The ASRock Z390 Taichi Review: Jack of All Trades, Master of None

Board Features

With previous ASRock Taichi branded motherboards, the aim has been to include multiple uses with the focus primarily aimed at enthusiasts and users looking for a premium and feature-rich option. The Z390 Taichi combines workstation based features such as dual Intel Gigabit LAN and integrated Wi-Fi, as well as more enthusiast grade elements such a solid 12-phase power delivery and rolls it into one. Gamers are also catered for with access to two-way SLI and up to three-way CrossFire multi-graphics card configurations and an included Realtek ALC1220 HD audio codec.

Over the Z370 model, the most improved upon factor comes on the rear panel as ASRock has made the most of the Z390's native support for USB 3.1 Gen2 ports with a total of three located on the rear panel. All in all, the ASRock Z390 Taichi looks like the solid foundation for a uniquely styled gaming system or a platform for users to overclock their processors above and beyond what they might be capble of using ambient or sub-zero cooling methods.

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.

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.

Hardware Providers for CPU and Motherboard Reviews
Sapphire RX 460 Nitro	MSI GTX 1080 Gaming X OC	Crucial MX200 + MX500 SSDs	Corsair AX860i + AX1200i PSUs
G.Skill RipjawsV, SniperX, FlareX	Crucial Ballistix DDR4	Silverstone Coolers	Silverstone Fans

New Test Suite: Spectre and Meltdown Hardened

For the start of our Z390 reviews, we are using an updated OS, updated drivers, and updated software. This is in line with our CPU testing updates, which includes Spectre and Meltdown patches. As we are in the process of testing more Z390 boards, that data will be added in future reviews however at this point we only have Z370 on the old testing as a reference.