The Biostar TP35D3-A7 Deluxe has one PCI Express x16 slot, three additional PCI Express x1 slots for high bandwidth devices and 32 bit PCI slots for legacy hardware (in white). The Biostar TP35D3-A7 Deluxe does not support dual videocards. The auxiliary molex power connector ensures the videocard has enough power if a high powered card is used. The parallel printer header and COM port header are located along the bottom of motherboard, however brackets are not included. Notice the exclusive use of Low ESR solid aluminum capacitors.

All the headers on the Biostar TP35D3-A7 Deluxe are positioned along the bottom edge of the motherboard so they are kept out of the way of expansion cards.

The bottom right hand corner of the Biostar TP35D3-A7 Deluxe motherboard is very well organized. Seen here are six Serial ATA II ports, the lone IDE connector. Just below that are hard Power/Reset buttons, the front panel I/O, a collection of fan and three USB 2.0 headers.

The Biostar TP35D3-A7 Deluxe is equipped with four DDR-3 1.5V memory slots. While DDR3 also uses 240 pin sticks, it is keyed differently than DDR2 so you cannot install DDR2 memory into a DDR3 slots. The memory is colour coordinated so modules into the same colour slots to enable dual channel operation. The floppy and main 24 pin power connector are placed on the right hand side of the motherboard which keeps those cables out of the way.

There is plenty of space around the 1333MHz supporting Intel Core 2 Duo LGA775 CPU socket. If you happen to install a passive style CPU cooler, you'll want to place fans in the direction of the MOSFET heatsinks. The medium sized aluminum heatsink on the Intel P35 Express Northbridge is not actually connected to the heatpipe, it simply allows it to pass through. Both sets of MOSFETs are covered with stacked copper fin heatsinks.

It's very easy to see that the Biostar TP35D3-A7 Deluxe is a modern motherboard. There are six USB 2.0 ports on the rear I/O, two eSATA at the rear along with a pair of Gigabit network jacks. For gamers, a 6-port audio panel and of course the PS/2 ports. The heatpipe chipset cooling system is passive (hence quiet) and snakes from the Intel ICH9R past the Intel P35 Express to the MOSFETs around the LGA775 CPU socket.

Next up, PCSTATS looks at the DDR3 requirements of the Biostar TP35D3-A7 Deluxe motherboard. Ohhh exciting, DDR-3 RAM!!!