Biostar Hi-Fi B85N-3D Motherboard Review
Overview
Hardware: CPU & MotherboardsWHAT WE LIKED:
B85 Chipset with the 4770K performs just as stellar as the Z87 chipset. Solid performance.WHAT WE DISLIKED:
Lacks overclocking and Max memory speed support of 1600MHz8 Series Chipset
With the Haswell processor came a new chipset. With the Haswell platform, Intel has developed five desktop chipsets to meet the demands of various enthusiasts, from budget builders to high-end gamers and more. We have the following: B85, H87, Q85, Q87 and finally the Z87 chipset which we will be taking a look at today.
Let’s take a look at some comparison charts for the previous 7 series chipset vs. today’s 8 series chipset.
Taking a look at the two side by side, you will first notice a couple of differences immediately. First is its new I/O Port flexibility. We see that the 8 series chipset will support 6 native USB 3.0 ports vs. the previous four. It also supports up to six native SATA 6Gbps ports.
To give you a better idea of what the B85 chipset looks like, let’s take a look at Intel’s break down grid.
B85
VS
Z87
The B85 chipset is the “budget” business option and is very limited compared to the other business chipsets. As such, it does not support iSIPP or vPro. Like the Q85 chipset, it has four SATA 6Gb/s ports compared to the six found on Z87. The B85 chipset is a good option for systems that need only basic functionality without the various features found in the other higher end main stream chipset like the Z87.
Here are some breakdown of the differences from the B85 to Z77 Series chipsets. As you can see, the most noticeable items are the lack of support for multiple graphics cards, the Intel RST, Lake Tiny and the Fewer USB lanes just to name a few. But some of these features are not going to handicap the B85 series chipset too much especially if you are not looking to take advantage of those features.
Business Class
Mainstream
Now that we have covered the 8 series chipsets, let’s move on take a look at the Biostar B85N-3D Motherboard.
