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The ASRock X370 Taichi is a superb all-rounder for the high-end AM4 market that will be equally suitable inside a gamer's PC as it will be inside a heavy content creator's.
Overall performance from the motherboard was superb and we were able to take our Ryzen 7 1800X to its 4.05GHz limit after a little tweaking of LLC settings to get the desired voltage level. Power delivery is a real strength for the ASRock X370 Taichi as its 16 phases and high-quality Texas Instruments MOSFET solutions make it the strongest system currently available on the AM4 market (alongside ASRock's equally-specced X370 Professional Gaming).
Features is an area where ASRock's X370 Taichi does well for the large part but also us left hanging in certain areas. I like the inclusion of additional SATA 6Gbps ports and a second M.2 connector for power users with heavy storage needs. 802.11ac Intel WiFi and Bluetooth 4.2 to complement Intel's GbE NIC are also worthwhile additions.
However, the lack of an internal 10Gbps USB 3.1 Gen 2 header is disappointing and I would have liked to see onboard U.2, even if it shares bandwidth with the Ultra M.2 port. ASRock's onboard RGB LED system is sub-par compared to competing offers from ASUS, MSI, and most notably Gigabyte. However, this may be intentional with the X370 Professional Gaming sibling catering for RGB aficionados.
Styling is an area where the X370 Taichi is worthy of credit. The unique black and white design of ASRock's Taichi products continues to be a refreshing change from the red-and-black or all-black designs so commonly used.
ASRock's UEFI is functional, even if the v1.60 version that we tested had a greater number of bugs than we saw from MSI and Gigabyte. The fan control system is solid but it is clearly inferior in overall control to that offered by Gigabyte on its Aorus AX370-Gaming 5, as well as ASUS on the Crosshair VI Hero.
At around £230, ASRock's X370 Taichi offers strong value for money. Gigabyte's slightly-cheaper Aorus AX370-Gaming 5 is a noteworthy competitor, as is ASUS' slight more expensive Crosshair VI Hero. However, ASRock's X370 Taichi is a different approach to the high-end X370 motherboard that offers enough of its own unique features to appeal to a power user target market. Users who simply want the strongest CPU power delivery solution on the AM4 platform may also be tempted by the X370 Taichi.
The ASRock X370 Taichi is available at Overclockers UK for £229.99.
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Pros:
- The best CPU/SOC power delivery system for any AM4 motherboard (as well as ASRock's own X370 Professional Gaming).
- Additional M.2 connector and two extra SATA 6Gbps ports for heavy storage requirements.
- Fast X370-based USB 3.1 Gen 2 ports on the rear IO.
- 802.11ac dual band Intel WiFi solution (plus BT 4.2), even if it is slow at 433Mbps maximum.
- Interesting UEFI features such as P-States overclocking.
- Unique black-and-white styling is a refreshing change from red-and-black or all-black.
- Three 4-pin RGB strip headers.
Cons:
- No M.2 cooling solution.
- No internal 10Gbps USB 3.1 Gen 2 header (or added Gen 2 ports) or native U.2 port.
- Basic RGB LED control with limited lighting from one zone.
- Fan control system is not as customisable as on Gigabyte's Arous price competitors.
KitGuru says: An excellent take on the high-end AM4 motherboard that offers a strong set of features that will appeal to all-round users. That's in addition to the strongest CPU power delivery solution currently available for AM4.
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