Intel BOXDP35DPM LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard

Pros: A *lot* of USB ports (12 in all, 6 on the back panel). Two Firewire ports. 5 SATA and one ESATA port. IDE port for my CDR/DVDR. Lots of slots for add-on cards. All supported by Linux except for the network chip, which Intel inexplicably changed the PCI ID on thus the Linux network driver doesn't know about it. BIOS can be updated off of downloaded ISO image burned to CDR (who uses floppies these days?!). Very stable board.

Cons: BIOS is buggy and occasionally freezes when I try to change settings, even after I updated from the Intel site. It has no (*zero*) provisions for overclocking or for directly setting memory timings. Header for serial port is hidden between RAM banks and Intel doesn't sell the connector needed to bring it out. Very boring and average board.

Overall Review: Has no floppy port, but who uses floppies? Has no parallel printer port, but both my printers support USB (thankfully there's lots of USB ports!). You have to change the disk drive type in the BIOS from "RAID" to "IDE" before it can be seen by Windows or Linux. Does require USB keyboard and mouse (no round keyboard or mouse ports). It needs those 12 USB ports, they're its main output!

Pros: Solid board, affordable P35 setup. Good Linux support for the most part.

Cons: Getting the network card working under Linux is tricky.

Overall Review: This is not a gaming board, and people looking to overclock shouldn't bother. However, for a normal desktop computer, it does great. Specs: Intel Core 2 Duo E6420 Intel DP35DP Desktop Board 2GB Corsair DDR2-533 XFX Geforce 6600GT 160GB + 250GB Seagate SATA HDD

Pros: A simple, stable board with a modern chipset. Good warranty on Retail units. Easy set-up with XP or Vista - if you know what you're doing and read the available documentation. The Intel BIOS and driver update process is as easy as it gets.

Cons: Rather skimpy with "accessories".

Overall Review: This board (like other Intel boards) gets some poor reviews for the silliest reasons. Criticizing these boards for no PS/2 ports, requiring 1.8V memory or having a non-overclocking BIOS is unfair. Do your homework, read Intel's excellent Product Guides so you know what to expect up-front. I buy these as open box units from NewEgg all the time - great value and never had a bad one.

Pros: Awesome board if all you need is a stock configuration and don't plan on overclocking. Performs like a champ! There are boards that cost more and have fewer features than this.

Cons: None I have found so far.

Overall Review: For those that are complaining about no floppy controller a USB floppy drive works great for installing drivers during the XP install. I don't need one otherwise. Also, those complaining about no overclocking options should know better. Intel means solid stock speed and no overclocking.

Pros: The first thing that struck me is how they eliminated all of the old connectors in this motherboard. It worked very well right out of the box. With the latest BIOS version, it boots very quickly (the 11/07 version it came with had inexplicable 15 second delay).

Cons: While this board works great "as is," but some might be disappointed in the complete lack of control over it's functions. I understand this is an Intel thing, not just this board. I don't overclock, so it's not an issue for me, but it may be for some.

Overall Review: The lack of a floppy port makes loading RAID/ACHI drivers on XP (which requires a floppy) interesting. Intel's support page is very detailed and offers good instructions on slipstreaming, a method to integrate drivers and Windows updates onto the install CD. I'm happy to say my installation was seamless.

Pros: Good Layout, lots of USB ports. Good Linux support (after a little work).

Cons: Still has a somewhat buggy BIOS, Intel will have it rock solid within the next couple months though.

Overall Review: I added the hardware IDs for this board to my /usr/share/pci.ids file, and now everything is detected perfectly. For people having problems with the network port under Linux: Intel has posted source for the e1000 module. I made it into an RPM and it automatically updated my pci.ids - network now works. Using kernel 2.6.18.8.

Pros: Intel provides very good documentation and support via the Web (http://www.intel.com). This board booted correctly the first time I powered it on. The layout is good, with the possible exception of some the little-used S/PDIF and serial headers. The aluminum heat sinks keep the MCH and ICH under 70 C. HD audio is of good quality. The Intel drivers for the ICH9R, Gigabit LAN, and IDT audio are of good quality. Intel Desktop Utilities work well. BIOS updates are available in several formats, including a Windows executable program.

Cons: Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit initially logs error or warning events for the stock ICH9R and IDT audio drivers. The drivers supplied on CD-ROM are not current; go to the Intel Web site for current drivers. There is no proper silk-screened overlay provided for the I/O panel.

Overall Review: I purchased this board along with an Intel E6750 CPU @ 2.66 GHz, 4 GB Kingston DDR2-800 RAM, AMD HD 2600 XT VGA and OEM Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit for my first system build. Works best with stock 1.8 V memory and Vista.

Pros: It's running Solaris 11 (Nevada) just fine for me. The e1000g ethernet driver works fine (apparently the driver in Sol10u4 doesn't officially support the 82566DC). First time I've ever had sound (with OSS) on Solaris. Runs my 4GB of 2.0v Patriot RAM just fine at 1.8v. No keyboard/mouse ports - just USB (yeah, that's a pro).

Cons: OK, this mobo isn't for everyone. It doesn't overclock. (I didn't say "it doesn't overclock 'well'", there are NO options for it) You can't adjust the RAM voltage - you're stuck at 1.8v. If these things don't matter to you (they don't to me) it's a great board.

Overall Review: I did update the bios to the latest rev more out of habit than need, and that was rather easy. If stability matters more to you than overclocking, I'd highly recommend this board. I didn't try/need the RAID at all. The board isn't labeled well (think front audio or USB) but there's a big layout sticker that comes with the mobo for the inside of your case door.