ASUS P5E3 and MSI X38 Platinum (Intel X38)
Performance tests
While determining the starting FSB speed, both the boards set it to some overstated value.
In our test setup, we used the following hardware:
Let's first take a look at the results of synthetic benchmarks.
Now on to the gaming benchmarks.
Final Words
Above all, we note the major shortcoming of both the boards - they are aimed solely at DDR3 memory. The motherboards themselves and the chipset itself have nothing to complain about. The problem is that the price of a DDR3 kit is much higher than the similar DDR2 kit. At the same time, there isn't much of a speed difference between systems based on DDR2 and DDR3. The only exception is some specific applications, as well as systems based on 4-core processors.
The only advantage of DDR3 as compared to DDR2 is in the hardcore CPU overclocking without regard for the memory frequency. However, at this part both the reviewed motherboards are far from ideal: the overclocking results vary within wide limits, and you can't raise voltage on the north bridge while overclocking (which in fact points to shortcomings in the BIOS).
Therefore, we can make the conclusion that both the boards are aimed at extremely small number of users who don't care about the budget and who are willing to assemble an uncompromising high-end system based on a 4-core CPU with two AMD video cards configured to the Crossfire mode. From this viewpoint, both the motherboards fully meet the requirements posed. Besides, we can point the key features of each model.
First, MSI X38 Platinum offers unique functionality - it supports four PCI Express x16 slots. Therefore, if the user needs four video cards installed at a time, there simply aren't any alternatives. Also, the MSI board is a leader at expansion options and can compete versus top-end ASUS motherboards based on Intel X38. The ASUS P5E3 is the lower model of this line, which is seen from some scarcity of the expansion options. At the same time, its price is about $300 which is a bit too high to date. Therefore, at the "price/attraction" ratio the MSI board looks much more preferable, and even the rich package bundle of P5E3 can't change the conclusion.
Clearly, with time the novelty of X38 will fade, prices for the motherboards will go down, and the cost of DDR3 will approach those for DDR2. But that will not happen soon, and by that time first motherboards based on X48 will appear.
ASUS P5E3 and MSI X38 Platinum
Conclusion
Pros:
- high stability and good performance level;
- two PCI Express x16 slots;
- support for SerialATA II /RAID ( 7 lines; ICH9R + Marvell 88SE6111);
- support for one P-ATA line (Marvell 88SE6111);
- integrated 8-channel audio and Gigabit Ethernet LAN controller;
- support for USB2.0 (12 ports) and IEEE-1394 (Firewire, 2 ports);
- rich package bundle (includes AI Remote, an additional fan);
- passive/active system for cooling the chipset and the power supply module;
- a wide selection of ASUS' proprietary technologies (PC Probe II, EZ Flash 2, CrashFree BIOS 3, MyLogo2, Q-Fan 2, etc.);
- additional set of AI Proactive technologies (AI Overclock, OC Profile, AI Net 2, etc.).
Cons:
The board's specific features:
- good results of CPU and memory overclocking.
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Pros:
- high stability and good performance level;
- four PCI Express x16 slots;
- support for SerialATA II/RAID ( 8 lines; ICH9R + Sil 5723);
- support for one P-ATA line (Marvell 88SE6111);
- Integrated 8-channel audio and two LAN (Gigabit Ethernet) controllers;
- support for USB2.0 (12 ports) and IEEE-1394 (Firewire; 2 ports);
- a wide selection of MSI's proprietary utilities (POST diagnostics, D.O.T., BIOS profiles, etc.);
- passive system for cooling the chipset and the power supply module.
Cons:
The board's specific features:
- middling results of CPU and memory overclocking.
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