ASRock Z590 Taichi Motherboard Review

ASRock’s Z590 Taichi takes Intel’s latest flagship and marries with ASRock’s flagship Taichi platform. What do you get when you mix the best of two worlds? Well, Everything. The Z590 Taichi boasts incredible levels of connectivity with Thunderbolt 4, USB4, USB 3.2 Gen2x2, Killer 2.5Gb LAN, Killer AX1675x WiFi 6E, and more. Mix in a powerful 14-phase VRM, Dual-channel DDR4 with support for overclocking to 5000MHz+ and PCIe 4.0 and you have everything you could possibly want. No? Ok, well there is also a flexible pre-installed I/O Shield, Metal backplate, XXL VRM Heatsink with active cooling, and even a GPU support brace. With such an impressive resume, it should perform well, so let’s go find out how it does!

 

PC Test Bench would like to thank ASRock for sending over the Z590 Taichi for us to check out!

ASRock’s take on the Z590 Taichi:

 

Taichi represents the philosophical state of undifferentiated absolute and infinite potential. A motherboard that fulfills every task – with style! Become like water. Shapeless, formless, versatile for any situation.

 

Features:

• Supports 10th Gen Intel® Core™ Processors and 11th Gen Intel® Core™ Processors
• 14 Phase Dr.MOS Power Design
• Supports DDR4 5000MHz (OC)
• 2 x PCIe 4.0 x16, 1 x PCIe 3.0 x16, 1 x PCIe 3.0 x1
• Graphics Output Options: HDMI, 2 x Thunderbolt™ Type-C
• 1 CH HD Audio (Realtek ALC1220 Audio Codec), Nahimic Audio
• 8 SATA3, 1 x Hyper M.2 (PCIe Gen4 x4)
• 2 x Ultra M.2 (PCIe Gen3 x4 & SATA3)
• 2 x Thunderbolt™ 4/USB 4.0 Type-C (40Gb/s)
• 1 x USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Front Type-C (20Gb/s)
• 2 x Rear USB 3.2 Gen2 Type A (10Gb/s)
• 8 x USB 3.2 Gen1 (4 x Rear, 4 x Front)
• Killer E3100G 2.5G LAN, Intel® Gigabit LAN
• Killer AX1675x 802.11ax (WiFi 6E) + BT 5.2
• Lightning Gaming Ports (Patent Pending)
• ASRock Graphics Card Holder (Patent Pending)

Tailor-made Motherboards

Innovative Design & Modernized Materials

Personalized MOS FAN

Optimized FAN design for better heat dissipation. You can choose bundled 3CM high-performance fan, or upgrade to your own 4CM fan for better cooling and silence performance. 3CM fan and 4CM fan bracket included.

ASRock Graphics Card Holder
Install your heavy graphics card on the holder; connect it to your motherboard and chassis with screws. Flexibly slide up and down to perfectly adjust the height required for your graphics card in place.

8LAYER & 2OZ COPPER PCB

The 8 Layer PCB comes with 4 sets of 2-ounce copper inner layers, providing stable signal traces and power shapes and delivering lower temperature and higher energy efficiency for overclocking! Thus, it’s able to support the latest DDR4 memory modules with the most extreme memory performance!

SPS (Smart Power Stage)

Dr. MOS design features the latest SPS (Smart Power Stage) technology. It’s optimized for monitoring current and temperature of each phase, thus delivering smoother and neater power to the CPU with enhanced performance and OC capability. Premium 90A Power Choke – Compared to traditional chokes, ASRock’s premium 90A power chokes effectively make the saturation current up to three times better, thus providing enhanced and improved Vcore voltage to the motherboard.

Lightning Gaming Ports
Aimed for die-hard gamers and enthusiasts! Lightning Gaming Ports are sourced from two different controller interfaces that allow gamers to connect the high-speed mice/keyboard with the lowest jitter latency and win the best performance!

PCIe 4.0 High-Speed M.2 Solution
This motherboard is capable of accommodating multiple M.2 storage devices, one of which can even support next-generation PCI Express 4.0 M.2 SSD, it is capable of performing twice the speed compared to the previous 3rd generation, giving lightning-fast data transferring experience.

METAL BACKPLATE
Strengthens the motherboard to prevent bending caused by heavy coolers or graphics cards with better airflow and enhanced stability.

Thunderbolt 4/USB 4.0 Type-C

Thunderbolt 4/USB 4.0 technology brings speed and versatility to the most advanced USB Type-C, offering a fast and simple level of connection for work or home. It enables lightning-fast data transfer up to 40Gbps and connects to up to 5 Thunderbolt devices with a single wire, and even provides PD 2.0 with 9V@3A (27W).

Nahimic Audio
Whether you are using headphones, a headset, external or internal speakers, via USB, Wi-Fi, analog output, or even HDMI, Nahimic Audio offers you the most engaging listening experience, vibrant and rich with details.

ESS 9218 DAC （130dB SNR)
Embrace the audio stunning performance with ES9218 SABRE DAC!

• True Hi-Fi Audio. No distorted digital signal
• 130dB SNR
• 112dB THD+N and supports higher impedance up to 600 Ω headphone

WIMA Audio Caps
Optimized for high-end audio applications! Deliver crystal and balanced sound to satisfy even the pickiest audiophile.

Wireless Dongle USB Bracket
Allow ASRock to be your most trustworthy ally, providing the anti-interference hardware. Place your wireless dongle as far away as possible to prevent the noise impact between the devices on the 2.4GHz data spectrum, this Wireless Dongle USB Bracket is packed with selected motherboards to aid you in building your PC without interference.

Killer™ Ethernet E3100 + Wi-Fi 6E AX1675x
The Killer Ethernet controller is designed especially for competitive gamers and performance-hungry users, this motherboard comes with both Killer E3100 2.5G Ethernet & WiFi 6E solution, enhanced detection, and prioritization engine provides the ultimate networking experience for gaming and multimedia applications.

Killer DoubleShot™ Pro
Killer DoubleShot Pro allows the use of both the Killer Wireless and Killer Ethernet interfaces work at the same time which will give the end-user max throughput as high as 4.9 Gbps, it automatically utilizes the fastest network connection for high priority traffic, this ensures the highest priority traffic will always be put on the fastest and most reliable link.

RULE YOUR OWN LIGHTING WAY – POLYCHROME RGB

ASRock motherboards deliver stunning performance and superior aesthetics to rule your own colorful lighting way! ASRock offers a very comprehensive control to perform the built-in RGB LEDs or the connected LED strips, CPU fans, coolers, chassis, and any RGB devices smoothly. Devices can be synchronized across the Polychrome RGB Sync-certified accessories as well.

Reinforced Steel Slot [PCIe 4.0 Version]
The reinforced steel slot comes with the next-generation PCI Express 4.0 standard. The various benefits include:

• Extra anchor points
• Stronger latch
• Ensure signal stability
• Make sure heavy graphics cards to be well-installed.

USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Type-C

The latest USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Type-C delivers up to 20 Gbps data transfer rate which is 2x as fast as the previous generation, providing a blazing fast data transfer interface with a reversible USB Type-C design that fits the connector either way.

2 x USB3.2 Gen2
Delivering data transfer rates up to 10X faster than USB 2.0 with optimized power efficiency. USB 3.2 Gen2 technology advances the data transfer rate up to 10Gb/s. ASRock provides 2 x USB 3.2 Gen2 ports onboard allows you to have a stunning data transfer experience.

Flexible Integrated I/O Shield

Unlike most so-called pre-mounted I/O shield that is only decorated with fancy color schemes, the IO shield is adjustable when installing, thus fitting chassis perfectly without any mechanical issue.

Quick Specs:

• CPU
  • Intel LGA1200 Supports Intel 10^th & 11^th gen Core Processors
  • Digi Power Design
  • 14-Phase Power
  • Supports ASRock Hyper BCLK III
• Chipset
  • Intel Z590
• Memory
  • Dual-Channel DDR4
  • 4x DIMM Slots
  • 2133-3200MHz and 3466-5000MHz+ Over-Clocked
  • 128GB Max Capacity
  • 15μ Gold Contact in DIMM Slots
• Graphics
  • HDMI 2.0 & 2x Intel Thunderbolt 4
• Audio
  • Realtek ALC1220 Audio Codec
  • 130dB SNR ESS SABRE9218 DAC
  • Nahimic Audio
• Networking
  • Killer E3100g 2.5Gbps Ethernet
  • Intel I219V Gigabit Ethernet
  • Killer AX1675x 802.11ax WiFi 6E 2×2
  • Killer DoubleShot Pro
• Expansion
  • 3x PCIe x16 slots – Reinforced Steel Slot
  • 1x PCIe 3.0 x1 slots
• Storage
  • 8x SATA3 6.0
  • 1x Hyper M.2 2230/2242/2260/2280 – PCIe Gen4 x4 Only – Connected to 11^th gen CPU only
  • 1x Hyper M.2 2230/2242/2260/2280 – PCIe Gen3 x4 or SATA – Connected to Chipset
  • 1x Hyper M.2 2230/2242/2260/2280/22110 – PCIe Gen3 x4 or SATA – Connected to Chipset