At the launch of the Z690 chipset, ASRock didn't reveal its flagship Aqua model, but now the company has finally announced not just one, but two Z690 Aqua models, one "regular" SKU and one OC SKU. The main difference between the two is that the OC SKU only has two DIMM slots, since as we know, DDR5 is extra finicky when it comes to running at high clock speeds and two DIMM boards allow for higher DRAM clock speeds, This also means that all the major board makers have now launched a two DIMM product geared towards overclockers.

The two boards are mostly identical in terms of features otherwise, but there are some minor differences that we'll point out later. As expected, both boards feature a large, nicely integrated liquid cooling plate for the CPU and the 20 phase 105 A SPS VRM setup. ASRock has gone for a 12 layer PCB, not something you see in a lot of consumer motherboards and it's unclear if it'll bring any real benefits, but as this is a premium motherboard, it's a nice touch. The heatsink of the top-most M.2 drive is home to a small OLED display, but ASRock hasn't listed the size on its website.

The leading global motherboard manufacturer, ASRock, reveals Z690 Taichi Razer Edition, a Razer Chroma RGB integrated motherboard paired with innovation and craftsmanship, poised to perfect Chroma RGB ecosystem on the latest 12th Gen Intel Core desktop processors, and illuminate the strong relationship between ASRock and Razer.

Razer Chroma RGB is the world's largest lighting ecosystem for gaming devices which supports over 500 devices, 150 natively integrated games and over 15 million users worldwide. The integration with ASROCK enables universal compatibility with thousands of addressable RGB (ARGB) components directly into the ecosystem.

ASRock, the leading global motherboard, graphics card and mini PC manufacturer, today announced the new Phantom Gaming and Challenger series graphics cards based on AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT GPUs.

Built on the 6 nm manufacturing process and the breakthrough AMD RDNA 2 gaming architecture, the new ASRock graphics cards are designed to make incredible 1080p gaming experiences for popular AAA and e-sports titles accessible to more gamers. They offer high-bandwidth, low-latency AMD Infinity Cache and high-speed 4 GB GDDR6 memory. They also support Microsoft Windows 11 and Microsoft DirectX 12 Ultimate, AMD Smart Access Memory technology, AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution upscaling technology and other advanced features that provide visually stunning, high-refresh rate gaming experiences.

ASRock, is proud to announce its latest H670, B660 and H610 motherboards. This comprehensive range of feature-filled motherboards is designed to bring great performance and practicality - including up to PCI-Express 5.0 - to PC builders, gamers and office users looking to partner with either just launched Intel 12th Generation Core 'non-K series' processors, or existing K-series processors (LGA1700).

ASRock offers SFF builders a full range of Mini-ITX motherboards featuring H670, B660, H610 chipsets. The fully-featured ASRock H670M-ITX/ax includes support for future PCI-Express 5.0 16x graphics cards, plus space for two PCI-Express Gen-4 M.2 NVMe SSDs. A powerful 8-phase Dr.MOS VRM design and up to DDR4 5000 MHz OC means ensures small form factor builds still offer maximum performance. Three types of connectivity include extreme performance Wi-Fi 6E (2x2), Dragon 2.5G LAN and Intel Gigabit Ethernet.

Intel's next entry-level processor for the Socket LGA1700 platform is the Core i3-12100. Carved out of the "Alder Lake-S" H0 silicon, this processor features 4 "Golden Cove" performance cores with HyperThreading enabling 8 logical processors, and no E-cores. The processor ticks at 3.30 GHz, with 4.30 GHz Turbo Boost 2.0 frequency. Each of the four cores has 1.25 MB of L2 cache, and they share 12 MB of L3 cache. The i3-12100 gets a Gen12 Xe LP-based iGPU, while a variant of the processor, the i3-12100F, lacks integrated graphics. Intel is rating the processor base power value at 60 W, with 77 W maximum turbo power.

XFastest scored an i3-12100 engineering sample, and wasted no time in comparing it with the Ryzen 3 3300X. The i3-12100 was tested on an ASRock Z690 Steel Legend motherboard that has DDR4 memory slots. 16 GB of dual-channel DDR4-3600 memory and RTX 3060 Ti were used on both the Intel and AMD test-beds. A Ryzen 3 3100 was also used on the AMD side. Right off the bat, we see the i3-12100 take a significant lead over the AMD chips at PCMark, posting a roughly 15% performance lead. Cinebench R23 is another test where the little "Alder Lake" scores big, posting a roughly 26% performance lead in the multi-threaded test, and 27% in the single-threaded test. This is mainly because the 3300X is based on "Zen 2" while the i3-12100 uses the cutting-edge "Golden Cove" cores. AMD hasn't bothered with "Zen 3" based Ryzen 3 desktop processors in the retail market.

The leading global motherboard manufacturer, ASRock, proudly announces its comprehensive new range of motherboards featuring Intel Z690 chipset, a brand new LGA1700 socket platform to pair with latest 12th Generation Intel CoreTM Processors, opening endless possibility with PCI Express 5.0 and DDR5 high speed memory.

Z690 Taichi
Designed for premium user who is looking for uncompromised performance, ASRock Z690 Taichi is definitely the way to go, this motherboard has been given 20 phase Dr.MOS design featuring the latest SPS (Smart Power Stage) technology for a smoother and neater power to the CPU with enhanced performance and OC capability. To pair with the latest and greatest performance from the 12th Generation Intel CoreTM Processors, the Z690 Taichi is also capable of supporting the newest DDR5 DRAM module, the reinforced DIMM slot is surfaced mounted onto the motherboard to give better physical strength as well as a more stable memory signal, with this superior revolutionary design, it is able to dramatically overclock DRAM module up to insane frequency.

As we're getting closer to the reveal of Intel's 12-series of CPUs and the Z690 chipset, we're seeing more and more retailers leak pricing information about the various products and today pricing of some upcoming ASRock Z690 has leaked courtesy of Amazon UK. We're looking at a good spread of boards here, from the high-end Z690 Taichi to entry level Phantom Gaming 4, which should give a good idea on what to expect to pay based on where in the range the board is located.

The cheapest board of the eight is the Z690M Phantom Gaming 4 which is a DDR4 board and this mATX board comes in at £172.50, or about $238. Keep in mind that UK VAT is at 20 percent, so the pricing might not be directly comparable to US pricing. Next up we have the full-sized Z690 Phantom Gaming 4 which comes in at £213.50 or US$295, with the DDR5 version actually being slightly cheaper at £207.15 or US$286.

ASRock, the leading global motherboard, graphics card and mini PC manufacturer, today launched new Challenger series products based on AMD Radeon RX 6600 GPUs. Built on the 7 nm manufacturing process, the new ASRock graphics cards offer support for the DirectX 12 Ultimate API, hardware-accelerated ray tracing, HDMI 2.1, PCI Express 4.0, and the Microsoft Windows 11 operating system. With a wealth of exclusive features, the new graphics cards are designed to provide visually stunning, high-refresh rate 1080p gaming experiences to the midrange market.

The new graphics cards are built on the breakthrough AMD RDNA 2 gaming architecture, designed to deliver the optimal balance of performance and power efficiency. Offering 32 MB of high-performance AMD Infinity Cache, 8 GB of GDDR6 memory, AMD Smart Access Memory and other advanced features, the new graphics cards are designed to bring next-generation desktop gaming experiences to the midrange market. They also support the AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution open-source spatial upscaling solution, which is designed to increase framerates while delivering high-resolution gaming experiences.

If the amount of upcoming Z690 was anything to go by, one could presume that the motherboard makers are backing Intel's upcoming platform to the max, as a leaked list of what should be close to every Z690 that will hit the market, counts a total of 98 boards. The list covers ASRock, ASUS, Biostar, NZXT, Gigabyte and MSI, but not EVGA and some other smaller players.

ASUS is apparently planning no less than 30 different models/SKUs, since some are clearly DDR4/DDR5 SKUs of the same model or SKUs with or without Wi-Fi, but even so, that's a massive launch lineup. Gigabyte isn't far behind with 27, followed by MSI at 24 and ASRock at 14, if we didn't count wrong. There isn't much news in terms of details of each of the boards here though, but it's clear that the high-end SKUs are mostly DDR5, while the mid-range and standard models are mostly using DDR4. The only slight surprise here is that only ASRock has more DDR4 than DDR5 models, with ASUS having exactly half of each, but Gigabyte and MSI are going with a preference for DDR5. ASRock, ASUS and Gigabyte appear to have liquid cooled SKUs, but it's not clear if MSI will offer such a SKU of its Godlike board.

FSP is giving away some really cool gaming PC hardware and Steam Cards as part of its new FSP LightUp Giveaway, in partnership with Palit, ASRock, and V-Color. Open worldwide, up for grabs are a boatload of prizes for a total of 21 winners. The pool of prizes include a Palit GeForce RTX 3060 Dual graphics card, an ASRock B550 PG Velocita motherboard, a V-Color SCC DDR4-4600 16 GB dual-channel memory kit, two FSP Dagger Pro 850 W power supplies, an FSP CMT212G case, two $50 Steam Cards, three $25 Steam Cards, and ten $10 Steam Cards. To participate, simply drop in your hat in the Gleam-powered Giveaway page. You can increase your chances of winning something by sharing the Giveaway across your social media, or following the various social media accounts of FSP, Palit, ASRock, and V-Color. Entries close on November 5, 2021. All the best!

For more details and to participate, visit the FSP LightUp Giveaway page.

AMD is expected to announce their Radeon RX 6600 graphics card on October 13th according to leaked documents. The graphics card will feature a cut-down Navi 23 GPU with 28 Compute Units and 1,792 stream processors compared to 32 and 2,048 on the RX 6600 XT. The card has also been revealed to feature 8 GB of GDDR6 memory running at 14 Gbps on a 128-bit memory bus. The first images of cards from board partners including XFX, ASRock, and PowerColor have been published by VideoCardz covering 5 different RX 6600 models.

The XFX Speedster SWFT 210 features a unique shorter PCB design with a relocated 8-pin power connector in addition to a redesigned backplate which differs from the RX 6600 XT model. PowerColor appears to be releasing Hellhound and Fighter models with identical designs as their RX 6600 XT counterparts featuring 2-slot cooling and single 8-pin power connectors. ASRock is preparing two Challenger series models both sharing the same PCB with the single-fan Challenger ITX and dual-fan Challenger D. These new cards will reportedly match the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 according to a leaked internal benchmark.

A list of upcoming ASUS motherboards based on the Intel Z690 chipset hit the radar on the Euasian Economic Commission (EEC) website, and it's telling. Intel's upcoming "Alder Lake-S" 12th Gen Core desktop processors support both DDR5 and DDR4 memory, as they form a point of transition between the two memory standards. The company's 6th Gen Core "Skylake" technically supported DDR3, helping people move between it and the then new DDR4, but motherboard vendors mostly avoided DDR3 slots. This time, the stakes are different, as component prices are on the boil, and the company would want to avoid placing the additional burden of new memory on people with DDR4 memory kits. This reflects on the ASUS motherboard lineup.

The lineup consists of the usual, predictable list of ROG Maximus, ROG Strix, TUF Gaming, Prime, and ProArt series SKUs, but what's noteworthy is that many of these come with the extension "D4," denoting DDR4 memory slots. For example, something like the Prime Z690-A comes in two variants, the standard one with DDR5 slots, and the "D4" variant with DDR4. It's interesting to note here, that the top-of-the-line ROG Maximus XIV series lacks any D4 variant, which means they'll remain DDR5-exclusive. We can't tell just from the names whether any of these models features both DDR5 and DDR4 slots; but one can definitely expect other brands such as ASRock to come up with such crazy contraptions.

The lineup of 600-Series motherboards planned by ASRock and NZXT for the upcoming 12th Generation Intel Core Series of processors has recently been published by VideoCardz. While NZXT has only two high-end Z590 motherboards listed with them being the N5-Z69XT, and the N7-Z69XT, ASRock has 36 listed across all the Z690, H670, B660, and H610 chipsets. The Z690 chipset will serve as the flagship platform for high-performance and overclocking while the H670 and B660 will take the mid-range and the H610 for entry-level boards. The list does not contain any Taichi, Aqua, or OC Formula series boards from ASRock as those may not be ready for day-one release or are still under active development.

ASRock will offer several of their motherboards in two variants with one offering integrated WiFi 6E networking, they also have an ITX option for each chipset. Intel is expected to announce their 12th Generation Core Series processors and Z690 chipset in late 2021 with the remaining chipsets to be announced at CES 2022. The entire list of motherboards from the two companies can be found below.

The leading global motherboard, graphics card, and small form factor PC manufacturer, ASRock, has released the latest BIOS that support AMD Ryzen 5000 G-Series Desktop Processors with Radeon Graphics and AMD Ryzen 5000 Series Desktop Processors with PRO Technologies.

AMD Ryzen 5000 G-Series Desktop Processors with Radeon Graphics are the newest generation processors come with industry-leading 7nm technology, elevating processing performance to the next level. And now, ASRock 500-Series, B450 AMD Ryzen motherboards and X300 Mini PC are able to support both of them by updating the latest BIOS.

ASRock, the leading global motherboard, graphics card and mini PC manufacturer, today launched new Phantom Gaming and Challenger series products based on AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT GPUs. The new ASRock graphics cards are built on the 7 nm manufacturing process and AMD RDNA 2 gaming architecture, and include support for the DirectX 12 Ultimate API, hardware-accelerated raytracing, HDMI 2.1, and PCI Express 4.0. In addition, with high-speed 8 GB GDDR6 memory plus a wealth of exclusive features, the ASRock AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT series graphics cards can provide the ultimate 1080p gaming performance.

The high-end ASRock AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT Phantom Gaming D 8 GB OC graphics card features the triple-fan Phantom Gaming 3X cooling system for excellent cooling performance, as well as a unique Striped Axial Fan, Air Deflecting Fin and Ultra-fit Heatpipe to greatly increase cooling efficiency. The stylish metal backplate strengthens the structure and prevents damage to the board. With the addition of an ARGB fan, ARGB LED board, and Polychrome SYNC lighting control software, users can fully customize and control their own lighting system. The cool black and red appearance and the ultimate factory-preset overclocking settings make ASRock AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT Phantom Gaming D 8 GB OC graphics card ideal for hardcore gamers.

ASRock today debuted its Radeon RX 6600 XT custom-design graphics card lineup. This includes the RX 6600 XT Challenger PRO, and the RX 6600 XT Challenger ITX. The Challenger PRO is a conventional-size graphics card that uses a dual-slot, triple-fan cooling solution. Its cooler is a lot longer than its PCB, so all of the airflow from the third fan flows through the card, and out the back-plate. The card draws power from a single 8-pin PCIe power connector, and features a mid-tier factory OC. The company is probably saving up its highest OC tier for a Phantom Gaming product. Next up, is the Challenger ITX, a compact card with roughly 17 cm board length, and a dense aluminium fin-stack heatsink that relies on a single fan for cooling. The company will disclose clock speeds around mid-August.

The leading global motherboard, manufacturer, ASRock, is proud to announce its Intel C621A powered workstation motherboards, the C621A WS, this motherboard is able to pair with the latest Xeon W-3300 processors, giving ultimate performance for almost every application such as content creating, rendering machine and high-end workstation.

The ASRock C621A WS is a platform solely built for workstation application from ground up, the 4 PCIe 4.0 x16, 3 PCIe 4.0 x8 on this motherboard supports up to 4 dual-slot GPU/FPGA cards, perfect for Deep learning workstation, Visual computing such as 3D design and creation. The motherboard has 8 DIMM slots running at 1 DIMM per channel mode giving ultimate stability and performance, supporting DDR4 RDIMM, LRDIMM, and Intel Optane Persistent Memory in order to maximize the system capability.

The leading global motherboard, graphics card, and small form factor PC manufacturer, ASRock, proudly announces its 10 liters concept PC, the DeskMini Max for AMD platform. DeskMini Max is the ultimate DeskMini series built for a variety of applications. This product supports the latest AMD Ryzen CPU and APU, discrete graphics card as well as up to 128GB DDR4 U-DIMM memory with the proprietary motherboard. It provides exceptional performance for daily computing, gaming, business, home entertainment, and content creation.

The DeskMini Max reserves four PCIe slots space for expansion in a compact case. This design allows it to accommodate various kinds of peripheral devices, including the PCIe card, 5.25" ODD, 3.5" HDD, or a single radiator liquid cooler. Furthermore, the DeskMini Max is capable of creating a mini workstation through RAID function and four U-DIMM slots which support ECC memory modules. DeskMini Max is flexible to configure and ready for any applications.

ASRock has been accommodating the mining craze and the company is today launching its H510 Pro BTC+ motherboard designed to host a suite of GPUs. More precisely, the company has released a motherboard with six full-size PCIe 3.0 x16 slots. Measuring at the huge 50.1 x 22.4 cm, the motherboard is anything but small. There is room to install any triple-slot GPU with ease, as the slots are spaced out nicely. However, to feed all six GPUs at full speed, you would need as many as 96 lanes. That is why only the first slot runs at full x16 speed, while others are stuck at x1 speeds. The H510 chipset can not support 96 lanes naturally.

To power the board, you need a double 24-pin PCIe power connector. The power is regulated by four-phase power delivery with 50 Amp chokes. There is one SATA III connector and an M.2 PCIe 3.0 slot for M.2 SSDs that are up to 110 mm long. The motherboard is available for purchase at Newegg at the price tag of $279.

ASRock expects that GPU shipments will grow in Q2 2021 despite the global component shortages and an anticipated decline in Chinese cryptocurrency mining demand. ASRock believes that GPU availability will improve in H2 2021 as supply chain constraints are alleviated which will hopefully apply some downwards pressure on pricing. China currently accounts for a large portion of global cryptocurrency mining hardware demand but as restrictions are introduced this demand is expected to fall drastically. Ethereum is also expected to move to a Proof-of-Stake system later this year which will drastically reduce mining profitability.

Leading global motherboard manufacturer, ASRock, is proud to announce its latest X570S & B550 PG Riptide motherboards for AMD Ryzen AM4 desktop processors. "Riptide is named after a specific kind of water current with strong wave that occurs in the ocean. Riptide is unapparent, yet strong, fast and carries a powerful punch; this is the design philosophy of ASRock PG Riptide series motherboards" Said Chris Lee, General Manager of ASRock motherboard & gaming peripherals business unit.

The Riptide is a new crew of Phantom Gaming series, these stylishly PG Riptide series motherboards are armed to the teeth with gear designed to fulfill gamers everyday needs, without biting into the bank account unlike other similarly spec'd, high-end motherboards.

XPG, a fast-growing provider of systems, components, and peripherals for Gamers, Esports Pros, and Tech Enthusiasts, today announces that it will launch its new DDR5 gaming memory modules in Q3 2021. The new product series will be known as the CASTER series. The modules will deliever frequencies ranging from 6000 to 7400 MHz and come with capacities of 8, 16, or 32 GB. XPG has been working closely with its motherboard partners, including GIGABYTE, MSI, ASUS, and ASRock, to ensure the highest level of compatibility and ability to realize extreme overclocking performance.

The new DDR5 modules will come in two variants, with and without RGB. Despite this difference, they share a cohesive industrial design. The products' designs convey an understated sense of depth and textural contrast with the use of two surface treatments, one glossy and one matte. For added depth, the matte surface of the modules are beveled for an additional textural element and futuristic look. To communicate the XPG brand, the modules sport diagonal intersecting lines and grooves that form geometric forms and X shapes that play off the XPG brand name and visual identity.

ASRock, proudly announces the new Thin Mini-ITX form factor motherboard for AMD's Ryzen platform, X300TM-ITX. ASRock brand new X300TM-ITX supports AMD latest Ryzen 4000 Series APU and up to 64 GB of DDR4-3200 MHz SO-DIMM memory, bringing uncompromised performance. This motherboard has an onboard Type-C USB 3.2 Gen1 port built on the rear i/o for charging devices and to deliver up to 5 Gbps data transfer rates.

ASRock X300TM-ITX provides a COM port, two HDMI ports which can drive displays up to 4K 60Hz, a second HDMI located on the side of PCB is an internal port. One LVDS connector for LCD controllers is also present. The storage capability is comprised of a single SATA connector and a single M.2 2280 slot. On the rear there are three USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A ports, with two internal USB 2.0 headers for expansion. For connectivity, X300TM-ITX equips a M.2 Key-E slot for Wi-Fi module and a single Gigabit Ethernet port.

The ENSO MESH is the latest addition to ENSO chassis series. ENSO MESH not only presents BitFenix simple beauty PC concept with the latest AURA SYNC 3 pin addressable RGB LED technology and also offers the best cooling performance with its High density mesh front design. The core of the ENSO MESH is its clean design, well balanced between a perfectly organized interior structure and the sleek exterior design. It is complemented by a tempered glass side panel and the latest in RGB illumination effects, highlighting the clean and discreet lines of the High density mesh front panel.

The clean design concept is well balanced between a perfectly organized interior structure and a sleek exterior design. It is complemented by a 4 mm see-through-tinted tempered glass panel on the side and addressable RGB illumination surrounding the High density mesh front. The BitFenix ENSO MESH premieres BitFenix new RGB illumination. The addressable RGB lighting allows multiple LED colors in one zone instead of one static color at a time. It is powered by a built in controller (compatible to BitFenix 3.0, addressable, RGB products ) offering single colors to match different system builds, but also featuring different rainbow modes.

Specifications of AMD's upcoming mid-range Radeon RX 6600 XT and Radeon RX 6600 recently surfaced, and now we see screenshots of TechPowerUp GPU-Z confirming the two. The RX 6700 XT is shown featuring 2,048 stream processors, 128 TMUs, 32 ROPs, and a 128-bit wide GDDR6 memory interface with 8 GB of memory. The RX 6600 (non-XT), on the other hand, is shown featuring 1,792 stream processors, 112 TMUs, 32 ROPs, and the same 8 GB of GDDR6 memory. Both chips feature PCI-Express Gen 4 support, but much like the RX 5500 XT, the "Navi 23" only has 8 PCIe lanes. GPU-Z also seems to detect raytracing.