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ASUS P5K3 Premium and Deluxe

Author: Date: 27.08.2007

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:

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.

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	Content:
	Page 1 - Specifications, package bundle Page 2 - Layout and Features; Expansion options Page 3 - BIOS, monitoring, overclocking tools Page 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