Biostar iDEQ 200T: Great Performance & Brilliant Design
by Wesley Fink on September 29, 2003 10:24 PM EST- Posted in
- Systems
Biostar iDEQ 200T: P4TBA Motherboard
| Motherboard Specifications | |
| CPU Interface | Socket-478 |
| Chipset | Intel 82865PE MCH (North Bridge) Intel ICH5R (South Bridge) |
| Bus Speeds | 100 MHz to 255 MHz (in 1MHz increments) |
| AGP/PCI Speeds | Disabled, Fixed at 66 |
| Core Voltages Supported | Default, +2.5%, +5.5%, +8.1% |
| AGP Voltages Supported | None |
| DRAM Voltages Supported | Default, 2.5 to 2.8 in 0.1V increments |
| Memory Slots | 2 x 184-pin Dual-Channel DDR DIMM Slots |
| Expansion Slots | 1 AGP 8X Slot 1 PCI Slot |
| Onboard Graphics | Intel 865G Extreme Graphics |
| Onboard RAID | Intel ICH5R SATA RAID 0/1 |
| Onboard USB 2.0/IEEE-1394 | Eight USB 2.0 supported through ICH5R VIA VT6307 FireWire Controller |
| Onboard LAN | Realtek 8100B 10/100 |
| Onboard Audio | CMedia 9339A 5.1 Digital Audio With SPDIF Optical In & Out |
| Onboard Serial ATA | Two Standard SATA connectors ICH5R |
As in any computer system, the motherboard controls the features and options available on the system. Comparing the Biostar SFF P4TBA motherboard to the SFF Shuttle FB65 motherboard or any recently reviewed Springdale, the Biostar provides all the features, memory timings, and adjustments that you will need to get the most from 800FSB operation. It also has the options for modest overclocks, but does not provide the kind of FSB range or AGP/PCI locks to take a 2.4C to 300FSB, for example. Since Biostar is using the 200W Enhance power supply, the available settings are well-balanced with the system capabilities. It is likely that Biostar would need to increase the PS to 220W or so in order to provide overclocking options comparable to the Shuttle or the top full-size 865 motherboards. Like Shuttle, Biostar does not implement any of the undocumented PAT features that we have seen used on some 865 full-size boards. However, the missing PAT schemes also do not affect performance very much. It appears the missing PAT also contributes to the rock-solid stability that we experienced in testing the iDEQ 200T.
We wish the small motherboards could find a way to use the 4 DIMMs allowed in the Intel 865 design, but Biostar setup the 2-DIMM slots wisely as dual-channel to make the most of the performance capabilities of the Intel 865PE chipset. While memory is limited to a maximum of 2GB, there are not many who would want to use more than 2GB in an SFF system. Most of the full-blown Athlon64 systems just introduced have this same 2GB memory limit — even with 3 slots.
In this view of iDEQ 200T motherboard, you can clearly see the 3 coils used in the 3-phase power design. One of the reasons that these small systems perform so well with small power supplies is the careful attention to power regulation on the motherboard. Like the Shuttle we recently reviewed, Biostar has also found a way to handle most anything that you can throw at the iDEQ 200T, despite the tiny 200-watt power supply.
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Anonymous User - Monday, October 6, 2003 - link
http://www.sfftech.com/showdocs.cfm?aid=442Even nicer!
Anonymous User - Sunday, October 5, 2003 - link
Be warned. They still need to work on the power supply for these systems. I own a Shuttle, and basically had to rip out the crappy 200W PSU and use an external 350W PSU (probably 300W may have been enough). With the stock PSU, the system would basically hang after any kind of intensive activity (try a stress test on the system for an hour or so).These systems overdrive the PSU, and while you will hear stories of people running 17 harddrives and their latest ATI Bongo 945600 on an overclocked box -- those are very much the exceptions. You either have to hook up a better PSU externally -- basically invalidating the whole purpose behind a SFF in the first place, or you have to play roulette with reordering 200W PSUs until you get a particular item which may work overdriven (but for how long?)
I see SHuttle has 220W PSU's in their newer versions, which should help.. but considering that people run the same hardware with 350W PSU's in bigger boxes, I still remain *very* suspicious of their claims.
Wesley Fink - Saturday, October 4, 2003 - link
#11 - The Shuttle and Biostar are the same size. A review will be posted shortly on the Soltek SFF which is a bit taller and has 2-5.25" bays and a 250W PS. I've included a picture of the Soltek and Biostar side-by-side in that review.#20 - As you can see on the Shuttle and Biostar Forums on some boards, users have been modifying these machines. You are correct that the internal USB headers have no matching punch-out for an external header, but most USB connectors are on slot brackets and you could certainly get a 4-port slot bracket for one of the two slots in the rear. Also you could use a hard-drive where the floppy goes - just be very careful of heat build-up. It should work fine.
Anonymous User - Friday, October 3, 2003 - link
Can someone explain to me what "internal" USB ports are for? I note the sb65g2 has a total of 6 ports (4 rear, 2 front) while the 200t has 4 (2 rear, 2 front). But the article says the 200t has 4 more "internal" USB ports, and the sb65g2 has 2 more internally. There's no breakout (that I noticed) for adding more external ports using a header (like the parallel port header allows), so what good are internal ports?Also, is there any reason why one could not put a second hard drive where the floppy goes, like one can do in the sb65g2?
(I'm really torn between the two machines!!! Grrr.)
Anonymous User - Thursday, October 2, 2003 - link
I would like to upgrade from my present SFF (ASUS Terminator) but want to install dual HDs. Your review mentioned an optional dual HD cage. Any info available on where this might be found. Typically I've found that optional items on SFF machines are not available (except maybe in Taiwan).hirschma - Wednesday, October 1, 2003 - link
Post #10 - perhaps you _should_ test the SPDIF input. That was the problem when I bought the Biostar 200N - Biostar said that it had input, every reviewer said the same... turns out that it was on Biostar's spec page, and every reviewer just took their word for it.Would your review be so glowing if it turned out that a major feature for some wasn't really there?
Don't reviewers have some responsibility to ensure that all advertised features actually are present?
It ain't that hard to test - hook up your PS2 or similar, and see if it passes audio, no?
rhacquer - Tuesday, September 30, 2003 - link
Oh, I got the jones for a SFF rig now... soon as we put on a new roof, pay for baby's private school, replace my 12 yr old car, etc. :-(Anonymous User - Tuesday, September 30, 2003 - link
post # 14 - SIZEAnonymous User - Tuesday, September 30, 2003 - link
50 Dba is twice as loud as 40Dba, not 10x as much.Anonymous User - Tuesday, September 30, 2003 - link
fill me in on the power supply .. why are the sff's 200 watts versus pc at 450 or so? why so much less power?