Biostar N3150NH Mini-ITX Motherboard Review: Passive Progressive
Computers have become so ubiquitous in daily life that it is absurd to think that the very concept of having one in every household was considered a joke a mere 35-years ago. Back then, the concept of personal computing, let alone connected computing, was difficult to grasp because computers were expensive, took up plenty of space, ran hot and required vigilant maintenance. It also did not help that operating systems were not as user-friendly as they are now.
For less than a $100 in 2015, users now have the option of having an all-in-one, low-power, passively cooled platform to build-on, and more importantly, such a solution also opens the doors for businesses to add cost-effective basic computers to their stable without the overhead and maintenance of a full-sized PC. For even less than that, Biostar’s new N3150NH SoC mainboard
The Biostar N3150NH is a $69 mini-ITX solution utilizing an Intel Celeron N3150 Braswell SoC for a low-power, passively cooled system platform. Although intended for use in public kiosks and general low-power computing applications, the Biostar N3150NH has enough horsepower with its 4-core/4-thread Braswell CPU for more advanced tasks than previous generation Atom and Celeron CPUs at a lower power envelope.
[sc:sponsor sponsor=”BIOSTAR” product_link=”http://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en/mb/introduction.php?S_ID=804″ product_name=”N3150NH” product_price_link=”http://amzn.to/1Ff8bhs” product_price=”$69.99″ ]The cover box packaging itself does not have a photo of the motherboard on the center but instead, Biostar touts their 6+ Experience feature-set with more at the bottom edge. Inside, folded cardboard compartments separate the accessories and contents.
Other than documentation, disc drive and IO shield, the Biostar N3150NH mainboard also comes with a pair of straight latching SATA cables.
Specifications:
| CPU | Intel® Celeron N3150 1.6G Quad-core 1.6G turbo boost up to 2.08G |
| MEMORY | Support Dual Channel DDR3L 1600/1066 MHz 2 x DDR3 SO-DIMM Memory Slot Max. Supports up to 8GB Memory for DDR3L-1600 OR 16GB Memory for DDR3L-1066 ※The DIMM must be installed to DIMMA1 slot first. |
| EXPANSION SLOT | 1 x PCI-E x1 2.0 Slot |
| STORAGE | 2 x SATA3 Connector |
| USB | 2 x USB 3.0 Port 1 x USB 3.0 Header 2 x USB 2.0 Port 2 x USB 2.0 Header |
| LAN | Realtek RTL8111H – 10/100/1000 Controller |
| INTEGRATED VIDEO | Intel HD Graphics Supports DX11.1 Supports HDCP |
| CODEC | Realtek ALC662 6-Channel HD Audio |
| REAR I/O | 1 x PS/2 Mouse 1 x PS/2 Keyboard 2 x USB 3.0 Port 2 x USB 2.0 Port 1 x HDMI Connector 1 x VGA Port 1 x RJ-45 Port 3 x Audio Connector |
| INTERNAL I/O | 1 x Printer Header 1 x USB 3.0 Header 2 x USB 2.0 Header 2 x SATA3 6Gb/s Connector 1 x Front Audio Header 1 x Front Panel Header 2 x System Fan Header 1 x Serial Header |
| H/W MONITORING | CPU / System Temperature Monitoring System Fan Monitoring System Voltage Monitoring |
| DIMENSION | Mini ITX Form Factor Dimension: 17cm x 17cm ( W x L ) |
| OS SUPPORT | Support Windows 7(x64) / 8.1(x64) / 10 |
| BUNDLE SOFTWARE | BullGuard BIO-Remote2 Smart Speed LAN |
| ACCESSORIES | 2 x SATA Cable 1 x I/O Shield 1 x DVD Driver 1 x Quick Guide |
| FEATURES | Supports Solid capacitor Supports BIOS-Flasher Supports Charger Booster Supports BIOS Online Update |
