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Review: Foxconn P35A Bearlake motherboard

by Tarinder Sandhu on 21 May 2007, 09:50

Tags: Foxconn (TPE:2317)

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Bundle. presentation and warranty







Only the geekiest will find the box art illuminating.







Here's what's inside:

Items User manual
Quick install guide (12 languages including English)
1 x drivers and utilities CD containing (drivers for motherboard devices, Foxconn FOX ONE Utility, Foxconn Fox LiveUpdate, and Norton Internet Security 2006 (90-day trial)). 1 x 80-conductor flat IDE cable, 1 x 34-conductor flat FDD cable, 2 x non-latching style SATA data cables, 2 x Molex-SATA power adapter cables (single-ended)
1 x ATX I/O Shield
1 x USB 2.0 + FireWire + eSATA combination expansion bracket with 2 x USB ports, 1 x 4-pin 1394a port, and 1 x eSATA port.
1 x SLI bridge (hehe)


We like the multi-functional fly bracket that allows you to add 4 high-speed ports in one fell swoop, even if FireWire isn't usable here.

We're not sure how an NVIDIA SLI bridge snuck into the packaging. Could it be a portentous inclusion that paves the way for SLI on P35?

Warranty

The Foxconn P35A ships with a standard 3-year warranty that starts when the board is shipped to a distributor. Warranty-related issues are handled by the retailer from which the motherboard is purchased from and then escalated up the chain to distributor, if needs be.

The warranty is based on the motherboard and not on the owner, meaning that it's transferable should the card be sold on. However, as usual, subsequent buyers will need to submit the original proof of purchase if requiring hardware support.

You absolutely need to take the warranty's terms into account when evaluating comparative boards. Foxconn's terms are generally good and we like the fact that the warranty is transferable. However, we'd urge it to consider initiating the warranty on the date of customer purchase and not when sold to distributor.