HardwareLogic: Reviews - ASUS P5E3 Premium WiFi-AP @n Motherboard

ASUS P5E3 Premium WiFi-AP @n Motherboard

Author: The HL Staff

Editor: Aron Schatz

Posted: April 6, 2008

Views: 2302

ASUS P5E3 Premium WiFi-AP @n Motherboard

Today we have the latest-greatest P5E3 Premium under the scope, featuring Intel's newest titan X48, DDR3 up to PC3-12800 and a full 1600MHz FSB for complete Penryn support. We have to ask how the new X48 will preform compared to the X38 already filling the market, and will this newest colossus topple our other Asus champion and near clone, the X38 based P5E3 Deluxe?

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As a true super power of the motherboard industry, we can always count on ASUS for a little shock and awe whenever a new chipset rolls out, filled to bursting with features and details not seen among its peers. Running the gauntlet from low-end boards that fill out the major consumer market to beastly monstrosities with endless bundles and gargantuan overclocking ability, ASUS can seemingly release new and innovative boards at will.

Today we look at the latest and greatest addition to the ASUS "Lifestyles" Series, the ASUS P5E3 Premium. Built around Intel's newest titan, the X48 chipset, the P5E3 Premium features DDR3 support up to PC3-12800 (much higher when overclocking), and native 1600MHz FSB for future Nehalem support. Rounding out the feature set with dual wireless 802.11n and a BIOS so deep it will make your head spin, the P5E3 Premium looks to be a monster.

PRODUCT	ASUS P5E3 Premium / WiFi-AP @n
CPU SUPPORT	INTEL LGA775 Intel Core 2 Quad, Core 2 Extreme, Core 2 Duo, Pentium D, Pentium 4 FSB 1600/1333 Supports HT Technology Supports Intel 45nm processors
CHIPSET	Northbridge: INTEL X48 Southbridge: INTEL ICH9R
MEMORY	Dual-Channel DDR3 memory architecture Four 240-pin DDR3 DIMM sockets support up to 8GB DDR3 2000 (OC)/1800 (OC)/1600/1333/1066/800 MHz
EXPANSION SLOTS	Three PCI Express x16 slot (Supports Crossfire) (blue @ PCIe2.0 x16 mode, black @ PCIe x4 or x1 mode) Two PCI-E x1 slots Two PCI 2.0 slots
STORAGE	ICH9R Southbridge: Six SATA 3.0 Gb/s ports Intel Matrix Storage Technology supports RAID 0, 1, 5 and 10 JMicron® JMB363(JMB368) PATA & SATA controller One UltraDMA 133/100/66 for up to 2 PATA devices Two External SATA 3.0 Gb/s port (JMicron JMB363) Supports SATA RAID 0,1,JBOD
AUDIO	8 Channel ADI AD1988B
LAN	Dual 10/100/1000Mbps Marvell 88E8056 Realtek 8110SC Dual ASUS 802.11n Wireless Port
REAR I/O PANEL	PS/2 (Keyboard) Six USB 2.0 One IEEE 1394a Two eSATA 3Gb/s One S/PDIF Out Optical One S/PDIF Out Coaxial Six Audio Ports
INTERNAL I/O HEADERS	One ATA 133/100/66/33 connector (Supoorts two drives) One FDD connector One IEEE 1394 connector Two USB 2.0/1.1 connectors (supports 4 ports) Audio header (supports 8-Channel)
SYSTEM BIOS	16 Mb Flash ROM AMI BIOS ASUS EZ Flash 2 ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3
FORM FACTOR	Standard ATX
WARRANTY	3 yr Warranty
CURRENT PRICING	Current Price at Newegg.com

Bundle

Just like the P5E3 Deluxe, the included bundle is of the highest quality, sans the media remote for whatever reason:

One UltraDMA 133/100/66 cable
One FDD cable
Six Serial ATA cables
One 2-port Serial ATA power cable
ASUS Q-shield
User's manual
ASUS WiFi-AP @n manual
3 in 1 Q-connector
One 2-port USB2.0 / 1-port IEEE1394 module
Two Optional Fan for Water-Cooling or Passive-Cooling only
Two ASUS WiFi-AP @n omni-directional antenna

We especially love the front panel Q-connectors, they make life simple for those who swap boards in and out without having to flip through the manual to remember which pin is which. Speaking of manuals, a full paper edition is included, along with a guide to the Wifi@home unit. With vendors developing a nasty trend of leaving the manual in PDF form on a CD or website (a real doozy if the system you're working on is your only one), we give ASUS a thumbs up for remembering nothing beats a hard copy when in the process of getting it all together.