Any love for Intel DP35DP?

[bouclay]

It seems like there is a couple of people here who have bought the Intel board. Would you recommend it?

At first sight, it looks like an ideal candidate for someone who do not plan to o/c. Which is me. I usually try it for the first few days to see what I've got, then run at stock speed the rest of the time. So this time I'm just looking to settle for a stable board, with all required features, and not too expensive.

There is not a lot of info out there on this board beyond specs. There is not a single reliable review. And since it's not an enthusiast's favorite, there is not a lot of posts in forums on the subject either.

Comments from buyers on newegg and ncix are not that encouraging. (Newegg: only 30% of reviewers gave 5 stars). And I've seen a couple of reports of ICH temp well above 80 C, yet it's the same chip that every other manufacturer uses. Is it just due to bad heatsink contact (which means bad construction)? Is it because integrated networking and audio are enabled on the south bridge instead of 3rd party controllers?

I would somehow probably expect poor consumer support from a business-oriented company like Intel, but not quality or reliability issues. Is it just because the bad stuff gets amplified?

What's your take?



Long time reader, first time poster.

 

[LR6]

I am also looking at this board. I don't plan to overclock, I need firewire and I just want a stable and reliable PC that will last for several years.

In 2002 I built a Pentium 4 2.66 GHz system with Intel's D845pebt2 motherboard and with the exception of the built in sound, the system has been solid as a rock. The built in sound chip and Nascar Racing 2003 did not get along and I had to install a Audigy card, I don't know which one was the actual problem and I could not give up either. Except for that I can probably count on one hand the number lockups or crashes that I could not prove to be related to other things.

If Intel's newest boards follow the same design philosophy as the older boards then the DP35DP should be a great board. Hopefully someone here has some experience with the newer boards.

 

[bouclay]

I told you this board was incognito

 

[piasabird]

You need to look at who makes the Intel Motherboards. Intel does not make motherboards. They are rebranded. Asus use to make them, but does not anymore. I think Intel comes up with some specifications and then contracts with a specific company to have them put together.

 

[eBob]

I currently have an Intel P965LT motherboard and I am disappointed. There seems to be some strange issue with the PS/2 ports where Windows does not always seem to recognize the keyboard and/or mouse. Also, plugging anything into a USB port is like playing Russian Roulette. So far, I've had three just quit working. I was considering going to a P35 chipset, but it appears that these mobos have their own set of issues. It certainly is not as robust as my previous build with an 865PERL.

 

[bouclay]

Thanks for the info piasa, I didn't know that.

Looks like I'll have to look elsewhere for the Toyota of motherboard.

 

[Dkcode]

I too wanted a board that was stable and reliable, i am not intrested in overclocking. So after many weeks of research i I picked up one the other day with a E6850 chip. My previous gear has been centered on overclocking but it never got used in that way. The board seems solid so far although i have some niggles with it.

1) If i unplug the PC and turn the system back on, it powers up for a second then turns off. Second time i hit the power button it works just fine. If i don't hit the PSU switch at the back to off, the PC turns on first time. I did not notice this before i updated the BIOS though.
2) Sometimes the BIOS hangs, it does not crash however you loose input from your keyboard. Well sort off, When you hit a key some of the text on the screen flashes but nothing happens. You can Control + ALT + Delete though.
3) There are only 2 fan headers on the motherboard. My case has 4 fans so i had to use some 3 pin to 4 pin molex adapters and create a new stratagy for my wiring.
4) When performing a BIOS update the board screeches like mad. The screen goes black, performs the flash, reboots and reloads the OS still screeching with a black screen lol. The flash performs successfully however.
5) The ICH idles around the low to mid 80's which is bloody hot. Intel tools seems to think this is fine though, with the danger being at 119C!

Non of these issues cause issues with the functioning of the machine. The only real gripe i have is with the cold start, but i am hoping a BIOS update will fix this, or maybe it does not like my power supply. Whatever, the board has been extremely stable though (touch wood) and i have had no issues within Windows. The build quality of the board is also very excellent. Everything feels solid. The layout is also very well though out with nothing getting in the way of another. Would i buy another? Maybe. I would like to try the ABIT IP-35 Pro. I have built 4 Conroe based machines this year and had issues with all of the boards, 1 faulty 650i Ultra board, 1 faulty ASUS P5K Deluxe, the second one has 1 nasty SATA header, 1 Abit 965P board that needed flashing before it would even work from stock and the DP35DP board i built for myself with the issues i have posted above. Nothing is perfect but i have never come across such a selection of quirky boards before.

 

[imported_Gholam]

Originally posted by: Dkcode
1) If i unplug the PC and turn the system back on, it powers up for a second then turns off. Second time i hit the power button it works just fine. If i don't hit the PSU switch at the back to off, the PC turns on first time. I did not notice this before i updated the BIOS though.

It's a feature of all Intel boards. When you turn on the power, it comes on, then checks its "Power on" setting, which can be "Always", "Never", and "Last time". If it's set to always or last, and the system was on when it lost power, then the system will continue booting. If it's set to never or last, and the system was off when it lost power, it'll go into standby.

I've built a couple dozen systems on these boards, including DVRs (IP-CCTV) that stream and record video from 30+ cameras simultaneously, and encountered no problems aside from Intel's braindead decision to exclude PS/2 ports from this board.

In addition, Intel is the only vendor of consumer-grade motherboards that offers AWR (advance warranty replacement).

 

[LR6]

I have done to much reading on motherboards the past few days. There is not any motherboard where everyone is happy with. For every P35 motherboard out there there is someone who has major problems with it and there are people that love it and say that it is problem free.

I have started looking for recurring problems. I have read several reports on this board having problems with 800 MHz Ram. Even people that have Intel specified 800MHz 5-5-5 memory. I am starting to believe that their is a real issue here. Intel's DP35DP System memory Page seems to change frequently, it was last updated on Sept 6th.

And what I find most interesting is in the Windows Vista Premium Certified MLP Motherboard Logo Program Report
They used a 2.33GHz, 1333MHz FSB processor (E6550?) and only DDR2 667 memory.

I would bet that a 133MHz FSB processor could benefit from faster ram.

Also, the DP35DP Desktop board product guide send you to CMT labs for tested memory and the motherboard is not listed there.

I could just be coincidences, but I am now looking for a different motherboard even though this one has the perfect feature set for me.

Update: - It seems that a lot of the people with memory problems and this board are using high performance memory that requires > 1.8v, and this board specifies 1.8v. This may explain the problems. If you use standard 1.8v memory then you may be fine.

 

[Dkcode]

Originally posted by: Gholam

Originally posted by: Dkcode
1) If i unplug the PC and turn the system back on, it powers up for a second then turns off. Second time i hit the power button it works just fine. If i don't hit the PSU switch at the back to off, the PC turns on first time. I did not notice this before i updated the BIOS though.

It's a feature of all Intel boards. When you turn on the power, it comes on, then checks its "Power on" setting, which can be "Always", "Never", and "Last time". If it's set to always or last, and the system was on when it lost power, then the system will continue booting. If it's set to never or last, and the system was off when it lost power, it'll go into standby.

I've built a couple dozen systems on these boards, including DVRs (IP-CCTV) that stream and record video from 30+ cameras simultaneously, and encountered no problems aside from Intel's braindead decision to exclude PS/2 ports from this board.

In addition, Intel is the only vendor of consumer-grade motherboards that offers AWR (advance warranty replacement).

Hey thanks for the heads up on this. I changed the option to 'power on' and the board turns on first time from cold. Nice one :thumbsup:

 

[fpajerski]

Originally posted by: Dkcode

Originally posted by: Gholam

Originally posted by: Dkcode
1) If i unplug the PC and turn the system back on, it powers up for a second then turns off. Second time i hit the power button it works just fine. If i don't hit the PSU switch at the back to off, the PC turns on first time. I did not notice this before i updated the BIOS though.

It's a feature of all Intel boards. When you turn on the power, it comes on, then checks its "Power on" setting, which can be "Always", "Never", and "Last time". If it's set to always or last, and the system was on when it lost power, then the system will continue booting. If it's set to never or last, and the system was off when it lost power, it'll go into standby.

[snip]

Hey thanks for the heads up on this. I changed the option to 'power on' and the board turns on first time from cold. Nice one :thumbsup:

( Sorry aboput this double post just now )

BIOS 0293 (10-02-2007) "fixed issue where user needs to hit power button twice to power up system when first turn on from AC off".

Also, installed/upgraded/ran Vista Home Premium OK all last week with a SATA ODD and a SATA HDD. Now trying WinXP Home install with an IDE ODD and an IDE (and now SATA) HDD with no success so far with RAID specified. Get the same BSOD (stop 0A IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL) at the same place during the install process ... when WinXP has been started after several auto-reboots and is "loading drivers" with "37 minutes remaining" on its screen. Got another BIOS change or two to try on this install before giving up.

Is the DP35DP a Vista-only board?

 

[postmortemIA]

Originally posted by: Dkcode

Originally posted by: Gholam

Originally posted by: Dkcode
1) If i unplug the PC and turn the system back on, it powers up for a second then turns off. Second time i hit the power button it works just fine. If i don't hit the PSU switch at the back to off, the PC turns on first time. I did not notice this before i updated the BIOS though.

It's a feature of all Intel boards. When you turn on the power, it comes on, then checks its "Power on" setting, which can be "Always", "Never", and "Last time". If it's set to always or last, and the system was on when it lost power, then the system will continue booting. If it's set to never or last, and the system was off when it lost power, it'll go into standby.

I've built a couple dozen systems on these boards, including DVRs (IP-CCTV) that stream and record video from 30+ cameras simultaneously, and encountered no problems aside from Intel's braindead decision to exclude PS/2 ports from this board.

In addition, Intel is the only vendor of consumer-grade motherboards that offers AWR (advance warranty replacement).

Hey thanks for the heads up on this. I changed the option to 'power on' and the board turns on first time from cold. Nice one :thumbsup:

also latest BIOS ( Oct 2007) addresses this issue, but you can hardly call it a issue.

Anyway here's my experience:

Pros:

*Super solid - not a single BSOD or error since June.
*Great support: BIOS releases are provided almost on twice a month rate, and Intel Desktop Utilities is a wonderful tool.
*Better HW than most of P35 boards: intel gigabit controller, SigmaTel audio, and Marvell PATA controller surely beat RealTek and JMicron options
*plays well with Atudigy2 - no cracking or any issues
*Good fan noise/speed reduction options in BIOS, CPU fan currently at 1100rpm
*Cheap good RAID

Cons:
*poor BIOS options, I can't even turn off AHCI BIOS or PATa controller
*very slow booting, it goes over RAID, AHCI BIOS-es then regular BIOS screen
*no floppy connector - have to slipstream drivers - so it is not a big deal, there's workaround
*advanced BIOS options have to be enabled by dip switch (WTF?)

As for ICH temps, mine are in that range too, and Intel Desktop Utilities claim it is a good range.


As for problems installing Windows XP, you have to slipstream drivers into XP CD (see floppy note above), AHCI controller needs drivers like RAID controller does. XP works fine for me after slipstreaming.

 

[fpajerski]

Originally posted by: postmortemIA

As for problems installing Windows XP, you have to slipstream drivers into XP CD (see floppy note above), AHCI controller needs drivers like RAID controller does. XP works fine for me after slipstreaming.

For me, the "RAID/AHCI Driver" loaded OK (twice) during the WinXP Setup process from a USB FDD (when I finally realized that there are only a few WinXP-supported models, see KB916196). Further on in this process it appears to be WinXP itself doing further install/setup work when it BSOD's in the midst of "loading drivers".

Are you suggesting that these same RAID/AHCI drivers are being looked for again, and this time from the install CD? In my case it's the non-slipstream'ed base (retail) WinXP Home CD being used. If I do have to slipstream to make a WinXP install work, I'll add SP2 in as well. I see plenty of instructions online as to how to do this. Thanks.

Or maybe I just will somewhat-unhappily re-cable my SATA HDD with Vista still installed and activated, and trudge forward ...

 

[postmortemIA]

Originally posted by: fpajerski

Originally posted by: postmortemIA

As for problems installing Windows XP, you have to slipstream drivers into XP CD (see floppy note above), AHCI controller needs drivers like RAID controller does. XP works fine for me after slipstreaming.

For me, the "RAID/AHCI Driver" loaded OK (twice) during the WinXP Setup process from a USB FDD (when I finally realized that there are only a few WinXP-supported models, see KB916196). Further on in this process it appears to be WinXP itself doing further install/setup work when it BSOD's in the midst of "loading drivers".

Are you suggesting that these same RAID/AHCI drivers are being looked for again, and this time from the install CD? In my case it's the non-slipstream'ed base (retail) WinXP Home CD being used. If I do have to slipstream to make a WinXP install work, I'll add SP2 in as well. I see plenty of instructions online as to how to do this. Thanks.

Or maybe I just will somewhat-unhappily re-cable my SATA HDD with Vista still installed and activated, and trudge forward ...

I have slipstreamed drivers using nLite onto XP SP2 CD.. there's way to manually add them as well, there are plenty instructions. Basically you want to add that floppy driver.

I'm running RAID0 on two Raptor drives.

 

[Dkcode]

Well i have had this board for over a month now and i can say i am really happy with it. Backing up postmortemIA's comment about it being super stable, its true. Not a single problem with it. Also the drivers are stable and lightweight.

I have this running with an E6850 + 8800GTX and it flies.

I'll be sure to check out that latest BIOS too.

 

[mjavid]

I have had this MB since August.
I would certainly recommend it to anyone who does not want to overclock and wants a P35 board.
Here is my take:

1. If you want to install Windows XP and run the drive in 'RAID' ready, which is the best option, you will have to use nLite to install the RAID drivers as the F6 installation method does not work. Once istalled on one drive I installed a second drive for RAID 1, painlessly and I must say I really liked the Intel Matrix Storage manager interface for its simplicity and reliability.

2. There are no PS/2 ports, and I thought this was a pain. However I got a PS/2 to USB adapter for $4, and this allows me to use a single USB port to run my KB and mouse, and I can also use the adapter on my laptop if needed.

3. There is no floppy connector. If you want this obsolete technology, you can always get a USB laptop floppy drive. I have installed my old LS-120 drive which is an IDE device and can run a 3.5" floppy as well as its Super Disks.

4. The IDE connector is way to one side of the board and this can stretch out your cable. I had to move my DVD drive to the lowermost bay. I would also have liked to have the rounded cable.

5. Update the BIOS using the painless and idiot-proof Windows version of the Bios flash utility (the latest version 0293 will correct the double boot problem) from intel.com

6. I was getting way too hot ICH temps with my E6750, and I solved this by attaching a small 5V fan on top of the heatsink. When I replaced the E6750 with a Q6600, I started getting way too hot MCH temps. Another 5V fan attached to the side of the heatsink solved this too. Temps were measured with the Intel Desktop Utilities, and I do have to say that I did'nt get any hangs or instability, just the psychological effect of 80+ C on the Northbridge was too rattling for me!

7. I had some difficulty in adding the audio drivers from the Express Installer DVD, but a manual install succeeded pretty well.

In conclusion, I would give this MB 5/5, and what I have listed above should save some time if anyone gets this.

M Javid.

 

[hans007]

i've got 2 intel retail boards and love them (not this model though). if you don't oc they are great. even the bios update is great... no floppy needed.

most of the "problems" with ram for these boards are that they only support 1.8v ram. that is the ACTUAL standard. a lot of cheap ram i.e. most of anything from say OCZ and a few other places especially the cheaper stuff is like 2.0 volts or something.

so buy ram that is good that has 1.8v @ 800bus and you will be fine (there are some cheap brands that can do this fine, like wintec, or transcend).

other than that, the boards are basically great. i dont think asus ever made the boards for them, my guess would be foxconn.

 

[tcsenter]

Originally posted by: piasabird
Asus use to make them, but does not anymore. I think Intel comes up with some specifications and then contracts with a specific company to have them put together.

ASUS has never manufactured Intel boards, AFAIK. Mitac and Foxconn have been Intel's principle board suppliers for years.

 

[Toadster]

I just built my brother a PC with this board, no overclocking needed in his case - just needed a stable board that supports 1333FSB and 45nm

he's running a QX6850 right now and LOVIN IT!

 

[jgallup04]

Are you saying you had a QX6850 on a DP35DP. I thought the Extreme processsors were not supported on the DP35DP.

 

[Toadster]

Originally posted by: jgallup04
Are you saying you had a QX6850 on a DP35DP. I thought the Extreme processsors were not supported on the DP35DP.

hmm - I just saw 1333FSB support and paired em up, seems to be working fine - probably not a supported setup though

 

[VirtualLarry]

Originally posted by: postmortemIA
Cons:
*poor BIOS options, I can't even turn off AHCI BIOS or PATa controller
*very slow booting, it goes over RAID, AHCI BIOS-es then regular BIOS screen
*no floppy connector - have to slipstream drivers - so it is not a big deal, there's workaround
*advanced BIOS options have to be enabled by dip switch (WTF?)

No floppy connector, and no way to disable AHCI in the BIOS? This board must hate XP.

As for problems installing Windows XP, you have to slipstream drivers into XP CD (see floppy note above), AHCI controller needs drivers like RAID controller does. XP works fine for me after slipstreaming.

What a PITA. I prefer just using a floppy.

 

[Deinonych]

I just picked up a DP35DP to replace a failed 650i board. It's a nice board if you are looking for just the essentials. It's not a blazing performer, but it works well for basic computing tasks. I'm using it in the "family" PC -- used mostly for email, web browsing and the occasional casual game. I probably wouldn't use it for my primary gaming rig, though.

 

[LR6]

I still plan to use this board on my upcoming gaming/video editing/photo editing PC. I don't plan on overclocking and stability is very important to me so I do not see an advantage to using a 3rd party motherboard. Someone please correct me if I am missing something here.
Some things that I have learned about this board is.
1. Use standard JDEC 1.8V ram. This board will not run with anything else.
2. Use the stock Intel HSF or one designed to blow air on the entire board. I read one post somewhere and I wish that I could remember where, that someone said that most aftermarket HSFs would only cool the CPU and not the board. This may explain some of the high temps that have been reported.

 

[Deinonych]

Originally posted by: LR6
I still plan to use this board on my upcoming gaming/video editing/photo editing PC. I don't plan on overclocking and stability is very important to me so I do not see an advantage to using a 3rd party motherboard. Someone please correct me if I am missing something here.
Some things that I have learned about this board is.
1. Use standard JDEC 1.8V ram. This board will not run with anything else.
2. Use the stock Intel HSF or one designed to blow air on the entire board. I read one post somewhere and I wish that I could remember where, that someone said that most aftermarket HSFs would only cool the CPU and not the board. This may explain some of the high temps that have been reported.

I believe you are correct about using standard 1.8V RAM. Haven't heard about the HSF issue. I'm using a Zalman 9500AT for mine and haven't noticed unusually high temperatures. My case (Cooler Master Centurion 530) has very good airflow, though. YMMV.