ASRock X870 Steel Legend WIFI Motherboard Review – White Aesthetics With Upgraded Features For Mainstream Builders

ASRock X870 Steel Legend - Unboxing & Close Up Inspection

The ASRock X870 Steel Legend WIFI motherboard comes in a standard cardboard package. The front features a large picture of the motherboard. The packaging also lists down a few features such as WIFI7, Polychrome Sync & support for PCIe 5 (GPU/NVMe), DDR5, and Overclocking.

The backside of the package lists the specifications and special features of the motherboard such as the 14+2+1 Dr.MOS power system, the Blazing M.2 SSD slots, Toolless Multi-Layer M.2 heatsink, RealTek Audio Codec, 20K capacitors and USB 3.2 Gen2x2 front panel headers.

Inside the package is another box that contains the accessories and is located right below the box holder for the board itself. You get:

• 2 x SATA Data Cables
• 2 x ASRock WiFi 2.4/5/6 GHz Antennas
• 1 x Thermistor Cable

With all the accessories done, it's time to put that box aside and take the motherboard out of its package.

The ASRock X870E Taichi LITE motherboard is a standard ATX offering that measures 244 x 305 mm. The motherboard carries a white and silver color scheme and also has a white-colored PCB which looks great.

The ASRock X870 Steel Legend WIFI is intended for the mainstream market and the all-white design gives users a nice budget option with high-end features in an X870 variation which offers great out-of-the-box support for AMD's AM5 Ryzen and future CPUs.

The board uses the LGA 1718 socket to support AMD Ryzen "AM5" processors. The socket works with Ryzen 7000, Ryzen 8000G, and Ryzen 9000 CPUs and will also support future generations of AM5 Ryzen chips that are supported by the platform.

These slots are rated to support XMP profiles up to 8000 MT/s (OC Plus). Each slot is labeled, making it easier to install DIMMs in the proper orientation. DDR5 memory comes with a different latch position so forcing a DDR4 module into a DDR5 slot will cause permanent damage. Each slot is also combined with a reinforced design to make sure signal integrity remains good while keeping the slots durable for long-term usage.

The full QVL list can be found here. There are several memory kits rated at DDR5-8000 which are supported by the motherboard. The motherboard fully supports XMP & EXPO profiles.

The ASRock X870 Steel Legend WIFI motherboard features a 14+2+1 (VCore/ VccGT/VccAUX)  phase SPS VRM power delivery that utilizes the Richtek RT3678BE PWM controller with 80A Dr.MOS power stages. All capacitors are labeled with 20K "1000B E19 & 270C D49" ratings.

2 of 9

The VRMs and power delivery solution are scattered around the AM5 socket. The board uses an 8-layer server-grade PCB with 2oz Thickened copper in a low-loss design, retaining signal integrity for stable CPU and memory operations.

The CPU is supplied power through an 8+8 pin power connector configuration. This will feed the CPU with up to 300 Watts of power. The AMD Ryzen 9000 CPUs are very power-hungry with the maximum target power going above 220W for the flagship Ryzen 9 9950X CPU.

Coming to the cooling solution, we first have the VRM heatsink which makes use of two aluminum blocks that are fixed together with a series of fins that are stacked together. The heatsink doesn't feature any heat pipe.

Underneath the VRM heatsink are 7W/mK Thermal pads which transfer heat from the VRMs to the heatsink.

Expansion slots include two PCI Express x16 (1 x Gen 5.0 x16 / 1 x Gen 4.0 x4) and three M.2 slots.

CPU:

• 1 x PCIe 5.0 x16 Slot (PCIE1), supports x16 mode
• 1 x PCIe 4.0 x16 Slot (PCIE2), supports x4 mode

Chipset:

• 1 x Vertical M.2 Socket (Key E), supports type 2230 WiFi/BT PCIe WiFi module

The motherboard utilizes reinforced steel PCIe 5.0 slots which feature extra anchor points, stronger latches, and can install heavy-weight graphics cards without worrying about GPU sag or slot tears. The Steel Legend variant doesn't feature the EZ Graphics Release solution.

One of the larger heatsinks also works as a cover plate for the motherboard's lower portion. It has a silver finish and underneath, you can find single-sided thermal pads. You need to remove the plastic sticker from the thermal pads before installing a new SSD for proper heat transfer. This is the only M.2 heatsink that requires tools for removal.

The primary M.2 XXL heatsink is the bigger one and provides better cooling to a Gen5 M.2 SSD. This has ta toolless mechanism for installing and removing M.2 SSDs.

Following is the full list of M.2 ports and their details on the ASRock X870 Steel Legend WIFI motherboard:

CPU:

• 1 x Blazing M.2 Socket (M2_1, Key M), supports type 2280 PCIe Gen5x4 (128 Gb/s) mode

Chipset:

• 1 x Hyper M.2 Socket (M2_2, Key M), supports type 2230/2260/2280 PCIe Gen4x4 (64 Gb/s) mode
• 1 x Hyper M.2 Socket (M2_3, Key M), supports type 2260/2280 PCIe Gen4x4 (64 Gb/s) mode
• 4 x SATA3 6.0 Gb/s Connectors

The X870 PCH is housed beneath a large heatsink with as Steel Legend engraving on top of it.

Several RGB accent LEDs are featured beneath the large M.2 heatsink at the bottom of the board. It also has various RGB connectors for those who want illumination within their PCs.

Storage options include four SATA III ports rated to operate at 6 GB/s. These can support 4 different storage devices at once. There are also 3 USB 3.2 front panel connectors (1 x Gen 2x2 + 4 x Gen 1). 4 USB 2.0 front panel connectors are also included.

ASRock uses a 7.1 CH HD audio design with the latest Realtek ALC4082 CODEC.

The full list of connectors on the motherboard is listed as follows.

• 1 x Thermistor Cable Header
• 1 x Power LED and Speaker Header
• 1 x RGB LED Header
• 3 x Addressable LED Headers
• 2 x CPU Fan Connectors (4-pin) (Smart Fan Speed Control)
• 3 x Chassis Fan Connectors (4-pin) (Smart Fan Speed Control)
• 1 x AIO Pump Fan Connector (4-pin) (Smart Fan Speed Control)
• 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
• 2 x USB 2.0 Headers (Support 4 USB 2.0 ports)
• 2 x USB 3.2 Gen1 Headers (Support 4 USB 3.2 Gen1 ports)
• 1 x Front Panel Type C USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Header (20 Gb/s)

2 of 9

ASRock is using the latest WIFI 7 Module to power wireless connectivity with a 160MHz channel bandwidth and Bluetooth 5.4. In terms of Ethernet, there is a single LAN port powered by the 2.5 GbE Dragon RTL8125BG controller.

The motherboard comes with the following I/O connectors:

• 2 x Antenna Ports
• 1 x HDMI Port
• 1 x Optical SPDIF Out Port
• 2 x USB4 Type-C Ports (40 Gb/s)*
• 3 x USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A Ports (USB32_12 are Lightning Gaming Ports.)
• 2 x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A Ports (10 Gb/s) (USB32_34 supports Ultra USB Power.)
• 4 x USB 2.0 Ports
• 1 x RJ-45 LAN Port
• 1 x BIOS Flashback Button
• 1 x Line Out Jack (Gold Audio Jack)
• 1 x Microphone Input Jack (Gold Audio Jack)

You can find additional information about our hardware review process and ethics policy here.

Follow Wccftech on Google to get more of our news coverage in your feeds.