Biostar iDEQ 200T
Published on 2004-02-18 23:36:20 By: Hooz


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My brother recently started shopping around for a new PC. He's a pretty frugal guy, but when he upgrades he likes to get the best bang for his buck. He also likes to leave himself some headroom for future upgrading, even though he usually just builds a whole new PC when the upgrade bug bites.

Now, my brother, like everyone else in my family it seems, is completely enamored with the new SFF PCs. You know... Small Form Factor PCs... Like the Shuttle boxes that Jim - has - been - reviewing - like mad lately. So when it came time to start shopping, we started looking at the usual suspects.

After building more than half-a-dozen different SFF boxes in the past few months for family and friends, I consider myself a bit of an authority on the subject. My brother is a gadget nut though, and he had some special requirements for audio inputs and outputs to accommodate some of his music playing/recording/whatever toys. The search for a barebones box that had all the right connectors eventually led us to the Biostar iDEQ 200T that I'll be dissecting today.

The Specs

The iDEQ 200T is based on the Intel i865 chipset, so the the majority of the feature list is pretty standard fare.

  • CPU Support: Intel Socket 478, supports 400/533/800MHz FSB CPU and Hyper-Threading Technology (BIOS update available for Prescott support)
  • Chipset: Intel 865G + ICH5R
  • Memory: Dual channel configuration with 2gb DDR400 support via 2 DIMM slots
  • Serial ATA: Intel SATA RAID
  • Video: Intel Extreme Graphics 2
  • Audio: C-Media CMI9739A 6-Channel AC'97 CODEC
  • 1394A (Firewire): VIA VT6307
  • Ethernet: Realtek RTL8100B 10/100mbps LAN
  • Expansion Slots: 1x PCI, 1x AGP (8x)
  • Power Supply: 200W Enhance (ATX12V with PFC)

While the list of components is par for the SFF course, the variety of I/O ports is nothing short of amazing. On the front of the case, Biostar includes 2x USB 2.0 ports, Optical S /PDIF input, microphone jack, headphone jack and an IEEE 1394A port. The back of the case is where it gets downright silly with 2x USB 2.0 ports, Optical S/PDIF output, IEEE 1394A port, LAN, VGA, a serial port, PS/2 ports and Line-in, Line-out and Microphone jacks.

The optical S/PDIF input and output ports, and the front and rear line in/out ports are important because this is a feature not found in all SFF PCs. These ports were also the reason my brother finally decided to go with the iDEQ 200T instead of an otherwise comparable machine from another company.

Gone are the days of the parallel port, as you won't find one on the iDEQ 200T. While the header is present on the motherboard and there is a cut-out on the back of the case, tracking down the appropriate cable/connector is all on you. Since all "current" printers seem to be USB, the absence of the archaic parallel port shouldn't be too much of a problem, although it is worth mentioning.

 
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