Biostar AMD Motherboard Packs Integrated Bristol Ridge APU and Cooling

Biostar recently announced the A10N-9630E mini-ITX motherboard, and now it's adding the FX9830M micro-ATX board to its arsenal for those seeking an alternative with a bit more punch.

As spotted by Hermitage Akihabara, the FX9830M features a black design. AMD's FX-9830P (codename Bristol Ridge) APU is the heart of the motherboard. The APU's based on the Excavator microarchitecture and dates back to 2016. It also comes with an included factory CPU cooler, so you don't have to spend extra money to get an aftermarket one.

The FX-9830P has four CPU cores and four threads that ticks with a 3 GHz base clock and 3.7 GHz boost clock. The 28nm chip comes with a configurable TDP (thermal design power) that ranges between 25W and 45W. However, the FX-9830P typically operates within a 35W envelope. On the graphics side, the FX-9830P is equipped with the Radeon R7 integrated GPU, which consists of 512 shader units at 900 MHz.

The FX9830M has two DDR4 RAM slots and can hold up to 32GB with a maximum speed of 2,400 MHz. For storage, the motherboard provides four SATA III connectors, and a single M.2 PCIe 3.0 x2 port that accepts both PCIe-and SATA-based drives.

The FX9830M's Realtek RTL8111H controller provides internet connectivity, but there's only one Gigabit Ethernet port. The ALC887 audio codec is also from Realtek and supports 7.1-channel audio. Additionally, the motherboard supplies three 3.5mm audio jacks for connecting audio devices.

The FX9830M's rear panel also contains two PS/2 ports, one HDMI port, one VGA port, two USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports and two USB 2.0 ports. In the event that you need more USB ports, the motherboard sports one USB 3.2 Gen 1 header and one USB 2.0 header, which are good for two ports each.

The FX9830M isn't listed anywhere, so the motherboard's pricing is a mystery for now. For context, an Athlon 3000G APU and A320 motherboard combo will set you back about $110. For the FX9830M to really appeal to budget seekers, Biostar will need to sell it for below that price point.