ASRock X370 Fatal1ity Gaming K4, X370 Killer SLI And X370 Taichi AM4 Ryzen Motherboards Pictured
Forget about minor leaks when it comes to Ryzen, the floodgates have opened in the past couple of weeks and we're now drowning in news, rumors, and speculation surrounding AMD's next-generation CPU architecture. And with good reason—if Ryzen lives up to the hype, it will be a rebirth of sorts for AMD, which hasn't competed with Intel at the high-end for a long time. But what about the motherboards that will run these fancy new high-potent chips? We're starting to see leaks of those, too.
Just a few days ago, our newshound from the north (way north, as in moose territory) Rob Williams posted pictures of motherboards and rendered retail box art for a handful of AM4 platform products from ASUS, Biostar, and Gigabyte. All three hardware players are preparing a bevy of boards supporting Ryzen, many of which will be affordably priced at around $100 to $150. Now ASRock is getting in on the action.
Pictures of four AM4-based ASRock motherboards surfaced at the end of the week. Starting at the top, one of the three is the X370 Fatal1ty Professional Gaming. ASRock continues to flaunt the Fatal1ty name, the well-known former professional esports player that helped put esports on the map. He was particularly lethal (or fatal) in first-person shooter games such as Quake and Painkiller.
In this case, the X370 Fatality Professional Gaming features three full-length PCI-Express slots, two of which are reinforced with metal to prevent breakage when installing heavy graphics cards. We suspect those are x16 slots, with the third slot at the bottom being x8 for PCIe-based SSDs (if you look close, there appears to be hints of traces in the slot that look electrically x8 wired).
Other visible features include two PCI-Express x1 slots, two M.2 interfaces for those gum stick-sized solid state drives that are quickly replacing 2.5-inch SSDs, and four DDR4 DIMM slots next to the CPU socket.
Second up to bat is a similar board that also carries the Fatal1ty branding, the X370 Fatal1ty Gaming K4. At a quick glance it looks nearly identical to the Professional model, but a closer evaluation reveals some key differences. For one, it doesn't have a third PCI-Express slot, nor is power setup as sophisticated. We suspect the rear I/O section will be less fleshed out as well, though we only have shots of the top portion of the PCB.
Like the Professional variant, the K4 board's two PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots are reinforced with metal. it also has two M.2 interfaces and four DDR4 DIMM slots to the right of the CPU socket like the Professional model.
ASRock's two other AM4 motherboards that are up for display are both non-Fatal1ty slabs with a tuxedo (white and black) color scheme. The first of those is the X370 Killer SLI. It also has two reinforced PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots and two connectors for M.2 drives, along with four DDR4 DIMM slots. it's nearly identical to the X370 Gaming K4, though the name suggests it has a GbE LAN port powered by Killer Networking.
The last motherboard in ASRock's leaked lineup is the X370 Taichi. This is another board with three full-length PCI-Express slots, two of which are reinforced. It looks similar to the X370 Killer SLI but appears to have a higher-end power configuration with more power phases around the CPU and more capacitors for onboard audio.
Though the features vary by board, all four pictured here are AMD X370 boards, which sit at the top of the AM4 food chain. They're intended for enthusiasts with CrossFire and SLI support, and advanced overclocking features.
When Ryzen arrives, the market will also be filled with AMD B350 boards. These are mainstream products that sit one rung below AMD X370. They'll support overclocking, but won't be as advanced as X370 boards.
Just a few days ago, our newshound from the north (way north, as in moose territory) Rob Williams posted pictures of motherboards and rendered retail box art for a handful of AM4 platform products from ASUS, Biostar, and Gigabyte. All three hardware players are preparing a bevy of boards supporting Ryzen, many of which will be affordably priced at around $100 to $150. Now ASRock is getting in on the action.
Pictures of four AM4-based ASRock motherboards surfaced at the end of the week. Starting at the top, one of the three is the X370 Fatal1ty Professional Gaming. ASRock continues to flaunt the Fatal1ty name, the well-known former professional esports player that helped put esports on the map. He was particularly lethal (or fatal) in first-person shooter games such as Quake and Painkiller.
In this case, the X370 Fatality Professional Gaming features three full-length PCI-Express slots, two of which are reinforced with metal to prevent breakage when installing heavy graphics cards. We suspect those are x16 slots, with the third slot at the bottom being x8 for PCIe-based SSDs (if you look close, there appears to be hints of traces in the slot that look electrically x8 wired).
Other visible features include two PCI-Express x1 slots, two M.2 interfaces for those gum stick-sized solid state drives that are quickly replacing 2.5-inch SSDs, and four DDR4 DIMM slots next to the CPU socket.
Second up to bat is a similar board that also carries the Fatal1ty branding, the X370 Fatal1ty Gaming K4. At a quick glance it looks nearly identical to the Professional model, but a closer evaluation reveals some key differences. For one, it doesn't have a third PCI-Express slot, nor is power setup as sophisticated. We suspect the rear I/O section will be less fleshed out as well, though we only have shots of the top portion of the PCB.
Like the Professional variant, the K4 board's two PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots are reinforced with metal. it also has two M.2 interfaces and four DDR4 DIMM slots to the right of the CPU socket like the Professional model.
ASRock's two other AM4 motherboards that are up for display are both non-Fatal1ty slabs with a tuxedo (white and black) color scheme. The first of those is the X370 Killer SLI. It also has two reinforced PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots and two connectors for M.2 drives, along with four DDR4 DIMM slots. it's nearly identical to the X370 Gaming K4, though the name suggests it has a GbE LAN port powered by Killer Networking.
The last motherboard in ASRock's leaked lineup is the X370 Taichi. This is another board with three full-length PCI-Express slots, two of which are reinforced. It looks similar to the X370 Killer SLI but appears to have a higher-end power configuration with more power phases around the CPU and more capacitors for onboard audio.
Though the features vary by board, all four pictured here are AMD X370 boards, which sit at the top of the AM4 food chain. They're intended for enthusiasts with CrossFire and SLI support, and advanced overclocking features.
When Ryzen arrives, the market will also be filled with AMD B350 boards. These are mainstream products that sit one rung below AMD X370. They'll support overclocking, but won't be as advanced as X370 boards.
