I’m a bit miffed by the state of PC component availability here in the Philippines. While it’s true that most high-profile parts make their way through to our shores much sooner than later (especially due to our proximity to Taiwan and China) – certain products seem to get passed over by other, better marketed contemporaries.

                                             Not a very imaginative name, but I've seen worse.

This is the case for AMD/ATI’s 690G chipset – based products, which when compared to Nvidia’s much hyped 6000 series graphic-centric chipsets gives a good showing of itself. It is unfortunate that it is only now that I am getting a chance to review a board like this. This observation is in hindsight, since the 690G chipset was released way back in April of 2007, and is now being compared to the Nforce 6150 which is very similar in features, price and intended usage – namely for home theatre PC’s.

                                             A crowded board layout.

By now it is obvious that the Biostar TA690G AM2 motherboard is an attractive option for the reviewer, not only for its similarity to Nvidia’s 6150 – based motherboards but also for the multiple video outputs that it brandishes. It boasts of HDMI, S-Video, DVI-D and regular VGA connectivity. Now seeing that I was quite worked up by the inclusion of a single DVI-D connector on the 6100 / 6150 chipset motherboards reviewed some time before, it is perhaps understandable why I felt like Forrest opening his box of chocolates when I laid eyes on this motherboard’s rear panel.

                                             The rear panel plays host for a number of media connectivity options.

The TA690G is a microATX motherboard centered around the AMD/ATI 690G chipset. This means that the onboard GPU is essentially a de-fanged X700 – the mid-high level ATI videocard of the same generation as the all-conquering X950XT. This version only has four rendering pipelines though. For operation in Vista with its Aeroglass feature, light gaming, graphics-intensive applications like Google Maps and graphics alteration software, the 690G is more than capable, but more importantly, is more capable than its competitor, the newer 6100 / 6150 chipset.

                                             AMD has a winner on its hands - now if only their CPUs...

The TA690G is an ideal HTPC solution, due to the cooler running nature of the chipset which requires only passive cooling. As mentioned as well, the multiple connectivity options can give you flexibility when outputting to an external display other than the monitor, although there is a small limitation. Due to the design of the 690G, the motherboard can only output through two connectors at any one time – one analog (VGA, S-video) and one digital connection (DVI-D, HDMI), but not both of the same type at the same time.

                                             The connections here points to its HTPC intentions.

The AMD 690G supports one PCI-E x1 slot, one PCI-E x16 slot for graphic upgrades down the road, plus two legacy PCI slots for peripherals. It goes without saying (due to AMD’s onboard memory controller) that the chipset only provides the fast interconnect between the memory and the CPU, as well as the PCI-E x16 slot, if a videocard is plugged into it. Dual channel DDR2-800 memory of up to 4GB (using 64-bit OS) is supported over four physical slots, and all AM2 based CPUs will run on this board with the exception of some very old ones and some very new ones, even after a BIOS update. Check online documentation to be sure. The AMD SB600 Southbridge supports four Serial ATA II ports and a single Ultra/133 IDE controller. Also integrated are ten USB 2.0 ports, a Gigabit MAC and a 7.1 channel High Definition audio controller. While legacy connectors like parallel and serial have been relegated to headers, I can’t say that I mind, seeing that most if not all peripheral products being manufactured now are all of the USB variety. Regardless, a simple header will serve if legacy connectivity is desired.

                                             The expansion slots shows off a good mix.

The board is quite crowded, but the fact is quite forgivable given the amount of features crammed onto it. The four memory slots are above the usual two found on most microATX boards, plus other thoughtful features like onboard power and reset switches are proof of this. While the board conforms to the microATX standard, it is still quite broad – be sure to check out its measurements and the measurements of the casing to be used before you buy. One small complaint: the color scheme of the board leaves much to be desired (neon yellow, orange, and cyan), but then again this board won’t probably see the outside of its case very much, and this is not marketed to enthusiasts who most likely have clear panels on their casings. The bundled items like rear panel, SATA connectos(with locks!), extra-long SATA power converter, IDE and floppy cables, and the CD drivers all come in a neat, black mesh bag with a zipper – a small enough touch but one that leaves its impact on the jaded editors here at the office.

                                              SATA connectors. Below them are the onboard switches.

While the 690G chipset, and thus this Biostar motherboard is no longer new to the market, the fact that an older product like this can compete head-on with a relatively new Nvidia product speak volumes of the forward looking mentality of the motherboard maker. Even if this product was reviewed quite late due to its unavailability in our country, it offers an interesting perspective from which we can see that although the state of the computer industry here is not cutting-edge, one can still be surprised by the products that are available here – as I was when I opened the Biostar box and saw something that I didn’t expect.

More pictures to follow.