Intel P35 Intel P965 chipset works, which aimed to mainstream motherboards. The difference between the two chipsets is the support for DDR3 memory and 1333 MHz bus only at P35. Please note that DDR3 support does not mean that all motherboards based on P35 accept DDR3 memories: since DDR2 and DDR3 sockets are different, is up to the factory to determine what type of memory the motherboard will accept. IP35 Pro, for example, only accepts DDR2 memory. We think it's OK, because DDR3 memory is still not so easy to find and profit performance is questionable.
Intel P35 chipset officially supports DDR2 memory up to DDR2 and DDR3-800 to DDR3-1066. However, just like it happened with the Intel P965 and P35 chipset supports DDR2 unofficially-1066 and DDR2 1066 we can set to run at 1066 MHz without any problem. On this motherboard sockets 1 and 3 blue for 2 and 4 black, so as to enable dual channel feature only install memory modules on sockets with the same color. This motherboard supports up to 8 GB of RAM.
Another difference between P35 and P965 is the south bridge chip. Intel P965 ICH8 chip, while P35 ICH9 using the new chips, which come in four flavors. Vanilla ICH9 is identical with the chip "old" ICH8 found on Intel P965 chipset but supports 12 USB 2.0 ports rather than 10. ICH9R variant, which is used in the IP 35 Pro, RAID support, six SATA-300 ports (the plain ICH9 support only four), Viiv support (support for a Quick Advanced technology, which enables a PC to mimic the behavior of the TV, where by pressing the button power which is located on the remote control screen will die, the sound is muted and the keyboard and mouse stop responding) and "new Intel Turbo Memory" technology, codenamed Robson Technology, which is a technology using flash disk cache, is available through the installation of PCI Express cards x1. ICH9DH (aka Digital Home) has the same specifications but no ICH9R support RAID. And ICH9DO (aka Digital Office) has the same specifications but no ICH9R Viiv support - ie no support for Quick Resume technology.
As mentioned abit IP35 Pro ICH9R based on the chip, which controls six internal SATA-300 ports available on this motherboard, supporting RAID 0, 1, 5 and 10. The two eSATA ports and ATA-133 port controlled by JMicron JMB363 chip, supporting RAID 0, RAID 1 and JBOD.
This motherboard has two PCI Express x16 slots. They do not support SLI, as SLI is a feature found only on NVIDIA chipsets, but they support CrossFire. PCI Express x16 slot key, the blue, works in x16, but the second PCI Express x16, black, only works in x4, so even though this motherboard has two PCI Express x16 slots is not an ideal platform for CrossFire configuration. We see the second x16 PCI Express slot is more like a way for you to expand the maximum number of independent video monitors you can have connected to your PC.
This motherboard is also one PCI Express x1 slot and three PCI slots.
This motherboard has two Gigabit Ethernet ports are controlled by two chip Realtek RTL8110SC, the complete controller is connected to the PCI bus. All this is a problem, because the PCI bus does not offer the bandwidth necessary to make two Gigabit Ethernet ports to operate at their full speed at the same time. PCI bus offers a maximum bandwidth of 132 / s MB, while each port Gigabit Ethernet can transfer up to 125 MB / s (1 Gbps / 8). When they worked at the same time at full speed, they will require 250 MB / s bandwidth, the PCI bus are not able to offer. On the other hand, almost everyone uses Gigabit Ethernet ports connect to a local network or 100 Mbps for broadband internet connection, works well below the maximum transfer speeds offered by standard Gigabit Ethernet.
This motherboard has 12 USB 2.0 ports (four soldered on the motherboard and eight are available through the I / O brackets; motherboard is equipped with a bracket for two ports, so the other six remaining ports.) This motherboard also two Firewire ports controlled by a chip Texas Instruments TSB43AB22A and available through I / O bracket that comes with the board.
Audio part of this motherboard provides 7.1 audio, produced by the south bridge chip with the aid of the Realtek ALC888 codec. This codec provides a reasonable specification for the average user, with the ratio of signal-to-noise ratio 90 dB and 97 dB input to a ratio of signal-to-noise ratio for its output. The maximum input sampling rate is of 96 KHz, while its output supports up to 192 KHz. Although this specification enough to think someone the average user to work professionally with analog audio editing and capture should look for a motherboard with at least 95 dB SNR and 192 KHz sampling rate for input.
This motherboard also provides full 7.1 analog audio jacks on rear panel, so you can easily link the analog 5.1 or 7.1 set of speakers to this motherboard without "killing" your mic and line in jack. This board also provides an optical SPDIF input and output, making it easy not only the connection from your PC to home theater receiver, but also provide a great way to transfer digital audio from other audio sources that provide optical output such as DAT and Mini Disc players. Almost all motherboards that have a board-on optical SPDIF output does not provide board-on optical SPDIF input, and the abit IP35 Pro is a good exception.
On the rear panel (Figure 2), you can find the CMOS clear PS / 2 mouse and / 2 keyboard PS connectors, switches, optical SPDIF input, SPDIF optical output, two eSATA ports, analog audio input and output, four USB 2.0 ports and two Gigabit Ethernet port. As you can see this motherboard does not provide parallel and serial ports, even through the use of I / O bracket.
The motherboard features the clear CMOS switch on the rear panel, which is great for extreme overclockers, because you do not need to overclock your PC with your case open to clear the CMOS memory when you change the configuration of the system that makes you stop in such a way that will not light up anymore.
