Conclusion

There were no problems with overclocking an Intel Core 2 Duo E6300, so there should be no problems with higher-frequency CPUs. But inexpensive mainboards like the Biostar TForce P965 are mainly bought for use with junior, inexpensive CPU models rather than with Intel Core 2 Quad the manufacturer declares support for. Right now the junior model is the not-very-cheap Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 and the mainboard cannot overclock it. That’s not a big deal since you can use the E6300 which costs almost the same money. On the other hand, a price cut is expected in April, and this summer there’ll appear a whole family of inexpensive CPUs (Pentium E2xxx and Celeron 4xx) working with a 200 (800) MHz FSB which the TForce P965 cannot overclock, either.

So, I see no reason why you should prefer the Biostar TForce P965 to other mainboards. Low price? If you are into overclocking, there is an excellent alternative in the form of junior mainboard models from ASUS and Gigabyte which are based on the Intel P965 chipset and can easily overclock Core series processors, including those that work with a 200 (800) MHz FSB. And if you don’t care about overclocking, you can choose from the innumerable i945-based products that support the new CPUs. They can even overclock them just as much as the Biostar TForce P965 does, but have a lower price.

It looks gloomy for the TForce P965, yet there is one solution the company can use. They can start an advertising campaign, touting the TForce P965 as a mainboard for enthusiasts. It may sound paradoxical, although it is not.

There are overclocker-friendly mainboards that allow overclocking processors. And there are mainboards for enthusiasts which are meant for practicing overclocking. From this point of view, the Biostar TForce P965 is ideal and not worse than any other mainboard with such positioning. For example, the DFI LANParty UT ICFX3200-T2R/G mainboard on the ATI RD600 chipset has so many settings that you can spend weeks learning what they do and how they affect overclocking (for details see our article called DFI LANParty UT ICFX3200-T2R/G Mainboard on ATI RD600 Chipset Review). The Biostar TForce P965 will provide you a lot of exciting problems you can spend hours to solve. People at forums discuss modified BIOS versions, how to change the memory modules’ SPD to achieve the desired timings, and how to BSEL-modify E4300 CPUs to achieve normal overclocking. So, that’s quite an enthusiast-targeted mainboard!

So, if you don’t plan to overclock Core 2 Duo processors with a 200 (400) MHz FSB, and you don’t care about the noise of the CPU fan, and you are not interested what memory timings you have, and you don’t have too many USB devices, and the auto-run feature is disabled on your optical drives, then the Biostar TForce P965 mainboard is surely for you. Otherwise, think again if you’ve chosen the right model !