ASRock X870 LiveMixer Wifi motherboard review: Connectivity for the creator

Connecting the creator to all of their peripherals

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ASRock X870 LiveMixer Wifi
(Image: © Tom's Hardware)

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Firmware

Like other ASRock boards, the X870 LiveMixer starts in the informative Easy Mode, but it also lets you adjust several options (XMP, profiles, boot order, access to Fan-Tastic Tuning, etc.). The LiveMixer uses a black background with light gray characters, making it easy to read. The standard BIOS displays headings across the top, with subheadings and details below.

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ASRock X870 Livemixer Wifi
(Image credit: Future)

Software

ASRock offers several different software options. These include the App Shop, which allows users to install drivers and software, the Nahimic 3 audio control panel, the A-Tuning application, which enables users to overclock their systems and control fans, the Polychrome RGB software, and more. There’s also a Blazing OC Tuner and a pop-up to install drivers when the system first boots. ASRock’s software provides everything users need to manage and tweak their systems.

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ASRock X870 LiveMixer Wifi
(Image credit: Future)

Test System / Comparison Products

We’ve updated our test system to Windows 11 (23H2) 64-bit OS with all updates applied as of late September 2024 (this includes the Branch Prediction Optimizations for AMD). Hardware-wise, we’ve updated the RAM kits (matching our Intel test system), cooling, storage, and video card. Unless otherwise noted, we use the latest non-beta motherboard BIOS available to the public. Thanks to Asus for providing the RTX 4080 TUF graphics card and Crucial for the 2TB T705 SSDs. The hardware we used is as follows:

Test System Components

Swipe to scroll horizontally

CPU

AMD Ryzen 9 9900X

Cooling

Arctic Liquid Freezer II 420

Storage

Crucial 2TB T705 M.2 PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD

RAM

Kingston Fury Beast DDR5-6000 CL36 (KF560C36BBEAK2-32)

RAM

Teamgroup T-Froce Delta DDR5-7200 CL34 (FF3D518G7200HC34ABK)

RAM

Klevv Cras XR5 RGB DDR5-8000 (KD5AGUA80-80R380S)

GPU

Asus TUF RTX 4080 16G

PSU

EVGA Supernova 850W P6

Software

Windows 11 64-bit (24H2)

Graphics

NVIDIA Driver 561.09

Sound

Integrated HD audio

Network

Integrated Networking (GbE to 10 GbE)

ASRock X870 LiveMixer Wifi

(Image credit: Future)

Benchmark Settings

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings

Row 0 - Cell 1

Procyon

Version 2.8.1352 64

Row 2 - Cell 0

Office 365, Video Editing (Premiere Pro 24.6.1), Photo Editing (Photoshop 25.1.2, Lightroom Classic 13.5.1)

3DMark

Version 2.29.8294.0 64

Row 4 - Cell 0

Speed Way and Steel Nomad (Default)

Cinebench R24

Version 2024.1.0

Row 6 - Cell 0

Open GL Rendering Benchmark - Single and Multi-threaded

Blender

Version 4.2.0

Row 8 - Cell 0

Full benchmark (all three tests)

Application Tests and Settings

Row 9 - Cell 1

LAME MP3

Version SSE2_2019

Row 11 - Cell 0

Mixed 271MB WAV to mp3: Command: -b 160 -- (160Kb/s)

HandBrake CLI

Version: 1.8.2

Row 13 - Cell 0

Sintel Open Movie Project: 4.19GB 4K mkv to x264 (light AVX) and x265 (heavy AVX)

Corona 1.4

Version 1.4

Row 15 - Cell 0

Custom benchmark

7-Zip

Version 24.08

Row 17 - Cell 0

Integrated benchmark (Command Line)

Game Tests and Settings

Row 18 - Cell 1

Cyberpunk 2077

Ultra RT Preset - 1920 x 1080,  DLSS - Balanced.

F1 2024

Ultra High Preset - 1920 x 1080, 16xAF/TAA, FPS Counter ON, Great Britain (Clear/Dry)

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TOPICS
Joe Shields
Joe Shields
Staff Writer, Components

Joe Shields is a staff writer at Tom’s Hardware. He reviews motherboards and PC components.

6 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Marlin1975
    Is this one going to kill CPUs like other Asrock boards?
    Hard to trust them until they get that fixed 100%
    Reply
  • Moxylite
    "hard to trust them" I second that notion ~!

    ( but i understand that Tom's has to eat, and welcome all Asrock placements.)

    anecdotally, the only mobo/gpu i've had catch on fire were both from asrock

    and they have not doing themselves any favors for ages.

    "Gamers Nexus data indicated that over 80% of complaints originate from ASRock products. The controversy extends beyond recent issues. In the past, ASRock faced criticism for misleading advertising, such as falsely claiming support for Ryzen 5000 processors on B450 motherboards, which they later removed without explanation.

    Additionally, earlier Intel-based motherboards from ASRock were criticized for enforcing power limits that crippled performance despite advertising support for high-wattage CPUs. These historical issues have contributed to a broader perception of inconsistent quality and transparency.

    In a separate incident, AMD reportedly banned ASRock from selling graphics cards in Europe, citing business or compliance reasons, though ASRock disputed the claim. This further highlights tensions between the two companies"
    Reply
  • Makaveli
    Marlin1975 said:
    Is this one going to kill CPUs like other Asrock boards?
    Hard to trust them until they get that fixed 100%
    Considering I saw a report yesterday of a dead X3D chip in the asrock sub reddit probably a good idea.
    Reply
  • HideOut
    "The power consumption of the Ryzen 9 9990X is relatively low compared to the 7950X used for the X670/X670E platform. In the past, high-end boards peaked at nearly 300W, but current systems now reach a maximum of 250- 270W during CPU stress tests (gaming with the Nvidia RTX 4080 versus the RTX 3070 is a different matter)."

    Did AMD release a new CPU
    Reply
  • Makaveli
    HideOut said:
    "The power consumption of the Ryzen 9 9990X is relatively low compared to the 7950X used for the X670/X670E platform. In the past, high-end boards peaked at nearly 300W, but current systems now reach a maximum of 250- 270W during CPU stress tests (gaming with the Nvidia RTX 4080 versus the RTX 3070 is a different matter)."

    Did AMD release a new CPU
    its a typo since there is no 9990X cpu.

    So the question remains what cpu did they use to test this. 9900X or 9950X

    If they used the 12 core model that would explain lower power consumption vs the 7950X
    Reply
  • Amdlova
    Asrock always made very good and affordable boards. They just kill some cpus on process... nothing more than a nightmare.

    My H670 board with the first bios have pci 5.0 on the ssd slot... and unlimited power to the cpu. AT this day can give unlimited power to the cpu. (this board only gives 170w to the cpu) but it's unlimited.
    The best asrock board made at this day is the Asrock b660-hdv which can fry the VRM and the cpu.
    Reply