ASUS P5E3 Premium: One to Rule them All…
by Kris Boughton on February 20, 2008 12:15 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
Initial Thoughts
As March approaches, the question on most enthusiasts' minds is going to be whether to go with Intel's next extreme performance desktop chipset, the X48, or NVIDIA's upcoming DDR3 chipset, the 790i. While it would be premature for us to answer this question, considering that NVIDIA has yet to send out samples for review, we can't help but be pleased by the performance increases we have seen recently with the X48 chipset. When properly paired with DDR3 memory, the X48 is capable of memory read and write speeds normally reserved for the likes of AMD with their on-die controller. All that remains is to see if NVIDIA can match these speeds and stability.
The ASUS P5E3 Premium BIOS already looks good - plus the board just works. We have exercised just about every possible combination of settings and options with a variety of hardware and have come up with no more than a few small concerns worth mentioning. Lately, ASUS has consistently led the pack when it comes to BIOS preparation, testing, and qualification, and it shows here as well. Look for "premium" performance from this truly impressive board when we pit it head-to-head next month against some of the latest X38 and X48 motherboard offerings. While we are respecting the wishes of Intel in not providing absolute benchmarks in a variety of applications, all we can say is that this board led all others overall. With the extra time afforded by the latest launch delay, we are completing further testing with our Wolfdale processors.
To be brutally honest about the current market situation, ASUS has almost entirely swept the field lately when it comes to producing high-performance motherboards based on the X38 or X48 chipset. We hope other companies like DFI, Foxconn, Gigabyte, or abit have an ace up their sleeves and are polishing the cannonball as much as they can before next month's X48 launch. If we had to speculate, we would attribute a lot of ASUS' recent success on their decision to listen - really listen - to what the typical overclocker wants to see in a motherboard. Here's to hoping they keep it up.
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ASUS has also worked hard to make owning a high-end X48 motherboard some what affordable. With an estimated retail price of around $299, there is a lot of value in the purchase of the P5E3 Premium for those looking at a high-end motherboard to use in the coming years. You get one of the best sounding audio solutions we have ever heard in an integrated chipset, plus built-in draft-N wireless connection with access point (AP) capabilities. Those two items alone account for at least $100 - provided you use them, naturally. We won't go so far as to call the P5E3 Premium inexpensive, because it's not. However, it provides an overall experience you just can't match with a $100 motherboard, and if you're planning to overclock a Penryn CPU you definitely don't want to skimp when it comes to motherboard quality. All you need to do now is wait for X48 boards to officially launch, which should thankfully occur within the next month (believe us, we are tired of the previews and constant retesting also).
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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.