ASRock ASRock X870E Taichi OCF Motherboard Unboxing Review

This time, ASRock ASRock X870E Taichi OCF motherboard, which is designed for extreme overclocking of AMD AM5 platform, has been successfully overclocked to two DDR5 10600 MT/s and a single 10800 MT/s, and uploaded to HWBOT for certification and submission to Memory Frequency Hall Of Fame. Fame World Ranking, to show you how a real AMD Power overclocking motherboard should look like in the unboxing review.

ASRock X870E Taichi OCF Motherboard Specifications.

Size: ATX 30.5 x 24.4 cm
Processor Support: AMD Ryzen 9000 / 8000 / 7000
Processor Pin: AM5 LGA1718
CPU supply phase: 22(110A)+2(110A)+1 phase
Chipset: AMD X870E
Memory Expansion: 2x DDR5 DIMMs slots, 10400+ (O.C.) MT/s, up to 128 GB (single slot supports 64 GB capacity)
Memory Certification: AMD EXPO (Extended Profiles for Overclocking), Intel XMP 3.0 (Extreme Memory Profile)
Internal Display Output Slot: HDMI 2.1 (4K 120 Hz), 2x USB 4 Type-C (8K 30 Hz)
Graphics expansion slots: 2x PCIe 5.0 x16 (supports single card x16, dual card x8/x8 shared bandwidth slice mode), PCIe 4.0 x4
Storage expansion slots: 2x SATA 6Gb/s, Blazing M2_1 2280 Gen5 x4, Blazing M2_2 2280 Gen5 x4, M2_3 2280 PCIe Gen4 x2, Hyper M2_4 2280 PCIe Gen4 x4, Ultra M2_5 2280 PCIe Gen3 x4, Hyper M2_6 2280 PCIe Gen4 x4
Wired Network: Realtek RTL8126 5Gbps
Wireless transmission: 802.11be Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4
Audio chip: Realtek ALC4082
USB Ports (Front Expansion): 2x USB 20Gbps Type-C, 1x USB 5Gbps (supports two USB 5Gbps Type-A ports on front), 3x USB 2.0 (supports six USB 2.0 ports on front)
USB Ports (Rear I/O): 2x USB 4 Type-C, 7x USB 10Gbps Type-A, 1x USB 10Gbps Type-C, 2x USB 2.0
RGB power supply slots: 3x ARGB 5v 3-Pin, 1x RGB 12v 4-Pin
Fan Power Slots: 2x 4-Pin CPU Fan, 1x 4-Pin AIO PUMP (3A-36W), 4x 4-Pin Chassis/PUMP (3A-36W)

ASRock ASRock X870E Taichi OCF Motherboard Unboxing and Introduction

Taiwan's four major brands of new generation AM5 memory 2DIMMs overclocking motherboard models, in addition to the ASRock X870E Taichi OCF in this post, I have also unboxed it.GIGABYTE X870 AORUS TACHYON ICE 跟Total Master ROG CROSSHAIR X870E APEXIn total, I've unboxed three branded models.

I have been following the unboxing of AMD memory overclocking motherboards from various brands for a while now, and I have a few things to say to the brands. I think that overclocking models like OCF should be sent to the media for "overclocking testing", and when I clicked on a review article of an overclocking motherboard, I was expecting to see a review article that focuses on the overclocking aspect of the actual test, no matter what aspect of overclocking is possible, at least let me see what this board is capable of. At least let me see what this board can do.

Marketing should not only focus on the view rate to return KPIs to complete the work, in the overclocking model really must put more effort to invest and hit the real customer base, after reading so many OCF/MPOWER/APEX unboxing articles (TACHYON generation did not send the media to test the unboxing), the review unboxing of the overclocking model is really very few, not to mention there are also The samples sent by the media were all fine, but as a result, the first batch of consumer pre-orders did have something missing.

Back to the topic, ASRock has integrated the new generation of chipset models, the flagship Taichi series now integrates water cooling, extreme overclocking, and creator models under the same brand, and the overclocking models with 2DIMMs memory slots, in addition to the previously unboxed ones, are now available in the Taichi series. ASRock Z890 Taichi OCF In addition, the X870E Taichi OCF for AM5 platform has also been recently updated and launched, while the previous generation AMD AM5 600 series chipset is not available, which is ASRock's first model for memory overclocking in AM5.

The original DDR5 platform with four full inserts is gradually becoming clearer, as shown in the previous unboxing. G.SKILL Flare X5 Flare Gun DDR5 6000 CL28 192GB (4x48GB) Memory SleeveAs mentioned in the article, memory brands are gradually developing new specifications and board manufacturers are gradually supporting them through BIOS optimization so that motherboards with 4DIMMs slots can be filled to capacity. Unbeknownst to the fact that the price of memory cells is gradually rising, purchasing a two-module kit has instantly become the preferred option, and memory overclocking boards such as the X870E Taichi OCF have a better compatibility with module specifications, such as high frequency, low CL, double-sided cells, and other overclocking support than ordinary 4DIMMs motherboards or entry-level motherboards. The X870E Taichi OCF memory overclocking board is more compatible with module specifications, such as high frequency, low CL, double-sided particles, and other overclocking support, which is better than the ordinary 4DIMMs motherboards or motherboards with entry-level positioning.

Both OCFs use a black and yellow color scheme, and the ID theme not only uses the OCF (OC Formula) series theme text, but also includes the ASRock Taichi signature gear pattern, with yellow diagonal lines as the main visual target.

△ X870E Taichi OCF and Z890 Taichi OCF.

 

The ASRock X870E Taichi OCF has an MSRP of $18,990 in Taiwan, while the previous Z890 Taichi OCF was $19,990. In terms of memory overclocking, this pricing strategy is indeed logical, as the memory frequency is still much stronger on the Intel platform.

The same generation of AM5 1DPC memory overclocking model motherboards competitors are now available at the proposed price of each brand, Gigabyte X870 AORUS TACHYON ICE($20,990), Tosoh APEX ($23,990), and Little Lizard B850MPOWER ($8,490). Looking at the price alone, the X870E Taichi OCF is the cheapest of the X870/X870E chipset comparisons, while the Little Lizard B850MPOWER, though cheaper than the other three, loses out on functionality and expandability by a lot.

ASRock Taichi OCF(OC Formula) is ASRock's motherboard series dedicated to extreme overclocking. Designed to meet the needs of professional overclocking enthusiasts, ASRock Taichi OCF(OC Formula) provides a new standard for users seeking extreme performance.

ASRock ASRock X870E Taichi OCF motherboard is designed with 22+2+1 phases SPS, 22 phases SPS 110A VCORE Phases using SPS (Smart Power Stage) technology, PCB is 10-Layer, 30.5 x 24.4 cm ATX size board. The PCB is a 10-Layer, 10-Layer, 30.5 x 24.4 cm ATX board.

△ ATX-sized X870E Taichi OCF.

△ The back has a reinforced back plate.

△ Motherboard channel configuration diagram.

△ VRM power supply block thermal planning.

 

The X870E still uses the AM5 LGA 1718 socket to support AMD Ryzen 9000 / 8000 / 7000 processors, and because it retains the same heatsink grommets and hole spacing as AM4, gamers can install it directly along the AM4 heatsink grommet set.

△ AMD AM5 stock cooler grommets.

△ AM5 LGA 1718 feet.

 

Let's take a look at the expansion and power supply slots on the ASRock X870E Taichi OCF motherboard. On the upper left side of the motherboard, there is an 8+8-Pin processor ATX_12V power supply slot.

On the upper right corner of the motherboard, there are two 4-Pin CPU Fan, one 4-Pin AIO PUMP, two 5V 3-Pin ARGB slots where you can install the water cooling head PUMP and the water cooling exhaust fan cables.

The motherboard uses dual 8-Pin processor power supply slots.

△ Two 4-Pin CPU Fans, one 4-Pin AIO PUMP, two 5V 3-Pin ARGBs.

 

The two DDR5 DIMM slots are 1DPC (1 DIMM Per channel) configurations that support ECC Un-buffered DIMM/non-ECC Un-buffered DIMM memory, with a total maximum expansion capacity of 128 GB for both slots, or 64 GB for each slot, and support AMD EXPO (Extended Profiles for Overclocking) and Intel XMP 3.0 (Extreme Memory Profile) memory one-click overclocking profiles. Supports AMD EXPO (Extended Profiles for Overclocking) and Intel XMP 3.0 (Extreme Memory Profile) memory overclocking profiles.

memory overclocking QVL memory support list, featuring dual-channel memory modules with Ryzen 8000 series processors, the highest frequency that can pass the compatibility stress test is 9600 MT/s; in the official website, it is labeled that it can be overclocked up to DDR5 10400 MT/s or more, but the frequency specification has not gone official. However, this frequency specification has not gone through the official memory QVL (Qualified Vendor List) compatibility list process, which should be part of the overclocking firepower demonstration. Once again, I would like to remind you that you should select the memory model you want to install with your motherboard's memory QVL (Qualified Vendor List) compatibility report as your main guide for selection.

But one strange thing is that the memory slots and the middle surface of the processor in this X870E Taichi OCF do not look like the Z890 Taichi OCF Using the Memory OC Shield feature, which ASRock uses a lot on many Z890s and looks like a sticker, Memory OC Shield is touted to isolate EMI (Electro Magnetic Interference) to further improve memory overclocking performance and stability, but I don't know why it's not used on the X870E.

△ 2x Un-buffered DIMMs DDR5 memory slots, UDIMM-compatible, supports up to 128 GB of capacity expansion, and up to 9600 MT/s (O.C.) with QVL on both modules.

 

On the right side of the motherboard, there is a Dr. Debug LED code display, PWRBTN1 fast boot button, RSTBTN1 fast reboot button, V-Probe multimeter measurement block, BCLK OC Adjustment +/- fast OC button, BCLK OC profile 1/2/3 button, SAFE_BOOT safe boot button, RTY_BTN1 retry button, 24-Pin motherboard power supply slot, PCIE 6-Pin front Type-C fast charging and graphics card auxiliary power supply slot, two front USB 20Gbps Type-C slots, two front USB 20Gbps Type-C slots, two front USB 20Gbps Type-C slots, two front USB 20Gbps Type-C slots, two front USB 20Gbps Type-C slots, two front USB 20Gbps Type-C slots, and two front USB 20Gbps Type-C slots. button, motherboard 24-Pin power supply slot, PCIE 6-Pin front Type-C fast charger and graphics card auxiliary power supply slot, two front USB 20Gbps Type-C slots, two SATA 6Gb/s, and one CHA_FAN1 fan power supply slot (3A/36W).

Dr. Debug displays the motherboard's self-test error codes in two-code format, allowing users to quickly see what parts of the motherboard are causing problems during the self-test process that prevent the motherboard from booting up, and users can refer to the motherboard's manual for debugging actions.

The PCIE 6-Pin front Type-C fast charging and graphics card auxiliary power supply slot is labeled as GFX_36WTC2_12V1, and it is recommended to connect this auxiliary power supply slot when using both the 36W fast charging USB 20Gbps Type-C (USB32_TC2) slot and the graphics card PCIe slot.

Both front USB 20Gbps Type-C slots support fast charging. The USB 20Gbps Type-C (USB32_TC2) slot on the right side of the screen, which is closer to the motherboard's 24-Pin power supply slot, offers USB PD 3.0 (12V@3A_36W) fast charging, while the USB 20Gbps Type-C (USB32_TC3) slot on the left has USB PD 3.0 (5V@3A_15W) fast charging. USB32_TC3) slot offers USB PD 3.0 (5V@3A_15W) fast charging.

• Power button (PWRBTN1): The power button allows the user to quickly turn the system on/off.
• Reset Button (RSTBTN1): The Reset button allows the user to quickly reset the system.
• V-Probe Multimeter Measurement Block: On-board voltage measurement point to check current voltage and OC setting.
• BCLK Frequency Adjustment +/- Quick OC Button: Allows users to adjust the frequency of the processor's BCLK external frequency quickly and easily in the system.
• BCLK OC Profile 1/2/3 Button: Quickly applies to the processor BCLK OC profile frequency set in BIOS in the system.
• SAFE_BOOT: Press this button to boot with the BIOS default settings.
• RTY_BTN1 Retry Button: Immediately reboots the system when it needs to be forced to shut down.

△ Dr. Debug Error Removal Lamp Code Display, PWRBTN1 Fast Power On Button, RSTBTN1 Fast Reboot Button, V-Probe Multimeter Measurement Block, BCLK External Frequency Adjustment +/- Fast OC Button, BCLK External Frequency OC Profile 1/2/3 Button, SAFE_BOOT Safe Power On Button, RTY_BTN1 Retry Button, Motherboard 24-Pin power supply slot, PCIE 6-Pin front Type-C fast charging and graphics card auxiliary power supply slot, two front USB 20Gbps Type-C slots.

△ The debugging lamp code display quickly identifies where the problem is.

△ After entering the system, the Dr. Debug error-correcting light will change to the CPU temperature display function, which I personally like this function.

△ Two SATA 6Gb/s, one CHA_FAN1 fan power slot (3A/36W).

 

The bottom row has the front panel slot PANEL1, buzzer slot, one USB 5Gbps slot (supports two front USB 5Gbps Type-A ports), SLOWMODE1 Slow Mode Switch, LN2 Mode Switch (LN2MODE1), three CHA_FAN fan power slots, three USB 2.0 slots (supports six front USB 2.0 ports), one 5V 3-Pin ARGB slot, one 12V 4-Pin RGB slot, two T_SENSOR cable slots, two T_SENSOR cable slots, and one 5V 3-Pin RGB slot. USB 2.0 ports), one 5V 3-Pin ARGB slot, one 12V 4-Pin RGB slot, two T_SENSOR cable slots, and front audio jack slot.

• SLOWMODE1 Slow Mode Switch: Use slow mode to run the processor at the lowest frequency to stabilize the system for extreme overclocking certification.
• LN2 Mode Switch (LN2MODE1): During extreme overclocking with liquid nitrogen, the LN2 mode helps eliminate cold boot problems in the processor.

△ Front panel slot PANEL1, buzzer slot, one USB 5Gbps slot (supports two front USB 5Gbps Type-A ports), SLOWMODE1 slow mode switch, LN2 mode switch (LN2MODE1), three CHA_FAN fan power supply slots.

△ Three USB 2.0 slots (supports six front USB 2.0 ports), one 5V 3-Pin ARGB slot, one 12V 4-Pin RGB slot, two T_SENSOR cable slots, and front audio jack slot.

 

The motherboard PCIE slots provide a total of one PCIe 4.0 x4 black slot and two x16-length metal-reinforced slots, with the top PCIE1 black slot providing PCIe 4.0 x4 bandwidth for the X870E PCH chipset channel.

The second PCIE2 slot in the above count provides full PCIE 5.0 x16 bandwidth for a single device such as a discrete graphics card, but if a dual graphics card installation uses both PCIE2 and PCIE3, the channel bandwidths are split evenly between x8 and x8, with both metal-reinforced x16 slots going to the processor direct connect channel.

In addition, when using the M2_3 expansion slot to install M.2 SSDs, the top chipset channel expansion black slot, PCIE1, will be downgraded to x2 mode.

△ Three expansion slots from top to bottom: PCIE 4.0 x4_PCIE1 (PCH), PCIE 5.0_PCIE2 (CPU), PCIE 5.0_PCIE3 (CPU).

△ CMOS Battery CR2032 and ASRock internal dedicated debugging code device expansion slot (UART1).

 

ASRock ASRock X870E Taichi OCF motherboard comes with six M.2 SSD expansion slots, the top two M.2 expansion slots (M2_1 and M2_2) both support PCIe Gen5 x4 bandwidth and processor direct connectivity, and the two Blazing M.2 slots are equipped with double-sided particle cooling backplane.

The following four expansion slots are PCH chipset lanes with M2_3 (PCIe Gen4 x2), M2_4 (PCIe Gen4 x4), M2_5 (PCIe Gen3 x4), and M2_6 (PCIe Gen4 x4) bandwidths. In addition, all of the M.2 slots on this motherboard are compatible with Key M's 2280-size HDDs.

For the bandwidth sharing part, M2_2 shares the bandwidth with the two rear USB 4 Type-C slots, if you use the M2_2 slot, then both the rear USB 4 Type-C port and M2_2 will be downgraded to x2 mode, you can also switch M2_2 to the full x4 bandwidth in the BIOS settings, but doing so will disable the USB4_TC1 and USB4_TC2 functions.

As mentioned above, if the M2_3 expansion slot is used to install M.2 SSDs, the top chipset channel expansion black slot PCIE1 will be downgraded to x2 mode, but this slot is less utilized than the others.

△ All M.2 heatsinks and expansion slots at a glance.

 

I/O on the rear of the motherboard include: Dual BIOS switch, CMOS data clear button (Clear CMOS), BIOS Flashback button, 802.11be 2×2 Wi-Fi 7 / Bluetooth 5.4 antenna ports, HDMI 2.1 processor internal display output port, PS/2 keyboard port and PS/2 mouse port, two USB 2.0 ports, seven USB 10Gbps Type-A, two USB 4 Type-C 40Gbps, one USB 10Gbps Type-C, RJ-45 5Gbps LAN wired jack, fiber optic SPDIF digital audio output, Line Out Jack (Gold audio jack), Microphone Input Jack (Gold Audio Jack).

Dual BIOS switching should be done when the power is off, and after switching, you can judge which BIOS is currently in use by using the LEDs near the memory slots.

Two USB 4 (Type-C) support processors have built-in graphics output, which allows users to have an additional graphics output slot available through the internal display, up to 8K 30 Hz resolution.

△ Rear I/O at a glance.

Dual BIOS chips with LEDs can determine which BIOS is currently in use.

 

ASRock X870E Taichi OCF Motherboard Power Design Analysis 22+2+1 Phase VRM and 10 Layers PCB Materials

ASRock ASRock X870E Taichi OCF motherboard is powered by 22+2+1-phase Dr. MOS SPS (Smart Power Stage), 22-phase 110A SPS for CPU VCORE Phases, 2-phase 110A SPS for SOC Phases (internal display and memory overclocking related), and the last 1-phase for VDD MISC Phases (CPU PCIe channel related). The last phase is responsible for VDD MISC Phases (CPU PCIe channel related).

△ VRM power supply block.

△ Motherboard heatsink disassembled, containing a nickel-plated heat pipe.

△ There is an active fan inside, which draws in air from the front of the motherboard heatsink and exhausts it from the side to dissipate the heat.

The 22+2 phase 110A SPS responsible for CPU VCORE Phases is the Renesas R2209004.

△ RENESAS RAA220075R0 75A DrMOS and RAA220001 Synchronous Rectifier Buck MOSFET Driver.

△ RENESAS RAA229628 Digital Dual Output 20-phase PWM Controller.

 

ASRock X870E Taichi OCF Motherboard RGB Lighting Showcase

Then the actual power on and off to show the motherboard on-board lighting effect for your reference.

△ ASRock ASRock X870E Taichi OCF motherboard lighting effect.

△ The gear translucent plate on the I/O armor at the back of the motherboard will change with the lighting effect setting.

There is also an on-board light bulb under the △ M.2 heatsink.

 

ASRock X870E Taichi OC Formula Motherboard Performance Test and Platform Measurement Results

The ASRock X870E Taichi OCF motherboard is tested with 16 cores and 32 threads. AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D processor and updated the motherboard BIOS to version 1.03, and the memory is used for the G.SKILL Trident Z5 Royal Neo Royal Halberd EXPO Edition DDR5 8000MT/s 48GB (2x24GB) Dual-channel memory kit to build barebones test platform and open Profile 1 profile for memory.

Additional AMD PBO manual setting to Enabled, TDP to 105W on for testing.

Testing Platform

Processor:AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D (PBO activated)
Cooler: LIAN LI GA II Trinity SL-INF 360 (full speed)
Water cooling fan: 3x XPG VENTO PRO 120 PWM (full speed)
Motherboard: ASRock X870E Taichi OCF (BIOS version: 1.03)
Memory:G.SKILL Trident Z5 Royal Neo DDR5-8000 CL40-48-48-128 1.40V 48GB (2x24GB)
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti Founders Edition 8GB
Operating System: Windows 11 Professional 24H2
Power supply:FSP Hydro PTM PRO ATX3.0 (PCIe5.0) 1200W
Case: STREACOM BC1 Benchtable V2
Graphics driver: GeForce Game Ready 572.83

 

firstly CPU-Z View this testbed hardware information.AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D The processor has 16 cores and 32 threads, the series name is Granite Ridge using TSMC's 4nm FinFET process, and the motherboard uses the ASRock X870E Taichi OCF supporting PCI-E 5.0 lanes, with BIOS version 1.03.

We also ran the CPU-Z internal tests for your reference.

CPU-Z platform information at a glance.

△ CPU-Z internal test score results.

 

AIDA64 Cache & Memory Benchmark It is mainly used to test the performance of processor caches and RAM. The read/write/copy bandwidth performance score represents the rate of transfer between CPU and memory, which means the efficiency of data throughput (the higher the score, the better), and the time delay score of accessing data indicates the responsiveness of the memory system.

Tested on this motherboard with Memory Profile 1 open, read speeds were 79.1 GB/s, write speeds were 83 GB/s, copy speeds were 70.4 GB/s, and latency was 84.2 ns.

△ AIDA64 cache and memory test.

 

new version Cinebench 2024 MAXON ONE is Maxon's benchmark software for MAXON ONE software. MAXON ONE includes Cinema 4D, Red Giant Complete, Redshift, ZBrush, Universe, and Forger, and is a powerful tool for creating animation effects, motion design, motion graphics, film-grade portraits, and game art scenes. Each of these software programs fits together to provide a complete visual solution for creators.

Cinebench 2024 uses Cinema 4D's default Redshift rendering engine to test GPU and CPU performance. If multiple graphics cards are used to run Cinebench 2024 tests, the software utilizes multiple cards for the rendering tests at the same time, and Cinebench 2024 performs multiple rendering tests with six times the amount of computation when compared to Cinebench R23. Compared to Cinebench R23, the Cinebench 2024 multi-threaded rendering tests show a six-fold increase in the amount of computation for scenes. This reflects improvements in CPU performance and the higher hardware requirements that multimedia workers must now meet.

△ Cinebench 2024.

 

X870E Taichi OCF VRM Thermal Design and Temperature Performance Measurements

After 30 minutes of Cinebench 2024 multi-core testing on top of the above score testing software, the ASRock X870E Taichi OCF motherboard on a barebones platform with no additional fan blowing directly on the motherboard reached a maximum temperature of 48°C for the VRM MOS and 62.8°C for the PCH.

△ A range of motherboard performance testing software, plus temperature information after half an hour of Cinebench 2024 multi-core testing.

 

During the half-hour Cinebench 2024 multi-core test, a FLIR ONE PRO thermal imaging camera was used to observe the surface temperature of the VRM's heat sinks for your reference.

△ The surface temperature of the VRM heat sink armor during the test was 42-46 °C. The surface temperature of the VRM heat sink was 42-46 °C. The surface temperature of the VRM heat sink was 42-46 °C.

 

ASRock X870E Taichi OCF Overclocking Tool and BIOS Tune-Up Test

There are several BCLK overclocking buttons next to the memory slots on this motherboard, which are large, round and easy to press, and can be used with the Tool/ASRock OC functions in the BIOS to adjust the processor's external bus frequency (BCLK) via these buttons in the system.

After setting the BCLK Steps by Each Click, adjust the BCLK value by ±, when BCLK Steps by Each Click is input 1, the BCLK frequency will be increased or decreased by 0.05 MHz, that is to say, when it is input 10, the BCLK frequency will be increased or decreased by 0.5 MHz. When used with Ryzen 9000 / 7000 series processors, overclocking through BCLK frequency change will also synchronize the memory frequency to overclock, but the 8000 series will not affect the memory frequency due to the principle of operation (although there is a change in the value, the oscilloscope measurement does not sound like a change).

△ Tool/ASRock OC functions setting, remember to click Set Profile after setting.

△ As in the previous setting, the author presses the first profile button, the Bus Frequency(BCLK) frequency will change to 101 MHz.

△ Press the 2nd profile button, the Bus Frequency(BCLK) frequency will change to 102 MHz.

△ Press the + button two more times, the Bus Frequency (BCLK) frequency will become 102.1 MHz.

 

Two DDR5 10600 MT/s achieved! Dual-Channel mode Overclocking Test

Since ASRock X870E Taichi OCF is a 1DPC (1DIMM Per channel) motherboard designed for memory overclocking (O.C.), why not overclock it? It would be too boring to just turn on the memory profile.

For this overclocking test, I would like to challenge the overclocking with two memory modules installed, i.e., in Dual-Channel mode. The CPU was replaced with AMD Ryzen 5 8500G for easier overclocking of the memory frequency, the processor heatsink used normal AMD Wraith Prism, and the memory modules used the original heatsinks without replacing the heatsinks or thermal pads. The memory module uses the original heat sinks without replacing the heat sinks or heat pads, and the memory is cooled by pure air cooling without the use of LN2 (Liquid Nitrogen) for cooling.

Overclocking Test Bench

Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 8500G
Cooler: AMD Wraith Prism (full speed)
Motherboard: ASRock X870E Taichi OCF (BIOS version: 1.03)
Memory:G.SKILL Trident Z5 Royal Neo DDR5-8000 CL40-48-48-128 1.40V 48GB (2x24GB)
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti Founders Edition 8GB
Operating System: Windows 11 Professional 24H2
Power supply:FSP Hydro PTM PRO ATX3.0 (PCIe5.0) 1200W
Case: STREACOM BC1 Benchtable V2
Graphics driver: GeForce Game Ready 572.83

 

In the end, with two modules installed and no BCLK overclocking, the author successfully overclocked the system to DDR5 10600 MT/s (5300 MHz)The HWBOT will then upload it to HWBOT for certification submission.

Previously, I discussed with someone that when AMD 8000 series APUs are used to adjust the external bus frequency (BCLK), although the frequency will be increased in CPU-Z, it won't be changed in the oscilloscope measurement, which is a kind of strange bug, so I asked ASRock, ASUS, MSI three brand performance team RD (e.g. Lin Cake). team RD of ASRock, ASUS and MSI (e.g. Lin Bao Cai), two said they don't know why, one said it's because of the CPU operation principle, in short, in the range of AM5 memory frequency overclocking, after using AMD 8000 series of APUs to adjust the external bandwidth, the verified memory frequency is not recognized, only the BCLK is recognized as the standard 100 MHz result.

I'm not familiar with oscilloscopes, but I heard from a friend that the basic price NT$1,550,000 + (from 1,550,000) is too much for me to afford! There is no way to verify if this is true or not.

Overclocking of two memories to DDR5 10600 MT/s (5300 MHz)and upload HWBOT screenshots.

△ CPU-Z verification screenshot.

 

Single-bar DDR5 10800 MT/s!Single-Channel mode Overclocking Challenge

Finally, the frequency overclocking is done in Single-Channel mode on 1DPC (1DIMM Per Channel) platform, and finally overclocked to DDR5 10800 MT/s (5400 MHz)The author also uploaded HWBOT for authentication and submission, and felt that it could be further explored after the author continued to study.

Overclocking of single-strip memory to DDR5 10800 MT/s (5400 MHz)and upload HWBOT screenshots.

△ CPU-Z verification screenshot.

△ AM5's Memory Frequency Hall Of Fame is ranked #17 in the world, which should be #10 if we deduct the duplicate rankings.

 

ASRock X870E Taichi OCF User Experience and Summary

First of all, let's talk about the two new OCFs (OC Formula) of the current generation, namely ASRock Z890 Taichi OCF With the AM5 platform X870E Taichi OCF, there is no ElmorLabs OCP slot on the X870E OCF; the Z890 OCF has one, and the tool-less design of the lower half of the M.2 thermal armor has been changed back to a four-screw fixation, which can be used on ..... I don't know why, but I still like the tool-less quick release, but the X870E's error code indicator turns into a CPU temperature monitoring function after entering the system, and I personally like this function and suggest that Intel platforms also import it.

X870E Taichi OCF is a 1DPC (1 DIMM Per channel) motherboard with only 2 DIMMs slots from AMD, what is the actual use of this board? The memory frequency overclocking limit is definitely not as high as that of the Z890, but for daily use, it is a better memory compatibility motherboard option for AM5 platforms that have dual-channel modules for high frequencies starting at 8000 MT/s or large-capacity dual-sided particles, and it is still a fact that a 1DPC has a better memory overclocking compatibility and stabilization capability than a 2DPC.

 

The author then compiled a comparison list of the four Taiwanese brands that mainly focus on "AM5 overclocking", while the B850M AYW OC, B850M FORCE and those cheap entry boards that promote overclocking are well-intentioned, some common overclocking features (such as native debugging lights) are missing, so the author is not happy to see this trend becoming the mainstream! I won't put those models into the comparison to avoid blurring the focus. Of course, it's a good idea to make overclocking cheaper so that people can get better at it, but overclocking boards like OCF and TACHYON must be preserved! Each item is colored in yellow to indicate that it is better; red indicates that it is weaker, and some subjective or non-overclocking items are not compared.

Overall, ASRock X870E Taichi OCF is more recommendable in all aspects of overclocking utility, and the price is also the cheapest among the three X870E/X870 memory overclocking boards. I personally think it's a pity that only the M.2 heatsinks are screwed into the motherboard, and the motherboard accessories aren't as rich as the other two, right?X870 AORUS TACHYON ICE Weakness in expandability,X870E APEX The small lizard B850 basically has no advantage except for its price, which is cheaper than others.

 

One of the mainboards that people pay attention to is whether or not the graphics card shares bandwidth with the M.2 SSD expansion. With two graphics cards installed in two x16 full-length metal slots at the same time (each using X8 bandwidth), the X870E Taichi OCF will not compete for bandwidth with the M.2, and will still be able to utilize the six M.2 SSD expansion slots that are natively located on the motherboard, however! M2_2 shares the bandwidth with the two USB 4 Type-C slots at the back, which is up to you to set up, as many X870E/X870 motherboards have this situation.

After actually using three AM5 1DPC overclocking motherboard specialization models for memory overclocking, the comfort level of X870E Taichi OCF under the whole overclocking usage is around the middle.GIGABYTE X870 AORUS TACHYON ICE After a memory overclocking failure, the BIOS option "Enter Default Settings or Not" will automatically stop, so that users can clearly know that the previous set of parameters failed. ASRock X870E Taichi OCF will automatically enter the system with the default settings after an overclocking failure, and if the Enter BIOS button is not pressed in time, the user will have to run through the process of rebooting into the BIOS once again.X870E APEX If the overclocking fails, there is a high chance that the black screen will be stuck directly in the self-test. ROG attributes the reason to AMD's black box startup program, so it can't be adjusted, which may be caused by each BIOS porting sequence is not quite the same.

After I seriously overclocked the memory on ASRock X870E Taichi OCF motherboard with AMD 8000 series processor, I can only summarize my experience on AM5 memory overclocking with the word "Chicken Ribs". On AMD AM5 platform, APUs are indeed able to overclock to higher memory frequency easily, but the DRAM frequency will always fluctuate from the set overclocking frequency to 1000 MHz (2000 MT/s). Frequency will always fluctuate from the set overclocking frequency down to 1000 MHz (2000 MT/s), which is said to be due to the APU DDR5 power saving problem. Although I have tried to turn on and off the DDR Power Down Enable setting on all three motherboards, there is still no improvement, which results in the CPU-Z validation file access will fail, and the system will fail to enter the system when overclocking is successful, but I can't see or eat the data. The system is successfully overclocked, but I can't see or eat it.

Moreover, due to the fact that the board makers said that the oscilloscope does not recognize the overclocking function, the overclocking function is only available for Ryzen 9000 and 7000 in the record challenge. With all these difficulties, the author can only say that......memory overclocking challenge is better to go to the Intel platform, no wonder there are not many people challenging the memory frequency record in AM5.

Last but not least, I would like to shout out to the brands: "For overclocking model unboxing, besides seeing the basic unboxing of regular motherboards, overclocking customers expect to see the review of the overclocking aspects of the actual test, throw the overclocking boards media test and then not a bit of overclocking-related content, it's really very disappointing", if the overclocking boards are unboxed with no overclocking content, then really only the unboxing of it. In fact, it would be better to give overclocking players a chance to overclock their products than to overclock their results and write about Throwback and PTT, at least the marketing budget won't be wasted, in case they accidentally hit the charts. This is not a bad thing for brand marketing.