Guide to Entry Level & Mid Range P35 Motherboards.

Although many computer enthusiasts can figure out what CPU is best suited to their requirements simply by comparing various features such as number of cores and frequency, matching them to a motherboard is a much more difficult task. There seem to be countless motherboards for each socket and chipset combination, thus it is often well nigh impossible to figure out which motherboard / CPU combination is the best for you. If you are building a new Intel system, you likely are using a Core 2 Quad or Duo (or Extreme versions of those CPUs), thus you will most likely want a motherboard built around the P35, X38, or X48 chipsets. Here is a list of popular Entry Level and Mid Range P35 motherboards that will suit most starter and middle of the road general purpose systems.

------------------

ENTRY LEVEL

------------------

Asus P5K SE EPU

FSB: 1600 (O.C.) / 1333MHz

Southbridge: Intel ICH9

Number of RAM Slots: 4 x 240pin

Memory Type: DDR2 1200

Maximum Memory: 8GB

Dual Channel: Yes

PCI Express x16: 1

------------------

BIOSTAR P35D2-A7

FSB: 1333 / 1066MHz

Southbridge: Intel ICH9

Number of RAM Slots: 4 x 240pin

Memory Type: DDR2 1066

Maximum Memory: 8GB

Dual Channel: Yes

PCI Express x16: 1

------------------

BIOSTAR TForce TP35D2-A7

FSB: 1333 / 1066MHz

Southbridge: Intel ICH9

Number of RAM Slots: 4 x 240pin

Memory Type: DDR2 800

Maximum Memory: 8GB

Dual Channel: Yes

------------------

Gigabyte GA-P35-S3G

FSB: 1333 / 1066MHz

Southbridge: Intel ICH9

Number of RAM Slots: 4 x 240pin

Memory Type: DDR2 1066

Maximum Memory: 8GB

Dual Channel: Yes

PCI Express x16: 1

------------------

Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3L

FSB: 1600 (O.C.) / 1333MHz

Southbridge: Intel ICH9

Number of RAM Slots: 4 x 240pin

Memory Type: DDR2 1200 (O.C.) / 1066 / 800

Maximum Memory: 8GB

Dual Channel: Yes

PCI Express x16: 1

------------------

MSI P35 Neo-F

FSB: 1333 / 1066MHz

Southbridge: Intel ICH9

Number of RAM Slots: 4 x 240pin

Memory Type: DDR2 800

Maximum Memory: 8GB

Dual Channel: Yes

------------------

MID RANGE

------------------

Abit IP35P

FSB: 1333 / 1066MHz

Southbridge: Intel ICH9

Number of RAM Slots: 4 x 240pin

Memory Type: DDR2 800

Maximum Memory: 8GB

Dual Channel: Yes

PCI Express x16: 1

------------------

ASRock 4Core1600P35-WiFi

FSB: FSB1600 (O.C.) / 1333MHz

Southbridge: Intel ICH9R

Number of RAM Slots: 2 x 240pin

Memory Type: DDR3 1333 / DDR2 1066

Maximum Memory: 8G (DDR2) / 4G (DDR3)

Dual Channel: Yes

------------------

ASRock 4Core1600Twins-P35

FSB: 1600 (O.C.) / 1333 / 1066MHz

Southbridge: Intel ICH9

Number of RAM Slots: 6 x 240pin

Memory Type: DDR3 1333 / DDR2 1066

Maximum Memory: 8GB

Dual Channel: Yes

------------------

Asus P5K EPU

FSB: 1600 / 1333MHz

Southbridge: Intel ICH9

Number of RAM Slots: 4 x 240pin

Memory Type: DDR2 1200 (O.C.) / 1066

Maximum Memory: 8GB

Dual Channel: Yes

PCI Express x16: 2 x PCIe x16 (blue @ x16 mode, black @ x4 or x1 mode)

------------------

Asus P5K

FSB: 1333 / 1066MHz

Southbridge: Intel ICH9

Number of RAM Slots: 4 x 240pin

Memory Type: DDR2 1066 / 800 / 667 MHz

Maximum Memory: 8GB

Dual Channel: Yes

PCI Express x16: 2 x PCI-E x16 (blue @ x16 mode, black @ x4 or x1 mode)

------------------

Asus P5K PRO

FSB: 1333 / 1066MHz

Southbridge: Intel ICH9R

Number of RAM Slots: 4 x 240pin

Memory Type: DDR2 1066

Maximum Memory: 8GB

Dual Channel: Yes

PCI Express x16: 2 x PCIe x16 (blue @ x16 mode, black @ x4 or x1 mode) supports CrossFire Technology

------------------

BIOSTAR TP35D2-A7 SE

FSB: 1600 / 1333MHz

Southbridge: Intel ICH9

Number of RAM Slots: 4 x 240pin

Memory Type: DDR2 1066

Maximum Memory: 8GB

Dual Channel: Yes

------------------

DFI BloodIron P35-T2RL

FSB: 1333 / 1066MHz

Southbridge: Intel ICH9R

Number of RAM Slots: 4 x 240pin

Memory Type: DDR2 800

Maximum Memory: 8GB

Dual Channel: Yes

------------------

Foxconn P35A

FSB: 1333 / 1066MHz

Southbridge: Intel ICH9

Number of RAM Slots: 4 x 240pin

Memory Type: DDR2 1066 (oc) / 800

Maximum Memory: 8GB

Dual Channel: Yes

PCI Express x16: 2 x PCI Express x16 (run x16 + x4 mode, support dual graphics card technology)

------------------

Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3R

FSB: 1600 (O.C.) / 1333 / 1066MHz

Southbridge: Intel ICH9R

Number of RAM Slots: 4 x 240pin

Memory Type: DDR2 1200 (O.C.) / 1066

Maximum Memory: 8GB

Dual Channel: Yes

PCI Express x16: 1

------------------

Intel BOXDP35DPM

FSB: 1333 / 1066MHz

Number of RAM Slots: 4 x 240pin

Memory Type: DDR2 800

Maximum Memory: 8GB

Dual Channel: Yes

PCI Express x16: 1

PCI Express x1: 3

------------------

MSI P35 Neo2-FR

FSB: 1333 / 1066MHz

Southbridge: Intel ICH9R

Number of RAM Slots: 4 x 240pin

Memory Type: DDR2 1066

Maximum Memory: 8GB

Dual Channel: Yes

Check out hundreds of Hal's PC Technology articles in these categories:

• PC Systems & CPUs
• PC Components
• Operating Systems & Software
• The Internet