Biostar TA785GE 128M is a typical microATX entry-level motherboard with on-board video. It brings as an advantage over competitors having a dedicated 128 MB video memory chip soldered, so its on-board video performs a little better on certain games than the one from other AMD 785G-based motherboards.

At USD 70 it can be a an interesting option if you want to have an affordable motherboard and only play games from time to time, and even then only older titles. Don’t even try to run newer games because the on-board video from AMD 785G isn’t powerful enough for that. The game will load, but at a frame rate way below 30 frames per second even at a low resolution and with all image quality enhancements disabled, the game will run ultra slow.

AMD790GX continues to be the chipset with the fastest integrated graphics for the AMD platform, but motherboards based on this chipset cost at least 40% more than the reviewed board.

One good option you have with this motherboard is to put the on-board video to work in parallel with a “real” video card by enabling Hybrid Graphics (CrossFire), this way you get extra performance for free. Of course you need to use a video that is compatible with this technology.

If you don’t care about gaming, then any motherboard with on-board video will fit your needs, as long as they carry all other features you will need, and Biostar TA785GE 128M may fall under this category, although it doesn’t carry any fancy feature like eSATA ports or SPDIF outputs – which, by the way, simply makes it impossible for you to build a home theater PC (HTPC) using this motherboard.

There are two small problems with Biostar TA785GE 128M that you have to be aware of. First, the audio jacks are shared, i.e., you cannot use a 5.1 set of speakers and a microphone at the same time (several users are migrating to USB headsets, if this is your case this should not bother you). The second problem is that there is a choke next to the motherboard ATX12V connector that makes it impossible for you to install an EPS12V connector there, so make sure your power supply has an ATX12V connector and not only an EPS12V one.