ASUS P5Q3 Deluxe: An Early Preview of P45 Express Performance
by Kris Boughton on May 13, 2008 2:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
ASUS P5Q3 Deluxe (WiFi-AP@n) Specifications
| ASUS P5Q3 Deluxe / WiFi-AP@n | |
| Market Segment | Mainstream Performance - $229.00 (MSRP) |
| CPU Interface | Socket T (LGA775) |
| CPU Support | Any LGA775-based CPU, Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Extreme, or Core 2 Quad recommended, including next-generation 45nm CPU support |
| Chipset | Intel P45 Northbridge (MCH) with Fast Memory Access Technology and Intel ICH10R Southbridge |
| CPU Clock Multiplier | 6x ~ 11x, downward adjustable for Core 2, upward to 31x for Core 2 Extreme, including half-multiplier support for 45nm processors |
| Front Side Bus Speeds | Auto, 200 ~ 800 in 1MHz increments |
| System Bus Speeds | 1600 / 1333 / 1066 / 800 MHz and 2000 / 1800 MHz (OC) |
| DDR3 Memory Ratios | 1:1, 6:5, 5:4, 4:3, 3:2, 8:5, 5:3, and 2:1 (dependent upon strap selection) |
| FSB Strap | Auto, 200, 266, 333 and 400 |
| PCIe Speeds | Auto, 100MHz ~ 180MHz |
| PCI Speeds | Locked at 33.33MHz |
| DRAM Voltage | Auto, 1.50V ~ 2.78V in 0.02V increments, 1.50V (DDR3) standard |
| DRAM CLK/CMD Skew CA/CB | Auto, Manual (Advance/Delay 50ps ~ 350ps in 50ps increments) |
| DRAM Timing Control | Auto, Manual - 20 DRAM Timing Options (tCL, tRCD, tRP, tRAS, tRFC and 15 other sub-timings) |
| DRAM Static Read Control | Auto, Enabled, Disabled |
| DRAM Dynamic Write Control | Auto, Enabled, Disabled |
| Ai Clock Twister | Auto, Ligher, Light, Moderate, Strong, Stronger |
| Ai Transaction Booster | Auto, Manual |
| Common Performance Level | 1 ~ 31 (settings above 14 prevent POST) |
| CH A/B Phase Pull-In | Based on Memory Divider, All Phases Adjustable (Enabled/Disabled) |
| CPU Voltage | Auto, 1.10000 to 1.70000 in 0.00625V increments then to 2.1V w/OV jumper |
| CPU PLL Voltage | Auto, 1.50 ~ 2.78v in 0.02V increments, 1.50V standard |
| FSB Termination Voltage (VTT) | Auto, 1.20V to 1.50V in 0.02V increments, 1.20V (65nm CPU) or 1.10v (45nm CPU) standard |
| NorthBridge (NB) Voltage | Auto, 1.25V ~ 1.91V in 0.02V increments then to 2.21V w/OV jumper, 1.25v standard |
| SouthBridge (SB) Voltage | Auto, 1.05V ~ 1.20V in 0.15V increments, 1.05V standard |
| Clock Over-Charging Voltage | Auto, 0.70V ~ 1.00V in 0.10V increments, 0.80V standard |
| Load-Line Calibration | Auto, Normal, Performance |
| CPU GTL Voltage Reference | Auto, 0.370x ~ 0.760x in 0.005x increments, 0.630x standard (both dies) |
| NB GTL Voltage Reference | Auto, 0.61x ~ 0.67x in 0.06x increments, standard 0.67x |
| Memory Slots | Four 240-pin DDR3 DIMM Slots Dual-Channel Memory Architecture Regular Unbuffered, non-ECC DDR3 Memory to 8GB Total |
| Expansion Slots | 2 - PCIe 2.0 x16 (blue), Supports ATI CrossFire Technology @ 2x8 1 - PCIe (1.x) x16 (black) @ x4 or x1 mode only 2 - PCIe (1.x) x1 2 - PCI Slot 2.2 |
| Onboard SATA RAID | 6x SATA 3.0Gbps Ports - ICH10R (Intel Matrix RAID 0, 1, 5 and 10) |
| Onboard IDE/Additional SATA | Jmicron JMB363 PATA Controller (up to 2 UDMA 133/100/66 devices) 1x External eSATA ports - RAID 0, 1 and JBOD |
| Onboard USB 2.0/IEEE-1394 | 10 USB 2.0 Ports - (6) I/O Panel - (4) via Headers 2x Agere/LSI L-FW3227-100 IEEE-1394a Ports - (1) I/O Panel, (1) via Header |
| Onboard LAN (with Teaming) | 1x Marvell 88E8056 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet controller 1x Marvel 88E8001 PCI Gigabit Ethernal controller |
| Wireless LAN (optional) | ASUS WiFi-AP@n (USB-based), 300Mbps Draft Wireless-N (Wireless-G/Wireless-B compatable), Software Access Point mode |
| Onboard Audio | ADI AD2000BX 8-channel HD Audio CODEC |
| Power Connectors | ATX 24-pin, 8-pin EATX 12V |
| I/O Panel | 1 x PS/2 Keyboard/Mouse 2 x SPDIF - (1) Optical Out, (1) Coaxial Out 1 x External eSATA 2 x IEEE-1394a - (1) back panel, (1) header 2 x RJ-45 (LAN) 6 x USB 2.0/1.1 8 channel Audio I/O 2 x WiFi-Ap@n antenna jacks (optional) |
| Fan Headers | 6 - (1) CPU, (1) Power, (4) Chassis |
| BIOS Revision | 0129 (pre-release) |
| Board Revision | 1.03G |
The ASUS P5Q3 Deluxe is strikingly similar to the ASUS P5E3 Premium in both layout and specification. Worth noting is that the P5Q3 Deluxe will be bundled for sale with ASUS' WiFi-AP@n wireless Draft-N controller. We really like the idea of including useful features such as these onboard but would really like to see ASUS ditch the USB-connect interface for something a little more modern, like a PCI Express x1 link.
An Analog Devices AD2000BX 8-channel HD CODEC provides onboard audio. Although we do not have much information about this new controller as of yet we can tell you that our initial listening impressions leave us feeling that It's a notch above the ADI1988B Audio CODEC that ASUS has been extensively utilizing for the past two years.
The crowd of readers that constantly complain about the lack of Firewire-800 support will have no reason to change their tune - up to two 1394a ports, one on the back panel and one via an optional header, are provide by a single Agere/LSI L-FW3227-100 IEEE 1394a Firewire-400 controller. When asked why no current motherboard supported the newer Firewire-800 standard, ASUS representatives commented that the cost of the controller was excessive when first introduced but admitted that the price should have substantially dropped over the years and resolved to see what could be done for future boards.
The P5Q3 also includes the latest and greatest Express Gate module, which allows quick pre-boot access to digital content stored on a USB drive or other attached media, near instant access to the internet and communications programs like Skype, and the ability to play simple games regardless of the OS installed (including the lack of any main system drive). This environment is built using a highly-optimized, low footprint Linux kernel and is upgradable - meaning as new features are released they can be added to the system at no additional cost.
The back panel contains a pretty standard array of connection I/O ports. There is a PS/2 port capable of supporting either a single keyboard or mouse, two SPDIF audio ports (one digital Coax, one optical), analog speakers outputs including line-in, six USB 2.0 ports, two RJ-45 1Gbps Ethernet ports, one eSATA port, and a single 1394a (Firewire-400) port.
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cuti7399 - Thursday, August 14, 2008 - link
is this true?957004 - Thursday, May 22, 2008 - link
so it mean i will no need to buy ASUS x48 MB?Narg - Monday, May 19, 2008 - link
$250 is way too much, especially for a low end chipset board. I just bought a board for $60 that does 100% of what I need for a new Vista-64 machine with Crossfire. The MB pricing has been going through the roof lately.kjboughton - Saturday, May 24, 2008 - link
We've just received an MSRP update direct from ASUS, expect to see this board selling for about $229 with the P5Q (DDR2) variant available for about $209.Nihility - Thursday, May 15, 2008 - link
the instant on technology Asus put on this thing?Some stripped down linux distro as I understand it
Egglick - Wednesday, May 14, 2008 - link
After looking things over with the P35 added to the mix, I'm going to be completely honest here -- the P45 at any substantial premium is a load of crap.By my calculations, the performance difference between a P35 and P45 is 2-3% at most, and the majority of the time you're only talking about tenths of a percent.
When you consider that P35 boards are selling for as low as $75 now (with several from Asus going for under $100), you'd have to be nuts to pay $225+ for a difference which is hardly even worth mentioning.
Sure, you can save anywhere from 7-19 watts with the P45 (depending on the application), but you can save twice that by replacing one of your light bulbs with a compact florescent. Spend your money elsewhere.
hpram99 - Wednesday, May 14, 2008 - link
"two RJ-45 1000GBps Ethernet ports"Oh my god! I must go out and buy a hundred of these, make a super switch out of them! That's incredible, are they going to do away with SATA now that Asus made Ethernet run 300x faster?
lopri - Wednesday, May 14, 2008 - link
Well, actually I wish ASUS (and other board makers) made their board with ONE Intel Gigabit PHY, instead of two or four Marvell PHY. Heck, get rid of that EPU BS while you're at it.hooflung - Wednesday, May 14, 2008 - link
I want to get excited. I really do. But as an owner of a Gigabyte P965 DS3 I just can't get aroused. My e4300 still is clocking strong at 3.0ghz. There isn't enough speed to justify going .45nm just to hit 3.8 - 4.0ghz and also having to go to DDR3. Even if they release a DDR2 board its likely is it going to be worth buying a new board or just installing a 'beta' bios on my current setup if I did want to get a .45nm chip.Just seems Intel wants to go out with a bang and also have more unload options for their C2Ds when they switch platforms within the next year.
If I was buying new, I'd be really tempted but good ol' faithful P965 is running 1 year strong on a mild OC 'according to today's standards of OCing.'
Stele - Wednesday, May 14, 2008 - link
[quote]The P5Q3 may report the use of a 16-phase PWM but we know better. [/quote]Do we, really?
[quote]Although ASUS design engineers have added a lot of extra chokes and MOSFETS, the overall capacity of the power delivery circuit remains comparable to their competitors' more modest 8-phase designs.[/quote]
From the review we don't know what components Asus used in its PWM design (MOSFETs, drivers etc) - heck, we don't even know what PWM controller they have there. It could be the same ADP3198 4-phase controller Asus had been using for some time, or it could be a newer, improved one - especially considering that Analog transferred much of its CPU PWM controller range to ON Semiconductor late last year.
We don't have figures from Asus engineers. We also did not examine the circuitry's layout, overally efficiency, transient response, peak and sustained load-handling capabilities ... nothing of the sort, yet we're prepared to come to a positive conclusion regarding the capabilities and quality of the circuitry, and indeed compare it with others. An educated guess, based on some evidence to back it up, would've probably been more appropriate. IMHO it's not exactly fair (or professional) to jump to such a conclusion with merely an assertion without any substantiation to support it. That's expected from readers who can only look at the product and play the armchair general, but not from reviewers who actually have the product and can (and should) do what they can to properly assess it for the benefit of said readers.
As for the rest of the review, it was certainly interesting; however correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems that ICH10/R is supposed to bring rather more to the table than just 2 more SATA ports plus AHCI capabilities for the non-R version. For instance, apparently a 10GbE MAC is integrated as well.
However, as with the ICH9's integrated GbE MAC, many manufacturers may balk at having to use specific (particularly, i8256x) Intel PHYs in order to make use of that MAC, since it requires a PHY that supports Intel's GLCI/LCI bus. Instead, manufacturers may choose to provide the usual PCIe/PCI controllers that they've normally been using, to keep inventory and costs under control (such controllers can be used on AMD platform products, for example). Perhaps the same proprietary-PHY issues might plague implementation of ICH10's rumoured Wi-Fi capabilities as well... all in all, then, it does seem that as far as the end user of actual motherboard products is concerned, there would apparently be very little that's new with the ICH10. IMHO, Intel could've added more PCIe lanes, which would probably have been better appreciated.
Speaking of PCIe lanes, that's probably one reason Asus chose to stick with USB for the wireless module. USB does the job well enough - if it ain't broken, why fix it? PCIe x1 is overkill and ICH10 is already in dire shortage of lanes, with 1 going to network (2 for dual-NIC motherboards), 1 or 2 going to PCIe x1 slots and just 4 left to go to the third graphics card x16 slot. With the abundance of USB ports that ICH9 and 10 provide, Asus probably figured that using one for the wireless module can't hurt. And if anything it's probably to do with inventory and ease of design as well, since Asus does make wireless USB adapters - you could use the same basic circuit design and fit it with a motherboard USB connector and external antenna interface - voila, wireless for motherboards.
At least Anandtech did not help perpetuate the unconfirmed (and unlikely) rumour that ICH10 eliminates legacy ports like PS/2, parallel, serial, game/MIDI and so on - since those ports have little to do with the south bridge at all. These legacy ports connect to Super I/O chips, which on modern motherboards is also the H/W monitoring IC, and which in turn connect to the south bridge via the LPC interface. Thus the only way an ICH could completely remove support for legacy ports in current motherboard architectures would be to remove the LPC bus - which would also remove H/W monitoring as well as BIOS, unless it's part of Intel's force-forward plan to move to SPI for BIOS, a la RDRAM and PATA. That still leaves H/W monitoring high and dry though.
On another note, as others here (especially Frumious1) have commented, it would be good to compared Intel chipsets from, say, P965 through P45 to see what improvements P45 brings. Perhaps some useful metrics would be performance tests for memory (read/write/copy/latency/overclockability), CrossFire (x8,x8 on P45 vs x8,x8 using a PCIe switch IC vs 16,x4 etc), disk and USB subsystems (read/write/copy/copy across ports), power consumption. Oh and please have all the tested boards participate in all tests, so that there's a complete comparison across the board.
Admittedly, power consumption is the trickiest of them all because each generation of motherboards have different components and/or different features (e.g. one has FireWire while another doesn't, or one uses a FireWire controller from Agere while another uses one from VIA etc). Perhaps we could try disabling all such external controllers in BIOS and seeing if that makes a difference to power consumption (ie whether the option turns the controllers off or merely disconnects them) then, if turning them off does work, test the boards with all external options disabled. That, at least, minimises variables to board layout and CPU/MCH/ICH/RAM power circuitry subsystems - which would be useful metrics themselves. Just a suggestion!