Asrock x570 steel legend review in Spanish (full analysis)

ASRock X570 Steel Legend will be the third board to be tested from the manufacturer AMRo X570 platform ASRock. It is slightly cheaper than the Extreme4 and practically what changes is simply the design and a DisplayPort is added at the back. In this way it has 10 phases and double M.2 4.0 x4 connectivity, as well as the same stable and simple BIOS that the rest of the manufacturer's boards have. A great option if we like its aggressive design with high quality lighting and heatsinks.

And before we continue, we appreciate the trust of ASRock in our team to give us this series of plates for analysis and review.

ASRock X570 Steel Legend technical characteristics

Unboxing

The presentation consists of a double box, the first of which is responsible for showing us the typical screen printing of the Steel Legend range. Along with this and in the back area, we have the main information provided by the manufacturer of the plate. That is summarized in the news of the AMD X570 platform.

The inner box is clearly more robust, made of rigid cardboard and with a box-type opening. He presents the plate to us in an antistatic bag and in turn protected by the polyethylene foam mold caught with clips that ASRock uses.

The elements that this bundle brings will be the following:

• ASRock X570 Steel Legend Motherboard User Support Guide 4 SATA 6Gbps cables 3x screws to install M.22 standoffs for M2 slots

It is exactly the same as the Extreme4 incorporates, and it is that they are two similar plates as we will see throughout the review.

Design and Specifications

ASRock X570 Steel Legend and Extreme4 are two extremely same boards, so much so that even if we changed the paint on the outside, we would be talking about almost the same motherboard. The difference lies precisely in this exterior design, which has a long history in ASRock already with the Z390 and earlier that we discussed here not too long ago. This design is based on a gray and white based urban camouflage, really striking and aggressive. Either you like it a lot, or you don't like anything, but it will never leave you indifferent.

For it, a configuration of heatsinks made of aluminum has been used that cover the chipset and the two M.2 slots that we have installed integrally and under the same block. This heatsink will have to be removed entirely if we want to install an SSD in these slots, so it will be a somewhat tedious process. Of course, its design in pure white is striking and very futuristic. On top of the chipset we have lighting with Polychrome RGB technology.

In the upper area we have the double heatsink for the VRM with only changes compared to the Extreme4 in its paint, since they are of the same size and design. And in this case we also have an EMI protector for the I / O panel whose backplate is pre-installed by means of two screws in the back of the board. Also here we find RGB lighting.

In the rear area we only find solders for the connectors and various electronic components, since we do not have any type of metal armor to improve durability. The plate is made of several layers of copper and fiberglass that gives it rigidity, very little weight, and good temperature and little resistance in the transport of energy thanks to pure copper tracks.

VRM and power phases

Again we have to make a comparison with the Extreme4 in this ASRock X570 Steel Legend, because we have exactly the same VRM configuration. This then has a total of 10 power phases that take their energy through two connectors of 8 and 4 solid pins respectively. 8 of these phases will be dedicated to Vcore and as we will see now, they have different MOSFETS.

For the control of these phases, a PWM DrMOS chip has been used that intelligently manages the voltages and currents in the supply, and their modification through the BIOS. And the truth is that it does a great job on these ASrock models. In the first stage we are going to have two DC-DC SiC632A MOSFETS in the upper zone phases, and 8 SiC634 in the 8 main phases. In both cases they are elements that support 50A for each phase although the model incorporated in the Vcore logically offers a little more benefits.

As in other cases, the VRM of the Asrock has Renesas ISL6617A phase duplicators, in order to give us that maximum current of 230A that the manufacturer ensures in its specifications. Let's take into account that they are not direct phases like those of Asus for example, so with a CPU to the maximum and overclocked, we will surely put this board in trouble.

In the second stage we have 10 solid 60A CHOKES with Super Alloy technology that multiply on the board for RAM memories. In the third stage we have a system of 820 µF and 100 µF capacitors to smooth the input signal in the Vcore, which are accompanied by Nichicon FP12K capacitors that support more than 12, 000 hours of use.

Socket, chipset and RAM memory

The next stop is in the basic elements of the ASRock X570 Steel Legend, we are talking about socket, chipset or south bridge, and RAM memory slots. We have no news, since the AMD platform is based on its AM4 socket with pin array on the same CPU. Like all ASRocks, it offers compatibility with 2nd and 3rd generation AMD Ryzen, and 2nd Generation Ryzen APU only with integrated Radeon Vega graphics. The board is certified to use all Ryzen 3000 CPUs, including the powerful 3900X and 3950X.

Giving support to the CPU, we have the AMD X570 chipset, of which you will already know practically everything. And if not, then take a look at our comparison of the X570 vs X470 vs X370. It has 20 PCIe lanes natively compatible with the PCIe 4.0 bus that doubles the up and down speed of PCIe 3.0. On this occasion ASRock has used an active cooling system in the form of an aluminum heatsink without fins and with a turbine-type fan that we will not be able to control from software or BIOS in its RPM.

Next to the AM4 socket we find the 4 DIMM slots. They support up to 128 GB of RAM at a speed of 4666 MHz in OC Dual Channel if we install a 3rd generation Ryzen. It is exactly the same capacity as the superior Phantom Gaming model and they are also ECC or Non ECC compatible. It is a great detail from ASRock to provide support for these speeds to this board. If we install a 2nd generation AMD Ryzen, it will support 64 GB at 3600 MHz and if we connect a 2nd generation APU we can reach a maximum speed of 3466 MHz and only Non ECC type.

Storage and PCI slots

In the ASRock X570 Steel Legend we find a count of 2 M.2 slots, just like most of the configurations we have in other manufacturers. It is a way of not overloading the chipset and saving LANES for other functions such as PCIe or USB ports. In this configuration we find an M.2 slot working in PCIe 4.0 / 3.0 x4 mode that is connected to the CPU. The second slot is located lower and works under PCIe 4.0 / 3.-0 x4 or SATA 6 Gbps, and is connected to the chipset. Both support sizes 2230, 2242, 260, and 2280, with the extra 22110 in the second.

We do not have a shared bus with the PCIe slots, which are a total of 2 in size x16 and 3 in size x1. The first of all stands out for being reinforced with steel plates, and is directly connected to the CPU. Its 16 4.0 lanes will be activated for 2nd and 3rd generation Ryzen without integrated graphics, while for 2nd generation APUs there will only be 8 lanes used. This, along with the other full configuration slot, supports AMD CrossFireX 2-way.

And speaking of the rest of the slots, we have 3 x1 and 1 x16 connected directly to the chipset, and they can work as follows:

• The PCIe x16 slot will work in 4.0 or 3.0 and x4 mode, so only 4 lanes will be available in it, as always on all boards. All three PCIe x1 slots will be capable of 3.0 or 4.0. It is not detailed in the specifications or manual how their PCIe lanes are distributed, but judging by the external connectivity that we have, the other three lanes will go separately.

Network connectivity and sound card

We have no news here either, since this ASRock X570 Steel Legend board uses exactly the same configuration as the extreme4. As far as sound is concerned, we have the highest performance chip available, the Realtek ALC1220 along with a specific NE5532 amplifier for the front port panel and that supports headphones with up to 600Ω impedance.

And when it comes to network connectivity, we only have an Intel I211-AT chip that gives us a bandwidth of 10/100/1000 Mbps through its RJ-45. ASRock has thought of us users, and has given us a third M.2 2230 slot that gives us the possibility of connecting a 5 or 6 CNVi Wi-Fi card to provide this Wi-Fi connectivity board if we so wish. This card is worth around 35 euros, so it's not bad.

I / O ports and internal connections

In this ASRock X570 Steel Legend we do not have any type of button to interact with the BIOS on the rear panel or to turn it on from the inside. It would have been a nice differential detail compared to the Extreme4, but even in that they are the same. We also did not find a Debug LED system to monitor the BIOS warnings using numerical codes.

Starting with its rear I / O panel we have:

• 1x PS / 2 keyboard and mouse combo 1x HDMI 2.01x DisplayPort 1.26x USB 3.1 Gen1 (blue) 1x USB 3.1 Gen2 (turquoise) 1x USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C1x RJ-45S / PDIF for digital audio 5x 3.5mm jack for audioDos Wi-Fi antenna enabled slots

Again we repeat configuration, although in this case a second video connector has been added in the form of DisplayPort, which is greatly appreciated for 4K monitors that do not support maximum performance for their HDMI. Both the HDMI 2.0 port and DisplayPort 1.2 support resolutions up to 4K (4096 x 2160 @ 60 FPS) and HDCP 2.2 with HDR.

And the main internal ports add up to the following:

• AIC Thunderbolt2x USB 2.0 connector (with up to 4 ports) 2x USB 3.1 Gen1 (with up to 2 ports) 1x internal USB Type-C 3.1 Gen1 Front audio connectors 7x headers for fans / water pumps 1x header for M.22x fan headers for lighting (1 for RGB and 1 for A-RGB) TPM connector

No surprise that we haven't seen on the other ASRocks. Remember that the Thunderbolt connector will only be compatible with the ASRock Thunderbolt AIC own card, which must be installed in an x16 slot that has at least four active PCI lanes.

Management software

Among the programs we need to get the most out of this ASRock X570 Steel Legend board are ASRock A-Tuning Utility and Polychrome RGB.

With the first, we will have available some of our own options that we can touch from the BIOS. For example, CPU or RAM voltages and their frequency, although it doesn't do much good as long as the platform does not support overclocking or increasing frequency beyond what the CPU supports from stock. Yes, we can modify the profile of connected fans, except for the chipset, and see the status of the main components of the board and temperatures.

With the second program, we can modify animations of the lighting installed on the motherboard and its two RGB headers and what you have connected to them. From the BIOS we will also have a couple of very basic options in this regard. And if we want to save ourselves downloading these applications and drivers one by one, we have an application that does it for us.

testing bench

Our test bench with the ASRock X570 Steel Legend, consists of the following components:

TESTING BENCH
Processor:	AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
Base plate:	ASRock X570 Steel Legend
Memory:	16GB G.Skill Trident Z RGB Royal DDR4 3600MHz
Heatsink	Stock
HDD	ADATA SU750
Graphic card	Asus ROG Strix GTX 1660 Ti
Power supply	Be Quiet Dark Pro 11 1000W

BIOS

This BIOS that we are seeing, has already been mounted on the other motherboards of the manufacturer for other platforms such as the Z390. In fact , it is very similar to this except for the overclocking options, which are still quite layered. As you may already know, the AMD Ryzen 3000 does not yet support manual overclocking, in fact, they have not yet reached their maximum frequencies. For example, the Ryzen 5 3600X that we have installed on this board only reaches 4.1 GHz instead of the 4.4 GHz that it supports.

The BIOS is extremely intuitive and allows us to store XPM profiles of RAM memories in case it is not able to detect the memories and their JEDEC profile. In our case it has been detected perfectly, and we will only have to go to " Load XMP Setting " to select it and leave it loaded. Or we can also create it manually with the frequency that we create appropriate and the voltage that we estimate.

The voltage settings are just as good as the rest of the boards on this ASRock platform. The manufacturer has done a good job of tuning for these Ryzen, with a very stable BIOS and that perfectly detects all the latest generation hardware.

Temperatures

As in other cases, we have not been able to upload the Ryzen 3600X processor at a faster speed than what it offers in stock, it is something that we have already discussed in the review of the processors and the rest of the boards. We have decided to do a 12-hour test with Prime95 to test the 10 phases of powering this board with the 6-core CPU and its stock heatsink.

We have taken thermal captures with our Flir One PRO to measure the temperature of the VRM externally. In the following table you will have the results that have been measured in the system about the chipset and the VRM during the stress process.

	Relaxed Stock	Full Stock
VRM	33ºC	43ºC
	Minimum observed	Maximum observed
Chipset	58 ° C	63 ° C

The temperatures of the VRM are magnificent, at least with this case of having a 6-core CPU and without overclocking. As for the chipset, because in this case we consider them relatively high with more than 60 degrees at an ambient temperature of 24 ° C.

Final words and conclusion about ASRock X570 Steel Legend

So far our review of the ASRock X570 Steel Legend board, one that is practically the same as the Extreme4, but with the decoration changed in color. And it is that we have almost identical aluminum heatsinks for VRM, M.2 and chipset.

Its VRM has been fabled with a CPU that we can consider mid-range on the platform, although we have assured support and power for the Ryzen 9 with a maximum capacity of 230A of its 10 phases. We would have liked them to be direct phases instead of using duplicators, but it is nothing new in the brand, which continues to bet on this form of feeding.

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We have double M.2 PCIe 4.0 slot and double PCIe 4.0 x16 slot, although we know that one works at x4. We can even take advantage of this to install an ASRock Thunderbolt expansion card. We value the fact of not having shared lanes, although this is paid for with only two USB 3.1 Gen2 ports, one A and one C, which really is not much. At least it is supplied with 6 3.1 Gen1 ports, a fairly large count.

As for BIOS, we have no tangible news, being very stable and perfectly detecting all the hardware we have installed. The supplied voltages are very good and its interface is simple and intuitive.

ASRock X570 Steel Legend will be available on the market for a price of 275 euros today. It competes directly with the Asus TUF family, MSI's Carbon Pro range and Gigabyte AORUS Pro range. They are tough rivals, and some with better VRM, but here we can consider an advantage to have an M.2 slot to install Wi-Fi 6.

ADVANTAGE	DISADVANTAGES
+ BIOS EASY TO HANDLE AND STABLE	- IT IS PRACTICALLY A COPY OF THE EXTREME4 WITH OTHER COLORS
+ GOOD TEMPERATURES OF VRM	- VRM SOMETHING SHORT REGARDING ITS RIVALS
+ HAVE A WI-FI SLOT AVAILABLE
+ GREAT USB AND PCIE CONNECTIVITY
+ DESIGN AND PRICE

The Professional Review team awards him the gold medal:

ASRock X570 Steel Legend

COMPONENTS - 87%

REFRIGERATION - 84%

BIOS - 86%

EXTRAS - 83%

PRICE - 86%

85%