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Thread: Foxconn Mars Living Review

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    Foxconn Mars Living Review

    Foxconn Mars Living Review

    "A Mars Today helps you work rest and play"
    Mars Bar Picture Courtesy of Mars
    Intro & Index
    Sorry couldn't resist that title. Was going to get Clunk to sing it , but he bottled it Not sure of course yet whether it's right either, so we'll see.

    Anyway in this review we'll be looking at the Foxconn Mars Launched last year around August, it's Foxconn's 1st serious foray into the Enthusiasts market. It's launch was somewhat eclipsed by the hype surrounding the X38 chipset launch.
    So it's back to P35 for me which will give an interesting , after 2 x38 boards , to review how the chipsets compare and maybe lay a few myths that have developed.
    Links
    FOXCONN MARS first to support 0.5 multipliers at least my E8400 should work.
    Interactive MARS overclocking tutorial with Shamino
    Foxconn Mars OverClocking Bios Template

    If you rate it please :-
    Thanks.

    Index
    1) Intro & Index
    2) Manufacturer's Specifications
    3) 1st Impressions - The Package
    4) 1st Impressions - The Board (1 of 2)
    5) 1st Impressions - The Board (2 of 2)
    6) The Bits & Pieces
    7) Heatpipes , Mars Secret Panels Revealed & Lifting tHe Heatpipes
    8) Bios 1
    9) Bios 2
    10) Gladiator Bios 1of3
    11) Gladiator Bios 2of3
    12) Gladiator Bios 3of3
    13) The Build
    14) 8x470 & half multi issues
    15) Option ROM Issue & Jmicron Controller
    16) Old Board Blows
    17) Conclusion
    18) Secret Panels removing NB covers
    Clocks, Benches & Settings
    19) 8x450 1.4125vc 1:1.20 1080Mhz
    20) Various Clocks & Banches
    21) 470x8 - Crunch Clock



    Last edited by supershanks; 30-12-2008 at 19:29.

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    1st Impressions - The Package

    Well packed,


    Box is large & deep, quiet a nice style.


    Nice Chart of features



    Box is a sleeve so inner slides out to reveal
    Board details shown through winmdows, looks quiet stylish.


    Opening the inner box the motherboard is sitting securely in a clear single piece Lid and Tray


    Continued.....
    Last edited by supershanks; 30-12-2008 at 19:31.

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    1st Impressions - The Board (1 of 2)

    Looking very solid & classy, also very heavy


    Southbridge area:-
    The heatpipes are secured by screws rather than push pin, a big plus imo


    Closer in , we can see low profile buttons on the long edge of the board:-
    right to left:-
    Clear Cmos Jumpers
    Clear Cmos Button
    Reset Button
    Power on Button
    Colour Coded Case Connections
    Sata Ports - I like the position of these , connection is much easier than the horizontal style, as you can see where the lead is being plugged in. The ports are

    nicely placed out of the way.


    PCI Slots
    2xPCI-E x16 (Red full x16 Blue x16 (electrical x4) , 2x PCi-E x1, 3x PCI.

    Checkout the view through the NB Cooler


    Continued.....
    Last edited by supershanks; 30-12-2008 at 19:33.

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    1st Impressions - The Board (2 of 2)

    Rear Panel
    Left to Right:-
    Top: PS2 USB port
    Bottom: PS2 Keyboard
    Optical SPDIF Out
    Coaxial SPDIF Out (at first glance resembles a wifi antenna socket
    E-Sata 2 Port
    Bottom 2 x3 USB Ports
    Top: 1394 a Port, Lan Port
    Audio


    CPU Area
    Nice clean Cpu Area


    Memory Slots
    24 Pin PSU Connection

    Floppy (red) & IDE sockets. Nice touch Cylinder on left is the Buzzer, for audio beep codes. quiet a nice distinct sound,
    Last edited by supershanks; 30-12-2008 at 19:33.

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    The Bits & Pieces

    Filling the bottom of the box under a white card insert we find a variety of bits & pieces:_

    The bits are sitting on the opened Quick Install guide


    There's a bit of fun with the tattoos etc., Had to look twice at this
    Ancient Greek Dog tags

    Some utility, with a PCI Bracket with 2 more USB & a 1394a Port. (brings rear usb ports to 8)

    A bit of class A fan


    Manual is usual but the downloadable version is a pleasant suprise

    Mars Mars

    Downloads
    The PDF Manual is in colour.
    Last edited by supershanks; 30-12-2008 at 19:34.

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    Heatpipes

    I'm not usually a fan of heatpipes, usually taking them off and using after market solutions.
    This is only the second board where the heat pipe solution looks effective. The first was the Gigabyte X38 DQ6. In both cases the heatpipes are substantial, copper

    based wuth Southbridge and Northbridge blocks screw mounted to motherboard.

    I weighed the Gigabyte board in order to convey the substance of the heatpipes Check out the Heatpipes
    The Mars weighs in at about 995gm a little lighter but still in the heavyweight division


    The Mars has a pretty unique Northbridge heatsink , in shape it looks a lot like an old gypsy caravan

    There is method to the design when coupled to the optional fan.




    Fitting is fairly easy the lugs go on the outside of the NB casing clicking in to the recess in the NB.


    Side view

    Front view

    Rear view


    You can see the design idea more from the last shot . Extending from the NB heatsink heat rises through the vertical vanes The air tunnel behind the fan carries the
    heat out of the end towards the rear of the case. I must admit i liked DFI LT X38-T2R LanParty nb cooling solution, but it has it's drawbacks. In comparison i think

    this is quiet an innovative & elegant solution.

    Mars Secret Panels Revealed
    Last edited by supershanks; 30-12-2008 at 19:37.

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    Bios 1

    Bios

    I's unusual that a Post splash screen does anything for me, Usually see it 1st post & turn it off. Do the same with this, but thought it was decent enough to be

    worth a mention.


    It's a strange Bios this, it's got some good overclocking features in the Gladiator section. It also has some settings I haven't seen for a long time. System Bios

    Cacheble , Memory Hole at 15M-16M.

    Main Bios Screen
    No surprises usual Award Screen


    Standard Cmos features



    Advanced Bios Features


    Advanced Chipset Features
    Last edited by supershanks; 30-12-2008 at 19:39.

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    Bios 2

    Bios

    Integrated Peripherals


    Integrated Peripherals - OnCip IDE


    Power Management


    PnP/PCI Configurations


    PC Health Status
    Last edited by supershanks; 30-12-2008 at 19:40.

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    Gladiator Bios 1of3

    Gladiator Bios (1of3)
    As you might guess from the name this is where it all happens

    Gladiator Bios- Main Menu

    1st 4 lines are to respective sub screens.

    Overclock phase select gives 3 settings, [OC Disabled] Huh : [Manual O.C.] Yep that's us :[ Instant Overclock]
    CPU Clock Ratio Unlock - Just [Enable]/[Disable] Like the P5K [Enable] to change multi from default.
    CPU N/2 Ratio - Allows 0.5 CPU Ratio. Had it enabled and running for a while before i realised what it was Applies to 45nm CPUs. So if you set a CPU Multi of 8

    then set this to [Enable] the multi will be 8.5

    CPU Clock v Memory Speed (note uses same notation as Gigabyte 1:2 = 1:1 etc .,


    CPU Features

    Usual Culprits here
    Last edited by supershanks; 30-12-2008 at 19:41.

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