Well, day 2.5 now and so far, so good. 500FSB was the easiest yet on any MB I've tried. I have some old pics from my P5B build, but some things have changed here and there...XP SP2 vs SP 3 RC2 (I notice a difference, some claim not to...but I also did a fresh install...I noticed a difference with RC1 on a 4 month+ old install)...the memory options are just mind boggling...check out the EverestMemory picture for how much Everest reads...insanity! I just set the basic timings (4-4-4-12) and voltages for CPU, Mem, and a small increase on NB voltage. My x1950xtx is bios modded for 716/1080 3D Profile with 1.55v VDDC (only voltage that can be adjusted in RaBiT...anyone got a way to edit the other 3 voltages options in BIOS???? I've done a lot of searching to no avail...), I will continue to tune it's overclock and maybe it's memory timings as things progress.
A couple of minor issues, my AC Freezer 7 Pro just barely clears the NB cooler (1-2mm spacing between fins, .5-1mm between fan and cooler) when set to exhuast out of the rear exhaust fan, I am considering going vertically to allow more airflow around the NB area. The memory DIMMS are closer to the CPU socket, so my Corsair XMS airflow is now touching the CPU cooler fan to cover my memory in DIMMS 2 & 4, cooling does not seem affected by this though so I'm not worried one bit, and this MB has 5 Fan headers, 3 are controllable...it only advertises having 3...don't be fooled. My MB also has the NB warranty sticker, so I won't be replacing the NB sink any time soon, just in case something goes south.
The layout for the 24-pin and 8-pin work okay with my Antec900 and Corsair HX520, the 8-pin power cable is zip-tied to my rear 120mmfan, but goes over my x1950xtx S1 cooler, so no fan in the side window (the S1 protrudes into that area anyways, plus I prefer to have side venting and front/rear airflow bias.
The BIOS is very easy to use, and has A LOT of settings, but if you know the basics, to get a good overclock there is minimal adjustments needed beyond upping the FSB. The Memory divider system has a nice variety, and some may be fooled, but 1:1 is 333/667, to verify it will tell you the target Memory speed below this setting, so if you are running a 1066 proc at stock 266fsb, the memory will read 533 at the 333/667 (1:1) ratio.
The voltage options are nice to have and easy to use, plus the voltage readouts seem pretty stable, vcore droop is very livable...and I've had no issues using EIST, C1E, TM with my current OC. It kicks right up to 1.344 and stays there under load. The power sinks seem to stay pretty cool, but I did notice the NB does heat up quite a bit...but not to the point I'd be worried, my P5B Deluxe NB ran hotter before I got the Corsair XMS.
So far my overall impression of this board is of a good quality board at a mid-range price with plentiful OC features and well worth consideration if planning to purchase a P35 board. I am planning to further tune my OC and memory to see what more I can get out of it, and I'm still debating aiming my CPU cooler vertically to exhuast towards the 200mm exhuast fan...my cores are running around mid 20's idle and upper40s lower 50s under load with Orthos Pri.9, small ffts...did an 8 hour run w/o issues last night. I will report more when I do some more testing and tuning! There's also a floppy power connector above the PCI-e 16X slot near the NB for 5v/12v...from what I read it says if there is a second vid card to hook it up, but since this board only has 1 vid card slot...I'm curious as to how this may help voltage supply on the board... I'm sure the users with Blood Iron's out there can also benefit and help in the OC/tuning areas as they have similar specs, bioses, NB coolers, etc. So maybe we can start a new DFI P35 Thread or something.
Here are my current results, the memory bandwidth has improved some, the graphics benches are minimal, about a 1k-2k improvement in AQ3 and 200pts in 3dM06 (when I find the pics I will upload them for my older results).: