Introduction and Specifications

The Asus P5N32-E SLI Plus motherboard combines north and south bridge chipsets from different generations to make a truly unique motherboard for the Intel Core 2 Duo platform. Does its low-price and performance combination have what it takes?

Introduction

Asus has been one of the main innovators in motherboard technology over the past several years.  The Asus Crosshair and Striker motherboards were the first to offer anything really new to the motherboard segment in quite some time.  In the chipset world, NVIDIA has been the king of features and performance for some time as well, offering new solutions for both AMD and Intel platforms that go beyond pretty much anything else you can find. 

The nForce 680i SLI chipset is a great product that was released in November of last year that was fast, overclockable and offered a wide range of features.  The main concern was price: you still can’t find the EVGA 680i SLI motherboard for under $240.  Asus is claiming that you can get nearly all of the performance, features and even overclocking levels by getting their new P5N32-E SLI Plus motherboard that is for sale for around $50 less. 

Specifications (from Asus.com)

CPU
LGA775 socket for Intel® Core™2 Extreme/Core™2 Duo/Pentium® Extreme/Pentium® D/Pentium® 4/Celeron® D Processors
Intel® Quad-core CPU Ready
Compatible with Intel® 06/05B/05A processors
* Refer to http://www.asus.com/ for Intel CPU support list
Chipset
NVIDIA® Dual X16 SLI
(C55+MCP55P; a.k.s. nForce®650i SLI & nForce®570 SLI)
ASUS HybridUp Technology
* Support SLI-Ready Memory Technology
Front Side Bus

1333**/1066/800/533 MHz
** available when CPUs are ready for 1333MHz FSB

Memory
Dual channel memory architecture
4 x DIMM, max. 8GB, DDR2-800/667/533, non-ECC, unbuffered memory
* Refer to http://www.asus.com/ or user manual for Memory QVL (Qualify Vendor List)
Expansion Slots
2 x PCI Express x16 slot, support NVIDIA® SLI™ technology, at full x16, x16 speed (blue)
1 x PCI Express x16, at x8 speed (white)
1 x PCI Express x1
2 x PCI 2.2
SLI
Support two identical NVIDIA SLI-Ready graphics cards (both at x16 mode)
Storage
South bridge supports:
 – 1 x Ultra DMA 133/100/66/33
 – 6 x Serial ATA 3.0Gb/s
 – NVIDIA MediaShield™ RAID supports RAID 0, 1, 0+1, 5 and JBOD span cross Serial ATA drives
LAN
NVIDIA® Dual X16 SLI built-in dual Gigabit MAC with external Marvell PHY
Support NVIDIA DualNet® technology
High Definition Audio
SupremeFX Audio Card
 – ADI 1988B 8-channel High Definition Audio CODEC
 – Support Jack-Sensing, Multi-streaming and Jack-Retasking
Coaxial, Optical S/PDIF out
DTS® Connect
IEEE 1394a
VIA6308P controller supports 2 x 1394a ports
USB
Max. 10 USB2.0/1.1 ports(6 ports at mid-board, 4 ports at back panel)
Overclocking Features
Intelligent overclocking tools:
 – AI NOS™ (Non-delay Overclocking System)
 – AI Overclocking (intelligent CPU frequency tuner)
 – ASUS AI Booster Utility
 – O.C Profile
Overclocking Protection:
 – ASUS C.P.R.(CPU Parameter Recall)
Special Features

ASUS EZ DIY: 
 – Q-Connector
 – ASUS CrashFree BIOS2
 – ASUS EZ Flash2
ASUS Music Alarm
ASUS MyLogo3
ASUS Q-Fan 2
Uses 100% High-quality Conductive Polymer Capacitors

Back Panel I/O Ports
1 x PS/2 Keyboard port(purple)
1 x PS/2 Mouse port(green)
1 x Optical + 1 x Coaxial S/PDIF Output
2 x LAN (RJ45) port
4 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports
1 x IEEE1394a port
Internal I/O Connectors

3 x USB 2.0 connectors supports additional 6 USB 2.0 ports
1 x Floppy disk drive connector
1 x IDE connector for two devices
6 x SATA connectors
8 x Fan connector: 1 x CPU / 1 x Power Fan / 1 x Chassis / 5 x Optional
1 x Front Panel Audio connector (on SupremeFX audio card)
1 x IEEE1394a connector
1 x S/PDIF output connector
1 x Chassis Intrusion connector
24-pin ATX Power connector
8-pin ATX 12V Power connector
System panel connector

BIOS
8Mb Award BIOS, PnP, DMI2.0, WfM2.0, SM BIOS 2.3, Multi-Language BIOS
Manageability
WOL by PME, WOR by PME, Chasis Intrusion, PXE
Accessories

1 x SLI bridge
1 x ASUS Q-Connector Kit (USB, 1394, system panel; Retail version only)
1 x UltraDMA 133/100/66 cable
1 x Floppy disk drive cable
4 x SATA cables
2 x SATA power cable for 4 devices
1 x 2-port USB2.0 module
1 x IEEE1394a module
User’s manual

Software
Drivers
ASUS PC Probe II
ASUS Update
ASUS AI Booster
NVIDIA MediaShield™ RAID
Anti-virus software (OEM version)
Form Factor
ATX Form Factor, 12″x 9.6″ (30.5cm x 24.5cm)

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