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 EST
Officially announced at Computex 2021, AMD and its vendors unveiled a new series of AM4 based motherboards for Ryzen 5000 processors. The new X570S chipset is, really, not that different from the previous version launched back in 2019 from a technical standpoint. The main user difference is that all of the X570S models now feature a passively cooled chipset. Some vendors have opted to either refresh existing models, or others are releasing completely new variants, such as the ASRock X570S PG Riptide we are reviewing today. Aimed at the entry-level extreme chipset, the X570S PG Riptide features a Killer-based 2.5 GbE controller, dual PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 slots, and support for up to 128 GB of DDR4-5000.
ASRock X570S PG Riptide: The Tide is High
At the launch of the original X570 chipset back in 2019, many users stressed that they were worried that the actively cooled chipset heatsinks were going to generate extra noise, or by using smaller fans they would fail early. In reality, the chipset fans didn't generate THAT much noise, but for some users, they still expressed their annoyance. Fast forward to 2021, and at Computex 2021, the latest X570S chipset models now feature passively cooled chipset heatsinks. Another avenue that the X570S chipset brings to the table is that motherboard vendors have been able to refresh some of its previous X570 models and added more up-to-date controller sets, extending their offerings with the latest and greatest.
The ASRock X570S PG Riptide represents a new entry in ASRock's gaming-themed Phantom Gaming series, but at the more entry to a mid-level market segment, which for an X570 board might be most people's mid-range or even high-end for cost. Designed primarily for AMD's latest Ryzen 5000 processors, it is also compatible with both the Ryzen 3000 and 2000 series of desktop processors, but it also supports Ryzen 5000, 4000, and 3000 APUs. It also has four memory slots with support for fast DDR4-5000 memory, with a maximum combined capacity of up to 128 GB.
ASRock adopts a more simplistic aesthetic for its X570S PG Riptide, with a mixture of grey, black, and silver throughout. ASRock is advertising a 10-phase power delivery cooled by a single heatsink that doubles up as a rear panel cover. The passively cooled X570S chipset keeps things quieter than the previous generation, with a smidgen of integrated RGB LED lighting. If that's not enough for some users, ASRock includes two addressable RGB and two regular RGB headers to add additional RGB LED strips to jazz up their systems.
The ASRock X570S PG Riptide offers a more affordable route to the full levels of PCIe 4.0 support that both Ryzen 5000 and X570 combined offer uses. For PCIe slot support, ASRock includes one full-length PCIe 4.0 x16 slot, one full-length PCIe 4.0 x4 slot, one full-length PCIe 4.0 x2, and three PCIe 4.0 x4 slots. ASRock also includes PCIe 4.0 storage support via two PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 slots, with six SATA ports compatible with AMD RAID 0, 1, and 10 arrays. Other notable features include one of the latest Killer-based 2.5 GbE controllers, with USB 3.2 G2 Type-A and Type-C connectivity on the rear panel, as well as a mid-range HD audio codec driving the board's audio. For users looking to add wireless capabilities, the ASRock X570S PG Riptide does have an additional M.2 Key-E for users to add their own M.2 2230 Wi-Fi and BT modules.
Touching on performance, the ASRock X570S PG Riptide performed competitively against other AM4 boards we've tested, with a decent showing in our system tests such as POST time testing and power consumption. In our DPC latency testing, it wasn't anything special, and performance in our compute and gaming tests put it exactly where we would expect it to be, in competition with the rest of the field.
The ASRock X570S PG Riptide undergoing our VRM thermal testing
Regarding overclocking, the ASRock also performed creditably given it's at the lower end of X570/X570S models currently available in terms of price. We managed to overclock our testbed AMD Ryzen 7 3700X to 4.3 GHz all-core stable, which is standard for most AM4 boards we've tested. Still, the board exceeded our expectations regarding tight VDroop control at load compared to the values we set for the CPU VCore in the firmware. The board's VRM thermal performance was also acceptable, even if it ran warmer than the more premium models we've tested.
Looking at pricing, the ASRock X570S PG Riptide has an MSRP of $185, which if you compare it to other X570 models in its arsenal, such as the ASRock X570 Steel Legend ($200), the PG Riptide has a much more up-to-date and premium Ethernet controller, as well as better memory support out of the box. Believe it or not, there's not much in the way of available X570S boards at both Amazon, Newegg, or Microcenter to actually compare the PG Riptide to.
One equally competitive model in the realm of X570S is the MSI MAG X570S Torpedo Max, which costs around $200 and uses 2.5 GbE, a secondary Gigabit LAN port as well as a much more recent HD audio codec. Whether a user's motherboard selection is dependent on features, price, aesthetic, or a combination of all three, the ASRock X570S PG Riptide looks interesting in the sub $200 market. The biggest question, however, from our point of view, is how does it stack up against other AM4 models we've tested so far. It's time to take a closer look and see what if the ASRock X570 PG Riptide can hold its own in shark-infested waters.
Read on for our extended analysis.
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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'.