Foxconn P35A and ECS P35T-A: two novelties on a new chipset
Author:
Date: 13.08.2007
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As we are coming closer to the "back-to-school" season, we can see that motherboards based on the P965 chipset are being gradually expelled by products based on Intel P35. In particular, in the nearest future we'll see middle-end product offerings with basic expansion options in the retail. It's just these motherboards most of modern home-based computers are assembled of. Today, we are introducing two motherboards having similar specifications: Foxconn P35A and ECS P35T-A. Both the products offer two PCI Express x16 slots onboard, support 12 USB2.0 ports, integrated HDA audio, and a Gigabit LAN controller. Besides, the boards offer an additional RAID controller that supports one ParallelATA and one SerialATA II lines.
The design of both boards provide for installation of a Firewire controller but it is not unsoldered. The major distinction between these boards is in the south bridge used: the Foxconn product uses ICH9 (i.e. 4 SerialATA II lines), and the ECS - ICH9R (6 SerialATA II lines with RAID features).
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Foxconn P35A |
ECS P35T-A |
Chipset
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Intel P35 |
Intel P35 |
| CPU |
LGA775 Pentium 4 FSB 1066/800/533 MHz
Celeron Prescott FSB 533 MHz
Dual-Core Pentium4
Core 2 Duo
HyperThreading
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LGA775 Pentium 4 FSB 1066/800/533MHz
Celeron Prescott FSB 533MHz
Dual-Core Pentium4
Core 2 Duo
HyperThreading
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| Memory |
DDR2 533/667/800/1066 |
DDR2 533/667/800 |
| HDD |
1x UltraDMA/133
5x SerialATA(2xRAID) |
1x UltraDMA/133
7x SerialATA(2xRAID) |
| Additional |
Audio Intel HDA
12 USB 2.0
Gigabit Ethernet |
Audio Intel HDA
10 USB 2.0
Gigabit Ethernet |
| Price |
n/a |
n/a |
Specifications
Foxconn P35A
ECS P35T-A
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Foxconn P35A |
ECS P35T-A |
| CPU |
- Intel Pentium 4 (Prescott (2M) / Gallatin / CedarMill) with the bus speeds 1066/800/533 MHz;
- Dual-core Intel Pentium D / EE (Smithfield/Presler) with the bus speed 800/1066 MHz;
- Intel Celeron-D (Prescott) with the bus speed 533 MHz;
- Support for Intel Core 2 Duo (Kentsfield (4 cores), Conroe/Allendale (2 cores)) with the bus speed 800/1066/1333 MHz;
- Support for Intel Yorkfield, Wolfdale with the bus speeds 1333/1066/800 MHz;
- Socket LGA775;
- Support for HyperThreading processors;
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| Chipset |
- North bridge Intel® P35 Memory Controller Hub (MCH);
- South bridge Intel® ICH9 (Enhanced I/O Controller Hub);
- Interbridge link: DMI;
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- North bridge Intel® P35 Memory Controller Hub (MCH);
- South bridge Intel® ICH9 (Enhanced I/O Controller Hub);
- Interbridge link: DMI;
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| System memory |
- Four 240-pin slots for DDR2 SDRAM DIMM;
- Maximum memory capacity 8GB;
- Supported memory DDR2 533/667/800/1066;
- Dual-channel memory access;
- Power indicator;
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- Four 240-pin slots for DDR2 SDRAM DIMM;
- Maximum memory capacity 8 GB;
- Supported memory DDR2 667/800;
- Dual-channel memory access;
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| Graphics |
- Two PCI Express x16 slots; |
| Expansion options |
-Three 32-bit PCI Bus Master slots;
- One PCI Express x1 slot;
- Twelve USB 2.0 ports (4 integrated + 8 additional);
- Integrated High Definition Audio 7.1;
- LAN controller Gigabit Ethernet;
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-Three 32-bit PCI Bus Master slots;
- One PCI Express x1 slot;
- Twelve USB 2.0 ports (6 integrated + 6 additional);
- Integrated High Definition Audio 7.1;
- LAN controller Gigabit Ethernet;
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| Overclocking options |
- FSB adjustable within 200/266 to 750 MHz in 1 MHz increments; multiplier adjustable;
- Adjustable voltages on the CPU, memory, PCI-E, and the chipset (MCH);.
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- FSB adjustable within 200/266 to 500 MHz in 1 MHz increments;
- Adjustable voltages on the CPU, memory, and the chipset (MCH);
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| Disk subsystem |
- 1 line for UltraDMA133/100/66/33 Bus Master IDE (JMB361; with support for up to 2 ATAPI-devices);
- Support for SerialATA II (4 lines - ICH9 );
- Support for SerialATA II (1 line - JMB361) ;
- Support for LS-120 / ZIP / ATAPI CD-ROM;
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- 1 line for UltraDMA133/100/66/33 Bus Master IDE (JMB361; with support for up to 2 ATAPI devices);
- Support for Serial ATA II (6 lines - ICH9R, with support for RAID);
- Support for Serial ATA II (1 line - JMB361) ;
- Support for LS-120 / ZIP / ATAPI CD-ROM;
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| BIOS |
- 8 Mbit Flash ROM
- AMI BIOS with support for Enhanced ACPI, DMI, Green, PnP Features;
- Support for LiveUpdate;
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- 8 Mbit Flash ROM
- AMI BIOS with support for Enhanced ACPI, DMI, Green, PnP Features and ;
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| Miscellaneous |
- One port for FDD, two serial and one parallel ports, ports for PS/2 mouse and keyboard;
- STR (Suspend to RAM) ;
- SPDIF Out;
- Additional FoxOne chip;
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- One port for FDD, one serial and one parallel ports, ports for PS/2 mouse and keyboard;
- STR (Suspend to RAM);
- SPDIF Out;
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| Power management |
- Wake-up on modem, mouse, keyboard, LAN, timer, and USB;
- Main 24-pin ATX power connector;
- Additional 8-pin power connector;
- Additional 4-pin Molex power connector;
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- Wake-up on modem, mouse, keyboard, timer, and USB;
- Main 24-pin ATX power connector;
- Additional 4-pin power connector;
- Additional 4-pin Molex power connector;
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| Monitoring |
- Monitoring the temperature of the CPU, system, voltages, rotational speeds of the two fans
- Smart Fan;
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- Monitoring the temperature of the processor, system, voltages, rotational speeds of the two fans
- Smart Fan;
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| Dimensions |
- ATX form factor, 245 mm x 305 mm (9.63" x 12") |
- ATX form factor, 245 mm x 305 mm (9.63" x 12") |
Retail boxes
Package bundle
- Motherboard
- User's Manual in English + Quick Setup Manual;
- 1x software & drivers CD;
- One ATA-133 cable, one FDD cable;
- 2x SerialATA cables + two power supply adapters (2 connectors);
- 1x cap for the rear panel of the housing;
- A plate for an additional Firewire port, 2 USB2.0 and one SerialATA ports;
- SLI-bridge;
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- Motherboard
- User's Manual in English + Quick Setup Manual
- 1x software & drivers CD
- One ATA-133 cable
- One SerialATA cable
- 1x cap for the rear panel of the housing
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Both the motherboards are aimed at the same user category, they are similar in price but radically differ in the abundance of the package bundle. In particular, the ECS package contents is a standard of minimalism and saving: one PATA cable, one SerialATA cable, a cap
a user's manual, a brief instructions guide, and a CD.
Therefore, it is a good idea that the user buy a bunch of cables, adapters and plates with ports right in the shop. Buyers of the Foxconn motherboard should also purchase additional items, but fewer in amount. In the box, the user of P35A will find cables for ParallelATA devices, a cable for the HDD, as well as a pair of SerialATA cables with the required power supply adapters.
Then, the board comes bundled with a detailed enough user's manual, a brief guide, and a CD with drivers and utilities.
But that is not all - there are additional items. In particular, there is a remarkable plate for an additional Firewire port, two USB2.0 and one SerialATA ports! There is also a SLI-bridge which can link two NVIDIA video cards.
We note it straight off that officially NVIDIA video cards do not operate in the SLI mode and on Intel chipsets. However, enthusiasts can look for modified drivers in the Internet and anyway start up a system like that. Besides, some of AMD video cards also offer similar connectors (we saw cards like that at the recent Computex expo), but we are not sure if they are compatible to this bridge.
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