The ASRock Z490 Taichi Motherboard Review: Punching LGA1200 Into Life
by Gavin Bonshor on May 27, 2020 9:00 AM ESTBoard Features
The ASRock Z490 Taichi is a premium ATX sized offering which is targetted at gamers looking for unique stylings but also has elements which should suit content creators too. It includes a strong feature set with three PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 slots, with the top M.2 slot including future capabilities for Intel's Rocket Lake PCIe 4.0 processors. It has three full-length PCIe 3.0 slots which operate at x16, x8/x8, and x8/x8/+x4, with two PCIe 3.0 x1 slots. Other storage options include eight SATA ports, six driven from the Z490 chipset, and two from an ASMedia ASM1061 SATA controller. It includes support for DDR4-4600 memory, including capabilities to install up to 128 GB across its four memory slots. Located around the edge of the board are eight 4-pin headers for fans, including one dedicated to a CPU fan, one for water pumps, and six for chassis fans.
ASRock Z490 Taichi ATX Motherboard | |||
Warranty Period | 3 Years | ||
Product Page | Link | ||
Price | $370 | ||
Size | ATX | ||
CPU Interface | LGA1200 | ||
Chipset | Intel Z490 | ||
Memory Slots (DDR4) | Four DDR4 Supporting 128 GB Dual-Channel Up to DDR4-4666 |
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Video Outputs | 1 x HDMI 1 x DisplayPort 1.4 |
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Network Connectivity | Realtek RTL8125BG 2.5 GbE Intel I129-V GbE Intel AX201 Wi-Fi 6 |
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Onboard Audio | Realtek ALC1220 ESS Sabre 9128 (Front Panel) |
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PCIe Slots for Graphics (from CPU) | 2 x PCIe 3.0 (x16, x8/x8) | ||
PCIe Slots for Other (from PCH) | 1 x PCIe 3.0 x4 2 x PCIe 3.0 x1 |
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Onboard SATA | Six, RAID 0/1/5/10 (Z490) Two, (ASMedia) |
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Onboard M.2 | 1 x PCIe 3.0 x4 2 x PCIe 3.0 x4/SATA |
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USB 3.1 (20 Gbps) | 1 x USB Type-C (Rear panel) | ||
USB 3.1 (10 Gbps) | 2 x USB Type-A (Rear panel) 1 x USB Type-C (Header) |
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USB 3.0 (5 Gbps) | 5 x USB Type-A (Rear panel) 4 x USB Type-A (Two headers) |
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USB 2.0 | 4 x USB Type-A (Two headers) | ||
Power Connectors | 1 x 24-pin Motherboard 2 x 8-pin CPU |
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Fan Headers | 1 x 4-pin CPU 1 x 4-pin CPU/Water pump 6 x 4-pin Chassis |
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IO Panel | 2 x Antenna Ports (Intel AX201) 1 x PS/2 Mouse/Keyboard 1 x HDMI output 1 x DisplayPort 1.4 output 2 x USB 3.2 G2 Type-A 1 x USB 3.2 G2 Type-A 5 x USB 3.2 G1 Type-A 1 x RJ45 (Realtek) 1 x RJ45 (Intel) 1 x BIOS Flashback button 5 x 3.5 mm audio jacks (Realtek) 1 x S/PDIF Optical output (Realtek) |
The ASRock Z490 Taichi boasts a pretty stacked rear panel with a single USB 3.2 G2 20 Gbps Type-C, two USB 3.2 G2 Type-A, and five USB 3.2 G1 Type-A ports. A further four USB 3.2 G1 Type-A, four USB 2.0, and a single USB 3.2 G2 Type-C port can be made available via internal USB headers. The board also includes two video outputs including a DisplayPort 1.4 and HDMI, while networking is strong with a Realtek RTL8125BG 2.5 G and Intel I219-V Gigabit Ethernet controller pairing. For users looking for wireless connectivity, an Intel AX201 wireless interface offers both Wi-Fi 6 and BT 5.1 connectivity.
Test Bed
As per our testing policy, we take a high-end CPU suitable for the motherboard that was released during the socket’s initial launch and equip the system with a suitable amount of memory running at the processor maximum supported frequency. This is also typically run at JEDEC subtimings where possible. It is noted that some users are not keen on this policy, stating that sometimes the maximum supported frequency is quite low, or faster memory is available at a similar price, or that the JEDEC speeds can be prohibitive for performance. While these comments make sense, ultimately very few users apply memory profiles (either XMP or other) as they require interaction with the BIOS, and most users will fall back on JEDEC supported speeds - this includes home users as well as industry who might want to shave off a cent or two from the cost or stay within the margins set by the manufacturer. Where possible, we will extend out testing to include faster memory modules either at the same time as the review or a later date.
Test Setup | |||
Processor | Intel Core i7-10700K, 125 W, $374 8 Cores, 16 Threads 3.8 GHz (5.1 GHz Turbo) |
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Motherboard | ASRock Z490 Taichi (BIOS 1.50) | ||
Cooling | NZXT Kraken Z63 280 mm AIO | ||
Power Supply | EVGA 1600 T2 1600W 80 PLUS Titanium | ||
Memory | G.Skill TridentZ DDR4-2933 CL 14-14-14-34 2T (2 x 8 GB) | ||
Video Card | MSI GTX 1080 (1178/1279 Boost) | ||
Hard Drive | Crucial MX300 1TB | ||
Case | Corsair Crystal 680X | ||
Operating System | Windows 10 1909 inc. Spectre/Meltdown Patches |
Readers of our motherboard review section will have noted the trend in modern motherboards to implement a form of MultiCore Enhancement / Acceleration / Turbo (read our report here) on their motherboards. This does several things, including better benchmark results at stock settings (not entirely needed if overclocking is an end-user goal) at the expense of heat and temperature. It also gives, in essence, an automatic overclock which may be against what the user wants. Our testing methodology is ‘out-of-the-box’, with the latest public BIOS installed and XMP enabled, and thus subject to the whims of this feature. It is ultimately up to the motherboard manufacturer to take this risk – and manufacturers taking risks in the setup is something they do on every product (think C-state settings, USB priority, DPC Latency / monitoring priority, overriding memory sub-timings at JEDEC). Processor speed change is part of that risk, and ultimately if no overclocking is planned, some motherboards will affect how fast that shiny new processor goes and can be an important factor in the system build.
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Korguz - Thursday, May 28, 2020 - link
maybe Spunjji is referring to the " if intel does it, its fine, and ok, but if amd does it, its a federal offense and amd should be ridiculed for it. standard 40mm fans or not, most people balk at seeing any type of fan on motherboards now. ive had a few " standard " 40mm fans, and they can be quite loud, louder then the conventional chipset fan.Deicidium369 - Saturday, May 30, 2020 - link
I don't like whiny little fans, regardless of what they are on.eastcoast_pete - Thursday, May 28, 2020 - link
An only partially related question: has Intel made any statement on how long the new LGA 1200 socket will stay current? At those MB prices, it would be nice to know that one can plug least one more full processor generation into this one.Ranger1065 - Thursday, May 28, 2020 - link
11th gen Rocket Lake-S Cpus are supposed to be compatible with Z490/LGA 1200 so perhaps one more generation...eastcoast_pete - Thursday, May 28, 2020 - link
At $ 370, that's a bit short-term for my taste. Basically, once an MB costs about as much as the CPU, I also look for longevity. That's why I would also hesitate to shell out that kind of money for a socket A MB right now, as I believe AMD will have to update their CPU socket if they want to fully leverage the updated arch in their next generation Ryzen desktop CPUs.eastcoast_pete - Thursday, May 28, 2020 - link
AM4 socket, of course. Edit function would be nice.wisalin940 - Saturday, May 30, 2020 - link
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Why it has opposed M2 slots? On AMD boards the PCIe slots support both pcie4 and 3 as the expected from specswatersb - Friday, June 5, 2020 - link
Punch.. oh. We don't do much punching in Tai Chi or Qi Gong. Pushing, ok, it can move us forward, a breath of fresh air, giving rise to the spirit. But probably not punching.It's a cool headline for a cool motherboard, though.
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