ASUS P5E64 WS Evolution and MSI P45D3 Platinum
Author:
Date: 28.08.2008 |
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Performance tests
While determining the starting FSB speed, it turned out that MSI P45D3 Platinum overstated it by ~1.3 MHz, and ASUS P5E64 WS Evolution set it at some small overstatement.
In our test setup, we used the following hardware:
| Test setup |
|
| CPU |
Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 LGA775 (2.33 GHz; Conroe) |
| Cooler |
Gigabyte 3D Cooler GP Edition |
| Video card |
ASUS 8800 GT (GeForce 8800 GT; PCI Express x16) |
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Driver version: 169.25 |
| Sound card |
- |
| HDD |
Samsung HD160JJ |
| Memory |
2x1024 MB Qimonda DDR3-1333 |
| Power supply unit |
FSP 550W |
| OS |
MS Vista |
Let's first take a look at the results of synthetic benchmarks.
Now on to the gaming benchmarks.
Tests of application software
Video encoding (DivX, Xvid) was measured in seconds, i.e. the less the better.
Data compression (WinRAR) was measured in KB/sec, i.e. the more, the better.
Final Words
To start with, MSI P45D3 Platinum costs about 200$, and ASUS P5E64 WS Evolution ~360$. The price difference is a good demonstration of the class distinctions of the boards. In particular, the MSI board is aimed at an average system whose owner uses the second video card or plans to do that. On the other hand, the ASUS board is aimed at those users who are after the CrossFire technology with 3 or 4 video cores. That is the only argument in favor of X48, and if you don't need CrossFire of that level, then there is no need in X48. The thing is, the assortment of motherboards based on P45 is so vast that you can find a product with the right functionality. For example, if you need to use 4 video cards without the CrossFire, then there are P45-based motherboards with 4 PCI-E x16 slots.
The motherboards have left the following impressions. ASUS P5E64 WS Evolution is made on a regular, very high level, typical for the manufacturer. As regards MSI P45D3 Platinum, it is close at the specifications with the already reviewed MSI P45 Platinum. However, it turned out in practice that P45D3 Platinum hardly overclock the CPU and memory. On the other hand, there is dependence of overclocking results on the BIOS version. So, let's hope that all the overclocking tools are related solely to the BIOS flaws.
Conclusion
ASUS P5E64 WS Evolution
Pros:
- High stability and good performance level;
- Four PCI Express x16 slots;
- Support for SerialATA II /RAID (10 links; ICH9R + 88SE6145);
- Support for one P-ATA link (Marvell 88SE6145);
- Integrated 8-channel audio and two LAN (Gigabit Ethernet) controllers;
- Support of USB2.0 (12 ports) and IEEE-1394 (Firewire, 2 ports);
- Passive 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:
- Excellent CPU/memory overclocking results;
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MSI P45D3 Platinum
Pros:
- High stability and good performance level;
- Two PCI Express x16 slots;
- Support for SerialATA II/RAID ( 9 links; ICH10R + JMB 363 + JMB 362);
- Support for one P-ATA link (JMB363);
- Integrated 8-channel audio and Gigabit Ethernet LAN controller;
- Support of USB2.0 (12 ports) and IEEE-1394 (Firewire, 2 ports);
- Passive system for cooling the chipset and the power supply module;
- Wide selection of MSI's proprietary utilities (POST diagnostics, D.O.T., Memory-Z, BIOS profiles, etc.);
- Power-on, Reset, and Clear CMOS buttons;
Cons:
The board's specific features:
- CPU overclocking results are below the average;
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- Discuss the material in the conference
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