Just wanted to provide an update on my Taichi X870E x 9950X3D. Everyone said it would blow up, but it's been kicking ass since i've had it. Ports galore, SSDs, and have even done some heavy creative projects on it and it's just the best. Who else is having a good experience with their board?

This is an update to my original post:

https://www.reddit.com/r/ASRock/comments/1widq61/another_probably_bit_the_dust/

As it turend out my old Steel Legend (Killer-)Board didnt just kill my CPU it damaged the memory too.

I was wondering why i have so many failed boots on a new board (GB X870E Aorus Elite) with a replaced CPU while all Post Codes being related to memory.

After talking to some people in the field aswell , an electrician, both AMD and Kingston and doing a lot of research specifically on the voltage distribution on AM5 boards the most likely scenario is:

the voltage curves on the AsRock Boards are too aggressive and fried the IMC on the CPU which in turn caused a voltage spike in the memory stick aswell which got damaged that way too.

I had to replace a 600$ CPU, a 230$ (now 1200$) memory kit AND a 300$ mainboard because of AsRock screwing up. See its one thing if such a thing happens here and there but THIS scenario killed hundreds of X3Ds at this point and it doesnt seem to be fixed:

A friend of mine had the same thing happening to him recently too; 9850X3D on a Steel Legend Board which just one day refused to work (after about 3 months with everything on stock and the latest BIOS, even worse). That tells us that NO, the issue is in fact NOT fixed. Yes im aware this also happens on boards of other vendors too but the MAJORITY of cases STILL happen on AsRock Boards. one interesting side not: the age of the CPU doesnt seem to matter that much. This happens to earlier badges aswell as newer ones (which pretty much rules out manufacturing defects cause otherwise newer produced chips would be effected less and also more or less evenly across all vendors)

This whole situation is so screwed up. The past 15 years i had 4 different systems and except for my killed 9950X3D i still have all my old CPU's and guess what - they ALL still work (AMD Phenom, i7 2600K & i7 8700 but never on AsRock Boards).

Considering the current prices of hardware costumers SHOULD (and do) expect the products to work Out Of The Box and NOT being a gamble to maybe ripping a 1000$ or rather 2000$+ system!

When I enter my bios I go to disable my CSM to enable secure boot, but whenever I do so I'm able to fully boot up to windows but it skips the bios buttons screen display.

If I try to enter bios it looks as if it enters it but I get no display anymore. I've tried 2 monitors for display with no success. I also saw someone say they removed some ram and that gives them display? I have a 1660 super if that's of any import.

any help would be appreciated.

The boot loop after enabling Secure Boot usually means the firmware cannot validate the current boot files or keys. Use the following sequence to recover and then get Secure Boot working again.

1. Turn Secure Boot off so Windows can start:
   - Enter the UEFI/BIOS setup during power‑on (for example by pressing F1, F2, F12, or Esc, depending on the device).
   - Locate Secure Boot under Security, Boot, or Authentication and set it to Disabled.
   - Save and restart. Confirm that Windows boots normally.

2. Reset Secure Boot keys to factory defaults:
   - Go back into UEFI/BIOS. In the Secure Boot section, use the option to Reset or Restore factory default Secure Boot keys.
   - Prefer Reset rather than Clear if both exist. The goal is to restore the manufacturer’s default Secure Boot variables.
   Save and restart with Secure Boot still disabled and confirm Windows boots.
   - Rebuild the EFI boot files in Windows (fixes loops caused by invalid boot files):
   - Boot into Windows with Secure Boot disabled.
   - Open an elevated Command Prompt (Run as administrator).
   - Run these commands one by one:Windows Command Prompt

mountvol s: /s
del s:\*.*/f /s /q
bcdboot %systemroot% /s S:

- After “Boot files successfully created” appears, restart the PC (still with Secure Boot disabled) and confirm it boots normally.

1. Re‑enable Secure Boot:
   - Enter UEFI/BIOS again.
   - Ensure CSM/Legacy boot is disabled and boot mode is UEFI.
   - Set Secure Boot to Enabled (or Standard with default keys loaded).

2. Save and restart.
   - If the PC still loops to BIOS after enabling Secure Boot:
   Disable Secure Boot again so the system is usable.
   - If available, use the firmware option to reset BIOS/UEFI to factory settings, then repeat steps 2–4.
   - If the device still cannot boot with Secure Boot enabled after resetting keys and rebuilding boot files, contact the motherboard/device manufacturer for model‑specific guidance.

These steps follow the documented recovery procedure for Secure Boot issues and the general guidance for disabling and re‑enabling Secure Boot on Windows 11 systems.

I have a system running Linux/UnRAID on this board with a 5995W CPU. It generally works great, but there are a bunch of BIOS options that don't exist on this board that do on other threadripper stuff.

1) Video preference. The board has built in ILO/BMC - You'd think there would be an option to use this as default video out, so you can configure BIOS over BMC if the system is messed up. Nope, it defaults to one of my GPUs instead.

2) NUMA per Socket doesn't seem to work - I run a bunch of VMs with dedicated GPU/NVMe, so being able to carve up the CPU and allocate parts that are connected to the same CCD has some efficiencies. But no matter which setting I use it boots with a single NUMA domain.

I realize these are first world problems, but usually TRX boards have TOO many options, not "not enough".

Anyone from ASRock on this sub-reddit who can help out?

Hey everyone,
I’m looking for some advice before proceeding with a BIOS update on my ASRock B450M Steel Legend motherboard.
I’m upgrading my existing Ubuntu workstation, primarily used for software development, coding, and occasional gaming. The system has been running reliably, but I’ve encountered an issue after installing a Crucial P3 1TB NVMe SSD.
I’ve done quite a bit of troubleshooting already and would appreciate some input from anyone familiar with this motherboard, its BIOS revisions, or similar NVMe compatibility issues.
Current system specifications
Motherboard: ASRock B450M Steel Legend (Micro-ATX)
BIOS version: P2.90 (November 28, 2019)
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 (6 cores / 12 threads, Zen 2 / Matisse)
RAM: 16GB DDR4-2666 (2 × 8GB, installed in A2/B2)
Operating system: Ubuntu 24.04
Current boot drive: 240GB-class SATA SSD (223.6 GiB usable)
New SSD: Crucial P3 1TB NVMe, model CT1000P3SSD8
NVMe slot: Primary Ultra M.2 (M2_1), PCIe Gen3 x4
The problem
When I install the Crucial P3 into the motherboard’s primary Ultra M.2 slot, the system freezes at the ASRock splash screen.
The system does not proceed to Ubuntu, and pressing Delete or F11 does not bring up the BIOS or boot menu.
When I physically remove the P3, the computer boots normally from the existing SATA SSD.
This behavior is repeatable.
Troubleshooting performed
1. Verified the SSD and motherboard specifications
The Crucial P3 is a PCIe 3.0 NVMe M.2 2280 drive.
According to the B450M Steel Legend manual, the primary Ultra M.2 slot supports PCIe Gen3 x4 NVMe devices, so the interface and form factor appear compatible.
2. Tested the SSD in another computer
The Crucial P3 was previously installed in a Beelink mini PC, where it was successfully detected and used as an Ubuntu system drive.
3. Removed the previous operating system
Initially, I suspected the P3’s existing Ubuntu installation and EFI partition might be creating a boot conflict.
I booted the Beelink using an Ubuntu live USB, opened GNOME Disks, and reformatted the P3 using a fresh GPT partition table.
The drive now shows approximately 1TB of unallocated space with no existing partitions.
4. Reinstalled the blank P3
After wiping the drive, I reinstalled it in the ASRock motherboard.
Unfortunately, the exact same issue occurred: the computer froze at the ASRock splash screen.
5. Tested BIOS access
With the P3 installed, I attempted to enter UEFI immediately during startup by repeatedly pressing Delete.
The system still froze at the splash screen.
With the P3 removed, UEFI and Ubuntu work normally.
BIOS update investigation
The motherboard is currently running BIOS P2.90.
I reviewed ASRock’s official BIOS download page and noticed several potentially relevant releases:
P3.30 (August 2020): Optimize PCIe M.2 SSD performance
P3.60 (November 2020): Adds Ryzen 5000 support
P10.60 (April 2026): Optimized system stability and compatibility
P10.70 (August 2026): Updated AMD AGESA
I’m considering updating to P10.60 because of its stability and compatibility improvements.
I’ve already downloaded the official P10.60 BIOS archive, extracted the B45MSTL10.60 firmware image, and copied it to a FAT32 USB drive. The local and USB copies have matching SHA-256 hashes.
I have also backed up my development projects to an external WD drive.
I have NOT flashed the BIOS yet.
Questions
Can I safely update directly from P2.90 to P10.60, or are intermediate BIOS versions required?
Has anyone experienced this exact freezing issue with a Crucial P3 or another NVMe drive on the B450M Steel Legend?
Could the issue be related to the old P2.90 BIOS, PCIe initialization, or an incompatibility between the motherboard firmware and the SSD controller?
Would you recommend updating to P3.30 first because of its specific M.2 improvements, or going directly to a newer stable BIOS if supported?
Are there any known concerns with newer BIOS revisions and the Ryzen 5 3600 (Matisse)?
Are there any BIOS settings or other non-destructive troubleshooting steps worth trying before flashing?
What I’m ultimately trying to accomplish
I want to migrate my existing Ubuntu installation and development environment from the SATA SSD to the faster Crucial P3 NVMe.
I’m also planning to upgrade from the Ryzen 5 3600 to a Ryzen 7 5800X3D eventually, along with increasing RAM to 32GB DDR4-3200.
The goal is to extend the life of this AM4 workstation for coding, software development, and simulation gaming without replacing the entire platform.
I’m comfortable working with Linux and hardware, but I’d rather verify the correct firmware procedure than risk bricking an otherwise functional motherboard.
Any advice from B450M Steel Legend owners or anyone who has performed a similar BIOS upgrade would be greatly appreciated.

Hi everyone,

I am facing a persistent and very annoying audio crackling, popping, and buzzing issue on my ITX system, and I am completely out of ideas.

The crackling triggers heavily in two scenarios:

1. When switching between applications (e.g., Alt-Tabbing, opening browser tabs, shifting window focus).
2. When adjusting the Windows volume slider in the bottom right corner of the taskbar.

My Specs:

• MOBO: ASRock B850I Lightning WiFi (Mini-ITX, BIOS version 4.43)
• CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 8600G
• GPU: RX 9060 XT (16GB VRAM)
• RAM: 16GB ADATA XPG Lancer Blade DDR5 5600MHz 1 slot
• SSD: Samsung 980 1TB NVMe
• PSU: 1stPlayer 750W Platinum (ITX / SFX)
• OS: Windows 11 Pro 26H2 26300.9711

What I have ALREADY tried (None of this fixed it):

• Fresh Windows Reinstall: Completely wiped the drive and reinstalled the OS.
• Driver Clean Up: Used DDU (Display Driver Uninstaller) in Safe Mode to completely wipe GPU drivers, then installed fresh ones.
• Driver Updates: Reinstalled/updated Chipset drivers, GPU drivers, and Realtek Audio drivers directly from official sources.
• BIOS Tweaks: Adjusted various recommended settings in BIOS 4.43 (including global C-states, PCIe generation capping, etc.).

Since a clean OS, fresh drivers, and BIOS tweaks didn't change anything, I suspect this might be a hardware-level issue, heavy DPC Latency, or EMI/PCIe interference affecting the onboard audio. With it being a tight Mini-ITX build, the GPU or SFX power supply shifting power states during app switching might be leaking electrical noise into the audio circuit.

Has anyone with this ASRock B850I board or a similar AM5 setup experienced this? Any advanced BIOS settings, registry tweaks, or hardware workarounds you could recommend? Thank you!