Upgrade to Skylake without investing in new RAM
Now that Intel's Skylake architecture is here, you might be contemplating a new build. You might also be fretting over the cost of new RAM -- up to this point, piecing together a Skylake build meant ditching your old DDR3 RAM and buying new DDR4 memory. Biostar has an alternative solution.
The new Hi-Fi H170Z3 motherboard from Biostar sports two DDR3 DIMM slots and two DDR4 DIMM slots, meaning you can re-use your existing DDR3 memory today and upgrade to DDR4 tomorrow, if you wish. Interestingly Biostar isn't really putting much effort into promoting this advantage, which is arguably one of the main draws of the Hi-Fi H170Z3.
As the name suggests, the board is based on Intel's H170 chipset. It's a micro ATX form-factor board with support for socket LGA 1151 processors. Some notable features include:
- 1 x PCI-E x16 3.0; 1 x PCI-E x1 3.0; 2 x legacy PCI
- 4 x SATA 6Gbps; 1 x SATA Espress; 1 x M.2
- 4 x USB 3.0; 1 x USB 3.0 header; 2 x USB 2.0; 2 x USB 2.0 headers
- GbE LAN
- 8-channel Blu-ray audio w/ built-in amplifier
Biostar has a reputation as a budget brand, though this is yet another offering that supposedly uses higher-end components for added durability, including "Super Durable" 100 percent solid capacitors. The board also boasts a moisture-proof PCB, in case you live in a region where that might be advantageous.
It doesn't appear as though the Hi-Fi H170Z3 is available to purchase yet, though when it does become available, the asking price will be $105 (MSRP).
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