ASUS P5E3 Premium @ [H]

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FrgMstr

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ASUS P5E3 Premium - The newest member in ASUS’ Intel lineup seems to finally deliver the performance that DDR3 has been promising. Paired up with the newly introduced Intel X48 chipset, this board packs a performance punch that few others boards can compete.

As far as DDR3 motherboards go, the ASUS P5E3 Premium is the one to have. It is a solid product that deserves a spot on your short list if you are in the market for a highly overclockable motherboard sporting the latest Intel X48 chipset.
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Don't think you can buy this yet though. :(
 
I'm sure I woulda gone for it if I thought DDR3 was worth the massive premium.

Too bad :(
 
So the X48 is virtually the same as the X38, which in turn is virtually the same as the P35. Wow good job intel, what a waste of time :rolleyes:
 
Great review. I'm waiting for these to hit the market to complete my new build.

A small typo on the first page.

"... layout is very well thought out, with no real right areas and more than adequate room ..."

Pretty sure that is supposed to be tight.
 
I wonder if ASUS is going to sell many of these, being that they're marketing an extremely overpriced board with support for extremely overpriced memory. I'm sure there's a niche market for this stuff, but we PC enthusiasts are already a niche market as it is.

Also, 500mhz FSB is good but not great, I wouldn't call those overclock results "massive." There are P965 boards that get near 550 FSB. For the insane amount of money this board costs it should be clocking higher than 500, IMO...

Also, why no mention of price / value? I'm assuming that's because a person who buys this board doesn't care whatsoever about price or value, but in any case it seems like a notable omission.
 
Zinn said:
I wonder if ASUS is going to sell many of these, being that they're marketing an extremely overpriced board with support for extremely overpriced memory. I'm sure there's a niche market for this stuff, but we PC enthusiasts are already a niche market as it is.

Also, 500mhz FSB is good but not great, I wouldn't call those overclock results "massive." There are P965 boards that get near 550 FSB. For the insane amount of money this board costs it should be clocking higher than 500, IMO...

Also, why no mention of price / value? I'm assuming that's because a person who buys this board doesn't care whatsoever about price or value, but in any case it seems like a notable omission.
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I agree with you that DDR3 is overpriced (for the moment), but without an actual price listed who knows if this board will be over priced. I read another review of this board at hothardware and they seem to think it will carry a $269 price tag in retail. That's a decent chunk of change, but it is significantly less than the Maximus Extreme or 780i boards available now.
 
No award? Given the raving review, I would have expected an [H] Gold award, or a silver at least!

Also, why does the board come with two wireless adapter antennas?
 
HotBBQ said:
I agree with you that DDR3 is overpriced (for the moment), but without an actual price listed who knows if this board will be over priced. I read another review of this board at hothardware and they seem to think it will carry a $269 price tag in retail. That's a decent chunk of change, but it is significantly less than the Maximus Extreme or 780i boards available now.
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I don't believe the $269 figure when the P5E3 Deluxe (the X38 version of this board) sells for $350. This is ASUS' flagship board we're talking about, there's no way they'll make it cheaper than their Republic of Gamers boards...

This board is mucho unneccessary. My crystal ball says that by the time DDR3 is actually worth buying, there will be much better boards for the money.
 
operation / overclocking with 4 memory modules installed ???????????

(know high performance DDR3 is not cheap but with 64 bit OS's removing the 4GB limit this is something of great interest given the past poor performance of boards with 4 sticks installed.)
 
Modred189 said:
No award? Given the raving review, I would have expected an [H] Gold award, or a silver at least!

Also, why does the board come with two wireless adapter antennas?
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Hard to give something an award when you can't buy it. Great board though if you want DDR3.
 
I really like the layout on this one and it is about time someone made a DDR3 board that can overclock worth a damn.
 
A 500 MHz FSB speed isn't very impressive when you have to slow the memory speed down to achieve it. With another year of bios tweaks and development and some better DDR3 memory, perhaps they can catch up to what last years P5B Dlx with the P965 chipset can do. If you want a stable computer then this looks like a good choice but if you want the most from the new E8x00 series of chips then get an older board and chipset that supports DDR2.
 
I'm quite impressed with the board's performance but its not enough to get me to invest in expensive DDR3.

For roughly the price of 2GB (2 x 1GB) of decent 1066Mhz DDR3 (~$200 starting point) I can get 4GB (2 x 2GB) 1066Mhz DDR2.
 
I wish you would start running test using 8GB of memory, or 4GB at least. Those of us who do Media and imageing use at least 4GB.
 
This is kind of worthless without using other Intel boards with the same proc. All this really showed was how the Phenom preformed against an Intel Extreme, no real surprises here.
 
Looks like a good board minus all the heat pipes. I for one am waiting for the Abit X48 since it lacks all the plumbing and it will be much easier to put into a Lian Li 1000 series case. Not to mention easier to add water.
 
Lancer said:
This is kind of worthless without using other Intel boards with the same proc. All this really showed was how the Phenom preformed against an Intel Extreme, no real surprises here.
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Had we shown you P35 X38 and X48 with identical specs, what do you think you would have seen?

Motherboards are not about "speed" anymore. They are about features and reliability. The benchmarks are basically run to make sure something is not wrong (like you will see on some upcoming 780i reviews) rather than to see which is best. The fact is that in day to day usage, you would be hard pressed to identify any motherboard with the same processor in it if you were to take the "Pepsi Challenge." The benchmarks are useless as performance metrics anymore. It comes down to features, stability, overclocking, and value. Motherboard performance isn't even a commodity, it is almost a freebie on the high end. A $70 mobo is likely going to be perform the same in "benchmarks" if they have a relatively close released chipset.
 
Seems like the way to go if I ever get the budget to do it. Nice article. :)

BTW, small typo: "Real Time High Definition Resolution demo" is actually a Real Time High Dynamic Range demo.

Link

Thanks for the extra set of eyes bro! - Kyle
 
In the article and on the front page you say "As far as DDR3 motherboards go, the ASUS P5E3 Premium is the one to have." But do you call a car the best supercar and the one to have when you measure it against one other supercar, a ford Coupe, Fiat 500 and a Geo Metro? There isn't an even playground there and the review does little to compare the board against it's true competition. Yes the benchmarks are not going to show much difference between similar chipsets, but how about side by side overclocking, power consumtion, board health measurement software comparisons. In the article the only basis for comparison given is the benchmarks you are quick to dismiss. Kyle, you put major emphasis on how better the HardOCP reviews are than others then don't compare motherboards like video cards. Ok if the benchmarks don't make a difference bring us the real comparisons that do.
 
Lancer said:
This is kind of worthless without using other Intel boards with the same proc. All this really showed was how the Phenom preformed against an Intel Extreme, no real surprises here.
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Absolutely. We need to se the other DDR3 boards here, as well as the x38 based ddr2 boards. We dont need to see AMD get eaten alive.


Oh, and I'm not sure, but this could be a small typo

"The P5E3 Premium’s board layout is very well thought out, with no real right areas "

I think you mean no real "tight" areas.

Nice read overall though.
 
LanPirate1 said:
Absolutely. We need to se the other DDR3 boards here, as well as the x38 based ddr2 boards. We dont need to see AMD get eaten alive.
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I disagree. We do need at least one AMD system on the chart for comparison sake. When people are searching for a new board and aren't sure what processor to go with, having that extra system in there for comparison sake is very nice.
 
These benches dont relate to real world gameplay correct?

When running a DDR2 system with the GPU settings up to 1920X1200 and AA/AF applied (or even without the AA/AF) These frames straightened out to something different?

I just see DDR2-1200 @ timings of 5-5-5-12 vs DDR3-1600 @ 7-7-7-20 or whatever a much better outcome....
 
btdvox said:
These benches dont relate to real world gameplay correct?

When running a DDR2 system with the GPU settings up to 1920X1200 and AA/AF applied (or even without the AA/AF) These frames straightened out to something different?

I just see DDR2-1200 @ timings of 5-5-5-12 vs DDR3-1600 @ 7-7-7-20 or whatever a much better outcome....
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No they do not. The tests are run at very low resolution and with low settings to isolate CPU from GPU performance as much as possible.

The differences between motherboards and processors in real-world scenarios is even more miniscule. The fact is that most games are more GPU dependent than anything.
 
i don't get it.
what's the point of benchmarking against completely different systems?
this article is about a new mobo. one would imagine comparing it to other mobos, that are already available (ie, the competition) with similar settings.
if i, as an enthusiast, want to build a new system, i need a comparison between a normal P35 with DDR2 and this new board with DDR3. the same cpu is a must!

if you want to add an AMD system for comparison's sake, it would be advised not to compare a system costing less than 20% as much... at least use a Q6600.

using a CPU benchmark like sandra's drystone and super pi, and saying "Here, the P5E3 premium decimates the competition" as if the same cpu is in all systems is incredibly misleading.
obviously, the main factor is the cpu in these test, and comparing a 1300$ cpu to a 169$ cpu and boldly claiming the mobo as the winner. tsk tsk tsk...
 
i mean, it's like a car tire review that compares grip by using a drag race. only one car is a ferrari and the other a honda.
"here, the pirelli tires decimate the competiton"

now, this has nothing to do with my feelings toward amd, my new system is a Q6600 anyway.
it's about a lame test methodology.
 
thanks for the heads up .... i did not realize that the p5e3 premium was actually being sold by online dealers .... i wonder when zzfly will get more of these small wonders back in stock ... $ 344 . 99 is about where i expected them to be priced ( actually a little better than i would have estimated ) ...... i will happily pay up for mine when zzf restocks .... we all know the p5e3 premiuim will be $ 175 in twelve months but at least i will own the bragging rights until then :)

sirreal7
sirreal7@hotmail.com
 
Lancer said:
Yes the benchmarks are not going to show much difference between similar chipsets, but how about side by side overclocking, power consumtion, board health measurement software comparisons. In the article the only basis for comparison given is the benchmarks you are quick to dismiss. Kyle, you put major emphasis on how better the HardOCP reviews are than others then don't compare motherboards like video cards. Ok if the benchmarks don't make a difference bring us the real comparisons that do.
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Sorry, we do not have the resources to give you what you are asking for. But you can easily read over our reviews to make the comparisons you are wanting. As for what really matters, read the 1st, 2nd, and conclusion pages. The rest is there simply to show the reader that we did our homework.
 
LanPirate1 said:
Absolutely. We need to se the other DDR3 boards here, as well as the x38 based ddr2 boards. We dont need to see AMD get eaten alive.


Oh, and I'm not sure, but this could be a small typo

"The P5E3 Premium’s board layout is very well thought out, with no real right areas "

I think you mean no real "tight" areas.

Nice read overall though.
Click to expand...


We are working on motherboard reviews now. The amount of testing we put into them to make sure they are up to snuff takes a long time.

As for the AMD boards, they will be left in our benchmarks as they are very valid comparisons. Keep in mind that 2/3 of our readers a year have never come to HardOCP in the previous 12 months. The majority of readers need to be aware of the differences.

And typo fixed! Thanks for the help.
 
btdvox said:
These benches dont relate to real world gameplay correct?

When running a DDR2 system with the GPU settings up to 1920X1200 and AA/AF applied (or even without the AA/AF) These frames straightened out to something different?

I just see DDR2-1200 @ timings of 5-5-5-12 vs DDR3-1600 @ 7-7-7-20 or whatever a much better outcome....
Click to expand...

The GAMING benchmarks do not. From the gaming benchmark page in the mobo review.

As always, these benchmarks in no way represent real-world gameplay. They are all run at very low resolutions to try our best to remove the video card as a bottleneck. I will not hesitate to say that anyone spouting these types of framerate measurements as a true measuring tool in today’s climate is not servicing your needs or telling you the real truth.


The gaming tests below have been put together to focus on the processor power exhibited by each system. All the tests below consist of custom time demos built with stressing the CPU in mind. So much specialized coding comes into the programming now days we suggest that looking at gaming performance by using real-world gameplay is the only sure way to know what you are going to get with a specific game. Our CPUs & Real-World Gameplay Scaling would be a great place to start.
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I would suggest there are no games available today that would show you ANY real world difference between DDR2 and DDR3 at that resolution.

There ARE some places you will seem some real world differences in other applications, but NONE of those are even worth upgrading or paying a premium if building a new system in my opinion.

I talk to the big RAM guys all the time, and I ask, how do I best show the advantages of DDR3 to my readers and the fact is that beyond synthetic benchmarks and WinRAR, there are no answers to that question.
 
rzr said:
where's the quadcore overclocking results? :confused:
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We have stayed away from them due to the fact that we find the CPU to be the limiting factor there. This is not to say we are not finding quads with good OCing, but in a mobo review we are there to find out the board's "best" performace with the tools we have, not the CPU's.
 
impaler said:
1. i don't get it.
what's the point of benchmarking against completely different systems?
this article is about a new mobo. one would imagine comparing it to other mobos, that are already available (ie, the competition) with similar settings.
if i, as an enthusiast, want to build a new system, i need a comparison between a normal P35 with DDR2 and this new board with DDR3. the same cpu is a must!

2. if you want to add an AMD system for comparison's sake, it would be advised not to compare a system costing less than 20% as much... at least use a Q6600.

3. using a CPU benchmark like sandra's drystone and super pi, and saying "Here, the P5E3 premium decimates the competition" as if the same cpu is in all systems is incredibly misleading.
obviously, the main factor is the cpu in these test, and comparing a 1300$ cpu to a 169$ cpu and boldly claiming the mobo as the winner. tsk tsk tsk...
Click to expand...

1. All those mobos are available. We do not go back and re-review legacy boards for comparison. If you have a P35 with DDR2, and are thinking about upgrading because of infrastructure performance, you would be best off keeping your money in your pocket and spending it on a new video card if you are a gaming and already have a CPU running at least 2.5GHz.

2. Thanks for the input.

3. Yep, synthetics have to be taken for what they are. Our readers like them, and we use them internally to find problems.

I do understand your issues with the way things are being done, but I am very satisfied with the format of our mobo reviews and think they answer the questions that need to be answered for someone buying a motherboard. Buying a CPU is a fully different question.
 
impaler said:
i mean, it's like a car tire review that compares grip by using a drag race. only one car is a ferrari and the other a honda.
"here, the pirelli tires decimate the competiton"

now, this has nothing to do with my feelings toward amd, my new system is a Q6600 anyway.
it's about a lame test methodology.
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Thanks for your input, all of it has been noted.
 
I'd slam you for the same reasons others have but it's redundant and frankly not needed.

That said not a bad review, however... there are pretty few x48 boards out for review, let alone on market!

What I'd like to see is a rampage extreme vs this board to see if asus top of the line really beats the rog line.
 
sd11 said:
I'd slam you for the same reasons others have but it's redundant and frankly not needed.

That said not a bad review, however... there are pretty few x48 boards out for review, let alone on market!

What I'd like to see is a rampage extreme vs this board to see if asus top of the line really beats the rog line.
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Again the X48 is just an X38 with official support for the 1600MHz bus used by the QX9770. Otherwise it isn't any different. The Rampage Extreme and Formula are just like the Maximus Extreme and Formula boards except that they use a slightly different BIOS and the X48 north bridge chip in place of the X38 north bridge chip. So X48 isn't really all that exciting because it is just X38 re-hashed. You'd think that since the X48 chips are speed binned that they'd be better overclockers. My experience however finds that to be untrue. I've seen at least one X48 board that didn't overclock as well as its' X38 counterpart did. Though if you think about it virtually every X38 board can already do 1600MHz FSB (400x4) very easily. So really I doubt Intel is really even speed binning them. I think they just have sufficient confidence that they can officially sanction 1600MHz FSB speeds on that silicon.
 
sd11 said:
I'd slam you for the same reasons others have but it's redundant and frankly not needed.
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In the last 10 years of doing this, that is the first time I think I have seen that happen.
 
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