Introduction

ASRock is a motherboard manufacturer that formed in 2002. The Taiwan-based company with branches in Europe and the USA has quickly risen to become an industry leader, placing 3rd in motherboard sales worldwide. With AMD's launch of the 2nd generation of Ryzen processors and the subsequent launch of the X470 chipset to support them, ASRock is launching the latest in their "Taichi" line of motherboards. Today, I am looking at the flagship of that line: the ASRock X470 Taichi Ultimate. Before we take a look at what the ASRock X470 Taichi Ultimate has to offer, let's first look at what has changed with the X470 chipset from last year's X370.

The short answer is not much. Last year, AMD launched the Ryzen family of processors, propelling the company back into competition with Intel. Now that AMD is launching the 2nd generation to its industry galvanizing Ryzen line, they have also launched the new X470 chipset to pair with it. This 2nd generation is a refresh with minor improvements relative to last year's offerings, and the X470 chipset is similarly a refresh of the X370 chipset, so the differences in features are pretty few. Included on that list is a small increase for non-OC memory frequencies, better optimization for higher clock speeds of this 2nd generation of the Ryzen chips, and by far the most notable: built-in support for AMD's new StoreMI technology. StoreMI aims at the same market segment currently dominated by Intel's Optain technology. StoreMI combines a physical hard drive and either an NVME SSD or up to 2 Gb of RAM to create a kind of virtual hybrid drive. What sets AMD's storeMI apart from its competitors, such as the aforementioned Intel Optain, is that StoreMI drives can be created or destroyed without the need to reinstall Windows. This is a big step forward for this type of technology, and it will translate into a much simpler and less frustrating end user experience. While X470 does bring some exciting key features to the table, the second-generation AMD Ryzen processors are also backwards compatible with other AM4 platforms.

Focusing on the ASRock X470 Taichi Ultimate, In addition to the new features brought to the X470 chipset, the Taichi Ultimate offers additional SATA ports, 10 gigabit Ethernet, and superior control in overclocking using the Hyper BCLK Engine II, just to name a few. ASRock's Taichi line of motherboards have traditionally been top performers. Can the ASRock X470 Taichi Ultimate and X470 chipset match up?

Specifications

Packaging and Contents

The front of the ASRock X470 Taichi Ultimate's box is a metallic silver with a graphic I would best describe as "watch-like" on top and the Taichi Ultimate name and compatibility badges at the bottom. This curved silver section of the box is, in fact, a flap held in place with a bit of Velcro. Opening the flap reveals a clear section showing off the lower half of the board.


The back of the box is a myriad of highlighted features, and features abound on the ASRock X470 Taichi Ultimate. In the bottom-right corner is a graphic of the rear I/O and a concise specifications list, which I believe to be two essential features in a motherboard's package design. While these essential graphics are smaller than on some other boards, the sheer number of features the ASRock X470 Taichi Ultimate has to advertise justifiably sidelines the more mundane information.

The overall packaging of the ASRock X470 Taichi Ultimate looks and feels premium, and the aesthetic of the box closely matches the board it contains.


Inside the ASRock X470 Taichi Ultimate box are two more boxes. The top one is actually a tray containing the board zip-tied into protective foam. The second box contains all the expected accessories. To be honest, this package configuration is not my favorite since pulling the motherboard tray out and putting it back inside without pulling the accessory box out can be a little tricky. It is secure, and frankly, most users won't be keeping the board in the box after they open it.


The included accessories for the ASRock X470 Taichi Ultimate are what I would expect them to be for a board of this caliber. Aside from the expected items, like SATA cables and WiFi antenna, there is also an included SLI hard bridge and a postcard. The rear I/O shield is colored black, a feature I wish was more common. The full list of accessories includes:

• Manual and support DVD
• 1x Rear I/O cover
• 4x SATA 6 Gb/s cables
• 2x WiFi antenna
• 2x M.2 mounting screws
• 1x SLI hard bridge
• 1x ASRock sticker and postcard

Board Layout

The ASRock X470 Taichi Ultimate has a gunmetal and black color scheme, and the cog/gear theme is prominently featured as part of the PCB graphic, as well as with the chipset heatsink. The neutral coloring will be easy to match in a build, and the quality of the finish is excellent. The ASRock X470 Taichi Ultimate has a large rear I/O shield and a second smaller shield below it; these appear to be one piece at first glance, but are separate. As a top-tier board, the ASRock X470 Taichi Ultimate packs a lot of extra features, and the layout is unsurprisingly crowded in appearance. ASRock has done an excellent job here—the layout is intelligently designed.

The back of the Taichi Ultimate is a uniform black that is broken only by the backplate for the cooler, the screws for the heatsinks and I/O shields, and a few components that wouldn't fit on the front. As with the front, the fit and finish here is excellent.


Despite the shortage of real estate on the ASRock X470 Taichi Ultimate, the area around the CPU socket is quite open, and cooler clearance should not be an issue. The four DIMM slots are a little closer to the socket than on some boards, so users with especially large air coolers may want to double check for clearance.


There are two M.2 slots on the ASRock X470 Taichi Ultimate, and both are in what are quickly becoming the standard locations. The first is immediately underneath the CPU socket and above the first PCI slot, underneath an attractive black aluminium heatsink. The second is between the second and third PCI Express x16 slots. While not entirely necessary, the inclusion of an M.2 heatsink is a worthwhile addition both aesthetically and practically.


The ASRock X470 Taichi Ultimate has two PCI Express 3.0 x16 slots wrapped in metal for added rigidity and durability, as well as one PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot and two PCI Express 2.0 x1 slots. The Taichi Ultimate sports no less than 8 SATA3 6.0 Gb/s connectors. The first six are supported by the chipset while the last two are supported using an ASMedia ASM1061 controller.


The ASRock X470 Taichi Ultimate has a predictable rear I/O offering with the notable addition of a 10 Gigabit LAN port. The full list includes:

• 1x PS/2 keyboard and mouse combo connector
• 2x Antenna ports
• 1x HDMI port
• 6x USB 3.1 Gen1 ports
• 2x RJ-45 LAN ports
• 1x USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-A port
• 1x USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C port
• 1x Optical SPDIF out port
• 5x 3.5 mm audio jacks
• 1x Clear CMOS button

The LAN on the ASRock X470 Taichi Ultimate is controlled by an Intel I211AT controller, while the 10 Gigabit LAN is controlled by an Aquantia AQC107 controller. Wireless LAN is supported by an Intel 802.11ac WiFi module.