Asus P5N32-SLI: Dual x16 - What Dreams Are Made On . . .
by Gary Key on October 27, 2005 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
Basic Features: Asus P5N32-SLI Deluxe
The Asus P5N32-SLI Deluxe is a member of the ALife product family and, as such, is a fully-featured flagship board targeted towards the PC gamer. The board ships with an extensive accessory package along with several dynamic overclocking features such as AI NOSTM (Non-delay dynamic Overclocking System), AI Overclocking (intelligent CPU frequency tuner with preset profiles), ASUS PEG Link (automatic performance tuning for single/dual graphics cards), ASUS CPU Lock Free (BIOS setting to unlock select multiplier locked CPUs), and the ASUS Ai Booster Utility Precision Tweaker software that allows control over certain system settings within Windows. The board also features the exclusive 8-Phase power design, Copper Heat Pipe technology for cooling the chipsets, Stack Cool 2 design to dissipate heat to the opposite side of the motherboard, and an external SATA II port on the back I/O panel.
The BIOS options are extensive on the P5N32-SLI Deluxe, with memory voltage to 2.4V, and an extensive range of chipset, bus, and vCore voltage adjustments. Memory ratios are handled like other nForce4 SLI Intel Edition boards in that the number of memory dividers is so numerous that you can simply enter a target memory clock and the BIOS will select the appropriate memory divider to produce a setting as near as possible to the requested value. The board fully supports manual memory timing adjustments or allows for an Auto setting that will set the memory to the SPD settings. This Auto setting will adjust the memory timing settings automatically when the system is overclocked. You have the ability to set the system clock mode to Auto (sync the fsb and memory to their rated standard), Linked (sync the fsb and memory proportionally as you increase the front side bus), or Manual (allows independent adjustment of the fsb and memory).
The new revision of the nForce4 SLI x16 Intel Edition Chipset fully supports all dual core Pentium D processors. We confirmed that the board worked properly at stock and over clocked settings with an Intel 820 processor and an 840 processor, and there were no problems with the board recognizing the two cores and four logical processors that are created with the Hyperthreading feature on the 840 EE processor.
Specification | Asus P5N32-SLI Deluxe |
CPU Interface | LGA775-based Pentium 4, Pentium XE, Celeron D, and Pentium D processors. |
Chipset | North bridge- NVIDIA nForce 4 SLI Intel Edition (Crush C19) South bridge- NVIDIA nForce 4 SLI Edition (Athlon CK804) |
Pentium D Support (Dual-Core) | Full Support |
Front Side Bus | 1066 / 800 / 533 MHz |
Front Side Bus Speeds | 533-1600 MHz (in 1 MHz increments) |
Memory Speeds | Auto- 400-1200 MHz (in 1 MHz increments) |
System Clock Mode | Optimal, Linked, Expert |
PCI Express | 100 MHz to 150 MHz in 1 MHz increments |
Dynamic Overclocking | AI NOSTM (Non-delay Overclocking System) AI Overclocking (intelligent CPU frequency tuner) ASUS PEG Link (Automatically performance tuning for single/dual graphics cards) ASUS CPU Lock Free ASUS Ai Booster Utility Precision Tweaker for Windows |
Core Voltage | Auto, 1.1V - 1.70V in 0.0125V increments |
DRAM Voltage | Auto, 1.85 - 2.4V in 0.05V to 0.10V increments |
Other Voltage | North Bridge - Auto, 1.4V, 1.5V, 1.6V South Bridge - Auto, 1.5V, 1.6V FSB - Auto, 1.215, 1.315, 1.415 |
LDT (Hyper Transport) Ratios | 200, 400, 600, 800, 1000 |
Memory Command Rate | Auto, 1T, 2T (current BIOS defaults to 2T) |
Memory Slots | Four 240-pin DDR2 Slots Dual-Channel Unbuffered Memory to 16GB |
Expansion Slots | (2) x16 PCIe Slots (1) x4 PCIe Slot (2) x1 PCIe Slots (2) PCI Slots version 2.2 |
SLI | (2) x16 Fully Supported |
Onboard SATA | (4)-Drive SATA 2 by nForce 4 |
Onboard IDE | (2) ATA 133/100/66/33 ports, (4) drive support by nForce 4 |
SATA/IDE RAID | NVIDIA® nForce4 SLI supports NVRAID - 2 x Ultra DMA 133/100/66/33 - 4 x Serial ATA 3 Gb/s - NVRAID: RAID0, 1, 0+1, 5, and JBOD Silicon Image® 3132 SATA controller supports - 1 x Internal Serial ATA 3 Gb/s hard disk - 1 x External Serial ATA hard disk (SATA On-the-Go) - RAID 0, 1 |
Onboard USB 2.0/IEEE-1394 | (9) USB 2.0 ports supported by NVIDIA nForce 4 (2) 1394 FireWire ports supported by TI 1394a |
Onboard LAN | Dual Gigabit Ethernet PCIe Gigabit LAN Support Marvell 88E1111 PHY, Marvell 88E8053 |
Onboard Audio | Realtek ALC850 8-channel CODEC Universal Audio Jack Audio Sensing and Enumeration Technology Coaxial/Optical S/PDIF out ports on back I/O |
Power Connectors | ATX 24-pin, 8-pin EATX 12V, 4-pin 12V EZ plug (required for SLI operation) |
Internal I/O Connectors | 2 x USB connectors supports additional 6 USB 2.0 ports 2 x IEEE1394a connector 1 x COM connector 1 x GAME/MIDI connector CPU Fan / 2x Chassis Fan/ Power Fan / 2x chipset fan connectors Front panel audio connector Chassis Intrusion connector CD / AUX audio in |
Other Features | Fanless Design AI NET2 network diagnosis CrashFree BIOS 2 Q-Fan2 MyLogo2 EZ Flash |
BIOS | AMI 0047 |
The Asus P5N32-SLI Deluxe is a member of the ALife product family and, as such, is a fully-featured flagship board targeted towards the PC gamer. The board ships with an extensive accessory package along with several dynamic overclocking features such as AI NOSTM (Non-delay dynamic Overclocking System), AI Overclocking (intelligent CPU frequency tuner with preset profiles), ASUS PEG Link (automatic performance tuning for single/dual graphics cards), ASUS CPU Lock Free (BIOS setting to unlock select multiplier locked CPUs), and the ASUS Ai Booster Utility Precision Tweaker software that allows control over certain system settings within Windows. The board also features the exclusive 8-Phase power design, Copper Heat Pipe technology for cooling the chipsets, Stack Cool 2 design to dissipate heat to the opposite side of the motherboard, and an external SATA II port on the back I/O panel.
The BIOS options are extensive on the P5N32-SLI Deluxe, with memory voltage to 2.4V, and an extensive range of chipset, bus, and vCore voltage adjustments. Memory ratios are handled like other nForce4 SLI Intel Edition boards in that the number of memory dividers is so numerous that you can simply enter a target memory clock and the BIOS will select the appropriate memory divider to produce a setting as near as possible to the requested value. The board fully supports manual memory timing adjustments or allows for an Auto setting that will set the memory to the SPD settings. This Auto setting will adjust the memory timing settings automatically when the system is overclocked. You have the ability to set the system clock mode to Auto (sync the fsb and memory to their rated standard), Linked (sync the fsb and memory proportionally as you increase the front side bus), or Manual (allows independent adjustment of the fsb and memory).
The new revision of the nForce4 SLI x16 Intel Edition Chipset fully supports all dual core Pentium D processors. We confirmed that the board worked properly at stock and over clocked settings with an Intel 820 processor and an 840 processor, and there were no problems with the board recognizing the two cores and four logical processors that are created with the Hyperthreading feature on the 840 EE processor.
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Gary Key - Sunday, October 30, 2005 - link
Asus will be clarifying the supported range of CPUs with the Lock Free setting. I noticed a difference this weekend on the retail board and bios with a CPU stepping range I thought was fully supported. I know the EE series all work properly, the balance I am not sure of at this time.
Gary Key - Thursday, October 27, 2005 - link
It will allow you to go down to 14x only in my testing. I did not have an issue with the dual core cpus down to 14x or raising the 820D to 16x. However, I have a single core cpu coming and will verify the settings with it. Please email me so I can repsond to you directly.Spacecomber - Thursday, October 27, 2005 - link
I think a more to the point intro would have been to ask whether a $250 motherboard can make up for the shortcomings in the current line of Intel desktop processors and make them more attractive to the computer enthusiast.Then again, maybe people who are sticking with their Prescotts really are dreamers.
Gary Key - Thursday, October 27, 2005 - link
Good point and one that Intel finally understands but we will have to wait until next summer to see the results. :) However, this board does make up for some of the current Intel CPU shortcomings and is truly an enthusiast board for Intel customers.tuteja1986 - Thursday, October 27, 2005 - link
Asus were leader once and i think are going to take the leader crown again: )They have been getting good success with:
Dual GPU 7800GTX
Now This motherboard
Also they are working on 7300 go
Good work and keep it up
Bozo Galora - Thursday, October 27, 2005 - link
reads like an ad for asuswho the hell would use a current Intel cpu?
not the 80% of the people who come to AT
I'll take the upcoming (delayed again) DFI NF4 Expert mobo, thank you
Gary Key - Thursday, October 27, 2005 - link
If it means anything, I purchased a pair of these boards after I completed the initial testing to replace a couple of systems in our household. I am that confident in the board and its ability.
About 80%+ of the buying public currently although the numbers are greatly skewed in their favor by large OEM and Retail sales. Actually, the newer Intel products are decent performers at a good price point. However, I completly agree that AMD owns the performance market and should receive wider credit for their efforts over the past couple of years.
Agreed, but sometimes it is good to visit the other side of the fence. A few short years ago your statements would have held true for people with AMD systems. ;-)
An excellent choice but while you are waiting you could purchase this board now. :-)
karioskasra - Thursday, October 27, 2005 - link
Dreams are made on an Intel platform? Did I miss something here...Gary Key - Thursday, October 27, 2005 - link
If you have an Intel CPU, then no, you did not miss anything. ;->I fully understand the performance and cost advantages the current AMD64 platform has over Intel. However, this should not dismiss the fact that the NVIDIA nForce4 SLI platform along with the implementation of it by Asus is an excellent solution regardless of CPU choice.
I personally own several AMD64 platforms but in reality you would be hard pressed at this time to tell the difference in performance between the two without benchmarks. I realize there will be a small population that can but overall an current Intel based system is fine for gaming and applications.
ksherman - Thursday, October 27, 2005 - link
I REALLY like the fan less northbridge cooling setup... Wish my DFI had one like it. Esp. since my Zalman 7700 will keep those heasinks nice and cool...