The ASRock TRX40 Taichi is a powerful addition to the Taichi line. The integrated rear I/O shield is finally becoming a standard. Not only is it one less thing for people to worry about (and it does not matter how many computers you have built, there is always a risk of forgetting to install the shield before putting everything else together), but it also shows an attention to detail and determined adherence to the theme of the board. The I/O cover that doubles as a heatsink shows a great commitment to innovative design. In the same vein, the embossed gears on the chipset are very finely machined, and the reflective gear outlines on the rear I/O shield really catch the eye.

As for performance, memory stability was good. I was able to get 4000 MHz stable, but only after ASRock provided me with a BIOS optimized for my Trident Z Neo quad-channel kit. My new kit is not on ASRock's memory QVL list, so I can't really fault the ASRock TRX40 Taichi for needing the new BIOS. CPU overclocking is hard to judge on a new CPU sample. However, I was able to achieve some good results; 4.4 GHz on all cores for short tests and 4.0 GHz for longer runs. Performance out of the box was good, trading blows consistently with my other TRX40 board sample. Thermal performance on the ASRock TRX40 Taichi was great, though I wasn't able to really push the board hard with "only" 24 cores on my Ryzen 3960X sample.

The ASRock TRX40 Taichi boasts 2.5 Gb/s LAN as well as WiFi 6, offering excellent networking options. The USB options aren't as stellar. The Type-C on the back panel is USB 3.2 Gen2x2, offering up to 20 Gb/s bandwidth along with two more Gen2 Type-A ports, which is a good start. With only four other USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports to compliment them, the TRX40 Taichi does feel a bit sparse. Internal storage connectivity is much better as ASRock included no less than six M.2 slots, two on the board and four more on the Hyper Quad M.2 card.

However, with only three PCIe 4.0 x16 slots, losing one to an M.2 expansion card is an unfortunate compromise. The sacrifice ASRock made to maintain both a robust, high output VRM and a standard ATX form factor was to limit the space for PCIe slots. The ASRock TRX40 Creator makes the opposite sacrifice: only 8 of the 90 A power stages (vs. 16) for the VRM, but with much better PCIe support. While I appreciate ASRock making both of these boards in the standard ATX form factor, I would love to see what the ASRock design team could do with a larger form factor.

The ASRock TRX40 Taichi comes in at US$499.99, right in the same range as most TRX40 motherboards. While it isn't without compromise, the TRX40 Taichi offers great CPU overclocking potential at a reasonable price.