As far as I'm concerned this is a 1156 board with 3rd party USB thrown in. Intel could've easily made SB backwards compatible without a performance hit
Trust me, you're far from the only one who feels that way. Myself and a lot of people who I talk to feel like Intel are robbing whoever bought a 1156 board.
Was this new socket/chipset made necessary by the new IGP and/or new CPU? I don't know. What I know though, is that a lot of people would have gladly upgraded their 1156 PC if SB was backward compatible and that quite a few of them don't want/need a new motherboard already.
Then again, I have a feeling that this was done as a business decision by Intel, simply to sell more of their chipsets and to make their motherboard partners happy to sell more motherboards.
Sandy Bridge uses a new 1155-pin socket that is not compatible with the previous generation Arrandale and Clarkdale processors. One reason is that clock generation has changed. Rather than having a discrete clock generator on the motherboard, Intel’s 6-Series chipset feeds a single base clock through DMI to the processor, where it is multiplied and distributed across the die. This is another example of integration, although the clock generator is a smaller part of the system than the GPU or memory controllers.
Still with that said the Sandy Bridge Cpu's could have been backwards compatible with the Intel 5 series motherboards. Nothing in that whole artical indicated that Sandy Bridge couldn't be ran on an Intel 5 series socket. All it was displaying is the internal cpu changes of Sandy Bridge itself.
Sorry, but you are HIGHLY mistaken. The current SB archtecture will NOT work with current MBs, as the linked article states clearly.
You'd also be upset if Intel released a backwards compatible chip that offered minimal upgrades. "oh, it's another Intel chip I don't need for marginal performance upgrade"
Let's face, innovation requires a different line of thinking. There's only so far you could push the 775 architecture, and there's only so far you can push the 1156. Have you seen Anand's very own OC of the 1155 chips? 5 Ghz... on AIR.
If you had read this and looked at HOW DIFFERENT these chips actually are (other than herp derp pin count), you wouldn't be making comments like this.
Dear customers, thank you for your support of our company. Here, there's good news to tell you: The company recently launched a number of new fashion items! ! Fashionable and welcome everyone to come buy. If necessary, please$$$$$$$$$$__$$$_$$$$$$$$$$$ http://www.vipshops.org $$_____$$$_$$$_________$$$ $$$_____$$$_$$$______ $$$ $$$ ____$$$_ $$$_____ $$$ $$$$$$$$$$__$$$____$$$ $$$_____$$$_$$$___$$$ $$$_____$$$_$$$__$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$_$$$_$$$ $$$$$$$$$$__$$$_$$$$$$$$$$$$ !::! http://www.vipshops.org Thursday, 21 October 2010 at 9:48 PM
" No matter how hard you try and jam a card into the wrong slot, something will end up breaking."
...that's what she said...
Seriously though, doesn't that sentence sound wrong? Wouldn't it be something like... "no matter how delicately you try to place a card into the wrong slot, something will end up breaking?"
re: "First of which is the positioning of the SATA 6Gb/s ports. Because they’re coming out of the board, rather than 90º to it"
I reckon you've missed why the micro ATX board doesn't have angled SATA ports - micro ATX boards tend to go in small cases with little or no space around the edge of the board. If they'd used angled ports there would need to be space off the edge of the board for the cables to stick out.
I think Ian also is a little off the deep end thinking that ANYONE is going to be using 2 jumbo video cards on a microATX board based on Intel's cheap IGP chipset. It's one of the crazier nitpicks I can recall in a motherboard review.
Dear customers, thank you for your support of our company. Here, there's good news to tell you: The company recently launched a number of new fashion items! ! Fashionable and welcome everyone to come buy. If necessary, please$$$$$$$$$$__$$$_$$$$$$$$$$$ http://www.vipshops.org $$_____$$$_$$$_________$$$ $$$_____$$$_$$$______ $$$ $$$ ____$$$_ $$$_____ $$$ $$$$$$$$$$__$$$____$$$ $$$_____$$$_$$$___$$$ $$$_____$$$_$$$__$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$_$$$_$$$ $$$$$$$$$$__$$$_$$$$$$$$$$$$ !::! http://www.vipshops.org Thursday, 21 October 2010 at 9:48 PM
Just sell your 1156 motherboard. You'll get at least 50% of the cost you paid out of it, probably closer to 65-70% You know, nothing in life is free. You used your 1156 motherboard and got at least a year or 2 of use out of it (if not then why exactly are you upgrading then?). Y'all act like you have to throw your old tech in the trash to buy the new tech.
I'm content because I see absolutely no reason to upgrade to a Sandy Bridge processor. USB 3.0 support is still handled by a NEC controller, no overclocking is allowed on low end processors, and the integrated graphics are still useless to me.
There is almost no demand for used LGA1156 motherboards now (bargain builds use AMD processors), and demand will only decrease once the processors are replaced. Good luck getting 50% back now and good luck getting 25% back once LGA1156 is replaced.
The highest prices I've seen at auction net around 50% of the retail price (before fees). I bought a new ASUS H55 motherboard on ebay for $27 (shipped) a couple months back.
I was thinking the same thing. We are what, 7 years or so into the transition between PCI and PCIe? Obviously I can still see some boards offering it for those who need it, but the majority should really be moving to all PCIe. Esp. on the MicroATX boards, where you are already slot limited.
I still use PCI expansion cards (RS-232 port, additional NIC) and if Intel and motherboard OEM's thought they could save money and not lose customers by removing them, they would. Their research obviously shows they should stay.
PCI and PCI-X cards are still widely used in industrial applications.
At the top of page 2: "sporting less SATA 3Gb/s ports" should use "fewer" instead of "less" for things you count. Example (food): Our product has less fat. vs. Our product has fewer grams of fat.
Apart from the quirky layout, the Biostar TPOWER I55 is not a bad board at all. Both Kane Jeong and I use one for our daily rigs. Kane's got no complaints, while the only one I have is that AHCI mode seems to play havoc with my Blu-Ray drive for some reason. Other than that, quite a solid all-round board for Lynnfield.
What's up with the dearth of SATA ports from the southbridge? Are there really only 3 (4 if you count back panel eSATA maybe?) available or is this just Biostar cheaping out a bit? It's kind of sad that a 'high-end' board only has 5 internal SATA ports even with an add-on controller. Not that a regular desktop needs more than maybe 3-4 internal ports but enthusiasts in particular might like to do a few RAID arrays or just have lots of ports for a file server. Many many LGA775 boards had 6 internal ports from the southbridge alone plus 2-4 more internal or eSATA ports from additional controllers. So are we moving backwards here or is it just these particular motherboards?
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Pneumothorax - Wednesday, September 29, 2010 - link
As far as I'm concerned this is a 1156 board with 3rd party USB thrown in. Intel could've easily made SB backwards compatible without a performance hitMathieu Bourgie - Wednesday, September 29, 2010 - link
Trust me, you're far from the only one who feels that way. Myself and a lot of people who I talk to feel like Intel are robbing whoever bought a 1156 board.Was this new socket/chipset made necessary by the new IGP and/or new CPU? I don't know. What I know though, is that a lot of people would have gladly upgraded their 1156 PC if SB was backward compatible and that quite a few of them don't want/need a new motherboard already.
Then again, I have a feeling that this was done as a business decision by Intel, simply to sell more of their chipsets and to make their motherboard partners happy to sell more motherboards.
My 2 cents.
icrf - Wednesday, September 29, 2010 - link
http://www.realworldtech.com/page.cfm?ArticleID=RW...
Wieland - Wednesday, September 29, 2010 - link
That isn't something most of us necessarily wanted to be changed or something that (from what I understand) necessarily had to to be changed.SteelCity1981 - Tuesday, October 5, 2010 - link
Still with that said the Sandy Bridge Cpu's could have been backwards compatible with the Intel 5 series motherboards. Nothing in that whole artical indicated that Sandy Bridge couldn't be ran on an Intel 5 series socket. All it was displaying is the internal cpu changes of Sandy Bridge itself.arubino99 - Monday, January 10, 2011 - link
Sorry, but you are HIGHLY mistaken.The current SB archtecture will NOT work with current MBs, as the linked article states clearly.
You'd also be upset if Intel released a backwards compatible chip that offered minimal upgrades. "oh, it's another Intel chip I don't need for marginal performance upgrade"
Let's face, innovation requires a different line of thinking. There's only so far you could push the 775 architecture, and there's only so far you can push the 1156. Have you seen Anand's very own OC of the 1155 chips? 5 Ghz... on AIR.
If you had read this and looked at HOW DIFFERENT these chips actually are (other than herp derp pin count), you wouldn't be making comments like this.
nbjknk - Thursday, November 25, 2010 - link
Dear customers, thank you for your support of our company.
Here, there's good news to tell you: The company recently
launched a number of new fashion items! ! Fashionable
and welcome everyone to come buy. If necessary, please$$$$$$$$$$__$$$_$$$$$$$$$$$
http://www.vipshops.org
$$_____$$$_$$$_________$$$
$$$_____$$$_$$$______ $$$
$$$ ____$$$_ $$$_____ $$$
$$$$$$$$$$__$$$____$$$
$$$_____$$$_$$$___$$$
$$$_____$$$_$$$__$$$
$$$$$$$$$$$_$$$_$$$
$$$$$$$$$$__$$$_$$$$$$$$$$$$ !::!
http://www.vipshops.org
Thursday, 21 October 2010 at 9:48 PM
Mathieu Bourgie - Wednesday, September 29, 2010 - link
Second paragraph, last word:" No matter how hard you try and jam a card into the wrong slot, something will end up braking."
I'm pretty sure that you meant "breaking" there.
Good article otherwise, thanks for the preview. Looks like Biostar is coming out with more interesting products.
IanCutress - Wednesday, September 29, 2010 - link
Thanks Mathieu, correction made!Ian
vol7ron - Thursday, September 30, 2010 - link
" No matter how hard you try and jam a card into the wrong slot, something will end up breaking."...that's what she said...
Seriously though, doesn't that sentence sound wrong? Wouldn't it be something like... "no matter how delicately you try to place a card into the wrong slot, something will end up breaking?"
-----------------------------------
Good article, the USBs on the board look sexy.
valherumk2 - Wednesday, September 29, 2010 - link
re: "First of which is the positioning of the SATA 6Gb/s ports. Because they’re coming out of the board, rather than 90º to it"I reckon you've missed why the micro ATX board doesn't have angled SATA ports - micro ATX boards tend to go in small cases with little or no space around the edge of the board. If they'd used angled ports there would need to be space off the edge of the board for the cables to stick out.
kingpotnoodle - Wednesday, September 29, 2010 - link
Very good point, angled connectors would not work in my Antec Fusion on a full sqaure M-ATX board.Taft12 - Friday, October 1, 2010 - link
I think Ian also is a little off the deep end thinking that ANYONE is going to be using 2 jumbo video cards on a microATX board based on Intel's cheap IGP chipset. It's one of the crazier nitpicks I can recall in a motherboard review.nbjknk - Thursday, November 25, 2010 - link
Dear customers, thank you for your support of our company.
Here, there's good news to tell you: The company recently
launched a number of new fashion items! ! Fashionable
and welcome everyone to come buy. If necessary, please$$$$$$$$$$__$$$_$$$$$$$$$$$
http://www.vipshops.org
$$_____$$$_$$$_________$$$
$$$_____$$$_$$$______ $$$
$$$ ____$$$_ $$$_____ $$$
$$$$$$$$$$__$$$____$$$
$$$_____$$$_$$$___$$$
$$$_____$$$_$$$__$$$
$$$$$$$$$$$_$$$_$$$
$$$$$$$$$$__$$$_$$$$$$$$$$$$ !::!
http://www.vipshops.org
Thursday, 21 October 2010 at 9:48 PM
Fanofou - Wednesday, September 29, 2010 - link
Just sell your 1156 motherboard. You'll get at least 50% of the cost you paid out of it, probably closer to 65-70% You know, nothing in life is free. You used your 1156 motherboard and got at least a year or 2 of use out of it (if not then why exactly are you upgrading then?). Y'all act like you have to throw your old tech in the trash to buy the new tech.Wieland - Wednesday, September 29, 2010 - link
I'm content because I see absolutely no reason to upgrade to a Sandy Bridge processor. USB 3.0 support is still handled by a NEC controller, no overclocking is allowed on low end processors, and the integrated graphics are still useless to me.There is almost no demand for used LGA1156 motherboards now (bargain builds use AMD processors), and demand will only decrease once the processors are replaced. Good luck getting 50% back now and good luck getting 25% back once LGA1156 is replaced.
The highest prices I've seen at auction net around 50% of the retail price (before fees). I bought a new ASUS H55 motherboard on ebay for $27 (shipped) a couple months back.
cknobman - Wednesday, September 29, 2010 - link
There is no reason to keep that legacy interface around.piroroadkill - Wednesday, September 29, 2010 - link
If I could keep my perfectly good soundcard (that I have for a specific reason, real-time DTS encoding) then I'd like to do that.strikeback03 - Thursday, September 30, 2010 - link
I was thinking the same thing. We are what, 7 years or so into the transition between PCI and PCIe? Obviously I can still see some boards offering it for those who need it, but the majority should really be moving to all PCIe. Esp. on the MicroATX boards, where you are already slot limited.Taft12 - Friday, October 1, 2010 - link
There's no reason to get rid of it either.I still use PCI expansion cards (RS-232 port, additional NIC) and if Intel and motherboard OEM's thought they could save money and not lose customers by removing them, they would. Their research obviously shows they should stay.
PCI and PCI-X cards are still widely used in industrial applications.
DustinF00 - Wednesday, September 29, 2010 - link
I'd like to plan an upgrade around a new board.MrCommunistGen - Wednesday, September 29, 2010 - link
At the top of page 2: "sporting less SATA 3Gb/s ports" should use "fewer" instead of "less" for things you count. Example (food): Our product has less fat. vs. Our product has fewer grams of fat.iamkyle - Wednesday, September 29, 2010 - link
Generally BIOStar and quality are never used in the same sentence.However, it will be nice to see what the fringe competitors can offer performance-wise vs. the mb heavyweights.
Rajinder Gill - Wednesday, September 29, 2010 - link
Hi,Apart from the quirky layout, the Biostar TPOWER I55 is not a bad board at all. Both Kane Jeong and I use one for our daily rigs. Kane's got no complaints, while the only one I have is that AHCI mode seems to play havoc with my Blu-Ray drive for some reason. Other than that, quite a solid all-round board for Lynnfield.
-Raja
n8a - Wednesday, September 29, 2010 - link
It looks like there is a DP port on the H67 board.MadMan007 - Saturday, October 2, 2010 - link
What's up with the dearth of SATA ports from the southbridge? Are there really only 3 (4 if you count back panel eSATA maybe?) available or is this just Biostar cheaping out a bit? It's kind of sad that a 'high-end' board only has 5 internal SATA ports even with an add-on controller. Not that a regular desktop needs more than maybe 3-4 internal ports but enthusiasts in particular might like to do a few RAID arrays or just have lots of ports for a file server. Many many LGA775 boards had 6 internal ports from the southbridge alone plus 2-4 more internal or eSATA ports from additional controllers. So are we moving backwards here or is it just these particular motherboards?Mahomedsmith - Thursday, December 30, 2010 - link
How to design the board and maintain the board?http://www.healthproductreviewers.com/south-beach-...