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- Date:
- Thursday , May 04, 2006
- Author:
- Morry Teitelman
- Editor:
- Kyle Bennett
- Google +1
ASUS P5N32-SLI Deluxe
ASUS delivers a one-two punch to the competition by releasing the P5N32-SLI Deluxe, using the Intel version of the nForce4 x16 chipset. Just how well does this stack up to its AMD counterpart?
Introduction
ASUS is a well known and well respected tier one manufacturer of computer components. The company is known for their dedication to quality and rock solid stability in their products. ASUS even caters to the enthusiast market using innovative and high performance designs to attract their battle wary crowd. ASUS’ latest Intel based nForce4 motherboard is no exception to this rule.
The P5N32-SLI Deluxe is ASUS’ premier LGA775 motherboard. The board uses the latest NVIDIA chipset, the nForce4 SLI x16 chipset. The Intel version of this chipset boasts full support for the entire line of Intel LGA775 processors, DDR2 type SDRAM modules operating in Dual Channel mode up to speeds of 667MHz officially, and dual PCI Express x16 based video cards capable of operating in full x16 SLI mode. The P5N32-SLI Deluxe is a feature complete board, only requiring the bare minimum of components for a working system: Intel LGA775 based CPU, DDR2 memory, drives, and a PSU. ASUS chose to design the following components in to the P5N32-SLI Deluxe: 2 IDE ATA-133 ports and 4 SATA II ports (RAID 0, 1, 0+1, and 5 capable) on the NVIDIA controller; 2 SATA II ports (1 internal, 1 external, RAID 0, 1, and 0+1 capable) on the Silicon Image controller; 10 USB 2.0 capable ports (4 in rear panel, and 3 onboard headers supporting 2 ports each); 2 IEEE 1394 ports (2 onboard headers supporting 1 port each); 1 NVIDIA Gigabit Ethernet port and 1 Marvell Gigabit Ethernet port in rear panel; Realtek 8-channel audio codec featuring S/PDIF optical and component output ports; and PS/2, and parallel port support in the rear panel.
Main Specifications Overview:
Detailed Mainboard Specification List:
Packaging/Case
The box design for the P5N32-SLI Deluxe follows their standard artistic design, featuring their computing lifestyle logo prominently on the box front, with the name of the board as well. The board architecture and CPU support is easily read in the lower left corner of the box front. ASUS included the following items in with the P5N32-SLI Deluxe: ATA-103 IDE and floppy ribbon cables; SATA drive and dual ended power cables; rear brackets for serial, IEEE 1394, USB 2.0, and game ports; 2 cooling fans for use with the heat pipe chipset coolers; and the standard complement of manuals, driver cds and floppy disks.
Board Layout
ASUS did a very good job with the P5N32-SLI’s layout, with no real space problems between any of the components. While the passive nature of the heat-pipe cooled chipsets may seem detrimental, especially with a water-cooling system, ASUS solved this problem by including upright blower fans that affix to the MOSFET coolers. I found these fans to be adequate during stock speed board use. The board used in testing was a revision 1.01 board. The board’s serial number is located on a sticker just below the NVIDIA controlled SATA II ports. ASUS used capacitors from Rubycon (Japan) and United Chemi-Con (USA, Japan) marked KZG.
The CPU socket, in the upper right quadrant of the board, is relatively free of surrounding components. This design allows for the use of even the bigger air and water based CPU coolers, as long as they are compatible with the LGA775 4-hole hold down design. The nForce4 Northbridge chipset is located to the left of the socket, with its heat pipe cooling mechanism attached to MOSFETs just above the CPU socket. The Southbridge heat pipe is connected to MOSFETS to the right of the CPU, and routes just under the CPU socket. The MOSFET and Northbridge heat-exchangers are held in place via push-pins. Just above the Northbridge chipset are the NB_FAN header, the onboard Silicon Image based SATA II port, and one of the onboard USB2.0 headers. The 8-pin EATX12V power connector is located to the upper right of the CPU socket. Note that power must be supplied to this connector or the system will not boot.
The 4 DDR2 DIMM slots are located just below the Northbridge chipset and the CPU socket. Notice that the Southbridge’s heat pipe is routed in between these components as well. The DIMM slots themselves are arranged in a bi-colored 2-by-2 configuration. Dual Channel memory mode is activated by placing DIMMs in like colored slots across the two sets. The 24-pin EATX power connector, floppy port, and one of the onboard IDE ports are located just below the lower DIMM slot set. The CPU_FAN header is to the right of the lower DIMM slot set.
The passively cooled Southbridge chipset is situated just under the secondary PCI-Express x16 slot. The heat-exchanger is held to the chipset using push-pins. Just below the Southbridge are the NVIDIA SATA II ports, the primary IDE port, and the SB_FAN and CHA_FAN2 headers. Notice that the IDE port is rotated 90 degrees so that the cable sits parallel to the plane of the board when engaged. The BIOS chip, BIOS reset jumper, chassis intrusion header, and game port header are located to the left of the NVIDIA SATA II ports, while the CMOS battery is to the left of the chipset. The front panel header, as well as the COM1, 2 of the USB 2.0, and the IEEE 1394 headers are located along the lower left edge of the board.
The P5N32-SLI comes standard with a total of 2 SLI capable PCI-Express x16 ports, 1 PCI-Express x4 port, 2 PCI-Express x1 ports, and 2 PCI slots. Along the outer edge of PCI slot 2 are the front panel audio header, and the CD-IN and AUX-IN connectors. Note that pins 5-6 and 9-10 on the front panel audio header must be jumpers for the rear panel sound ports to function correctly. The onboard Standby power LED is situated between the secondary PCI-Express x16 slot and the PCI 1 slot. This LED illuminates when and active power source is connected to the board. The auxiliary MOLEX style power connector is located directly in between the 2 PCI-Express x16 slots. ASUS recommends connecting a power lead to this port when using cards in SLI mode. The CHA_FAN1 header is located just above the primary PCI-Express x16 port.
The P5N32-SLI’s rear panel contains the following ports: PS/2 keyboard and mouse ports; a parallel port; 4 USB 2.0 capable ports; S/PDIF RCA and optical output ports; 1 external SATA II port; 1 Marvell GigE port; 1 NVIDIA GigE port; and 6 analogue audio ports.
AiBooster
ASUS chose to include their AiBooster Windows based overclocking utility in with the board drivers. The version of AiBooster shown is 2.01.04. The AiBooster software supports a variety of functions including real time display of system voltages, fan speeds, temperatures, CPU FSB and speed, and multiple overclocking methods to choose from. The NOS button allows you to activate the dynamic overclocking technology, which will manipulate system voltages and FSB speeds in order to push the system to the desired overclocking level when needed. The Performance Mode option allows you to pick a static overclocking level based on either percentages or a combination of memory and CPU FSBs. The Tuning menu allows for full manual control of CPU FSB and voltage.