ASRock Z890 Taichi Aqua motherboard comes with 10 USB-C connections

ASRock showed off its Z890 chipset motherboards for the new Intel Core Ultra 200 processors a few weeks ago. However, with the release of details about each model, one detail on the ASRock Z890 Taichi Aqua caught the most attention. It’s the fact that this E-ATX board offers a total of ten USB-C connections on the back.

As shown in the image below, the board’s connection panel is dominated by USB Type-C ports. Just below the CLR CMOS and BIOS Flashback buttons we have a set of eight ports, two rows with four on each side. These are connections with USB 3.2 Gen1 and Gen2 interfaces.

After this cluster of eight USB ports we have two Ethernet ports, one for 5G and the other for 10G Marvell. Just below them, we have connections for Wi-Fi 7 antennas and, next to them, two more USB-C connections. These appear separate because they use a Thunderbolt 4 interface.

Completing the board’s direct connections, ASRock placed an SPDIF optical output and the classic analog line and microphone ports. That is, no “classic” Type-A USB ports are found.

Users of this ASRock board will only be able to plug USB-A into the case

The ASRock Z890 Taichi Aqua is not simply incompatible with the USB-A connection. It does not offer any ports for the part that normally goes at the back of your build, but it has headers to connect the front ports of the case.

There are also eight, but they are not marked in the image. According to the board’s specifications, we have four connections for USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A ports and four more for USB 2.0.

More about Z890 boards:

ASRock calls its board design a “leap forward in connectivity.” According to the brand: “our mission is to lead the future and establish a new benchmark for high-end motherboards”.