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Biostar TPower I45  (Source: DailyTech)

ATI Radeon HD 4850  (Source: OCWorkbench)
Biostar announces Intel P45 motherboard aimed at the serious overclocker

For the computer hardware enthusiast, the most exciting trade show of the year is often Computex in Taiwan. CES in Las Vegas is a great show but many computer hardware makers typically hold most product announcements for Computex.

This year at Computex new motherboards are out in force and many of them are sporting the anticipated Intel P45 chipset. Among the new crop of motherboards to use the P45 chipset is the Biostar TPower I45. While the TPower I45 is the top of the line motherboard with the P45 chipset from Biostar, the series will include several motherboards that will hit different price points. The models in the P45 series will include the TP45 HP, TP43 HP, TP45D2-A7, TP43D2-A7 and P43-A7.

The TPower I45 is aimed at the overclocker and features 100% solid capacitors, updated TPower utility, 8+2 channel HD audio, twin PCI-Express x16 slots and a new thermal solution called Cooler Harbour. The board supports CPUs with front side bus speeds of 800/1066/1333/1600 MHz and DDR2 RAM at 800/1066/1200 MHz. ATI CrossFireX is supported and the board offers 10 USB ports (including headers). Asus will also be launching its own line of P45 chipset motherboards at Computex.

Other early Computex product information includes some shots of the upcoming ATI Radeon HD 4850 graphics card. This card is reported to feature 512MB of GDDR3 and will retail in the $179 to $219 range.

The launch date for the new card it rumored to be June 18. The card is supposed to be available as soon as it is launched at Computex rather than being yet another paper launch. A higher performance HD 4870 featuring GDDR5 is supposed to come later, how much later is unknown.

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ATI 4850?!
By FaceMaster on 6/1/2008 2:37:22 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
will retail in the $179 to $219 range


That's very cheap for new technology... VERY cheap. Mid range, even. Maybe this will PWN Nvidia and regain some market share which AMD severely needs at the moment. Or maybe they're relying on the 3850's reputation to sell cut down hardware and the 49xx series will be the real deal. WHO KNOWS?!?!




RE: ATI 4850?!
By ninjit on 6/1/2008 2:39:58 PM , Rating: 5
quote:
WHO KNOWS?!?!


I do, but I'm not telling...


RE: ATI 4850?!
By Gul Westfale on 6/1/2008 3:02:52 PM , Rating: 2
well i doubt it's "new technology", i think it's just a bigger, fatter, faster HD38xx card. so development costs are lower than with a completely new core, and ATI knows that they must stay realistic with their pricing against nvidia.

i hope the card performs well, a 4870 might be my next upgrade. i currently have an nvidia 8800 (320), and i'm pissed that nvidia still hasn't fixed the HDTV support.


RE: ATI 4850?!
By hadifa on 6/1/2008 8:24:06 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
...bigger, fatter, faster HD38xx..


Seems like that, but my question is how did they keep the TDP at the same level as the 3850 without shrinking the transistors ?


RE: ATI 4850?!
By teldar on 6/1/2008 9:44:08 PM , Rating: 2
As far as HDTV goes....
I replaced my Nvidia 7600 in mt HTPC with an ATI 3650 card and I couldn't be happier. I can't tell you how TERRIBLE ALL TV display was with the NVIDIA card. Anything dark was pixelated and terrible. The ATI card is phenomenal in comparison even though it is supposed to be significantly slower.

T


RE: ATI 4850?!
By Gul Westfale on 6/2/2008 12:57:08 AM , Rating: 2
for those who have a similar problem with 8800's on an HDTV, here is a little nvidia registry hack that solves the overscan issue:
http://nvidia.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/nvidia.cfg/php/... - scroll down to where it says "File Attachments".

through HDMI i have fewer issues than with DVI-to-VGA input, but if i could get a card that was just as fast (or a little faster) than my current one and resolve this issue permanently then i'd be a happy camper. the stupid thing is that the driver does not recognise the TV as such if the VGA input on the monitor is used, and thus the driver hack above doesn't work (it won't let you resize the desktop). it does work under HDMI, but then i have to plug the PC back in after every time i use the PS3... and playing a game in a resolution other than the desktop one always resets the driver anyway, forcing me to restart the system twice while re-applying the little hack... you'd think a company with nvidia's resources would have found a way around this by now, but nooooo... they can't be bothered.

so my next card might well be an ATI, if the price/performance ratio is right.


RE: ATI 4850?!
By FaceMaster on 6/2/2008 6:06:28 PM , Rating: 2
Your Mum said that last night


RE: ATI 4850?!
By Nihility on 6/1/2008 3:02:25 PM , Rating: 5
How about we wait for the benchmarks before we get all excited?


RE: ATI 4850?!
By Nik00117 on 6/1/2008 3:33:59 PM , Rating: 2
I've dealt with biostar before, and quite frankly they suck. I'd never buy their MOBO period again its a matter of prinpile for me. A MOBO which was less then a year old was considered to be a legacy product and I have to e-mail their tech support to get the speacil download link. Quite frankly my dads 5 year old ASUS drivers are sitll avaible on the ASUS site, granted you'll never see me actually go to the ASUS site unless I have to since it sucks, however you'/d also never see another biostar anything in a PC which I build.


RE: ATI 4850?!
By BruceLeet on 6/1/2008 8:09:11 PM , Rating: 2
Your standards must be low if your all about prinpile


RE: ATI 4850?!
By bigboxes on 6/1/2008 9:46:58 PM , Rating: 2
LOL


RE: ATI 4850?!
By GlassHouse69 on 6/2/2008 6:55:41 PM , Rating: 1
ASUS boards have been made like shit since k6 era.

p5a was the beginning of absolute crap. oh, people "like" them but they are ALWAYS plagued with some "minor" bug.

really cant stand that company and how it brainwashes instead of making stable motherboards that are thoroughly tested with current devices.

abit is a better board manufacturer hands down. and they get a worse rap.

biostar is a very decent board manufacturer, having installed hundreds of them. the only really great ones are Tyan, and then 2nd tier are intel and abit.


RE: ATI 4850?!
By larson0699 on 6/3/2008 2:17:20 AM , Rating: 2
A very personal experience turned FUD.

The system I'm using has a Biostar board; granted it's a six-year-old nForce2 type, it isn't the OC beast that its counterparts were. I am here to tell you, it is nothing special and your claim of "very decent" is quite unverified.

I wouldn't [again] turn to ASUS for server products (the only area in which you're right about them, "minor bugs" and all) but as long as you're not buying the el cheapo golden-brown types with the sh!tty caps on them, you're generally A-OK. Especially after Conroe have they really cleaned up their act.

It's funny that you mention (glorify) ABIT, since--at the time my Biostar board was made--they were under fire (literally) for their choice of caps boiling over and/or exploding. The bad rap rests on the heels of that. I've no doubt they as well have joined the elite ranks by now, but for my dollar, they (nor most others) can shake a stick at Gigabyte. That's not to call GB flawless, but innovative and worthy. DualBIOS was the first of many great things from them, and now Ultra Durable 2 and DES bring even more value.

ASUS isn't far (if at all) behind with their enthusiast offerings. Have you seen MAXIMUS II FORMULA? Would you buy this Biostar board over that?? I wouldn't.

The 4850 should be promising after it's out of engineering-sample status (seen here) but as another said, the benches will dictate that.


RE: ATI 4850?!
By nitrous9200 on 6/2/2008 7:24:52 PM , Rating: 2
Hmm, my Biostar nForce 4 board has been chugging along happily under all sorts of load for the past 3 years, hasn't skipped a beat. Another computer I made has one as well (a T-Force) and for 2 and a half years it hasn't acted funny at all (it's 400 miles away at my grandfather's so I can't easily fix it...good thing I don't have to). It all boils down to personal experiences and first impressions; Biostar seems to have the best featured boards at the lowest prices without being ECS or PC Chips cheesy. That board looks pretty nice and I'm sure it's relatively inexpensive.


What the?
By MonkeyPaw on 6/1/2008 2:39:51 PM , Rating: 2
What the heck are those red things between the 2 PCIe slots on the Biostar motherboard?




RE: What the?
By ninjit on 6/1/2008 2:41:53 PM , Rating: 2
I think they might be jumper settings to determine the distribution of PCIe lanes


RE: What the?
By AmazighQ on 6/1/2008 2:45:22 PM , Rating: 1
mosfets


RE: What the?
By armagedon on 6/1/2008 2:58:31 PM , Rating: 2
looks like Sata headers to me


RE: What the?
By ninjaquick on 6/1/2008 3:44:03 PM , Rating: 1
mosfets, the sata is at 90degree angle on the side by the IDE.


RE: What the?
By Einy0 on 6/1/2008 3:00:26 PM , Rating: 2
Those look like jumpers, to set the PCIe Lane config probably.


RE: What the?
By Stacey Melissa on 6/1/2008 6:11:34 PM , Rating: 2
Exactly, they're jumpers with user-friendly handles.

This mobo has a superb layout, but looks to be missing Firewire, and it only has 3 fan headers that I can count. I noticed the onboard code readout says "CPU Temp" next to it, so I guess it's for that instead of POST codes.


RE: What the?
By Reclaimer77 on 6/2/2008 1:44:44 AM , Rating: 2
Screw Firewire man. Wheres all the SATA II's ?? All I see is three SATA ports. And wheres the SATA raid ? My entry level year old P5B has 4 SATA II's , including SATA raid ports. And an E-SATA II port ( external ). Does this board even have one ?

Does ANYONE actually need 10 USB ports ? I rather have less as a trade off for more SATA II ports. USB hubs are like 10 bucks right now.


RE: What the?
By sirius4k on 6/2/2008 2:59:23 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
Does ANYONE actually need 10 USB ports
I have 4 USB ports integrated + 4 via hub and is still need MORE USB ports! I think 12 USB ports would be enough =)
And yes.. About 8 SATA II ports.

I used to look motherboards with eSATA ports, but now that I have a eSATA capable motherboard and a WD eSATA+USB drive, I wish I wouldn't wasted my time, coz that external drive really slows my PC down.

And a motherboards without legacy ports would be excellent. That includes PS/2, Serial, LPT. Maybe there's something else I can't remember atm.

Long story short: Remove old stuff, add loads of USB and SATA II ports =D

And Reclaimer77: Graphic cards today are huge.. And if You want a decent audio, then You're already using that one free PCI slot, coz other slots are blocked by graphics. As sad as it is. There's just no room!

True.. there are now some PCI-E audio cards, but most of them non-high-end cards are PCI.


RE: What the?
By Thorburn on 6/2/2008 3:02:05 AM , Rating: 2
It has 6 SATA ports, the angled headers are stacked two ports high, allowing you to fit 6 ports into a smaller space and avoid interferring with graphics cards.


RE: What the?
By Gul Westfale on 6/1/2008 3:04:27 PM , Rating: 2
they are jumpers, you can see that when you click on the picture.


RE: What the?
By alin on 6/1/2008 3:46:23 PM , Rating: 2
RE: What the?
By Clauzii on 6/1/2008 8:41:16 PM , Rating: 2
I wanna put sirup on and eat it :)


side facing edge connectors
By jonp on 6/1/2008 4:19:27 PM , Rating: 4
this new trend for side facing edge connectors makes it very difficult to use these motherboards in some cases. is it really necessary?




RE: side facing edge connectors
By JonnyDough on 6/2/2008 5:38:57 AM , Rating: 3
I agree. Sata connectors aren't all that great. What we need is the ability to angle and lock the headers as a group. Before installing your drives you can turn the headers on your motherboard whatever way you want and hear it click. Or, better yet...be able to swivel it once you connect it. This would take stress off of the SATA cables and allow you to tuck them away inside a drive cage or something.

Also, I appreciate the rectangular shape well enough, but what if sata had a SQUARE shape instead? Having to turn the current plastic connectors around so they fit while you're working in a case to hook it up can be a pain.

It would make it a lot easier to plug in if it had a design that didn't matter which way you turned it. Can't they make it so the motherboard senses it or something? Maybe a half circle with a square edge or something would work better for the next generation of connectors, at least then you don't have to look into the end of the connector to make sure the L is right - you'll be able to see by just looking at it as you connect it.

Anything to make plugging it into the board in a cramped case easier.

Also, in reference to all the other pin headers for case alarms, pwr_button etc...motherboards should pretty much be coming standard with a removable connector for these. It sucks trying to hook them all up against the case most times. Let me attach them to a removable piece, and then attach the piece to the pins.

Signed,
EVERYONE.


By rgsaunders on 6/2/2008 10:16:02 AM , Rating: 2
Add to the list of SATA complaints - who is the moron who designed the setup so that you can't use 90 degree connectors at the mobo without blocking the adjacent SATA connector? Turn the things around so that they face the other way or else design cables that go the other way so that you can use all the ports and still use 90 degree connectors where desired.


8 channel audio?
By BansheeX on 6/1/2008 4:23:22 PM , Rating: 2
Can we just decide on a number of surround channels, already? This is getting absolutely ridiculous and it's only being done for marketing. At this rate we'll be at 15 channels in 2020. I'm not buying eight let alone fifteen speakers, so cut it out.




RE: 8 channel audio?
By Stacey Melissa on 6/1/2008 6:07:29 PM , Rating: 2
We've been sitting at 8-channel (IOW, 7.1-channel) audio for a few years now. And the "+2" part is referring to the mic and line in.


RE: 8 channel audio?
By Odeen on 6/1/2008 9:57:49 PM , Rating: 2
Actually, no, you don't have to buy 15 speakers to fully utilize "8+2" audio. "8+2" means that there is a standard 7.1 channel rear panel output but the front panel (headphone) output can be controlled independently instead of "sharing" with front speaker out.

This is useful for something like PC telephony or teamspeak in online gaming. The speakers carry the regular Windows and game sounds, while the headphones carry the voice only. That way, if you're talking on Skype, you don't get your ears blown off by the Windows system beep or by the gunfire..


RE: 8 channel audio?
By bigboxes on 6/1/2008 9:59:27 PM , Rating: 2
Thanks for the laugh BansheeX! Heck, I only use two for my main rig. I like music and just don't care about having speakers all around the room. I have five speakers in the living room, but I just don't need a pc to do that (although I do have a pc hooked up to the tv :p ).


Biostar #1 in reliability
By bwave on 6/1/2008 6:59:37 PM , Rating: 2
I think it's long overdue for someone to give Biostar props. They are by far the most reliable motherboard maker out there. We have used hundreds of their boards and they simply work, and are available for an amazing price. Our experience is they have a less than .50% failure rate within the first year. Gigabyte is the only tier 1 maker to even come close to this reliability. I would give away an Asus board to my enemy, we've been burned far too many times. We have at least 10% of their boards as DOA, and another 10%+ fail within the first year. Why exactly are we paying a premium price for them? It's obvious that Asus doesn't test every motherboard off the line, they just pick a sample from each batch.
My personal ratings for reliability:
1) Biostar 2) Gigabyte 3) Abit (the few models they make, though their Intel P35 models leave alot to be desired) 4) Supermicro 5) Intel 6) Foxconn 7) MSI 8) ASRock 9) EVGA/XFX 10) Asus 69) ECS 143) PC-Chips




RE: Biostar #1 in reliability
By chrispyski on 6/1/2008 8:01:02 PM , Rating: 2
I have to agree. Biostar gets alot of grief from some people, but I too see that their boards just plain work. Do they overclock well and include all the bells and whistles? No. But after going through so many Asus boards, I gave up building computers with them.

Granted, I haven't built 100's of computers with Biostar motherboards, but the 4 that I have are still chugging along with no problems.


RE: Biostar #1 in reliability
By RyuDeshi on 6/1/2008 8:02:01 PM , Rating: 2
Must be luck of the draw, or just certain boards.

I have had two biostar boards, different generations and chipsets, and both were faulty and had to be replaced within the first few months of purchase. I have never had a problem with a Gigabyte, foxconn and MSI that I have owned. Never used an Asus or any of the other brands you listed so I can't vouch for them.


RE: Biostar #1 in reliability
By Reclaimer77 on 6/1/2008 11:19:18 PM , Rating: 2
I built my rig when Core2Duo first hit the market using an Asus P5B mobo. Because it was generally agreed Asus had the best offering of " Core2duo ready " mainboards at that time.

I have never looked back. I know my experience doesn't speak for everyone, or Asus's entire line, but I couldn't be more happy with the P5B. For over a year its been running a +50% OC on my E6400 flawlessly on stock voltages and very aggressive ram timings. 8x multiplier and 1600 MHz FSB.

So yeah, I can vouch for Asus boards in general.


ok?
By AmazighQ on 6/1/2008 2:42:30 PM , Rating: 2
where is Q9450 :P me is waiting 6 months for it :(
and no i aint gonna pay 450 dollars for a 290 dollar CPU
maybe its a good now i can get a P45 based mobo and RV770 based GPU :/

any ways the P45 is 65nm while the P35 X38 and x48 are 90nm
that is the only big difference
you still can get x16 from 2 ePCI slots at once
you also get ICH10(R)that is almost the same as ICH9
ICH10 is tweak for better performance and there arent any new features

it might be the last chipset to support FBS!!




RE: ok?
By ValyTGV on 6/1/2008 3:28:23 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
where is Q9450 :P me is waiting 6 months for it :(


Read this:
http://www.dailytech.com/Intel+to+Cut+Prices+on+Ex...

quote:
A few of the older Intel CPUs will be phased out including the Core 2 Quad 9450.


RE: ok?
By Doormat on 6/1/2008 5:33:43 PM , Rating: 2
What are you talking about? Most the places I checked had the Q9450 for $350. I have one and honestly, I couldn't even OC it that far (3.2Ghz) on a P35 mobo and Ninja HSF.

You're better off waiting until the 9550 comes down in price anyways, the higher multiplier might help OCing if its FSB limited.


biostar
By mmc4587 on 6/2/2008 4:47:26 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
By alin on 6/1/2008 3:46:23 PM , Rating: 2
http://www.vr-zone.com/articles/Pictorial_Preview%...
http://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en-us/t-power/introd...
Power/Reset Buttons!
Diagnostic LED w/CPU Temp Display!
E-Sata!

now, how-bout a quickboot?




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