ASRock has decided to go all out at Computex this year, showing off all the X870E and X870 motherboards it plans to release along with Ryzen 9000 series CPUs. There’s no official date yet, but it’s a safe bet , given that every motherboard features out-of-the-box support for the new AMD CPUs. It’s not just the old models we’re used to, but six new models are coming in the form of the Taichi, Taichi Lite, Nova WIFI, Riptide, Steel Legend & PRO RS series. Of course, everyone is guided by the Taichi banner.
ASRock has been somewhat of an underrated manufacturer in the past, at least in our opinion, but it looks like that could change this year. ASRock seems to have raised its head in terms of dedication to its craft, and it’s not going unnoticed. With AM5 support going all the way to 2027 and beyond, these new 800-series boards will be relevant for some time.
ASRock X870 motherboard connection
These are all the X870E and X870 motherboards exhibited by ASRock at Computex 2024.
X870E Tiachi
First up, we have the ASRock X870E Taichi. This is the flagship motherboard for the X870E line from ASRock that features a healthy 27-phase power delivery system, perfect for all you overclockers out there. The motherboard is, of course, in the DDR5 standard, but what is far from standard are the dual PCIe Gen 5 X16 slots that the Taichi features. In terms of I/O, this motherboard comes packed with Gen 4 USB, 5GbE LAN, WIFI7 and more. If you need a lot of storage space in your computer, you will be happy to notice the four M.2 slots that this motherboard has (1x Gen5 + 3x Gen4).
This is definitely the best looking motherboard ASRock has released to date, it has a mean and rugged aesthetic without being so heavy that it looks out of place in any build. There’s a lot of RGB, especially on the I/O board and at the bottom near the second PCIe slot. All of this comes at a price, however, and we expect this motherboard to top $500 when it launches.
X870E Taichi LITE
If you still need the power of Tiachi but can’t afford to pay all that money, then you might be interested in Taichi LITE. This motherboard has exactly the same specs as the Tiachi, it just comes without the fancy RGB and accent tiles. Something you might also be interested in if you’re not a fan of RGB to begin with.
X870E NOVA WIFI
The ASRock NOVA WIFI is the top-of-the-line Phantom Gaming motherboard on display, it has an impressive arsenal of updated I/Os that were just slightly turned down by Taichi’s specs. The Phantom has a 23-phase power design, which is still nothing to get upset about. This motherboard only features a single PCIe Gen5 x16 slot, but SLI is pretty much dead anyway. What is different about the NOVA is 1 additional PCIe Gen3 M.2 slot, totaling 5 slots for M.2 drives, the configuration is the same as the Tiachi otherwise.
X870 Riptide WIFI
The X870 Riptide WIFI is the 2 of 2 Phantom Gaming motherboards that ASRock is offering in this line and appears to be a stripped down version of the NOVA. It features a 17-phase power design, a single PCIe Gen5 X16 slot, and only 3 M.2 slots (1x Gen5 + 2x Gen4). Of course, this board will aim to be more budget friendly in the absence of more high-end parts.
Steel Legend X870
The X870 Steel Legend is a more mainstream offering, aimed more towards the budget/mid-range gamer. The specs are almost identical to the Riptide model, but the white color scheme makes it look somewhat more sophisticated and less “gamy”.
We couldn’t get a clear picture of the X870 Steel Legend, but it’s among these motherboards.
X870 PRO RS WIFI
Finally, we have the second white motherboard on the list, and perhaps the most budget option, the X870 PRO RS WIFI. The specs are again similar to the Riptide, but the PRO only has 3 M.2 slots and they are configured as one of each, so 1x Gen5, 1x Gen4 and 1x Gen3. Everything else seems to be similar. We’ll likely see this motherboard come in around $220 when it launches.
We again couldn’t get a clear view of the X870 PRO RS, but it’s among these motherboards.
What happened to the X770?
Some of you may be confused as to where the next logical step in motherboard progression went, the X770 series. We have a theory, but without confirmation from AMD itself, that’s all it will be – and previous rumors also predicted this. Intel released a second generation of LGA 1700 motherboards, the 700 series in October 2023. AMD did not respond to this then, as AM5 was and still is suitable for the hardware that AMD has on the market.
Now that AMD is releasing new chips and Intel is advancing its own 800 series of motherboards, AMD doesn’t want it to look like its product is inferior. So AMD skipped the 700 series to release the 800 series, putting them on par with Intel. We all associate higher numbers with being better, well, in PC and Tech cases anyway. This was likely done to avoid the perception that AMD might be less powerful or less advanced than Intel, which we know is not the case at all.