Intel's new Core 2 Duo CPUs might be keeping the familiar LGA775 packaging, and be compatible with the existing 975X chipset (in boards with the updated VRM spec), but Intel is still using the launch to roll out a few chipsets for those wanting new motherboards. The first of these is the P965 , which is designed to replace the aging 945P in the mid-range market. The biggest difference between the P965 and the 975X is that the P965 doesn't support ATi CrossFire. The P965 Northbridge is also partnered with the new ICH8R Southbridge, the first chipset in the world to completely ditch EIDE support in favour of S-ATA. We're big fans of progress but, as our recent Labs test of DVD writers proved, the vast majority of optical drives are still EIDE.
Asus has obviously realised that it's way too early to omit EIDE support on a motherboard too, so it's fitted an additional JMicron JMB633 controller to the P5B Deluxe. This chip provides one EIDE channel (for two drives), one S-ATA II port and one external S-ATA II port. The passively cooled ICHR8 Southbridge itself provides six RAID-capable S-ATA II ports. The P965 Northbridge is also passively cooled, but is linked to the VRMs by a large copper heatpipe. Asus provides an optional fan that clips onto the heatsink covering the VRMs, for use if you water cool the CPU.
Despite the presence of two 16x PCI-E slots on the P5B Deluxe, only the blue slot has 16 PCI-E lanes, the black slot having just four. There are also three standard PCI slots and a single 1x PCI-E slot, as well as an 802.11g wireless LAN NIC and two Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports. Eight USB 2 ports and two FireWire ports are also supported, plus the usual analogue and digital outputs for the integrated 8-channel Intel HD Audio.
With a 2.66GHz Core 2 Duo E6700 installed, the P5B Deluxe stormed through the Custom PC Media Benchmarks, achieving a breakneck overall score of 1.84 - a fair way ahead of the Intel D975XBX. The BIOS provides plenty of overclocking options, such as a maximum FSB of 400MHz, and the ability to manually set the RAM speed. It can also send up to 1.7V to the CPU, and increase the FSB voltage to 1.45V, the Northbridge to 1.55V and the RAM to 2.45V.
As with the D975XBX, the E6700 was happy overclocked to 3.33GHz. We then tried upping the FSB to 366MHz, making the CPU run at 3.66GHz. Unfortunately, even with 1.6V running through the CPU (any more than this caused the CPU to overheat and shut down), the system wasn't stable.
We found the maximum stable FSB to be 350MHz, causing the CPU to run at 3.5GHz, well above its 2.66GHz stock frequency. We then set the RAM to run at a 2:3 ratio with the FSB, forcing it to run at 1.05GHz. At these settings, the system proved to be the second-fastest PC we've seen, achieving a stunning score of 2.37 in our Media Benchmarks.
Even better, Need for Speed: Most Wanted raced along at a silky-smooth average of 83fps, and never dropped below 59fps. Coming from a combination of a £400 CPU, £120 motherboard and £20 CPU HSF, this level of performance is astounding.
CONCLUSION
You'd have to be raving mad to buy anything other than a Core 2 Duo or Woodcrest-core Xeon right now. Core architecture-based CPUs hand any Athlon 64 its marching orders when it comes to price and overclockability.
If you're not tempted by running two graphics cards together in CrossFire, the P5B Deluxe could be a great choice for a Core 2 Duo CPU, as it's overclockable and has good features. That said, at £120, it's close to the cost of 975X boards, which, with the exception of the D975XBX, are generally more overclockable. As always, it depends on what you want to do with your PC, but the P5B Deluxe is worth considering if dual graphics isn't a priority.
Author: James Gorbold
Asus P5B Deluxe