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abit IP35 Pro

abit shows off their design prowess with the IP35 Pro. Featuring the latest Intel chipset, this board appears to have a lot of performance potential. Just how well does it stand up to the competition though...

Introduction

abit is among the top motherboard manufacturers in the world, with a coveted tier one status. Though its road has been rocky his abit’s acquisition by USI, abit was able to maintain its good name with quality and high performance products. abit continues their winning trend with their next generation Intel platform motherboards.

The IP35 Pro is abit’s latest offering based on Intel’s next generation motherboard chipset series. The main board uses the Intel P35 chipset, with built-in support for LGA 775 type processors with a base FSB of 800MHz and above, DDR2 DRAM modules operating in Dual Channel mode up to 1066MHz officially; and single card based PCI Express based x16 graphics cards. As is standard fair in today’s marketplace, the IP35 Pro is a feature complete solution needing the addition of an Intel LGA 775 style processor, DDR2 memory, drives, and a PSU for a fully operational system. abit chose to integrate the following in to the IP35 Pro: 6 SATA II ports (RAID 0, 1, 0+1 and 5 capable) on the Intel ICH9R controller; 1 ATA-133 IDE port and 2 e-SATA port (RAID 0 and 1 capable) on the JMicron controller; 12 USB 2.0 capable ports (4 in rear panel, and 4 onboard headers supporting 2 ports each); 2 IEEE 1394 capable ports (2 onboard headers); dual Realtek GigE Ethernet ports in the rear panel; Realtek 8-channel HD audio codec featuring an S/PDIF optical input and output ports; onboard power and reset buttons; a 2 digit diagnostic LED; and a CMOS clear switch integrated in to the rear panel of the board.

Main Specifications Overview:

Detailed Mainboard Specification List:

Packaging

Abit continues there untraditional box art design with the IP35 Pro, with the front of the box adorned with a monster truck overlaid with a snake pattern in motion with the motto “Ride on the wild side” boldly underneath it. The box art certainly is eye catching though, and exudes a certain mystic. The box front clearly shows the supported CPU, chipset, and memory technologies as well. abit packaged the following accessories in with the main board: ATA-133 and floppy ribbon cables; SATA drive cables; the rear panel shield; a rear bracket for adding additional USB 2.0 and IEEE 1394 ports; and the normal complement of manuals and drivers discs.

Board Layout

abit’s layout and design of the IP35 Pro is up to par with their reputation, with no real tight areas or overly questionable layout decisions. The one area of concern is the placement of the IEEE1394 headers, as a video card with an overly large heat sink may block access to these headers. The board name is silk screened on the surface just above the DIMM slots, with the revision and serial number on a white sticker just above the board name. The board used for testing was a revision 1.00 model. abit chose to use high quality all metal based solid-state capacitors, a true sign that they meant business with this board.

The placement area for the CPU cooler is sufficiently clear of obstructions for use of large heat sinks or water block cooling mechanisms, through the use of component placement and use of low profile power components. The CPU cooler is mounted via the standard 4-hole LGA775 mount mechanism. The board’s chipsets and CPU power circuitry is cooled via a passive copper heat pipe. The power circuitry directly above the CPU socket acts as one end of the heat pipe, and is covered by a semi-circular, densely finned cooler, while the Northbridge is the middle of the pipe. The Northbridge itself is cooled via a large densely finned copper sink as well, attached to the board via 2 push pins. The SYSFAN1 header is located to the upper left of the Northbridge, while the CPUFAN1 header is to the lower right of the CPU socket. The 8-pin ATX12V power connector is to the upper right of the CPU socket.

The onboard DDR2 memory slots are situated directly below the CPU socket and Northbridge chipset. Dual Channel memory mode can be enabled by placing matching memory modules in to similar colored slots. The AUXFAN1 and AUXFAN2 headers are to the upper right of the upper set of DIMM slots, while the AUXFAN3 header and 24-pin ATX power connector are directly below the lower set. Note the 2 LEDs are located to the right of the ATX power connector, labeled 3VSB and VCC. The 3VSB LED illuminates with an active power source connected to the board, while the VCC LED lights when the board is powered on.

The ICH9R Southbridge is covered by a low profile copper cooler, which also happens to be one end of the board’s heat pipe cooling mechanism. The cooler is held in place via 2 push pins. Directly below the Southbridge is the CMOS battery, and ATA-133 IDE port which is positioned so that it sits parallel to the board’s surface. The chipset’s 6 SATA 2 ports are located to the left of the IDE port, with the ports themselves sitting parallel to the plane of the board similar in fashion to the IDE port. The onboard 2-digit diagnostic LED display, as well as the power and reset buttons, CMOS reset jumper, and uGuru header, are located to the upper left of the SATA 2 ports. Note that the uGuru header is used to attach an external display device to the board. The floppy port is positioned in the board’s lower left corner, with the front panel header, and the USB 2.0 headers directly above it.

The IP35 Pro is designed with 2 PCI-Express x16 slots, 1 PCI-Express slot, and 3 PCI slots. The AUXFAN4 header, as well as the front panel audio and SPDIF device headers, are located to the outside upper edge of PCI slot 3. The CD_IN header is located just above PCI slot 2, while the onboard IEEE1394 headers are to the upper right of PCI slot 1. In between PCI slot 1 and the secondary PCI-Express x16 slot is the ATXP1 power connector, used to supply additional power to the PCI-Express x16 slots when using dual card mode. Note that in dual card mode, the primary PCI-Express x16 slot operates in full x16 mode, while the secondary slot only operates in x4 mode.

The following have been integrated in to the IP35 Pro’s rear panel: PS/2 keyboard and mouse ports; CMOS reset switch; 4 USB 2.0 ports; 2 e-SATA ports; 2 Realtek GigE Ethernet ports; 6 analogue and S/PDIF optical input and output audio ports.

uGuru

abit’s uGuru chipset technology allows for real time monitoring and tweaking of various motherboard parameters from within the Windows environment. The uGuru application works in tandem with the onboard uGuru chipset to receive data concerning hardware health, as well as to implement changes in current hardware settings such as FSB and voltage. Note that uGuru version 3.1.0.4 is shown below.

The uGuru applet is split in to three different sections, accessible when the associated button is selected from the left side menu: ABIT EQ, OC Guru, and FAN EQ. The ABIT EQ button shows real time statistics on monitored system voltages, temperatures, and fan speed. The OC Guru button shows system statistics on CPU frequency, board voltages, and power cycle related information. The FAN EQ button displays real time statistics on the threshold temperature and voltage setting for all onboard fan headers.

The Setting menu is access by click on the Setting button from the main applet screen. The menu itself is divided in to five submenus: ABIT EQ, AutoDrive, Fan EQ, OC Guru, and General. The ABIT EQ menu controls display and monitoring settings for the voltage, temperature, and fan speed statistics shown in the main interface. From the AutoDrive menu, you can configure programs to run based on the overclocking mode selected from the main interface. The Fan EQ menu controls threshold temperature and voltage settings for the onboard fan headers. The OC Guru menu allows for customization of the CPU FSB and board voltages. The General menu contains interface refresh and startup settings.