At FSB1066 (266 MHz) system speed we could initially only select DDR2-533 and DDR2-667 memory speeds, which would have rendered this motherboard inappropriate for extensive overclocking. This is a pity, because it is possible to alter all component voltages in the BIOS, as well as on-the-fly in Windows. Fortunately, the latest BIOS version fixed this issue, but it did not arrive in time for the benchmark session.

Our Take

Since we could not set DDR2-800 speeds at first, we had to run the benchmarks at DDR2-667. The motherboard also ignored our memory timing settings and forced the memory to run at CL4-4-4-12. The BIOS offered several overclocking profiles, but we could not see any effect when selecting these. Again, we found that Foxconn solved these issues, and the current BIOS version, dated September 10, addresses all of these issues.

The maximum case temperature for Core 2 Duo processors typically is ~60°C (140°F), whereas the initial BIOS version allowed you to set temperature thresholds of either 70°C or 80°C as shutdown points. Selecting 70°C didn't trigger the system shutdown. We found a similar issue with the Smart Fan feature and the old BIOS version: the lowest possible setting is 60°C, which a Core 2 Duo processor will never reach when running idle or under low load. Upgrading to the latest BIOS version will fix these issues.

Special Features

The motherboard comes with a little IC that controls CPU, memory and Northbridge voltages. The tool Fox-One allows you to control and alter all of these directly in your Windows environment. Fox-LiveUpdate allows the user to update the BIOS, tools and drivers using this single interface. The motherboard has four LEDs that display the current overclocking mode/status.