Verdict and Conclusion
When ASRock released the “Lite” editions of their Taichi motherboard series, I initially thought it was a cut-down version of the Taichi and I questioned whether it was a good idea. But I was totally wrong. In fact as far as I’m aware, the main difference between the “Lite” and the full-fledged Taichi models, is that the Lite version seem to have fewer heatsinks and no RGB lighting on the I/O hood. Other than that, these two models are virtually identical.
So what does all this mean? Well, simply put … the ASRock X870E Taichi Lite a more affordable version of the original X870E Taichi. You get the same enthusiast features and the same performance … all for an attractive and affordable price.
During our tests, we managed to get very similar results to the original X870E Taichi in all of our benchmarks. For Cinebench 2024, we got an excellentt score of 2,300 points for multi core, and 139 points for single core. For PCMark 10, we got an amazing score of 10,977, and a score of 18,129 for PassMark 11.
We also got an excellent scores of 12,339 for Procyon Video Editing Benchmark, and a high score of 244 for the AI Computer Vision Benchmark. For 3DMark Steel Nomad and Speedway, we got excellent scores of 6,719 and 7,530 respectively. And finally, for Port Royal and Timespy, we got a very good score of 18,609 and 25,868 respectively.
As I mentioned before, the ASRock X870E Taichi Lite has same the enthusiast features found on the original X870E Taichi. Take for example, the powerful 24+2+1 Power Phases, 110 Amp SPS for VCore and 20K Black capacitors, which provides superb stability and reliability. It’s also equipped with the same XXL VRM heatsinks, as well as the enlarged M.2 and chipset heatsinks for maximum heat dissipation. However, there’s no cooling fan or heatpipe.
For storage, it comes with 6 x SATA ports, 1 x Blazing M.2 PCIE Gen5 slot, and 3 x Hyper M.2 PCIE Gen4 slots, which is plenty for most users. To save costs and to attain its affordability, the motherboard now only includes 1 unique tool-less M.2 heatsink. And furthermore, ASRock have excluded the EZ PCIE Release design for the graphics card on the X870E Taichi Lite (which would have been nice to have).
As far as connectivity is concerned, just like the original X870E Taichi, the Lite version has plenty. On the back I/O panel, you’ll find a clear CMOS and BIOS Flashback buttons, connectors for WiFi 7 antennas, HDMI output, 2 x USB 2.0 ports, 3 x USB 3.2 Gen1 ports, 5 x USB 3.2 Gen2 ports (2 x Ultra USB power port, 2 x Lightning USB ports), 2 x USB4 ports, 1 x optical S/PDIF Out connector, Line-out and Mic-in. And like the original X870E Taichi, the real star of the show is the 5GB LAN (don’t worry, it’s backwards compatible with 1G or 2.5G routers).
Other enthusiast features include the diagnostic LEDs, onboard power-on and reset buttons, easy-to-access clear CMOS and BIOS Flashback buttons on the rear I/O panel. You also get the Realtek 7.1 HD Nahimic audio with WIMA caps, a total of 19 USB ports (10 rear, 9 front), WiFi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4. And lastly, you get the latest USB4 ports and of course the 5GbE LAN for super fast connectivity.
All the main differences between the original X870E Tachi and the X870E Taichi Lite are summarized and high-lighted above.
You can buy the ASRock X870E Taichi Lite motherboard for around USD $399 from Amazon – https://amzn.to/3BD9sFb, while the original X870E Taichi will cost around USD $450 (Newegg). If saving that extra $50-80 means you could put that towards a better graphics card or more ram, etc …. then I don’t see why you shouldn’t go ahead and get the ASRock X870E Taichi Lite.
Final Words:
The X870E Taichi Lite is yet another excellent motherboard from ASRock, that offers the same enthusiast features and performance of the original X870E Taichi. By fine-tuning its cooling and removing the onboard RGB lighting, you now have a more affordable enthusiast X870E motherboard to consider.
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3 comments
Thank you for review, lack of PCI EZ release feature for GPU it’s such weak idea. They kept it for normal Taichi. And price difference is just 50$. Such waste.
I would recommend updating your testing methodology: the board boasts good audio, check the implementation and whether there’s some shielding etc. Check the chipset temperatures under load: my X670 was hitting 80-90C with 2 NVMEs copying files. Check if hybrid graphics works as intended – that’s when monitors are connected to the motherboard’s ports, not GPUs. Check wi-fi and Bluetooth range. Check the functionality USB4 ports are supposed to offer. Check coil whine and other parasitic sounds.
I mean, you didn’t even check the motherboard temperatures anywhere, just the CPU. And you well know that the pcmark and whatever other tests you did just apply to the CPU/memory. I thought this is X870 motherboard review, not the 9950x CPU review.
I encourage Winston to read the overview, all pages 1 through 9. You will find that there is very little useful information and nothing really that can’t be found on the item page on Asrock’s website. Unfortunately, this overview doesn’t offer any value.
Will do… thanks for the feedback 👍