abit IP35-Pro: Houston, We Have a Winner
by Gary Key on November 1, 2007 7:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
Audio Encoding Performance
We will utilize iTunes 7.4 for our audio encoding tests, as it is one of the most utilized audio applications available due to the immense popularity of the iPod.
Our first task was to figure out what test CD to utilize. We needed one that contained a significant number of tracks and had over 600MB of data in order to stress our platforms. As in previous articles, we are using an INXS Greatest Hits CD for testing, which contains 16 tracks totaling 606MB of songs. Our next two tests have us utilizing iTunes to convert our WAV files into ACC or MP3 compatible formats. We utilize 320kbps or 256kbps and variable bit rate options for both tests.
We usually see iTunes favoring a system with excellent CPU throughput and these tests indicate the abit board is up to speed in this area. However, if it is not apparent by now, all of the P35 boards generally score within 2% of each other.
File Compression Performance
In order to save space on our hard drives and provide another CPU crunching utility, we utilize WinRAR 3.70 to perform some compression tests. WinRAR now fully supports multithreaded operations, making it more interesting for those with dual-core or multi-processor systems. Our test folder contains 444 files, 10 subfolders, and 602MB worth of data. We use WinRAR's default settings and defragment our hard drive before each test.
Once again we see the abit board performing well in a test that stresses overall memory latencies and CPU/Memory throughput. The abit board finishes four-tenths of second behind the MSI board. The nature of file compression is such that memory is accessed almost constantly in a very random fashion, so page misses requiring additional time as memory banks are swapped is common.
Rendering Performance
We are using the Cinebench 10 benchmark as it will heavily stress the CPU subsystem while performing graphics modeling and rendering. Cinebench 10 features two different benchmarks with one test utilizing a single core and the second test showcasing the power of multiple cores in rendering the benchmark image. We utilize the standard multi-core benchmark and default settings.
The abit IP35-Pro board performs extremely well in this CPU intensive test and finishes a close second to the Foxconn MARS.
We will utilize iTunes 7.4 for our audio encoding tests, as it is one of the most utilized audio applications available due to the immense popularity of the iPod.
Our first task was to figure out what test CD to utilize. We needed one that contained a significant number of tracks and had over 600MB of data in order to stress our platforms. As in previous articles, we are using an INXS Greatest Hits CD for testing, which contains 16 tracks totaling 606MB of songs. Our next two tests have us utilizing iTunes to convert our WAV files into ACC or MP3 compatible formats. We utilize 320kbps or 256kbps and variable bit rate options for both tests.
We usually see iTunes favoring a system with excellent CPU throughput and these tests indicate the abit board is up to speed in this area. However, if it is not apparent by now, all of the P35 boards generally score within 2% of each other.
File Compression Performance
In order to save space on our hard drives and provide another CPU crunching utility, we utilize WinRAR 3.70 to perform some compression tests. WinRAR now fully supports multithreaded operations, making it more interesting for those with dual-core or multi-processor systems. Our test folder contains 444 files, 10 subfolders, and 602MB worth of data. We use WinRAR's default settings and defragment our hard drive before each test.
Once again we see the abit board performing well in a test that stresses overall memory latencies and CPU/Memory throughput. The abit board finishes four-tenths of second behind the MSI board. The nature of file compression is such that memory is accessed almost constantly in a very random fashion, so page misses requiring additional time as memory banks are swapped is common.
Rendering Performance
We are using the Cinebench 10 benchmark as it will heavily stress the CPU subsystem while performing graphics modeling and rendering. Cinebench 10 features two different benchmarks with one test utilizing a single core and the second test showcasing the power of multiple cores in rendering the benchmark image. We utilize the standard multi-core benchmark and default settings.
The abit IP35-Pro board performs extremely well in this CPU intensive test and finishes a close second to the Foxconn MARS.
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Crafty Spiker - Sunday, July 27, 2008 - link
This board should be called the Catch-22. I'm on my 4th day and 2nd chassis (and peripherals) trying to find some combination of hardware that this piece of crap will handle properly.Catch #1: Trying to get an LSI SCSI RAID card and a Promise SX4000 to work at the same time. Far as I can see, can't be done. No diagnostic messages at all. Great BIOS engineering
Catch #2: Tried a smaller rig - just one Adaptec SCSI RAID card. Won't work at all.
Catch#3: IDE does not work. The BIOS sees the attached devices but the OS won't/
Catch #4: Digital audio output is optical ONLY. How do you spell "reconfigure the home theater"?
Catch #5: the onboard NIC's are crap. Won't do 9KB jumbo frames.
All in all I'd say that unless you are doing a completely dirt simple build that you look elsewhere. And reviewers should look a bit more carefully at what they're reviewing.
Dacalo - Wednesday, December 12, 2007 - link
I notice that under Bios UGuru, your screen shows 1.25V. Mine MB's lowest option is only 1.3175(?) around there. I thought this was odd. Do you think it's because I have older BIOS?Cybertori - Friday, November 9, 2007 - link
I have one of these boards, and its been very good and reliable. Works with my new dual-core CPU, the BIOS is amazingly accomodating, and no problems whatsoever. This is my first purchase of an Abit product, but I am impressed. CPU and MB temps have been very cool, even under load, so I'd have to say the passive cooling is working well. Apart from the placement of some connectors, a really good motherboard - one of the best available for Intel processors, and a good value too.Zak - Monday, November 5, 2007 - link
A couple of years ago I had so many problems with abit mobos (and MSI by the way), like 4 lemons in a row, that I will never ever touch their mobos no matter what they do, my distrust for their quality is too deep. I'll stick to Asus (despite their horrible support) and Gigabyte.Zak
MichaelD - Friday, November 2, 2007 - link
So, there's a "trick" or "tweak" that fixes a deficiency and makes the board more stable and reliable...yet you don't tell us what that is? Why not just link directly to the webpage showing the fix? OR just TELL US what said fix action is? "A quick Google search" yielded me nothing but other reviews of the board. I could not find the fix. Great article and review, but you fell short by not linking directly to the fix action.
Gary Key - Saturday, November 3, 2007 - link
The hot link was in the article if you mouse over "user" - but here it is in case that does not work - http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showpost.php?p...">http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showpost.php?p... .Shimmishim - Friday, November 2, 2007 - link
This board has been out since about July? X38 reviews have been popping up all over the web. Anyway.I've owned this board for over 3 months now and it has been one of my all time favorite boards. It o/c's 4x1GB of ram very nicely and quadcores (with a bit of tweaking).
Bozo Galora - Thursday, November 1, 2007 - link
for those who cant wait another month for AT to achieve a good enough review so as not to threaten ad revenues - here's a fairly good overview from Tomshttp://www.tomshardware.com/2007/10/31/x38_compari...">http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/10/31/x38_compari...
goinginstyle - Saturday, November 3, 2007 - link
You are an arse. I have not seen any ads on AT with abit so that blows your statement. Also, they had the one of the first X38 previews on the web and at least they are doing the reviews right instead of some photos and a couple of tests while declaring any and all boards to be the greatest. AT's X38 launch article was the only one that told the truth about this not ready for prime time chipset. I guess they did that to improve ad revenues in your book.
Anonymous Freak - Thursday, November 1, 2007 - link
I mean, who doesn't have a router nowadays? Even goofier are the boards with Wi-Fi and "built-in routers". Call me old fashioned, but I actually want my router separate from my PC.What I want is a micro-ATX board, dual PCI-E x16 slots, (not that I actually expect to use SLI/CrossFire anytime soon, but what if I want to slap a RAID card in there?) onboard "HD Audio" with optical in and out, eSATA, onboard FireWire on the backplane (some of us still use FW camcorders,) and ONE Gigabit NIC. No need for a second, really.
Is that too much to ask?
It's like they now equate "enthusiast" with dual NIC. (A few years ago, before decent Wi-Fi routers could be had for http://shop1.outpost.com/product/3635275">less than $30, it might have made sense. But not any more. There are even http://shop1.outpost.com/product/5117566">multiple http://shop1.outpost.com/product/4832150">under http://shop1.outpost.com/product/4863030">$100 http://shop1.outpost.com/product/5232917">802.11n http://shop1.outpost.com/product/5284527">wireless http://shop1.outpost.com/product/5192516">routers.