Biostar Racing P1 Brings RGB LED Craze to Mini-PC Market
First seen at Computex several months ago, Biostar’s Racing P1 mini-PC is a compact and highly portable system extending the company’s portfolio beyond their motherboard line to a complete computing solution. Externally, it sports the same Racing-themed aesthetic as its Biostar Racing series motherboard counterparts with a carbon fibre top and signature RGB LED lighting. Just like those Biostar motherboards, it also has the extended “VIVID LED DJ” feature which allows for an external RGB LED strip to be plugged into the device right on the front panel via a 5V 5050 LED header and controlled through software.
Other connectors at the front of the Biostar Racing P1 mini-PC include a USB 2.0 as well as a USB 3.0 port (Type-A), a micro-SD slot, and a retaskable 3.5″mm audio jack header for line-out or mic-in. At the rear, power is fed via a 5V DC-in. Extra connectors at the back includ four more USB 2.0 ports are available, a single RJ-45 Gigabit LAN port courtesy of a Realtek RTL8111H, and an HDMI display output.
Internally, the Racing P1 is powered by an Intel Atom x5-Z8350, part of Intel’s Cherry Trail system-on-chip microprocessors using the Airmont microarchitecture since Willow Trail has been cancelled. Base frequency starts at 1.4GHz with a max turbo frequency of 1.9GHz. This is a four-core processors (with four threads), with a 4x32KB 8-way, and 4x24KB 6-way L1 cache, as well as a 2x 1MB 16-way L2 cache. It has a scenario power design (SDP) of only 2W incorporating Intel enhanced speedstep technologies.The integrated memory controller supports single channel DDR3L-RS 1600 and the Biostar P1 comes with 4GB. The integrated GPU is a 200MHz Intel HD Graphics 400 with a burst frequency of 200MHz supporting up to two simultaneous displays (although the Racing P1 is only capable of single device output with its single HDMI port).
Other features inside include a 64GB eMMC flash for main storage, wireless/bluetooth support via an AMPAK AP6255 controller supporting 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.0. The dual-channel audio controller is a Realtek ALC5645. As expected from any compact mini-PC, especially one that measures only 129.4 x 83 x 27mm and weighs 255g, is VESA 75/100 mounting support although it comes already with default foot stands for regular table top use. More information is available at: http://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en/minipc/introduction.php?S_ID=3#specification
