Asus P4P800-E Deluxe (i865PE Springdale)
Asus P4P800-E |
| Chipset |
Intel 865PE Springdale |
| Processor |
Pentium 4 FSB 400/533/800 MHz
Celeron FSB 400 MHz
HyperThreading |
| Memory |
PC2100/PC2700/PC3200 |
| HDD |
2 UltraDMA/100
RAID 2x SerialATA and 1xUltraDMA/133
2 SerialATA
|
| Additional |
2 IEEE-1394
Audio AC'92 v2.3
8 USB 2.0
Gigabit Ethernet |
| Price: |
125$ (Pricewatch) |
Intel is experiencing certain problems with new products these days, so motherboard manufacturers are seeking ways to renew their assortments at the expense of the "old" chipsets. An example of that is Asus who released the P4P800-E Deluxe motherboard built on the i865PE chipset (has been around on the market for over a year!).
At first, I thought it was a renewed version of the P4P800 Deluxe board which we tested quite thoroughly some time ago. However, upon a closer look it turned out that the PCB of P4P800-E is somehow different from the predecessor board. In particular, the number of SerialATA ports has been increased, with some controllers replaced. Note also that the board is the first product that is equipped with 8-channel audio! Another feature is the presence of a WiFi module in the package bundle.
Asus P4P800-E Specifications
| Asus P4P800-E |
| Processor |
- Intel Pentium 4 ( Northwood / Prescott) with the bus speeds 400/533/800 MHz;
- Intel Celeron ( Northwood) with the bus speed 400MHz;
- Socket 478;
- Support for HyperThreading processors |
| Chipset |
- North Bridge Intel® 865PE Memory Controller Hub (MCH);
- South Bridge Intel® Intel 82801ER Enhanced I/O Controller Hub (ICH5R);
- Interbridge link: Hub Link v1.5; |
| System memory |
- Four 184-pin slots for DDR SDRAM DIMM;
- Maximum memory capacity 4GB;
- Support for memory types PC2100/PC2700/PC3200;
- Dual-channel memory access;
- Onboard power indicator; |
| Graphics |
- AGP slot supporting the 4x/8x modes |
| Expansion options |
- Five 32-bit PCI Bus Master slots;
- WiFi connector;
- Eight USB 2.0 ports (4 integrated + 4 additional);
- Two IEEE1394 (Firewire) ports;
- Integrated audio AC'92 v2.3;
- Marvell Gigabit Ethernet LAN controller; |
| Overclocking options |
- FSB adjustable within 100 to 400 MHz in 1 MHz increments;
- Adjustable voltages on the processor, memory and AGP.
- Asus C.P.R and Asus AiOverclocking technologies |
| Disk subsystem |
- 2 channels UltraDMA/100/66/33 Bus Master IDE (with support for up to 4 ATAPI-devices);
- Support for SerialATA (2 channels with support for RAID);
- Additional IDE Raid controller (Promise 20378 chip, 1 channel IDE supporting ATA33/66/100/133 & RAID 0, 1, 0+1, JBOD with support for up to 2 ATAPI-devices; 2 SerialATA channels);
- Support for LS-120 / ZIP / ATAPI CD-ROM; |
| BIOS |
- 4MBit Flash ROM;
- AMI BIOS with support for Enhanced ACPI, DMI, Green, PnP Features;
- Asus EZ Flash;
- CrashFree BIOS 2;
- Asus MyLogo2;
- Multi-languages BIOS; |
| Miscellaneous |
- One FDD port, two serial and one parallel ports, ports for PS/2 mouse and keyboard;
- STR (Suspend to RAM);
- SPDIF Out;
- Asus POST Reporter;
- Asus Q-Fan;
- Asus Instant Music; |
| Power management |
- Wake-up on modem, mouse, keyboard, LAN, timer and USB;
- Standard 20-pin power connector ATX (ATX-PW);
- Additional 4-pin power connector; |
| Monitoring |
- Monitoring the temperatures of processor, voltages, rotational speeds of the three fans;
- Asus PC Probe; |
| Dimensions |
- ATX form factor, 245mm x 305mm (9.63" x 12") |
Package
The board was packaged in a box of the following look:
One page opens like that in a book; on the centerfold, advantages of wireless connections are explained. In so doing, the user can see the Wi-Fi module through specials slits in the package.
Package bundle
- Motherboard
- 1x software & drivers CD
- 1x third-party software CD
- 2x ATA133 cables, 1x ATA33 cable, 1x FDD cable
- 2x SerialATA cables + 1x power supply adapter
- P4P800-E User's Guide + Quick Setup Manual in English
- Brief guide on system assembly
- 1x header with 2 additional USB 2.0 ports and a GAME-port;
- 1x header for an additional IEEE1394 port
- A sticker with the jumpers layout diagram + an Asustek logo sticker
- 3x additional jumpers
- 1x cap for the rear panel
- InstantMusic stickers
I remember while we were testing the P4P800 Deluxe board, we were surprised to see a complete lack of headers (and that is strange for the very high price of the product). But the package bundle of P4P800-E gives no reasons for criticism: the box has a header for Firewire, USB 2.0 ports and a Game-port. The only port for which you would have to buy a header elsewhere is the COM-port.
The user's manual did was written very well: there is a section to do with jumpers, connectors as well as description of the BIOS update procedure. There is also a section to do with the BIOS settings, the description is given in great detail; there is a description of the overclocking functions. Besides, much focus is given to the driver installation procedure and RAID array setup.
Besides, in the box there is a brief PC assembly guide (standard for all Asus motherboards), as well as a brief tuning guide for P4P800-E. There is a set of third-party software on the bundled CD. There is InterVideo WinDVD Suite on it.
The remaining contents are standard: a cap to the rear panel, a pack with additional jumpers, an Asus logo, and a jumpers layout diagram. Then, there are two SerialATA cables with a power supply adapter. But the IDE cables are proprietary: black, with an Asus logo on.
The kit of "Instant Music" stickers merits a separate mention.
The Instant Music allows listening to music from CDs without loading the operating system.
Finally, let's look at the kit for setting up wireless communication.
In the kit, there is the WiFi module itself (which has to be installed into a separate slot), an aerial (to be plugged in to the module), a CD with drivers and software (to be installed and tuned), a user's manual (should be read carefully to proceed with the previous steps successfully :).
In the upshot: considering the relatively low price of the product, the package bundle deserved an "excellent" mark.
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