Which AM4 board for use with UR22C?

[neich]

Hi, I’m buying a new PC and looking for a board that has stable USB 3.

This site here https://helpcenter.steinberg.de/hc/en-us/articles/360009604280-UR-C-Audio-dropouts-in-SuperSpeed-USB-3-1-Gen-1-mode says there’s two things the UR22C might not like. When I don’t install the drivers and use standard drivers from Microsoft, or when I buy a board with X470 / X370 chipset.

Actually I’m about to just try what works and the board should have 4 RAM slots and not much RGB lightning, just something that is not fancy but simple.

Have you an idea what board to buy? It looks like all AM4 boards use ASMedia chips for USB?

Thanks!

[MattiasNYC]

neich,

First of all from what I can tell Steinberg is saying that the problem occurs when you’re running either without their driver and/or are using “SuperSpeed (USB 3.1 Gen1) mode”. They specifically state that you should be able to run it without sacrificing functionality if you “Switch to High-Speed (USB 2.0) mode in the Yamaha Steinberg USB Driver control panel.” They also write “switch to the standard ASMedia driver.” as the second solution (if you’re connected to an ASMedia controller).

If I remember correctly AMD motherboards have some USB connections going straight into the CPU and some going through the chipset (x370/x470). On my motherboard I believe I have 4 connectors going into the CPU and another 10 available through the chipset.

So what it looks like to me is that you should be able to get it to work using the Steinberg driver at least in USB 2.0 mode, regardless of motherboard. If you get a motherboard where it’s acting up for some reason you should still have options to use different connectors/controllers.

I could be wrong about this but that’s really what it looks like to me.

Also, I just looked at the spec page of my motherboard and I don’t see “ASMedia” as a USB controller on it.

Perhaps you could list the boards you’re thinking about buying and also check on Gearslutz.com in the “Today we build a PC” thread in the “computers” section (start from the end or search the thread).

[neich]

Hi, thanks. Soo… I have the UR22C already and no problems on Intel. Actually I’m only asking because it got a review on Thomann stating that the reviewer couldn’t get his streaming done due to drop outs and rated it one star.

What I want from the UR22C is just the 32 samples latency. I’ve tried that (using the Intel PC) and liked it, though I’m not sure I can absolutely tell the difference to 64 samples. I just thought, it must be USB 3 that they can do this, why** else should they build the device with USB 3? Only the power source topic maybe? I believe I want USB 3.

The Motherboard should just be stable. I would even accept RGB lighting that does whatever. I just need 4 RAM slots and the USB 3 thing.

I didn’t know some USB connections go directly to the CPU and don’t use any other controller. So the whole issue is no issue at all? Is the chipset doing the USB in this case?

I mean, there are connections that are definitely not bound to anything that could be labeled “ASMedia”? (or whatever makes the dropouts). PS: Sorry for being difficult to educate about this. I have no idea how the PC works.

What I think I have understood is: Steinberg writes “The dropouts seem to be related to the following USB controllers”. Controllers as plural. So, since they didn’t write any workaround for the X 370 / X 470 chipset, I skip these completely.

And if I knew what’s inside the boards, I would also skip ASMedia, too. But it’s not easy to google. Actually I’m not thinking about any specific board at all (or any other problem than the UR22C), rather about someone saying what board to buy because it works with the UR22C or someone telling me there’s a firmware fix for the UR22C.

You have a x370, have you had the chance to connect a UR-C audio interface to it?

Anyway, thanks a lot for your help.

**Do they need the USB 3.1 for large bandwidth to the on-board effects? (And USB 2.0 will do 32 samples latency, too.)

[MattiasNYC]

@neich

What I want from the UR22C is just the 32 samples latency. I’ve tried that (using the Intel PC) and liked it, though I’m not sure I can absolutely tell the difference to 64 samples. I just thought, it must be USB 3 that they can do this, why** else should they build the device with USB 3? Only the power source topic maybe? I believe I want USB 3.

Well, they state on that webpage that latency is NOT affected by switching to USB 2.0:

“Other performance values such as latency will not change.”

I’m only giving you my understanding of what Steinberg claims, and that’s what they write.

@neich

I didn’t know some USB connections go directly to the CPU and don’t use any other controller. So the whole issue is no issue at all? Is the chipset doing the USB in this case?

I believe it’s both the chipset and the CPU that provides USB. And that would explain why they’re writing that it’s either sometimes an issue with x370/x470 or sometimes an issue with ASMedia.

To be clear: It appears that it likely will be an issue for you if you insist on using USB 3.0. So that’s the first question - if you need that.

@neich

What I think I have understood is: Steinberg writes “The dropouts seem to be related to the following USB controllers”. Controllers as plural. So, since they didn’t write any workaround for the X 370 / X 470 chipset, I skip these completely.

They did write a solution/workaround and it was #1, dropping to USB 2.0 in the Steinberg driver. Again, if you need 3.0 for sure then of course this won’t help you.

@neich

And if I knew what’s inside the boards, I would also skip ASMedia, too. But it’s not easy to google. Actually I’m not thinking about any specific board at all (or any other problem than the UR22C), rather about someone saying what board to buy because it works with the UR22C or someone telling me there’s a firmware fix for the UR22C.

You have a x370, have you had the chance to connect a UR-C audio interface to it?

Anyway, thanks a lot for your help.

**Do they need the USB 3.1 for large bandwidth to the on-board effects? (And USB 2.0 will do 32 samples latency, too.)

For researching the motherboards specifically you’ll have to look at the vendor’s webpage for that board. They should list if and which controller is used for USB.

You can also look a bit more closely at reviews for AMD’s CPUs and chipsets to verify which USB version is available from what chip. I believe that faster USB was introduced into the CPU itself with x570, and before then previous gen CPUs had slower USB on the CPU and faster via the chipset.

[MattiasNYC]

I’ll try to find you a chart for AM4 chipsets.

[MattiasNYC]

AMD Chipset Comparison: X370 vs. B350, A320, & X300 Differences

[tortoisegd]

To anyone that’s reading this — this is all technobabble related to a posting regarding Steinberg’s UR-C series audio interfaces. The link to the issue was posted by the original poster of this thread.

If you have an INTEL based motherboard on your PC, you’re fine — move on. If you have an AMD based motherboard, you need to check the motherboard manual or at least look on the motherboard. If you have an X370 or X470 chipset on your motherboard, you could have audio dropouts in SuperSpeed (USB 3.1 Gen 1) mode. If you have the X570 chipset or higher, this issue will have been addressed, and you should be able to use SuperSpeed mode.

[neich]

I hope I didn’t prevent any one from buying their favorite PC. Because, I did so, an Intel, and now I’m going to post in another thread how I can get rid of the coil whine that’s only there when the UR22C is doing playback. Everyone … just try what you feel is right.