Best ASRock motherboards in 2024

ASRock is responsible for creating some of the best motherboards on the market, though simply matching the CPU socket isn't all one needs to consider when buying a main board. Other factors to look at include voltage regulator modules (and their cooling), the number of implemented power phases for CPU power delivery, and connectivity to name but a few. If you're already set on buying an ASRock motherboard, we've rounded up our favorites to help you get started.

The very best ASRock motherboards in 2023

If you're looking for the best Z790 motherboard for a high-end ASRock PC build, then we think the ASRock Z790 Taichi is as good as it gets. It's packed with excellent features and delivers reliable performance, building a solid platform for a high-end build. This particular motherboard features a 24+1+4 phase SPS Dr.MOS power design. It's capable of handling even the most demanding CPUs in the Raptor Lake series like the Intel Core i9-13900K. The Z790 Taichi also supports overclocking and the VRM heatsink ensures everything stays cool at all times. In addition to the RGB lights, the VRM heatsink cover and the chipset heatsink cover, both feature a unique bronze-colored gear element, exclusive to the Taichi motherboard series. Supporting the best Intel processors, the Taichi comes with four DIMM slots that let you install up to 128GB of DDR5 memory modules with speeds of up to 7200MT/s supported.

You get three full-sized reinforced x16 slots on the board in addition to an x1 slot. There are only three M.2 slots for faster SSDs, but you can install additional SATA drives with the available 6Gb/s connections. The M.2 slots are hidden under the heatsink, which should help keep the installed drives adequately cooled. The ASRock Z790 Taichi comes with a pre-installed IO shield at the back and it covers a ton of different ports. You get as many as eight USB ports at the back including two Thunderbolt 4 USB Type-C ports. There's also an HDMI port for those who want to boot without a discrete GPU. You also get two ethernet ports along with a full stack of audio ports. As a premium board, you also get plenty of headers for additional USB ports, RGB lights, fans, pumps, and more.

Moving onto AMD, we're recommending almost the same motherboard. The ASRock X670E Taichi could largely be considered the AMD equivalent to the Intel chipset-touting board we recommended above for Intel processors. It shares many of the same features and ports, and has the same gorgeous industrial design. It's among the best ASRock motherboards you can buy right now for AMD Ryzen processors that aren't part of the Threadripper family. Just like the Intel ASRock Taichi, the company packed this motherboard full of features. Let's start with the power delivery design, which includes a 24+2+1 phase design setup. This is more than enough to handle even the most power-hungry AMD CPUs such as the mighty AMD Ryzen 9 7950X. Then there are the usual four DIMM slots for system memory. These are capable of handling up to 128GB of DDR5-6600+.

Two PCIe 5.0 x16 slots are at hand for the most powerful graphics cards and an additional x16 slot is good to go for any expansion cards you may require. Audio is handled by the Realtek ALC4082 with an additional ESS SABRE9218 DAC for good measure. If all that wasn't enough, there are a total of four M.2 SSD slots, one being PCIe 5.0 and the rest PCIe 4.0. Eight SATA 3.0 ports are available for hooking up all 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch storage drives. Networking is lightning-fast too with Killer branding throughout the board. We've got 2.5Gb Ethernet and 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6E with Bluetooth 5.3. Connectivity is sorted too, thanks to the two USB-C 4.0, five USB-A 3.2 Gen 2, and three USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 ports. Just like the Intel Z790 Taichi motherboard, this is about as good as you can get with AMD and ASRock. It has the power, connectivity, and BIOS support for you to create a powerful PC.

Don't write off this motherboard for being a mistake. The design may be polarizing, but that's how manufacturers are attempting to differentiate their products. Gaming-focused motherboards have more RGB lighting than a local airstrip and it seems graffiti artists are now being thrown into the mix with digital content creators. The end result is the whacky ASrock Z790 LiveMixer. This board is designed for content creators, video & photo editing, and game development. Because this motherboard comes with the Intel Z790 chipset and LGA 1700 socket for 12th and 13th Gen Intel processors, ASRock went all out with the RAM and PCI slots. You'll need DDR5 memory for this motherboard, supporting up to DDR5-6800. To keep everything operating stably, ASRock deployed a 14+1+1 phase power delivery system and uses high-quality Japanese capacitors.

The impressive Realtek ALC897 codec and Nahimic Audio are present too so you know just how much kit the company has thrown on. The ASRock Z790 LiveMixer makes good use of the Dragon RTL8125BG networking stack to unlock a single 2.5Gb Ethernet port. There's no Wi-Fi out of the box, but an M.2 (Key E) Socket is available for installing such a card to add wireless capabilities. With content creation, it's not uncommon to work with huge files over the network, which is where the wired connection comes into play with less latency and better performance. As well as the Key E Socket, ASRock added four PCI slots for connecting all your GPUs, capture cards, and/or expansion cards.

There's one PCIe 5.0 x16 slot, followed by two PCIe 4.0 x16 slots, and an additional PCIe 3.0 x1 slot. A total of five M.2 SSD slots are at hand with one supporting PCIe 5.0 storage. There's potential for plenty of storage capacity thanks to the four SATA 3 ports available for older 2.5- or 3.5-inch drives. The rear I/O stack is also unique for the ASRock Z790 LiveMixer motherboard, consisting of an HDMI port, DisplayPort (1.4), optical SPDIF out, two USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports, two USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 ports, four USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 ports, and six USB 2.0 ports. If you've got a lot of equipment to hook up to the PC, this motherboard can handle it all and then some.

We've covered some of the more powerful and even enthusiast-grade motherboard offerings from ASRock, but the company has some more affordable options available. Take the ASRock Z790 Steel Legend WiFi, for instance. It undercuts many of the other motherboards in this ASRock collection by a substantial amount but supports 12th and 13th Gen Intel processors. The 16+1+1 phase power delivery design may not be the most powerful around, but it's still more than enough for even the Intel Core i9-13900K.

Even though this is slightly cheaper than other Z790 boards, there's still support for DDR5 RAM with speeds up to 7200MT/s. There's 2.5Gb networking, which is a nice touch and usually reserved for more expensive motherboards, even in 2023. For PCI slots, ASRock went with a three x16-slot configuration with one supporting PCIe 5.0 speeds, the second PCIe 4.0, and the third PCIe 3.0. As a bonus, there's a single M.2 (Key E) Socket for WiFi modules (it's already populated with this model).

For storage, we're looking at eight SATA 3 ports for 2.5- and 3.5-inch drives, as well as five M.2 slots for modern super-fast PCIe SSDs. One of these M.2 slots supports PCIe 5.0 speeds while the remaining four are PCIe 4.0 "only." The rear panel is fully stacked too, rocking an HDMI port, DisplayPort, optical SPDIF, one USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 port, one USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 port, and eight USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 ports. You may be saving some money with the ASRock Z790 Steel Legend WiFi, but it has all the important features your PC will need.

As well as buying more affordable motherboards for Intel processors, there are numerous budget-friendlier options for AMD too. We're picking the mighty ASRock B650E Steel Legend WiFi for our value recommendation. It has the slightly less headline-catching B650 chipset, compared to the flagship X670, but it's still worth checking out for a powerful AMD Ryzen 7000 series PC build. The design is almost identical to the Intel version we also recommended but with a few notable element alterations. It's a good-looking board.

To handle the more capable AMD Ryzen processors (as well as supporting some degree of overclocking), ASRock implemented a 16+2+1 phase power delivery system. The four DIMM slots are capable of handling up to DDR5-6600 RAM, which already allows for one powerful system. There may only be two x16 PCI slots, but one is running at PCIe 5.0 speeds for the latest graphics cards. Three M.2 slots are ready to go for super-fast SSD storage and one of these is also capable of handling PCIe 5.0.

Rear I/O is also a strong point, considering the price. You'll be able to play with a single HDMI port, one DisplayPort, one Optical SPDIF, one USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 port, one USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 port, four USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 ports, and two USB-A 2.0 ports. And speaking of connectivity, there's Wi-Fi 6E and 2.5Gb Ethernet to get you online. The ASRock B650E Steel Legend WiFi shows you don't have to spend a small fortune on a motherboard to enjoy a solid experience with the latest AMD processors.

When building a compact PC using a small form factor (SFF) case, your choice of motherboards will be limited. We're choosing the ASRock Z790 PG-ITX/TB4 as our recommendation for the Mini-ITX Intel motherboard form factor. It's a very powerful yet compact motherboard with a 10+1+1 phase power delivery design, which should be more than enough for even the Intel Core i9-13900K. The flagship Intel Z790 chipset and LGA 1700 socket ensure you're using the very best on offer.

Because of the limited size, Mini-ITX motherboards such as this only come with two DIMM slots for RAM. This means you'll only be able to install up to 64GB of capacity, but at least there's support for up to DDR5-7000. There's also one PCI slot that's capable of running at PCIe 5.0 speeds. Fear not if you have more than one M.2 SSD as this tiny motherboard actually has three M.2 slots, all three of them running at PCIe 4.0 speeds.

For networking, you'll be able to rely on either WiFi 6E or 2.5Gb Ethernet. Rear I/O isn't too shabby either. One HDMI port is joined by DisplayPort, Optical SPDIF, two USB-C 4.0 ports, and six USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports. You can build a very capable system using this motherboard with the same excellent BIOS you'd expect from ASRock.

The ASRock B650E PG-ITX is our pick for the best compact ASRock AMD motherboard. It has the B650 chipset and AM5 socket, meaning you'll need to use the latest and greatest AMD processors with this motherboard, as well as DDR5 RAM. Some may view the lack of DDR4 RAM support as a drawback for AMD Ryzen 7000 series processors, but it's faster and vastly more affordable than when the generation launched. Throw in a single PCIe 5.0 x16 slot for a graphics card and two M.2 drive bays and you've got one capable compact motherboard. Being a Mini-ITX board, you will be limited by the two DIMM slots, supporting a maximum of 64GB of DDR5-6400 RAM.

Other highlights of the ASRock B650E PG-ITX include a 10+2+1 phase power delivery design, which is pretty solid for such a small motherboard. It won't allow for some record-breaking overclocking results with an AMD Ryzen 9 7950X, but it will be enough to provide reliable power at near-stock settings. This allows for a powerful, yet compact AMD system to be built. Install an AMD or Nvidia GPU from recent generations and you'll easily handle many of the latest and most-demanding PC games. 2.5GbE and Wi-Fi 6E will have you online in moments after installing your favorite OS and there are ample USB ports on the rear of the ASRock B650E PG-ITX for hooking up all your peripherals.

Choosing the best ASRock motherboard

ASRock has a lot of other motherboards in addition to the ones we've listed above. However, these are the ones we think are worth considering. We've added many Z790 motherboards like the ASRock Z790 Taichi for those looking to build a new PC based on Intel's Alder Lake and Raptor Lake CPUs. The ASRock X670E Taichi is also a great motherboard for builds with AMD processors. If you want the absolute best performance available, you're going to need an AMD Ryzen Threadripper with the mighty ASRock WRX80 Creator R2.0.

You can also check out our collection of the best LGA 1700 motherboards if you want to build a new PC with one of the new 12th or 13th-generation Intel Core processors. In that case, don't forget to take a look at our LGA 1700 CPU coolers list to find a good cooler for the new chips. Be sure to let us know what you think about our recommendations by dropping a line below. You can also join our XDA Computing Forums to get more product recommendations from our expert community.