ASUS P5E3 Premium: One to Rule them All…
by Kris Boughton on February 20, 2008 12:15 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
ASUS P5E3 Premium Specifications
| ASUS P5E3 Premium / WiFi-AP@n | |
| Market Segment | Premium / High-Performance - $279~$299 (estimated) |
| CPU Interface | Socket T (LGA775) |
| CPU Support | Any LGA775-based CPU, Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Extreme, or Core 2 Quad recommended, including next-generation 45nm CPU support |
| Chipset | Intel X48 Northbridge (MCH) with Fast Memory Access Technology and Intel ICH9R Southbridge |
| CPU Clock Multiplier | 6x ~ 11x, downward adjustable for Core 2, upward to 31x for Core 2 Extreme, including half-multiplier support for 45nm processors |
| Front Side Bus Speeds | Auto, 200 ~ 800 in 1MHz increments |
| System Bus Speeds | 1600 / 1333 / 1066 / 800 MHz and 2000 / 1800 MHz (OC) |
| DDR3 Memory Dividers | 1:1, 6:5, 5:4, 4:3, 3:2, 8:5, 5:3, and 2:1 (dependent upon strap selection) |
| FSB Strap | Auto, 200, 266, 333 and 400 |
| PCIe Speeds | Auto, 100MHz ~ 180MHz |
| PCI Speeds | Locked at 33.33MHz |
| DRAM Voltage | Auto, 1.50V ~ 2.78V in 0.02V increments, 1.50V (DDR3) standard |
| DRAM CLK/CMD Skew CA/CB | Auto, Manual (Advance/Delay 50ps ~ 350ps in 50ps increments) |
| DRAM Timing Control | Auto, Manual - 20 DRAM Timing Options (tCL, tRCD, tRP, tRAS, tRFC and 15 other sub-timings) |
| DRAM Command Rate | Auto, 1N, 2N |
| DRAM Static Read Control | Auto, Enabled, Disabled |
| DRAM Dynamic Write Control | Auto, Enabled, Disabled |
| Ai Clock Twister | Auto, Ligher, Light, Moderate, Strong, Stronger |
| Ai Transaction Booster | Auto, Manual |
| Common Performance Level | 1 ~ 31 (settings above 14 prevent POST) |
| CH A/B Phase Pull-In | Based on Memory Divider, All Phases Adjustable (Enabled/Disabled) |
| CPU Voltage | Auto, 1.10000 to 1.70000 in 0.00625V increments then to 2.1V w/OV jumper |
| CPU PLL Voltage | Auto, 1.50 ~ 2.78v in 0.02V increments, 1.50V standard |
| FSB Termination Voltage (VTT) | Auto, 1.20V to 1.50V in 0.02V increments, 1.20V (65nm CPU) or 1.10v (45nm CPU) standard |
| NorthBridge (NB) Voltage | Auto, 1.25V ~ 1.91V in 0.02V increments then to 2.21V w/OV jumper, 1.25v standard |
| SouthBridge (SB) Voltage | Auto, 1.05V ~ 1.20V in 0.15V increments, 1.05V standard |
| Clock Over-Charging Voltage | Auto, 0.70V ~ 1.00V in 0.10V increments, 0.80V standard |
| Load-Line Calibration | Auto, Normal, Performance |
| CPU GTL Voltage Reference | Auto, 0.370x ~ 0.760x in 0.005x increments, 0.630x standard (both dies) |
| NB GTL Voltage Reference | Auto, 0.61x ~ 0.67x in 0.06x increments, standard 0.67x |
| Memory Slots | Four 240-pin DDR3 DIMM Slots Dual-Channel Memory Architecture Regular Unbuffered, non-ECC DDR3 Memory to 8GB Total Supports Intel Extreme Memory Profile (X.M.P.) @ DDR3-1600, DDR3-1800 and DDR3-2000 |
| Expansion Slots | 2 - PCIe 2.0 x16 (blue), Supports AMD/ATI CrossFire Technology 1 - PCIe (1.x) x16 (black) @ x4 or x1 mode only 1 - PCIe (1.x) x1 2 - PCI Slot 2.2 |
| Onboard SATA RAID | 6x SATA 3.0Gbps Ports - ICH9R (Intel Matrix RAID 0,1, 5, and 10) |
| Onboard IDE/Additional SATA | Jmicron JMB363 PATA Controller (up to 2 UDMA 133/100/66 devices) 2x External eSATA ports - RAID 0, 1 and JBOD (SATA-On-the-Go) |
| Onboard USB 2.0/IEEE-1394 | 10 USB 2.0 Ports - (6) I/O Panel - (4) via Headers 2x Agere L-FW3227 IEEE-1394(a) Ports - (1) I/O Panel, (1) via header |
| Onboard LAN (with Teaming) | 1x Marvell 88E8056 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet controller 1x Realtek RTL8110SC PCI Gigabit Ethernal controller |
| Wireless LAN (optional) | ASUS WiFi-AP@n (USB-based), 300Mbps Draft Wireless-N (Wireless-G/Wireless-B compatable), Software Access Point mode |
| Onboard Audio | ADI ADI1988B 8-channel HD Audio CODEC |
| Power Connectors | ATX 24-pin, 8-pin EATX 12V |
| I/O Panel | 1 x PS/2 Keyboard 2 x SPDIF - (1) Optical Out, (1) Coaxial Out 2 x External eSATA 1 x IEEE-1394a 2 x RJ-45 (LAN) 6 x USB 2.0/1.1 8-channel Audio IO 2 x WiFi-AP@n antenna jacks (optional) |
| Fan Headers | 6 - (1) CPU, (1) Power, (4) Chassis |
| BIOS Revision | 0145 (retail release) |
| Board Revision | 2.00G |
ASUS tells us they plan to introduce the board at a price point higher than the X38 motherboards available now, but lower than their R.O.G. series targeted at the serious gamer crowd. Aside from a couple of voltage and temperature monitoring features and the absence of some of the more "extreme" voltage options, the P5E3 Premium is very comparable to the Rampage Formula, which we reviewed in late January. For example, the MCH Read Delay (tRD) adjustments, first seen in the Rampage Formula BIOS, are also available with the P5E3 Premium.
At present, the only characteristic that we feel truly differentiates these two boards is the use of DDR3 with the P5E3 Premium, in place of DDR2 for the Rampage Formula. That being said, we think the P5E3 Premium - despite the need for more expensive memory - displays superior engineering; the 3-phase memory and 2-phase Northbridge power, along with Express Gate, draft-N wireless capabilities, and an attractive (and effective) cooling solution make it the motherboard to have… provided you can stomach the cost of DDR3. All that is left to be seen at this point is where exactly the Rampage Extreme, the DDR3 version of the Rampage Formula, will be priced with respect to other offerings if it is brought to market. If the P5E3 Premium is any indication, we expect more great things to come from ASUS.
With all the features packed into such a small package, the P5E3 Premium is positioned well to simultaneously capture the interests of the overclocking crowd as well as those looking for an all-in-one multimedia solution. The onboard ADI1988B 8-channel High Definition Audio CODEC (previously codenamed Azalia) produces excellent 24-bit/192kHz full surround sound that should please even the most discerning audiophile. The optical out or digital coaxial connections make interfacing with a DTS Connect (DTS Interactive and DTS NEO:PC) enabled system easy as well.
In addition, we found the external eSATA RAID capabilities very interesting. Although RAID 0 may not be the best choice when dealing with external SATA drives, the option of running either RAID 1 for data protection or JBOD - which gives to user the ability to combine two less expensive drives into a single, large logical drive - is an extra some will appreciate. Network Access Storage (NAS) drives are a wonderful way of storing information so that it can be access from anywhere on the network, but for those running a single system the ability to retain all your important files in one safeguarded location is a plus.
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lopri - Wednesday, February 20, 2008 - link
I do not know the exact procedure or metrics for Editor's Choice award, but isn't it a little to early for a 'Gold' award? I don't even know if there are any other X48 board exist.And there is no mention of usability, or how well the included features all perform, or there is not even a single benchmark performed other than Everest shot. Indeed, it looks like the award was given simply because the reviewer was so impressed soley by the board's overclocking performance.
kjboughton - Wednesday, February 20, 2008 - link
To date was have reviewed the following Intel X48 boards: Gigabyte GA-X48T-DQ6, ASUS R.O.G. Rampage Formula, MSI X48 Platinum and ASUS P5E3 Premium, which can all be found by navigating to the 'Motherboards' tab linked at the top of this page. Although we are certainly prepared to review any other boards that come forward, no other company has officially announced the existence of their X48-based product(s) at this time.DBissett - Wednesday, February 20, 2008 - link
The specifications list DDR2 dividers....should that be DDR3?pnyffeler - Wednesday, February 20, 2008 - link
I've been reading Anandtech for almost a decade now, and I've watched the fanboys, haters, and gurus go back and forth on lots of issues.Instead of talking about the substance of the article, I just wanted to say that you folks run the best online hardware review page on the planet, and this article is yet another example of the incredible work you do. Your attention to detail is impressive, but your genuine concern for getting to the bottom of issues and telling the readers how you really feel. That level of honesty breeds trust, which is a difficult commodity to come by in today's online world.
Keep up the excellent work.
takumsawsherman - Wednesday, February 20, 2008 - link
Thank God! I was afraid that Asus was going to use Firewire800 instead of 400. Make sure you keep using the 10 year old variant of the technology, ok Asus? Whatever you do, do not spend the couple of extra bucks to improve the speed of the interface. Heck, while you're at it, for a $250 board, why don't you just take away firewire altogether, and replace it with onboard video. That would be class.LEKO - Wednesday, February 20, 2008 - link
Because manu people have a digital camera with FireWire output. For some (like me), I based my decision on FireWire availability... A board without FireWire is an handicapped board for me.takumsawsherman - Wednesday, February 20, 2008 - link
I was being sarcastic. I use many firewire devices, mostly 400, some 800. It irks me that manufacturers insist on me buying 3rd party cards, even at this incredibly high price for a motherboard.They just want Firewire to go away so they can add a little to their margins.
Visual - Wednesday, February 20, 2008 - link
I wonder how the situation will play out in the laptop segment. nVidia's chipsets have a feature that is very promising in that segment - namely their now non-optional integrated graphics card in combination with an addon card, and the ability to switch between the two without rebooting.My understanding is that all intel laptops so far are always made with an intel chipset (to qualify for their centrino brand), so we likely won't be able to benefit from these exciting features of the new nvidia chipsets. This is a shame.
Alex1180 - Wednesday, February 20, 2008 - link
If I wanted to pair this mobo with the upcoming Q9450 what would be the best air cooling heatsink/fan solution to overclock the CPU and what speed would you recommend overclocking it to?any help would be appreciated
Super Nade - Wednesday, February 20, 2008 - link
Hi,None of those caps are Nichion. The VRM caps are Fujitsu FP-Cap and the one by the EPS connector looks like a Sanyo SEPC.