Abit IP35-E Review (500MHz FSB board)...$90 @ NewEgg + $6.61 ship

[Krakn3Dfx]

Got my IP35-E board from the egg yesterday ($60 after rebate, woot) and installed it last night. Came with the rev. 15 bios, I immediately updated to beta 16_01. Running my e8400 @ 3.8GHz without a hitch, ran Orthos overnight, 9 hours later, no problems. Going to play with the settings some more over the next few days and see if I can hit 4GHz, I could on my GA-P35C-DS3R, but it was never Orthos stable, and whenever I rebooted the PC, the bios would lose all my settings if I was running more than 400Mhz FSB, don't seem to be having that problem on this board, which is a huge plus.

Also tossed my Audigy 2 ZS in the closet and used the onboard ALC888 audio. I'm surprised, the onboard sounds more crisp and full than my 2ZS did, and since I'm using Vista anyway, I'm not really missing out on the EAX stuff that seems to be going the way of the dodo anyway.

Switching out the Gigabyte board for this one took roughly half an hour, everything booted up flawlessly, seems to be an awesome board for the price.

 

[nerp]

It really is. I'm beginning to learn its quirks but it's a rock-solid champ for me so far. Going on a week with my E2180 overclock and she seems hungry for more. Once I figured out how to manipulate C1E and EIST AFTER achieving my stable voltages things have been smooth sailing since.

 

[blahsome]

Originally posted by: nerp
Once I figured out how to manipulate C1E and EIST AFTER achieving my stable voltages things have been smooth sailing since.

Care to elaborate a bit more on C1E/EIST? Besides simply turning them back on once you achieve stable voltages, what else manipulation were you referring to?

Thanks.

 

[nerp]

My post a couple posts up:

For a while, I was running me E2180 at 3ghz and the bios vcore was set at 1.35. All seemed well. But CPUz was reporting the max vcore under load was 1.26. Eh? Disabling C1E and EIST didn't change anything -- the vcore would just stick at 1.26. With C1E and EIST enabled it would drop down to about 1.15 vcore or so at idle.

So I bump it up to 3.2 ghz and turn C1E and EIST off. Set vcore to 1.41 in BIOS and now cpuz is reporting vcore of about 1.38 to 1.39 idle, 1.37 under load. OCCT and Orthos stable. Go into BIOS, turn C1E and EIST back on and she's running perfectly, dropping down to x6 multi at idle with vcore of 1.25 or so and under load going to 1.37 to 1.38.

Running at x8 or x9 multi for some reason locks the CPU at 2ghz.

BIOS settings seem to not take if I try to adjust vcore with C1E and Speedstep enabled. Disabling, finding the vcore and OC settings and THEN turning them back on works fine. Is there any explanation for this behavior? I've seen people with similar vcore discrepancies between the bios and cpuz earlier in this great thread. I haven't seen too much followup from those users on the situation.

 

[Krakn3Dfx]

Anyone running ABit EQ with the IP35-E in Vista 64? When I try to run it, tells me that I need to log in as administrator to run it, but I already am an administrator, and if I right click and choose to run as admin, still gives the same error. Uninstalled and reinstalled a few times, no luck, very odd.

 

[blahsome]

Originally posted by: nerp
BIOS settings seem to not take if I try to adjust vcore with C1E and Speedstep enabled. Disabling, finding the vcore and OC settings and THEN turning them back on works fine. Is there any explanation for this behavior? I've seen people with similar vcore discrepancies between the bios and cpuz earlier in this great thread. I haven't seen too much followup from those users on the situation.

[/quote]

I see.

I don't share your experience. I have an IP35-E, E8400, and BIOS 16beta1. For me, the vcore drops from BIOS to Windows idle and from idle to load are both 0.02V, regardless of C1E/EIST status.

 

[blahsome]

Originally posted by: Krakn3Dfx
Anyone running ABit EQ with the IP35-E in Vista 64? When I try to run it, tells me that I need to log in as administrator to run it, but I already am an administrator, and if I right click and choose to run as admin, still gives the same error. Uninstalled and reinstalled a few times, no luck, very odd.

FYI, I can't get AbitEQ to work with Vista 32 either. I even tried enabling the real Administrator account (disabled by default in Vista) and ran Abit EQ from that account. No go.

For now, I just forget Abit EQ.

 

[mib200]

what is this ver. no. in beta bios that is given before download link? I checked my motherboard ver to be 1.0 in cpuz... which bios is for me?? 1.3, 1.4 or 1.6?

Also this bios is on Abit US forums... does the regional place matter for bios upgrades as I am from India? I am asking coz US has diffrent standard of voltages being used...

please advice me...

 

[blahsome]

1. You can see your current BIOS version in CPU-z. What you saw was probably the board revision number instead. To see the BIOS version, you have to boot into BIOS and look for a long string that looks like this P35-xxxxxx-xxxxx-15. This last two digit is your BIOS version. In this case, it's 15.

2. No. The region doesn't matter. The voltage difference only exists between the wall and your PSU.

 

[mib200]

then what does this 1.3, 1.4 or 1.6 means on download links? I know last digit on bios string gives me bios ver as I hav already flashed it to ver 15 and it show 15 also in last digits.

 

[blahsome]

Multiple the 1.x numbers on the beta BIOS page by 10 and you get what's displayed in the BIOS.

So, 1.4 <==> 14 and 1.5 <==> 15. They are equivalent there, so ignore the decimal point.

Anyway, I don't believe CPU-Z shows the BIOS version.

 

[electricx]

Anyone have a problem getting a Tuniq 120 on this thing? Any clearance issues with that tall-as-hell NB heatsink? Seems to be the only issue I'm wrestling with currently.

 

[rizorith]

Originally posted by: electricx
Anyone have a problem getting a Tuniq 120 on this thing? Any clearance issues with that tall-as-hell NB heatsink? Seems to be the only issue I'm wrestling with currently.

I just bought this mb and the tuniq tower. Is this the same as the tuniq 120? Sounds like I might be in for it...

 

[nerp]

Tuniq 120 on my IP35-E with a Lian-Li PC-A05B, no issues at all. Fits well, hard to get at the cpu and system fan connectors when the mobo is in the case, but aside from that, no issues with clearance for me.

 

[electricx]

Thanks for the response nerp! Sounds good to me. Normal issues but nothing out of the ordinary. Rizo, didn't mean to scare you there. Looks like you'll be fine.

 

[brencat]

Also concur. Tuniq 120 fits this board fine. My only complaint is that in my Lian Li case, the Tuniq is so tall that I can't slide my motherboard tray out -- the top of it contacts with the frame of the case. I have 5/8" clearance between my side see-through panel and the top of the tuniq. Anyway, that's my problem -- I chose this case!

 

[kel789]

many of you folks able to get 4G of ddr2 to work so i need help on ddr2. i have a set of 2G of Corsair 6400C4 in IP35-E mobo. it is stable with windows vista ultimate. when i added another 2G of the same RAM. i get the blue screen that says dump memory and the computer reboots and it goes in a cycle, blue screen and reboot etc. i have tested a pair old and new RAM on a set of odd and even DIMMs and it appears run fine with no blue screen with 2G. i have even tried 3G and i see the same blue screen. does anyone have the same problem. i have been playing around with MCH voltage and ddr2 voltage and still i get the blue screen. i really appreciate the help.



mobo IP35-E.
bios current.
cleared CMOS.
ddr2 Corsair 6400C4

 

[brencat]

Please list the rest of your components -- CPU along with multi x FSB you're using, and PSU.

Are you using 1:1 RAM divider or is it set to something else?

On Advanced Chipset Features tab, make sure you manually set first 4 timings as well as Command Rate to 2T.

How much voltage did you give your RAM with 4 sticks in?

Have you run memtest86+ overnight to test for RAM errors?

 

[kel789]

these are the components. mobo is at default settings. i don't overclock. i adjusted the CL and ddr voltage because of the manufacturer's recommended spec. MCH was recommended to adjust by someone to see if it works. 2G of RAM work fine at 2.1v and 4-4-4-12 but 4G cause problems.


ddr2: 2x1G Corsair 6400C4, trying to install another 2x1G Corsair 6400C4
PSU: CoolerMaster RP-550-PCAR
HD: 1-SATA 1-IDE
DVD: 1 burner
Graphic: 8600GT
CPU: intel pentium D
mobo: IP35-E

 

[OLpal]

N.E. has them for $89.99 minus a $30 MIR for the next 10 days !!

This has gotten me to thinking of building another sys. for my son in USAF..

$59.99 after rebate is a steal for a board of this quality & type !!

Has anyone heard any complaints on this board !!

Ol'Pal

 

[Heidfirst]

there are always complaints on any mobo as there is no perfect 1 but yes, it's a steal for $60.

 

[OLpal]

kel 789
you may have to loosen your memory timings to like; 5,5,5,18 to run that memory as 4 gigs .. good luck

Ol'Pal

 

[imported_Scoop]

Heyya guys, I got my system finally up and running with the IP35-E and I've been pretty satisfied with it. I've got the 12 BIOS and it's been good. One thing was strange about the OC process. As I raised the FSB and the system wouldn't POST, all I had to do was to shut it down, turn the PSU off, took off the power cord and waited for a minute or so. After turning on the system I got to the OS and looked at CPU-Z which gave me the default settings. Then I rebooted and went to BIOS and it had all the settings as I left them, so all I had to do was bump the voltage up a little and it would POST. So I didn't have to clear the CMOS with the jumper off the board, which was nice.

One thing I'm dazzled about is that the system won't boot up if I have my LCD's USB-hub connected to the board. It just gives me the Abit logo which says 'Press TAB to continue POST or DEL to enter BIOS' but I can't press anything as it hasn't recognized my keyboard at that stage. It's a different kind of no-boot than when there's not enough voltage for the CPU. Maybe it's causing some sort of short or something? I'm keeping it off for now, I can connect it when in Vista but it gives some error that it's not recognized properly.

 

[SSCamaro]

Well after a process of removing items to isolate the problem, I found the issue I was experiencing was due to my keyboard. I?ve always used an old Compaq PS/2 keyboard and mouse to avoid any issues with USB peripherals on fresh installations. Turns out the keyboard had a stuck key / malfunctioning somehow that was triggering a restart. It was a frustrating ordeal, all along thinking the about RMAing the new board and missing the rebate filing period. Thanks all for your advice.

Originally posted by: SSCamaro
I?m sure I?m not hitting any keys between boots. It?s a home unit and I?m at work now, but what I do remember is after several looping reboots I pulled the installation CD from the Drive after the first reboot but before the second boot started and I would get the message requesting the installation disk. No other options were offered. It was late; I haven?t slept for the past 28 hours so I may be hallucinating. I?m sure I didn?t see an internal optical drive in the choice of boot devices. Tonight, I?ll look again for the internal optical drive. I?ll try again after rechecking the master//slave settings and possibly pull the internal IDE DVD to isolate the problem. Thanks for you advice.

 

[piotr1]

i just got mine in from newegg, where the hell is the on/off button on the mobo? i can't find it!