Just a couple of comments about the Intel DP55SB MATX board.
Last week I reported some real failures with my Intel DP35DP board and was considering dumping it for a I5/P55 board. I managed to get the P35 board working again (don't ask me how - I just pulled the bios jumper off the board and left it off over night) but it seemed to continue to act up with occasional freezes with a black screen that would only go away with a reboot. It happened or was triggered apparently by Flight Simulator X as if heavy demands on the video card (EVGA GTX 260) was too much to handle. So I ordered an I5 750 and Intel DP55SB board from the Egg. Two real annoying issues -
1. I thought I would have to actually lubricate the video card to get it into the slot and past the ends of the memory slot stick fasteners. At one point after considerable struggle I thought the card was plugged in and fastened down I finally powered up the system for the first time and got no boot and the two beep video card problem message. Checked visually very carefully and discovered that on the side of the card next to the Megahalem heatsink the video card plug in was completely to the side of the slot and not in the slot. Removed the video card and struggled for another 10 minutes or so to aim the card at an angle that cleared the memory slot fasteners and didn't miss the PCIE slot I got it remounted and it booted up like a champ.
2. The board will not automatically fire up and load drivers for the LAN system. So to get on the net with a modem-router-connection It instructed me to load the LAN drivers on the enclosed disc manually. Lot of luck! More struggles as the download and setup process always quit with a messgae that the resources I needed to install the driver were not avaible on the network. I couldn't go online to Intel and look for a work around or for a later LAN driver because without the working LAN system that was impossible. I didn't want to disrupt my home wireless network by trying to swich the modem over to a USB feed to the Box so I just kept trying evrything I could think of.
I manually removed the LAN driver present on the system because it also gave an error message that It could not remove the old LAN driver. No joy!! Same thing about resources needed not being present on the network. Took a few hours off for Sunday and Sunday night decided to go to the Devices page and try again to get something done that way. The original LAN driver was back in place because I reloaded win7 as an upgrade to WIN7 and that hadn't helped my problem - and I went to the Network device and selected upgrade the driver. When the box came up I directed it to search for new drivers on the system and directed it to the driver files on the Motherboard CD(DVD). I used (DVD/CD drive letter)*.* as in the DOS days and it found and upgraded the LAN driver. I was an internet connected full functioning DP55SB/I5 750 system owner.
Be warned - this particular MATX board is crowded. Getting your vid card installed is risky. The board uncludes a note sheet that cautions about the "proximity" of the memory sockets - but - that's only half the story. Also- if you are an overclocker, or just use a large aftermarket heatsink, you can just barely see the handy little digital readout that lets you know board state if it won't boot properly.
I'm happy and satisfied thus far but I almost regret opting for an MATX board. This board is ruggedly built as it is designed for the stresses of overclocking. I don't overclock so I figure the board is that much more reliable at stock bios settings. I would buy it again because I'm an Intel board fan. Excellent board for those who crave tight reliable and fast board operation. Not an excellent board for overclockers so some reviews have said. The biggest limitation is you can't mess with memory voltages without risking killing your CPU. Mild overclocking is provided with a program from Intel that's let you make changes right on your monitor.
Hope this helps someone. The same board design is available in ATX.
Last week I reported some real failures with my Intel DP35DP board and was considering dumping it for a I5/P55 board. I managed to get the P35 board working again (don't ask me how - I just pulled the bios jumper off the board and left it off over night) but it seemed to continue to act up with occasional freezes with a black screen that would only go away with a reboot. It happened or was triggered apparently by Flight Simulator X as if heavy demands on the video card (EVGA GTX 260) was too much to handle. So I ordered an I5 750 and Intel DP55SB board from the Egg. Two real annoying issues -
1. I thought I would have to actually lubricate the video card to get it into the slot and past the ends of the memory slot stick fasteners. At one point after considerable struggle I thought the card was plugged in and fastened down I finally powered up the system for the first time and got no boot and the two beep video card problem message. Checked visually very carefully and discovered that on the side of the card next to the Megahalem heatsink the video card plug in was completely to the side of the slot and not in the slot. Removed the video card and struggled for another 10 minutes or so to aim the card at an angle that cleared the memory slot fasteners and didn't miss the PCIE slot I got it remounted and it booted up like a champ.
2. The board will not automatically fire up and load drivers for the LAN system. So to get on the net with a modem-router-connection It instructed me to load the LAN drivers on the enclosed disc manually. Lot of luck! More struggles as the download and setup process always quit with a messgae that the resources I needed to install the driver were not avaible on the network. I couldn't go online to Intel and look for a work around or for a later LAN driver because without the working LAN system that was impossible. I didn't want to disrupt my home wireless network by trying to swich the modem over to a USB feed to the Box so I just kept trying evrything I could think of.
I manually removed the LAN driver present on the system because it also gave an error message that It could not remove the old LAN driver. No joy!! Same thing about resources needed not being present on the network. Took a few hours off for Sunday and Sunday night decided to go to the Devices page and try again to get something done that way. The original LAN driver was back in place because I reloaded win7 as an upgrade to WIN7 and that hadn't helped my problem - and I went to the Network device and selected upgrade the driver. When the box came up I directed it to search for new drivers on the system and directed it to the driver files on the Motherboard CD(DVD). I used (DVD/CD drive letter)*.* as in the DOS days and it found and upgraded the LAN driver. I was an internet connected full functioning DP55SB/I5 750 system owner.
Be warned - this particular MATX board is crowded. Getting your vid card installed is risky. The board uncludes a note sheet that cautions about the "proximity" of the memory sockets - but - that's only half the story. Also- if you are an overclocker, or just use a large aftermarket heatsink, you can just barely see the handy little digital readout that lets you know board state if it won't boot properly.
I'm happy and satisfied thus far but I almost regret opting for an MATX board. This board is ruggedly built as it is designed for the stresses of overclocking. I don't overclock so I figure the board is that much more reliable at stock bios settings. I would buy it again because I'm an Intel board fan. Excellent board for those who crave tight reliable and fast board operation. Not an excellent board for overclockers so some reviews have said. The biggest limitation is you can't mess with memory voltages without risking killing your CPU. Mild overclocking is provided with a program from Intel that's let you make changes right on your monitor.
Hope this helps someone. The same board design is available in ATX.
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