Biostar iDEQ 200A SFF Review

First off, let me say that this is far from my first MiniPC or Small Form Factor (SFF) PC. My first, modern SFF PC was a good, old Intel i810E based Book PC. I still have it, and it works great for what it is. After that, I’ve gone through so many iterations of NLX form factors, several FlexATX barebones systems and custom systems, and more than my fair share of small MicroATX cases and motherboards. My attraction to the SFF market has always been because I’ve been attending/hosting a LAN party since around 1995 and no one likes dragging a full tower, steel ATX case around. SFFs typically offer enough for a LAN gamer: onboard audio, video and networking, besides the small size. Lately, we’ve seen a great increase in offerings of these devices and many of which offer the power potential of any full sized system. The model I’m reviewing here, Biostar’s iDEQ model 200A, may very well be the best executed, P4-based SFF system out there.

ATI Onboard!

Yes, the iDEQ 200A model uses ATI's RS300 (or Radeon 9100 IGP) + iXP150 chipsets, giving the user Radeon 9100 onboard graphics capabilities. It's *only* DirectX8.1 compatable but it does provide a level of integrated performance which should yield excellent multimedia performance and usable gaming performance.

Beyond this highlighted feature, the iDEQ 200A offers:

• CPU: The iDEQ 200A is an Intel Pentium 4 based system.
• Memory: There are two DDR memory slots which function in dual channel mode. Up to 2GB of PC3200 are supported.
• Expansion Slots: As is, thankfully, typical of most SFF systems these days, there is one AGP8x slot and 32-bit PCI slot.
• I/O Ports: Four USB2.0 ports (two front & two back),
  2 S/PDIF audio ports (one front and one back),
  mini-DIN audio in/out ports on the front & back (microphone and headphones on front and typical mic/in/out on back via Realtek ALC655 chipset).
  Also on the back are 2 firewire ports (VIA VT6307),
  1 VGA port (no DVI),
  1 ethernet port (Realtek RTL8100B 10/100),
  keyboard/mouse PS/2 ports,
  and 1 serial port.
  My only real gripes with the system are with the ports selection. I'd like to see 4 USB2.0 ports on the back and I actually miss a good, old LPT port. There is certainly enough real estate for the ports.
• IDE: UDMA 33/66/100 devices are supported.
• Serial ATA: Yes, two SATA devices are supported.
• Expansion: 1 external 5.25", 1 external and 1 internal 3.5" drive bays.

What really isn't mentioned above but is noted in the packaging of the unit is that the 200A is the first SFF system to support Intel's Prescott P4s right out of the box! We'll take advantage of that fact in the performance review on the next page.

	The packaging is your A-typical box. It does come with a handy, dandy carry handle. Note that several retailers offer Biostar's SFF carry bag for free with an iDEQ purchase...a nice touch. Since this is a review item from Biostar, we did not have immediate access to the carry bag.
	The iDEQ 200A features a sliding front door, covering the two external drive bays. The composition of the front is plexiglass or lexan with an undercoating of silver coloring. This provides a nice durable surface for desktop duty and retains a nice gloss finish. The bays ship exposed, as shown in the picture, but blank covers are provided. The remaining construction is aluminum.
	Below the drive bays are the power button (at top), small reset button which is strattled by power and HD LEDs. At the very bottom are the front IO ports. Left to right we have the firewire port, S/PDIF I/O, microphone, headphones, and the two USB2.0 ports.
	The back panel is nicely arranged and not crowded. The power supply, as can been seen at the top, is a long flat unit. The case fan is an active part of the CPU ansd system cooling, which I'll discuss further later on. The I/O ports section at the bottom is nicely color coded and labeled with easy to see pictures (unlike some models offering only the slightly stamped tin back I/O plate). The two slots for the AGP and PCI slots are visible at right. They use the ever increasingly popular external mounting tab that hinges about 1-inch above the screw mount. This is actually a necessity because open space offered by the hinge is necessary to angle-in PCI and AGP cards.
	The left side of the open case (both sides and the top panel remove independently via included thumb screws) gives a broad angle shot of case layout. The most obvious conclusion one should draw when first looking at this picture is how open the case is. Biostar has done a bang up job of tucking wires into plastic clips and running then in un-obtrusive locations along the front of the PSU and up the front edge of the case. The cables were, thankfully, preinstalled and labeled. Even the molex power plugs are labeled since the loose lengths of wire are limited. Another thing to note here is the sideways HD caddy.
	This second shot, also from the left side, shows the PCI and AGP slots. Note that the AGP slot uses one of the sliding locks, which are much easier to work with. A sizeable anodized heatsink can been seen on the ATI chipset.
	Looking more closely at the heatsink arrangement, you'll note that while the CPU uses a full 80mm x 25mm fan, the case fan is a thin 15mm version that draws from the CPU. This setup results in a dual fan duct through the heatsink. Both fans are thermally monitored with the speeds being auto-adjusted by Windows.
	Looking at the heatsink, out of the case, shows that it's a full copper heatpipe arrangement. The very thin copper fins are nicely stacked vertically. Not shown in these pictures is the heatsink retention mechanism. It works just like the CPU ZIF socket in that the heatsink is simply plopped into a plastic recessed area and a single lever is bent down and clasped to secure the heatsink to the CPU...very nice and simple, and much appreciated.
	The right side of the case provides access for the memory slots and the HD caddy. The HD tray rides on rails and is easily removed by the one thumb screw. The whole top tray, for the external drives also removes from the top of the case so that they can be more easily installed from outside of the case. Right in the middle of the screen are the IDE and power cables, dropping down from the top of the case. Installing and swapping HDs is a breeze. The memory slots are easily workable too. They're unhindered by the surrounding case. Note the 3-pin power lead at bottom right. This is for the heatsink fan. My ONLY gripe with the whole installation process was the removing and replacing of the heatsink. It is a tight fit over a couple capacitors, and you need to hold the power cable in one hand while to lock the heatsink in place because the heatsink locking lever would otherwise pinch the fan power cables.
	The extras...as mentioned before, the packaging includes blank face plates with matching front face finishes. A power cord, molex to serial ATA power adapter, one SATA drive cord, and TV-out cable round out the packaging. The TV-out requires the use of one of the card slot holes, unfortunately. But it does offer both RCA and S-Video ports. Also included is a nicely prepared paperback manual and driver CD, as well as a baggie of screws.

Next page...performance testing and conclusions.