Intel P35 / X38 Motherboards Roundup
Foxconn X38A (Intel X38; DDR2+DDR3)
Foxconn X38A arrived at our lab after Foxconn MARS, and we were really enthusiastic about testing it. The MARS version showed its best - both at the expansion options and the overclocking capabilities, so we assumed the X38A would go on with this trend. But our expectations came true only in part.
First, the cooling system is absolutely the same as that in the MARS board, which is not very good since X38 emits much more heat.
At the expansion options, X38A is better: it supports two memory standards (DDR2 and DDR3; with no option of combined use), as well as offers three onboard PCI Express x16 slots.
Also, there are two PCI Express x1 and two PCI slots. The board also uses two Gigabit LAN controllers (only one in the MARS version), two Firewire ports, an additional SerialATA/ParallelATA/RAID controller (2 additional SATA-II links, whereas only one in the MARS version), and 8-channel audio subsystem.
But there are queer points - in particular, X38A supports only 8 USB2.0 ports, which is rather hard to explain (since ICH9R supports 12 ports).
Here is the configuration of the rear panel:
We note the lack of LPT- and COM-ports, whereas one COM port is implemented with a bracket (missing in the bundle). On the rear panel, there are four USB 4 ports, a Firewire port, two SerialATA ports, as well as an optical and coaxial SPDIF outputs.
Among the board's special traits, we note the buttons to power-on and reset the system, to clear the BIOS settings, and a 7-stage POST-indicator.
As regards the BIOS, the section that deals with the memory settings is pretty scanty for a high-end product.
The same can be said about the system monitoring:
The overclocking tools are really impressive:
In particular, Foxconn X38A allows adjusting the FSB within 200 to 800 MHz, raising the CPU voltage by 0.3875V, on the memory - by 0.892V, on the north bridge - by 0.38V, on the south bridge - by 0.424V, and on the FSB bus - by 0.56V. But despite the rather powerful features, this board demonstrated explicitly weak practical results: a stable operation at only FSB=400MHz, which points to the need for a substantial improvement.
Here goes the interim conclusion. Despite the flaws found, Foxconn X38A offers a really important advantage: it is able operating with both the cheap DDR-2 and the DDR-3 memory. Of all the reviewed X38-based boards, it is the only one that offers such a functionality.
As regards the retail price and the functionality, the situation is rather simple: most likely, the price will be pretty high, but the package bundle will be also impressive enough.
Pros:
- High stability and good performance level;
- Three PCI Express v2.0 x16 slots (16+16+4);
- Support for SerialATA II/RAID ( 8 lines; ICH8R + JMB363);
- Support for one P-ATA link (JMB363);
- Integrated 8-channel audio and two LAN (Gigabit Ethernet) controllers;
- Support for IEEE-1394 (Firewire; 2 ports);
- Passive/active system for cooling the chipset and the power supply module;
- Support for DDR2 and DDR3;
- Good enough package bundle;
- Power-on, Reset, and Clear CMOS buttons;
- 7-stage POST indicator;
Cons:
- Small number of USB2.0 ports (only 8 ports);
The board's specific features:
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