ASRock Z390 Taichi Ultimate Review

ASRock Z390 Taichi Ultimate

March 3, 2019

In my opinion ASRock  has been making a hard push into the gaming sector with their release of the Taichi lineup. I have stumbled upon this series by looking for a great deal that included three things, between two - three M.2 slots for super fast storage, high number of SATA3 ports for RAID purposes and lastly native 10 Gigabit Ethernet. As you read on you will find I didn't quite get what I wanted but for the money it's a steal.

Lets start with performance. In this build I have put an Intel Core i9-9900K, 32 Gigabytes of 

Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000mhz C16 Memory, Samsung 960 EVO 250 Gigabyte M.2 NVMe 2280 and an AMD Radeon RX 580 8GB video card. As you would expect the Intel Core i9-9900K dominates the gaming sector today. With stock settings the CPU just walks away from the AMD Ryzen 1700X CPU in the Cinebench Benchmark proving once again that Intel's dated 14nm process can still kick butt in high performance gaming and multi-threaded workloads. Overclocking is something I plan on doing in the future but for now I am just sticking to the basics.

Moving on to M.2 NVMe drive performance, it's as expected, the Samsung is able to hit its peak performance of over 3000 megabytes per second read but does fall a bit short with only 1400 megabytes per second write.

(Samsung advertises 1900MB/s write). I was very please with these results as I planned to populate all three M.2 slots with the Samsung 960 EVO and two Western Digital 240GB M.2 SSDs which were to be in a RAID0 for super fast storage.

Part of my job in our small office is to move a few terabytes of data around to different machines to then take the data home with me and transfer back-ups of our "Creative Server" onto an off site machine. Doing this with a cloud solution is quite costly so this is my best option for now. Here is where it all goes wrong, I had planned on utilizing six of the available eight SATA3 connections on the motherboard for a larger RAID5 with mechanical drives, I set the drives up for a test run to find out IT CANNOT be done. ASRock decided that instead of  disabling the PCI E lanes associated with 2 x PCI E 3.0 x1 slots they disable six SATA3! Now this is clearly stated on their website under specification

but since I am a loyal ASUS customer, and I am more familiar with their method, I didn't think to check this section. This is a huge letdown because now I have to pop in adapter cards to account the loss of six SATA3 connections in order to use the native raid options but at a loss of the two M.2 slots ASRock offers.

Lastly I'll talk about my favorite feature of this board, Native 10 Gigabit Ethernet by Aquantia. This baby flies! I have been buying up 10gbe switches (Netgear 8-Port Gigabit 2x10gbe, and Buffalo Multi-Gigabit (10gbe) 8 Port Switch) for super fast file transfers. Circling back to my comments before I need to send a very large file (3TB) very quickly for two reasons, one not hold me up waiting seven hours when using mechanical drives and two not to slow down our creative department with the same file transfer. The test speaks for itself, the NIC can handle whatever I throw at it.

To sum up, I was able to grab this board off ebay for $249.99, offered by Newegg, with 10% back in ebay bucks saving me a substantial amount of money. Compare that to the Z390 AORUS MASTER  for $289.99 that does not come with the 10gbe native NIC. I would need to include that for an added price of $98.25 from ASUS making my choice easy for me. This buy is hard to beat! Thanks for reading, I hope this short review helps you better understand the ASRock Z390 Ultimate.

How to Stop Windows 10 From Using Automatic Update

Windows 10 PCs automatically check for updates and install any updates they find. You can take some control over this and have Windows 10 install updates on your schedule, but these options are hidden. Windows Update really wants to automatically update on Windows 10.
Professional, Enterprise, and Education editions of Windows 10 have access to group policy and registry settings for this, but even Home editions of Windows 10 give you a way to stop updates from automatically downloading.

STOP Automatic Downloading Using a Specific Connection

When you set a connection as “metered,” Windows 10 won’t automatically download updates on it. Windows 10 will automatically set certain types of connections — cellular data connections, for example — as metered. However, you can set any connection like as a metered connection.
So, if you don’t want Windows 10 automatically downloading updates on your home network connection, just set it as a metered connection. Windows 10 will automatically download updates when you connect your device to an unmetered network, or when you set the network it’s connected to as unmetered again. And yes, Windows will remember this setting for each individual network, so you can disconnect from that network and reconnect all you like.
Do you have an Internet connection with limited data? Just mark it as metered and Windows 10 won’t automatically download updates on it. If your connection offers unlimited downloads at a specific time — for example, during the middle of the night — you could mark the connection as unmetered occasionally at these times to download updates and mark it as metered after the updates are downloaded.
To change this option, open the Settings app, select Network & Internet, scroll down, and select “Advanced options” below the list of Wi-Fi networks. Enable the “Set as metered connection” option. This option only affects the Wi-Fi network you’re currently connected to, but Windows will remember this setting for each individual Wi-Fi network.

After enabling this option, Windows Update will say “Updates are available. We’ll download the updates as soon as you connect to Wi-Fi, or you can download the updates using your data connection (charges may apply.)” By marking a connection as metered, you’ve tricked Windows into thinking it’s a mobile data connection — for example, you might be tethering your PC to your smartphone. You can click the Download button to download and install updates at your leisure.

Stop Windows Update From Automatically Rebooting Your Computer

Windows 10 normally schedules reboots for when you aren’t using your computer. For example, it might try to schedule a reboot at 3 a.m. after installing updates. This is an improvement from previous versions of Windows, which wanted to reboot as soon as possible.
You can tell Windows Update to reboot on a schedule you choose instead. To change this setting, open the Settings app, select Update & security, select “Advanced options” at the bottom of the Windows Update pane, and select “Notify to schedule restart” instead of “Automatic (recommended).” Windows will ask you when you want to reboot after it installs updates.

Prevent Windows Update From Installing Specific Updates and Drivers

If Windows 10 insists on installing a specific update or driver that’s causing problems, you can prevent Windows Update from installing that particular update. Microsoft doesn’t provide a built-in way to block updates and drivers from automatically being downloaded, but it does offer a downloadable tool that can block updates and drivers so Windows won’t download them. This gives you a way to opt out of specific updates — uninstall them and “hide” them from being installed until you unhide them.

Use Group Policy to Disable Automatic Updates — Professional Editions Only

Editor’s Note: You should really consider leaving automatic updates enabled for security reasons.
There’s actually an option that will let you choose how updates are installed on your own schedule, but it’s buried in Group Policy. Only Professional, Enterprise, and Education editions of Windows 10 have access to the Group Policy editor. To access the group policy editor, press Windows Key + R, type the following line into the Run dialog, and press Enter:

gpedit.msc

Navigate to Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Windows Update.

Locate the “Configure Automatic Updates” setting in the right pane and double-click it. Set it to “Enabled,” and then select your preferred setting. For example, you can choose “Auto download and notify for install” or “Notify for download and notify for install.” Save the change.


Visit the Windows Update pane, click “Check for updates,” and then select “Advanced options.” You should see your new setting enforced here. You’ll also see a note saying “Some settings are managed by your organization,” informing you that these options can only be changed in Group Policy.
To disable this later, go back to the Group Policy editor, double-click the “Configure Automatic Updates” setting, and then change it from “Enabled” to “Not configured.” Save your changes, visit the Windows Update pane again, click “Check for updates,” and then select “Advanced options.” You’ll see everything change back to the default setting. (Windows Update only seems to notice the setting change after you click “Check for updates.”)

Use the Registry to Disable Automatic Updates — Professional Editions Only

This setting can be configured in the registry, too. This registry hack does exactly the same thing as the above Group Policy setting. However, it also only seems to work on Professional editions of Windows 10.
Download our Disable Automatic Updates on Windows 10 registry hack and double-click one of the included .reg files to make Windows Update notify for download and notify for install, auto download and notify for install, or auto download and schedule the install. There’s also a .reg file that will delete the registry value the other files create, allowing you to go back to the default settings. This only worked when we tried it on Windows 10 Pro, not Home.
After changing this option, visit the Windows Update pane in the Settings app and click “Check for updates.” You can then click “Advanced options” and you’ll see your new setting here. (You have to perform a check for updates before Windows Update notices your changed setting.)

If you’d like to do this yourself, the exact setting you’ll need to change is under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU — you’ll need to create the last few keys there. Create a DWORD value named “AUOptions” under the AU key and give it one of the following values:

00000002 (Notify for download and notify for install)
00000003 (Auto download and notify for install)
00000004 (Auto download and schedule the install)

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There’s another “trick” making the rounds for this. It involves disabling the Windows Update system service in the Windows services administration tool. This isn’t a good idea at all, and will prevent your computer from receiving even crucial security updates. While it would be nice if Microsoft offered some more choice of when to install updates, you shouldn’t opt out of security updates entirely. To prevent Windows from automatically downloading updates on any PC, just set its connection as metered.

Credit to: http://www.howtogeek.com/224471/how-to-prevent-windows-10-from-automatically-downloading-updates/

Turn Free Optimum WiFi Hot Spot Into a Private Home Network Using dd-wrt and a buffalo WZR-1750DHPD

I needed to set up an internet connection in my new home but wanted to keep a low budget. After quickly finding out I was near a local Optimum Hot Spot I was curious to know if it was possible to turn the hot spot into a private network. I did some digging and this is what I found.

You can use an ordinary access point already set up with dd-wrt v24 to repeat the optimum signal and dish out 192.168.xx.x. The process is very simple and the cost of the access point is well worth the total savings. Also if you are curious I was able to get speeds of 10Mbps down and 5Mbps Up

If you are unfamiliar with flashing a supported router with dd-wrt then head to step 1. If you think you are capable of flashing your own router here is a link to the most recent supported devices: http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Supported_Devices follow their instructions then come back here and jump to step 2.

Hardware

1. Purchase the Buffalo AirStation AC 1750 also known as the WZR-1750DHPD currently on amazon for $130 bucks or so here is the link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00I2N6O0W?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00
2. flip the device over and copy down the MAC address. it will be 12 characters long. Be sure NOT to grab the serial number (S/N)

Optimum Setup

3. Log into your Optimum Online account and go to the top "My profile" > "My Wireless devices". Click on the top right "Enable new device"
A: enter in the MAC address you wrote down earlier, click continue, it will then ask you to enter it again, just to confirm.
B: Choose "Laptop" as device type.
C: Enter the name of the device as "My device" DO NOT LABEL IT , "Buffalo router" for obvious reasons.
D: Enter in your e-mail address, check off terms of use. You're all done!

Router Setup

Attach your computer directly to the router using an ethernet cable. Be sure to plug into a LAN port. After you are connected log into your router by typing in its IP address into your web browser. (For the WZR-1750DHPD it's 192.168.11.1). A window will pop up, you must login using default user and password. (For the WZR-1750DHPD it's (admin) and (password)).

Once logged in follow these steps:

1. Go to the tab "setup" then sub-tab "Basic Setup"
A: Connection type : Automatic Configuration - DHCP
B: STP: Enable
C: Router name: repeater
D: Host name: repeater
C: Network setup: can be the normal: 192.168.x.1 or 172.16.x.1 or 10.x.x.1
Click save, then apply settings

2. Go to the tab "security" sub-tab firewall
A: SPI firewall: disable
B: everything should not have anything checked
Click save, then apply settings

3. go to the tab "Status" sub-tab "Wireless"
A: click "site survey"
B: click on the "Join" of the "optimumwifi" device closest to you. (the negative number will be lower. -90 is far away, -50 is close)
Click save, then apply settings

4: Go to the tab "wireless" sub-tab "Basic Settings"
A: Wireless mode: Repeater
B: Wireless Network Mode: Mixed
C: Wireless Network Name (SSID) : should be populated from step 3
D: Wireless channel: Auto
E: Wiresless SSID Broadcast: Enable
Click save, then apply settings

5. Stay on current tab and sub-tab
A: Under "Virtual Interfaces" click "Add"
B: Wireless Network Name (SSID): Enter anything you wish or enter in "DD-WRT REPEATER"
C: Wireless SSID Broadcast: Enable
D: AP Isolation: Disable
E: Network Configuration: Bridged
Click save, then apply settings

6. Go to the tab "Wireless" sub-tab "Wireless Security"
A: Physical Interface wl0 SSID [optimumwifi]: Disable
B: Physical Interface wl0.1 SSID [repeater]: WPA2 Personal
C: WPA Algorithms: TKIP
D: WPA Shared Key: (Enter in your shared key that you would like to use, not easy to guess)
Click save, then apply settings

You are all done, enjoy your free hot spot network!!

(Images are coming soon)