ASRock X870 Taichi Creator Review: Balancing Premiums
The X870 Taichi Creator gets “Creator” branding—which makes us expect additional high-bandwidth interfaces—while losing the ‘E’ designation of the previously reviewed X870E Taichi. As the newer board is also 25% cheaper, our task to today is to measure the significance of that lost ‘E’:
| ASRock X870 Taichi Creator | ASRock X870E Taichi | |
| Socket | AM5 | AM5 |
| Chipset | AMD X870 | AMD B870E (double B870) |
| Form Factor | ATX | “EATX” (10.5″-deep) |
| Voltage Regulator | 21 (18+2+1) Phases | 27 (24+2+1) Phases |
| Rear I/O | Rear I/O | |
| Video Ports | HDMI 2.1 (4k/120Hz Max), 2x USB4 (8k/30Hz Max) | HDMI 2.1 (4k/120Hz Max), USB4 (8k/30Hz Max) |
| Rear USB 4.x/3.x | (2) 40Gb/s Type-C, (2) 10Gb/s Type A, (6) 5Gb/s Type A | (2) 40Gb/s Type-C, (5) 10Gb/s Type A; (3) 5Gb/s Type A |
| Network Jacks | (1) 10GbE, (1) 5GbE, (2) Wi-Fi Antenna | (1) 5GbE, (2) Wi-Fi Antenna |
| Audio Jacks | (2) Analog, (1) Digital Out | (2) Analog, (1) Digital Out |
| Legacy Ports/Jacks | (2) USB 2.0 | (2) USB 2.0 |
| I/O Panel Extras | BIOS Flashback, CLR_CMOS Buttons | BIOS Flashback, CLR_CMOS Buttons |
| Internal Interface | Internal Interface | |
| PCIe x16 | (2) v5.0 (x16/x0 or x8/x8), (1) v4.0 x4 (shared w/M.2) | (2) v5.0 (x16/x0 or x8/x8) |
| PCIe x8 | ✗ | ✗ |
| PCIe x4 | ✗ | ✗ |
| PCIe x1 | ✗ | ✗ |
| CrossFire/SLI | 2 / ✗ | 2 / ✗ |
| DIMM slots | (4) DDR5 | (4) DDR5 |
| M.2 slots | (2) PCIe 5.0 x4, (1) PCIe 4.0 x4, (1) PCIe 3.0 x4 (x2 shared w/PCIe 3 | (1) PCIe 5.0 x4, (3) PCIe 4.0 x4 |
| SATA Ports | (4) 6Gb/s | (6) 6Gb/s |
| USB Headers | (1) Type-E @Gen2x2 (20Gb/s), (2) 19-Pin dual-port, (3) v2.0 dual-port | (1) Type-E @Gen2x2 (20Gb/s), (2) 19-Pin dual-port, (2) v2.0 dual-port |
| Fan Headers | (7) 4-Pin | (8) 4-Pin |
| Legacy Interfaces | UART (3-pin), System (Beep-code) Speaker | UART (3-pin), System (Beep-code) Speaker |
| Other Interfaces | FP-Audio, (1) RGB LED, (3) ARGB LED, (1) Thermistor | FP-Audio, (1) RGB LED, (3) ARGB LED, (3) Thermistor, TPM |
| Diagnostics Panel | Numeric | Numeric |
| Internal Button/Switch | Power, Reset / ✗ | Power, Reset / ✗ |
| Controllers | Controllers | |
| SATA Controllers | ASM1164 (PCIe 3.0 x2) | Integrated (0/1/5/10) |
| Ethernet Controllers | AQC113 10Gbps (PCIe 4.0), RTL8126 5Gbps (PCIe 3.0) | RTL8126 5Gb/s PCIe |
| Wi-Fi / Bluetooth | Realtek 8922AE WiFi 7 (2.4GHz/5GHz/6GHz) / BT 5.4 Combo | MediaTek RZ717 WiFi 7 (2.4GHz/5GHz/6GHz) / BT 5.4 Combo |
| USB Controllers | ASM4242 USB4, BW9951E Gen2 redriver, (2) ASM1074 Gen1, GL852G USB 2.0 Hub | ASM4242 USB4, PI3EQX1 Redrivers, RTS5453H Type-C PD |
| HD Audio Codec | Realtek ALC4082 USB | Realtek ALC4082 USB audio w/ESS SABRE 9219C DAC |
| DDL/DTS Connect | ✗ | ✗ |
| Warranty | 3 Years | 3 Years |
| Price When Tested | $320 | $440 |
Find ASRock’s X870 Taichi Creator at Newegg
X870 Taichi Creator Features
Though reduced to a single “promontory” (AMD’s name for the onboard part of a chipset) from the X870E’s pair, the biggest differences between the X870 Taichi Creator and the elder X870E Taichi are additions rather than subtractions: The Taichi Creator swaps out one of its predecessor’s PCIe 4.0 NVMe slots for PCIe 5.0 NVMe slot, and adds 10GbE Ethernet port to its I/O panel. Places where the fewer pathways of its single promontory did have a negative impact includes its use of PCIe 3.0 (rather than 4.0) for its fourth NVMe storage slot, and lane sharing between the fourth NVMe and third PCIe expansion card slots. Tempted to complain that filling both interfaces causes each to drop into PCIe 3.0 x2 mode (with a paltry 16Gbps), we remind ourselves that the X870E Taichi didn’t even have a third expansion card slot.
Retaining the twin USB4 ports of the more expensive X870E version, the X870 Taichi Creator’s extra 10GbE port is basically gratis. Nearly everything else is an exact match between the new and original versions, though today’s board has a different controller behind its WiFi 7 connection and one more USB 3.2 Gen1 to replace one of the original version’s Gen2.
There’s nothing special to see on the back, apart from a different logo on the rear brace. Though rarely a necessary feature, we’re accustomed to seeing this type of rear cover on ASRock’s high-end boards (apart from the “Lite” variations, which weigh less without these).
The X870 Taichi Creator doesn’t have the X870E Taichi’s ARGB-lighted I/O cover, but the top fin of its rear voltage regulator heat sink does extend over the same space. Aluminum heat spreaders cover its four M.2 expansion slots, and a matching chipset sink covers the X870 chipset component. The two-character alphanumeric status code display, power and reset buttons are copied over from the earlier board.
The two PCIe 5.0 NVMe slots feature secondary heat spreaders to transfer heat from the back side of extra-hot drives to the motherboard’s ground plane: Se can also see the X870 “Promontory” towards the front of the X870 Taichi Creator and the ASM4242 USB4 controller near its ports (both in bare silicon), but our photographer missed the thermal transfer pad that’s still covering the AQC113 10GbE controller.
While we don’t find any fan headers by the I/O panel (where most cases have an exhaust fan), three are located above the north end of the DIMM slots. Moving around the upper/front corner we also see the status code display, the onboard power and reset buttons, two ARGB cable headers, the 24-pin primary power connector and the Gen2x2 (20Gbps) USB front-panel cable header.
Both CPU power headers (ATX12V) are eight-pin (making them EPS12V), though non-overclockers can probably make due with one.
The voltage regulator set includes twenty MPS2425 (MP87681) DrMOS power stages that ASRock says are good for 80A each (Google Ai says 60A), plus a Vishay SiC661 stage that Google’s Ai says is good for 80A (the closest published model, SiC660, outputs only 60A).
Closing in on the top corner we find an MPS2512 (MP2857) PWM commanding the DrMOS stages.
An ancient ASM1074 supplies the rear panel’s two 5Gbps ports, while an ASM4242 provides its dual USB4.
The X870 Taichi Creator’s bottom edge is lined with HD Audio, classic RGB, ARGB, three (dual-port) USB 2.0, four PWM-type fan, Thermistor cable, 19-pin first-gen USB3.x, CLR_CMOS, PC (beep code) speaker and nine-pin power/reset/indicator LED group headers.
A second first-gen USB3 header and four SATA ports point out the front of the X870 Taichi Creator’s lower half, and an undocumented UART header is hiding in the shadow beneath the lowest SATA port connectors.
The thermal pad in previous photos was covering Marvell’s (Aquantia) AQC113 10GbE controller, and Realtek’s 5GbE RTL8126 is visible above it.
ASRock ditched legacy audio codecs for an ALC4082 USB audio controller on both the X870E Taichi and the X870 Taichi Creator making though the older model at least had an ESS SABRE9219 DAC to brag about.
We trimmed this photo to include some of the Phison PS7101 linear redrivers, which are being used to send half of the upper x16 slot’s PCIe 5.0 lanes to the second slot whenever the second slot is filled.
Other onboard controllers include a GL872G USB 2.0 (far left, below), a second ASM1074 for the lower edge’s Gen1 USB3.x header, an ASM1164 controller for the SATA ports, and a pair of ASM2480B switches to control lane sharing between the lowest expansion card slot and the lowest M.2 slot.
The X870 Taichi Creator’s retail box includes an aluminum foil case badge, dual channel Wi-Fi antenna, thermistor lead, quick installation guide, 3-way ARGB splitter cable, four SATA data cables, and the motherboard itself.
X870 Taichi Creator Firmware
X870 Taichi Creator firmware defaults to its Advanced Mode GUI, where a switch to Easy Mode is as simple as clicking the F6 key on your 104-key keyboard’s “function” row. Main is the default menu, and its most useful function is to illustrate the current memory configuration. Without it, you might not quickly realize that the system has booted at safe memory settings after a failed boot (such as when we tried pushing our DDR5-6400 to DDR5-7600).
One tab over from the main menu, the OC Tweaker menu gave us all the settings we’d need to lock our CPU at 5425MHz and our memory to DDR5-7400. You may note that this is slower than the CPU’s maximum PBO or boost frequency (5.85 and 5.7 GHz, respectively), but those are both automated overclocks that the CPU can’t withstand across all cores at continuous full load.
The “DRAM Profile Configuration” submenu provides the XMP/EXPO selection setting, along with a report of available configuration options. Our overclock began by selecting our memory’s highest EXPO, then moving to the board’s “DRAM Timing Configuration” submenu to loosen timings to stabilize our higher frequency.
After configuring the above-shown overclock, we went on to save it as a profile using one of the board’s ten registers. We then selected “Save User Profile to USB flash drive” from the same portion of the OC Tweaker menu to store a copy on our thumb drive.
The “Advanced” menu is where users can, among other things, set the board to boot into “Easy Mode” if they so desire. Be aware that this setting will be reset to the “Advanced Mode” default if ever the user engages the CLR CMOS button (on the I/O panel) or jumper (on the board’s lower edge).
The “Tool” menu provides a submenu for adjusting the board’s ARGB pattern, but also has a tool for clearing a flash drive and another for flashing firmware from a non-bootable thumb drive. The menu’s “Auto Driver Installer” controls an algorithm that automatically installs a driver downloader application the first time it detects an online boot in Windows: It runs only once before disabling itself, unless you manually disable it first.
The H/W Monitor menu offers several default fan profiles and will even modify those to match your fans if you let it run its FanTuning algorithm. Other options include keying in switching temperature and duty cycle manually, or dragging the slope around on a graph in its Fan-Tastic submenu.
Those concerned that having too much control could lead them to making bad decisions can switch to the X870 Taichi Creator’s Easy Mode GUI, which limits settings to memory profile, boot order, thermal throttling temperature and fan profile.
We used the below hardware to run all tests, including the above-detailed overclocks and the benchmarks that follow.
| Test Hardware | |
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 9 7950X: 16C/32T 4.5-5.7 GHz, 64MB L3 Cache, Socket AM5 |
| CPU Cooler | Alphacool Core 1 Aurora CPU, Eisbecher D5 150mm, NexXxoS UT60 X-Flow 240mm |
| DRAM | Crucial Pro OC Gaming Edition DDR5-6400 32GB Kit |
| Graphics Card | ASRock RX 7700 XT Phantom Gaming 12GB OC PCIe 4.0 x16 |
| Power | be quiet! Dark Power Pro 10 850W: ATX12V v2.3, EPS12V, 80 PLUS Platinum |
| Hard Drive | Crucial T700 Gen5 NVMe 2TB SSD |
| Graphics Driver | AMD Adrenalin Edition 24.8.3 |
X870 Taichi Creator Benchmark Results
To get the most accurate comparison data between the new X870 Taichi Creator and the old X870E Taichi we first had to retest the old board using the same software and firmware patches as the new. We see little difference in memory performance with those equalizers in place.
For reasons we can’t even fathom the B850M Steel Legend WiFi’s disk performance outpaces all of our other Socket AM5 boards including the X870 Taichi Creator. Getting back to the X870 vs X870E, the difference just isn’t there.
We’re not sure what held back its 1080p Medium performance by less than 1%, but the X870 Taichi Creator otherwise matched its siblings in F1 2021.
We see a hint of X870 Taichi Creator performance superiority in 7.Zip synthetic as well as Cinebench and Corona Benchmark, but the gains lose all consistency in real-world timed tests.
The X870 Taichi Creator carries a heavy load of onboard controllers compared to everything but the X870E Taichi, which adds a second chipset bridge (ie, promontory). The surprising thing is that the X870E’s extra power consumption at idle seems to disappear under load: Perhaps its CPU voltage regulator is just that much more efficient?
Regardless, the high idle power consumption holes the X870E Taichi back in an average that assumes 100% CPU use 50% of the time.
Only two boards pushed our DDR5-6400 to DDR5-7400 without crashing, and neither of those was the X870 Taichi Creator. Then again, the bandwidth data indicates that the DDR5-7200 it did reach was close enough.
To recap, even though the lack of a second AMD Promontory would appear to put the X870 Taichi Creator in a completely different class than the X870E Taichi, both boards offered similarly deluxe feature sets and performance. The Taichi Creator sacrifices a Gen4 NVMe slot, gains a Gen5 slot, and adds an expansion card slot (good) that shares lanes with its third expansion card slot (bad). But, as the X870E Taichi didn’t even have a third expansion card slot, that last weakness hardly seems a factor.
The X870 Taichi Creator also gives us a second network port: It’s not just any network port either, but a monster 10GbE version. Getting a big networking upgrade on a board that costs ~25% less sounds like a solid win to us. Solid enough, in fact, to earn it our Excellence Award.
| ASRock X870 Taichi Creator | |
| Pros | Cons |
| Includes 10GbE, 5GbE and WiFi 7 Dual PCIe 5.0 NVMe One more expansion slot than X870E Tachi | Third PCIe to fourth NVMe lane sharing |
| The Verdict | |
| Around 25% cheaper than the X870E Taichi and packed with more features, the X870 Taichi Creator gets our highest recommendation among high-end boards. | |
