ASRock B850 Motherboards Review – RIPTIDE, LIGHTNING, STEEL LEGEND & LiveMixer Aiming The $200 US AM5 Segment

ASRock B850 Steel Legend WIFI - Unboxing & Close Up

The ASRock B850 Steel Legend WiFi motherboard comes in a standard white-colored package. The front features a picture of the motherboard & this is a Steel Legend product, which offers great value along with a great set of features. The packaging also lists down a few features such as Polychrome SYNC, WIFI 7 & HDMI.

The backside of the package lists the specifications and special features of the motherboard, such as the 14+2+1 phase power design, Wi-Fi7, USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Type-C ports, Blazing M.2 Gen5 slots, PCIe Gen5, Tool-less M.2 heatsinks and a high-end capacitors.

Inside the package is another box that contains the accessories and is located right below the box holder for the board itself. These include:

• - 2 x SATA Data Cables
• - 2 x ASRock WiFi 2.4/5/6 GHz Antennas
• - 1 x Thermistor Cable

With all the accessories done, it's time to put that box aside and take the motherboard out of its package. The ASRock B850 Steel Legend motherboard is a standard ATX offering that measures 305x244 mm.

ASRock has opted for a white and silver color scheme for its Steel Legend series, making them a perfect option for those investing in white PC builds while staying on a budget.

The board uses the LGA 1718 socket to support AMD Ryzen "AM5" processors. The socket works with Ryzen 7000, Ryzen 8000G, and Ryzen 9000 CPUs and will also support future generations of AM5 Ryzen chips that are supported by the platform.

Next to the socket are four DDR5 DIMM slots that can support up to 256 GB of dual-channel memory.

These slots are rated to support EXPO/XMP profiles up to 8000 MT/s (OC Plus). Each slot is labeled, making it easier to install DIMMs in the proper orientation. DDR5 memory comes with a different latch position so forcing a DDR4 module into a DDR5 slot will cause permanent damage. The full QVL list can be found here.

The ASRock B850 PG RIPTIDE WIFI motherboard features a 14+2+1 (VCore/ VccGT/VccAUX)  phase Dr.MOS power delivery that utilizes 80A Power Stages.

The VRMs and power delivery solution are scattered around the AM5 socket. The board uses an 8-layer NPG-170D server-grade PCB with 2oz Thickened copper. This VRM is very similar to the other RIPTIDE offering. As for the cooling, you get bigger heatsinks in the form of the Enlarged Heatsink Armor.

The CPU is supplied power through an 8+8 pin EPS power connector configuration. This will feed the CPU with up to 600 Watts of power. The AMD Ryzen 9000 CPUs are very power-hungry with the maximum target power going above 220W for the flagship Ryzen 9 9950X CPU.

Expansion slots include two PCI Express x16 (1 x Gen 5.0 x16/8 / 1x Gen 4.0 x16/8) and four M.2 slots. The PCIE2 slot will become disabled when the fourth M.2 slot is occupied.

• CPU:
  - 1 x PCIe 5.0 x16 Slot (PCIE1), supports x16 mode
• Chipset:
  - 1 x PCIe 4.0 x16 Slot (PCIE2), supports x4 mode
  - 1 x Vertical M.2 Socket (Key E), supports type 2230 WiFi/BT PCIe WiFi module
  - 15μ Gold Contact in VGA PCIe Slot (PCIE1)

The motherboard utilizes a full metallic slot and ASRock also uses a new mechanism called Graphics Card Lite Release which has an enlarged latch for easy pressing that should help in removing the graphics card from the slot.

There are a total of four M.2 slots on the motherboard which include one PCIe Gen5 Blazing M.2 slot and three Hyper M.2 Gen4 x4 slots. Three of these slots are cooled by M.2 heatsinks which include an XXL M.2 heatsink with an anti-drop screw design. The top design features a toolless design, too, which makes it easy to access the slot.

Following is the full list of M.2 ports and their details on the ASRock B850 Steel Legend WIFI motherboard:

• CPU:
  - 1 x Blazing M.2 Socket (M2_1, Key M), supports type 2280 PCIe Gen5x4 (128 Gb/s) mode
  - 1 x Hyper M.2 Socket (M2_2, Key M), supports type 2260/2280 PCIe Gen4x4 (64 Gb/s) mode
• Chipset:
  - 1 x Hyper M.2 Socket (M2_3, Key M), supports type 2230/2260/2280 PCIe Gen4x4 (64 Gb/s) mode
  - 1 x Hyper M.2 Socket (M2_4, Key M), supports type 2260/2280 PCIe Gen4x4 (64 Gb/s) mode
  ASMedia ASM1061:
  - 4 x SATA3 6.0 Gb/s Connectors

The motherboard has no RGB LEDs on its own but comes with 3 ARGB and 1 RGB LED connector for users to personalize their PCs using the ASRock Polychrome RGB software.

Storage options include four SATA III ports rated to operate at 6 GB/s. These can support up to four different storage devices at once. For USB, you get a total of 20 ports which include 1 USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type-C, 2 USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C, 2 USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A, 7 USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A and 8 USB 2.0 ports.

The full list of connectors on the motherboard is listed as follows.

• - 1 x SPI TPM Header
• - 1 x Thermistor Cable Header
• - 1 x Power LED and Speaker Header
• - 1 x RGB LED Header
• - 3 x Addressable LED Headers
• - 2 x CPU Fan Connectors (4-pin) (Smart Fan Speed Control)
• - 3 x Chassis Fan Connectors (4-pin) (Smart Fan Speed Control)
• - 1 x AIO Pump Fan Connector (4-pin) (Smart Fan Speed Control)
• - 1 x 24 pin ATX Power Connector (Hi-Density Power Connector)
• - 2 x 8 pin 12V Power Connectors (Hi-Density Power Connector)
• - 1 x Front Panel Audio Connector
• - 2 x USB 2.0 Headers (Support 4 USB 2.0 ports)
• - 2 x USB 3.2 Gen1 Headers (Support 4 USB 3.2 Gen1 ports)
• - 1 x Front Panel Type C USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Header (20 Gb/s)

ASRock is using the latest WIFI 7 Module to power wireless connectivity and Bluetooth 5.4. In terms of Ethernet, there is a single LAN port powered by the 2.5GbE Killer E3100G controller. Audio is run by the ALC4082 controller.

The motherboard comes with the following I/O connectors:

• - 2 x Antenna Ports
• - 1 x HDMI Port
• - 1 x Optical SPDIF Out Port
• - 2 x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C Ports (10 Gb/s)
• - 3 x USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A Ports
• - 2 x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A Ports (10 Gb/s)
• - 4 x USB 2.0 Ports
• - 1 x RJ-45 LAN Port
• - 1 x BIOS Flashback Button
• - 1 x Line Out Jack (Gold Audio Jack)
• - 1 x Microphone Input Jack (Gold Audio Jack)