The ASRock X399 Taichi Motherboard Review: Cost-Effective Threadripper
by E. Fylladitakis on October 26, 2018 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
- AMD
- ASRock
- ThreadRipper
- X399
Gaming Performance
AoTS Excalation
Seen as the holy child of DirectX12, Ashes of the Singularity (AoTS, or just Ashes) has been the first title to actively go explore as many of DirectX12s features as it possibly can. Stardock, the developer behind the Nitrous engine which powers the game, has ensured that the real-time strategy title takes advantage of multiple cores and multiple graphics cards, in as many configurations as possible.
As a real-time strategy title, Ashes is all about responsiveness during both wide open shots but also concentrated battles. With DirectX12 at the helm, the ability to implement more draw calls per second allows the engine to work with substantial unit depth and effects that other RTS titles had to rely on combined draw calls to achieve, making some combined unit structures ultimately very rigid.
Stardock clearly understands the importance of an in-game benchmark, ensuring that such a tool was available and capable from day one, especially with all the additional DX12 features used and being able to characterize how they affected the title for the developer was important. The in-game benchmark performs a four minute fixed seed battle environment with a variety of shots, and outputs a vast amount of data to analyze.
GRID: Autosport
No graphics tests are complete without some input from Codemasters and the EGO engine, which means for this round of testing we point towards GRID: Autosport, the next iteration in the GRID and racing genre. As with our previous racing testing, each update to the engine aims to add in effects, reflections, detail, and realism, with Codemasters making ‘authenticity’ a main focal point for this version. GRID’s benchmark mode is very flexible and, as a result, we created a test race using a shortened version of the Red Bull Ring with twelve cars doing two laps. The car is focus starts last and is quite fast, but usually finishes second or third. For low-end graphics, we test at 1080p medium settings, whereas mid and high-end graphics get the full 1080p maximum. Both the average and minimum frame rates are recorded.
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Atari2600 - Friday, October 26, 2018 - link
I have one - very happy with it and would not hesitate to recommend it - but note there are two version of the Threadripper Taichi.The 128GB memory capacity version (X399 Taichi) and a 64GB memory limited one (X399M Taichi), which would be quite a bit cheaper.
If you get the chance to ask ASRock, would be nice to see if the X399M has a performance differential to the X399. i.e. is it a good option to get onto the platform for cheap?
AdditionalPylons - Friday, October 26, 2018 - link
The memory slots (4 vs 8) isn't the only differences. X399 Taichi is ATX, while X399M Taichi is mATX. For example the smaller has one less PCIe x16, only 1 instead of 3 m.2 slots, no PCIe x1 (vs 1 on the larger). These are common tradeoffs with mATX (or to a larger extent mini-ITX). Not that it is a limit for me or many others. I'd still go for mini-ITX next time I build a PC.LeadbyFaith21 - Friday, October 26, 2018 - link
Actually the mATX Taichi still has 3 M.2, the other two are to the right of the RAM slots. I'm also pretty sure it's using the same VRM as the ATX version, so the only "compromise" of it is half the RAM slots and 1 less PCIe x16 slot.kobblestown - Friday, October 26, 2018 - link
This may come as a little pedantic but the X399M has one less PCIe x8 slot. It actually has 1 *more* PCIe x16 slot because it's 3*PCIe x16 whereas its big brother is 2*PCIe x16 + 2*PCIe x8LeadbyFaith21 - Friday, October 26, 2018 - link
Yeah, I forgot about lane allocation difference, I was just thinking full length slots.The_Assimilator - Friday, October 26, 2018 - link
No, there are not "two versions", there is an ATX-format board which is reviewed here, and then there's the mATX X399M. As the different model numbers imply, they are completely different boards.Atari2600 - Friday, October 26, 2018 - link
"two versions of the Threadripper Taichi"What part of that is wrong?
PeachNCream - Friday, October 26, 2018 - link
What do Chinese martial arts, HEDT CPUs, and large metal gears all have in common? Nothing at all! Yet ASRock proves once again that a disjointed mashup rivaling Abe Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by taking a combination so naturally suited to comedy with an altogether too serious fashion can indeed land sales among people inexplicably drawn to such an unusual merger in order to claim ownership over a high core count braggart-box desktop in a world that revolves instead around price-gouging smartphones. Shine on you crazy ASRock diamond. Shine on.rav10101 - Friday, October 26, 2018 - link
Made my day.Agent Smith - Friday, October 26, 2018 - link
Very entertaining post