Biostar T-series TA690G AM2

Biostar T-series TA690G AM2 ... has. A standard analog video output isn't too astounding, but a digital DVI port, S-Video TV-output and an HDMI video output all on one motherboard is pretty unique!

The Biostar TA690G AM2 motherboard is built on AMD's 690G Northbridge and SB600 Southbridge chipsets, and it supports all Socket AM2 processors from the AMD Sempron to the Athlon64/X2 and FX processors. The platform can be used for 32-bit or 64-bit computing as well. Four DDR2 slots accommodate up to 4GB of DDR2-400/533/667/800 memory. In terms of data storage, four 3.0Gb/s Serial ATA II channels provide lots of room for additional drives, and RAID 0,1,10 is possible too. There is one parallel IDE port, so you're best off connecting a DVD/ROM there. Gigabit Ethernet and 7.1 channel High Definition audio come standard, though the COM and parallel printer ports are both only available from headers. With ATI Radeon X1250 Graphics on board, the Biostar TA690G AM2 provides a good solid platform for office applications and the like, without the need to install a stand alone videocard. If gaming is your thing, you'll want to install a nice Geforce 8600GTS PCI Express 16 videocard or something comparable. The onboard graphics card shares up to 512 MB of system memory.

In terms of expansion the Biostar TA690G AM2 provides ten USB 2.0 ports for peripherals. There is a PCI Express x16 slot for stand alone videocards (a good idea if you plan on gaming), a PCI Express x1 slot for high bandwidth devices and two PCI slots for legacy peripherals.

There are a couple of nice nods towards the user experience like a set of hard Power and Reset buttons on the PCB. Also fully passive thermal solution for each chipset is eye-catching. The large and higher heatsink attached to the NB to dissipate heat efficiently. The heatsink above the SB will cool down the temperature rapidly. Solid electrolytic capacitors, using conductive polymer materials will extend the lifespan of the board. Low-distortion audio design is based on Biostar own concept with one independent high-efficiency capacitor for each channel. An unwanted noise will be shut out and SNR ratio will be over 95dB - good enough for Vista premium.