Motherboard itself belongs to TPower series, which presents top-class models when it comes to Biostar motherboards. First of all, heat pipe cooling system is also present on this model, and it connects SB (South Bridge) with all other heat spreaders which is better and more efficient solution compared to solution that ASUS used. Layout is also great, which shows that Biostar pays extra attention to this segment. All components have perfect positions, except floppy connector, but since no one uses it, this problem really isn’t serious. There are also Power and Reset buttons which are welcomed feature. Two character LED diagnostic readout display is also nice detail and can get handy from time to time. Even huge CPU cooler can be mounted with ease, thanks to great overall layout. Back panel is very interesting since there are present: 8 USB ports, 2 eSATA connectors, 2 LANs, one PC/2, one FireWire and one S/PFID audio output. Realtek ALC888s is responsible for sound. Not as good as ALC888 solution but enough for gaming.

This motherboard has 12-phase CPU power unit, while 4 of those are reserved for VTT. Memory has its own 2-phase power unit. Nice configuration, especially since voltage drop of only 0.02V was registered during out testing. All capacitors are solid so longevity is secured. This model also has voltage measuring points which are option that we saw for the first time on a Biostar motherboard.

BIOS is also signed by AMI and it has typical Biostar configuration. This BIOS also has most of the options, while interesting ones are located under O.N.E. menu. Menu is nicely organized, but if you get confused, you can always use predefined overclock profiles (V6, V8 and V12), that will do the job for you. With each profile higher automatic overclock can be achieved – up to 15% of default values. For more than that you have to set parameters manually. All voltages are also present on Biostar I55 TPower, and you won’t be disappointed by their limits at any time. When we tried to reach same overclock limits as on ASUS model, we couldn’t reach them, but this shouldn’t disappoint nor have effect on your decision to reject this motherboard as bad. We reached very respectable and stable 206MHz. Since this motherboard is significantly cheaper than ASUS model this is great result.