ASUS P5K3 Premium and Deluxe

ASUS P5K3 Premium Chipset Intel P35 CPU LGA775 Pentium 4 FSB 1066/800/533 MHz Celeron Prescott FSB 533 MHz Dual-Core Pentium4 Yorkfield, Wolfdale FSB 1333/1066/800 MHz Quad-Core Kentsfield, Dual-Core Conroe/Allendale HyperThreading Memory Integrated 2 GB DDR3-1333 HDD 1x UltraDMA/133 8x SerialATA(2xRAID) Additional 2 IEEE-1394a Audio Intel HDA 10 USB 2.0 2x Gigabit Ethernet WiFi-g Price: n/a

ASUS P5K3 Deluxe Chipset Intel P35 CPU LGA775 Pentium 4 FSB 1066/800/533 MHz Celeron Prescott FSB 533 MHz Dual-Core Pentium4 Yorkfield, Wolfdale FSB 1333/1066/800 MHz Quad-Core Kentsfield, Dual-Core Conroe/Allendale HyperThreading Memory DDR3 800/1066/1333 HDD 1x UltraDMA/133 8x SerialATA(2xRAID) Additional 2 IEEE-1394a Audio Intel HDA 10 USB 2.0 2x Gigabit Ethernet WiFi-g Price: n/a

As is known, the new Intel P35 chipset supports the already customary DDR2 as well as the absolutely new DDR3 memory. The new memory is emerging onto the market the same way as DDR2 in its time. The rare kits cost an enormous amount. At the same time, the new memory offers higher latency timings (delays), which is made up for by the higher operating frequency. In the end, the DDR3 system operating speed is approximately equal to that of the DDR2 system.

It is easy to foresee the further progress of DDR3: gradual increase in the production volumes results in the reduction of retail prices, with the optimization of technology processes improving the specifications (drop in the latency timings and rise in frequencies). In the end, in the forthcoming one or two years the DDR3 memory will be more attractive than DDR2 (which we have seen on the example of migration from DDR1 to DDR2). But currently DDR3 modules are interesting solely to PC enthusiasts. Even those users who are ready to fork out for >500 USD per kit of two 1GB modules come up against the shortage in supplies (the same used to be with DDR2). Like a few years ago, to solve this problem some manufacturers release 'motherboard + memory modules' kits. ASUS followed suit, but in a somehow own way: it released P5K3 Premium with the memory modules deadly welded on board. It that good or not? If that model were the only one to support DDR3 in ASUS' assortment, such an approach would have been definitely faulty: the user can't raise the memory capacity, and once it fails, you would have to completely dismantle the PC and carry the whole motherboard over to the service center. However, ASUS is offering the same motherboard (P5K3 Deluxe) but without memory modules, with customary DIMM slots (4). In the end, the customer has the choice: buy a motherboard with memory or without it. If the choice falls on P5K3 Premium (i.e. with memory), this case gives positive sides as well. First, ASUS guarantees 100% compatibility of memory to the motherboard. Moreover, BIOS optimization for the same type of modules delivers a substantial saving of engineering resources and allows attaining better results. Which in fact proved that way: ASUS declares a high overclocking capability of these modules (up to DDR3-1600; the nominal DDR3 frequency is 1333 MHz). Secondly, the user gets a problem less because you don't have to match the modules. And thirdly, welded modules use a proprietary cooling system which looks quite impressive and is integrated into the system for cooling the chipset and the power supply module.

Now if we leave the issue with memory, then the new motherboards P5K3 Premium and P5K3 Deluxe won't surprise the reader in the least. They are based on the same PCB design as the line of motherboards for DDR3 memory, namely: P5K Premium, P5K Deluxe and P5K-E, which we recently reviewed.

Specifications

Retail boxes

Contents:

Motherboard; User's Guide + Quick Setup Manual in English; User's guide on ASUS WiFi Solo; 1x software, drivers & third-party software DVD; 1x additional software CD; One ATA-133 cable, one FDD cable; 6x SerialATA cables + a power supply adapter (2 connectors); A bracket for 2 additional USB 2.0 and one Firewire ports; Wi-Fi aerial; 1x ASUS corporate logo sticker; Kit of additional connectors; 1x cap for the rear panel of the housing; Two additional fans;

Motherboard; User's Manual in English; User's guide on ASUS WiFi Solo; 1x software & drivers DVD; One ATA-133 cable, one FDD cable; 6x SerialATA cables + a power supply adapter (2 connectors); A bracket for 2 additional USB 2.0 and one Firewire ports; Wi-Fi aerial; 1x ASUS corporate logo sticker; Kit of additional connectors; 1x cap for the rear panel of the housing; Additional fan;

Both the products fall within the high-end category, and their package bundles are impressive enough. Anyway, we have to note the shortage of some power adapters to SerialATA devices.

We also note the minimum difference in the package bundles of the motherboards: the Premium model offers an extra CD with varied software (Norton Internet Security 2007, DVDCopy5 Trial, and Corel Snapfire Plus SE 1.2). The software kit partly coincides with that written on the DVD with Norton Internet Security 2006 suite, InterVideo WinDVD 8 Trial, DVDCopy5, MediaOne Gallery, Ulead PhotoImpact, CyberLink PowerBackup 2, and Corel Snapfire Plus SE.

Also, the package bundle of the Premium model offers one fan more.

Both the boards offer special connectors (Quick Connection Kit) to which all the cables from the housing can be plugged in (the "Power", "Reset" buttons, a cable from the "HDD" indicator, etc.), and then plug them in to the board with a single motion.

We should note that P5K3 Premium is the heaviest motherboards we have ever held in hands. That is understandable: along with the massive radiators on the chipset and the power supply module, there have been added two memory modules equipped with own massive radiators. And of course all the radiators are interlinked with heat pipes - as many as six! On the reverse side as well, there is a couple of radiators.

Against the Premium, the Deluxe version does not look as impressive, nor we can call its cooling system weak or middling: the main radiators are large enough and interlinked with two heat pipes.

When assembling systems based on the Deluxe board, the only issue is blocking the DIMM slot latches by a PCI Express video card. For known reasons, there is no such issue in the Premium version.

No other problems will come up for the assembly operator. The power connectors are installed over the edges of the board: 24-pin - on the bottom edge, with a 8-pin on the right-hand. We note that the boards have retained a backward compatibility to the "old" PSUs, e.g. with 20+4 cables. At the same time, the unused pins of the additional connector are closed with a plastic lid:

Near the CPU socket, there is a 4-pin CPU_FAN connector for a matching cooler.

Besides that, there are four more 3-pin connectors: CHA_FAN1 - near the rear panel, with CHA_FAN2 to CHA_FAN4 on the bottom edge of the board.

On the north bridge of the Premium model, there is a radiator connected to the radiators on power supply module with two heat pipes (one per each radiator). Also, using the heat pipe the heat from the south bridge is transferred to the north bridge. Note that on both radiators on the power supply module you can install turbine fans which come as bundled items.

Cooling of the chipset on P5K3 Deluxe has been implemented better: heat from the north bridge is transferred to the radiators of the power supply module by means of two heat pipes (two per each radiator). The radiators of the power supply module also allow installing an additional fan, but unfortunately there is only one in the bundle.

Under the north bridge of the Premium model, there are two DDR3-1333 modules of 1 GB capacity each. The box cover says the modules can be overclocked to 1600 MHz, and no word is said regarding that in the printed user's manual. In fact, one of *.pdf files from asus.com states possible overclocking up to 1500 MHz.

That engineers at ASUS enabled only two DIMM slots allowed increasing the width of the radiators substantially. Moreover, one more radiator is installed on the reverse side of the motherboard:

As regards the Deluxe board, all is traditional here: four slots divided into two groups of two slots in each. The first two slots refer to the first controller channel, with the other two to the second controller.

Note that P5K3 Deluxe supports DDR2-800/1066/1333 memory, and the maximum memory capacity makes 8 GB. Once voltage is applied to the board, a large green LED in the bottom-left corner of the board lights up.

On each of the boards, there are two PCI Express x16 slots (both with latches) which are meant for video cards.

Because of the inner limitations of P35 chipset, merely 2 or 4 PCI Express bus lanes are allocated to the second PCI Express x16 slot. Apart from the listed slots, the boards use three "regular" PCI slots as well as two PCI Express x1 slots on each.

Both the motherboards use the ICH9R south bridge with a radiator. Therefore, the boards support 6 SerialATA II ports, which allows merging disks into RAID arrays of levels 0,1,5, and 10.

Besides, two extra SerialATA II devices can be plugged in to the JMB363 controller by JMicron (the chip is in the upper left corner of the board).

Interestingly, the PCB of the Premium board is made in China, whereas that of the Deluxe version - in Taiwan

Both the ports are brought to the rear panel of the board. The same controller provides support for one ParallelATA channel. Therefore, as many as 10 hard disks (8 SATA + 2 PATA) altogether can be plugged in to the motherboards.

Then, the boards use only 10 USB 2.0 ports (of 12 supported by ICH9R). Six ports of them are on the rear panel, with 4 more plugged in with plates (the board comes bundled with 1 plate for 2 ports). The reduction in the number of USB ports is related to the installation of a Wi-Fi module.

Besides, the motherboards support the IEEE1394 ("Firewire"). For that, there is an additional FX3227-100 controller made by Agere.

Therefore, the boards offer support for 2 Firewire ports each: one mounted on the rear panel, with the other one connected with a plate (available in the package bundle).

Then, both the motherboards offer 8-channel integrated Intel High Definition Audio, with AD1988B chip used as the codec. However, the Premium board supports the AI Audio2, whereas the Deluxe doesn't.

A few words on the network support: both the boards use two high-speed LAN controllers: RTL8110SC (Gigabit Ethernet) connected to the PCI bus,

and Marvell 88E8056 (Gigabit Ethernet) connected to the PCI Express (x1) bus.

The rear panel of the motherboards is of quite nonstandard configuration, albeit familiar through the previous reviews:

As we can see, engineers at ASUS have completely given up support for the LPT port and COM ports (one COM port is implemented with a plate but it is missing in the bundle). Missing is also a PS/2 connector to plug in a mouse. On the other hand, USB 2.0 ports are in abundance; there are two SerialATA II and one Firewire, as well as an optical and coaxial SP-DIF output.

The boards have the only CLRTC jumper - to clear the CMOS settings (near the battery).

Now on to the BIOS settings.

The BIOS of both the motherboards is based on the AMI BIOS version and has almost identical settings (although that may change in future versions).

In the overclocking section, part of the settings are in charge of tuning the memory latency timings:

The next important parameter that affects the performance is setting the memory operating frequency.

The choice of available frequencies is in direct dependence of the selected Strap:

There is one more parameter that affects the memory subsystem performance - "Command Rate":

In fact, the current BIOS versions impose certain limitations upon its use. In particular, in the synchronous mode the overclocked system does not run stably (in other words, the overclocking capability degrades). The same holds true for the P5K3 Deluxe model as well.

There is a couple more parameters to adjust the secondary timings (sometimes referred to as sub-timings). This is the Transaction Booster

and the Static Read Control

Enabling these features results in the memory subsystem performance boost to the detriment of the overclocking capability (in some cases, to the detriment of stability - especially when the memory modules run at the breaking point).

Now look at the section to do with the system monitoring.

Both the motherboards display current temperatures of the CPU and the system, voltages, and the rotational speed of all the four fans (of five), and offer the feature (Q-Fan2) for adjusting the rotational speed of the CPU cooler depending on the CPU temperature. For the processor cooler, there is a separate kit of Q-FAN 2 settings, and for the coolers plugged in to CHA_FAN1 - CHA_FAN3 there is one kit of common settings.

Both the motherboards are able retaining all the BIOS settings in the memory and loading them on demand. The boards support two independent profiles:

To handle the BIOS, each of the motherboards offers the integrated EZFlash 2 utility:

You can also update the BIOS version with the ASUS Update utility:

The parameters can be monitored with either AI Suite (the basic set of parameters) or with PC Probe II (extended set).

Note that the boards offers support for the CrashFree BIOS 3 feature (restoring the damaged BIOS firmware using a CD or a flash disk).

Traditionally for motherboards made by ASUS, the BIOS supports display of the settings in multiple languages (Multilanguages BIOS).

The BIOS also gives access to tuning all the features of modern processors:

Overclocking and stability

Before we move on to overclocking, let's look at the power converters. The PWM of ASUS P5K3 Premium uses a 8-phase scheme in which there are eleven 561 mkF and one 271 mkF capacitors. The power supply module of ASUS P5K3 Deluxe also uses a 8-phase scheme, with the same set of capacitors. We also note that P5K3 Premium uses the 10-layer PCB design.

Part of the power components of the power supply module on both the motherboards are installed on the reverse side:

Now on to the overclocking features.

There is a couple more of undocumented parameters to adjust the CPU power. This is CPU Voltage Reference:

and CPU Voltage Damper:

We could not find out what precisely the CPU Voltage Reference does. Nevertheless, we noticed some slight drop of the CPU temperature under load. The second parameter allows avoiding the CPU voltage drops. This allows choosing the overclocking limit more precisely when raising the Vcore (since under unstable Vcore the overclocker has to set the CPU voltage with some margin). But the overclocking efficiency for Core processors drops at Vcore >= 1.45 V (with air cooling).

Another parameter CPU PLL Voltage is meant for fine-tuning the power supply of quad-core processors.

Somehow or other, but we ran all the overclocking experiments with the disabled CPU Voltage Reference, CPU Voltage Damper, Transaction Booster, and Static Read Control (let's wait for their description by ASUS). Therefore, as the practical experiments have shown, the boards in question (P5K3 Premium, P5K3 Deluxe) offer the same capability. In particular, P5K3 Premium started up at 520 MHz, whereas the Deluxe version - at 512 MHz.

A few words on the ASUS NOS (Non-Delay Overclocking System) mode in which overclocking is done on-demand. Simply put, the raise of FSB speed occurs at the time a resource-hungry application (e.g., a game) starts up. On closing the application, the system reverts to the rated frequency.

It allows overclocking the system with AI Suite which includes tools for overclocking, monitoring, AI Gear, and AI Nap:

As regards overclocking the memory on ASUS P5K3 Premium, we attained only DDR3-1400 at Vmem = 1.7 V, and the declared DDR3-1600 at Vmem=1.85 V.

Further increase in Vmem (in particular, up to 1.95 V) did not improve the overclocking capability of the memory modules. By the way, these modules were made by Qimonda:

Quite possibly, new BIOS versions and a thorough selection of timings will let somehow increase the maximum memory frequency. However, we think the frequency boost will not be significant.

Another point to note - even the memory operation at DDR3-1333 fully eliminates one of the issues during overclocking. Now the overclocker is not bounded by the memory capabilities: it guarantees overclocking in the synchronous mode up to FSB = 667 MHz! That means - even the not overclocked DDR3 offers better specifications than the most expensive and fast DDR2.

While determining the starting FSB speed, it turned out that the board overstated it by 1.3 MHz.

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

In my view, the time of motherboards with support for DDR3 has not yet come. Therefore, however good a motherboard is, the five-fold price difference between DDR2 and DDR3 is fully made up for by its attraction. For instance, technically, we had no claims regarding ASUS P5K3 Premium and Deluxe during the tests. But we recommend to buy them only once the price difference between DDR2 and DDR3 becomes affordable. In its current form, DDR3 is in demand among overclockers only, who are no longer content with the capabilities of DDR2-1200.

Now, more details on the motherboards. They are almost identical; the only difference - the Premium model uses welded-in memory modules, whereas the Deluxe model doesn't. At the remaining specifications, there are no differences in specifications. In particular, they offer two PCI Express x16 slots, 8 SerialATA II links (2 - on the rear panel),one ParallelATA link, two Gigabit network controllers, as well as a Wi-Fi module. The boards also support 2 Firewire and 10 USB 2.0 ports.

The BIOS settings of the three motherboards are 99% identical; the overclocking results are very high but almost identical.

Conclusion

• High stability and performance;
• 8-phase power scheme;
• Two PCI Express x16 slots;
• Support for SerialATA II RAID ( 8 links; ICH8R + JMB363);
• Support for one P-ATA link (JMB363);
• Integrated 8-channel audio and two LAN (Gigabit Ethernet) controllers;
• Support for USB2.0 (10 ports) and IEEE-1394 (Firewire, 2 ports);
• Support for Wi-Fi;
• 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 features (AI Overclock, N.O.S., AI Net 2, etc.);
• Passive/active system for cooling the chipset and the power supply module.

• Not found;

• Superb CPU overclocking results;
• On the rear panel, there are two SerialATA II and 6 USB 2.0 ports; no LPT and COM ports, no PS/2 for the mouse.
• Premium model: Advanced power supply module and 10-layered PCB;
• Premium model: Two DDR3-1333 modules with a cooling system.