Biostar released a new budget motherboard based on the Intel B85 chipset, the Biostar Hi-Fi B85S1.
The specs are fairly common for a budget motherboard using the B85 chipset. The Hi-Fi B85S1 has two RAM slots, supporting up to 16 GB of total system RAM, as well as a PCI-E 3.0 x16 connection, two PCI-E 2.0 1x connectors, and a meager four SATA 3 connectors.
Like other motherboards in the Hi-Fi series, Biostar attempted to improve the audio clarity of the board by using additional capacitors and placing the audio chipset (Realtek ALC892) on a segmented piece of the motherboard, but it only provides two audio outputs on the rear I/O.
Given that the Realtek ALC892 is capable of 8-channel audio output, there isn’t any good reason for Biostar not to include more audio connectors to make use of this feature. The board also doesn’t include an SPDIF connection or HDMI connection, so the audio features of this board are rather limited.
The lack of onboard HDMI here is also a poor decision on Biostar’s part. Although this isn’t an issue for anyone with a dedicated GPU, the fact that this is a budget board means that it’s more likely that users will reply on the integrated GPU. VGA and DVI connectors are present, but if you wanted to use this board for streaming movies on a TV, for example, you would also need to have speakers instead of just using HDMI.
The back of the board has two USB 3.0 ports and two USB 2.0 ports, which might be a little light for some users, but the Hi-Fi B85S1 also features a USB 3.0 header and two USB 2.0 headers to help compensate for the lack of ports.
The Biostar Hi-Fi B85S1 has an MSRP of $59 USD, but there’s no word about a release date.
