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Software
On the software side, ASRock includes a few utilities that cover overclocking and monitoring (A-Tuning), audio (Nahimic 3), software for updating drivers and downloading applications (App Shop), and of course RGB control (Polychrome RGB). While this isn’t the most software we’ve seen, what is here worked well and covers all the bases for most people.
A-Tuning:
Nahimic:
App Shop:
Polychrome RGB:
Firmware
We won’t cover UEFI/BIOS details as, for the most part, there aren’t any significant changes. We’ve captured a majority of the BIOS screens to share with you. ASRock includes an Easy Mode for high-level monitoring and adjustments, along with an Advanced section. The BIOS is organized well with many of the more commonly used functions accessible without drilling down multiple levels to find them. In the end, the BIOS worked well and was easy to navigate and read.
Test System and Comparison Products
Our test system uses Windows 10 64-bit OS (1909) with all threat mitigations applied. The motherboard BIOS used is the latest non-beta available to the public unless otherwise noted. The hardware used is as follows:
| CPU | AMD Ryzen R9 3900X | Row 0 - Cell 2 |
| Memory | G.Skill Trident Z Neo 2x8GB DDR4 3600 (F4-3600C16Q-32GTZN) | Row 1 - Cell 2 |
| GPU | Asus ROG Strix RTX 2070 | Row 2 - Cell 2 |
| CPU Cooler | Corsair H150i | Row 3 - Cell 2 |
| PSU | Corsair AX1200i | Row 4 - Cell 2 |
| Software | Windows 10 64-bit 1909 | Row 5 - Cell 2 |
| Graphics Driver | Nvidia Driver 445.75 | Row 6 - Cell 2 |
| Sound | Integrated HD audio | Row 7 - Cell 2 |
| Network | Integrated Networking (GbE or 2.5 GbE) | Row 8 - Cell 2 |
| Graphics Driver | GeForce 445.74 | Row 9 - Cell 2 |
For this review, we’ll be comparing the ASRock B550 Taichi ($299.99) with MAG B550 Tomahawk ($179.99), Gigabyte B550 Aorus Master ($279.99) and the Asus ROG Strix B550-F Gaming Wi-Fi ($209.99) the other B550 boards we’ve tested so far.
Benchmark Settings
| Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings | Header Cell - Column 1 |
|---|---|
| PCMark 10 | Version 2.1.2177 64 |
| Row 1 - Cell 0 | Essentials, Productivity, Digital Content Creation, MS Office |
| 3DMark | Version 2.11.6866 64 |
| Row 3 - Cell 0 | Firestrike Extreme and Time Spy Default Presets |
| Cinebench R20 | Version RBBENCHMARK271150 |
| Row 5 - Cell 0 | Open GL Benchmark - Single and Multi-threaded |
| Application Tests and Settings | Row 6 - Cell 1 |
| LAME MP3 | Version SSE2_2019 |
| Row 8 - Cell 0 | Mixed 271MB WAV to mp3: Command: -b 160 --nores (160Kb/s) |
| HandBrake CLI | Version: 1.2.2 |
| Row 10 - Cell 0 | Sintel Open Movie Project: 4.19GB 4K mkv to x264 (light AVX) and x265 (heavy AVX) |
| Corona 1.4 | Version 1.4 |
| Row 12 - Cell 0 | Custom benchmark |
| 7-Zip | Version 19.00 |
| Row 14 - Cell 0 | Integrated benchmark |
| Game Tests and Settings | Row 15 - Cell 1 |
| The Division 2 | Ultra Preset - 1920 x 1080 |
| Forza Horizon 4 | Ultra Preset - 1920 x 1080 |
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