BIOSTAR TP67XE Intel LGA 1155 Sandy Bridge Motherboard Review

BIOSTAR P67 Motherboard Layout

The BIOSTAR TP67XE motherboard features the latest Intel LGA1155 socket. This means that it will support the second generation of Intel Core series of processors.

The BIOSTAR TP67XE features four DIMM slots. The DIMM slots will support memory with speeds up to 2200MHz in dual channel mode. Along the right edge of the BIOSTAR TP67XE we can see the 4pin CPU fan header. Along the other edge of the photo we can see the 20+4 pin motherboard power connector.

Swinging the BIOSTAR TP67XE around we can get a better look at this corner. The first feature worth mentioning is the SATA ports, There are a total of five SATA ports; the two white ones that we see are the SATA 6 ports that are controlled by the Intel P67 chipset, while the three red SATA ports are limited to SATA 3. On the corner of the BIOSTAR TP67XE are the Rapid Switches; these allow you to power on and reset the BIOSTAR TP67XE prior to installing the board into a case. This is a handy feature if you need to take the system out of the case for troubleshooting purposes. Just behind the SATA 2 ports is the Rapid Debug3; this will display critical POST code information which is needed in the event of a system malfunction. Continuing up the left edge of the photo we have the front panel header, a 3pin system fan header, as well as three USB 2 headers.

Rotating the BIOSTAR TP67XE once again, we can see the white IEEE1394 header, blue Com port header, red CIR (Consumer Infrared), black SPDIF header and the front panel audio header. Rounding the corner, the first chip that we come across is the Realtek ALC892 HD audio codec. Beyond the ALC892 chip is the Realtek 8111E Gigabit LAN Controller followed by the NEC D720200F1 Super Speed USB 3.0 controller. Just above the NEC chip is the second of two system fan headers.

Rounding the final corner, we can see that the BIOSTAR TP67XE has a pair of 8pin CPU power plugs. Using the second 8pin is only needed in times of extreme overclocking with sub-ambient cooling. Just behind the coaxial SPDIF out is a series of LED’s; these will indicate the number of power phases that the BIOSTAR TP67XE is supplying to the CPU. Surrounding the LGA1155 socket we can see that BIOSTAR uses solid capacitors for an increased lifespan.

The I/O panel has almost everything we have become accustomed to on the new Intel “Sandy Bridge” platform. The only added feature I would have liked to have seen back here is a CMOS reset button. Other than that, we have the typical USB 2, USB 3.0, eSATA, 8-channel audio, Gigabit Ethernet and Firewire.