A lot will be happy of this as so many asked for ITX options on the AMD side

Sold.

Some may like that ASRock went with black instead of red like the X370 Fatal1ty. A little easier to work a non-red color scheme.

Looks so much better in black and grey but I wish they revised the crappy 3 phase VRMs

iOLooks so much better in black and grey but I wish they revised the crappy 3 phase VRMs

These have a 6+2 phase VRM. Where are you getting 3 phase from?

TheinsanegamerNThese have a 6+2 phase VRM. Where are you getting 3 phase from?

Its 3 doubled phases for increased current capabilities. Plus those 2 for SoC voltage of course.

Nichicon Audio.

That's beyond dumb.

iOIts 3 doubled phases for increased current capabilities. Plus those 2 for SoC voltage of course.

Interesting. Dont intel boards do the same thing? Might just be a limitation of ITX.

Ferrum MasterNichicon Audio

Is there something wrong with nichicon?

TheinsanegamerNInteresting. Dont intel boards do the same thing? Might just be a limitation of ITX.

Its mostly ASRock cheaping out on their mITX and mATX AM4 line up as Intel boards get much better VRMs. But the AM4 socket and retention plastic thing does take up more space than S1151 making PCB design harder.

TheinsanegamerNIs there something wrong with nichicon?

It reminds me like GTA adds like pisswater etc...

The decision of a PR or whatever team to put this sort info is really worthless, it nears the snake oil religious preaching territory. It is low, it is tasteless. Put the ALC1220 sign and everything would be solid and clear. They advertise a part contributing less 0.01% of overall performance.

iOIts 3 doubled phases for increased current capabilities. Plus those 2 for SoC voltage of course.

Better than what msi puts out

Ferrum MasterIt reminds me like GTA adds like pisswater etc...

The decision of a PR or whatever team to put this sort info is really worthless, it nears the snake oil religious preaching territory. It is low, it is tasteless. Put the ALC1220 sign and everything would be solid and clear. They advertise a part contributing less 0.01% of overall performance.

Nichicon is a brand with a good recognition in the audiophile community, meanwhile realtek got very little appeal compared to ESStech or Asahi Kasei. Realtek is just a cheap, do it all chip, the nichicon logo is there to show that the audio is slightly better implemented compared to all the other realtek motherboard (wich is pretty much 100% of the market).

Those caps does have an impact on the sound signature, I had two motherboard with the same realtek chip, but the one with nichicon cap had a smoother, warmer sound.

eidairaman1Better than what msi puts out

Anything is better than Nikos crap..... Which MSI and Biostar both love to use.

iOIts mostly ASRock cheaping out on their mITX and mATX AM4 line up as Intel boards get much better VRMs. But the AM4 socket and retention plastic thing does take up more space than S1151 making PCB design harder.

I think it also has to do with AMD's chip using less power than Intel's chips too.

eidairaman1Better than what msi puts out

I mean that isn't really setting the bar high.

dyonoctisNichicon is a brand with a good recognition in the audiophile community, meanwhile realtek got very little appeal compared to ESStech or Asahi Kasei. Realtek is just a cheap, do it all chip, the nichicon logo is there to show that the audio is slightly better implemented compared to all the other realtek motherboard (wich is pretty much 100% of the market).

Those caps does have an impact on the sound signature, I had two motherboard with the same realtek chip, but the one with nichicon cap had a smoother, warmer sound.

You need a doctor or an education. Audiophile is like a spineless disease. The overall schematic implementation matters, not the cap. Any bypassed generic non china low end cap will do the same in coupling tasks(like any other boards reside, Dave still measures them slightly, look up). Any professional audio gear engineer will tell you the same. Snake oil is everywhere over these kind of things. No measurements are usually done and some sort of medieval dragon sighting stories are made based upon nothing. Actually hearing difference means usually something wrong in 99% cases. Oscillation and specific ringing at certain frequency with changed harmonic plot that actually may be pleasing to certain individuals, but actually it is the error and distortion you like.

Otherwise why the shun of Realtek? Who else has comparable interfaces working on HDA bus??? It is enough. The darn board does not have enough space nor power resources to properly utilize more serious sound solutions, yet the audience having the gear to utilize it is even smaller and none of them will use it as a analog signal source either way.

It is just funny how studio grade recording pro gear kind a lives a happy life without these magic caps with gold, virgin blood, fine spider silk... A puzzle indeed. *sarcasm*

They might have put a proper TPA6120, then yes Asrock guys, you did a good job, like others do for certain boards, gamers and any other current thirsty headphone users will praise you.

In the end it means... Like putting an ad on a car - it has round wheels and it is a feature.

Ferrum MasterYou need a doctor or an education. Audiophile is like a spineless disease. The overall schematic implementation matters, not the cap. Any bypassed generic non china low end cap will do the same in coupling tasks(like any other boards reside, Dave still measures them slightly, look up). Any professional audio gear engineer will tell you the same. Snake oil is everywhere over these kind of things. No measurements are usually done and some sort of medieval dragon sighting stories are made based upon nothing. Actually hearing difference means usually something wrong in 99% cases. Oscillation and specific ringing at certain frequency with changed harmonic plot that actually may be pleasing to certain individuals, but actually it is the error and distortion you like.

Otherwise why the shun of Realtek? Who else has comparable interfaces working on HDA bus??? It is enough. The darn board does not have enough space nor power resources to properly utilize more serious sound solutions, yet the audience having the gear to utilize it is even smaller and none of them will use it as a analog signal source either way.

It is just funny how studio grade recording pro gear kind a lives a happy life without these magic caps with gold, virgin blood, fine spider silk... A puzzle indeed. *sarcasm*

They might have put a proper TPA6120, then yes Asrock guys, you did a good job, like others do for certain boards, gamers and any other current thirsty headphone users will praise you.

In the end it means... Like putting an ad on a car - it has round wheels and it is a feature.

No idea why people would freak out about it anyway. I use a USB DAC for my hungry headphones (and I mean hungry hungry Fischer products)

cdawallNo idea why people would freak out about it anyway. I use a USB DAC for my hungry headphones (and I mean hungry hungry Fischer products)

I don't know. Like some sort of fashion trendy thing. Gucci, Armani... show off etc... same with audio gear.

Well I can add an image of a mature design. Lynx E44 card. They adress the pcie latency flaws by using very fast Spartan CPU.

The design is tight, proven and boring. Yet works like an atomic clock. No bells and whistles, just plain precision. Audiophiles are a funny bunch, reminds me of the flat earth rocket cuckoo guy.

BonesAnything is better than Nikos crap..... Which MSI and Biostar both love to use.

No wonder Biostar can't gain any ground

eidairaman1No wonder Biostar can't gain any ground

Mining would say they are doing fine.

Yes! this is exactly what I have been waiting for! SOLD!

dyonoctisMe I don't really care

It seems you don't care to read. Realtek simply isn't enough. ALC1220 is the thing that needs to advertised as the straight responsible key element to compare in between boards. And the chip is really good for a mainstream thing, it works better than certain dedicated multichannel dacs implemented on a dedicated board with independent split power.

If you suppose that ESS Sabre is something good without trade offs you don't understand what really it is as a 1 bit dac and how it works. There's load of them and you put generalize it. Just as caps, there simply are no simple audio caps even for Nichicon. There are KA, FG, FW, KZ etc... each with their own drawback especially the lifespan.

We have an itx board, from asrock, the heck the audiophile thing? It is beyond stupid as such, what's even the discussion about snake oil, that no one will use either way as the product is specifically targeted.

Musicality has nothing to do with caps or sound coloration, it is even in clash with the term hi fidelity lol. If it's recorded as shit(especially so called modern home studios) it will sound more like bigger shit on better gear(in general better gear causes greater abyss). For playing on crap gear it will sound the same(shit), that's the only general difference about audio fidelity and why you want a better gear. The main task of a generic audio part is to be transparent. Leaving all the placebo snake oil to the minority of believers and let them buy their dedicated devices. Case closed.

Ferrum MasterYou need a doctor or an education. Audiophile is like a spineless disease. The overall schematic implementation matters, not the cap. Any bypassed generic non china low end cap will do the same in coupling tasks(like any other boards reside, Dave still measures them slightly, look up). Any professional audio gear engineer will tell you the same. Snake oil is everywhere over these kind of things. No measurements are usually done and some sort of medieval dragon sighting stories are made based upon nothing. Actually hearing difference means usually something wrong in 99% cases. Oscillation and specific ringing at certain frequency with changed harmonic plot that actually may be pleasing to certain individuals, but actually it is the error and distortion you like.

Otherwise why the shun of Realtek? Who else has comparable interfaces working on HDA bus??? It is enough. The darn board does not have enough space nor power resources to properly utilize more serious sound solutions, yet the audience having the gear to utilize it is even smaller and none of them will use it as a analog signal source either way.

It is just funny how studio grade recording pro gear kind a lives a happy life without these magic caps with gold, virgin blood, fine spider silk... A puzzle indeed. *sarcasm*

They might have put a proper TPA6120, then yes Asrock guys, you did a good job, like others do for certain boards, gamers and any other current thirsty headphone users will praise you.

In the end it means... Like putting an ad on a car - it has round wheels and it is a feature.

Well spoken sir, I always refer to the audiophile craziness with 'you enjoy your 100 dollar audio cables created by elves in moonlight'. Do they exist, oh yes they do...

When in doubt, how about this 'current conditioning unit'

www.lessloss.com/firewall-module-p-216.html
"Use the Firewall module with any equipment so that its potential performance can be realized in today's over-polluted electro-magnetic atmosphere " :laugh:

Its hilarious. Browse a bit and be amazed

Finally an ITX board that I was waiting for since Ryzen launch. Now if it would have a B-chipset sibling that would be even more awesome. More options are always great.

Almost every motherboard with AMD chipsets were nothing like what Intel boards are for Covfefe Lake. They seemed much better in every way. Thankfully this discrepancy seems to have gone away.

What was worse that only premium boards shipped with ALC1220 codec, most of them used the ancient ALC889. I wanted to do audio connector re-tasking, guess what. Even with unlocked drivers I couldn't do squat.

What's with all these leaks? Another brand also plastered everywhere

videocardz.com/newz/biostar-x470-racing-gt8-and-gtn-motherboards-pictured

Ferrum MasterI don't know. Like some sort of fashion trendy thing. Gucci, Armani... show off etc... same with audio gear.

Well I can add an image of a mature design. Lynx E44 card. They adress the pcie latency flaws by using very fast Spartan CPU.

The design is tight, proven and boring. Yet works like an atomic clock. No bells and whistles, just plain precision. Audiophiles are a funny bunch, reminds me of the flat earth rocket cuckoo guy.

You have a point... but that card you link is listed at $1,095!