ASRock Z690 Taichi RAZER EDITION Motherboard Review

Features and Specifications

Features

• Supports 12th Gen Intel^® Core™ Processors (LGA1700)
• 20 Phase SPS Dr.MOS Power Design
• Supports DDR5 6400MHz (OC)
• 2 PCIe 5.0 x16, 1 PCIe 4.0 x16, 1 PCIe 3.0 x1
• Graphics Output Options: HDMI, 2 Thunderbolt™ Type-C
• Realtek ALC1220 7.1 CH HD Audio Codec,
  ESS SABRE 9218 DAC, WIMA Audio Caps
• 6 SATA3, 1 Independent SATA3
  2 Hyper M.2 (PCIe Gen4 x4)
  1 M.2 (PCIe Gen3 x2 & SATA3)
  2 Thunderbolt™ 4/USB4 Type-C
  1 USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Front Type-C
  2 USB 3.2 Gen2 (Rear)
  8 USB 3.2 Gen1 (4 Rear, 4 Front)
  1 Independent USB 3.2 Gen1 Type A Port
• Killer E3100 2.5G LAN, Intel^® Gigabit LAN
• Killer AX1690 802.11ax (WiFi 6E) + Bluetooth
• Killer DoubleShot™ Pro X3
• Intel^® Double Connect Technology
• Razer Synapse

Overview

The COOLEST flagship motherboard, ASRock Taichi, stands out for its incredible OC performance and premium specification. Here comes the new version, Taichi – Razer Edition, which is the world’s first motherboard natively integrated with Razer Chroma RGB lighting. It is the ultimate control center for all things Chroma RGB, and enables universal compatibility with thousands of ARGB components directly into the ecosystem.

Specifications

• • Unique Feature
    ASRock USB 4.0
    – ASRock USB 4.0 Thunderbolt™ 4 Type-C Port (40 Gb/s for USB 4.0 protocol; 40Gb/s for Thunderbolt™ protocol)
    ASRock USB 3.2 Gen2
    – ASRock Front Panel Type-C USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Header (20 Gb/s)
    – ASRock USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A Port (10 Gb/s)
    ASRock Super Alloy
    – XXL Aluminum Alloy Heatsink
    – Premium Power Choke
    – 105A SPS (Smart Power Stage)
    – Premium Memory Alloy Choke (Reduces 70% core loss compared to iron power choke)
    – Nichicon 12K Black Caps (100% Japan made high quality conductive polymer capacitors)
    – I/O Armor
    – Matte Black PCB
    – High Density Glass Fabric PCB
    – 8 Layer PCB
    – 2oz Copper PCB
    Server-Grade Low-Loss PCB
    Killer 2.5G LAN
    802.11ax Wi-Fi 6E
    Killer DoubleShot™ Pro X3
    Intel^® Double Connect Technology
    ASRock Auto Driver Installer
    ASRock Steel Slots
    ASRock Full Coverage M.2 Heatsink
    ASRock Hyper M.2/b> (PCIe Gen4x4)
    ASRock Ultra USB Power
    ASRock Full Spike Protection (for all USB, Audio, LAN Ports)
    ASRock Live Update & APP Shop

• CPU
  – Supports 12th Gen Intel^® Core™ Processors (LGA1700)
  – Digi Power design
  – 20 Power Phase design
  – Supports Intel^® Hybrid Technology
  – Supports Intel^® Turbo Boost Max 3.0 Technology
  – Supports ASRock Hyper BCLK Engine V
• Chipset
  – Intel^® Z690
• Memory
  – Dual Channel DDR5 Memory Technology
  – 4 x DDR5 DIMM Slots
  – Supports DDR5 non-ECC, un-buffered memory up to 6400+(OC)*
  – Max. capacity of system memory: 128GB
  – Supports Intel^® Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) 3.0
  – 15μ Gold Contact in DIMM Slots

  *Supports DDR5 4400 (1DPC) / 3600 (2DPC) natively.
• BIOS
  – 256Mb AMI UEFI Legal BIOS with multilingual GUI support
  – ACPI 6.0 Compliant wake up events
  – SMBIOS 2.7 Support
  – CPU Core/Cache, CPU GT, DRAM, VCCIN_AUX, +1.8V PROC, +1.05V PROC, +0.82V PCH, +1.05V PCH Voltage Multi-adjustment
• Graphics
  – Intel^® Xe Graphics Architecture (Gen 12)
  – Three graphics output options: 1 x HDMI and 2 x Intel^® Thunderbolt™ 4
  – Supports Triple Monitor
  – Supports Intel^® Thunderbolt™ 4 with max. resolution up to 8K (7680×4320) @ 60Hz**
  – Supports HDMI 2.1 TMDS Compatible with max. resolution up to 4K x 2K (4096×2160) @ 60Hz
  – Supports HDCP 2.3 with HDMI 2.1 TMDS Compatible Port and Intel^® Thunderbolt™ 4 Ports

  *Intel^® UHD Graphics Built-in Visuals and the VGA outputs can be supported only with processors which are GPU integrated.

  *Supports two 4K displays or one 8K display
  Only the CPU’s embedded graphics can be displayed through Thunderbolt™ ports. If you want to display to a Thunderbolt™ monitor, please use CPU models with embedded graphics.

• Audio
  – 7.1 CH HD Audio with Content Protection (Realtek ALC1220 Audio Codec)
  – Premium Blu-ray Audio support
  – Supports Surge Protection
  – WIMA Audio Capacitors (For Front Outputs)
  – ESS SABRE9218 DAC for Front Panel Audio (130dB SNR)
  – Pure Power-In
  – Direct Drive Technology
  – PCB Isolate Shielding
  – Impedance Sensing on Rear Out port
  – Individual PCB Layers for R/L Audio Channel
  – Gold Audio Jacks
  – 15μ Gold Audio Connector
  – Nahimic Audio
• LAN
  1 x 2.5 Gigabit LAN 10/100/1000/2500 Mb/s (Killer E3100G)
  – Supports Killer LAN Software
  – Supports Killer DoubleShot™ Pro X3
  – Supports Wake-On-LAN
  – Supports Lightning/ESD Protection
  – Supports Energy Efficient Ethernet 802.3az
  – Supports PXE 1 x Gigabit LAN 10/100/1000 Mb/s (Intel^® I219V)
  – Supports Wake-On-LAN
  – Supports Lightning/ESD Protection
  – Supports Energy Efficient Ethernet 802.3az
  – Supports UEFI PXE
• Wireless LAN
  – 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6E Module
  – Supports IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ax
  – Supports Dual-Band 2×2 160MHz with extended 6GHz band support*
  – 2 antennas to support 2 (Transmit) x 2 (Receive) diversity technology
  – Supports Bluetooth + High speed class II
  – Supports MU-MIMO
  – Supports Killer DoubleShot™ Pro X3
  – Supports Intel^® Double Connect Technology

  *Wi-Fi 6E (6GHz band) will be supported by Microsoft^® Windows^® 11. The availability will depend on the different regulation status of each country and region. It will be activated (for supported countries) through Windows^® Update and software updates once available.
  A 6GHz compatible router is required for 6E functionality.
• Slots
  CPU:
  – 2 x PCIe 5.0 x16 Slots (PCIE1 and PCIE2), support x16 or x8/x8 modes*
  Chipset:
  – 1 x PCIe 4.0 x16 Slot (PCIE4), supports x4 mode*
  – 1 x PCIe 3.0 x1 Slot (PCIE3)*
  – 1 x M.2 Socket (Key E), supports type 2230 WiFi/BT PCIe WiFi module and Intel^® CNVi (Integrated WiFi/BT)- Supports AMD CrossFire™
  – 15μ Gold Contact in VGA PCIe Slots (PCIE1 and PCIE2)

  *Supports NVMe SSD as boot disks
• Storage
  CPU:
  – 1 x Hyper M.2 Socket (M2_1, Key M), supports type 2280 PCIe Gen4x4 (64 Gb/s) mode*
  Chipset:
  – 1 x Hyper M.2 Socket (M2_2, Key M), supports type 2242/2260/2280 PCIe Gen4x4 (64 Gb/s) mode*
  – 1 x M.2 Socket (M2_3, Key M), supports type 2230/2242/2260/2280 SATA3 6.0 Gb/s & PCIe Gen3x2 (16 Gb/s) modes*
  – 6 x SATA3 6.0 Gb/s Connectors
  – 1 x Independent SATA3 6.0 Gb/s Connector

  *Supports Intel^® Optane™ Memory H Series (M2_2 only)
  Supports Intel^® Volume Management Device (VMD)
  Supports NVMe SSD as boot disks
  Supports ASRock U.2 Kit
• RAID
  – Supports RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5 and RAID 10 for SATA storage devices
  – Supports RAID 0, RAID 1 and RAID 5 for M.2 NVMe storage devices
• Connector
  – 1 x SPI TPM Header
  – 1 x Power LED and Speaker Header
  – 1 x RGB LED Header*
  – 3 x Addressable LED Headers**
  – 1 x CPU Fan Connector (4-pin)***
  – 2 x CPU/Water Pump Fan Connectors (4-pin) (Smart Fan Speed Control)****
  – 4 x Chassis/Water Pump Fan Connectors (4-pin) (Smart Fan Speed Control)*****
  – 1 x VRM/Water Pump Fan Connector (4-pin)******
  – 1 x 24 pin ATX Power Connector (Hi-Density Power Connector)
  – 2 x 8 pin 12V Power Connectors (Hi-Density Power Connector)
  – 1 x Front Panel Audio Connector (15μ Gold Audio Connector)
  – 2 x USB 2.0 Headers (Support 3 USB 2.0 ports) (Supports ESD Protection)
  – 1 x Independent USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A Connector
  – 2 x USB 3.2 Gen1 Headers (Support 4 USB 3.2 Gen1 ports) (ASMedia ASM1074 hub) (Supports ESD Protection)
  – 1 x Front Panel Type C USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Header (20 Gb/s) (Supports ESD Protection)
  – 1 x Clear CMOS Button
  – 1 x Dr. Debug with LED
  – 1 x Power Button with LED
  – 1 x Reset Button with LED

  *Supports in total up to 12V/3A, 36W LED Strip

  **Support in total up to 5V/3A, 15W LED Strip

  ***The CPU Fan Connector supports the CPU fan of maximum 1A (12W) fan power.

  ****CPU_FAN2/WP_3A supports the water cooler fan of maximum 3A (36W) fan power.
  CPU_FAN3/WP supports the water cooler fan of maximum 2A (24W) fan power.

  *****The Chassis/Water Pump Fan supports the water cooler fan of maximum 2A (24W) fan power.

  ******The VRM/Water Pump Fan Connector supports the VRM fan of maximum 2A (24W) fan power.
  CPU_FAN2/WP_3A, CPU_FAN3/WP, VRM_FAN1/WP, CHA_FAN1~4/WP can auto detect if 3-pin or 4-pin fan is in use.

• Rear Panel I/O
  – 2 x Antenna Ports
  – 1 x HDMI Port
  – 1 x Optical SPDIF Out Port
  – 2 x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A Ports (10 Gb/s) (ReDriver) (Supports ESD Protection)
  – 2 x USB 4.0 Thunderbolt™ 4 Type-C Ports (40 Gb/s for USB 4.0 protocol; 40Gb/s for Thunderbolt™ protocol) (Supports ESD Protection)*
  – 4 x USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A Ports (Supports ESD Protection)**
  – 2 x RJ-45 LAN Ports with LED (ACT/LINK LED and SPEED LED)
  – 1 x BIOS Flashback Button
  – HD Audio Jacks: Rear Speaker / Central / Bass / Line in / Front Speaker / Microphone (Gold Audio Jacks with LED)

  *Supports USB PD 3.0 up to 9V@3A (27W) / 5V@3A (15W) charging

  **USB3_2, USB3_3 and USB3_4 are from Intel^® Z690; USB3_1 is from ASMedia ASM3042.
  USB3_1_2 are the Lightning Gaming Ports.
  Ultra USB Power is supported on USB3_3 port.
  ACPI wake-up function is not supported on USB3_3 port.

• Software and UEFI
  Software
  – ASRock Motherboard Utility (A-Tuning)
  – Killer Control Center*
  – Razer Synapse 3**
  – ASRock EZ Mode
  – ASRock Full HD UEFI
  – ASRock My Favorites in UEFI
  – ASRock Auto Driver Installer
  – ASRock Instant Flash
  – ASRock Internet Flash
  – ASRock Easy RAID Installer

  *These utilities can be downloaded from ASRock Live Update & APP Shop.

  **Razer Synapse 3 can be downloaded from razer.com/synapse-3. UEFI

• Support CD
  – Drivers, Utilities, AntiVirus Software (Trial Version)
• Accessories
  – Quick Installation Guide, Support CD
  – 4 x SATA Data Cables
  – 1 x Graphics Card Holder
  – 1 x Wireless Dongle USB Bracket
  – 1 x 3010 Cooling Fan with Bracket and Screw Package
  – 1 x 4010 Cooling Fan Bracket and Screw Package
  – 1 x ASRock WiFi 2.4/5/6 GHz Antenna
  – 3 x Screws for M.2 Sockets
  – 1 x Standoff for M.2 Socket
• Hardware Monitor
  – Fan Tachometer: CPU, CPU/Water Pump, Chassis/Water Pump, VRM/Water Pump, MOS Fans
  – Quiet Fan (Auto adjust chassis fan speed by CPU temperature): CPU, CPU/Water Pump, Chassis/Water Pump, VRM/Water Pump, MOS Fans
  – Fan Multi-Speed Control: CPU, CPU/Water Pump, Chassis/Water Pump, VRM/Water Pump, MOS Fans
  – Voltage monitoring: +12V, +5V, +3.3V, CPU Vcore, +0.82V PCH, +1.05V PCH, +1.05V PROC, DRAM, VCCIN_AUX, VCCSA
• Form Factor
  – ATX Form Factor: 12.0-in x 9.6-in, 30.5 cm x 24.4 cm
  – 8 Layer PCB
  – 2oz Copper PCB

More information on ASRock’s website.