Introduction
The review today takes a take a look at certainly one of ASRock’s latest offerings, the X870 CHALLENGER WiFi White motherboard. The Challenger motherboard series was first offered by ASRock in July 2025 for the B850 chipset. In February of 2026, the X870 lineup was introduced. The CHALLENGER series is billed as ASRock’s entry-level gaming motherboard. Within the ASRock scheme of things, this board sits below the Steel Legend and the 2 Phantom Gaming boards (the RIPTIDE and the NOVA) and, after all, the top-tier TAICHI. Despite this, the X870 CHALLENGER WiFi White meets all the necessities for an AMD X870 motherboard, but does hand over RGB and a few DIY comforts. As we go along, we’ll see what this budget-friendly board offers when it comes to connectivity and performance. Currently, the board is listed at Newegg for $169. The warranty is three years.
ASRock X870 Challenger WiFi White ATX Motherboard
Packaging and Contents
The motherboard was shipped directly from ASRock. This can be a full retail package. We found the same old packing format. The board was placed inside an anti-static bag and guarded by cardboard inserts. The wifi antenna was packed on top, and the accessories underneath. The accessories included: booklets, a sheet of stickers, and one SATA cable.
ASRock X870 CHALLENGER WiFi White Features
On initial evaluation, we see this full ATX board is all white with silver and grey lettering. The heatsinks are either silver or brushed metal. Branding is placed on the I/O heatsink, and a slogan on the chipset heatsink. All in all, a really clean white-silver theme.
The board is lightweight but well-constructed. There isn’t any flex or bend when handled. The heatsinks are solid. ASRock states the PCB is 8 layer. The first M.2 has an EZ release function. There are 4 M.2 slots on the board. Slots 2,3 and 4 would require a Phillips screwdriver to access. All of the M.2 applications are tool-less using rotary clasps. The first PCIe slot is reinforced. The PCIe slots utilize standard clasps. There isn’t any digital de-bug or power button on the board. There may be an LED panel at the highest right which has 4 functions to assist in troubleshooting. Fancy lighting is absent from this motherboard. There are the same old RGB headers, which might be controlled by Polychrome Sync software.
The ASRock X870 CHALLENGER WiFi White does have a great amount of connectivity. We see 4 M.2 slots, one Gen5 and three Gen4. (this does include a caveat, which we’ll discuss below) The rear I/O panel within reason equipped with seven USB-A (one 5Gb/s, two 10Gb/s, and 4 2.0) and two USB-C (40Gb/s) ports. Also, there may be an HDMI, 2.5Gb/s RJ-45, WiFi ports, 3.5mm audio jacks, and a BIOS flashback button. Audio is RealTek AC897, Ethernet is RealTek Dragon, and WiFi is Realtek RTL8922AE.
Power Delivery
ASRock states the X870 CHALLENGER WiFi White has 16+2+1 (we suspect dual 8-phase) power phase support. VCore power is 80Amps DRMOS. All in all, the ability delivery here appears to be greater than adequate. The facility is delivered via two 8-pin CPU connectors, top-left. The VRM heatsinks are quite heavy. There don’t look like any heatpipes. ASRock employs black heavy-duty capacitors. The PCB is constituted of 8 layers. Overall, the board feels sturdy with none flex or bending.
CPU Socket, Memory, and Storage
The ASRock X870 CHALLENGER WiFi White supports socket AM5 CPUs within the Ryzen 7000, 8000, and 9000 series. There may be ample space surrounding the socket to position most, if not all, CPU coolers. Our MSI AIO MAG Core 360I gave us no mounting issues. Memory supported includes DDR5 DIMMs as much as 256 GB in total. Frequencies are advertised as much as 8000MT/s (OC). XMP and Expo profiles are supported for 1-click overclocking. The memory slots are dual-latch. The spacing seems adequate for giant CPU coolers. The one issue here could also be tall DIMM heatsinks in slot A1 and low cooling fins on an air-cooled heatsink.
We mentioned within the section above that there are 4 M.2 slots. The scheme for numbering the slots is: primary M.2_1, below that M.2_2, next in line M.2_4, and to the fitting by the chipset M.2_3. The first M.2 is derived from the CPU and is Gen5 x 4 (128Gb/s). M.2_2 is Gen4 x 4 (64Gb/s) from the CPU, and M.2_3 is Gen4 x 4 with lanes derived from the chipset. For those who wish to make use of M.2_2 at full Gen4 x 4 speed, you should disable the rear USB-4 throughout the BIOS. M2_4 is likewise from the chipset and can run at Gen4 x 2. The position of M.2_2 and M.2_4 is just under the first PCIe slot. These “may” be fully usable if the native heatsink shouldn’t be too tall. Even then, you would need to forego the motherboard heatsink. There simply shouldn’t be enough space. Nonetheless, heat from a big GPU could also be an issue. Slot M.2_3 is somewhat out of the way in which, just adjoining to the chipset heatsink. It ought to be fully usable together with a big GPU. That being said, our ASRock RX 7600 XT Steel Legend video card is a 2.5-slot card, and it covers each M.2 slot apart from the first. There are also 2 SATA 6Gb/s ports on the lower right side.
Expansion
Expansion on this motherboard consists of two full-length PCIe slots. There are only standard clasps. The first PCIe slot is metal-reinforced. The first PCIe slot supports Gen5 x 16 speed, while the second slot is Gen3 x 2. As we stated, you’ve gotten no benefits in terms of the discharge of the GPU in either slot, and the tolerance is tight.
I/O
The rear I/O panel on the ASRock X870 CHALLENGER WiFi White is satisfactorily outfitted. To begin with, the case bracket is preinstalled, which appears to be customary nowadays. Working from left to right: WiFi antenna ports, recessed Flash BIOS, HDMI Port, USB-C 40Gb/s, USB-C 40Gb/s, USB-A 5GB/s, 4 USB-A 2.0, 2.5Gb RJ-45, two USB-A 10Gb/s, 3.5mm audio ports.
On the major board, there are a complete of six 4-pin fan headers, three top-board labelled AIO_Pump, CPU_Fan 1 and CPU FAN 2, two on the underside row, and one on the left near the first PCIe slot. All fan headers might be controlled by either Fan-tastic within the BIOS or Fan Control within the ASRock motherboard utility. The best side of the board houses two ARGB headers, 24-pin power, USB-A 5Gb/s front panel header, USB-C 10Gb/s front panel port, and a couple of SATA ports. The underside row has the front panel header, two fan headers, a USB-A 5Gb/2 front panel port, two USB 2.0 headers, one other ARGB header, one 12V LED header, and the audio header. RGB might be controlled by ASRock Polychrome SYNC software.
