Following the success of the award winning BIOSTAR RACING Z370 series motherboards for enthusiast gaming, BIOSTAR announces its new mainstream gaming motherboards with the Intel B360 chipset for budget conscious gamers who still want the latest features offered by Intel 300 series, Coffee Lake platform.

These include an ATX motherboard BIOSTAR RACING B360GT5S and a micro-ATX motherboard, BIOSTAR RACING B360GT3S. Both models are designed for gamers with the new RACING theme, black on the PCB, integrated USB 3.1 Gen 2 (Type C), Iron Slot Protection, the latest A.I. FAN utility to customize and auto-detect temperatures, and Advanced VIVID LED DJ for more RGB control. BIOSTAR RACING B360GT5S also includes M.2 Cooling Protection heatsink.

Biostar introduced the TB250-BTC D+ motherboard for crypto-mining builds. This board appears to be a re-brand of Colorful C.B250A-BTC PLUS V20. This is probably a case of Colorful piggybacking Biostar to reach markets it cannot (yet). The socket LGA1151 motherboard supports 6th and 7th generation Core "Skylake" and "Kaby Lake" processors, with basic I/O connectivity, and a single DDR4 SO-DIMM slot. The star attraction here are eight PCI-Express x16 slots with 2U spacing between them. One of these slots is electrically x16, the other are x1 (you only need x1 for mining). There are also eight 6-pin PCI-Express I/O ports, so the x16 slots are powered. The board is 195 mm wide, and 485 mm long, designed for mining cases, or something miners put together themselves. It is expected to be priced around $150.

BIOSTAR announces compatibility with the all-new AMD Raven Ridge APUs for its existing X370, B350 and A320 chipset-based motherboards. Current owners of these BIOSTAR motherboards can download their BIOS with a new update from BIOSTAR website. Mainstream users such as gamers and content creators will be able to take advantage of the new upgrades from AMD.

BIOSTAR introduces the A68MDE micro-ATX motherboard for home entertainment PCs. This is the latest addition to BIOSTAR's line-up of AMD FM2+ motherboards and features the entry-level A68H chipset which is AMD Radeon Dual Graphics-capable. The A68MDE supports the previous generation AMD APUs with up to 32GB of the more affordable DDR3 memory up to 2600MHz when overclocked. The BIOSTAR A68MDE offers instant savings when paired up with older but still-capable technologies.

Easy-to-Build Entry-Level Motherboard
The BIOSTAR A68MDE uses the smaller and widely compatible micro-ATX motherboard form factor. The AMD APUs offers improved graphics performance when set up with Hybrid Crossfire to instantly upgrade your system with better graphics for gaming and entertainment. With DDR4 prices on a hike today, the A68MDE's DDR3 support offers huge savings for builders on a tight budget. It also comes bundled with a free BullGuard Antivirus Software, another instant saving for builders.

BIOSTAR introduces the B250MDC motherboard offering a well-balanced set of features without the premium price point making it ideal for casual users on a budget. The BIOSTAR B250MDC motherboard is the perfect solution for an entry-level desktop computer for daily multitasking use, office application and home entertainment. The B250MDC features a compact micro-ATX form factor that fits in most budget cases. The B250MDC also uses the Intel B250 chipset, perfect for a daily driver with its high-efficiency performance.

The BIOSTAR B250MDC features the Intel B250 chipset offering everything essential for desktop users without compromise. The B250MDC features a single PCIe 3.0x16 slot that can fully utilize high-end graphics cards and NVMe solid-state drives; dual DDR4 DIMM slots supporting up to 43GB of 2400MHz memory; four speedy USB 3.1 Gen1 ports and a DVI-D output port for basic setups without discrete graphics. Users will also enjoy the board's 7.1 channel High-Definition Audio.

BIOSTAR officially releases its AMD Radeon powerful value packed graphics cards based on the RX Vega architecture - the BIOSTAR Radeon RX Vega Series: BIOSTAR Radeon RX Vega 56 (VAVAL5VM88) and top-end BIOSTAR Radeon RX Vega 64 models which is available in air-cooled edition (VAVAT5VM88) and liquid-cooled edition (VAVAX5VM88). The BIOSTAR Radeon RX Vega graphics cards are great for 4K gaming and one of best graphics cards on the market for crypto mining.

4K Gaming Performance
The BIOSTAR Radeon RX Vega Series graphics cards are AMD Radeon's most powerful graphics to date with smooth 4K graphics for gaming with optimization for DirectX 12 and Vulkan game titles. It also supports Radeon FreeSync Technology that eliminates image tearing giving you smooth and fluid gameplay. The BIOSTAR Radeon RX Vega Series also features AMD XConnect which supports external GPU enclosures that transforms notebooks and mini PCs into high-performance gaming machines. Virtual Super Resolution offers superb gaming graphics that rivals up to 4K.

Biostar quietly launched its new S150 series value SATA SSDs, with a 120 GB model. The S150 series succeeds the company's S100 series, and features higher sequential write speeds, and a slightly slimmer chassis. The drive offers sequential transfer speeds of up to 500 MB/s, with up to 430 MB/s writes. The drive is 6.8 mm thick, marginally slimmer than the 7 mm thickness of the S100. The company didn't put out other details such as controller, 4K random access speeds or NAND flash type. The drives could be sold at the same prices as the S100 120 GB.

BIOSTAR announces the availability of its Radeon RX Vega 64 VAVAT5VM88 graphics card in selected regions. The BIOSTAR RX Vega 64 epitomizes the best in high-end graphics with high resolutions, high frame rates and exceptional power efficiency with the all new Vega architecture. Building the ultimate gaming system with the recently introduced BIOSTAR RACING Z370GT6 motherboard for the new 8th generation Intel Core processors, makes these the perfect compliment.

BIOSTAR RADEON RX VEGA 64 (Air Cooling)
The Vega 64 is one of AMD's newest and most powerful graphics cards today featuring 8GB HBM2, the latest in graphics memory technology, with a 2048-bit memory interface and 4096 stream processors. It delivers smooth extreme gaming performance in the newest DirectX 12 and Vulkan games making it perfect for gaming and also for professional content creation. The Vega 64 also offers some of the highest hash rates in crypto mining, thanks to its powerful yet power efficient usage.

BIOSTAR introduces its flagship Intel Z370 motherboard under the third generation RACING series, the BIOSTAR RACING Z370GT7. This motherboard supports the latest 8th generation Intel Core processors also known as Coffee Lake. The RACING Z370GT7 sports premium features that gamers, overclockers, professional content creators, and modders demand. It has a luxurious golden black color theme and advanced RBG lighting customizations with Advanced VIVID LED DJ. New and improved features: the smart A.I FAN and reinforced PCI-E slots to handle heavier graphics cards make the new-gen RACING Series much more robust. Push performance and harness the power of the new Intel Core i7-8700K 6-core, 12-thread processor along with dual Intel Optane-ready M.2 slots for the fastest PCIe NVMe drives available today.

BIOSTAR's 3rd Gen RACING Design
BIOSTAR revamps the RACING series motherboards with a much more flashy and high-end design with a golden black color theme.

• Gold I/O Armor - Gold I/O Armor strongly protects I/O interfaces and components from static electricity. The RGB LED lights on top of the armor
• are controllable with the Advanced VIVID LED DJ for more lighting control.
• Gold Tattoo RACING R - The classic "R" sign on the heatsink shows the spirit of RACING Series.
• RGB Rainbow Lighting Effect - 10 flashing modes for RGB lighting effect bring you more customization fun via Advanced VIVIVD LED DJ utility.
• Gold PCB Treatment - The 3rd Gen RACING Z370 motherboards ascend to a higher level of luxury and fashion for your gaming world!

BIOSTAR introduces the RACING Z370GT6 gaming motherboard, the 3rd generation of the popular BIOSTAR RACING series, that maximizes the potential of Intel's 8th generation Core desktop processors for gamers, content creators and modders. The RACING design has evolved with a brand new look; it now sports a fashionable gold and black luxury theme that is "tattooed" throughout the motherboard's PCB and heatsinks. In addition, the RGB lighting is much more vibrant with Advanced VIVID LED DJ giving users more lighting control than ever. The hardware has gotten stronger and more powerful with superior solid capacitors, dual-BIOS, PCI-E solid protection and more to keep gaming and media applications running smoother without hiccups.

New Generation, Fashionable Luxury RACING Look
The BIOSTAR RACING Z370GT6 sports the 3rd generation RACING Series aesthetics featuring a gold and black color theme with the gold treatment on the armor and "R" tattoo on the PCB and heatsinks (including the dual M.2).

Normally, motherboards go on shelves at the same time as processors do. In this occasion, Intel has confirmed that their Coffee Lake processors will launch on October 5. As per tradition, images of some of the upcoming motherboards from various brands have been leaked on the web. Meanwhile, we know that many of you are already planning your future Z370 builds or deciding on which motherboard to accompany your PC upgrade. If you're a fan of ASUS products, we have a treat for you. From what VideoCardz have gathered so far, ASUS plans to release sixteen different models from their Republic of Gamers (ROG), The Ultimate Force (TUF), Strix and Prime series.

The ROG line will father five Maximus X models: Apex, Formula, Code, Hero with Wi-Fi AC, and Hero. There is no mention of an Extreme model, but our experience tells us that model usually comes at a later date. It's also possible that it may never see the light of day for this generation. From what we can make of the images, the Maximus X Hero will employ a 10-phase digital VRM design. The motherboard retains the black and grey theme with RGB illuminated heatsinks just like its predecessor. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth functionality were present on the Code models and above in the previous generation. We're happy to see ASUS offering a Hero variant this time with those two functionalities.

BIOSTAR RACING series continues to be at the forefront of gaming motherboards and is set to offer the 3rd generation of BIOSTAR RACING series motherboards with Z370 chipset. These motherboards will feature a new gold theme design, strong and powerful hardware design, elevated HiFi sound quality, easy-to-control software control and new advanced VIVID LED DJ for more RGB lighting customization fun. This will be available October 5th for enthusiasts such as gamers, content creators and overclockers who plan to upgrade to the recently announced 8th Gen Intel Core desktop processors: Intel Core i7, 6-core Intel Core i5 and 4-core Intel Core i3.

Fans will be pleased with BIOSTAR's 3rd generation motherboards performance and flexibility, thanks to Intel's performance options with unlocked "K" processors. The brand new BIOS and driver UI design will make this more intuitive and fun. There is also BIOSTAR's brand new A.I. FAN to fully customize fan modes or auto-detect along with an easy-to-use software interface to monitor the temperature situations.

BIOSTAR continues to lead the way in Crypto Mining with an estimated installation of 1 in every 5 mining systems around the world; thanks to its comprehensive line-up of Intel and AMD dedicated mining motherboards, price-performance positioning and ease-of-use. BIOSTAR now makes it even easier for miners by partnering with ethOS to create a total-solution with its Crypto Mining series motherboards and the ethOS USB flash drive preloaded with ethOS system. With the Plug-and-Mine solution, BIOSTAR brings miners an easy-to-follow, simple to set-up package, welcoming more people to join the crypto mining community.

The ethOS Mining System is one of the most straight-forward operating systems for mining ZCash, Monero, Ethereum and other GPU-minable coins. The setup is simple Plug-and-Mine, without needing a SSD. When paired with BIOSTAR mining boards, building a heavy yet stable mining rig of up to 12 GPUs can be done with ease. These have been tried and tested by both BIOSTAR and ethOS.

BIOSTAR recently released the RADEON RX VEGA 56, which is a must-have for miners with the ability to crank out crazy hash rates for mining, while gamers can expect high performance graphics processor power with the same graphics card. Combined with the BIOSTAR RACING B350 series, which continues to be popular amongst gamers with its price-performance and gaming features, these make up for a great solution for mining during the day and gaming at night.

The Vega 56 has hash rate/power draw ratio that puts it in a class by its own, surpassing that of the RX 580, which was previously the graphics card of choice for mining. With the hype surrounding its mining capabilities, lets not forget that Vega 56 is a top-of-the-line graphics card that includes 56 compute units, 21/10.5 TFLOPS with 8GB of 2048-bit High Bandwidth Memory (HBM2) for performance gaming that gives you the best graphics possible.

BIOSTAR releases the H110M-BTC, the first Intel H110 chipset micro ATX motherboard dedicated for crypto mining systems; a great choice for newbies. Even with a compact design, the engineers at BIOSTAR have managed to squeeze 6 x PCI-E native support (1 x PCI-E x16 3.0, 5 x PCI-E x1 2.0) onto the H110M-BTC, while most motherboards normally provide up to 3-4 PCI-E slots. The H110M-BTC also supports all the essentials in optimizing your mining rig: 7th generation Intel Core processors, 2-DIMM DDR4-2400/ 2133/ 1866 up to 32 GB, HDMI and USB 3.0.

The BIOSTAR H110M-BTC is built from the ground up for mining, be eliminating features that are not enhanced for mining performance. It focuses on providing a high return on investment in making sure there is native support for up to 6 X PCI-E. The 4-pin 12V AUX power connector ensures enough power to keep up to 6 graphics card running stable. And it has 100% solid capacitors making the motherboard extremely durable. The monitor output supports HDMI KVM for easy management of multi-mining setups or D-Sub KVM for more conventional multi-monitor setups. All these power packed features on a micro ATX design, makes this a great choice for compact mining rigs.

BIOSTAR proudly announces an exclusive partnership with ethOS, a 64-bit Linux OS; giving miners the simplest possible way to set up a mining rig. This comes as great news for anyone who wanted to dabble with mining, but was not sure how. With the ethOS mining OS, there is no need to install drivers, configure Windows or compile software, while BIOSTAR crypto mining motherboards are tried and tested with the ethOS mining OS, making it as simple as boot and mine. Get ready to collect your Ethereum, Zcash, Monero and many other gpu-minable coins.

BIOSTAR Mining Boards with Intel B250, B85 and H81 Chipsets
BIOSTAR crypto mining motherboards (including previous generation chipsets in B85 and H81) continue to win high praises for easy-to-use, long-term stability under heavy usage and high return on investment. BIOSTAR mining boards with Intel chipsets supports 12 to 6 graphics cards, the models currently available are: BIOSTAR TB250-BTC PRO, BIOSTAR TB250-BTC+, BIOSTAR TB250-BTC, BIOSTAR TB85 and BIOSTAR H81A. Whether you are a pro, mainstream or newbie to mining, one of these will fit the bill.

BIOSTAR RACING and PRO series motherboards offer one of the widest selection of AM4 motherboards for Ryzen 3, 5, 7, Bristol Ridge and 7th Generation A-series. Gamers looking to take full advantage of the affordable AMD quad-core CPUs can select from BIOSTAR's RACING X370 series: RACING X370GTN, RACING X370GT7, RACING X370GT5 or RACING X370GT3. While anyone aiming to build a value and performance system can select from BIOSTAR's RACING B350 series: RACING B350GTN, RACING B350GT5, RACING B350GT3 and RACING B350ET2 and PRO B350 and A320 series: TB350-BTC, TA320-BTC, A320MH PRO and A320MD PRO.

AMD has announced full and immediate retail availability of their Wraith Max cooler through retail channels. The 140 W TDP Wraith Max cooler was previously only available through a bundle with AMD's top of the line Ryzen 7 1700X and 1800X. However, through popular demand, AMD have decided to make that cooler available solo. Ease of installation through AMD's Spring-Screw mechanism, jolly good looks, LED lighting, relatively silent performance (38 dBa) and respectable performance seem to have been enough to convince AMD users.

The Wraith Max cooler is compatible with AMD AM4, AM3+, and FM2 motherboards. The RGB ring's color can be customized through a myriad of RGB control apps from various manufacturers, such as Asus' Aura Sync, Gigabyte's RGB Fusion, MSI's Mystic Light, Biostar's Vivid LED DJ, and ASRock's RGB LED tools. AMD also offers the AMD Wraith Max RGB lighting control software (powered by Cooler Master) as a free download. The Wraith Max comes with both a USB header cable and an RGB LED header to control the lighting feature. A copper base plate and heatpipes, along with pre-applied thermal paste and a 92mm Cooler Master fan. The down-blowing fan also provides an extra bit of cooling for the socket area and VRMs. Perhaps the $59 price-tag will turn some prospective buyers off, but still, this remains the best stock cooler option in the market, and for someone who wants to keep an AMD cooling identity, is the best available option.

In this issue of the Ryzen BIOS update digest, we have the latest updates. Our BIOS update digest lets you keep track of crucial BIOS updates that improve stability of your AMD Ryzen machine. As per usual, only updated BIOSes from the last digest are listed. Changes are listed after each BIOS, sans beta BIOSes which do not always include change logs. You can find it all below.

In this release, we have several new betas, mostly all consisting of fresh AGESA 1.0.0.6a code.

BIOSTAR posted technical specifications of its first graphics card designed for crypto-currency mining, bearing the model number "VA47D5RV42." This card, which is based on the design of its RX 470/480 graphics cards; is built around the Radeon RX 470D chip, and endowed with 4 GB of GDDR5 memory. The RX 470D is a "lite edition" or LE variant of the Polaris 10 silicon, which never made it to the DIY channel market, but occasionally reared its head in the pre-built OEM market. It features fewer stream processors than the RX 470, at 1,792 vs. 2,048. The chip is clocked at 1200 MHz (boost), with 7.00 GHz (GDDR5-effective) memory. Interestingly, unlike most "mining" graphics cards we've seen so far, this card appears to feature a full complement of display outputs, which includes three DisplayPorts and one each of HDMI and DVI. The company didn't reveal pricing.

Cryptocurrency mining has once again found revitalized value thanks to skyrocketing cryptocurrency prices now reaching record highs. GPU-based mining has long-been the most cost-effective and most accessible way of entering this field and BIOSTAR has been one of the foundations that helped many enthusiasts as well as investors in creating platforms for this industry. BIOSTAR since the H81A and TB85 series have been favorites by miners for its balance of price and scalability offering support up to six graphics cards for maximum board utilization.

Thanks to years of professional experience in mining backed by feedback from customers as well as internal R&D, BIOSTAR has debuted its most innovative mining platform yet. Making its debut during COMPUTEX 2017, motherboards that support up to 8 graphics cards were showcased by BIOSTAR in its booth receiving positive feedback from the people present. Today BIOSTAR has just up the ante with the announcement of it's the world's first motherboard that can support up to 12 graphics cards simultaneously with the global announcement of the TB250-BTC PRO specialized cryptocurrency mining motherboard.

BIOSTAR is proud to announce its latest motherboard designed for the perfect balance of performance and value for small form factor (SFF) and home theatre PCs with its latest motherboard featuring AMD A10-4655M SoC solution. BIOSTAR has created the A68N-5600 in line with its SoC motherboard offerings that bring together the essence of the ultimate home-entertainment or office PC that offer low-power, small footprint whilst still bringing excellent performance for its intended tasks The BIOSTAR A68N-5600 has an MSRP of USD 64.99.

Featuring a built-in AMD A10-4655M quad-core processor capable of Turbo clocks of 2.8GHz with a base clock of 2GHz, the motherboard delivers modern-day multitasking performance for day-to-day task as well as decoding task for entertainment use, enough to play HD content. The motherboard supports DDR3-1333MHz memory up to 32GB for excellent compatibility and all comes in the compact mini-ITX form factor perfect for SFF.

BIOSTAR has consistently improved its motherboard product design back to the standards of its TPower glory-days, and unveiled this stunning looking flagship LGA2066 motherboard, the Racing X299GT9. Built in the E-ATX form-factor, the board features a well-spaced out layout, and draws power from a pair of 8-pin EPS power connectors, and a 6-pin PCIe, besides 24-pin ATX. It conditions it for the CPU with a 14-phase VRM. The CPU is wired to eight DDR4 DIMM slots, and seven PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots (x16/x16/x8/x4/x4/x4/x4).

Storage connectivity on the BIOSTAR Racing X299GT9 includes two 32 Gb/s M.2 slots (stacked), two 32 Gb/s U.2 ports, and four SATA 6 Gb/s ports. Connectivity includes a 10 GbE connection driven by Intel X550AT processor), a second 1 GbE driven by Intel i219-V, USB connectivity includes two 10 Gb/s USB 3.1 ports (one each type-A and type-C), and six 5 Gb/s USB 3.0. The onboard audio features a Hi-Fi circuit. The board is peppered with RGB LEDs and additional headers.

BIOSTAR is proud to introduce the first ever Crypto Mining Card for graphics card expansion to fully convert your gaming PC to a professional cryptocurrency mining rig that can handle up to 8 graphics cards (the motherboard requires 6 PCI-e slots). The new BIOSTAR Crypto Mining Card allows BIOSTAR's hot selling gaming motherboards, like RACING H170GT3, GAMING H170T, Hi-Fi H170S3H, Hi-Fi B150S1, Hi-Fi B150S1 D4, or TB150 PRO to be used for crypto mining applications and expand on its primary function as an entertainment, workstation or gaming machine.

This makes it easy to explore the growing market of cryptocurrency mining and avail of your existing gaming system. By extending support for 8 graphics cards to the max (the motherboard requires 6 PCI-e slots), the Crypto Mining Card can return your investment on your system by giving you the flexibility to create a mining rig to generate income from mining popular cryptocurrency like Bitcoin, Ethereum or Zcash.

BIOSTAR introduced its first custom-design Radeon RX 580 graphics card, the RX 580 8 GB Dual Cooling (model: VA5805RV82). The company had announced its foray into AMD Radeon graphics cards with a reference-design RX 580, in April. The new RX 580 Dual Cooling combines an AMD-reference design PCB with a custom-design cooling solution. This cooler features an aluminium heatsink with a copper core over the GPU; ventilated by a pair of 80 mm fans, which stay off when the GPU is idling.

The card sticks to AMD reference clock speeds of 1257 MHz core, 1340 MHz boost, and 8.00 GHz (GDDR5-effective) memory. It features 8 GB of memory over a 256-bit wide memory interface. Based on the 14 nm "Lexa" (Polaris 20) silicon, the Radeon RX 580 features 2,304 stream processors, 144 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The card draws power from a single 8-pin PCIe power connector. Display outputs include three DisplayPort 1.4, one HDMI 2.0, and a dual-link DVI. The company didn't reveal pricing.