ASRock X570 Aqua

Starting off alphabetically with ASRock, we open our X570 chipset overview with one of the most impressive and talked about models displayed at Computex, the ASRock X570 Aqua. ASRock's product stack is well varied with models focused on gaming, content creators, professional, and enthusiasts, the X570 Aqua certainly positions itself as high-end with a solid feature set, an elegant aesthetic which resembles that of Robocop's armor, and offers users an element of exclusivity due to that fact ASRock will only make 999 pieces of the X570 Aqua available to consumers.

The first thing that stands out about the ASRock X570 Aqua is the full-cover PCB armor covering the vast majority of the PCB and the large CPU water block. The ASRock X570 Aqua is an E-ATX board which has a large water block which is designed to keep the CPU cooled, and also extends to cool the X570 chipset. The armor, and the backplate on the rear makes the board much heavier than other premium models we've come to see in recent times. 

The feature set underneath the aesthetics is equally premium with an Aquantia AQC107 10 G LAN port, with an additional Intel Gigabit port included. Its Wi-Fi 6 capabilities come due to a Killer AX1650 802.11ax interface which also adds support for BT 5. A Realtek ALC1220 HD audio codec provides the onboard audio, while the rear panel also uses two Thunderbolt 3 Type-C ports. This limits the boards other USB 3.1 G2 capabilities and as a result, the X570 Aqua has six rear-panel USB 3.1 G1 type-A ports, but users can add an additional four with two USB 3.1 G1 headers, and four USB 2.0 ports with a pairing of USB 2.0 headers.

One of the main features of X570 is PCIe 4.0, and the ASRock X570 Aqua makes use of three full-length PCIe 4.0 slots which run at x16 x8/x8 and x8/x8/x4; also present is three PCIe 4.0 x1 slots. Storage includes two PCIe 4.0 M.2 slots and a total of eight SATA ports. ASRock gives the X570 Aqua some impeccable memory support which is listed as DDR4-4666. 

The ASRock X570 Aqua is currently ASRock's flagship X570 motherboard in terms of features, and aesthetics. We know that the ASRock X570 Aqua will be limited to just 999 pieces worldwide, making its exclusivity one of its attracting features. The Aqua moniker signifies the targeted consumer of this board, in that only users looking to run a custom water cooled system with high-end components, will likely consider this model. This is likely to be a favorable model for case modders, or perhaps users looking to create an elegant water-cooled system with a form of exclusivity and individuality.

With an element of exclusivity, the ASRock X570 Aqua has an MSRP of $1000. This makes it the most expensive X570 model at launch, but this is expected due to the limited nature as it is limited to just 999 pieces worldwide. A heavy-set construction, the PCB covering armor and coupled with a top quality feature set make this a top option for modders, and water cooling enthusiasts.

X570 Power Delivery Specification & Comparison ASRock X570 Taichi
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  • Spoelie - Tuesday, July 9, 2019 - link

    Is there any information on the performance of the Ryzen 3000 series on X/B400 series chipsets? Assuming that the power delivery is up to snuff and the bios is updated, will performance be similar and the only thing lacking vs X570 the connectivity upgrades? Or are there again some features that are exclusive to the newer chipsets like PBO2 or ...
  • haukionkannel - Tuesday, July 9, 2019 - link

    There Are some test and the the speed is the same. You only miss that pci 4.0... and that is not so big deal in anyway. One video in YouTube shows Ryzen 3900 running in 350 based motherboard quite nicely. He did not try to overclock the cpu though...
  • dm29-84 - Tuesday, July 9, 2019 - link

    Puzzles me the little attention paid to sound department. Specifically Gigabyte's notable inclusion of ESS Sabre DAC. If I'm right, USB DACs based on this controller justifies 200-400$ price tag with excellent scores. Great Anand site should include some procedure in that regard.
  • Death666Angel - Tuesday, July 9, 2019 - link

    Great DAC inside an electrical noisy environment is still questionable. People who care about great PC sound have external means. People who don't don't care about it apart from having a jack for their headphones.
  • Qasar - Tuesday, July 9, 2019 - link

    why not just get a better quality discrete sound card and disable the onboard sound altogether ? i havent used onboard sound since the K7 days and Nvidia's SoundStorm :-)
  • RSAUser - Wednesday, July 10, 2019 - link

    I don't think 99% of us have the equipment and heating capability to truly need an external sound card.
  • RSAUser - Wednesday, July 10, 2019 - link

    Hearing *
  • Qasar - Wednesday, July 10, 2019 - link

    wasnt referring to external, was referring to an internal discrete sound card, like the soundblaster, asus or the like.. there is another sound card maker i am thinking of, but i can't remember the name of it right now....
  • ishkatar - Tuesday, July 9, 2019 - link

    Which of these boards support SLI? I have 2 x GTX 1070 that I want to keep.
  • Jansen - Tuesday, July 9, 2019 - link

    SLI is pretty much dead, but Asus PRIME X570 SERIES, MSI MEG X570 Godlike, and MEG X570 ACE do.

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