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4-Way Intel P35 Motherboard Overclocking Roundup

Motherboards/Intel S775 by massman @ 2007-11-26

In this group test we compare the overclocking capabilities and performance of 4 motherboards based on the mid-range P35 Intel chipset. From the low cost Asus P5K, affordable Foxconn P35AP-S and MSI Platinum Combo to the expensive DFI P35 Lanparty, which one will come out on top? Find out in this article.

MSI Platinum Combo: Bios options

Bios

Let's have a look at the bios of the MSI P35 Platinum Combo. Bashing the delete key will give you this screen:

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We'll skip the normal bios settings as those are almost identical for every modern motherboard on the market. The first stop we take is the HW Monitor page.

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Very little information, just the basics. Next up, the Cell Menu, MSI's overclocking tool inside the bios.

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In order to get the full tweaking options, you must disable D.O.T. Control.

Let me show you around.

FSB settings:

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Important, older 266FSB CPU's are not supported!!

Available adjustable memory timings:

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Very, very basic settings. This board is not made for the tweakers, that's for sure.

Memory dividers:

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The P35 Platinum Combo calculates the memory speed for you on the fly as you change the divider settings.

Voltage options:

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Finally, you can save all you bios settings in two presets.

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Comment from Rutar @ 2007/11/26

the madshrimps roundup attack on motherboard reviews, I'd be affraid if I was still writing the outdated one motherboard reviews

Foxconn really works on their street cred with that board

Comment from geoffrey @ 2007/11/26

Owning a P5K myself, good performance considering its price, and not too overloaded with BIOS features which hardly make a difference and are too complicated to understand for people who just jumped in.

Liked the article btw

Comment from Sidney @ 2007/11/26

Can't beat the Asus P5K board in both price and performance.

Comment from Massman @ 2007/11/27

You can by overclocking

Comment from jmke @ 2007/11/27

if you overclock,how will you beat the price/performance value? since FSB OCing hardly has any effect in real world applications

Comment from Rutar @ 2007/11/27

I think it would be more noticable with a Quadcore, where the Vdrop is more important.

Comment from Massman @ 2007/11/27

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmke

if you overclock,how will you beat the price/performance value? since FSB OCing hardly has any effect in real world applications

You and me have different definitions of overclocking

. I see it as benching, you as cost-effective performance tweaking. In other words, I am willing to pay 45€ extra for a board which is faster, you're not.

Comment from thorgal @ 2007/11/28

Quote:

Originally Posted by Massman

You and me have different definitions of overclocking

. I see it as benching, you as cost-effective performance tweaking. In other words, I am willing to pay 45€ extra for a board which is faster, you're not.

I can second that, so am I

But the majority of people are not, unfortunately for the hardware vendors

Comment from jmke @ 2007/11/28

but Massman, as a reviewer you'll have to look at both sides of the overclocking approach

Comment from Massman @ 2007/11/28

That's why the Price/Perfomance winner =/= High-end winner

Comment from jmke @ 2007/11/29

nope

Comment from Kougar @ 2007/12/02

45nm support on 975X chipsets is iffy, best to check on a individual board by board basis. Some sites have run 45nm chips on 975X ASUS boards however.

Interesting review! Am I correct that the ASUS P5k only has 3 vRegs? That's pitiful, no wonder there are reports that Quadcores would kill the thing. Does explain the 0.1v vdroop problem too, my own 3vReg DS3 had about that same vdroop also with a E6300. To bad Gigabyte didn't show up to the party.

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