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Foxconn Mars Intel P35 Express Motherboard Review
Foxconn Mars Intel P35 Express Motherboard Review - PCSTATS
The Foxconn MARS motherboard certainly looks like a great enthusiast friendly motherboard, particularly because it's based on Intel's hot P35 Express and ICH9R chipsets.
Filed under: Motherboards Published:  Author: 
External Mfg. Website: Foxconn Dec 04 2007   C. Sun  
Home > Reviews > Motherboards > Foxconn MARS

PCSTATS Maximum Motherboard Overclocking Chart & Conclusions

Overclocking is alive and well! PCSTATS has all the details you need to see at a glance to know which board is best. The chart we've compiled below lists the highest overclocked Front Side Bus speeds we were able to achieve while maintaining 100% stability.

PCSTATS Benchmark ReportMaximum Intel Motherboard Overclocking Results
Motherboards Max FSB
(MHz)
Ranking
Foxconn MARS (Intel P35 Express) 535
Gigabyte GA-X38-DQ6 (Intel X38 Express) 525
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS4 (Intel P35 Express) 515
Biostar TP35D3-A7 Deluxe (Intel P35 Express/DDR3)*

512

MSI P35 Platinum (Intel P35 Express) 504
Biostar TP35D2-A7 (Intel P35 Express) 483
Gigabyte GA-P35-DQ6 (Intel P35 Express) 482
MSI P6N Diamond (nVIDIA nForce 680i SLI) 478
Asus P5N32-E SLI Plus (nVIDIA nForce 650i SLI) 472
ECS PN2 SLI2+ (nVIDIA nForce 680i SLI) 450
MSI P6N SLI Platinum (nVIDIA nForce 650i SLI) 435
Abit AB9 Pro (Intel P965 Express) 420
Asus P5B Deluxe/WiFi-AP (Intel P965 Express) 420
ECS NF650iSLIT-A (nVIDIA nForce 650i SLI) 412
Asus P5N32-SLI Premium (nVIDIA nForce 590i SLI) 410
Gigabyte GA-965P-DQ6 (Intel P965 Express) 406
Asus P5B-E (Intel P965 Express) 406
Asus P5W64 WS Professional (Intel 975X Express) 400
Abit AW9D-MAX (Intel 975X Express) 385
MSI P965 Platinum (Intel P965 Express) 375
Foxconn 975X7AB-8EKRS2H (Intel 975X Express) 368
MSI 975X Platinum (Intel 975X Express) 360
Foxconn P9657AA-8KS2H (Intel P965 Express) 352
Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 (Intel P965 Express) 352
ECS PN1 SLI2 (nVIDIA nForce 590i SLI) 350
Epox EP-5P945 Pro (Intel 945 Express) 350
Biostar Tforce P965 Deluxe (Intel P965 Express) 341
Biostar P4M890-M7 (VIA P4M890) 336
Foxconn G9657MA-8KS2H (Intel G965 Express) 333
Gigabyte GA-945PL-S3 (Intel 945PL Express) 255
Typical Test System Specifications: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 (2.4 GHz) or E6750 (2.67 GHz), 2GB Corsair Twin2X2048-8888C4DF DDR2 Memory, MSI NX7800GTX-T2D256E. Please see individual reviews for more specific test details. * - Tested with Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 (2.67 GHz) and 2GB Corsair Twin3X2048-1800C7D DDR3 memory.
If you're new to Overclocking and not sure what to do, check out these two excellent Guides for some pointers:Overclocking the CPU and Memory, Overclocking the Videocard

The Foxconn MARS motherboard lives up to the hype here, it comes in top spot in terms of overclockability in the PCSTATS labs. It's able to run benchmarks at a sweet 535 MHz FSB, that's something that will be music to the ears of any overclocker!

Overclockers are from MARS - Resistance is Futile

It's certainly a great time to be a hardware enthusiast. Breath that air, kick your PC and let out a good solid grunt.

"I am overclocker, hear me Roar!"

When it comes to my favourite hobby, there are just so many options to pick from for making a killer fast PC. Overclocking isn't taboo anymore with manufacturers of videocards and motherboards, and even Intel is OC friendly these days.

In this review PCSTATS has tested the Intel P35 Express based Foxconn MARS motherboard to see what it can do. It did well. It helps to have Intel's red hot P35 Express chipset and full support for all current and future Intel Core 2 Duo/Quad processors. Those 45nm CPUs are going to be mainstream quicker than you think, so make sure whatever Intel motherboard you buy now can support them.

In terms of integrated goodies, the Foxconn MARS has all the usual networking and peripherals you would expect from a motherboard of this class, we don't need to go over that again. Expansion comes care of two PCI Express x1 slots, three 32 bit PCI slots and two PCI Express x16 slots which will support dual videocards under ATI/AMD CrossFire (albeit in PCIe x16 / x4 mode).

Foxconn's MARS motherboard was a breeze to work with, I particularly liked the physical power, reset and clear CMOS buttons. Enthusiasts will find a very tweakable BIOS, and the Gladiator BIOS tools are a real time saver. Be warned though, if you're new to the overclocking game don't go too crazy with the voltage options, you can permanently damage your hardware!

I thought the Aegis Panel software that Foxconn includes with the MARS motherboard would have some overclocking options, it doesn't. Instead, the software is just another in a long line of boring system monitoring tools. It would be great if Foxconn could program up a powerful Windows desktop level tweaking utility. It think every enthusiast could appreciate that.

As we saw in the benchmarks which were run in Windows Vista Ultimate, the Foxconn MARS motherboard performed competitively. In each benchmark the MARS kept up with other Intel P35 Express, X38 Express and nVIDIA nForce 680i motherboards without problem. Where the Foxconn MARS motherboard really shined was overclocking. With the motherboard completely stock cooled, I was able to push the MARS up to a crazy 535 MHz FSB! It's the fastest motherboard PCSTATS has tested thus far, and man talk about an adventure!

With a retail price of $187 CDN ($190 US, £92 GBP), the Intel P35 Express-based enthusiast friendly Foxconn MARS motherboard is good value. It's fast, well loaded for its class, yet doesn't cost a fortune. For the hardware enthusiast, there are a ton of memory timing and voltage options to pick through, and oh and let's not forget about the motherboard's excellent overclocking abilities.

PCSTATS Recommended Product Award

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Here are a few other articles that you might enjoy as well...
- Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R Intel P35 Express Motherboard Review
- Gigabyte GA-P35-DS4 Intel P35 Express Motherboard Review
- Gigabyte GA-P31-DS3L Intel P31 Express Motherboard Review
- MSI P6N Diamond nForce 680i Motherboard Review
- Biostar TP35D2-A7 P35 Express DDR2 Motherboard Review

< Previous Page © 2023 PCSTATS.com Motherboards Reviews...»

 

Contents of Article: Foxconn MARS
 Pg 1.  Foxconn Mars Intel P35 Express Motherboard Review
 Pg 2.  The Foxconn MARS motherboard highlights
 Pg 3.  Overclocking a Foxconn MARS Motherboard
 Pg 4.  Test System Specs, SYSmark 2007 Pre. Benchmarks
 Pg 5.  Motherboard Benchmarks: SiSoft Sandra, Super Pi
 Pg 6.  Motherboard Benchmarks: PCMark Vantage
 Pg 7.  Motherboard Benchmarks: 3DMark06, Quake 4, FEAR
 Pg 8.  — PCSTATS Maximum Motherboard Overclocking Chart & Conclusions

 
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