What a worthless board. It doesnt matter how cool those power components are VS other boards, the performance isnt even there. The fact that this board more often then not is on the lower end of many of the performance graphs says a LOT. Ryzen 3000 just doesnt have any headroom left in it!
To meet the fool that would spend a GRAND on this thing. I'll hapilly sell him my athlon 64 system for $850. Even for heavy use of a 3950x this board doesnt offer anything that a dedicated CPU block cant already do. The fact you can set up a custom loop, buy a high end X570 board, case, case fans, and other goodies and still spend less money then this board alone costs is impressive.
What "worth" does this board offer? If it has no performance boost, what exactly is the point? To be fashionable?
The chanel handbag comparison doesnt work, a free plastic bag wont last nearly as long in day to day use, they are meant to be temporary. The chanel bag will at least work properly for awhile, assuming you take care of it. But the *worth* of that bag comes from its designer pedigree. Asrock doesnt have that. Asrock isnt considred a premium brand. Besides, you dont strut around with your motherboard in hand, it goes into your computer where likely you are the only one whom will ever see it. Outside of a sig on your forum handle, nobody will know you spent a grand on this thing.
computer parts are sold on performance, not fashion. Even if your idea of "performance" is low temps, there already exist waterblocks to cool down motherboards, for a tenth the price. This thing is a total waste of money.
The worth as I see it for most systems built with this board are going to be show off systems in a store that show how cleanly the builder can build a watercooled system. Nothing else. If I were a small system builder (actually a dream of mine to open a computer store near where I live), that is what I'd use it for. Is it worth it do you? Nope, but thats fine. Its not meant to be worth it to everyone.
Small-time system builders don't have the margins to waste a grand on this kind of thing as a "show piece", unless they're hoping to sell it to some rich sucker for a huge markup.
Depends on your clientèle. I can even imagen some fancy workplace-o-rent asking for 15 of these systems. Try to buy a well speced boutique system with an 3950X 64Gb 4Tb SSD etc without at least a 1k mark up. Or just any Apple Workstation. As long as you don't join the race to the bottom, there is enough margin in the retail industry.
We're talking about motherboards... an internal component of desktops. Attempting to include more products to accomodate hbsource's insane analogy is dishonest.
We are talking about an open system build with a see-through window. People have been modding and making it look pretty for a couple decades now... Lights, colored water in see-through tubes, UV reflective material, RAM heatsinks in all sorts of colors, etc. It's not a new thing, and alot of people do it. I did but stopped about 10 years ago in favor of smaller silent builds, but alot still do. I get why the OP doesnt, I dont either but this board isnt for us.
Not at all. Just a very small selection of DIY builders read reviews to look for the best of the best parts. Most of them just buy brand X, because that's the best in the world, since they bought that last time. Any small systembuilder mainly looks at the probability of a part dying under warranty and margin. The time where you wanted to know if the system had a SiS/nForce chipset or rambus memory are long gone.
If looks would not have a part in hardware sells than RGB and other elaborate aesthetic designs should have been non-existent. We all know what is the current situation for all hardware parts...
I value the fact that it is one of the very few fanless systems I’ve seen for the new AMD chipsets.
I’m sure someone could cobble together a water block for the chipset and/or buy water blocks, but having it all in a coherent package also has value.
You seem to only value overclocksbility when it comes to fancy cooling solutions. I tend to go water cooling for everything, even at stock frequencies, just for the silence.
I’d peg this product better aimed at threadripper though for the price bracket.
“A tenth the price” is hyperbole. A comparable water cooling system would run $600... I’d be nice and say $500. Look at Corsair or EKWB CPU cooling systems that include CPU water block, pump, radiator, tubing, and a reservoir. Then add a chipset water block (that I’m not sure are even available for an x570). Then add the cost of the motherboard - the Asrock Phantom gaming X is $400.
All said, if we were conservative, yes this might only be $700-800 of gear for $1000.
I feel you're still missing the point and don't understand handbags.
The vast, vast majority of all bags sold in the world are sold on performance. Same for motherboards. A small majority of bags sell for an awful lot of money.
Chanel bags do not sell for £5000 because they 'work properly for awhile.'
I don't agree with TheinsanegamerN either, but your analogy here is horrible lol. A motherboard is not a fashion item and isn't comparable to one. It however isn't 'worthless' just because it's more expensive than other products that perform better, that's silly, it's just not worth $1000.
Sure I agree the lines are blurry, but that's not a good argument as to why your assertion is correct. If your argument is "you don't get to decide", then that's my argument too, and we're logically back to before you even made that silly comparison in the first place.
um.. maybe because fashion, is consider clothing ?? " Fashion is a popular aesthetic expression in a certain time and context, especially in clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle and body proportions" how does that relate to motherboards, notebooks, etc ??
It's especially in clothing, but not only in clothing. There can be fashion trends in hardware (and software, for that matter), which rarely derive from any measurable performance factors - or if they do, they tend to apply only in certain cases.
Just having a motherboard that costs $1000 will be something for a certain class of people to brag about. Having a system that doesn't break 40C, likewise. Whether it's actually "useful" is debatable, but that has never been the point of fashion.
> A motherboard is not a fashion item and isn't comparable to one.
Strange statement. It does not compute. Please explain the functional utility value of the gaudy silkscreen printing and (A)RGBs on the vast majority of consumer motherboards.
You're arguing utility vs marketable value. They're different things.
Things are "worth" whatever you can sell them for. But it doesn't mean it's "worth" that money in the other sense of the word (as in the usable value of the item is equal to or higher than the cost paid).
I do; I will. The test is whether people are willing to buy them on that basis, in part or in whole. The majority of people don't buy handbags that way either. But some do, and for many it's a factor.
The board is far from worthless. It performs on par with other high end boards, without the attendant heat. The feature set is also niche and premium. I think we are spoiled by the massive overclocks from Intel and thus anything offered by Ryzen seems paltry by comparison. I own a Supercarrrier Z270 and it runs a 7700k@5100MHz no problems. Great feature set and stable. ASRock is not trash by any means.
As someone who watercools his systems I'm theoretically in the market for something like this. A mono-block appeals in that it avoids any potential issues with the VRMs being designed expecting airflow from a CPU cooler (my current haswell system has a board with a factory waterblock on the VRMs). But while I'd be willing to pay a premium over the cost of the mobo and CPU waterblock for it; they're marking up $500 for the waterblock and ~$400ish more than a CPU block is way too much of a premium even if I was willing to pay $500 for a baseline board with TB3 and 10GBE. $150 or maybe even $200 for the monoblock would be tempting.
As someone else that watercools I also had the same reaction. Interesting product, but it's not a serious product at it's price. It was created as a marketing effort which is why they are only making 1000 of them and more than half will probably go to review sites like anandtech.
Pushback: I am building a workstation for DaVinci Resolve color grading on this board. 3950x, a pair of 2080Ti's, 64GB RAM. Requirement for me is 10Gbe and Thunderbolt 3 on board. My choice on X570 was down to the AsRock Creator $599 and Aqua ($999) due to this. They are essentially the same board, functionally speaking. I was committed to doing custom watercooling loop this time around...not because I had to but because I wanted to, but I'm happy to have the cooling improvements. So, if you are down to the choice of those two boards, and briefly consider building up the Creator with EK or equivalent quality waterblocks (if you can even find them for the chipset and VRMs on here), you'd be looking at about another ~$250-300 in costs over the cost of the Creator board. So in that situation a $200-ish premium for a well-integrated custom monoblock board is not that big of a stretch.
To be clear, I'm not saying it's for everybody, but for a system that will generate revenue 20x it's cost in it's usable lifetime I think it's fine.
If you only generate $50-100K in revenue from your build over its lifespan (assuming 2 years here) then you need to go find a better source of income because that is some low end chump change for all that effort.
There's nothing about pointing out that the ROI you quoted is barely scraping out middle income on the high end if your estimates of revenue over costs are accurate that constitutes trolling. However, I do know of people that get offended when the facts of their statements turn out to look a bit silly and then accuse others of trolling in order to feel better.
You're clearly trolling if you can't calculate the cost of that build. $1700 for CPU + Mobo, another 2k for GPUs, over $300 in RAM, $100 for the water cooler, $150 for the case, $150 for the PSU, and assuredly $300 or more of storage. That's a minimum of $4800 without whatever pro monitor he might be including and whatever combination of better cooling, storage, or case he's including.
That's already at your "maximum" estimate for revenue, and that's the minimum reasonable for the build.
Then there's the next fallacy: you're assuming there's not a PC this is replacing, which is an absolutely idiotic assumption. ROI is always against the status quo, not against 0. An "aging" machine with a i7-6950X and 2x GTX 1080 would greatly decrease the expected ROI, so you can't project his revenue against the cost of the machine and the ROI ratio.
So yes you're absolutely trolling. Just because you're a regular doesn't mean your head isn't up somewhere it shouldn't be.
Worthless? Hardly. The target audience is someone like me.
A bit off-topic: AnandTech needs to update their GPU before they become the most 'worthless' site when it comes to reviews. The gaming benchmarks ARE worthless because the majority of the games tested are GPU bound on the 1080. It's time to make a jump to a 2080ti. For example, on my Linux Threadripper based system, I get a significantly better framerate from GTAV on my Threadripper 1950X AT 4K (!!!) with only a slightly better GPU. This is at stock settings. Every single game that AnandTech tests, I get significantly better performance (nearly twice the FPS in most cases) just by having a better GPU...and I'm on a Zen 1 based system vs. Zen 2.
I'm usually defensive of AnandTech, however it's time for change.
Board itself is reasonably well equipped. Computer does not end on motherboard and CPU, it's currently the only board offering 10G Base-T, TB3 and WF6, except for X570 Creator, also from ASRock, and it costs exactly half - $500. For the 'worth' of board, look there. Would you pay $500 for monoblock? I would if I had maxed out other components and still cash left. It's convenient, actually, and every single monoblock-equipped board I have, is still working, thanks to always cool components. And $500 for full-board monoblock isn't outrageous, it would be more expensive to manufacture it by yourself.
Now, if you don't see any point, then it's just not the product for you, and again, look at the Creator board.
It's the same as full diy liquid cooling loop. Does it provide any extra performance over AIO? Barely, if any. Is it worth it given exorbitant costs? No. Will people continue making them? Yes.
I have pimped out dual-cpu computer, with water cooled ram, vrms, chipset, both CPUs, gpus, 100G network card and fpga card, just because I simply wanted to. There is no benefit to it (and lots of hassle, as when I'll swap something it will be royal pita), but I still did it, just for the joy of it.
Users that mix this with other high performance watercooling components are in for a nasty surprise: this monoblock is aluminum while most other equipment (save for EK Fluid Gaming Aluminum kits) is copper or nickel. Aluminum is very galvanically active and would corrode in a mixed loop.
I didn't see any mention of it, but the aluminum inside the cooler looks like it has been plated. If thats the case, compatibility would not be an issue.
The X570 AQUA is the only completely water-cooled X570 motherboard – its unique all-copper cooling block covers the CPU, VRM and X570 Chipset to provide unbelievable performance and stability
Unlike your comment, I thought his was directly to the point and relevant -- correcting the earlier mistaken post. The waterblock itself isn't made of aluminum. That's important.
For $999 I would like to know how the other components do such as 10Gb nic, wifi6, TB3, USB, sound, m.2 ssd's in each slot, etc. So many of these boards fail at one thing or another when loaded up.
A cpu benchmark and overclock really isn't a review.
I've killed a number of motherboards because only the CPU was cooled, so I'd love a board that was cooled. Unfortunately I've never made a custom loop, so I wish I could plug an AIO into it.
This board is literally just too much of everything to even interesting let alone rational. Way too expensive, way too overbuilt, too much bling.
Its like buying a Bugatti Chiron but then platting the entire thing in 24k gold. At some point it just because extravagant for the sake of being extravagant and all you have is gaudy waste of money.
They're using a PCIe 2.0 switch to run 4 SATA III ports, 1 Gig Ethernet port, 3 PCIe x1 ports and the Wifi off of a single PCIe 2.0 x1 uplink. What a joke. For as much as this board costs they should have used a PEX chip.
That's a surprising cheapout for as extravagant as this board otherwise is. I don't know if any PCEe x4 chips are available yet; but just staying within ASMedia's products an ASM2812 would use both remaining PCIe lanes on the chipset and run everything at 3.0 speeds instead of 2.0; and then use a 4 port sata controller instead of 2x 2 port controllers (or splurge for the 2816 which supports 12 devices and 16 downstream lanes instead of 6 and 8).
I'm no expert in PCI lanes but this seems marginally acceptable.
a) You mostly wouldn't be using wifi and the second (1gb) ethernet at the same time. The primary 10gig ethernet port would be the first port used for people only using one ethernet port. b) Fast storage goes in the dual m.2 ports. There are 4 directly connected SATA III ports for SSDs. The switched SATA III ports are more likely just for huge slow HDDs. c) the three PCIe x1 ports are for slower add-on cards that don't need huge bandwidth.
I'm not seeing a lot here that would overly benefit from huge bandwidth upgrades. Don't forget the board has 2 x thunderbolt 3 ports for staggeringly fast access (faster than SATA III) for more m.2 cards, eGPU, extra 10gb ethernet ports etc.
I'm no expert in PCI lanes but this seems marginally acceptable.
a) You mostly wouldn't be using wifi and the second (1gb) ethernet at the same time. The primary 10gig ethernet port would be the first port used for people only using one ethernet port. b) Fast storage goes in the dual m.2 ports. There are 4 directly connected SATA III ports for SSDs. The switched SATA III ports are more likely just for huge slow HDDs. c) the three PCIe x1 ports are for slower add-on cards that don't need huge bandwidth.
I'm not seeing a lot here that would overly benefit from huge bandwidth upgrades. Don't forget the board has 2 x thunderbolt 3 ports for staggeringly fast access (faster than SATA III) for more m.2 cards, eGPU, extra 10gb ethernet ports etc.
I just got a Threadripper motherboard, with far better features, and even that doesn't cost as much as this ripoff. It looks better and i'm water cooling it too. If you're going to spend this much then just go for the superior Threadripper platform. This is a pig with lipstick, and not very nice looking lipstick at that.
@Gavin There are ryzen CPUs capable of going over 4.4GHz, wouldn't it be better to test with a better CPU? Yes, I do know you'll have to retest about 10 boards, but with 4.4GHz being the limit I think it would be worth it.
@Gavin There are ryzen CPUs capable of going over 4.4GHz, wouldn't it be better to test a motherboard with a better CPU sample? Like a "golden" one? Yes, I do know you'll have to retest about 10 boards, but with 4.4GHz being the limit I think it would be worth it.
The article states: “The X570 Aqua does offer support for UDIMM ECC memory, but only when used with Ryzen Pro processors.“
I believe this statement is somewhat misleading. As per Asrock’s product speCification page, that restriction should apply only to Zen+ ‘Picasso’ Ryzen CPUs, not the current ‘Matisse’ Zen 2 cores.
Why use a processor so far down the line-up in such an expensive motherboard clearly aimed at the high-performance crowd? A five-year old graphics card? Really seems like the motherboard is worth as much as all the other components combined!
This review really comes up short, sadly seems to be where Anandtech is headed.
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TheinsanegamerN - Thursday, December 19, 2019 - link
What a worthless board. It doesnt matter how cool those power components are VS other boards, the performance isnt even there. The fact that this board more often then not is on the lower end of many of the performance graphs says a LOT. Ryzen 3000 just doesnt have any headroom left in it!To meet the fool that would spend a GRAND on this thing. I'll hapilly sell him my athlon 64 system for $850. Even for heavy use of a 3950x this board doesnt offer anything that a dedicated CPU block cant already do. The fact you can set up a custom loop, buy a high end X570 board, case, case fans, and other goodies and still spend less money then this board alone costs is impressive.
hbsource - Thursday, December 19, 2019 - link
I think you're being too narrow in the 'worth' of this product. It's 'worthless' to you because of performance numbers.A Chanel handbag has the same performance numbers as a free plastic bag. But it is worth a lot more.
TheinsanegamerN - Thursday, December 19, 2019 - link
What "worth" does this board offer? If it has no performance boost, what exactly is the point? To be fashionable?The chanel handbag comparison doesnt work, a free plastic bag wont last nearly as long in day to day use, they are meant to be temporary. The chanel bag will at least work properly for awhile, assuming you take care of it. But the *worth* of that bag comes from its designer pedigree. Asrock doesnt have that. Asrock isnt considred a premium brand. Besides, you dont strut around with your motherboard in hand, it goes into your computer where likely you are the only one whom will ever see it. Outside of a sig on your forum handle, nobody will know you spent a grand on this thing.
computer parts are sold on performance, not fashion. Even if your idea of "performance" is low temps, there already exist waterblocks to cool down motherboards, for a tenth the price. This thing is a total waste of money.
Vepsa - Thursday, December 19, 2019 - link
The worth as I see it for most systems built with this board are going to be show off systems in a store that show how cleanly the builder can build a watercooled system. Nothing else. If I were a small system builder (actually a dream of mine to open a computer store near where I live), that is what I'd use it for. Is it worth it do you? Nope, but thats fine. Its not meant to be worth it to everyone.A5 - Thursday, December 19, 2019 - link
Small-time system builders don't have the margins to waste a grand on this kind of thing as a "show piece", unless they're hoping to sell it to some rich sucker for a huge markup.Foeketijn - Friday, December 20, 2019 - link
Depends on your clientèle. I can even imagen some fancy workplace-o-rent asking for 15 of these systems.Try to buy a well speced boutique system with an 3950X 64Gb 4Tb SSD etc without at least a 1k mark up. Or just any Apple Workstation. As long as you don't join the race to the bottom, there is enough margin in the retail industry.
goatfajitas - Thursday, December 19, 2019 - link
"computer parts are sold on performance, not fashion"That is not true. True for some sure, but not overall true.
bji - Thursday, December 19, 2019 - link
True for the vast majority, not just some.FreckledTrout - Thursday, December 19, 2019 - link
I would bet looks cover a vast majority especially if we count laptops.lazarpandar - Thursday, December 19, 2019 - link
We're talking about motherboards... an internal component of desktops. Attempting to include more products to accomodate hbsource's insane analogy is dishonest.goatfajitas - Friday, December 20, 2019 - link
We are talking about an open system build with a see-through window. People have been modding and making it look pretty for a couple decades now... Lights, colored water in see-through tubes, UV reflective material, RAM heatsinks in all sorts of colors, etc. It's not a new thing, and alot of people do it. I did but stopped about 10 years ago in favor of smaller silent builds, but alot still do. I get why the OP doesnt, I dont either but this board isnt for us.bji - Thursday, December 19, 2019 - link
You are saying that the vast majority of people buy laptop computer PARTS based on fashion?I doubt it. I think you actually just didn't read closely the thread you are responding to.
rahvin - Friday, December 20, 2019 - link
Apple wouldn't exist if the looks didn't matter to people.Foeketijn - Friday, December 20, 2019 - link
Not at all. Just a very small selection of DIY builders read reviews to look for the best of the best parts.Most of them just buy brand X, because that's the best in the world, since they bought that last time. Any small systembuilder mainly looks at the probability of a part dying under warranty and margin. The time where you wanted to know if the system had a SiS/nForce chipset or rambus memory are long gone.
Strunf - Friday, December 20, 2019 - link
I'm pretty sure the vast majority of the DIY read reviews, the FACT Ryzen is selling so well on the DIY market is the proof of it.Eliadbu - Wednesday, January 1, 2020 - link
If looks would not have a part in hardware sells than RGB and other elaborate aesthetic designs should have been non-existent. We all know what is the current situation for all hardware parts...sor - Thursday, December 19, 2019 - link
I value the fact that it is one of the very few fanless systems I’ve seen for the new AMD chipsets.I’m sure someone could cobble together a water block for the chipset and/or buy water blocks, but having it all in a coherent package also has value.
You seem to only value overclocksbility when it comes to fancy cooling solutions. I tend to go water cooling for everything, even at stock frequencies, just for the silence.
I’d peg this product better aimed at threadripper though for the price bracket.
sor - Thursday, December 19, 2019 - link
“A tenth the price” is hyperbole. A comparable water cooling system would run $600... I’d be nice and say $500. Look at Corsair or EKWB CPU cooling systems that include CPU water block, pump, radiator, tubing, and a reservoir. Then add a chipset water block (that I’m not sure are even available for an x570). Then add the cost of the motherboard - the Asrock Phantom gaming X is $400.All said, if we were conservative, yes this might only be $700-800 of gear for $1000.
TheSkullCaveIsADarkPlace - Friday, December 27, 2019 - link
From your comparison here i take it that the price of this board includes pump, radiator, tubing and reservoir. Awesome!!! ;-Phbsource - Friday, December 20, 2019 - link
I feel you're still missing the point and don't understand handbags.The vast, vast majority of all bags sold in the world are sold on performance. Same for motherboards. A small majority of bags sell for an awful lot of money.
Chanel bags do not sell for £5000 because they 'work properly for awhile.'
hbsource - Friday, December 20, 2019 - link
*minorityI should learn by now to re-read my own comments 10x on this site before posting.
lazarpandar - Thursday, December 19, 2019 - link
I don't agree with TheinsanegamerN either, but your analogy here is horrible lol.A motherboard is not a fashion item and isn't comparable to one.
It however isn't 'worthless' just because it's more expensive than other products that perform better, that's silly, it's just not worth $1000.
hbsource - Friday, December 20, 2019 - link
Why isn't a motherboard a fashion item?Why is a handbag a fashion item?
Who decides?
lazarpandar - Friday, December 20, 2019 - link
Sure I agree the lines are blurry, but that's not a good argument as to why your assertion is correct. If your argument is "you don't get to decide", then that's my argument too, and we're logically back to before you even made that silly comparison in the first place.Korguz - Friday, December 20, 2019 - link
um.. maybe because fashion, is consider clothing ??" Fashion is a popular aesthetic expression in a certain time and context, especially in clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle and body proportions" how does that relate to motherboards, notebooks, etc ??
GreenReaper - Saturday, December 21, 2019 - link
It's especially in clothing, but not only in clothing. There can be fashion trends in hardware (and software, for that matter), which rarely derive from any measurable performance factors - or if they do, they tend to apply only in certain cases.Just having a motherboard that costs $1000 will be something for a certain class of people to brag about. Having a system that doesn't break 40C, likewise. Whether it's actually "useful" is debatable, but that has never been the point of fashion.
Supercell99 - Wednesday, December 25, 2019 - link
Women cant walk around with a motherboard on their arm to prove they have things other women can't.That's why motherboards aren't a fashion item.
hbsource - Thursday, December 26, 2019 - link
The classic Wilde quote: A cynic knows the price of everything but the value of nothing.TheSkullCaveIsADarkPlace - Friday, December 27, 2019 - link
> A motherboard is not a fashion item and isn't comparable to one.Strange statement. It does not compute. Please explain the functional utility value of the gaudy silkscreen printing and (A)RGBs on the vast majority of consumer motherboards.
Flunk - Thursday, December 19, 2019 - link
You're arguing utility vs marketable value. They're different things.Things are "worth" whatever you can sell them for. But it doesn't mean it's "worth" that money in the other sense of the word (as in the usable value of the item is equal to or higher than the cost paid).
Santoval - Thursday, December 19, 2019 - link
Your analogy is fallacious. You can't compare motherboards to Chanel handbags. They are motherboards ffs, not Hermes handbags.GreenReaper - Saturday, December 21, 2019 - link
I do; I will. The test is whether people are willing to buy them on that basis, in part or in whole.The majority of people don't buy handbags that way either. But some do, and for many it's a factor.
YB1064 - Thursday, December 19, 2019 - link
The board is far from worthless. It performs on par with other high end boards, without the attendant heat. The feature set is also niche and premium. I think we are spoiled by the massive overclocks from Intel and thus anything offered by Ryzen seems paltry by comparison. I own a Supercarrrier Z270 and it runs a 7700k@5100MHz no problems. Great feature set and stable. ASRock is not trash by any means.DanNeely - Thursday, December 19, 2019 - link
As someone who watercools his systems I'm theoretically in the market for something like this. A mono-block appeals in that it avoids any potential issues with the VRMs being designed expecting airflow from a CPU cooler (my current haswell system has a board with a factory waterblock on the VRMs). But while I'd be willing to pay a premium over the cost of the mobo and CPU waterblock for it; they're marking up $500 for the waterblock and ~$400ish more than a CPU block is way too much of a premium even if I was willing to pay $500 for a baseline board with TB3 and 10GBE. $150 or maybe even $200 for the monoblock would be tempting.rahvin - Thursday, December 19, 2019 - link
As someone else that watercools I also had the same reaction. Interesting product, but it's not a serious product at it's price. It was created as a marketing effort which is why they are only making 1000 of them and more than half will probably go to review sites like anandtech.careyd - Thursday, December 19, 2019 - link
Pushback: I am building a workstation for DaVinci Resolve color grading on this board. 3950x, a pair of 2080Ti's, 64GB RAM. Requirement for me is 10Gbe and Thunderbolt 3 on board. My choice on X570 was down to the AsRock Creator $599 and Aqua ($999) due to this. They are essentially the same board, functionally speaking. I was committed to doing custom watercooling loop this time around...not because I had to but because I wanted to, but I'm happy to have the cooling improvements. So, if you are down to the choice of those two boards, and briefly consider building up the Creator with EK or equivalent quality waterblocks (if you can even find them for the chipset and VRMs on here), you'd be looking at about another ~$250-300 in costs over the cost of the Creator board. So in that situation a $200-ish premium for a well-integrated custom monoblock board is not that big of a stretch.To be clear, I'm not saying it's for everybody, but for a system that will generate revenue 20x it's cost in it's usable lifetime I think it's fine.
PeachNCream - Thursday, December 19, 2019 - link
If you only generate $50-100K in revenue from your build over its lifespan (assuming 2 years here) then you need to go find a better source of income because that is some low end chump change for all that effort.careyd - Saturday, December 21, 2019 - link
I dont feed trolls. You'll have to get your satisfaction elsewhere.PeachNCream - Monday, December 23, 2019 - link
There's nothing about pointing out that the ROI you quoted is barely scraping out middle income on the high end if your estimates of revenue over costs are accurate that constitutes trolling. However, I do know of people that get offended when the facts of their statements turn out to look a bit silly and then accuse others of trolling in order to feel better.lmcd - Tuesday, June 16, 2020 - link
You're clearly trolling if you can't calculate the cost of that build. $1700 for CPU + Mobo, another 2k for GPUs, over $300 in RAM, $100 for the water cooler, $150 for the case, $150 for the PSU, and assuredly $300 or more of storage. That's a minimum of $4800 without whatever pro monitor he might be including and whatever combination of better cooling, storage, or case he's including.That's already at your "maximum" estimate for revenue, and that's the minimum reasonable for the build.
Then there's the next fallacy: you're assuming there's not a PC this is replacing, which is an absolutely idiotic assumption. ROI is always against the status quo, not against 0. An "aging" machine with a i7-6950X and 2x GTX 1080 would greatly decrease the expected ROI, so you can't project his revenue against the cost of the machine and the ROI ratio.
So yes you're absolutely trolling. Just because you're a regular doesn't mean your head isn't up somewhere it shouldn't be.
Korguz - Thursday, December 19, 2019 - link
TheinsanegamerN the same could be said about some of intels pricing, but people still bought/buy those cpu's, what's your point ?eek2121 - Friday, December 20, 2019 - link
Worthless? Hardly. The target audience is someone like me.A bit off-topic: AnandTech needs to update their GPU before they become the most 'worthless' site when it comes to reviews. The gaming benchmarks ARE worthless because the majority of the games tested are GPU bound on the 1080. It's time to make a jump to a 2080ti. For example, on my Linux Threadripper based system, I get a significantly better framerate from GTAV on my Threadripper 1950X AT 4K (!!!) with only a slightly better GPU. This is at stock settings. Every single game that AnandTech tests, I get significantly better performance (nearly twice the FPS in most cases) just by having a better GPU...and I'm on a Zen 1 based system vs. Zen 2.
I'm usually defensive of AnandTech, however it's time for change.
Silma - Friday, December 20, 2019 - link
Absolutely agree with you.This board really is aiming at a clientele who wouldn't know how to better spend or donate a thousand bucks.
Vatharian - Friday, December 20, 2019 - link
Board itself is reasonably well equipped. Computer does not end on motherboard and CPU, it's currently the only board offering 10G Base-T, TB3 and WF6, except for X570 Creator, also from ASRock, and it costs exactly half - $500. For the 'worth' of board, look there. Would you pay $500 for monoblock? I would if I had maxed out other components and still cash left. It's convenient, actually, and every single monoblock-equipped board I have, is still working, thanks to always cool components. And $500 for full-board monoblock isn't outrageous, it would be more expensive to manufacture it by yourself.Now, if you don't see any point, then it's just not the product for you, and again, look at the Creator board.
It's the same as full diy liquid cooling loop. Does it provide any extra performance over AIO? Barely, if any. Is it worth it given exorbitant costs? No. Will people continue making them? Yes.
I have pimped out dual-cpu computer, with water cooled ram, vrms, chipset, both CPUs, gpus, 100G network card and fpga card, just because I simply wanted to. There is no benefit to it (and lots of hassle, as when I'll swap something it will be royal pita), but I still did it, just for the joy of it.
joesiv - Thursday, December 19, 2019 - link
pinched inlet hose?Stuka87 - Thursday, December 19, 2019 - link
Optical illusion caused by the square edge of the aluminum block. I thought the same thing at a quick glance.dcianf - Thursday, December 19, 2019 - link
Users that mix this with other high performance watercooling components are in for a nasty surprise: this monoblock is aluminum while most other equipment (save for EK Fluid Gaming Aluminum kits) is copper or nickel. Aluminum is very galvanically active and would corrode in a mixed loop.Stuka87 - Thursday, December 19, 2019 - link
I didn't see any mention of it, but the aluminum inside the cooler looks like it has been plated. If thats the case, compatibility would not be an issue.smarmy - Thursday, December 19, 2019 - link
The X570 AQUA is the only completely water-cooled X570 motherboard – its unique all-copper cooling block covers the CPU, VRM and X570 Chipset to provide unbelievable performance and stabilityGreenReaper - Saturday, December 21, 2019 - link
Thank you, Mr. Bot, for that marketing spiel.vr69 - Tuesday, December 24, 2019 - link
Unlike your comment, I thought his was directly to the point and relevant -- correcting the earlier mistaken post. The waterblock itself isn't made of aluminum. That's important.Dug - Thursday, December 19, 2019 - link
For $999 I would like to know how the other components do such as 10Gb nic, wifi6, TB3, USB, sound, m.2 ssd's in each slot, etc. So many of these boards fail at one thing or another when loaded up.A cpu benchmark and overclock really isn't a review.
careyd - Thursday, December 19, 2019 - link
true. since it is specifically the combination of thunderbolt 3 and 10Gbe on the same board that has drawn me to it.coyote2 - Thursday, December 19, 2019 - link
I've killed a number of motherboards because only the CPU was cooled, so I'd love a board that was cooled. Unfortunately I've never made a custom loop, so I wish I could plug an AIO into it.Operandi - Thursday, December 19, 2019 - link
This board is literally just too much of everything to even interesting let alone rational. Way too expensive, way too overbuilt, too much bling.Its like buying a Bugatti Chiron but then platting the entire thing in 24k gold. At some point it just because extravagant for the sake of being extravagant and all you have is gaudy waste of money.
DigitalFreak - Thursday, December 19, 2019 - link
They're using a PCIe 2.0 switch to run 4 SATA III ports, 1 Gig Ethernet port, 3 PCIe x1 ports and the Wifi off of a single PCIe 2.0 x1 uplink. What a joke. For as much as this board costs they should have used a PEX chip.DanNeely - Thursday, December 19, 2019 - link
That's a surprising cheapout for as extravagant as this board otherwise is. I don't know if any PCEe x4 chips are available yet; but just staying within ASMedia's products an ASM2812 would use both remaining PCIe lanes on the chipset and run everything at 3.0 speeds instead of 2.0; and then use a 4 port sata controller instead of 2x 2 port controllers (or splurge for the 2816 which supports 12 devices and 16 downstream lanes instead of 6 and 8).Tomatotech - Friday, December 20, 2019 - link
I'm no expert in PCI lanes but this seems marginally acceptable.a) You mostly wouldn't be using wifi and the second (1gb) ethernet at the same time. The primary 10gig ethernet port would be the first port used for people only using one ethernet port.
b) Fast storage goes in the dual m.2 ports. There are 4 directly connected SATA III ports for SSDs. The switched SATA III ports are more likely just for huge slow HDDs.
c) the three PCIe x1 ports are for slower add-on cards that don't need huge bandwidth.
I'm not seeing a lot here that would overly benefit from huge bandwidth upgrades. Don't forget the board has 2 x thunderbolt 3 ports for staggeringly fast access (faster than SATA III) for more m.2 cards, eGPU, extra 10gb ethernet ports etc.
Tomatotech - Friday, December 20, 2019 - link
I'm no expert in PCI lanes but this seems marginally acceptable.a) You mostly wouldn't be using wifi and the second (1gb) ethernet at the same time. The primary 10gig ethernet port would be the first port used for people only using one ethernet port.
b) Fast storage goes in the dual m.2 ports. There are 4 directly connected SATA III ports for SSDs. The switched SATA III ports are more likely just for huge slow HDDs.
c) the three PCIe x1 ports are for slower add-on cards that don't need huge bandwidth.
I'm not seeing a lot here that would overly benefit from huge bandwidth upgrades. Don't forget the board has 2 x thunderbolt 3 ports for staggeringly fast access (faster than SATA III) for more m.2 cards, eGPU, extra 10gb ethernet ports etc.
B3an - Thursday, December 19, 2019 - link
I just got a Threadripper motherboard, with far better features, and even that doesn't cost as much as this ripoff. It looks better and i'm water cooling it too. If you're going to spend this much then just go for the superior Threadripper platform. This is a pig with lipstick, and not very nice looking lipstick at that.croc - Thursday, December 19, 2019 - link
I see "X570 and I think "entry level" Four DIMM slots. "up to" 16 pcie lanes... Now tell me it is worth 1K USD? Ha. Croc laughs.ballsystemlord - Thursday, December 19, 2019 - link
@Gavin There are ryzen CPUs capable of going over 4.4GHz, wouldn't it be better to test with a better CPU?Yes, I do know you'll have to retest about 10 boards, but with 4.4GHz being the limit I think it would be worth it.
ballsystemlord - Thursday, December 19, 2019 - link
@Gavin There are ryzen CPUs capable of going over 4.4GHz, wouldn't it be better to test a motherboard with a better CPU sample? Like a "golden" one?Yes, I do know you'll have to retest about 10 boards, but with 4.4GHz being the limit I think it would be worth it.
shing3232 - Friday, December 20, 2019 - link
I would like to see 3950x oc instead on such highend motherboard.jabber - Friday, December 20, 2019 - link
I remember a time when a top line motherboard cost like $60. About 25% of the cost of the CPU.Threska - Friday, December 20, 2019 - link
And I remember when eggs were 50¢. Times and technology changes.jabber - Saturday, December 21, 2019 - link
Well it's getting to the point that you buy a motherboard they may as well throw the 12 core CPU in for free.kk8675277@gmail.com - Friday, December 20, 2019 - link
<a href="https://www.infofastme.com/html/"> This Is Really Great Work. Thank You For Sharing Such A Useful Information Here In The Blog.</a>Korguz - Friday, December 20, 2019 - link
go away with your useless spamcrotach - Saturday, December 21, 2019 - link
Hm, they've used aluminium like in cheap AIOs. If I pair this with the rest of my system which is copper then this $999 board will start to corrode!careyd - Saturday, December 21, 2019 - link
cooling block is copper. cover is aluminum.ballsystemlord - Saturday, December 21, 2019 - link
You mix copper and aluminium and then stuff corrodes?! Since when?I've seen many and own fan+heatsinks that mix both and neither metal corrodes.
Beerfloat - Sunday, December 22, 2019 - link
Since physics. It isn’t a problem in air. But water contains electrolytes and you need corrosion inhibitors if you mix these metals.Ahmedrr1 - Sunday, December 22, 2019 - link
Very nicehttps://www.technewsahmed.com/
Korguz - Sunday, December 22, 2019 - link
and yet ANOTHER spam post to get trojans and viruses... oh joyBeerfloat - Sunday, December 22, 2019 - link
The article states: “The X570 Aqua does offer support for UDIMM ECC memory, but only when used with Ryzen Pro processors.“I believe this statement is somewhat misleading. As per Asrock’s product speCification page, that restriction should apply only to Zen+ ‘Picasso’ Ryzen CPUs, not the current ‘Matisse’ Zen 2 cores.
hanselltc - Monday, December 23, 2019 - link
Can someone sell a cpu with soldered on waterblock alreadyMitch89 - Thursday, December 26, 2019 - link
Why use a processor so far down the line-up in such an expensive motherboard clearly aimed at the high-performance crowd? A five-year old graphics card? Really seems like the motherboard is worth as much as all the other components combined!This review really comes up short, sadly seems to be where Anandtech is headed.
Korguz - Friday, December 27, 2019 - link
if it is so disapointing.. go some where else...MDD1963 - Monday, January 6, 2020 - link
gets 25-50 MHz extra than the $225 boards! Only an $800 surcharge which could have been used to simply jump to TRX40! Count me in! :)annahumphries110 - Wednesday, January 22, 2020 - link
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