Asus P5E3 Premium WiFi-AP @n (Update)
Source: Tom's Hardware – Keywords: x48, motherboard
Asus P5E3 Premium WiFi-AP @n (Update)
We already reviewed the P5E3 Premium WiFi-AP @n edition motherboard in our original X48 Motherboard Comparison, or at least we thought we had. Asus later revealed a completely new circuit board, trickily given the same “revision number.” Because the review samples were not the same as the retail units, we secured the later version for a retest.
What is most noticeably different about the P5E3 Premium WiFi-AP @n Edition retail samples is a missing PCI-Express x1 slot in the top position. Some of the capacitors have also been moved around, and we have no idea what changes might be beneath the surface.
| Northbridge | Intel X48 Express MCH |
| Southbridge | Intel ICH9R |
| Voltage Regulator | Eight Phases |
| BIOS | 0401 (04/03/2008) |
| 333.3 MHz (FSB1333) | 334.0 MHz (+0.2%) |
| Clock Generator | ICS 9LPRS918HKL |
| Connectors and Interfaces | |
| Onboard | 3x PCIe x16 (Modes: Two x16: One x4/x1) |
| 1x PCIe x1 | |
| 2x PCI | |
| 2x USB 2.0 (2 ports per connector) | |
| 1x IEEE-1394 FireWire | |
| 1x Serial Port header | |
| 1x Floppy | |
| 1x Ultra ATA (2 drives) | |
| 6x Serial ATA 3.0Gb/s | |
| 1x Front Panel Audio | |
| 1x CD-Audio In | |
| 1x S/P-DIF Out | |
| 1x Fan 4 pins (CPU) | |
| 5x Fan 3 pins (Chassis/Power) | |
| IO panel | 1x PS2 (keyboard ) |
| 2x RJ-45 Network | |
| 6x USB 2.0 | |
| 2x External SATA | |
| 1x IEEE-1394 FireWire | |
| 2x Digital Audio Out (S/P-DIF optical + coaxial) | |
| 6x Analog Audio (7.1 Channel + Mic-In + Line-In) | |
| 2x WiFi Antenna Connectors | |
| Mass Storage Controllers | |
| Intel ICH9R | 6x SATA 3.0Gb/s (RAID 0,1,5,10) |
| JMicron JMB363 PCI-E | 1x Ultra ATA-133 (2-drives) |
| 2x External SATA 3.0Gb/s (RAID 0, 1 JBOD) | |
| Network | |
| Marvell 88E8056-NNC1 PCI-E | Gigabit LAN Connection |
| Realtek RTL8110SC PCI | Gigabit LAN Connection |
| Ralink RT2770F USB | 802.11n/g/b Wireless Network Interface |
| Audio | |
| ADI 1988B HD Audio Codec | 7.1 + 2 channel Multi-Streaming Output |
| FireWire | |
| Agere L-FW3227-100 PCI | 2x IEEE-1394a (400 Mb/s) |
We’re only focusing the P5E3 Premium WiFi-AP coverage on changes, but we did find one in BIOS: Asus has added separate GTL Reference voltage adjustments for each CPU core.
Readers not yet familiar with the P5E3 Premium WiFi-AP can look back to our previous review for details on the things that haven’t changed in the retail circuit board revision.
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Where is the Cost/Performance ratio.
I think ASrock have done well to put forward a competitive offering and I reckon they will be notably cheaper. I think they bring the enthusiam to the masses.
I personally would go for the Gigabyte or DFI board, because their builds are quality and could conceivably last for years.