Biostar TP45 HP mainboard uses four-phase processor voltage regulator circuitry built with solid-state capacitors. 8-pin ATX12V power supply connector is located nearly, the 24-pin connector – on the right-hand side. Overall the upper part of the PCB layout is pretty well put together and we don’t have anything to complain about here.

The only thing I cannot remember seeing is the BIOS chip placed right above the 24-pin power connector. That is why the ClearCMOS jumper also appeared very high up, above the IDE connector.  Long graphics cards will make it hard to reach and use. However, you will be able to replace the memory DIMMs without any problems, the graphics card will not be in the way.

When it comes to lower part of the PCB, there are a few things that could have been made better. Biostar TP45 HP mainboard will not let you create RAID-arrays: Intel ICH10 South Bridge doesn’t support this functionality, and JMicron JMB368 controller only turns one PCI Express lane into one Parallel ATA port supporting up to two Ultra DMA 33/66/100/133 devices, adding no Serial ATA ports. With a long graphics card installed into the second PCI Express x16 slot, some SATA ports will be blocked. The FDD connector is also not in the best place, right below the last PCI slot. Moreover, the closest fan connector is too far from the right side of the PCB. Not all the fans on the case front panel have cables long enough to reach that far.

We have listed a few but before we turn to advantages, we have to say a few words about Rapid Debug technology. This technology includes two LEDs between the FDD and the closest fan connector that perform diagnostic functions. If both of them light up, it means everything is OK. If only one of them is lit, there must be a problem with the memory or graphics card depending on the LED that is out. If both are out, you can’t tell what has happened, but one thing is certain: there is a problem.

Of course, Rapid Debug is hardly a drawback, however, there is not much benefit from diagnostics like that. As for the indisputable advantages of the Biostar TP45 HP board, we should point out large Power On and Reset buttons that are highlighted when the board is on, color-coded front panel connectors and laid out COM and LPT ports, even though they are not on the connectors panel.

The mainboard rear panel has PS/2 connectors for keyboard and mouse, 6 USB 2.0 ports, network RJ45 port and six audio-jacks. Gigabit network support is implemented via Realtek RTL8111C controller and the sound is provided by Realtek ALC888 codec. It’s a pity there are no eSATA or S/PDIF, although there is more than enough free room on the connector panel for them.

That seems to be all we can tell you about the design of Biostar TP45 HP mainboard. However, if you take a look at the schematic components layout, you will see that there are only three fan connectors.

We are going to conclude this part of our review with a traditional specification table for Biostar TP45 HP:

At this point we can say that Biostar TP45 HP mainboard seems to be a pretty ordinary solution, just like most similar boards out there. It has its advantages and drawbacks, but nothing super good or super bad about it. A good board with sufficient functionality.