VR-Zone

Giving the lackluster performance of motherboards using Intel's X38 chipset, the P35 chipset that was thought to be relegated-sooner-than-expected has been given a lifeline. Performance difference between a fast P35 board and a X38 board is negligible. You could probably save a hundred bucks and invest the cash on a better graphics card.


With the minimal quantity of Intel X38-based boards available in the market, we will be taking a look at an Intel P35-based board from one of the more popular manufacturers - the MSI P35 Platinum which utilises inexpensive DDR2 memories.


The box is simple, with no bling whatsoever. Key features of the motherboard are mentioned on the covers.









Let us take a quick look at the board's specifications:

CPU	Supports Intel® Core 2 Quad/Core 2 Duo based processors in LGA775 package. Supports Intel® Yorkfield, Wolfdale. Supports FSB 1333/1066/800 MHz.
Chipset	Intel® P35 Chipset Supports FSB 800/1066/1333MHz. Supports dual channel, DDR2 667/800/1066 (OC). Intel® ICH9R Chipset Hi-Speed USB (USB2.0) controller, 480Mb/sec, up to 12 ports. 4 SATAII with 2 eSATA ports with transfer rate up to 3Gb/s. PCI Master v2.3, I/O APIC. ACPI 2.0 compliant. Serial ATA RAID 0/1/5/10. Integrated AHCI controller
Memory	Supports four unbuffered DIMM of 1.8 Volt DDR2 SDRAM Supports up to 8GB memory size Supports DDR2 667/800/1066 (OC) memory interface
Card Slots	Two PCI Express 16X slots with 1x16 and 1x4 operations (PCI Express Bus SPEC V1.0a compliant; supports CrossFire Technology) Two PCI Express x1 slots. (support PCI Express Bus specification v1.0a compliant) Two 32-bit v2.3 master PCI bus slots. Support 3.3v/5v PCI bus interface.
Storage	One Ultra DMA 66/100/133 IDE controller integrated in Marvell® 88SE6111 Supports PIO, Bus Master operation modes. Can connect up to two Ultra ATA drives SATA II controller integrated in ICH9R and Marvell® 88SE6111 Up to 300MB/sec transfer speed. Supports four SATAII ports and two eSATA ports by ICH9R. Supports AHCI controller with SATA RAID 0/1/5/10. Supports one SATAII port by 88SE6111
Audio	Chip integrated by Realtek® ALC888/ALC888T Flexible 8-channel audio with jack sensing Compliant with Azalia 1.0 spec. Meet Microsoft Vista Premium spec. Supports VoIP Card. (only for ALC888T)
LAN	Supports PCI Express LAN 10/100/1000 Fast Ethernet by Realtek 8111B
Firewire	VIA® VT6308 chipset Supports up to two 1394 ports. (Rear panel x1, pinheader x1) Transfer rate is up to 400Mbps
Internal I/O Ports	ATX 24-Pin power connector ATX 4-pin VGA power connector 8-pin ATX 12V power connector CPU / System x 5 FAN connectors CD-in connector Front panel audio connector Front panel connector 1 x SPDIF-out pinheader  1 x chasis intrusion connector 1 x serial port pinheader 3 x USB 2.0 connectors 1 x Floppy disk drive connector 5 x Serial ATAII connectors 1 x ATA133 connector 1 x IEEE1394 connector support additional 1 port  (optional) 2 x H/W OC pinheaders  (optional)
Rear I/O Ports	1 x PS/2 keyboard 1 x PS/2 mouse 2 x eSATA ports (please refer to Intel website for eSATA function) 1 x 6 in 1 audio jack 6 x USB 2.0 ports 1 x RJ45 LAN jack 1 x IEEE1394 port (optional) 1 x Optical SPDIF out (optional)
BIOS	Plug & Play Desktop Management Interface(DMI) function
Form Factor	ATX Form Factor, 30.5cm(L) x 24.5cm(W)