Saturday, October 5th 2024

ASRock Intel Z890 Motherboard Series Pictured—OC Formula, Taichi, PG Nova, Steel Legend

ASRock has a pretty comprehensive lineup of upcoming Socket LGA1851 motherboards based on the top Intel Z890 chipset, which the company will launch alongside the new Intel Core Ultra 2-series "Arrow Lake-S" desktop processors later this month. The company's Z890 lineup has been leaked to the web by VideoCardz. The lineup covers nearly every brand extension by ASRock, addressing a wide category of PC users, from the entry level that just wants an office desktop to harness the CPU power of the new processors, to the two distinct classes of the enthusiast segment—one which overclocks, and the other that needs every possible premium I/O from this platform, with the bulk of the lineup targeting gaming PC builders across price-segments.

At the very top are ASRock Z890 Taichi OCF and the ASRock Z890 Taichi. The Taichi OCF is the spiritual successor to the OC Formula series by ASRock targeting professional overclockers. It has the strongest possible CPU VRM solution from the company, the largest selection of overclocker-friendly features, and a 1 DIMM per channel (1DPC) memory configuration, for the highest possible memory overclocks. The Taichi OCF has most if not all of the I/O goodies ASRock has to offer. For this, you'll have to seek out the regular ASRock Z890 Taichi, with its four DDR5 memory slots, nearly the same overclocking feature-set as the Taichi OCF, but some added toys, such as Thunderbolt 4. The Z890 Taichi Lite is an interesting product—it has nearly all features that place it into the high-end segment, such as that 8-layer PCB, a strong CPU VRM, and premium onboard audio, among others; but skips on the bulk of the dramatic flair of the Z890 Taichi.
We now enter the meat of ASRock's lineup, with the Phantom Gaming (PG) series, targeting gaming PC builds. There's plenty of meat on the bone for overclockers, although the main audience is still PC gamers. The four products in the series are differentiated by connectivity features, CPU VRM phases, and other minor bits, such as the quality of the onboard audio CODEC, the WLAN card, etc. At the very top is the ASRock Z890 Phantom Gaming Nova, followed by the ASRock Z890 Phantom Gaming Riptide WiFi, and lastly the ASRock Z890 Phantom Gaming Lightning WiFi. The company's only premium Mini-ITX form-factor motherboard is the ASRock Z890I Phantom Gaming Nova.
There are two distinct mid-range segment motherboard models from ASRock. The Z890 Steel Legend WiFi comes with a white PCB solder-mask, silver/white heatsinks all around, and a feature-set that roughly resembles that of the Z890 PG Lightning WiFi. The Steel Legend line of motherboards would fall into the same category as ASUS TUF Gaming Plus, or the MSI MAG Tomahawk. The ASRock Z890 LiveMixer WiFi is a mid-range motherboard, with a slightly premium onboard audio solution.
At the tail-end of the lineup are the ASRock PRO series. These are for office desktops or small businesses. Leading the pack is the ASRock Z890 PRO RS WiFi/non-WiFi, and its white PCB variant; followed by the ASRock Z890 PRO A. There are curiously no Micro-ATX Z890 chipset motherboards from ASRock at all.
Source: VideoCardz
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43 Comments on ASRock Intel Z890 Motherboard Series Pictured—OC Formula, Taichi, PG Nova, Steel Legend

#26
SSGBryan
Looking at these boards - have they just decided that no one needs PCIe cards anymore?

Or are we expected to get on to the Aliexpress mystery m.2 adapter craze that is going on now?
Posted on Reply
#27
lexluthermiester
SSGBryanLooking at these boards - have they just decided that no one needs PCIe cards anymore?

Or are we expected to get on to the Aliexpress mystery m.2 adapter craze that is going on now?
What are you talking about? Have you clicked those photo's? Not one of those ATX boards has fewer than 3 PCIe slots. Only the ITX boards have just one and really, where you put any more slots?
Posted on Reply
#28
EaGle1337
lexluthermiesterWhat are you talking about? Have you clicked those photo's? Not one of those ATX boards has fewer than 3 PCIe slots. Only the ITX boards have just one and really, where you put any more slots?
I don't see 3 on the taichis, the nova,riptide,
Posted on Reply
#29
lexluthermiester
EaGle1337I don't see 3 on the taichis, the nova,riptide,
I took a look at all of them. So yeah couple of them have two. Most of them have 3.
Posted on Reply
#30
Caring1
SSGBryanLooking at these boards - have they just decided that no one needs PCIe cards anymore?

Or are we expected to get on to the Aliexpress mystery m.2 adapter craze that is going on now?
So what are you expecting to place in PCI-e slots that are necessary?
I'd rather have them as is or only one slot for the GPU.
Posted on Reply
#31
lexluthermiester
Caring1I'd rather have them as is or only one slot for the GPU.
For some people that would work. People like me have extra PCIe cards. Would need one of the Pro boards as four slots are needed.
Posted on Reply
#32
Gigaherz
ir_cowSo we are going to have Unify-X, Tacyhon, Apex and Taichi OFC to pick from for overclocking! This is a first in a long time that the 4 are competing again.
No overclocker in his right mind picks MSi if he doesnt have to tho ^^
Minus InfinityWho still OC's.
People also "still" use sailing boats. Its a sport. As long as there is the option to manually increase hardware performance and quantify it via benchmarks there will be overclocking.
Posted on Reply
#33
Upgrayedd
freeagentToo bad they made it the Taichi OCF.. right at the top of the stack.

But that is the cheapo in me talking.
What do you mean exactly?
I wasn't a fan of slapping the Taichi name on the OCF.
Posted on Reply
#34
freeagent
UpgrayeddWhat do you mean exactly?
I wasn't a fan of slapping the Taichi name on the OCF.
My OC Formula that I have now doesn’t say it anywhere..
Posted on Reply
#35
Upgrayedd
freeagentMy OC Formula that I have now doesn’t say it anywhere..
Mine neither.
I just didn't get the cheapo statement I guess, in relation to the name change.
Posted on Reply
#36
freeagent
UpgrayeddMine neither.
I just didn't get the cheapo statement I guess, in relation to the name change.
Taichi is top of their range, is it not?
Posted on Reply
#37
wNotyarD
UpgrayeddMine neither.
I just didn't get the cheapo statement I guess, in relation to the name change.
IMO, @freeagent's take is that the new OCF could be cheaper without the Taichi name and thus more interesting for someone who's a cheapo.
Posted on Reply
#38
Upgrayedd
wNotyarDIMO, @freeagent's take is that the new OCF could be cheaper without the Taichi name and thus more interesting for someone who's a cheapo.
Ohhhhh ok.
freeagentTaichi is top of their range, is it not?
I honestly don't know anymore. I bought my OCF in Z590 and it was listed before all the Taichi boards.
I wasn't thinking about the name adding cost I guess. Maybe it's to let buyers know OCF is Taichi quality too, for people that weren't familiar with pre Taichi.
Posted on Reply
#39
EaGle1337
Caring1So what are you expecting to place in PCI-e slots that are necessary?
I'd rather have them as is or only one slot for the GPU.
1 pci-e x16 = 4 nvmes.
1 pci-e x8 = 2 nvmes. gimme the pci-e slots yo.
Posted on Reply
#40
lexluthermiester
EaGle13371 pci-e x16 = 4 nvmes.
1 pci-e x8 = 2 nvmes. gimme the pci-e slots yo.
Um, NVMe drive can operate in PCIe 1x mode. 2X mode is much better, but an 8x lane can support upto 8 drives. That's an official part of the spec.
Posted on Reply
#41
SSGBryan
Caring1So what are you expecting to place in PCI-e slots that are necessary?
I'd rather have them as is or only one slot for the GPU.
Some of us actually do things with our computers

Looking at my system right now:
1. GPU
2. Eight port SATA card - connects to an Athena Power 8 bay internal Sata enclosure, which holds 16 tb of SATA ssd drives
3. Four port USB 3 card - connects to my DAS enclosures
4. Sound Card - because I was not impressed with the on-board audio on the X570 Riptide motherboard
I also have an eSATA pass through for my Mercury Qx2.

That is 4 PCIe cards; going with the M.2 adapter, I could replace the 8 port sata card with a m.2 adapter with 2 SAS to Sata connectors - oh wait, I can't because the m.2 drives are covered up with the heat sinks.

Looks like I am staying on AM4 for a while.
Posted on Reply
#42
Caring1
SSGBryanSome of us actually do things with our computers
Some of us actually do things with our multiple systems and don't need a plethora of PCI-e slots in each.
Posted on Reply
#43
lexluthermiester
Caring1Some of us actually do things with our multiple systems and don't need a plethora of PCI-e slots in each.
And that clearly highlights why flexibility is important. Having something and not needing is is infinitely better than needing something and not having it. I'll take the many slots on my board option.
SSGBryanLooks like I am staying on AM4 for a while.
Well no, just get one of the 4 slot pro version boards or go with a different brand that has more..
Posted on Reply
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