ASUS P5Q Pro motherboard review. Review and testing of the ASUS P5QL PRO motherboard Warranty on the Asus P50IJ motherboard
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Asus Motherboard Buyer's Guide
Asus P50IJ motherboard is suitable for Asus laptop model P50IJ, please check your Asus laptop model number.
You can also find your laptop model number at the top of our site to find the correct board.
Description of the Asus P50IJ motherboard
Asus P50IJ motherboard is original. All ASUS laptop motherboards due to technology are 100% tested before shipping.
How we test the Asus P50IJ motherboard
1. Checking the overall appearance of the Asus P50IJ motherboard to make sure there is no dust or any dirty on the Asus P50IJ motherboard
2. Carefully checking the rubberized insulating paper of the Asus P50IJ motherboard
3. Check ASUS motherboard to ensure there is no missing reinforcement, rust, rot and chassis elimination.
4. Finally we check the ASUS motherboard memory sit, DVD and LCD/LED screen connection, mouse, keyboard, USB performance, we will check the battery status and it takes a long time to run full 3D testing.after that we will reboot the computer twice .
Shipping information for Asus P50IJ motherboard
We ship ASUS laptop motherboards internationally, we have free shipping and expedited shipping, you can choose to check out.please visit our shipping information page for details.
Warranty on Asus P50IJ motherboard
Our Asus laptop motherboard is 100% tested and functional, please refer to our warranty policy for details.
To complement the series of reviews of motherboards that are based on the Intel P43 Express system logic set, let's talk about another solution from ASUS. Most recently, we reviewed the ASUS P5QL-E motherboard, and in this review we will test its budget option, namely the ASUS P5QL PRO. What is the difference between the two boards? Firstly, this board uses the Intel ICH10 south bridge, which does not support the ability to create RAID arrays. Secondly, there is no FireWire interface and external eSATA ports. Thirdly, the energy-saving EPU-6 engine technology has been replaced by the simpler EPU-4 engine. Let's take a closer look at what advantages and disadvantages such changes have led to on the ASUS P5QL PRO.
Specification
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Manufacturer |
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Intel X43 Express\Intel ICH10 |
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CPU socket |
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Supported processors |
Intel Core 2 Extreme / Intel Core 2 Quad / Intel Core 2 Duo / Intel Pentium Dual-Core / Intel Celeron |
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System bus, MHz |
*1600/1333/1066/800 MHz *support for 1600 MHz frequency is achieved through factory overclocking |
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Supported memory |
4x DIMM, dual-channel architecture up to **16 GB **32-bit Windows will detect no more than 3 GB of RAM. |
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Expansion slots |
1 x PCIe 2.0 x16 |
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Disk subsystem |
Intel ICH10 Southbridge supports: Marvell 88SE6102 controller supports: |
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Sound subsystem |
Realtek ALC1200 High Definition Audio 8-channel audio codec |
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LAN support |
PCIe Gigabit LAN controller. Function support: |
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Primary 24-pin EATX connector Secondary 4-pin ATX 12V connectors |
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Cooling |
Aluminum heatsinks on the chipset and southbridge |
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Fan connectors |
1 x CPU fan header |
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External I/O ports |
1 x PS/2 Keyboard |
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Internal I/O ports |
3 x USB connectors supporting 6 USB 2.0 ports |
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8 Mb Flash ROM, DMI 2.0, AMI BIOS, PnP, WfM 2.0 |
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Proprietary technologies |
Energy Saving Technologies: ASUS EZ DIY: |
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Equipment |
User guide |
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Form factor |
ATX |
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Products webpage |
The latest driver versions can be downloaded from the support site. |
Package
The motherboard is packaged in a blue cardboard box. The front side shows the logos of the most significant proprietary technologies implemented on this board, such as ASUS Express Gate and EPU-4 engine. The possibility of installing a processor with a 1600 MHz system bus is indicated. Here the manufacturer emphasizes that all the capacitors present on the board are polymer capacitors made in Japan. In the upper right corner you can see the logos of the supported processor series.
On the back side the manufacturer describes the proprietary technologies in more detail. There the buyer can see the appearance of the motherboard.
Equipment
The set of auxiliary components that comes with the ASUS P5QL PRO is quite modest, but everything you need is present. In the box you will find:
- User guide;
- Plug for the rear panel of the ASUS Q-Shield case;
- Q-Connector – front panel connection connectors;
- UltraDMA 133/100/66 cable;
- FDD cable;
- SATA data cable;
- SATA power cable;
- DVD with drivers and software.
On the included DVD, in addition to drivers, you can find the very useful ASUS AI Suite software package. It is a single control center that combines the functions of utilities such as PC Probe (system monitoring), AI Booster and AI N.O.S. (overclocking), AI Gear and AI Nap (power management) and Fan Xpert (fan control).
The interface of the utilities is as simple as possible and will not cause any difficulties for the average user.
Let's take a closer look at one of the ASUS AI Suite components designed for system overclocking - AI Booster. The utility interface is quite simple and the user can easily increase system performance, both in Performance mode (by setting the overclocking percentage) and in Advance mode (you can manually set the frequency and voltage of the memory and processor). It is also possible to save your settings profile.
Proprietary technologies
A hardware and software complex that includes the EPU chip and the EPU-4 Engine program. It is designed to monitor and regulate the power consumption of four critical system components, such as: processor, video card, hard drives, fans. The manufacturer talks about increasing the system's power efficiency to 96%. This is achieved by reducing power consumption on monitored elements during idle or reduced load conditions. A few words about the EPU-4 Engine utility.
This utility complements the capabilities of the hardware - the EPU chip, and dynamically switches the bus frequency and processor multipliers, reducing the FSB frequency below the standard one and reducing the multipliers to a minimum at times of low CPU load and slightly overclocking the processor when it increases. The frequency change intervals can be changed. The only, but quite significant, drawback of the proposed idea is that this technology will not work when overclocking the processor. Also, using this utility, you can monitor the current processor power and the amount of saved energy.
ASUS AI Nap– With AI Nap, users can instantly put their computer into power saving mode without leaving applications. During the user's absence, the system will continue to operate silently, consuming a minimum amount of energy.
ASUS AI NET 2– tests network connections without loading the OS, remotely determines the correctness of the connection when the PC is turned on
AI Direct Link– this function helps to quickly and efficiently transfer information from one computer to another using a network cable, reducing data transfer time by 70%.
ASUS Q-Connector– modules that allow you to easily connect buttons and LEDs on the front panel of the case, as well as USB and FireWire connectors.
ASUS Q-Shield– a convenient plug for the I/O connector panel that protects the motherboard from static electricity.
ASUS O.C. Profile– Allows you to save BIOS settings in CMOS or in a separate file, allowing users to share overclocking settings profiles.
ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3– This function makes it possible to restore the BIOS from a USB flash drive containing the firmware file.
ASUS EZ Flash 2- EZ Flash 2 function allows you to update the BIOS directly through the setup menu.
ASUS Express Gate– a function that implies the ability to quickly load the built-in Linux operating system with the most popular applications. For example, a user can go online, communicate via Skype and email, and exchange text messages in real time. It takes from 5 to 15 seconds to load the embedded operating system.
– This utility allows you to access the settings of the CPU cooler rotation speed control system without entering the BIOS. You can also use it to install a ready-made settings profile for the processor cooler and case fans.
Layout
ASUS P5QL PRO is soldered on a textolite form factor ATX (305 x 193 mm). The layout has several disadvantages: the IDE slot is rotated 90 degrees, which will make it difficult to connect a cable to them in cramped cases; The FDD connector is located quite far from the intended location of the Floppy drive; When installing a large video card into a PCIe x16 slot, problems may arise with access to the latches of the RAM slots.
Passive cooling is provided by two aluminum radiators (on the south and north bridges), which were hot during testing. So, potential buyers of this board should think about organizing good ventilation in the case.
The Intel ICH10 Southbridge supports 6 SATA ports, which are located below the BIOS battery. The IDE connector, controlled by the Marvell 88SE6102 controller, is located to the right of the SATA ports. In the lower right corner of the motherboard, three USB 2.0 ports are compactly located, supporting six USB connectors (another six connectors are located on the rear panel).
The motherboard in question has six different expansion slots. PCIe 2.0 x16 blue is located under the northbridge. Below it you can see five white ports: two PCIe x1 ports and three PCI ports. To the left of the expansion slots is an internal COM port. Along the bottom edge of the board are located: FDD connector; S/PDIF out port; port for connecting front panel audio connectors.
The Realtek ALC1200 High Definition Audio 8-channel audio codec is located in the lower left corner of the motherboard.
The power stabilizer is based on Japanese-made polymer capacitors. Its operation is controlled by an EPU chip. As mentioned earlier, it increases or decreases the processor's power consumption depending on its load. Also, it should be noted that the motherboard we are considering supports the VRD 11.1 power system standard. Its advantage is that when the processor load is minimal, the number of operating phases is reduced to one, which increases energy efficiency when idle.
The rear panel contains the following I/O ports:
- PS/2 port for keyboard;
- PS/2 port for mouse;
- S/PDIF output (Coaxial);
- LAN (RJ45) port;
- six USB 2.0/1.1 ports;
- six audio jacks.
The motherboard we are reviewing uses an AMI BIOS. The main parameters required for overclocking and fine-tuning the system are summarized in the table.
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Parameter |
Menu name |
Range |
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Control processor technologies |
C1E, Limit CPUID MaxVal, Intel Virtualization Technology, CPU TM, Execute Disable Bit, Intel SpeedStep |
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System bus frequency |
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PCI-e bus frequency |
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Set of FSB settings |
FSB Strap to North Bridge |
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Memory frequency |
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Timings |
CAS Latency, RAS to CAS, DRAM RAS Precharge, RAS Activate, RAS to RAS, Row Refresh, Write Recovery, Read to Precharge |
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Subtimings |
READ to WRITE, Write to Read, Read to Read, WRITE to WRITE, WRITE to PRE, PRE to PRE, ALL PRE to ACT, ALL PRE to REF |
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Memory subsystem operation settings |
DRAM Static Read Control, |
Auto, Enable, Disable. |
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CPU voltage |
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CPU GTL Reference |
0.615 – 0.66V |
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FSB bus voltage |
FSB Termination Voltage |
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RAM voltage |
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Northbridge voltage |
1.10 V – 1.76 V |
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Southbridge voltage |
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Voltage drop compensation function during load |
Load Line Calibration |
Auto, Enable, Disable. |
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Function that reduces background electromagnetic radiation |
CPU Spread Spectrum, PCIE Spread Spectrum |
Functions designed for fine-tuning and changing parameters of the memory clock frequency and system bus, manually setting timings, setting voltage on the main nodes are located in the AI Tweaker tab
To access manual setting of the system bus and PCIE bus frequencies, you must set the Ai Overclock Tuner parameter to Manual.
In the Advanced tab you can configure processor technologies.
On the Power tab, you can monitor the main indicators of the system: the temperature of the processor and motherboard, the rotation speed of all fans, the voltage on the main lines of the power supply 3.3V, 5V, 12V and on the processor.
To access the settings of ASUS proprietary functions such as: ASUS EZ Flash 2, Express Gate, AI NET 2, ASUS O.C. Profile you need to use the Tools tab.
Overclocking options
To test the overclocking potential, two processors were used: dual-core Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 and quad-core Core 2 Quad Q9450. Using the first processor, we managed to overclock the system bus frequency to 425 MHz.
When overclocked on a quad-core processor, the figures dropped slightly - 415 MHz.
The result obtained is natural for boards based on the Intel P43 Express chipset. Well, overclocking enthusiasts will have to turn their attention to more expensive models.
Testing
The following equipment was used to test the motherboard's capabilities.
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CPU |
Core 2 Duo E6300 (LGA775, 1.86 GHz, L2 2 MB) |
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Thermaltake Sonic Tower (CL-P0071) + Akasa AK-183-L2B 120 mm |
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RAM |
2x DDR2-800 1024 MB PQI PC6400 |
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Video card |
EVGA GeForce 8600GTS 256 MB DDR3 PCI-E |
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HDD |
Samsung HD080HJ, 80 GB, SATA-300 |
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Optical drive |
ASUS DRW-1814BLT SATA |
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power unit |
Chieftec CFT-500-A12S 500W, 120 mm fan |
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CODEGEN M603 MidiTower, 2x 120 mm in/out fans |
Results:
Looking at the test results, it can be noted that the ASUS P5QL PRO motherboard is not inferior in performance to its more expensive counterparts.
We also tested the capabilities of the built-in sound card. The eight-channel Realtek ALC1200 High Definition Audio codec was tested in two modes.
Overall results (RightMark Audio Analyzer)
Operating mode 32-bit, 192 kHz
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Very good |
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Noise level, dB (A) |
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Dynamic range, dB (A) |
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Harmonic distortion,% |
Very good |
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Very good |
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Very good |
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Intermodulation at 10 kHz, % |
Very good |
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Overall rating |
Very good |
Operating mode 16-bit, 44 kHz
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Frequency response unevenness (in the range 40 Hz - 15 kHz), dB |
Very good |
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Noise level, dB (A) |
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Dynamic range, dB (A) |
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Harmonic distortion,% |
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Harmonic distortion + noise, dB(A) |
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Intermodulation distortion + noise, % |
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Interpenetration of channels, dB |
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Intermodulation at 10 kHz, % |
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Overall rating |
Fine |
Conclusion
Let's summarize. The ASUS P5QL PRO motherboard will be a good basis for building entry-level multimedia systems, as well as for ordinary workstations. This board is a typical solution based on the Intel P43 Express chipset. It supports a PCIe 2.0 expansion slot and even processors with a 1600 MHz system bus. This board has a number of disadvantages, such as: low overclocking potential, lack of support for CrossFireX and RAID technology, lack of a built-in FireWire controller and eSATA ports. But all these shortcomings are somewhat smoothed out by the fairly low price of such a solution; moreover, such “extra” capabilities are not always needed by everyone. So, if you are not going to use all the technologies listed above, then ASUS P5QL PRO will be a good choice for you.
IntroductionWe deliberately decided to take some pause in testing motherboards based on the latest LGA775 Intel chipset, P45 Express. The fact is that acquaintance with the first products using this seemingly most progressive chipset at the moment did not leave the most rosy impressions. The few boards we looked at did not allow us to achieve higher performance or reach higher frequencies when overclocked. Moreover, the reviewed motherboards from ASUS, MSI and Gigabyte gave the impression of being “crude” products, with errors in the BIOS and hardware, due to which a far from positive opinion was formed about these products.
Now, I would like to hope, the situation has changed. Boards based on Intel P45 Express should be equipped with more mature firmware, which not only corrects childhood illnesses, but also realizes the full potential provided by the new chipset. Therefore, it seems like the right time to return to testing such boards.
For new tests we chose the ASUS P5Q Pro motherboard. This is far from a top-end product, but a mid-price board that supports DDR2 memory and has a pair of PCI Express x16 slots. Considering expensive LGA775 motherboards is most likely no longer relevant - enthusiasts focused on conquering the peaks of performance today are unlikely to be satisfied with a system based on LGA775 Core 2 Quad and Core 2 Duo processors. They are eagerly awaiting the arrival of new products: processors from the Core i7 family, which should be announced in the next few weeks. Today, motherboards based on Intel P45 Express should be of interest primarily to prudent buyers who prioritize not speed, but the optimal price-performance ratio. In this regard, ASUS P5Q Pro looks promising. It has quite good capabilities, but at the same time cannot be called overly “sophisticated”. And the ASUS marketing department, obviously, did not pay too much attention to the P5Q Pro, ridding it of many unnecessary “baubles” and “ruffles.”
In other words, if the ASUS P5Q Pro also performs as high-quality products bearing the ASUS logo should perform, the board can definitely count on receiving our best recommendations. This article, in fact, will be devoted to testing the P5Q Pro in practical conditions.
Specification
If you believe the official ASUS website, today this company is ready to offer 11 different boards based on the Intel P45 Express chipset. The P5Q Pro under consideration occupies a middle position in this list: on the one hand, it uses a high-quality element base, like the most expensive representatives of the series, but on the other hand, it is devoid of an overly pretentious 16-phase processor power module.The appearance of the board is quite ordinary; there is no ornate interweaving of heat pipes and huge fake radiators. Payment is like payment.
However, the list of features of this product is by no means as short as one might expect. The fact is that in the entire series of boards built on the Intel P45 Express logic set, ASUS has implemented a number of new, quite interesting technologies, which are reflected in the above list. I would like to note three of them right away, since they are the ones that are especially aggressively advertised by the manufacturer:
ASUS EPU-6 Engine – a hardware-software system for controlling the operating parameters of the processor, memory, board, video card and hard drive, aimed at reducing power consumption;
ASUS Express Gate – the ability to quickly load the freely distributed Splashtop operating system (Linux-based) pre-installed on your hard drive with several built-in Internet applications;
ASUS Drive Xpert is a Silicon Image Sil572 controller integrated on the SATA RAID board, which allows you to create RAID arrays of levels 0 and 1 without prior configuration and driver installation.
In addition, one more fact attracts attention. For the P5Q Pro, as for other boards in this series, ASUS promises compatibility with processors using a 1600 MHz bus, which are not officially supported by the Intel P45 chipset. As a result, ASUS semi-officially legalizes the possibility of overclocking on its board, guaranteeing its reliable operation in such modes.
Packaging and delivery
The box in which the ASUS P5Q Pro comes is unremarkable. It is of a standard size, without windows and folding false covers, which expensive products flaunt today. The only thing that makes the P5Q Pro packaging stand out is the glossy finish and the deep blue-violet color scheme used in the design. The box contains logos and a brief description of the technologies that the manufacturer is especially proud of, and there is also a small photo of the board itself.
Inside the box there is a package that is quite standard for a mid-price board, including a user manual, a DVD with drivers and software, a plug-in panel for the rear wall of the case (I/O Shield) and a set of cables for connecting various storage devices. In addition, ASUS did not forget to put in the box with its board Q-Connector adapters and a bracket-plug for the rear panel of the case with a 4-pin IEEE1394 port and an eSATA port brought out.
This set could be considered quite sufficient if it were not for the absence of a traditional centrifugal rotary fan installed on the board’s cooling system. After all, during overclocking, the chipset and the processor power converter can become very hot, and the ability of the standard cooling system on the ASUS P5Q Pro to effectively dissipate heat in passive mode raises serious doubts. Moreover, expensive models of P5Q series boards with an obviously better cooling system must include this fan in the delivery kit.
Features of the board
ASUS P5Q Pro is a typical board built on the Intel P45 Express chipset. It does not surprise with its design or capabilities. In full compliance with the chipset specifications, the board has 4 DDR2 DIMM slots, grouped in pairs by channels, and two PCI Express x16 2.0 slots, which operate in x8 + x8 mode when used simultaneously using Crossfire technology. In addition to this, the board can offer two traditional PCI slots and three PCI Express x1 slots.
The chipset also provides six SATA 3 Gb/s ports on the board. Two more ports are provided by the Silicon Image Sil5723 controller, a carrier of Drive Xpert technology. Support for a single PATA-133 interface is implemented through an additional Marvell 88SE6111 controller.
The chipset is also responsible for the operation of twelve USB 2.0 ports, six of which are located on the rear panel of the board. But the IEEE 1394 ports in the ICH10R south bridge used on the ASUS P5Q Pro are not supported, so the board in question has an additional two-port FireWire LSI L-FW3227 controller.
Also, external chips ensure the operation of a gigabit network port, which is controlled by the Atheros AR8121 controller, and an eight-channel integrated audio path based on the Realtek ALC1200 codec. Both of these microcircuits are quite interesting. Thus, Atheros AR8121 is the smallest PCI Express gigabit network controller, and the ALC1200 chip is manufactured by Realtek specifically for ASUS. ASUS has finally decided to replace the previously used Analog Devices audio solutions with more popular Realtek chips, but due to the exclusivity of the selected model, it is impossible to find detailed information about its characteristics. Therefore, we present our practical assessments of this chip in 16-bit, 44 kHz mode.
The lack of originality in the characteristics of the P5Q Pro also affects the contents of the rear panel of the board. There are six USB 2.0 ports, six analog audio connectors, a coaxial S/PDIF output, a gigabit network port, a six-pin IEEE1394 port and PS/2 connectors for connecting a keyboard and mouse.
Another IEEE1394 port, six USB 2.0 ports and a serial COM port are represented by internal needle connectors on the board.
There are no special frills in the implementation of power supply circuits for the processor, memory and chipset. While older boards in the P5Q series use a 16-channel processor power converter and three-channel stabilizers for memory and chipset, everything is much simpler on the P5Q Pro in question. The number of channels in the processor power circuit is limited to eight, and the memory with the north bridge uses two-channel stabilizers. However, the reduction did not affect the quality of the element base. As on expensive motherboards, the power circuits of the ASUS P5Q Pro use solid-state Japanese capacitors with a polymer electrolyte and high-frequency field-effect transistors with low drain-source resistance in the open state.
At the same time, the proprietary ASUS EPU (Energy Processing Unit) chip is not forgotten; it is not only present on the board in question, but is also capable of switching the processor power converter to dual-channel mode upon a signal from the control software. That is why the board comes with the proprietary ASUS Six Engine utility, one of the tasks of which is to transform the CPU voltage regulator into a more efficient and economical state at low loads.
However, this program copes with the task assigned to it very poorly: in particular, it cannot work on a system with an overclocked processor.
The chipset cooling system is divided into two parts. A simple low aluminum radiator is installed on the south bridge.
The northbridge uses a higher heatsink, and it is connected by a heat pipe to another aluminum heatsink located on part of the transistors of the CPU power circuit. But since they heat up extremely slightly during operation, it is quite appropriate to consider this radiator a continuation of the northbridge cooling system.
However, the sufficiency of such a solution can only be said when the board is operated in modes close to standard, without increasing the MCH supply voltage. Conducting overclocking experiments on ASUS P5Q Pro requires improving the heat dissipation from the north bridge, at least by installing an additional fan.
The lapidary style of the cooling system also has some advantages: the board will fit any processor cooler without any problems. However, it should be noted that the bottom surface of the board in the area of the processor socket contains several protruding contacts, which can be a certain obstacle when installing cooling systems that use mounting plates on the back side of the board.
Otherwise, with the exception of the noted shortcomings, the design of the ASUS P5Q Pro is quite acceptable.
The most significant flaw lies in the location of the SATA connectors, access to which is seriously complicated if a “large-caliber” video card is installed in the second PCI Express x16 slot. But, obviously, only a small part of the owners of the board in question will feel this drawback.
BIOS
Talking about what a motherboard is, we have already emphasized several times that in terms of design and characteristics it is completely ordinary and therefore belongs to the middle price category. But this does not mean at all that the ASUS P5Q Pro is not suitable for enthusiasts. The fact that equipment manufacturers deliberately try to draw the attention of this audience to the most expensive products, filling them with all sorts of and sometimes even unnecessary properties and elements, is not at all surprising. However, experienced overclockers do not buy into such marketing tricks and often choose much less expensive platforms.This happened with ASUS P5Q Pro. Although this board is not as sophisticated as, for example, the P5Q3 Deluxe, it provides a quite sufficient set of options in the BIOS Setup for overclocking experiments. Moreover, a peculiar symptom of the recognition of the P5Q Pro among enthusiasts is the availability of alternative firmware for it, which is improved by the owners of this board regardless of ASUS engineers. For example, here you can download unofficial BIOS, which expand support for new processors and improve memory stability.
It was with this BIOS version that we tested the ASUS P5Q Pro. We used the modified firmware version 1104 created by Ketxxx. Note that this firmware has no visible differences from the official one, so everything said below can be equally applied to the official BIOS of the same version 1104.
The BIOS of the ASUS P5Q Pro motherboard is based on AMI microcode and has a traditional interface. Thus, the bulk of settings that affect system performance are collected in a special section “Ai Tweaker”.
There are options here for manually setting the processor multiplier and FSB frequency, which varies from 200 to 800 MHz. Nearby there is a setting for the PCI Express bus frequency, which varies from 100 to 180 MHz. The memory frequency does not change so flexibly, since the Intel P45 Express chipset, on which the ASUS P5Q Pro is based, clocks the memory using dividers relative to the FSB frequency. The set of these dividers is the same for all the latest Intel chipsets and depends on the FSB Strap parameter, which can also be set nearby. It should be noted that the stability of the board when overclocking the bus frequency depends on the value of the FSB Strap. Obviously, to achieve the best results, it is better to set the FSB Strap to 333 or 400 MHz, and the first option, in our experience, is more preferable.
To configure memory latency, the BIOS of the board in question offers an almost exhaustive set of settings. However, among the numerous parameters in the P5Q Pro BIOS, there is still no option responsible for controlling the “Command Rate” parameter. But there is a new option “Mem. OC Charger", which, when activated, changes the board settings for the best overclocking of memory modules. However, you should not expect miracles: the slight positive effect of enabling this parameter appears only on selected memory modules, while often this function even worsens system stability.
I would like to pay special attention to the modified “Transaction Booster” option, which now allows you to manipulate the most important parameter of the north bridge “Performance Level” directly.
The options responsible for configuring voltages also did not disappoint.
The corresponding block includes the following settings:
Note that extremely high voltages on the processor and northbridge are only available after resetting the OV_CPU and OV_NB jumpers on the board.
All voltages can be set to “Auto”; in this case, the board tries to select the optimal parameters independently, based on the processor and memory frequencies. In other words, the “Auto” setting means that when the FSB or memory frequency increases above the standard values, the board itself increases the voltage at its own discretion. This is a significant help for inexperienced overclockers, but with serious overclocking, manual adjustment allows you to achieve better results, especially since the board itself tends to select high voltages.
Also among the voltage settings, we should highlight the extremely useful “Loadline Calibration” option, which allows you to automatically compensate for the effect of the voltage drop on the board from the power converter to the processor itself, which is harmful during overclocking.
But the board does not provide the ability to change the CPU reference voltage GTL Vref independently for each of the cores of quad-core processors - this is the prerogative of only the top products in the ASUS P5Q line.
Let's briefly go through the remaining BIOS Setup pages. The Advanced page allows you to change chipset settings, enable or disable integrated controllers and USB ports, and manage processor technologies.
The “Power” page traditionally contains a section dedicated to hardware monitoring.
The “Boot” page allows you to set the order of polling boot devices and configure the board’s starting options.
The “Tools” section offers the usual EZ Flash 2 utilities for ASUS motherboards for flashing the BIOS and O.C. Profile for saving configuration profiles, as well as options for managing Drive Xpert and Express Gate technologies.
Description of the test system
The test system that we used for practical testing of the motherboard in question included the following set of components:
Motherboard: ASUS P5Q Pro (BIOS 1104);
Processors:
Core 2 Extreme QX9650 (3.0 GHz, 333 MHz FSB, 2x6 MB, Yorkfield rev. C0);
Core 2 Duo E8600 (3.33 GHz, 333 MHz FSB, 6 MB, Wolfdale rev. E0);
CPU cooler: Scythe Mugen (Infinity);
Memory: 2 GB DDR2-1111 SDRAM (Corsair Twin2X2048-8888C4D);
Video card: OCZ GeForce 8800GTX;
HDD Western Digital Raptor WD1500AHFD;
power unit SilverStone SST-ST85ZF.
Tests were carried out on the Windows Vista Ultimate x86 SP1 operating system.
Overclocking experiments
First of all, we decided to check the ability of the motherboard in question to overclock processors. Previously tested products based on the Intel P45 chipset showed good results when overclocking dual-core processors, but were not particularly encouraging when it came to quad-core CPUs of the Core 2 Quad or Core 2 Extreme families. To test the corresponding capabilities of the ASUS P5Q Pro, we tried to overclock processors with different numbers of cores on it, trying to achieve maximum FSB frequencies.First of all, the board was equipped with a Core 2 Duo E8600 – a new processor using the most “overclockable” E0 stepping. The nominal frequency of this processor is 3.33 GHz, and the nominal multiplier is set to 10x. Using this multiplier and increasing the supply voltage to 1.4 V, the processor easily reached 4.4 GHz on the P5Q Pro, which only required increasing the FSB frequency to 440 MHz.
Note that all voltages, except Vcore, were set to standard values. In other words, overclocking the Core 2 Duo E8600 on this board took place with minimal effort. At the same time, the system remained completely stable, which was verified both by a test in Prime95 and an hour-long test by the OCCT Perestroika program.
Following the set goal, an attempt was made to overclock the processor in a similar way with a multiplier reduced to 8x. Naturally, in such conditions, when a much more radical increase in the FSB frequency above normal values is required, the overclocking process has some subtleties. And the main limiting factor on the board in question is the difficulty of significantly increasing the supply voltage of the northbridge of the chipset, since the simple radiator system installed on the P5Q Pro copes very poorly with effective cooling of this chip. Even after replacing the standard thermal interface with a more efficient silicon thermal paste, it was impossible to raise the voltage on the north bridge above 1.32 V, which did not allow achieving stability at FSB frequencies above 540 MHz. A greater increase in this voltage entailed a banal overheating of the MCH chip.
In other words, when we lowered the multiplier to 8x, we were not able to achieve the same results as with the stock 10x multiplier. The processor only clocked up to 4.32 GHz, which, however, is also not bad.
Note that stable operation of the CPU at a FSB frequency of 540 MHz required not only an increase in the supply voltage of the processor itself, but also an increase in other voltages. The CPU PLL Voltage parameter was additionally set to 1.56 V, and the FSB Termination Voltage was increased to 1.28 V. It should be borne in mind that the achieved bus frequency is not the limit for the ASUS P5Q Pro, it is only the limit for the standard cooling systems. Replacing it with a more efficient one can better reveal the overclocking potential of this board and ensure stable operation of the system at higher FSB frequencies.
The achieved result allowed us to test the stability of the P5Q Pro when setting aggressive parameters for the memory subsystem. Under the conditions described above, the memory was able to clock at 1080 MHz using 4-4-4-12 timings. Naturally, in this case we increased the voltage on the memory modules. In these tests it was 2.3 V.
We have been convinced more than once that boards based on the Intel P45 Express chipset are capable of very good overclocking of dual-core processors. But with overclocking quad-cores, as practice shows, the situation is somewhat worse. The ASUS P5Q Pro motherboard under review once again confirmed this thesis.
More specifically, using the quad-core Core 2 Extreme QX9650 processor, we tried to find out the maximum FSB frequency at which the P5Q Pro can provide stable operation. To do this, we reduced the multiplier of this processor to 8x, and set the CPU PLL Voltage and FSB Termination Voltage to their maximum safe values for the processor - 1.7 and 1.35 V, respectively.
With this combination of parameters, the processor was able to demonstrate stable operation only at an FSB frequency not exceeding 453 MHz.
Obviously, this is far from the limit for our processor, however, qualitatively better results could not be achieved even with a significant increase in CPU PLL Voltage and FSB Termination Voltage, which usually have a significant impact on overclocking quad-core processors. Thus, even with an increase in FSB Termination Voltage to 1.5 V, overclocking stalled at FSB frequencies only slightly exceeding 460 MHz.
In other words, ASUS P5Q Pro is far from the best platform for overclocking quad-core processors. Boards based on the Intel X48 Express chipset are much better suited for this purpose.
To what has been said, it remains to be added that during the process of overclocking experiments, we again noted problems with the incorrect behavior of the board during overclocking. Like the previously tested ASUS P5Q3 Deluxe, the P5Q Pro, if it cannot start with the settings installed in the BIOS Setup, often does not start in “safe mode” with a proposal to correct erroneously set values, but simply performs a complete clearing of the CMOS contents, requiring re-configuration of the entire set parameters.
Overclocking performance
Testing the performance of motherboards based on the Intel P45 Express chipset is a rather thankless task. After all, Intel in the latest generation of its chipsets uses the same memory controller as in previous products, and therefore P45-based boards show approximately the same performance as their predecessors. The new support for the second version of the PCI Express protocol, although it increases the theoretical bandwidth of the graphics bus, in reality only has an effect when using a pair of video cards and Crossfire technology, and therefore most users simply do not care.Does this mean that ASUS P5Q Pro performance tests can be neglected? Not at all, because the speed of the board is affected not only by the features of the chipset, but also by the results of the work of engineers involved in BIOS optimization. Moreover, differences in board performance due to different firmware implementations are primarily detected during overclocking. That's why we decided to see how fast the ASUS P5Q Pro is compared to "previous generation" boards based on the Intel P35 Express, under typical overclocker use.
It must be said that the idea of such a comparison did not arise on its own. The fact is that the BIOS Setup of the ASUS P5Q Pro motherboard differs in the set of parameters that affect performance from the BIOS Setup of boards from the same developer that were tested earlier. Thus, the new board no longer has the ability to change the “Command Rate” parameter, but instead it has the “Ai Clock Twister” setting, which is absent on the P5K series boards, which are based on the P35. In addition, during overclocking tests, it was noticed that the ASUS P5Q Pro sets suspiciously high values for the “Performance Level” parameter by default, which also cannot but affect performance.
To evaluate the speed of the ASUS P5Q Pro, we compared it with the ASUS P5K-E motherboard. In testing both boards, we used a dual-core Core 2 Duo E8600 processor, which was overclocked to a frequency of 4.41 GHz using a multiplier reduced to 9x (which allows us to simulate the overclocking of the Core 2 Duo E8400, the youngest processor of the E8000 series transferred to the new E0 stepping).
With this overclocking, the bus frequency was set to 490 MHz, and the memory, which was clocked in synchronous mode, worked as DDR2-980 with timings of 4-4-4-12. This applies to both platforms.
Now let's talk about the differences in settings. The main character of today's article, ASUS P5Q Pro, in the state recorded in the above screenshot, set the “Performance Level” parameter to 12, which, of course, is too much to conquer performance records. Therefore, we resorted to manually reducing this delay through the “Ai Transaction Buster” parameter. As it turned out, the minimum “Performance Level” at which the P5Q Pro successfully starts is 9. It was this level that was used in the tests. Another performance-affecting parameter, “Ai Clock Twister,” had to be set to “Light,” since otherwise the board would be unstable.
On the ASUS P5K-E board, which, unlike the P5Q Pro, allows you to change the DRAM Command Rate through the BIOS settings, unfortunately, it was not possible to set this delay to 1T; failures occurred even at the stage of loading the operating system. But we managed to lower the “Performance Level” to 7 much more than on the P5Q Pro.
It was with these settings that tests were carried out, the results of which are summarized in a table.
A quick glance at the table is enough to realize the fact that the new P5Q Pro board is a complete fiasco, losing to the Intel P35 Express-based product in all tests. The reason is obvious: ASUS P5Q Pro does not allow the use of “Performance Level” values as aggressive as the good old boards with the P35 chipset. Why this is so is obviously something to ask the developers. As a result, although the ASUS P5Q Pro can overclock dual-core processors very well, the resulting performance is somewhat lame.
conclusions
Unfortunately, for the umpteenth time, finishing our review of the ASUS motherboard, we cannot write an unambiguously positive conclusion. Despite the fact that ASUS continues to be a generally recognized leader among manufacturers and developers of motherboards, its products are not without offensive shortcomings and shortcomings that can be classified as critical.Thus, the ASUS P5Q Pro board reviewed in this review makes a good impression at first glance. It has a very favorable combination of cost and capabilities, has a fairly convenient design and offers several useful new technologies, among which especially noteworthy is support for ExpressGate, an alternative lightweight operating environment.
In practical use, the ASUS P5Q Pro behaves somewhat ambivalently. On the one hand, it seems that the potential of this board is very great. But on the other hand, it turns out that revealing it is not so easy. The cooling system of the chipset cannot cope with the load placed on it in “heavy” modes, and the performance obtained during overclocking is far from the indicators that can be achieved when using other platforms.
But among the alternative solutions based on the Intel P45 Express and released by other manufacturers, we have not yet encountered any outstanding products. All this suggests that the Intel P45 Express, although the newest, is far from the best platform to date. So keep an eye on the reviews on our website, we intend to continue exploring products based on this chipset in search of the ideal.
However, everything said above is only true if you consider yourself to be a cohort of overclockers and enthusiasts. If you are interested in a platform that is not overclocking-oriented, but stable and modern, the ASUS P5Q Pro board is a very good option that can be recommended without hesitation.
Check availability and cost of ASUS P5Q
Other materials on this topic
New Wolfdale stepping: Core 2 Duo E8600 review
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