DFI?

G

GreatestOne

Limp Gawd
Joined
May 15, 2005
Messages
488
It seems DFI has gotten some high praise all over but I dont see it being the top of any convo or suggestions here... how is DFI? I am planning on replacing my IP35 Pro for various reasons, and I want a robust high end with great overclocking potential. Dont care about SLI, esata, etc....
 
Kyle does not like DFi so you won't see much praise here. it seems to be decent for having low V-droop, mine is working ok but I could not get my CPu over 3200 MHZ :( It might be the CPU though, and my board isnt the best for quads. Overall they were one of the best MBs that are watercooling friendly IMO, but they have more setting than ASUS which may mean it is harder to OC.
 
DFI's bios is overly complicated which some people appreciate but I find tedious. They are however the only crossfire matx board maker, the reason why I have one.
 
my dfi is awesome and all the info you need is readily available for the bios
 
I have had only goood experiences with DFI LANPartys. Good solid boards. x48, even the old (now discontinued) 680i chipsets - thats saying something.
 
maybe im just lucky but i own 12+ dfi lanparty motherboards and none have died or needed to be replaced.

lanpartys are the best looking and highest overclocking motherboards you can buy, and that is the exact reason i buy them and started buying them in the beginning.

i have tried (and do own) other brands of motherboards but they have to be a really good deal (since you may have to rma the mobo 4 or 5 times to get a asus one that works)
 
Ive been using the DFI P35 DK in a lot of builds and I did receive one DOA out of 6 or 7 I ordered. Got the replacement and I was good to go. I really like their boards. Why are you getting rid of the IP35-Pro? I am ditching mine because I am sick of uGuru with Vista and all the fan control issues this thing has had.
 
I've gone DFI for my last 3 builds, and I doubt I will change anytime soon. They rank very highly with me, but you have to be able to take the bad with the good. My recommendation would recommend DFI for more extreme ([H]arder?) enthusiasts and tinkerers, and Asus for more casual overclocking.

Off the top of my head:

Pros:
  • High Quality
  • Complex bios provides many enhanced features other manufacturers do not
  • Updates and features geared toward enthusiasts (bios updates, etc)
  • DFI boards consistently rank among the highest average "extreme" overclocks
  • (For me) Colors on the boards are fun and different (green, yellow, orange)

Cons:
  • Expensive
  • Complex bios is overwhelming for new or non-DFI users
  • DFI boards are finicky with bios and hardware. Much time is spent finding and testing stable settings to achieve the massive overclocks. Make sure to research compatibility of memory with the board before buying.
  • (For some) Colors on the boards are ugly and gay (green, yellow, orange). (Homophobia is :()

I've never actually had a DFI board die on me, so I'm not sure how good their support is for RMA's.
 
defy said:
I've never actually had a DFI board die on me, so I'm not sure how good their support is for RMA's.
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One of my friends had an old socket 478 AGP DFI board die 3 days before the warranty expired and DFI still honored the warranty. They dug a board out of storage and sent him a new one.
 
I think the flamboyant colors are UV reactive (black light anyone?). Seems that the color scheme could be better though.
 
Copyright said:
Why are you getting rid of the IP35-Pro? I am ditching mine because I am sick of uGuru with Vista and all the fan control issues this thing has had.
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I just dont think I can oc my CPU's well with my ip35 pro, I jus dont feel right with it.... with my new E8500 I am only able to get up to about 3.6ghz, altho I know I dont have the best fan... (got a Zig S1283 on the way tho!)) and the uguru doesnt even keep the right cpu temps, but i still feel like even tho my CPU is not getting real hot, the mb is the limiting factor... and they are out so I dont wanna deal with warranty issues later if need be...
 
killster1 said:
lanpartys are the best looking and highest overclocking motherboards you can buy, and that is the exact reason i buy them and started buying them in the beginning.

i have tried (and do own) other brands of motherboards but they have to be a really good deal (since you may have to rma the mobo 4 or 5 times to get a asus one that works)
Click to expand...

I thought ASUS and Gigabyte were two of the best also.... yes but I am looking for oc'ing and I wont mind spending a little time pushing it.... may I ask what kinda #'s u got in your oc experience with intel chips and what cooling u had in the recent past?
 
GreatestOne said:
I just dont think I can oc my CPU's well with my ip35 pro, I jus dont feel right with it.... with my new E8500 I am only able to get up to about 3.6ghz, altho I know I dont have the best fan... (got a Zig S1283 on the way tho!)) and the uguru doesnt even keep the right cpu temps, but i still feel like even tho my CPU is not getting real hot, the mb is the limiting factor... and they are out so I dont wanna deal with warranty issues later if need be...
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I hear ya.. it was a good board for its time but its time has passed. Ive got the Rampage Formula on the way and hope to get some better clocks out of my Quad. The CPU temp thing can be fixed with the correct bios version. Some versions work better with 45nm chips vs the 65nm.
 
Do u use the mb cpu temp gauge or a third party/whats the best cpu temp monitor? Doesnt seem like CPU-Z does it....
 
I'm thinking of going with my first DFI, the Lanparty JR P4 T2RS matx board. I'm not planning on overclocking but i've been hearing alot of issues with Asus boards integrated video not playing nice with addon video cards, so i'm willing to pay more for stability outa the box.

Though I wonder if DFI's work well with Crucial XMS memory.
 
Freezebyte said:
I'm thinking of going with my first DFI, the Lanparty JR P4 T2R2 matx board. I'm not planning on overclocking but i've been hearing alot of issues with Asus boards integrated video not playing nice with addon video cards, so i'm willing to pay more for stability outa the box.

Though I wonder if DFI's work well with Crucial XMS memory.
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Corsair XMS? Ive used Crucial Ballistix in a few DFI setups and have had no issues.
 
I cant find any T2R2's... I am looking at the DFI LANPARTY DK P35-T2RS on newegg for $145 and it has the best set of reviews from about 100 buyers.... if anyone owns that, I would welcome any oc numbers with dual core cpu's and the fan u r using!

Seems to me overall DFI is gaining popularity among our kind... does everyone else feel the same way? What the heck is wrong with ASUS and giga anyways? Is it bad management now or have they always been troublesome? I've only had SOYO and ABIT so far.... in between I had a Dell server I messed with (I know please dont flame me for that, I was lazy)
 
GreatestOne said:
I cant find any T2R2's... I am looking at the DFI LANPARTY DK P35-T2RS on newegg for $145 and it has the best set of reviews from about 100 buyers.... if anyone owns that, I would welcome any oc numbers with dual core cpu's and the fan u r using!

Seems to me overall DFI is gaining popularity among our kind... does everyone else feel the same way? What the heck is wrong with ASUS and giga anyways? Is it bad management now or have they always been troublesome? I've only had SOYO and ABIT so far.... in between I had a Dell server I messed with (I know please dont flame me for that, I was lazy)
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Sorry, I had the model # wrong, its the JR P45-T2RS.

I'm upset about the whole Asus thing myself, I've been an avid Asus buyer since 2002 and they've done very well for me, very reliable, stable and pretty easy going RMA on just one board. Its upsetting to see that Asus can't seem to make a decent mATX board which is what im looking for in my new SFF gaming PC. True I can try the P5Q-EM and send it back if it doesn't work, but them im out that shipping money and restocking fee nto to mention all the hassle and not having a working system the whole time.

Wow, SOYO, I haven't heard that name in a long time, they were big back in the Athlon XP days, so was Abit. Amazing how much has changed since I built my first PC back in 2001
 
GreatestOne said:
I cant find any T2R2's... I am looking at the DFI LANPARTY DK P35-T2RS on newegg for $145 and it has the best set of reviews from about 100 buyers.... if anyone owns that, I would welcome any oc numbers with dual core cpu's and the fan u r using!

Seems to me overall DFI is gaining popularity among our kind... does everyone else feel the same way? What the heck is wrong with ASUS and giga anyways? Is it bad management now or have they always been troublesome? I've only had SOYO and ABIT so far.... in between I had a Dell server I messed with (I know please dont flame me for that, I was lazy)
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Ive used that board on a few dual cores and quads. It overclocks well. You cannot clear a TRUE heatsink unless you spin it to blow up and instead of front to back. I was running a lapped Noctua with push/pull on a quad that hit 3.4ghz @ 1.38V. I have taken a couple E8400's to 3.6ghz without even pushing them hard at all. I have taken atleast 3 E7200s to 3.4ghz with no problems. All of these chips could have gone higher but these builds were for other people and I didn't want to leave them on the bleeding edge with their setups. The board is a great board for the price. My main gripe is not clearing one of the best heatsinks on the market Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme. I started using the Xigmatek S128 and it clears but you have to take the 2 fins on the side where the NB cooler is and bend them down. Its a simple fix to be able to use a good cooler.
 
Freezebyte said:
Sorry, I had the model # wrong, its the JR P45-T2RS.

I'm upset about the whole Asus thing myself, I've been an avid Asus buyer since 2002 and they've done very well for me, very reliable, stable and pretty easy going RMA on just one board. Its upsetting to see that Asus can't seem to make a decent mATX board which is what im looking for in my new SFF gaming PC. True I can try the P5Q-EM and send it back if it doesn't work, but them im out that shipping money and restocking fee nto to mention all the hassle and not having a working system the whole time.

Wow, SOYO, I haven't heard that name in a long time, they were big back in the Athlon XP days, so was Abit. Amazing how much has changed since I built my first PC back in 2001
Click to expand...

Seems like there are a few ASUS boards that are doing really well. I just got the Rampage Formula and I hope it doesn't let me down. I did an Asus P45 build for a friend and it went really well and I was impressed with everything it came with. I can't remember his exact model board tho.

I remember the Soyo Platinum I had years back. I didn't know they were still around.
 
Copyright said:
Ive used that board on a few dual cores and quads. It overclocks well.

I started using the Xigmatek S128 and it clears but you have to take the 2 fins on the side where the NB cooler is and bend them down. Its a simple fix to be able to use a good cooler.
Click to expand...

I have that Xiggy on zee wayyyyyyy, sweet... i dont mind bending anything as long as i dont have to cut or dremel anything.

So u dont have any extreme oc 3's for the lanparty mobo eh? I was hoping if I do get it to find someone who has micromanaged and squeezed out all she had bec it seems like I can spend a good day messing with all the settings, half of which I probably will have to research before changing... I saw some screenshots of the BIOS for oc'ing and holy cow.... not sure if i'd call that fun.. but 4.0 ghz on aircool is.
 
diamond flower international boards are usually the best. they are a little pricey, but getting a little better with that. of all the mb's i have owned (prob 50) 2 of my favorites are the utlra d and the lp ut p35. i have the p45 jr now, but its in an htpc so i am not running the piss out of it like my other machines. i would say definitely get dfi over asus or gigabyte.
 
I think $144 shipped for the Lanparty P35-T2RS is totally reasonable for such a great oc'er... even my ip35 pro was like $170 from newegg..... I think for any decent board paying about mid 100's is standard...
 
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