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Are newer Intel chipsets free of the "P35 Cold POST" problem?

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I am "tech support" for my friend, who has a computer built using a Q6600 on an Asus P5K Deluxe Wireless mainboard. After two years of trouble-free service, it has recently been afflicted with the P35 Cold POST bug.

I can't reasonably suggest anything to her but to replace the motherboard... but, with what? Has Intel solved the P35 cold POST bug (which, as far as I know, has never been admitted as extant by either Intel or any board manufacturer) in newer chipsets, such as the P45? What will run with the Q6600 reliably?

An added problem is that we live in Costa Rica, which means any technology newer than the stone age generally has to be brought in or shipped in from the United States. I really need something with a very low out-of-the-box failure rate, because there is no way around the fact that it will be an expensive and time-consuming hassle to RMA whatever I get, should it happen to be a lemon, and I will not have the facilities to test it while I am briefly back in the US.

More about : newer intel chipsets free p35 cold post problem

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Motherboard Expert

Well, you can try the steps listed in that thread, but how 'bout listing what's available to you in Costa Rica? Maybe we can find something that's a good alternative to the P35 platform.

Oh, and btw, thanks for bringing this to my attention! From what I've seen online (some brief skimming), I don't think Intel has addressed this.

r_manic said:
Well, you can try the steps listed in that thread, but how 'bout listing what's available to you in Costa Rica? Maybe we can find something that's a good alternative to the P35 platform.


I do have my friend's machine up and running, thanks to what I learned (mostly in these forums). I had to swap in DDR2-667 memory from my machine to get it to POST at all, then change settings, put back her DDR2-1066, and try again; after a couple attempts, it booted normally and I think she'll be OK for now... so long as the utility power doesn't go off for longer than her UPS can hold out. Sooner or later, though, that's going to happen, or she'll need to shut it down for some other reason.

In the next few days, I will gather a list of what appears to be available here. (The only one I recall wilthout going back with pencil and paper is the P5LD2-X/1333, which wouldn't support her Q6600 CPU, nor run her memory at 1066MHz.) Thank you!
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Shadow703793 said:
I believe this problem only affects P5Kxx boards? I have yet to run in to this problem on P35/P45. (P35-DS3x;P5Q; P35-UD3x;etc).


The P5K series seems to be the most notorious, but there's some reference to what sounds like the same problem occurring on Gigabyte boards:
  • Do the new Gigabyte boards have no cold boot problem?
  • Gigabyte GA-P35-DS4 fails to keep overclock?
    as well.

    Lacking confirmation from any vendors at all, it's still just a collective hunch that it's at root a P35 bug.

    • r_manic said:
    how 'bout listing what's available to you in Costa Rica?


    These are the motherboards I found available here that accept a Q6600 and DDR2 RAM and are not based on a P35 chipset, followed by the NewEgg cost and retail price in Costa Rica including 13% tax, converted to dollars:

    AsRock 4CoreDual-Sata2 ($59.99, $98.49)
    AsRock P45TS ($74.99, $166.21)
    MSI P45 Neo ($86.99, $164.47)
    Asus P5Q Pro ($134.99 for P5Q Turbo, $222.32)
    Foxconn G9657MA (no longer available from NewEgg but listed at $99 from Dell, $139.12)
    XFX 9300 GeForce ($129.99, $193.30)

    I'll be making a short trip to the US in a couple weeks. For any of these, perhaps excepting the Foxconn, I think the cost differential is so great that it would make more sense to bring something back from US and hope that it doesn’t happen to be DOA.

    However, none of the above would be my first choices, anyway. I’m considering one of these:
  • BIOSTAR TPower I45
  • GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P
    as a replacement for the Asus P5K Deluxe/WiFi-AP (using a Q6600 Core 2 Quad 2.4GHz CPU, 2 x 1GB OCZ Reaper DDR2-1150, Asus GeForce 8800GTS 640MB graphics card, Corsair TX 650W power supply). She’s running Windows XP SP3; she uses the computer to work from home, and also enjoys games such as Black and White and The Sims 2 series.

    Any thoughts?
    • Motherboard Expert

    I'd go with either the Asus P5Q or the Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P. However the 3rd user review on the Asus board says that it has a common problem with the PCI-E port (though I haven't managed yet to look if this is indeed a common problem).

    I haven't had experience with Biostar products so I couldn't say anything good or bad against them.

    * Getting a DOA Asus or Gigabyte is more of bad luck rather than a common occurence.
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