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Asus P5K Deluxe/WiFi-AP Review
[Abstract]
IntroductionThe Intel P35 may be one of the most well 'known-unknown' chipsets to have come from the Intel stable in a while. Yes, we know that's self-contradictory, but it is still true noneth...
[Content] PCDigitalMobileGame
Conclusion
The Intel P35 chipset itself is actually a minor upgrade from the already excellent P965 in order to support upcoming processor and memory standards. However, there aren't many 'new' features to make it really stand out on its own. The ASUS P5K Deluxe is in the same situation as it is basically the natural progression of the venerable ASUS P5B Deluxe to the new chipset. If you take a look at our old ASUS P5B Deluxe review, the two boards are basically the same component wise. ASUS may be throwing out some new fangled terms this time around but even before the P35 chipset came about, motherboard manufacturers were already promoting DDR2-1066 support on the P965, so you'll forgive us if we aren't overly enthused about the whole Super Memspeed Technology claims.
The ASUS P5K Deluxe is a great motherboard for enthusiasts looking to let their DDR2 memory go out in a blaze of glory. |
Yes, the P5K Deluxe supports 'native' DDR2-1066 memory, but so does almost every other P35 motherboard out there, including the recently reviewed MSI P35 Platinum. The one good thing about ASUS' Super Memspeed Technology is that they enable a wider range of memory timings to play around with, which would be beneficial for extreme overclocking.
Performance-wise, the P5K Deluxe is just as able as the MSI P35 Platinum, matching the current top Intel platform performers like the nForce 680i SLI and the P965. However, the reason you're not seeing any real improvements is because there are currently no PCI Express 2.0 devices out to take advantage of the P35 chipset at the moment and we've yet to perform a full evaluation of DDR3.
The P35 chipset is also still on the same scale as the P965 in terms of overclocking capabilities, but if you're looking for a more stable overclocking platform, the P5K Deluxe should be among your top choices. Working with an ASUS board is always a pleasure and we believe that their BIOS and overclocking safeguards are some of the most reliable in the industry. You can almost always guarantee a proper recovery from a bad overclock with minimal hassle and full directory access in the BIOS level (floppy, HDD and USB) removes all the inconveniences related with BIOS updating. While ASUS is just as guilty of excessive marketing like every other manufacturer out there, they have the quality and reliability to back it up. Engineering quality on the P5K Deluxe is top notch, which is what we've come to expect from ASUS' high-end motherboards. Never once did the P5K Deluxe display any stability or compatibility problems throughout our review, though we did note that the chipset does get slightly warm at full loads. Nothing compared to the scalding heat from previous generation chipsets, but we can't help being more and more impressed with the MSI P35 Platinum and its ice cool Circu-Pipe cooling.
Instead of trying to outdo its competitors with increasingly lavish motherboards, ASUS stuck to a winning formula, perfecting the design with improvements developed over time such as solid capacitors and a tweaked PWM. All in all, the ASUS P5K Deluxe is an excellent motherboard worthy of the P5B legacy. At US$247 though, the ASUS P5K Deluxe will be around US$17 more expensive than the P5B Deluxe when it was launched nearly a year ago, but it still isn't one of the most expensive P35 boards that have been launched. That honor goes to the Gigabyte GA-P35-DQ6.
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