How's the audio quality on Intel DP35DP?

[yehuda]

Hi,

I've read the user reviews on Newegg.

One buyer says it's good, another says it's bad and regrets the purchase. A third buyer says it was bad until he flashed the BIOS and now the problem went away. The BIOS changelog however does not mention anything about audio.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...electedRating=-1&Page=

So I thought I'd ask here. Can anyone who owns this board share their experience? Has anyone been able to directly compare the the onboard Sigmatel STAC9271D with the Realtek ALC889A codec on a Gigabyte's higher-end model? I've heard the 889 and was very pleased with it.

Aside from that, is there anything not to like about the DP35DP? Does hot-plugging work right on the eSATA port? Does the hardware-based fan control permit aggressive fan throttling? Some users reported the ICH9R southbridge runs hot around 80C. This sounds unlikely because it's the same chip other vendors use with a TDP of just 4W and cooling seems adequate. Does it get toasty only on paper (via sensors) or also to the touch?

 

[johanh13]

Hello,

I just built four computer systems for our Christmas LAN party, three with the DP35DP and one with the DX38BT. All systems are using the built-in audio and Vista Ultimate x64. I have played games and listened to music on all four systems, and the sound is top notch, I could find nothing to complain about. For all intents and purposes, it sounds no different than my Blaster Audigy. I used headphones and the Logitech Z-2300...

As for the eSATA, I have not used it yet...

I really like these two boards because they are as close to legacy-free as I could find. To me that is a plus, to others it might be a negative...

 

[johanh13]

Here is my review (from NewEgg):


Pros: ***Almost*** legacy-free. Rock stable, ample USB ports, 2 fire-wire (1 rear port, 1 header)...

Cons: Still has some unwanted junk: IDE port, serial header, and PCI slots...

Other Thoughts: I wish Intel made a true legacy-free board. I am running all-SATA and USB keyboard and mouse. I have no need for hardware that Noah brought across on the ark. I am running this with an Antec Solo case, PCP&C 610W eps12v PS, Seagate 7200.10 SATA hdd, 2GB of DDR2 RAM, 8800GTS graphics, and a Lite-ON SATA DVD writer. My monitor of choice is the D@ll 24" LCD. I spent several hours playing FarCry at maximum settings and 1920x1200 resolution. Fast and stable...


About the Northbridge heat, it does feel quite warm to the touch, but the sensor will show 65°C even when it is less, this is documented in the manual. I have had no heat issues with the board, even after hours of playing Crysis...

 

[yehuda]

Thanks. Glad to hear the builds worked well for you and there are no issues with the onboard audio.

 

[yehuda]

About the Northbridge heat, it does feel quite warm to the touch, but the sensor will show 65°C even when it is less, this is documented in the manual.

The northbridge seems ok, but the concerns I read were about the southbridge (for example Dkcode's post in this thread). Does it seem to run as hot as they say?

 

[fnbrowning]

Adding to yehuda's audio question.

I'd like to avoid buying a new SoundBlaster card. My main audio tasks will be to transfer my LP collection to CD, and doing minor editing of .wav files.

Any issues with the audio quality on this board?

 

[gottogo99]

I have an Intel DG33TL board which I believe uses the same onboard audio as the DP35DP. I ran the Rightmark Audio Analyzer loopback test. Bottom line is that the onboard audio is adequate for A to D conversion but not great, probably fine for casual listening of your LPs. If you want really good audio conversion you need a separate sound card with good A to D converters, such as Emu or M-Audio brand.

 

[Mir96TA]

Originally posted by: fnbrowning
Adding to yehuda's audio question.

I'd like to avoid buying a new SoundBlaster card. My main audio tasks will be to transfer my LP collection to CD, and doing minor editing of .wav files.

Any issues with the audio quality on this board?

You need a Seperate S.C. (Sound Blaster)
I have P35CR and Audigy when it comes to Analog to Digital Audigy or Audigy2 will better then on board.