The socket area is cleanly laid out, benefitting from this being a 2nd generation AM5 motherboard. This design supports two 12V EPS 8-pin connectors for supplementary power to the CPU, which can be helpful for the larger 12 and 16-core Ryzen processors in particular. Combined with the ample 24+2+1-phase power delivery and aided with large VRM heatsinks, it should be able to handle heavily overclocked 9000-series processors so long as there is sufficient air flow around the socket area.
This design has one 4-pin PWM fan header to the bottom-right of the socket that’s intended for AIO CPU coolers. Three additional headers to the top-right are for, in order: CPU Fan, CPU Fan and Chassis Fan. The latter two, as well as the AIO header, are 3A/36W connectors suitable for water pumps or a trio of daisy-chained fans; the initial CPU Fan header is only rated for 1A operation.
Moving along the top edge we come to a DrDebug LED display (which as the name suggests helps to debug or troubleshoot the boot process thanks to two-digit error codes), a ‘board mounted power button, and a reset button. These can be invaluable for pushing the system hard on a test bench, helping you to find its limits while other components are easily accessible.
Past the bank of four DDR5 DIMM slots is a M.2 slot supporting the 2280 form factor. This slot is wired for PCIe Gen4x4 operation, and is probably the one that will experience the least obstructed air flow and incidental heat for adjacent components.
Beyond this slot and below the power and reset switches are two 3-pin ARGB headers, then the 24-pin ATX power connector, USB 3.1 front panel header, USB Type C header, and a bank of six SATA III 6Gbps connectors. The SATA ports are mounted parallel to the motherboard, helping with cable management.
The USB Type-C Header supports USB 3.2 Gen2x2 signalling up to 20Gbps.
The large heatspreader to the bottom-right of the motherboard covers both chipset controllers present on the X870E design and so you’d expect it to become quite toasty operating at peak throughput.
Running down the bottom edge from right to left is the System Panel header, Speaker header, USB 3 header, four 4-pin PWM fan headers (one of which supports 3A/36W operation for a water cooling pump), two USB 2.0 headers, three 2-pin thermal probe/thermistor headers, 3-pin ARGB header, 4-Pin RGB header and Front Panel Audio header. That’s a lot packed into a very short space, potentially requiring some adroit cable management if all are connected. Thankfully the most conventionally awkward to connect, the Audio header, is about as conveniently located as you’ll see on a modern motherboard.
Here’s a look at the board with M.2 slot covers removed. As well as the one in the top-right there are three slots that sandwich the PCI X16 slot. The topmost of these three support PCIe Gen 5x4 operation, the bottom two PCIe Gen4. Note that only two slots have thermal pads on the underside of the slot of additional cooling, making them particularly suitable for high-speed and double-sided M.2 SSDs.
The primary M.2 drive slot incorporates a quick-release system for both the slot cover and the drive itself, making installation and replacement toolless.
We should also note that the PCIe slots, which can operate in x8/x8 mode with PCIe 5.0 signalling, have been stiffened with reinforcing metal classing. That being said, we recommend a GPU stand of some sort to prop up particularly heavy graphics cards.
Breaking down the rear IO is pretty straightforward. The X870E Taichi Lite features, in order from left to right:
- CLR CMOS and BIOS Flashback buttons,
- WiFi 7 (2.4GHz, 5GHz & 6GHz) antenna ports,
- HDMI port,
- 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 (Yellow, 10Gbps) & 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5Gbps, Blue) ports,
- 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 (L. Blue, 10Gbps) & 2 x USB 2.0 ports,
- USB4 Type-C & USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports,
- USB5 Type-C & USB 3.2 Gen 1 & RJ45 5Gbps LAN ports,
- Optical SPDIF Out & Line Out Jack & Mic In Jack.
- WiFi 7 (2.4GHz, 5GHz & 6GHz) antenna ports,
- HDMI port,
- 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 (Yellow, 10Gbps) & 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5Gbps, Blue) ports,
- 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 (L. Blue, 10Gbps) & 2 x USB 2.0 ports,
- USB4 Type-C & USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports,
- USB5 Type-C & USB 3.2 Gen 1 & RJ45 5Gbps LAN ports,
- Optical SPDIF Out & Line Out Jack & Mic In Jack.
ASRock designate the two yellow USB 3.2 ports as ‘Lightning Gaming’ connections for your keyboard and mouse as they route through separate controller hubs, theoretically resulting in lower jitter and latency. The two blue ports stacked above them are designated ‘Ultra USB Power’ and supply 5V downstepped from the PSU +12V rail. They should offer more 5V stability under a strong charging load.
So features-wise there are no major surprises in the X870E Taichi Lite. Some might be a touch disappointed in the lack of a 10Gbps LAN port, and we’ve also started to see easy unlatching functionality for the main PCI-Express slot start to creep into mid-to-high-tier models from other manufacturers that hasn’t quite reached this SKU.
All in all, the motherboard seems like a well thought out design for enthusiasts and overclockers who don’t have a need for grand aesthetic flair but wouldn’t mind the option should it present itself. While it doesn’t appear to do much to differentiate itself from its X870E competitors, nor does it let the side down by presenting any glaring omissions.