11-Way P45 Motherboard Shootout

Maximus II Formula Onboard Devices

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NorthbridgeIntel P45 Express
SouthbridgeIntel ICH10R
Voltage RegulatorSixteen Phases
BIOS0802 (07/10/2008)
333.3 MHz (FSB1333)334.0 MHz (+0.20%)
Clock GeneratorICS 9LPRS918JKLF
Connectors and Interfaces
Onboard2x PCIe 2.0 x16 (Modes : One x16 or Two x8)
3x PCIe x1
1x PCI
3x USB 2.0 (2 ports per connector)
1x IEEE-1394 FireWire
1x Floppy
1x Ultra ATA (2 drives)
8x Serial ATA 3.0Gb/s
1x Asus "LCD Poster" Interface
1x Fan 4 pins (CPU)
5x Fan 3 pins (Chassis/Power)
1x Internal Power Button
1x Internal Reset Button
IO panel1x PS2 (keyboard )
6x USB 2.0
1x Clear CMOS Button
2x RJ-45 Network
1x IEEE-1394 FireWire
1x External SATA
Mass Storage Controllers
Intel ICH10R6x SATA 3.0Gb/s (RAID 0,1,5,10)
Marvell 88SE6121-NAA1 PCI-E1x Ultra ATA-133 (2-drives)
1x External SATA 3.0Gb/s (RAID 0, 1 JBOD)
1x SATA Host for SteelVine Controller
Silicon Image Sil5723CNU SATA2x SATA 3.0Gb/s (RAID 0, 1, Cascading)
Network
2x Marvell 88E8056-NNC1 PCI-EDual Gigabit LAN with Teaming
Audio
SupremeFX X-Fi Riser CardADI AD2000BX HD Audio Codec
Eight-Channel (7.1 Surround) Output
FireWire
VIA VT6308P PCI2x IEEE-1394a (400 Mbit/s)

Three controllers and three x1 slots consume all six of the ICH10R’s PCI Express lanes. Asus does us a favor in the allocation of USB 2.0 headers however, providing three connections to support a total of six front-panel devices or ports.

The chipset’s other six USB 2.0 ports can be found on rear panel, along with an old-fashioned PS/2 keyboard port, dual Gigabit networking ports, IEEE-1394 FireWire, eSATA ports, and a CLR_CMOS button.

Asus’ big new feature is its SupremeFX X-Fi riser card, which uses an ADI AD2000BX HD Audio codec along with software emulation to provide EAX 4.0 effects. This riser card uses a specialized dual-mode slot at the motherboard’s top position, which has been modified to allow either PCI Express x1 cards or Asus’s custom riser cards to work. It may only have a codec, but many users will find that the best thing about the SupremeFX X-Fi riser is that it doesn’t rely on any problematic Creative components.

Hidden under the southbridge ’sink, the Marvell 88SE6121 controller supplies one eSATA port, one Ultra ATA header, and the SATA interface for a Silicon Image “SteelVine” port multiplier. The Sil5723 SteelVine controller is more than just a hub, as it adds advanced features such as drive cascading and RAID modes to the two ports.

Network devices can operate at the Marvell 88E8056 Gigabit network controller’s peak speeds, thanks to its PCI Express interface. A second Gigabit network controller of the same model is hidden under the extended portion of the northbridge sink.

IEEE-1394 FireWire doesn’t need PCI Express speeds, so Asus gets by with an ancient VT6308P PCI controller.

Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom is a Senior Staff Editor at Tom's Hardware US. He tests and reviews cases, cooling, memory and motherboards.
TOPICS
  • nickchalk
    Where are the lower price P45 M/B ?
    Asus P5Q pro is out for €110 and P5Q deluxe for €165 the price difference is about 70$ in Greece.
    Reply
  • nihility
    51 pages... You won't be upset if I read just the last 3 pages right?
    Reply
  • Proximon
    I suppose I can get some good from having read this. Did you get paid by the word? Maybe next time you could just put together a complete features chart so that we can have some convenient comparison? You know, so someone could go to a chart and see at a glance which boards had eSATA or firewire, or 8 USB.

    Reply
  • JPForums
    I'd rather have the overabundance of information than a lack of information. Presentation could use a little refining (I.E. comparison charts and the likes), but having the relevant information available at least is a good thing.
    Reply
  • the introduction and specifics are nice, the comparision isn't. so, why don't you test with an 8500 or qx9650? 6850 are outdated... and a mobo handling a c2d doesn't mean it can handle a quad too, see P5K for example (it stinks when it comes to a q6600).
    Reply
  • Crashman
    procithe introduction and specifics are nice, the comparision isn't. so, why don't you test with an 8500 or qx9650? 6850 are outdated... and a mobo handling a c2d doesn't mean it can handle a quad too, see P5K for example (it stinks when it comes to a q6600).
    Tom's Hardware wants the performance of current articles to reflect that of recent articles, so a "standard test platform" was chosen a while ago. It will get updated, but probably not before the new socket becomes widely available.
    Reply
  • zenmaster
    I would have liked to see something such as a P35 and an X48 as controls to help analyze the P45 Performance.

    In otherwords, What is the P45 Gaining me over the older P35.
    What would I gain by going to the X48. (Or Lose)
    Reply
  • Crashman
    zenmasterI would have liked to see something such as a P35 and an X48 as controls to help analyze the P45 Performance.In otherwords, What is the P45 Gaining me over the older P35.What would I gain by going to the X48. (Or Lose)http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/intel-p45-chipset,1961.html
    Reply
  • johnbilicki
    The first 17 pages were filled with nothing but junk from ASUS. Do us a favor: don't even bother featuring or *MENTIONING* anything for any reason from a company that refuses to RMA 200-400 dollar brand new motherboards with anything other then used and usually broken junk. It destroyed my enthusiasm for the article.
    Reply
  • dobby
    nickchalkWhere are the lower price P45 M/B ?Asus P5Q pro is out for €110 and P5Q deluxe for €165 the price difference is about 70$ in Greece.
    the p5q PRo is a p43 board, i should know i have one
    Reply