ASUS P5Q3 Deluxe/WiFi-AP
The ASUS P5Q3 Deluxe/WiFi-AP motherboard is probably the most advanced of the three options we are looking at here today but that definitely comes at a cost to your wallet.
The P5Q3 Deluxe is an impressively designed motherboard that looks somewhat similar to the MSI P45 Platinum we saw on the previous page but without the overly large heatsink in the center.
Of the three motherboards tested today, only the ASUS P5Q3 Deluxe supports more than two GPUs and thus allows you to run CrossFireX with as many as three graphics cards. Also included on the board are two legacy PCI slots and two PCIe x1 slots though the arrangement of them is very different than the other two motherboards. If you want to utilize all three PCIe x16 slots for GPUs, the second and third slots will only accept single-slot-cooled cards which will usually mean HD 4850s or just one HD 4870 or 4870 X2.
On the right hand side of the board lays the storage solutions including the six included SATA ports from the ICH10R south bridge and additional SATA ports and an IDE port from the Silicon Image chipset directly behind them.
Also here you can see the integrated power and reset buttons that are illuminated when the board has power and the pair of BIOS chips that allow for BIOS backups directly on the board.
Also here you can see the integrated power and reset buttons that are illuminated when the board has power and the pair of BIOS chips that allow for BIOS backups directly on the board.
The ASUS P5Q3 Deluxe is the only board we have looked at here that supports DDR3 memory rather than DDR2. With that upgrade you will see faster memory speeds but also a higher memory cost when you go to build out your system. The 24-pin ATX power connector and floppy connector can also be seen here and are far enough from the other components to not be a hassle during installation.
Much like the MSI P45 Platinum motherboard, the ASUS P5Q3 Deluxe has a “surrounded” LGA775 socket that has heatpipe coolers and fins on three sides creating a boxed-in feeling. There is still a good amount of room though for your Intel Core 2 processor cooler and only the ASUS board offers 16-phase power control to the CPU. (The Gigabyte and MSI boards both offer 8-phase power.)
The 8-pin ATX power connector is located in about the same spot as the MSI motherboard but not as close to the external connectors and without the heatpipe coming across it the ASUS board offers up a lot easier access to it.
By having the SATA ports outward facing, the ASUS P5Q3 Deluxe avoids having any complications with long graphics cards block out storage ports.
Unfortunately, the same can NOT be said about the capacitors that reside near the primary PCIe x16 GPU slot.
What you are seeing here is an attempt to install a GeForce GTX 260/280 card on the ASUS P5Q3 Deluxe – the standard reference cooler on nearly all the GTX 260/280 cards makes contact with these capacitors making full insertion into the primary PCIe x16 slot impossible. The card will still work (enough pin contact is made in the socket) but how something like this could be overlooked is beyond me. And even though it works, being in contact with a capacitor is not the best idea for a solid system build and even being able to screw in the GPU into a standard chassis could be an issue!
The external connectors on the ASUS P5Q3 Deluxe include six USB 2.0 ports, dual Gigabit Ethernet, Firewire, eSATA, 8-channel analog audio output, coax and optical digital audio output and even support for TWO 802.11 draft-N wireless connections – yes two! This would allow you to use your computer as a bridge between two wireless connections and to use the PC as an access point to boot. Might be overkill but cool none the less!
Another great added feature of the ASUS P5Q3 Deluxe is the Linux-based ExpressGate instant-boot software that allows you boot into a very simple OS within seconds of turning on the PC. The OS includes a web browser, Skype client and more but is still pretty basic; the benefit here is that turning on your machine quickly to check movie times or webmail is a snap! You can read more about the ASUS-exclusive ExpressGate technology by looking at my previous article on the topic.
ASUS included quite a bit in the box with their P5Q3 Deluxe/WiFi AP motherboard including eight SATA cables, IDE and floppy cables, one additional Firewire and USB bracket and of course the two necessary WiFi antenna.
i know it’s pretty late but… good post bro