Chipset

As we've already mentioned, the P35 chipset definitly is not good in Wolfdale overclocking. Most boards are able to get 525MHz FSB on air relatively stable, but for extreme overclocking it's much worse than the Asus Commando. 580MHz is already good, while 600MHz is rather extreme.

Well, there's one manufacturer who was able to produce a relatively well-clocking motherboard based on the P35 chipset: DFI. We've already reviewed the P35 Lanparty a while ago, let's have a look on what we said back then.

DFI is the most expensive board of the four, but offers an insane amount of overclocking options. This is definitely the board you want if you're looking to extract the most out of your system.

Recommended for


+ Voltages are rock stable
+ Memory tweaking options
+ Blistering fast
+ Heatsink design
- Memory slot + VGA Card installation issue
- Price



Board layout:





Voltage modifications

The DFI already provides more than enough voltage options to max out your cpu, so voltage modifications are not needed at all.



Results

Although the P35 is not that good in terms of Wolfdale overclocking, it's still not that difficult to hit 600MHz. We used this motherboard in our first E8500 overclocking article.



To reach this kind of overclock, here are some pointers (thanks to Kevin of OCXtreme).




If your motherboard gives you the opportunity to adjust the GTL voltage, don't hesitate and try what setting works best for you.

To read more about the GTL voltage settings, please have a look at the following articles:

Extended DFI GTL settings

Understanding GTL Reference Voltage

Adjusting A/GTL+ Levels for Increased FSB Signaling Margins and Overclocking

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