abit IP35 Pro "Off Limits" (Intel P35)

Overclocking and Test Setup

Overclocking

• FSB Settings: 133MHz to 750MHz
• DDR2 Ratio Settings: 1:1, 1:1.2, 1:1.25, 1:1.5, 1:1.66, 1:2
• PCIe Settings: 100MHz to 200MHz
• CPU Voltage Settings: 1.3250V to 1.8950V (in 0.01V steps)
• Memory Voltage Settings: 1.800V to 3.000V (in 0.025V steps)
• CPU VTT Voltage: 1.20V, 1.57V
• MCH Voltage Settings: 1.25V to 1.72V (in 0.04V steps)
• ICH Voltage Settings: 1.05V, 1.38V
• ICH IO Voltage Settings: 1.50V-2.00 (0.1V)
• Multiplier Selection: Yes (unlocked CPUs only)

The abit micro-Guru BIOS panel is still one of the most comprehensive around, offering on-the-fly settings which are perfect for our overclocking testing purposes. Since the options aren’t saved, botched overclocking tries are wiped with a simple reset, with no need of CMOS recovery. For the control freaks, there are enough voltage and temperature monitoring and alarm options to ease all your fears. Actual overclocking of the IP35 Pro was decent enough, but not the performance levels we expected of the chipset. We managed to hit a stable FSB of 450MHz with no problems, but this was still lower than expected with most P35 boards hitting a comfortable 480-500MHz range. However, due to the limited time invested in testing the board, we are unable to fully exhaust all means of overclocking. User results with the board may vary. With a good BIOS, we have no doubt that the IP35 Pro is able to achieve better overclocking.

Test Setup

At this point of time, most Intel P35 motherboards have been overshadowed by the new Intel X38s. In fact, a few manufacturers have even halted their P35 flagship models in place of the X38. So, where does the abit IP35 Pro stand in this picture. While we continue to compare its performance with the range our database of P35 boards, we would also like to see where it stands among some of the early X38 boards out there. For this purpose, we will use the DDR2 based Gigabyte GA-X38-DQ6 as a reference point in this review. As usual, the test bed configuration we will use for this review is listed below:-

• Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800 processor (2.93GHz)
• 2 x 1GB Kingston HyperX DDR2-800 @ 4-4-12 CAS 4.0
• Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 200GB SATA hard disk drive (one single NTFS partition)
• MSI GeForce 8600 GTS 256MB - with ForceWare 158.22 drivers
• Intel INF 8.3.1.1013 and AHCI 7.5.0.1017 driver set
• Microsoft Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 2 (and DirectX 9.0c)

Benchmarks

The following benchmarks will be used to determine the performance of the abit IP35 Pro:-

• BAPco SYSmark 2004
• Futuremark PCMark05
• SPECviewperf 9.0
• AquaMark3