Biostar iDEQ 200T: Great Performance & Brilliant Design

Final Words

With each new Small Form Factor that we test at AnandTech, we end up asking the question, “Is it as good as Shuttle?” Shuttle pioneered the SFF, and they have never rested on their laurels. They have continued to perfect the SFF from that first introduction in 2001. With the Biostar iDEQ 200T, it appears that we finally have a unit where the answer is, “Yes, it is as good as Shuttle or maybe even better!”

Shuttle has always been praised for the care and thought that goes into their SFF designs. Everything just seems so carefully designed and manufactured. So when the Biostar is praised as the easiest SFF to setup that we have ever seen, it is saying something.

The Biostar is even faster than the excellent Shuttle, and it will compare well to any 865/875 system to which you wish to compare it. The Biostar system holds its own against the best 865/875 systems to which we compared it. It also overclocked to the same levels that we were able to achieve with the Shuttle SB65G2. The Biostar even handled the demands of our power-hungry, top-of-the-line ATI 9800 PRO, and then overclocked well with that card as well. In every test we ran, it was as stable, cool, and quiet as you could want in a computer.

We are impressed with the Biostar. It is clear that Biostar set out to capture a significant portion of the SFF market, and that requires much more than just a slapped-together little computer. Biostar carefully studied the things the market leader, Shuttle, does very well. They then designed an attractive unit with careful attention to how the end-user would actually use the computer. The cooling system had to be as effective as the outstanding Shuttle ICE system, and it appears to work well and is very quiet in normal operation. Shuttle’s ICE is still a better cooling system in our opinion, but Biostar comes close. The most brilliant move on Biostar’s part was the incredible attention to assembly details. You can put together the Biostar in about half the time required for the Shuttle — without having to unscrew cages to get at hard to reach memory slots or a CPU socket. The little things like all the hard drive and floppy cables being cleverly pre-routed are sure to impress the end-user. Even the 3-piece top is a thoughtful improvement to Shuttle’s bulky one-piece shroud. Biostar even priced the unit about $50 less than Shuttle’s comparable unit to make it an even more attractive value.

If you are looking for an Intel 865 or 875 computer in a small and quiet package, we highly recommend the Biostar iDEQ 200T. It will impress you with its easy assembly and thoughtful attention to details. It will also continue to impress over time with its excellent overclocking capabilities, stability, and quiet operation.

With that said, we should also point out that we have just taken a look at the final release version of the Shuttle SB65G2. Shuttle has increased the power supply to 220W, and the BIOS has all the overclocking options that you could possibly want. If you plan to overclock your SFF computer, then Shuttle should be your choice right now. That is until Biostar improves their BIOS overclocking options and increases their power supply. It is great to finally have some real competitors to Shuttle in the SFF market. It means better products and greater value for you in a small, quiet computer system.

We have just received our first Athlon64 SFF systems. Keep checking AnandTech to see what Shuttle and Biostar have created with Athlon64 SFF systems.