The ASRock X570S PG Riptide Motherboard Review: A Wave of PCIe 4.0 Support on A Budget
by Gavin Bonshor on October 22, 2021 9:00 AM ESTBIOS
ASRock is using a consistent and familiar UEFI firmware across its Phantom Gaming series models for AMD's AM4 socket. The GUI consists of a primarily black background with red futuristic highlights, white text, and red highlighting when hovering over an option or menu.
The ASRock X570S PG Riptide UEFI firmware has just one mode which is resemblant of its Advanced modes on models that feature an EZ Mode as well. The main part of the firmware has plenty of menus to select from including (from left to right), the Main screen, the OC Tweaker, the Advanced section, the Tool menu, a H/W Monitor panel, a Security menu, a Boot menu, and an Exit menu.
The area where users can overclock is the OC Tweaker, which has plenty of options for users looking to overclock both the memory and processors. Users with AMD Ryzen APUs can also overclock the integrated Radeon graphics, with the options greyed out on unsupported processors.
There are many options for a budget board such as this in terms of both processor and memory overclocking, although much of it is simplified for users. Users can simply alter the CPU Frequency ratio and CPU VCore voltage and overclock the processor, although there are advanced CPU options such as Loadline Calibration and other voltage options to consider.
Users can also enable X.M.P 2.0 memory profiles on compatible memory kits with a couple of clicks, or alternatively, users can do this manually. ASRock provides lots of latency options for users looking to fine-tune their kits, providing there's any give or take in terms of overclocking. Users can also alter the Infinity Fabric Clock speed (FCLK), with the idea that it operates in a 2:1 ratio to provide the most effective levels of performance. The achievable FCLK varies on the chip, but a memory speed of DDR4-3600 and FCLK of 1800 MHz is seemingly achievable for most and is the sweet spot recommended by AMD.
While the level of customization for a board at this kind of price point lacks in some key areas to what we're used to. There is a basic element of its integrated FAN-Tastic fan tuning utility, but the firmware-based Polychrome RGB utility is lacking any visual expression, instead, users have to use color codes which is abysmal in this day and age. ASRock could be better as previously mentioned, but the rest of the firmware is fine, it's responsive, it's intuitive (aside from the parts mentioned above), and with more customization on the fan control and RGB LED lighting, it would be more than adequate.
Software
Compared to other AM4 boards from ASRock we've covered, the software bundle supplied with the X570S PG Riptide is very basic. The main software applications come via the Live Update and App Shop, with a Restart to UEFI which is a functional piece of software, as well as the Nahimic 3 audio software.
The ASRock Live Update and App Shop allows users to download the latest version of the software that is compatible with the X570S PG Riptide. It also allows users to download up-to-date drivers for the board including controller drivers such as networking, as well as AMD's latest chipset drivers at the click of a button.
Unfortunately, the ASRock X570S PG Riptide doesn't come supplied with any overclocking software such as A-Tuning or the Phantom Gaming series variant. Users looking to access overclocking tools within Windows can easily download the AMD Ryzen Master tuning utility, which we've used with great success previously and is very intuitive and easy to use. ASRock does include Nahamic too which is designed to enhance a user's auditory experience, and the Restart to UEFI software is also useful for directly booting into the firmware at the click of a button.
Overall it's not a feature-packed software bundle, but it's adequate and we still believe ASRock could have shipped one of its own overclocking software with this board.
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meacupla - Saturday, October 23, 2021 - link
You are either clueless or a total moron, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt of being the former.The CPU socket, RAM slots, m.2 slots, and pci-e slots do not add much to the BoM on mobos
In fact, you can buy Intel LGA 115x and 2011 sockets off of Ali express for pennies.
Soldering everything to the mobo adds to the complexity, which means, it will, in fact, be more costly to manufacture.
Not only that, instead of having a single SKU for the mobo, you are now adding more SKUs for different configurations. This means you need more assembly lines building each of the SKUs, and are further increasing cost to manufacture.
The only reason why apple is capable of soldering everything onto the board, is because
1. They have a very small niche market, which is around 7.4% of the worldwide PC market share.
2. Their very small niche market doesn't seem to care how their PC can't be upgraded or repaired.
3. Their very small niche market doesn't seem to care how expensive Macs cost.
Also, how the hell did you arrive at the conclusion, "Apple is cheaper, because they solder everything to the mobo"?
Wrs - Saturday, October 23, 2021 - link
Sockets always add to product cost, but then so do multiple SKUs, in terms of inventory management. The added costs may be minimal when done well, but technically I don't see how soldering a chip directly to board can be higher BOM than soldering the socket and then inserting the same chip later. You are aware that sockets have to be soldered to board, right? :)And Apple ain't small. 7.4% share is still 20 million units each year, plus they share techniques & components with the miniature boards in another 150-200 million phones. Assembly line logistics & just-in-time manufacturing are kind of Apple's superpowers. Swapping one component for another of the same size on the same assembly line ought to be trivial.
meacupla - Saturday, October 23, 2021 - link
Yeah, and then, when you have to do this exact same, multiple SKU thing for the Asrock X570 lineup, which consists of...X570 AQUA
X570 Creator
X570 Taichi Razer Edition
X570 Taichi
X570 Extreme4 Wifi ax
X570 Extreme4
X570 Pro4
X570M Pro4
X570 Steel Legend Wifi ax
X570 Steel Legend
X570 PG Velocita
X570S PG Riptide
X570 Phantom Gaming X
X570 Phantom Gaming 4 Wifi ax
X570 Phantom Gaming 4
X570 Phantom Gaming-ITX/TB3
And combine most of those mobos with the Ryzen 5000 series lineup, which consists of...
Ryzen 9 5950X
Ryzen 9 5900X
Ryzen 7 5800X
Ryzen 5 5600X
Ryzen 7 5700G
Ryzen 5 5600G
Ryzen 3 5300G
Oh, and we can't forget RAM and SSDs, since those too will be soldered on in various configurations.
So, for RAM we will do 8/16/32/64
And for SSD, we will do 128/256/512/1TB/2TB
16 x 7 x 4 x 5 = 2240 possible SKUs
And this will be PURELY from Asrock's lineup. We haven't even done Asus, Gigabyte or MSI yet.
It's pretty easy to see there is going to be a bit of an issue.
Qasar - Saturday, October 23, 2021 - link
imagine this, but change it for intel. 2240 for amd ? i dont even want to consider this for intel. at the store i go to, there are 23 intel cpus ! just swapping cpus, while leaving everything else the same is 7,360 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!yea this would NOT work at all.
Wrs - Saturday, October 23, 2021 - link
All that said I agree with your implied stance that we should keep major sockets on the desktop - RAM, CPU, GPU, storage - for the plain fact that the factories to solder/desolder the stuff are so far away, and we need a local ability to customize our stuff and upgrade/fix our components piecemeal.Arbie - Saturday, October 23, 2021 - link
"You are either clueless or a total moron"Do you pay extra, meaculpa, for being gratuitously insulting? Or maybe you think flame wars improve a forum, and would like to be treated that way yourself.
meacupla - Saturday, October 23, 2021 - link
I aim to please.TheinsanegamerN - Saturday, October 23, 2021 - link
Well someone has to tell idiots they are idiots, otherwise they'll try to fly off of the empire state building thinking they've invented flight.Oxford Guy - Saturday, October 23, 2021 - link
1. Except for the employees (including people being paid to astroturf and such by their firms), all people who post here can automatically be characterized as not being geniuses. Geniuses typically have better things to do with their time and are able to recognize that.2. Among the group of less intelligent folk who do post here 'altruistically', each person has a different knowledge base and a different age. Expecting everyone to know everything is foolish. Some overreach in their posts but lack the knowledge to know that. That includes people who preen and pose whilst mocking others' efforts. When people make erroneous claims all that's needed is a simple factual correction, not a narcissistic display of bravura.
Bottom line is this: Worry about yourself first. Worry about your factuality first. When correcting others, do it politely — especially when the people making the posts aren't being paid to do it. Correcting in a bullying manner is its own forum error, one deserving of correction.
Culturally, it is clear that Internet discourse is becoming less civil. I have seen forums devolve, even those that don't have mechanisms (like downvoting and post hiding) that encourage the aggression that causes that devolution. I am not a sociologist so I don't know enough to be able to explain (with less guesswork and more facts) the origins of all of this trend but it is one that I can see clearly in many places — even though pockets of rudeness have always been around. Attention spans seem to be shrinking and with that there seems to be a proportionate rise in entitled smirky wrath.
One thing humanity desperately needs is mandatory curriculum in all schools for understanding fallacies — how to avoid using them in discourse in particular. That would go a long way toward restoring some level of efficiency in public Internet-based communication. Even huge corporations use naked crass fallacies in court (as Sony did when trying to attack consumers who opposed the decision to retroactively strip the PS3 of Linux support).
haakon_k - Sunday, October 24, 2021 - link
Post of the month! Nearly post of the year !! Well said, 'Oxford Guy'.