Features , Layout & Package
The Copper heatpipes are good , though the mounting screws are only a light alloy, it can be easy to strip the thread of if overtightened. See
Item7 in Indexl
North Bridge Apart from
MSI Roller-coaster Heatpipes I can't think of any more striking feature than the Mars
NB Cooler. With the addition of the Fan and the
Secret Panels that enable larger
CPU Air coolers, it is also functionally effective, rather than just being a visual gimmick.
Board Layout Is excellent , there's even a little more space between the
ram slots and
PCI-E slot, the common failing on most boards. With on board power, reset & clear
bios buttons, it has all the features of top end boards. The only slight complaint is the front case connections, many cases have a 3 pin Power
LED connection, many boards cater for both 2 and 3 pin connections. The Mars only has a 2 pin connection, which might have worked , had the case 3 poin connection not used both end pins
9.5/10 the screws lost that perfect score.
Overclocking & Bios
Bios Features -
Bios is comprehensive and decently laid out. Gladiator
bios, the ocing section, is the bit that interests most of us is good. Only criticism is that compared to most performance boards the voltage intervals are very coarse see
Gladiator Bios- (2of3) &
Gladiator Bios 3of3 for Details.
Overclocking
As with The P5k Deluxe before it I found little problem in overclocking the Mars. What I have found difficult, is getting any stability on >3.6k clocks. This in my experience seems to be the crucial difference between P35 and X38 Chipsets. see
470x8 - Crunch Clock
8.5/10 (Including what in my mind is a chipset v chipset P35 v X38 issue re stability)
For a board from a supplier new to the Enthusiast sector of the market the Mars represents a great start. There are however 2 sections where Foxconn need to invest a little more attention, both of these relate to customer service and support.
Customer Service
1) Web site - Support Forum.
Foxconn rightly have set up a user support forum, in a great move they've got Shamino on board as guide and mentor However access is pretty hit & miss , about 50% of the time I just get a
Quote:
|
Bad Request (Invalid Hostname)
|
error when connecting.
2) Support - Unfortunately I had some issues with the board see
Option ROM Issue & Jmicron Controller as the board had direct support from Foxconn I contacted the forum as well as Foxconn Support. Again being largely an OEM supplier this may be a new area for Foxconn, but for me it wasn't a good experience. I had about 4 days of question & answer emails, which did nothing to address or remedy the problem, in the end i was given an email address to Foxcoonn UK , which was wrong, went through 2nd time ok, but am still awaiting a reply. The only reason I got a replacement board was thanks to Shamino's efforts.
It's to be hoped that Foxconn can raise their game in these two arae.
5/10
Value: At around £130 the Mars is about +£10 more than the Abit IP35 Pro & around -£15 less than the Abit IX38 QuadGT. Given it's build quality and package this is great value.
10/10
Summary
Features: 9.5/10
Overclocking &
Bios: 8.5/10
Value: 10/10
Overall: 9.3/10
with Customer Service taken into account (5/10) the overall score would drop to 8.25, so hopefully Foxconn are here for the long haul and will improve in this area.
Lifting Heatpipes
. Nice results from the Wolfie.... have you still got it, or is that the one you sold?
.
Linear Mode
