![[H]ardOCP](/images/blank.gif){kind=small}
- Date:
- Tuesday , May 25, 2010
- Author:
- Morry Teitelman
- Editor:
- Kyle Bennett
- Google +1
BIOSTAR TH55XE Motherboard Review
BIOSTAR has decided to jump in to the Intel H55 fray with a solid offering in the TH55XE board. While this board is of a micro-ATX form factor, it performs well enough to take on the big boys. And yes, this is one mirco-ATX motherboard that delivers overclocking for the enthusiast.
BIOSTAR Utilities
BIOSTAR Toverclocker
BIOSTAR chose to include their Toverclocker utility for Windows based board monitoring and feature tweaking on their driver disc, with version 0.9.1.1 shown. The application is very similar in appearance to CPU-Z, with its features divided in to a series of tabbed menus. The CPU tab contains general information concerning the boards various component speeds, BIOS information, and CPU specific information. The Memory tab displays specific concerning the current memory in use, with details provided on a per slot basis.
The OC Tweaker tab gives access to the various overclocking mechanism. The Frequency sub-tab allows for direct control over the base clock and PCI-Express bus frequencies, while the Voltage sub-tab contains options for controlling the various board voltage settings. BIOS controlled overclocking is available via the Mode sub-tab, with a total of 6 configurations available ranging from V3 to V15.
The HW Monitor tab houses statistics on all monitored device settings in a series of sub-tabs. The monitored voltages are listed in the Voltage sub-tab. The Fan Speed sub-tab contains speeds for all connected fan devices, as well as calibration settings for the CPU Smart Fan feature. The BIOS monitored device temperatures are listed within the Temperature sub-tab.
BIOSTAR OverClock Matrix Genie (O.M.G)
The BIOS O.M.G utility, accessed by pressing the F10 function key from within the system initialization screen, allows for tweaking several performance related settings without the hassle of having to go directly to the BIOS. The options available are listed in a series of submenus, with the setting values mimicking those shown for the corresponding BIOS setting.
The O.M.G utility allows direct access to manipulate several board device frequencies, including the base clock setting, shown as the CPU Frequency Setting, and the PCI Express bus frequency. Menu options are also available for tweaking the CPU and Chipset Clock delay settings.
The utility also allows direct access several key board device voltage settings, including the CPU termination voltage (CPU VTT Voltage), and the memory voltage.
BIOSTAR BIO-Flasher
The BIO-Flasher utility, accessed by pressing the F12 function key from within the system initialization screen, allows for flashing of the system BIOS from any attached hard drive or removal device, including detected USB 2.0 devices. The utility is split in to 2 screens, with the first screen asking for a source device, and the second being the BIOS flash program itself. Note that you do not need to specify a path to the BIOS file, as the utility appears to auto search for the BIOS file on the target device specified in the first menu.