks the wifi (which i won't need), dual nics (could be nice with teaming but not a most) and the Taichi aesthetics would it better route to go and save the money?

AsRock Z370 Taichi






AsRock Z370 Extreme4


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## jesdals (Jul 21, 2018)

I would choose the Taichi because it has 3 slots for M.2 disks and that gives you great upgrade bility


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## puma99dk| (Jul 21, 2018)

jesdals said:


> I would choose the Taichi because it has 3 slots for M.2 disks and that gives you great upgrade bility



Good point but I only got one NVME not planning on more unless I could get my EVO 850 SATA exchanged for the M.2. versions.


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## Caring1 (Jul 21, 2018)

I would go the Taichi for better features, and resale value when you do want to eventually upgrade from that.
Plus they look awesome, I bought one and have left it in the box for display.


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## witkazy (Jul 21, 2018)

Caring1 said:


> I would go the Taichi for better features, and resale value when you do want to eventually upgrade from that.
> Plus they look awesome, I bought one and have left it in the box for display.


Display only? Man ,it's like buyin' single malt and just look at it...


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## puma99dk| (Jul 21, 2018)

Some one @Caring1 has too much money


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## Caring1 (Jul 21, 2018)

witkazy said:


> Display only? Man ,it's like buyin' single malt and just look at it...


Thanks for reminding me of that bottle I have, it's been laying around for around ten years now.


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## nomdeplume (Jul 21, 2018)

witkazy said:


> Display only? Man ,it's like buyin' single malt and just look at it...



Only instead of drinking it he lets it sit until the connoisseurs appreciate how well it has aged.


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## cucker tarlson (Jul 21, 2018)

It boils down to whether you want 3 nvme's.

btw, about extreme 4 vrm, there are 2 variants, one identical to taichi, one different, same as one i7 fatality professional, which is also a stupendously good enthusiast/high end board.

https://www.overclock.net/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=99753

also, they suggest using active cooling on z370 extreme 4, it may have a great vrm on paper but there's apparently some problem with heat transfer, people said it was prolly cause of pcb somehow soaking too much heat from the vrm.

Specs on paper mean very little until the board is put to practice. An 8 phase board done 100% right,including its build and bios, is a thousand time better than a 12 phase one that has something not working properly. Not saying it's extreme 4, just generalizing. I'd get the extreme 4 and as long as you have top fans in your case and an air coller you're fine. You may check out that z370 ultra wifi op board, great price for its features.

https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/Z370-AORUS-ULTRA-GAMING-WIFI-OP-rev-10#kf

alc 1220,intel lan,intel wifi,decent vrm,32gb built-in optane,rgb chicken head - priced just slightly over extreme 4. That optane stick and intel wifi is a lot of added value

https://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/8157/intel-optane-memory-32gb-2-nvme-ssd-review/index9.html


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## puma99dk| (Jul 21, 2018)

@cucker tarlson I had Gigabyte boards in the past and I personally don't want them again, support is sloppy if u need any help and they are slow with updates too.

Their products are oki but nothing I just want again. I been switching between MSI Gaming, Asus ROG, Gigabyte and Asus Prime and I built a lot of pc's with AsRock boards and they been the best even on the budget side for me that's why I want to try it for myself in my personal rig.


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## cucker tarlson (Jul 21, 2018)

I have gigabyte myself,you are correct about software and bios support,it can be sloppy. However,I'd still buy gigabyte for the features you get at that price as well as reliability,which has been great in my case. I'd personally never go asrock again,I had too much bad luck with z77 extreme 4 vcore bug, I've seen people report that with z370 extreme 4 too
http://forum.asrock.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=8338&title=asrock-extreme4-k6-z370-vcore-bug-vrm-130c
although,as pointed in that thread, this may be the result of the high temps on vrm I mentioned before,which happens when the vrm does not have access to any airflow.


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## Deleted member 178884 (Jul 21, 2018)

Gigabyte is better value and features for z370 whereas asrock is better for x299.
Teaming is BS - You need windows r something server edition if I remember correctly.


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## puma99dk| (Jul 21, 2018)

Xx Tek Tip xX said:


> Gigabyte is better value and features for z370 whereas asrock is better for x299.
> Teaming is BS - You need windows r something server edition if I remember correctly.



U just need Windows 10 RS4 but I think it should with with SCU.


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## vMax65 (Jul 21, 2018)

Even though I have  the Gigabyte Z370 Gaming 7 which is a fantastic motherboard, I would still say the ASRock Taichi is also great value with a super strong feature set and an excellent VRM setup, so great for overclocking.. AnadTech have just reviewed it today and given it a great write up...I know its been out for a long time but they only got arround to it today..Its also going for a great price..worth it over the Xreteme 4..

https://www.anandtech.com/show/12706/asrock-z370-taichi-motherboard-review


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## cucker tarlson (Jul 21, 2018)

If you're into looks, you might like fatal1ty k6/i7 better than extreme 4/taichi. I think fatal1ty series are the best looking z370 mobos with the exception of strix maybe.


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## vMax65 (Jul 21, 2018)

Haven't ever seen the K6 before nor at the bigger retailers in the UK like Overclockers and Scan...Looks fantastic...


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## puma99dk| (Jul 21, 2018)

cucker tarlson said:


> If you're into looks, you might like fatal1ty k6/i7 better than extreme 4/taichi. I think fatal1ty series are the best looking z370 mobos with the exception of strix maybe.



Thank you but no thank you I don't really like this board, I really like the gear clockwork on the Taichi but that's just my tast.


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## Vayra86 (Jul 21, 2018)

The Taichi is a really nice board for overclocking, its among the best Z370 has to offer and rivals MUCH more expensive boards like the top-end Gigabyte, MSI and Asus ones.

I have the K6 you see above here and its mostly similar in featureset, liking it a lot and its 35-45 eur cheaper, which is nearly 25%. But you do get the same VRM and stuff.

But, is it 'worth it' over the Extreme4? In a practical sense: absolutely not. For Epeen, aesthetics and personal taste? Probably yes


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## Artas1984 (Aug 13, 2018)

Z370 Taichi has a diagnostic onboard LED and IO clear cmos button - these two things are major contributors for Taichi vs. Extreme4, and they do make your life easier and less frustrating. That probably will be my pick too for replacing the shitty Z370 Killer SLI.


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## GorbazTheDragon (Aug 14, 2018)

These 2 are probably best value for money boards on Z370, I personally would have gone with the e4, they are quite similar in terms of functionality/performance, you just get extra connectivity which I  wouldn't use.


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## puma99dk| (Aug 15, 2018)

I got the Taichi board and a i7-8086k.

I am using the Intel I211AT for a change to try it out instead of the Intel I219V this chip together with I219LM had troubled me before on other board but this not.

The place I purchased it flashed the bios to P3.10 but I have some problem with SATA 0-3 they wouldn't detect my 2 Samsung 850 EVO so I moved them down so I use SATA 4-8 I am using the M.2. with a Samsung 960 EVO nvme drive so I am not sure why they would get disabled since my drive ain't sata.


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## Caring1 (Aug 15, 2018)

puma99dk| said:


> I got the Taichi board and a i7-8086k.
> I have some problem with SATA 0-3 they wouldn't detect my 2 Samsung 850 EVO so I moved them down so I use SATA 4-8 I am using the M.2. with a Samsung 960 EVO nvme drive so I am not sure why they would get disabled since my drive ain't sata.


*M2_1, SATA3_0 and SATA3_1 share lanes. If either one of them is in use, the others will be disabled.
M2_2, SATA3_4 and SATA3_5 share lanes. If either one of them is in use, the others will be disabled.
If M2_3 is occupied by a SATA-type M.2 device, SATA3_3 will be disabled.


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## puma99dk| (Aug 15, 2018)

Caring1 said:


> *M2_1, SATA3_0 and SATA3_1 share lanes. If either one of them is in use, the others will be disabled.
> M2_2, SATA3_4 and SATA3_5 share lanes. If either one of them is in use, the others will be disabled.
> If M2_3 is occupied by a SATA-type M.2 device, SATA3_3 will be disabled.



I know that but that's for SATA-based M.2. My M.2. is nvme so shouldn't effect this or am I wrong¿


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## Caring1 (Aug 15, 2018)

puma99dk| said:


> I know that but that's for SATA-based M.2. My M.2. is nvme so shouldn't effect this or am I wrong¿


Pretty sure NVME uses 4 X Pcie lanes.
God, now I'm confusing myself …


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## puma99dk| (Aug 15, 2018)

Caring1 said:


> Pretty sure NVME uses 4 X Pcie lanes.
> God, now I'm confusing myself …



it does that's why the 2 top SATA slots should work.


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## Artas1984 (Aug 17, 2018)

I've got it. Core i7 8700K 5 GHz OC at 1.38 Vcore with no additional volts on PLL or SA. Can manually overclock, unlike with Z370 Killer SLI, where only predetermined overclock profiles worked, and the max was 4.8 GHz.


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