Are ASRock Motherboards Good: Getting To Know the Brand and Its Products
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Are ASRock motherboards good?
ASRock is a solid brand, but they make high-tier and low-tier models like everyone else.
If you’re considering ASRock motherboards, read this guide first.
We’ll talk about how this brand fares against major labels and how well they do in terms of price, quality, features, and performance.
We’ve also included some of our top picks from ASRock to help you find the right board for your custom computer.
ASRock: A Brief History
ASRock is a Taiwanese-owned manufacturer of motherboards.
It was originally spun off from ASUS in 2002, and Pegatron currently owns it.
In terms of market share, ASRock is the third-largest producer of motherboards in the world.
They supply motherboards to numerous electronic stores, PC stores, retailers, and online shops worldwide.
For quite some time, ASUS motherboards dominated the industry, with a market share of 50 percent.
Since the mid of 2019, ASRock's share has steadily climbed to 30 percent, closing the gap at 2.6 percent.
By February 2021, ASRock's market share increased to 37.9 percent, overcoming ASUS by 3.7 percent.
Aside from motherboards, ASRock manufactures industrial PCs and home theater PCs.
Today, the company sells motherboards in over 90 countries around the world.
They have branches in the USA, China, and Europe.
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What Makes ASRock Motherboards Good?
The motherboard is the principal printed circuit board in a computer.
Its primary purpose is to act as the "hub" to which other devices connect.
It allows the different computer components, such as the CPU, RAM, and other hardware, to communicate.
Are ASRock Motherboards Good?
Yes, they are good, and here are some of the reasons why:
Build Quality
ASRock motherboards are made of quality materials.
Everything from the capacitors to the heat sinks, screw holes, memory slots, inductors, jumpers, and integrated circuits are made from industry-standard materials, including steel, metal, and aluminum.
That is to ensure the computer processes and transfers information properly.
Most reviewers consider ASRock motherboards' quality to be on the same level as ASUS’ boards.
Price
Compared to its major competitors, ASRock offers budget-friendly products.
Some entry-level ASRock boards have an affordable price point.
You can get a decent board for as low as $120 or a mid-range model at $300.
Despite the low price point, ASRock motherboards don’t skimp on quality and reliability.
For example, ASRock's Z590 Steel Legend with WiFi 6E costs around $212.
It is way cheaper than a similar model from ASUS (the PRIME Z590-A) that costs $280.
Another example of the great value that ASRock offers is the ASRock X570 Taichi.
This motherboard has a "mechanical" design that features a superb VRM, and some nice RGB and strong heat sinks.
Despite the top performance, this motherboard only costs $300.
At the lower end, you'll find that ASRock boards are approximately 10 percent more affordable than comparable ASUS models.
At the high end, ASRock motherboards are priced at $300 or less.
That is significantly lower than similar ASUS models that can reach $400 or more.
Features
When looking for quality motherboards, there are some features you should check.
That includes design, BIOS, audio, LAN and WiFi, ports, overclocking, and warranty.
- Design
ASRock motherboards are known for their modern design and functionality.
Their most recent product, Z490 Aqua alone, exudes over-engineering.
This premium model is one of ASRock's best-looking motherboards, with a virtually endless amount of aluminum plating across the PCI slot areas.
- BIOS
In all fairness, ASRock makes an excellent BIOS.
It’s safe to say that they have some of the best BIOS out there.
ASRock also has one of the fastest boot times.
In addition, ASRock boards have both "EZ Mode" and "Advanced Mode" that lets you access the device settings you need, especially for overclocking.
- Audio
ASRock boards use a top-quality Realtek AC1220 chipset for most of their mid-range to high-range boards.
- LAN and WiFi
ASRock's Taichi Ultimate features 10 Gigabit Ethernet, one of the highest so far in its category.
- SATA Ports
Many models of ASRock board feature eight SATA ports, while competitor brands like Asus have just around six ports.
- Overclocking
ASRock is one of the best brands out there for overclocking.
If you're specifically looking for high-end overclocking features, you should check out their ROG series.
- Warranty
Most ASRock boards typically have a warranty of 36 months.
End-users can refer to their retailer or original vendor for the warranty service.
Performance
In terms of performance, ASRock has had a rough start.
The brand has had an odd reputation before, mainly as a low-cost version of ASUS.
However, since it became a more independent company in 2002, ASRock has produced some great motherboards.
The brand has launched higher-end models in the past few years, but they still provide great value considering their affordable price points.
In general, ASRock motherboards offer strong performance.
Their major downside is the inferior RGBPolychromeSync software.
While most RGB software products are pretty challenging to deal with, the RGBPolychromeSync has a bad rap for being extraordinarily bad.
Yet, once you've successfully set it up, you never have to be bothered by it again.
Another notable thing about ASRock is that the brand solely focuses on hardware.
That said, their expenditure goes mainly to the motherboard's quality.
What Are the Most Reliable ASRock Motherboards?
As we mentioned earlier, ASRock makes low-tier and high-tier motherboards.
Thus, it can be quite challenging to assess ASRock’s performance unless you check the specs and features of each model.
Also, how well motherboards perform depends on many factors, including your computing needs.
For a more in-depth assessment of ASRock’s motherboards, let’s take a look at some of the most popular models released by this brand.
ASRock B460 Steel Legend
Perhaps the most popular pick in ASRock's motherboard fleet, this mid-range B460 entry makes an affordable option for most computer users.
It comes with a quality pair of heatsink-covered M.2 slots, a front USB Type-C header, and an RGB.
It also has an e-key M.2 slot where you can insert a WiFi card.
The B460 Steel Legend is priced at $120 or less, but it performs not far from higher-end models.
It has a solid metal build and makes use of quality VRM.
The board also has six fan headers. It can power a 10th gen CPU without bursting into flames.
However, since it's a mid-entry B460 board, it comes with memory limitations.
ASRock Z490 Aqua Motherboard
This is the Intel version of the high-end AMD Aqua model.
This superior board features a custom AQUA cooling armor sink designed to squander the CPU's heat, along with a sophisticated aluminum cover that protects the entire board.
In terms of performance, this board includes large 16-phase power delivery, two 90A power stages for the SOc, a large custom monoblock, and a massive 1260 A current CPU section.
The large monoblock is what sets the Z490 Aqua from its major competitors.
This interesting feature cools both the CPU and the monolithic power delivery.
Currently, there isn't much on the market that competes with this feature.
There are just a few models with monoblocks, but they are significantly more expensive than the ASRock's.
Furthermore, this highly-priced board is overclocking.
Essentially, this means that it can get your CPU to run at higher speeds than what it's originally set to run.
ASRock X570 Phantom Gaming X
This is a prime-value ATX board featuring a 14-power phase design, better-than-average USB and SATA ports, and 802.11ax WiFi support.
The X570 is best for third-gen Ryzen CPU.
It's also packed with long-haul features that make it appealing to tweakers, such as the dedicated hardware overclocking controls.
While the board isn't as attractive as the Acqua, the X570 is covered by super-substantial heatsinks that come in multiple shades, including streaks of red and portions of steel.
To further boost the thermal efficiency of the board, ASRock used two heat sinks that sit over the board's 14 power phases, along with a fluid-filled heat pipe.
The heat sink is also strategically placed over the chipset and M.2 slots instead of the more typical individual ones.
ASRock z490 Taichi
The z490 is a winning high-end board designed for a 10th Generation Intel CPU.
ASRock's Taichi Series is known for its interesting aesthetics.
Aside from that, these boards deliver a rich set of features for extreme gaming and overclocking.
This solid board features 14 Phases of power delivery, two M.2 slots, six fan headers, integrated Ethernet controllers, and eight SATA ports.
It's a tried-and-tested model with high VRM quality at a price point that doesn't break your budget.
Are ASRock Motherboards Good: In Summary
Yes, ASRock motherboards are good. In some cases, they are some of the best.
While the brand had a rough start, they have released some powerful boards over the years that gave many major brands a run for their money.
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What makes ASRock motherboards good are their design and functionality, solid build, superior overclocking features, above-average SATA ports, and high-end cooling systems.
More importantly, these boards are fairly priced, which is a major factor for their continued popularity.
That said, not all ASRock boards are the same.
Choosing the right model is essential to ensure that it meets your computing needs.