BIOSTAR Unveils a Trio of Socket LGA1150 Motherboards

[btarunr]

BIOSTAR unveiled a trio of socket LGA1150 motherboards at CeBIT. Unlike ASRock's creations, its boards appear more complete, with heatsinks and finalized board color scheme. All three feature the company's Puro HiFi technology, a high-quality on-board audio with a focus on physically improving audio quality, rather than artificially. Among the boards are the HiFi-B85S2, the HiFi-Z87X3D, and the HiFi-H87S3+.

To begin with, the HiFi-H87S3+ features the micro-ATX form-factor, which still leaves room for four DDR3 DIMM slots, a simple 4-phase VRM to power the CPU, one each of PCI-Express 3.0 x16 and legacy PCI, two PCI-Express 2.0 x1; 6-channel Puro HiFi audio, DVI, D-Sub, and HDMI display outputs; a pair of USB 3.0 ports, and six internal SATA 6 Gb/s connectors. It is based on the H87 chipset. The HiFi-B85S2 features a slim ATX form-factor, is based on the B85 Express chipset, features just the two DDR3 DIMM slots, a PCI-Express 3.0 x16, a PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (electrical x4) wired to the PCH; two each of PCI-Express 2.0 x1 and legacy PCI; six SATA 6 Gb/s ports, 6-channel Puro HiFi audio, gigabit Ethernet, four USB 3.0 ports, and a display connectivity loadout of DVI, D-Sub, and HDMI.



Leading the pack is the HiFi-Z87X 3D. Based on the overclocking-ready Z87 chipset, the board features a lavish 12-phase VRM to power the CPU, which is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots, and two PCI-Express 3.0 x16 (x16/NC or x8/x8). Other expansion slots include a PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (electrical x4), and three PCI-Express 2.0 x1. Connectivity includes six SATA 6 Gb/s ports, Puro HiFi 8-channel audio with OPAMP circuitry, USB 3.0, gigabit Ethernet, and display connectivity that includes DVI, D-Sub, and HDMI. If these boards are any indication, then BIOSTAR may have found its niche in the Puro HiFi line, and it's unlikely we'll find higher-end boards from the company outside this series.

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[LAN_deRf_HA]

Was hoping this gen we'd get swappable opamps. Don't think I could leave my 49990s.

Those heatsink vanity plates pop off right?

 

[The Declaimer]

I'm seeing 6x SATA III ports on the Z87 Board and no antiquated PCI buses.

 

[ALMOSTunseen]

I'm seeing big problems from where they have placed the USB 3 header on the third board.

 

[Delta6326]

Pic 2 and 3 horrible placement of the USB 3.0 header, also need 90 degree connectors.

 

[Nordic]

I don't get why more boards have higher up audio. Seems like it would be an easy thing to do. My xonar dg was $10 so it can't cost the board makers much. My xonar dg is soo much better than my onboard too.

 

[Vancha]

Why you look like ASRock, BIOSTAR?!

 

[T3RM1N4L D0GM4]

"Hi Fi" and "Realtek" can't stay in the same place, sry....:shadedshu

 

[btarunr]

Realtek only makes the DAC. Its ALC889 and ALC898 are decent (100-ish dBA SNR), it's just that lack of proper amp circuitry betrays them on most boards, which is exactly what BIOSTAR is addressing in these ones.

 

[Aquinus]

Realtek only makes the DAC. Its ALC889 and ALC898 are decent (100-ish dBA SNR), it's just that lack of proper amp circuitry betrays them on most boards, which is exactly what BIOSTAR is addressing in these ones.

I've felt that my ALC898 on my motherboard sounds pretty good, no distortion or anything. Maybe I need to use a nice audio card before I know what I'm missing. As far as I know the ALC898 isn't doing my Sennheiser HD 280 Pros justice, but as far as I know it sounds pretty good, better than all other integrated chips in the past.

 

[btarunr]

Free hugs for reading the text. Limited period offer.