ASRock X470 Taichi Ultimate Motherboard Review

Peter Donnell / 7 years ago

Final Thoughts

Pricing

The ASRock Taichi Ultimate is not built for your day-to-day gamer or system builder, it has more to offer than what a few benchmarks would typically reveal. At £250 in the UK, or around £300 in the US it’s one of the most expensive X470 motherboards launching today. The Ultimate version comes with an incredible 10 GbE port, and an SLI HB Bridge, and not every user will need those things. However, if you’re building an SLI workstation/gaming rig with 10 GbE networking, you could save money here by having those things included.

Overview

OK, so we saw this motherboard is a bit more expensive than its rivals. Of course, it’s not for everyone with some pretty amazing high-end features, and it’s damn near stepping into workstation and enterprise territory with its networking capabilities, power delivery system, and high-grade components. However, that’s what the modern enthusiast would expect from a top ASRock motherboard. If you’re building something that is truly high-end, you’ll find everything you desire here.

Aesthetics

This is by far one of the best-looking motherboards ever, literally ever. The Taichi series has held this design for a while, but that doesn’t diminish the aesthetics one bit. The clockwork design on the motherboard is simply amazing and completely unique to what the rest of the market is doing right now. Add to that the onboard power buttons and their gold/brass finish, as well as the gold capacitors, the motherboard has a certain steam-punk quality about it.

Power!

No expense spared on the hardware here either, with a stunning IP Digital 16 Power Phase PWM design. The board is dotted with Nichicon 12K Black Capacitors, 60 Amp Power Chokes, and more. When it comes to driving high-power to your CPU for extended periods of time, you’ll be glad you have this. The two main PCIe slots are armoured, helping ensure they can withstand the weight of modern GPUs with ease. There’s even a lovely aluminium M.2 shield for added cooling performance.

Added Value

With built-in WiFi, 10 GbE and 1 GbE LAN networking, you won’t be left without options here. Add to that the stunning NE5532 Premium Headset Amplifier, 120 db SNR DAC, Gold Audio Capacitors, and your audio is easily on par with the other high-end aspects of this motherboard. Throw in some RGB lighting with ASRock Polychrome RGB lighting, and some RGBW headers, and you’ll find plenty of customisation to play around with too.

Should I Buy One

That’s a tough one, as I think few people need the Ultimate edition of this motherboard. If you’re rocking SLI graphics cards and running 10 GbE networking and ultra-fast WiFi in your home of office then it’s a great deal. However, for most gamers, it may be a bit overkill. It’s a fantastic looking motherboard though, and enthusiast overclockers are going to gravitate towards it for its class-leading build quality and power delivery.