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Firmware, Software and Test System
Firmware
Like previous ASRock boards, the Z890 Taichi OCF’s UEFI starts in Easy Mode, which is primarily informative. Still, it lets you change several options (XMP, profiles, boot order, access to Fan-Tastic Tuning, etc.). The black background and light blue accent colors on the Easy and Advanced modes are easy to read. Advanced mode has the same theme but displays headings across the top, with subheadings and details below.
Here, you may tweak everything, as ASRock includes every option you can think of. Overclocking is easy, with most options at your fingertips. The layout is logical and the mouse movement is smooth. We have no significant complaints about the ASRock firmware, though, like the X870 counterpart, it feels a bit dated compared to the updated Gigabyte and MSI’s Click BIOS X UEFIs.
Software
ASRock provides several different software options. It has the App Shop to install drivers and software, the Nahimic 3 audio control panel, the A-Tuning application to overclock your system and control fans, the flexible Polychrome RGB software, and more. There’s also a convenient pop-up to install drivers when you first boot the system (you can disable it from the BIOS). ASRock’s software provides everything users need to manage and tweak their system.
Test System / Comparison Products
We’ve updated our test system to Windows 11 (24H2) 64-bit OS with all updates applied as of mid-October September 2024, which includes all OS optimizations. Hardware-wise, we’ve updated the RAM kits to match the AMD system, as well as cooling, storage, and our video card. Unless otherwise noted, we use the latest non-beta motherboard BIOS available to the public. Thanks toAsusfor providing theRTX 4080 TUFgraphics card andCrucialfor the2TB T705SSDs. The hardware we used is as follows:
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Joe Shields is a Freelance writer for Tom’s Hardware US. He reviews motherboards.
