Born to Stream–ASRock LiveMixer Series Motherboards

Leading global motherboard manufacturer, ASRock, is proud to announce its new lineup, LiveMixer which are produced in partnership with content creators that need motherboards with superb reliability, cutting-edge performance and an extended connectivity mix for the many auxiliary devices required for streaming.

LiveMixer is the incarnation of valiance. It sets us free from the concrete jungle with its colorful graffiti. The stylish pattern represents the courage and bravery we possess to speak up for ourselves and try new things enriching life.

[choppergirl]

Someone posted this critical comment anonymously re: USB ports on the Newegg sales page for this mobo: "Tons of multi-TT USB controllers, and Thunderbolt 4 support if you want to add it

Pros: Several high quality USB controllers built into the board. Two GL852 and one ASM1074. The downside is that two of the controllers(one GL852 and ASM1074) which control eight USB ports in total are routed to the front panel headers. My computer's case doesn't have 8 front panel USB ports so I had to buy little adapters to convert the front panel headers and actually use the ports coming from these controllers. Both the GL852 and ASM1074 have multi-TT, or multiple transaction translators. So for USB 2.0 devices you get a dedicated transaction translator for every single device- even if they are all connected to the same USB controller. Multi-TT is very important for devices that use the USB 2.0 protocol. This completely solves the problem of needing to buy PCIe USB expanders for USB devices that experience conflict, latency, noise, and disconnect on single transaction translator controllers. Single-TT controllers are cheap to make and widespread, so it is impressive that Asrock used Multi-TT controllers for all three USB controllers. The engineers at Asrock are smart. This is the perfect motherboard for Virtual Reality setups that have full body tracking or multiple VR accessories. This is the perfect motherboard for musicians and professionals with multiple audio devices of different varieties. This is the perfect motherboard for all people who have modern setups with several USB devices of mixed 2.0 and 3.0 protocols. It is perfect for streamers as well since they tend to be a mix of all of these things. Refer to the motherboard manual to see the block diagram and how the ports are wired to find the multi-TT USB ports.

Cons: The downside is that most of the rear USB ports come directly from the B650 chipset instead of the nice USB controllers Asrock put on the board. Eight of the USB ports from the GL852 and ASM1074 are going to front panel headers for the computer case; you need adapters to convert the front panel headers to usable USB ports. I can't find any datasheet outlining if AMD chipset USB ports are single-TT or multi-TT. To this day there are endless reports of USB from AMD chipsets being unreliable and disconnecting randomly if you google it. "AMD chipset USB problems". AMD tried to work around it via BIOS updates with mixed results. I would guess the entire AMD chipset is single-TT; it uses just one transaction translator for absolutely everything. This is very cheap and cost-effective but doesn't work at all in the real world. With single-TT one USB 2.0 device can hog its entire 2.0 worth of bandwidth and all other devices on USB ports coming from the same controller/chipset will disconnect or stutter and then reconnect "randomly". You can try to disallow any one device from hogging the bandwidth with BIOS/firmware workarounds like AMD did but then that workaround brings its own slowdown and issues. The focus of the entire computer industry is on USB 3.0 and above these days but almost all real-world devices connect on USB 2.0 protocol. Mouse, Keyboard, DAC, Audio Interface, Wireless Headsets, Printers, Bluetooth, Game Controllers, VR Trackers, VR Controllers, Webcams, USB Speakers, USB Storage, USB Mics, and more. USB 2.0 requires multiple transaction translators to function correctly if there is more than one device per controller. With companies being cheapskates and chaining 5+ USB ports to one controller/chipset- a controller which is then also cheaply made to be single-TT- you can imagine why USB is reported as completely unreliable in some computers. Asrock is the only one I could find including so many multi-TT USB controllers built right into the motherboard. But you have to dig into the motherboard manual to find the block diagram and then struggle to find the multi-TT ports. Practically all the rear ports on this motherboard come from the AMD chipset which is extremely unreliable for USB and flat out doesn't work for VR full body trackers and mixed audio; or basically anything that uses USB 2.0 protocol. The shape of connector (C, Type A, etc) does not matter, most USB devices are still only using USB 2.0.

Overall Review: Asrock, if you are reading this: make the next version of Livemixer have the unreliable direct-from-chipset USB ports go to the front panel headers. USB ports from the multi-TT USB controllers should all be going to the rear ports. The current configuration of these Livemixer motherboards sends EIGHT multi-TT USB controller ports to the front panel connectors. Nobody has a computer case with 8 front panel USB ports. These high-quality $50 USB controllers you added to the motherboard are doing nothing in most people's computers. Nobody knows about transaction translators, nobody has 8 front panel USB ports on their computer case, nobody is spending $$ on front panel header adapters, nobody is getting the full benefit of this motherboard. Livemixer is a great idea that is helpful for all streamers, VR enthusiasts, audio enthusiasts, professionals, and people with tons of mixed USB. It is an amazing value and the concept behind it is very smart. Keep using multi-TT USB controllers in the next iteration of Livemixer, but route the ports better please. I am a fan regardless. I am very thankful for whoever writes the motherboard manuals; they included the exact layouts and names of the controllers used. Having controller names(e.g. Genesys Logic 852) is the only reason I was able to look up datasheets and check whether they are single-TT or multi-TT. Big thumbs up to everyone at Asrock! Just please route the multi-TT USB ports more thoughtfully on the next iteration of this board."

[wolfgangchristl]

Asrock always killing it with their cool designs.

[faceplants]

Pretty sweet board. I just sent one to my son in college for a new raptor lake build for his birthday.
Multiple USB controllers and fantastic IO.

Honestly, it caught his eye initially because of aesthetics and the fact it fit the color scheme.
It was a pleasant surprise that the CPU VRM, M.2 slot #, IO, etc all appeared to be premium.

You'd need a workstation board to get this level of IO just a few years ago

[bendrover]

I love the style and form definitely starting a build here

[puciohenzap]

Ok, not gonna lie these are cool as hell.

[mat-mat]

And I thought it is essentially the low-budget version of the Creator series. Anyway, looks gorgeous!

[Arc_Gamer_]

Pretty cool stuff ASRock, let me unbox and review it for my audience :)

[NopWorks]

This video unexpectedly shown how ridiculously large graphics card have become.

[TheSpiritof]

Like the design, just wish it had a b650e version

[Xarvix]

The audiophile in me loves the idea of the higher grade USB ports and stuff, but I really want a B650E version with a PCIe 5.0 16x port instead tho, so I sadly can't justify buying this one just for the USB ports...

[canabisquick]

Very cool looking design. But I feel like that's all it's got going for it. Most higher end mobo have all these features anyway.

[jamesocker]

need to make these kind of art additions to M-ATX and M-ITX boards, trying to get me away from ASUS strix

[DeathCoreGuitar]

So... It's just a fast m.2 and USB ports?
Any lab testing results of these "clean power" and "less noise" claims by any chance?

[cosmic_conqurror]

The Purple looks good, but why no product in B650 why just for intel ? :(

[bobdasmoker]

Aimed at streamers no mention of say a built in capture card or a XLR microphone input which would be good for streamers just starting up

[tobigast]

Hello. Can you please tell me if this motherboard will fit an i7 13700kf processor? Thank you in advance.

[yanichumacera]

Bro i cant get out of the urfi setup utility help

[Hunter-nwom]

no mention of USB 4 which would've been great for streamers who create many videos and need lightning fast external storage to produce and run off of...

[TheWipal]

why do they want to give us anything but a all white motherboard

[airwarorg]

I'd buy this, but lack of PS/2, sata ports, and the violent orange BIOS sure are deal killers. A blind person can't use a bios unless it's white text on a solid black background. All BIOSES should be white text on a black background. Every time I had to reset or make a change int he BIOS I would have to ask someone to be my eyes for me. Which is crazy stwpid. Your CMOS battery die, and your SOL until you can guide a nn tech person verbally throught he bios reading every single thing back to you.

You wouldn't believe how many hard to find peripherals still use PS/2 ports that content creators use. Trackballs, wacom tablets, etc. I never know what these mobo manufacturers are thinking by leaving off the PS/2 port. You can't install Windows 7 or older operating system without a PS/2 port, because there's no USB drivers installed yet to recognize the keyboard or mouse during setup. People have had to roll their own ISO's of Windows 7 just get the USB drivers in there just to install the frigging OS on motherboards that leave the PS/2 port off .face palm.

I rock a 1984 NOS IBM PS/2 Model M keybaord... I have 9 of them... and on every one I ahve to put a PS/2 to USB adapter