AMD motherboard partners have been trying to get users to upgrade to the new AM5 platform by offering revised options in the 600-series lineup. The A620 options exist for entry-level users but a user who wants something better has to look into the B650/B650E series which costs a whole lot more.
Considering this, ASRock decided to fine-tune its existing Taichi offerings with new LITE revisions that retain the same specs and I/O while cutting down the bling-bling & offering the boards at a lower price point. The result is today’s ASRock B650E Taichi LITE motherboard which retails at a price point of $299.99 US or $69.99 US lower than the standard Taichi. The same board used to cost $400 US+ when we reviewed it back in November 2022. I stated in my review that this was a horrible price point so it’s good to see not only that ASRock has revised the pricing of that board & also offers a new LITE variant with a more affordable price.
But is the new LITE series going to offer the same performance potential as its non-LITE brother? Well, that’s what we are going to try to find out in this review.
The AMD AM5 Platform
But before we talk about the motherboard, let’s take a small recap of the AM5 platform itself. The AMD Ryzen 7000 CPUs will be migrating to a new home known as AM5, the successor to the long-lasting AM4 platform. It marks a fresh start for the Ryzen Desktop family and as such, existing Ryzen CPUs starting with Ryzen 1000 & all the way up to Ryzen 5000 won’t be supported by the new platform we will tell you why it is so.
The AM5 platform will first and foremost feature the brand-new LGA 1718 socket. That’s correct, AMD isn’t going the PGA (Pin Grid Array) route anymore and now focusing on LGA (Land Grid Array), similar to what Intel uses on its existing desktop processors. The main reason to go LGA is due to the addition of enhanced and next-gen features such as PCIe Gen 5, DDR5, etc that we will get to see on the AM5 platform. The socket has a single latch & gone are the days of worrying about pins underneath your precious processors.
In terms of features, the AM5 platform will initially support AMD’s Ryzen 7000 ‘Zen 4’ Desktop CPUs and extend that support to future Ryzen CPUs and APUs. The platform offers DDR5-5200 (JEDEC) memory support, up to 28 PCIe lanes (Gen 5 standard), increased NVMe 4.0, and USB 3.2 I/O lanes & we have also heard chatter about native USB 4.0 support which will be a game-changer.
A new feature called EXPO (AMD Extended Profiles for Overclocking) will allow enhanced DDR5 memory OC on the new platform, similar to Intel’s XMP. It has been a rough road for AM4 to offer decent DDR4 OC capabilities but that has more or less been sorted out by now, we can only expect DDR5 to have a much better OC and compatibility experience compared to DDR4 on AM4 platforms. Furthermore, it looks like the platform will only be DDR5 compatible and we won’t see DDR4 options as we do on Intel’s existing platform. But with DDR5 prices and availability improving, that won’t be that big of a deal for most high-end consumers for who AMD will be aiming first.
AMD B650 Series Platform
The B650E & B650 chipsets are designed as a mainstream motherboard solution with the Extreme series featuring both PCIe Gen 5.0 & M.2 while the non-E boards will adopt only PCIe 5 slot designs. The B650 motherboards are the successor to the B550 motherboards and come in at a slightly higher price range. Compared to the X670/E offerings, the B650 chipset comes in a single PCH design. The motherboards carry support for RDNA 2 iGPU too which are Ryzen 7000 ‘Raphael’ CPUs and offer both HDMI / DP outputs.
One of the highlighted features of the AMD AM5 600-series platform is SAS or Smart Access Storage. This technology will enable GPU decompression with supported Microsoft DirectStorage games. Although there aren’t many of those out there yet but expect industry-wide support for this on newer platforms.
SmartAccess Storage gets you out of the load screen and into your gameplay
Traditional game loading takes a significant amount of compute power to decompress the game’s data, requiring the CPU to do the decompression and data transfer, which introduces latency and takes up considerable system resources.
To help bypass these bottlenecks, AMD has created SmartAccess Storage, a suite of technologies supporting Microsoft DirectStorage that utilizes Smart Access Memory with new AMD platform technologies along with Radeon GPU asset decompression to improve both game load times and texture streaming.
AMD Chipset Features and Specifications:
| Wccftech | X670E/X670 | B650E/B650 | A620 | X570 | X399 Refresh | X399 | X470 | X370 | B450 | B350 | A320 | X300 | A300 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CrossfireX/SLI | 2-Way CFX | 2-Way CFX | N/A | Triple CFX/2-Way SLI | Quad SLI/CFX (Max 6 GPU Support) |
Quad SLI/CFX (Max 6 GPU Support) |
Triple CFX/2-Way SLI | Triple CFX/2-Way SLI | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| CPU Lanes | 24 Gen 5 (with Ryzen 7000 CPUs & above) | 24 Gen 5 (with Ryzen 7000 CPUs & above) | 24 Gen 4 (with Ryzen 7000 CPUs & above) | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| PCH Lanes | 12 Gen 4 8 Gen 3 |
8 Gen 4 4 Gen 3 |
8 Gen 3 | 30 +16 (with Ryzen 7 CPU) | 60 (With Threadripper CPU) 4 Lanes Reserved for PCH |
60 (With Threadripper CPU) 4 Lanes Reserved for PCH |
16 (with Ryzen 7 CPU) | 16 (with Ryzen 7 CPU) 8 (with Bristol Ridge) |
16 (with Ryzen 7 CPU) | 16 (with Ryzen 7 CPU) 8 (with Bristol Ridge) |
16 (with Ryzen 7 CPU) 8 (with Bristol Ridge) |
16 (with Ryzen 7 CPU) 8 (with Bristol Ridge) |
16 (with Ryzen 7 CPU) 8 (with Bristol Ridge) |
| PCIe Gen 2 Lanes | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 8 PCIe Lanes (reserved) | 8 PCIe Lanes (reserved) | 8 (plus x2 PCIe Gen3 when no x4 NVMe) | 8 (plus x2 PCIe Gen3 when no x4 NVMe) | 6 (plus x2 PCIe Gen3 when no x4 NVMe) | 6 (plus x2 PCIe Gen3 when no x4 NVMe) | 4 (plus x2 PCIe Gen3 when no x4 NVMe) | 4 (plus x2 PCIe Gen3 when no x4 NVMe) | 4 (plus x2 PCIe Gen3 when no x4 NVMe) |
| USB 3.1/3.2 Gen2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| USB 3.1/3.2 Gen1 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 12 (PCH + CPU) | 13 (PCH+CPU) | 13 (PCH+CPU) | 10 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 4 |
| USB 2.0 | 8 | 6 | 6 | N/A | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| SATA 6Gb/s | 8 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| SATA Express | N/A | N/A | N/A | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| DDR5 DIMMs | 4 | 4 | 4 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| DDR4 DIMMs | N/A | N/A | N/A | 4 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Overclocking Support |
Yes | Yes | N/A | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| XFR2 Enhanced | Yes | Yes | N/A | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Precision Boost Overdrive | Yes | Yes | N/A | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| NVMe | Yes (Gen 5.0) | Yes (Gen 5.0) | N/A | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Form Factor | ATX/mATX/ITX | ATX/mATX/ITX | mATX/ITX | ATX, MATX | ATX, MATX | ATX, MATX | ATX, MITX | ATX | ATX, M-ATX | ATX, M-ATX | M-ATX, Mini-ITX | Mini-ITX | M-ATX, Mini-ITX |
Meet The LGA 1718 Socket – How Long Will This One Last?
As mentioned earlier, AM4’s reign is finally over and the AM5 socket is here now. The new socket moves from a PGA (Pin-Grid-Array) design to an LGA (Land-Grid-Array) layout. The new LGA 1718 socket offers more pin connections to the CPU, allowing for more communication channels with the board itself and enabling support for enhanced features that the new platform has to offer.
As for longevity, AMD hasn’t promised anything but they have stated that they want to see the new AM5 socket last at least four to five years, similar to AM4. While there has been a lot of controversy regarding Ryzen support on the initial AM4 motherboards, I believe that AMD has learned and will not follow the same route as AM5. With that said, the AM4 platform will still continue forward & will be supported in the foreseeable future (possibly with newer hardware and software launches).
Cooler Compatibility With AM5 Socket
The AMD Ryzen 7000 Desktop CPUs feature a perfect square shape (45x45mm) but house a very chonky integrated heat spreader or IHS. The CPUs are the same length, width, and height as the existing Ryzen Desktop CPUs and are sealed across the sides so applying thermal paste won’t fill the interior of the IHS with TIM. That’s also why current coolers will be fully compatible with Ryzen 7000 chips.
The ASRock B650E Taichi LITE motherboard comes in a large cardboard package. The front is themed in black and gold. You can also note the Taichi logo on the front and sides which looks great. The front side also lists down support for AMD’s Ryzen 7000 “Zen 4” processors, DDR5 memory, and PCIe Gen 5.0.
The backside of the package lists the specifications and special features of the motherboard such as the 24+2+1 Power Phase design that uses 105A SPS, Enhanced USB4 Type-C ports, Blazing M.2 Gen5 Fan heatsink, and several other features.
Inside the package is another box that contains the accessories at the bottom. It is very easy to access although the accessories and each of them are nicely packed in two compartments.
Following is the full list of accessories in the package.
- 1 x User Manual
- 4 x SATA Data Cables
- 1 x Wireless Dongle USB Bracket
- 1 x ASRock WiFi 2.4/5/6 GHz Antenna
- 3 x Screws for M.2 Sockets
- 1 x Standoff for M.2 Socket
The motherboard is housed above the accessories and has anti-static wrapping to protect it from any built-up electrical resistance that can affect the board. One of the most important accessories (not shipped with the B650E Taichi) is the Blazing M.2 Fan heatsink which is an entirely separate heatsink unit with an active fan cooler and a thermal pad underneath it for PCIe M.2 SSDs. The whole unit has a single 4-pin connector coming out from it to power the fan. It is up to you if you want to use it passively or with the active fan cooler. The heatsink comes standard with the high-end X670E Taichi but for the B650E Taichi, you have to buy it separately.
Despite being a LITE motherboard, the ASRock B650E Taichi LITE retains its high-end feel with the high-end VRM solution and a full-ATX design.
The ASRock B650E Taichi is styled in black and grey. The motherboard comes with the standard ATX form factor so compatibility won’t be an issue on a wide range of PCs. Instead of using gears on the heatsink, the motherboard heatsinks and PCB are painted with gears to retain the Taichi look and theme.
The board uses the LGA 1718 socket to support AMD Ryzen 7000 processors. The socket is compatible only with Ryzen 7000 CPUs for now but will also support future iterations on the AM5 platform.
Next to the socket are four DDR5 DIMM slots that can support up to 128 GB of dual-channel memory. These slots are rated to support EXPO profiles up to 6400 MHz (OC Plus). The DIMM slots feature metallic shielding around them for extra durability. 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.
The ASRock B650E Taichi LITE features a 24+2+1 (VCore/ VccGT/VccAUX) phase digital power delivery that makes utilizes the Renesas RAA229628 PWM controller and RAA22010540 (105A) MOSFETs for the VCore & SOC.
The Vcc GT and Vcc AUX MOSFETs are spec’d at 60A & 70A respectively.
Unlike the Taichi, the Taichi LITE doesn’t feature a backplate heatsink, and the heatsinks for the VRMs are also toned-down. The B650E Taichi actually had an active cooling solution embedded within the VRM heatsinks which isn’t the case with the Taichi LITE. Some may see it as a plus as active cooling solutions lead to unwanted noise.
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 7000 CPUs are very power-hungry with the maximum package power rating of 230W & more if you are planning to overclock these chips.
Getting a closer look at the VRM heatsinks reveals an aluminum fin design on both heatsinks. Each heatsink has thermal pads located underneath for efficient transfer of heat.
There’s a large heat pipe that runs between the two topmost VRM heatsinks and provides good heat dissipation. you can see through the I/O area and the VRM heatsink and there’s mostly a hollow part beneath the two. The heatsink has really been slimmed out as a cost-saving measure.
Expansion slots include two PCI Express x16 (1 x Gen 5.0 x16 or 2 x Gen 4.0 x4) and three M.2 slots.
ASRock is using a metallic cover on the sides of the expansion slots which provides protection to some extent. It adds more retention and shearing resistance by reinforcing the slots with metal plates. Aside from adding more protection, they do look really sweet.
All three M.2 slots are cooled off by the thermal pad and aluminum baseplate cooling. This will ensure stable operation for M.2 storage devices. The thermal adhesive has a plastic cover over them which needs to be removed before being used with the storage devices.
The topmost M.2 slot will house the primary PCI Gen 5.0 M.2 at the top which offers even more cooling performance through a larger heat sink.
This can also house the Blazing M.2 cooler that was detailed above. The third M.2 slot shares lanes with the 2nd PCIe Gen 4.0 slot so either will be disabled depending on your usage. Following is the M.2 config on the motherboard:
CPU:
- – 1 x Blazing M.2 Socket (M2_1, Key M), supports type 2230/2242/2260/2280/22110 PCIe Gen5x4 (128 Gb/s) mode
Chipset:
- – 1 x Hyper M.2 Socket (M2_2, Key M), supports type 2280 PCIe Gen4x4 (64 Gb/s) mode
- – 1 x Hyper M.2 Socket (M2_3, Key M), supports type 2280 PCIe Gen4x4 (64 Gb/s) mode
The B650E PCH is housed beneath a small heatsink with the ASRock logo etched over it. This is big enough for the tiny B650E chipset which doesn’t produce a whole lot of heat.
There’s support for Polychrome Sync RGB but you won’t find any RGB LEDs on the front of the PCB. There are a few underneath the board but that’s about it.
Storage options include just four SATA III ports rated to operate at 6 GB/s. These can support 4 different storage devices at once. There are also three USB 3.2 front panel connectors (1 x Gen 2×2 + 2 x Gen 1). 4x USB 2.0 connectors are also included.
ASRock is using a Realtek ALC4082 Audio Codec for audio output through a 5.1 channel HD audio jack that comes with WIMA audio capacitors (front outputs) and an ESS SABRE9218 DAC (front panel).
The LED DEBUG along with the Power On/Off and Reset switches can be found below the PCH heat sink. The full list of connectors on the motherboard is listed as follows.
- – 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)
- – 1 x CPU/Water Pump Fan Connector (4-pin) (Smart Fan Speed Control)
- – 6 x Chassis/Water Pump Fan Connectors (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 (15μ Gold Audio Connector)
- – 2 x USB 2.0 Headers (Support 4 USB 2.0 ports)
- – 1 x USB 3.2 Gen1 Header (Supports 2 USB 3.2 Gen1 ports)
- – 1 x Front Panel Type C USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Header (20 Gb/s) (ReDriver)
- – 1 x Dr. Debug with LED
- – 1 x Power Button with LED
- – 1 x Reset Button with LED
ASRock is using a 2.5G Killer E3100G LAN switch along with the latest 802.11ax WiFi 6E module to power connectivity. The motherboard comes with the following I/O connectors:
- – 2 x Antenna Ports
- – 1 x HDMI Port
- – 1 x Optical SPDIF OutPort
- – 1 x USB4 Type-C Port (40 Gb/s)
- – 3 x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A Ports (10 Gb/s) (ReDriver) (USB32_12 are Lightning Gaming Ports. USB32_11 supports Ultra USB Power.)
- – 8 x USB 3.2 Gen1 Ports (ASMedia ASM1074 hub)
- – 1 x RJ-45 LAN Port
- – 1 x Clear CMOS Button
- – 1 x BIOS Flashback Button
- – 1 x Line Out Jack (Gold Audio Jack)
- – 1 x Microphone Input Jack (Gold Audio Jack)
For testing, I used the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X and the five different B650 series motherboards that we took a look at above.
AMD AM5 Motherboards Test Setup:
| Processors | AMD Ryzen 9 7950X |
|---|---|
| Motherboard (BIOS) | ASRock B650E Taichi LITE (1.28) ASRock X670E Taichi (1.09) X670E AORUS Xtreme (F6a) X670E AORUS Master (F8a) ASUS X670E ROG HERO (0705) MSI MAG B650M Mortar WIFI (7D76vA1) ASRock B650E Taichi (1.11) ASRock B650E PG ITX (1.11) B650 AORUS Elite AX (F3b) |
| Power Supply | ASUS ROG THOR 1200W |
| Solid State Drive | Samsung SSD 980 PRO M.2 (1 TB) |
| Memory | G.SKILL Trident Z5 32 GB (2 x 16GB) CL36 6000 Mbps (DDR5 Platforms) |
| Video Cards | MSI GeForce RTX 3090 SUPRIM X |
| Cooling Solutions | Corsair H115i (With LGA 1700 Mounting Kit) |
| OS | Windows 11 64-bit |
Our test rig includes the Samsung 980 Pro 1 TB SSD that boots up our main OS while a 2 TB Seagate HDD is used for the storage of games and applications. In addition to these, we are running an MSI GeForce RTX 4090 SUPRIM X graphics card and an ASUS ROG Thor 1200W power supply. For this specific review, we used G.Skill’s latest Trident Z5 NEO DDR5-6000 memory kit running at CL30 timings. We also got an AM5 mounting kit for the Corsair H115i to use as a cooling solution for our test setup.
3DMark Time Spy CPU Performance
3DMark Time Spy is a widely popular video card benchmark test for Windows that is designed to measure your PC’s gaming performance. While the overall benchmark is great, the utility also provides a good indication of the CPU performance.
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Blender
Blender is a free and open-source 3D creation suite. It supports the entirety of the 3D pipeline—modeling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing, and motion tracking, and even video editing and game creation.
Cinebench R20
Cinebench is a real-world cross-platform test suite that evaluates your computer’s hardware capabilities. Improvements to Cinebench Release 20 reflect the overall advancements to CPU and rendering technology in recent years, providing a more accurate measurement of Cinema 4D’s ability to take advantage of multiple CPU cores and modern processor features available to the average user.
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Cinebench R23
Cinebench is a real-world cross-platform test suite that evaluates your computer’s hardware capabilities. Improvements to Cinebench Release 20 reflect the overall advancements to CPU and rendering technology in recent years, providing a more accurate measurement of Cinema 4D’s ability to take advantage of multiple CPU cores and modern processor features available to the average user.
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CPUz is a freeware that gathers information on some of the main devices of your system such as the Processor name and number, codename, process, package, cache levels, Mainboard, and chipset, Memory type, size, timings, and module specifications (SPD), and Real-time measurement of each core’s internal frequency, memory frequency.
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Geekbench 5
Geekbench 5, the latest major upgrade to Primate Labs’ easy-to-use cross-platform benchmark, is now available for download. Geekbench 5 allows you to measure your system’s power more accurately than ever before.
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HandBrake
HandBrake is a tool for converting video from nearly any format to a selection of modern, widely supported codecs.
PCMark 10
PCMark 10 is a complete PC benchmarking solution for Windows 10. It includes several tests that combine individual workloads covering storage, computation, image and video manipulation, web browsing, and gaming. Specifically designed for the full range of PC hardware from netbooks and tablets to notebooks and desktops, PCMark 10 offers complete Windows PC performance testing for home and business use.
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Super PI is used by many overclockers to test the performance and stability of their computers. In the overclocking community, the standard program provides a benchmark for enthusiasts to compare “world record” pi calculation times and demonstrate their overclocking abilities. The program can also be used to test the stability of a certain overclock speed.
WinRAR
WinRAR is a powerful archive manager. It can back up your data and reduce the size of email attachments, decompress RAR, ZIP, and other files downloaded from the Internet, and create new archives in RAR and ZIP file format.
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This benchmark measures the encoding performance of the processor. It offers a standardized benchmark for the clip as well as the encoder used is uniform.
Battlefield V
Battlefield V brings back the action of the World War 2 shooter genre. Using the latest Frostbite tech, the game does a good job of looking gorgeous in all ways possible. From the open-world environments to the intense and gun-blazing action, this multiplayer and single-player FPS title is one of the best-looking Battlefields to date. The game was tested at max settings at 1440p.
DOOM Eternal
DOOM Eternal brings hell to earth with the Vulkan-powered idTech 7. We test this game using the Ultra Nightmare Preset and follow our in-game benchmarking to stay as consistent as possible.
GTA V
GTA V is one handsomely optimized title for the PC audience. It’s scalable across various PC configurations and delivers an impressive frame rate. Rockstar did an amazing job with the PC build of GTA V and it comes with a large array of settings that can be configured by PC gamers. We tested the title at 1440P with everything set to Ultra and 4x MSAA.
Metro Exodus
Metro Exodus continues the journey of Artyom through the nuclear wasteland of Russia and its surroundings. This time, you are set over the Metro, going through various regions and different environments. The game is one of the premier titles to feature NVIDIA’s RTX technology and does well in showcasing the ray-tracing effects in all corners. The game was tested at Ultra setting with RTX settings turned off at 1440p.
Shadow of The Tomb Raider
Sequel to The Rise of the Tomb Raider, Shadow of The Tomb Raider is visually enhanced with an updated Foundation Engine that delivers realistic facial animations and the most gorgeous environments ever seen in a Tomb Raider Game. The game is a technical marvel and really shows the power of its graphics engine in the latest title.
Sid Meier’s Civilization VI
Civilization VI is the pinnacle of the series. It features huge, sweeping changes, and nothing was left out. Everything has found a purpose, they all work together in tandem but also have a reason to stand alone. It uses a more fleshed-out engine that now supports DirectX 12 capabilities. We tested the game with every setting maxed out (4x MSAA, 4096×4096 shadow textures) at 1440P in DirectX 12.
Watch Dogs Legion
Watch Dogs: Legion is a 2020 action-adventure game published by Ubisoft and developed by its Toronto studio. It is the third installment in the Watch Dogs series and the sequel to 2016’s Watch Dogs 2. Set within a fictionalized representation of a futuristic, dystopian London, the game’s story follows the hacker syndicate DedSec as they seek to clear their names after being framed for a series of terrorist bombings
AMD’s Ryzen 7000 Desktop CPUs utilize a brand new Zen 4 core architecture that is built on the 5nm process node as such, these chips are designed to be extremely efficient.
The AMD Ryzen 7000 CPUs either have two or three chiplets, one or two of which are the aforementioned AMD Zen 4 CCDs fabricated on the 5nm process node, and then we have the larger die around the center which is the IOD and that is based on a 6nm process node. The AMD Ryzen 7000 CCD measures at a die size of 70mm2 compared to 83mm2 for Zen 3 and feature a total of 6.57 Billion transistors, a 58% increase over the Zen 3 CCD with 4.15 Billion transistors,
Scattered around the package are several SMDs (capacitors/resistors) that usually sit under the package substrate if we consider Intel’s CPUs. AMD is instead featuring them on the top layer and as such, they had to design a new kind of IHS which is internally referred to as the Octopus. We’ve already seen the delidded IHS before but now we get to see a final production chip with no lid on it to cover those gold Zen 4 nuggets!
With that said, the IHS is an interesting component of the AMD Ryzen 7000 Desktop CPUs. The one picture shows the arrangement of the 8 arms which Robert Hallock ‘Director of Technical Marketing at AMD’ refers to as the ‘Octopus’. Each arm has a small application of TIM beneath it which is used to solder the IHS to the interposer. Now delidding the chip is going to be really hard since each arm is right next to the massive array of capacitors. Each Arm is also slightly raised to make room for the SMDs and users shouldn’t worry about heat getting trapped beneath.
The most interesting area of the AMD Ryzen 7000 Desktop CPU IHS, besides the arms, is the gold-plated IHS which is used to increase thermal dissipation off of the CPU/IO dies and directly to the IHS. The two 5nm Zen 4 CCD’s and singular 6nm IO die have liquid-metal TIM or Thermal interface material for better heat conductivity and the aforementioned gold plating does help a lot with heat dissipation. What remains to be seen is whether the capacitors will feature silicone coating or not but from the previous package shot, it kind of looks like they do.
The thermal testing was carried out with the Corsair H1150i AIO liquid cooler:
ASRock’s strategy to give the Taichi experience at a lower price point is well worth it. The B650E version of the Taichi LITE is not only impressive in regards to its pricing but also the features on offer here are very high-end. For example, you won’t be able to find the overkill 24+2+1 on any other B650E motherboard in this price category. This high-end VRM makes sure that you will be able to support the current Ryzen 7000 and whatever high-end next-gen CPUs that AMD will be offering in the years to come.
While the toned-down design of the Taichi may be a bummer, the LITE heatsinks still managed to do a good job in keeping the temps under control. The gear textures on the PCB may look slightly overdone but the black and grey color scheme makes for a very neutral and stealthy design. The removal of the active cooling solution leads to slightly higher VRM temps but it’s nothing to worry about as the motherboard was able to deliver the same exceptional performance of the standard Taichi without any hiccups. Furthermore, the last AGESA 1.0.0.7b BIOS firmware is already available for the Taichi LITE, allowing you to support boosted memory speeds.
On the I/O side, the dual PCIe x16 Gen 5.0+Gen 4.0 slots and the Blazing M.2 Gen 5 slot under its own heatsink is a big plus. Even the dual M.2 Gen 4 slots are featured under their own heatsink with pre-applied thermal pads. I/O remains great with 2.5G LAN, WIFI 6E & BT 5.2. Best of all, you also get USB4 Type-C which is great in this price range. ASRock really has a solid motherboard on its hands making it a great option between the B650 and X670 series. The $299 US tag is still a lot to pay for a motherboard but in the case of the Taichi Lite, the price you pay is well deserved.
