14 DAY TRIAL // The B85 chipset is as low-end a platform as Intel could make for its Core-series of Haswell central processing units. Biostar has just launched its line of motherboards based on it.
Truthfully, one cannot actually say that there could possibly be a low-end Core-series CPU and associated motherboard.
Sure, the B85 chipset is the “weakest” of the Haswell-ready line, but that doesn't change the fact that the Core series as a whole is the high-end CPU lineup from Chipzilla.
So I suppose the B85 chipset is the most modest of the high-end collection. After all, it still sits above the motherboards made for Celeron and Pentium chips.
Thus, we can understand why companies, in this case Biostar, would outfit mainboards with special technologies.
Which brings us to the present: Biostar has launched its line of B85-based motherboard, all of them featuring PURO Hi-Fi technology.
PURO Hi-Fi consists of audio and power regulation upgrades, like Hi-Fi Power and Hi-Fi AMP. Sound should be clear and power should be stable, always. This way, the newcomers are guaranteed to last for a long time and not suffer from power fluctuations.
Biostar has also included 100% solid capacitors and the Intel Rapid Storage Technology (Intel RST), for fast system boot and application load time.
Intel Small Business Advantage (Intel SBA) is another thing, with after-hours virus scans and data backup, the ability to block recognition of unwanted USB drives, etc.
What's more, Biostar made it so that, under Windows 8, the BIOS may be controlled remotely, and even updated online (Biostar BIO-Remote2 and BIOS Online Update features).
For individual specifications, check out whatever retailer you use most, or any online stores. Biostar's products should show up there soon. There are 2-4 DIMM memory slots, various PCI Express slots, elaborate I/O rear panels, multiple video outputs, etc.