The inventory of Biostar’s mini-ITX motherboards was replenished by a new uncommon model – the N3150NH. Its key peculiarity is the availability of a 4-core Intel Celeron N3150 CPU onboard. The processor (Intel Braswell family, 14 nm technological process) comes equipped with an integrated Intel HD graphics core and a passive cooler. Its nominal clock frequency makes up 1.6 GHz, while on overclocking it accelerates up to 2.08 GHz frequency.



Biostar N3150NH houses two SO-DIMM slots, estimated for 8 GB DDR3-1600 MHz memory modules (two-channel operational mode). The connection of drives is realized via a pair of SATA III 6 Gb/sec ports. There is a possibility to install one expansion card thanks to a single PCI Express 2.0 x1 slot. Network facilities are ensured due to Realtek RTL8111H controller that supports SmartSpeedLAN utility, whereas audio production becomes possible due to the integration of Realtek ALC662 controller.


The connection of peripherals is enabled via …

ASRock is going to officially introduce its two budgetary motherboards (compatible with Intel Haswell processors) in early June. Codenamed ASRock Z87 Extreme 4 and ASRock Z87 Pro 3, these products will cost around $170 and $100 correspondingly. Such attractive price makes them one of the most affordable solutions involving high-efficient CPUs of the next generation.



The more costly motherboard, Z87 Extreme 4, is known to feature only high-quality layout components, including PCB with dual copper layers, chokes with ferrite hub, and durable solid-state capacitors. This model supports DDR3 memory modules of up to 2600 MHz frequency and up to 32 GB capacity. Expansion slots consist of two PCI connectors, two PCI Express 3.0 x1 connectors, and three PCI Express 3.0 x16 connectors.


The connection of internal drives becomes possible due to the availability of eight SATA III sockets. Audio subsystem is realized with the help of 8.1-channel Creative Sound Blaster codec. External …

SoC Intel Gemini Lake products, Cannon Lake processors, as well as Intel 300-series chipsets for desktop Coffee Lake CPUs will get builtin CNVi (Connectivity Integration) modules. It’s already clear, that these modules will contribute to Intel platforms wireless connectivity in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth networks.



CNVi obtains the Wi-Fi 802.11ac (and lower) MAC media access controller, MAC Bluetooth 5 controller and the wideband Bluetooth 5 modem. Radio-frequency Wi-Fi and WiGig components will stay as the discrete CRF (Companion RF) interface with a wideband Wi-Fi/WiGig modem and necessary high-frequency circuits/filters.


At present, the SoC/CPU/south bridge hold several wireless platform parts, which saves costs, simplifies design and solutions developing. However, the Intel company suggests using the CNVio interface and Wireless AC 9560 modules (available in M.2 2230 and M.2 1216 form factors) of its own making instead of PCIe and USB. We doubt whether it’ll be possible to …