![[H]ardOCP](/images/blank.gif){kind=small}
- Date:
- Sunday , August 20, 2006
- Author:
- Daniel Dobrowolski
- Editor:
- Kyle Bennett
- Google +1
ASUS P5B Deluxe WiFi-AP
ASUS brings us an Intel P965 chipset in the form of the P5B Deluxe WiFi-AP motherboard. It features Intel Core 2 Extreme and Core 2 Duo support as well as many other features. But how does it fare from the enthusiast’s point of view?
Introduction
ASUS ASUS has been delivering quality motherboards for two decades. ASUS motherboards are some of the most stable, reliable, and well featured available today. ASUS is diversified in the market place offering notebooks, optical drives and other products. Still ASUS has been and always will likely be known best for their innovative motherboard features and designs. Today we are looking at the ASUS P5B which is based on Intel's P965 Chipset. This board is a mainstream part and while lacking in some high performance features such as SLI/Crossfire support, it does have everything else going for it in the feature department.
The P5B Deluxe is ASUS' latest offering supporting Intel's LGA775 processors. The P5B supports Intel Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Extreme, Pentium Extreme Edition, Pentium D, Pentium 4 and Celeron D processors. According to the box and ASUS website, Intel processors coded 05A, 05B and 06B are all supported. The board supports one full speed x16 PCI-Express slot and the second PCI-Express x16 slot has been made in the same mechanical form factor, but only operates at x4 and x1 speeds. Memory speeds up to 1066MHz are supported officially, and following industry trends, the P5B Deluxe requires only a few additional components for a full system. Components needed include a socket LGA775 CPU, DDR2 memory, a PCI-Express x16 video card, drives and a 24 pin power supply. ASUS integrated the following components into the P5B Deluxe' design; 1 EIDE ATA-133 port (on the JMB 363 controller); 1 floppy port; 6 SATA 2 ports on the P965's Southbridge; (RAID 0, 1 0+1, and RAID 5 are all supported.), 2 SATA ports are attached to the integrated JMB 363 controller; 8x USB 2.0 capable ports (4 in rear panel, and 2 onboard headers supporting 2 ports each.); 2 Gigabit Ethernet ports on the rear panel; 2 IEEE1395a Firewire ports, ADI 1988B 8-Channel High Definition Audio with SPDIF out ports on the back I/O panel and of course, standard PS/2 mouse and keyboard ports.
Main Specifications Overview:
Detailed Motherboard Specifications:
Packaging
The P5B comes in a basic and seemingly standard issue ASUS box. Most all of the ASUS packages have been the same lately. The packaging has differed only by model number, features and specification listings, and sometimes color. This box follows ASUS' trend on packaging but differs only in color from the Black Packaging of the other ASUS boards I have reviewed lately. This box is a light blue instead of black. The box is light blue with an embossed AI Life Logo on the front in a slightly darker blue color. The model number is displayed across the front and the tag line "Adjust speed as you wish!" appears below the model number above the AI NOS, AI Gear and AI Nap features. The ASUS brand logo can be found at the top left of the box, and the AI Lifestyle logo can be found at the top right hand corner next to the Core 2 Ready logo. The Intel P965 chipset log and Kingston logos can be seen at the bottom left corner of the box front. Inside the front flap are the features of the board listed and at the bottom of the box front, underneath the flap there are images of what is included in the package. ASUS has included the following items in the package; 1 Ultra DMA 133/100/66 cable; FDD cable; 3 SATA cables; 3 SATA power cables; 3 in 1 Quick Connectors; Users manual; USB 2.0 port module; IEEE1394 port module; InterVideo Media Launcher; Drivers CD; Optional Fan for passive/water cooling; Array Microphone; ASUS WiFi-AP omni-directional antenna and of course the standard I/O shield.
Board Layout
The layout of the P5B Deluxe is almost perfect, The location of the memory sockets, the power plug connectors and the expansion slots are almost as good as you can get. Since I wouldn't feel right not having something to complain about, I have to mention that the clear CMOS jumper is poorly placed. You must remove the video card in order to use the CMOS jumper. This is a minor problem but it is worth mentioning. The capacitors are manufactured by KZG and Rubycon. Additionally version 1.03 of the board was used for testing and is pictured here.
The CPU area is clear of obstructions and the usage of extreme air cooling solutions and the largest of water blocks shouldn't pose a problem with this board. Also the memory slots are quite far from the CPU which means that the use of taller memory modules shouldn't be an issue either.
The boards 4 DDR 2 DIMM slots are located directly in front of the CPU socket. The DIMM slots are color coded yellow and black. One only needs to match colors to properly position memory modules for dual channel operation.
The Northbridge is located just to the left of the CPU socket. The Northbridge is passively cooled with a heat pipe based cooling system. The pipes connect to fins mounted on some of the voltage components just behind the CPU. I'd like to point out that I am a big fan of any passive chipset cooling solution. ASUS has chosen to stick with what works here.
The Southbridge is located in front of the secondary PCI-Express x16 (x4 electrical) slot. Like the Northbridge the Southbridge is passively cooled. It is cooled by a standard passive heat sink. At no point during the review process did this simple and passive unit seem inadequate to perform its intended function.
The ASUS P5B Deluxe has 2 PCI-Express x16 slots one of which only operates at x1 or x4 speeds. There is one additional x1 PCIe slot and 3 PCI 2.2 slots.
The P5B DELUXE includes the following ports on the rear I/O panel; 4 USB ports, 2xRJ45 ports, 6 mini-headphone connectors for audio, Optical and SPDIF out connectors, one external SATA port, one IEEE1394a port and the standard PS/2 keyboard and mouse ports.