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ASUS P5E64 WS Professional vs. MSI X48 Platinum

Author: Date: 27.02.2008

Recently, we tested MSI X38 Platinum which won its first duel against ASUS P5E3. A few months have passed since then, the prices have gone down, and by the time the global roundup review of P35- and X38-based motherboards was published the attraction of MSI X38 Platinum somehow faded. Actually, we noted its major and unique feature: it offers four PCI Express x16 slots onboard, which allows installing four matching video cards and plugging in up to eight monitors. However, as was turned out, the feature is not so unique: ASUS P5E64 WS Professional also supports four PCI Express x16 slots. In the end, we decided to compare the ASUS' board (based on the X38 chipset) versus the latest MSI X48 Platinum which, as the name suggests, is based on the Intel X48 chipset.

It is interesting to note that engineers at MSI decided not to take trouble and use the PCB design of X38 Platinum to manufacture this model. Indeed, what's the point of reworking the circuits if X48 is a slightly modified version of X38. In the end, X48 Platinum acquired support for DDR3 memory, official support for the 1600 MHz board, and four PCI Express x16 slots. The specifications of ASUS P5E64 WS Professional are absolutely the same: DDR3, 1600 QBP, and four PCI-E x16 slots, although with one exception: support for the 1600 MHz bus is unofficial.

Specifications

Retail boxes

Package bundle:

The fact that ASUS P5E64 WS Pro is aimed at professional has introduced some amendments to the package contents. In particular, there is no additional fan nor any game. On the other hand, there is a lot of SerialATA cables and power supply adapters.

There is also a bracket for Firewire and USB 2.0 ports, a bracket for a COM port, as well as a few Q-Connectors.

Then, the user gets a detailed enough manual, a brief guide, and a DVD with drivers and utilities. There is also third-party software (on the same disk): Ulead PhotoImpact 12 SE, CyberLink PowerBackup, Corel Snapfire Plus SE, InterVideo WinDVD 8 Trial, as well as Norton Internet Security.

Finally, the box has the only nonstandard item: an additional diagnostic module with a couple of 7-stage LED indicators, as well as power-on and reset buttons.

The module is plugged in to the TMP connector on the motherboard. We also note that the user's manual gives a complete notation of all the diagnostic codes.

As regards MSI X48 Platinum, there was nothing unusual found in the package box. We found only the most needed items: cables, a bracket for USB 2.0 and Firewire ports.

The board comes bundled with two Crossfire bridges to plug in AMD video cards (which are missing on the ASUS' board).

The user guide is written distinctly and clearly. All the required drivers and utilities are written on two CDs: one for XP, the other one for Vista.

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	Content:
	Стр.1 - Specifications, package bundle Стр.2 - Layout and Features; Expansion options Стр.3 - BIOS, monitoring, overclocking tools Стр.4 - Performance and conclusions Top Stories: MoBo: ECS X58B-A (Intel X58) ASUS Rampage II Extreme (Intel X58) MSI DKA790GX and ECS A780GM-A Ultra MSI P7NGM (NVIDIA GeForce 9300) Intel X58 and ASUS P6T Deluxe MSI P45 Neo2 (Intel P45) Foxconn A7GMX-K (AMD 780G) VGA Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295 – a new leader in 3D graphics! ECS HYDRA GeForce 9800GTX+. Water-cooled and SLI "all-in-one" Radeon HD 4830 CrossFire - better than Radeon HD 4870! XFX GeForce GTX 260 Black Edition in the SLI mode Leadtek WinFast PX9500 GT DDR2 – better than GeForce 9500GT DDR-3 Palit Radeon HD 4870 Sonic: exclusive, with unusual features Palit HD 4850 Sonic: almost Radeon HD 4870, priced as HD 4850 CPU & Memory: GSkill high-capacity memory modules CPU Intel Core i7-920 (Bloomfield) DDR3 memory: late 2008 CPU AMD Phenom X3 8750 (Toliman) AMD Phenom X4 9850 – a top-end CPU at affordable price CPU Intel Atom 230 (Diamondville) Chaintech Apogee GT DDR3 1600