A rather tempting model from Asus - the p6t se, is a slightly stripped-down version of the Asus p6t. The board was released in the heyday of socket 1366 and was then quite expensive. Now its use is relevant with Xeon server processors, which show quite good performance, even by today's standards.

Specifications

The motherboard has everything you need to work comfortably with both the Core I7 and Xeon processors. It is worth noting as many as 8 phases of the processor power supply and a fairly good cooling system, which includes not only radiators, but also a heat pipe connecting them. True, the cooling of the south bridge could be better, but the temperature remains within the permissible range even under heavy load.

The number of ports is slightly less than that of the older model (lacks the fdd port and several sata), but quite enough for home use.

It's nice to see as many as 3 pci-e x16 connectors, but, unfortunately, they cannot work with Nvidia SLI technology, only ATI CrossFireX. But 6 slots of RAM can work in both two and three-channel modes. Officially, the maximum RAM size is 24 gigabytes, but like most other motherboards on 1366 socket, there is a very good chance of working with 8 gigabytes. Thus, you can get up to 48 gigabytes of RAM.

Overclocking

The overclocking potential of this board is very encouraging. Flexible BIOS settings allow you to fine-tune many parameters, which will allow you to achieve excellent results and significantly increase system performance. The familiar AMI bios of this board can regulate:

• processor multiplier
• pci-e bus frequency
• the frequency of the RAM and its controller
• qPI bus frequency
• memory timings, and separately for each slot
• voltage of the processor, memory and all bridges

And this is not a complete list! In general, there is a lot of room for settings and overclocking. For those who do not want to mess with the configuration, the automatic mode will help, which will establish a stable configuration.

Minuses

• When installing a large video card, the nearest pci-e x1 or pci slots will almost certainly be blocked. Problems with access to some of the sata ports are also possible.
• Lack of SLI support
• Lack of sata 3 and usb 3.0. True, this is normal for boards of that time.
• Not all ide drives will work correctly with this board

Purchase and prices

It so happened that in order to attract buyers, motherboard manufacturers produce several motherboard options on the same set of system logic, differing both in cost and in technical characteristics and capabilities. For example, apart from the basic basic model, ASUS also produces several more versions of it - more expensive and stuffed with PRO and DELUXE prefixes, and a cheaper, so to speak, “truncated” version with SE prefix. The latter, often, do not have various additional extensions and special features, but these "bells and whistles" are not always needed. So, this time the ASUS P6T SE motherboard is built on the Intel X58 Express system logic set, paired with the ICH10R south bridge, it has an LGA1366 processor socket for installing Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition or Intel Core i7 processors, and supports three-channel mode work with DDR3 memory with a total volume of up to 24 GB and, as the name implies, is a cheaper version of the ASUS P6T we reviewed earlier. Let's see what the engineers of the renowned ASUS company decided to save on, and how this affected the performance and overclocking potential of this product.

ASUS P6T SE motherboard specification:

The packaging of the ASUS P6T SE motherboard is made of thick cardboard with high-quality color printing and practically does not differ in design and color from the packaging of the P5Q series motherboards. On the front side, with the help of icons, it is indicated that the motherboard uses a set of Intel X58 system logic, supports DDR3 memory with a frequency of up to 2000 MHz, implements the functions and technologies of Quad CrossFireX, ASUS Express Gate, TurboV, EPU and the processor power supply has 8+ 2 phases.

On the back side of the box, TurboV and EPU technologies are described in more detail, which simplify overclocking and save energy, and there is also a photograph of the board itself, and with the help of small icons its main features are indicated.

ASUS P6T SE package includes:

• user's manual;
• 4 x SATA cables;
• 1 x UltraDMA 133/100/66 cable;
• aSUS Q-Sheld back panel cover;
• q-Connectors set;
• DVD-disk with drivers and utilities.

The delivery set is minimal, it contains nothing but the most necessary. But the board is positioned as a budget option for top-end systems.

The ASUS P6T SE motherboard makes a pleasant impression with a high-quality assembly of elements. All connectors are offset to the edges of the board for easy and convenient connection to them. The board has six slots for installing DDR3 memory, with a total capacity of up to 24 GB, which can operate in both dual-channel and triple-channel modes, but do not forget that to support this amount of RAM, you must use 64-bit operating systems. The power button is soldered near the DIMM slots, but the Reset button was not soldered in order to save money, leaving an empty space. The logic of this is not entirely clear, but, as they say, we save on what we can. Also, the board differs from ASUS P6T in a smaller number of SATA connectors and the absence of an FDD connector. Combining video cards using CrossFireX technology is possible using three PCI Express x16 slots, operating according to the formula x16 + x16 or x8 + x8 + x8. PCI Express x16 slots alternate with a PCI Express x1 slot and two PCI slots.

There is a metal support plate on the back of the board under the processor socket, which protects the board from bending when installing the processor. Next to it is an inscription indicating that the ASUS P6T SE motherboard uses Stack Cool 2 technology. This technology improves heat distribution in the hottest areas.

When installing a long video card, the latches of the memory connectors were at a decent distance from it, but the video card turned out to be "covered" with four SATA connectors, deployed parallel to the board. Connecting to them in the assembled system can cause certain inconveniences. If you install a second video accelerator of the same kind, this problem will become relevant with the IDE controller connector.

The cooling system for ASUS P6T SE is exactly the same as for ASUS P6T. It consists of conventional aluminum heatsinks and a heat pipe. The heatsink on the Intel X58 Express is small and, for better cooling, is connected by a heat pipe with a specially enlarged heatsink on the power elements of the processor's power supply regulator. In general, such a design perfectly copes with the task assigned to it. The southbridge heatsink is quite small, but since the ICH10R does not get very hot, it is more than enough to effectively cool this element. The transistors in the processor power regulator circuits are also protected from overheating by radiators - one half is covered with a larger radiator connected by a heat pipe to the chipset radiator, and the other half is cooled by a separate small radiator. The disadvantages of the cooling system can be attributed only to the fastening of the radiators with plastic clips, which is simple, but not very reliable.

The supply voltage to the central processor is supplied through a switching regulator made according to the 8 + 2 phase scheme. Eight phases feed directly to the processor core, and two phases are used to power the onboard memory controller and the QPI bus. Two two-phase stabilizers are responsible for powering the chipset and memory modules. All stabilizers use closed chokes with a ferromagnetic core and polymer-type capacitors. This power scheme is the same as in the more expensive base model.

The disk subsystem is served by the ICH10R south bridge and consists of six SATA2 ports, which support the creation of RAID arrays of levels 0, 1, 5 and 10. Due to the possibility of overlapping with a long video card, four connectors are deployed parallel to the board, which makes connection to them in the assembled case not very convenient. Also, the south bridge serves 12 USB 2.0 ports, six of which are routed to the rear panel, and six are routed to the board. You can connect, for example, USB quick access ports on the front panel of the case, a card reader, or use a special module to bring them to the rear panel of the computer to the USB ports on the board. Compared to ASUS P6T, the disk subsystem is slightly simplified - there is no controller for two additional SATA connectors and there is no connector for connecting an FDD drive. But this is not critical - the six available SATA connectors are more than enough for an ordinary user, and FDD drives have long since sunk into oblivion.

A special JMicron JMB363 controller is responsible for supporting the e-SATA connector brought out to the rear panel and for connecting two PATA devices via the IDE interface.

The VT6315N microcircuit, manufactured by VIA, serves two high-speed serial ports of the IEEE1394a interface, one of which is routed to the rear panel, and the second is wired to the board, and it is possible to connect to it either a special remote module or, if available, an IEEE1394a connector on the front panel of the case ...

The audio subsystem is based on the ALC1200 eight-channel HD audio codec manufactured by REALTEK. The same microcircuit is responsible for optical and coaxial S / PDIF outputs for connecting multichannel audio systems.

LAN connection is via Realtek RTL8111C Gigabit LAN controller, which supports AI NET2.

The following ports are displayed on the rear panel of the ASUS P6T SE motherboard:

• two PS / 2 connectors for keyboard and mouse;
• six USB 2.0 / 1.1 connectors;
• optical and coaxial S / PDIF outputs;
• iEEE 1394a connector;
• e-SATA connector;
• rJ45 connector for network connections;
• 6 analog connectors for 8-channel audio.

The BIOS of the ASUS P6T SE motherboard is based, like all ASUS motherboards, on the AMI code. All overclocking related settings are in the "AI Tweaker" section:

Here you can manually set the processor and QPI bus multiplier, change the PCI Express bus frequency, QPI bus speed, memory frequency relative to FSB, memory timings and sub-timings, and also change the voltage values \u200b\u200bof the main components. It should be noted that all values \u200b\u200bcan be set to "Auto" mode so that the system itself selects the optimal voltage and frequency values.

The timings and sub-timings of the RAM can be changed within wide limits separately for each channel, which should favorably affect the overclocking capabilities of the system.

The BIOS of the ASUS P6T SE motherboard allows you to change the effective voltage values \u200b\u200bon almost all elements. Values \u200b\u200bdangerous for the components are highlighted in red, and if you are not sure of the correctness of the value you have chosen, you can leave it in the “Auto” mode so that the system itself sets the optimal value of the parameter.

For convenience and clarity, all adjustable parameters are summarized in the table:

The "Advanced" tab is used to manage processor functions and technologies.

The System Monitor is located on the Power tab. It allows you to monitor the temperatures of the central processor and motherboard, voltages on the processor core and main power lines, view the fan rotation speed and enable or disable the ASUS Q-Fan automatic fan speed control function.

On the "Tools" tab, we get access to the proprietary utility for updating the ASUS EZ Flash 2 BIOS, here we can also enable or disable ASUS Express Gate and ASUS AI NET 2, as well as, if desired, save our BIOS settings in ASUS O.C. Profile.

Testing

The following hardware was used to test the ASUS P6T SE motherboard.

The ASUS P6T SE motherboard delivers a high level of performance, just like its competitors.

Overclocking capabilities

We managed to raise the processor bus almost to 205 MHz, which turned out to be 35 MHz higher than that of ASUS P6T and is able to provide a 54% increase in processor frequency. This is a very good result.

conclusions

The ASUS P6T SE board we reviewed today demonstrated high performance and very good overclocking potential.

It differs from the base model ASUS P6T only in the absence of an additional SATA controller and an FDD connector, but considering that the board already has six SATA ports with support for RAID arrays, and FDD has not been used for a long time, we get a high-quality motherboard for significantly less money ... Support for new Intel Core i7 processors, DDR3 memory in triple channel mode, PCI Express 2.0 bus, CrossFireX technology for combining two or three graphics cards into one powerful video system make this board an excellent base for a gaming computer or high-performance graphics workstation. The advantages of ASUS P6T SE include an excellent ratio of price and functionality, as well as high overclocking potential.

Advantages:

• high performance;
• good overclocking potential;
• pCI Express 2.0 bus support;
• support for CrossFireX technology;
• the ability to install coolers for LGA775;
• coaxial and optical SPDIF.

Disadvantages:

• overlapping SATA connectors with a long video card;
• still relatively high cost.

We express our gratitude to the company PF Service LLC (Dnepropetrovsk) for the motherboards provided for testing.

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Our laboratory got an ASUS P6T Deluxe motherboard based on the Intel X58 chipset. And today we will look at its features and functionality. But first, a few words about the chipset itself.

Intel X58 Chipset

The Intel X58 chipset is currently the only product for LGA1366 systems. From a technical point of view, the X58 "northbridge" is much simpler than its predecessors (X48 and X38 bridges). The fact is that this chip does not have an integrated memory controller, which is now integrated into the LGA1366 processors. Instead, the X58 has a QPI bus controller for communication with the processor. As for the PCI Express v2.0 bus support, there are no cardinal changes in this area: the X58 supports 36 lines and allows configurations 2x16, 4x8, and also some intermediate ones. Like its predecessors, the Intel X58 chipset supports AMD CrossFire technology. In addition, a long-awaited event happened - some motherboards with the X58 chipset acquired support for NVIDIA SLI technology. However, there is no merit of Intel engineers here, since SLI support is implemented in NVIDIA graphics drivers and some enthusiasts launched SLI on the X48 chipset a year ago using modified drivers. As regards motherboards based on X58, some of them will officially support SLI.

The X58 North Bridge is equipped with an ICH10 (R) South Bridge, to which it is connected via the DMI bus. And since the characteristics of ICH10 (R) are already well known, we will not dwell on them in detail, but only briefly list the main features - support for six SerialATA II channels, 12 USB 2.0 ports, support for a gigabit network connection and a High Definition Audio subsystem. In addition, the ICH10 (R) supports six PCI Express lanes that motherboard designers can use as they see fit.

ASUS P6T Deluxe specification

Box

The box with the ASUS P6T Deluxe board is pretty solid and has a carry handle:

Inside the box, the buyer will find two compartments: one with the board, and the other with additional components:

Equipment

• motherboard;
• user manual in English;
• DVD with software and drivers;
• one ATA133-loop, FDD-loop;
• six SerialATA cables;
• two SAS cables;
• a bracket with two additional USB 2.0 ports and a FireWire port;
• aSUS logo sticker;
• a set of additional connectors;
• cover for the back panel of the case;
• bridge SLI;
• additional fan;
• oC Palm module + USB cable.

Despite the fact that the board is positioned as an unconditional high-end and has a rather high retail price, the buyer may have to buy a number of components separately. Firstly, you may need brackets with additional four USB ports (or two if there are a couple of ports on the case).

Secondly, you may need to purchase power adapters for SerialATA devices. The fact is that the presence of SAS cables in the kit is a big plus only for professional users, and when assembling a regular computer, they only slightly facilitate connecting drives.

SAS technology stands for Serial Attached SCSI and is a transition interface from parallel SCSI to more convenient and efficient serial. The main difference between SAS and SATA is two independent channels for data transfer, but SAS is backward compatible with SATA. This means that you can easily connect SATA drives to the SAS controller. For testing, we connected one SATA drive to the SAS controller using a SAS cable and found no problems. However, SAS technology deserves a separate review, and it would be premature to talk about it without a corresponding disk. By the way, SAS disks are distinguished by high spindle speed (10,000-15,000 RPM), relatively small volume (less than 100 GB) and high retail price ($ 250-350). Conclusion: SAS support may be of interest to professional users only.

The kit includes a pair of special additional connectors ( Quick Connection Kit), to which you can connect all cables from the case ("Power", "Reset" buttons, cable from the "HDD" indicator, etc.), and then connect them to the board with one movement of your hand.

There were no complaints about the user manual. Also note that the DVD contains a full set of required drivers and proprietary ASUS utilities (including drivers for 32- and 64-bit Windows versions, drivers for Linux and MS Vista). In addition, the disc contains Norton Internet Security 2008, Ulead Burn.Now, Corel MediaOne Starter, Ulead PhotoImpact 12 SE, CyberLink PowerBackup and WinZip 11.

Note that the package bundle should include an additional fan for the "north bridge", but our board did not have one. And finally, we note the OC Palm, which is the familiar ASUS ScreenDUO device, which we reviewed in detail a year and a half ago.

ASUS P6T Deluxe Board

From the point of view of the motherboard developer, the PCB design with the LGA 1366 processor socket is somewhat more complicated than the design of the LGA775 boards. The thing is that the area allotted for the processor socket is much larger. In addition, six slots for memory modules take up a lot of space on the board. Finally, high-performance processors require a powerful power converter. All this significantly reduces the useful area on the board, however, ASUS engineers proved using the P6T Deluxe as an example that even with such restrictions it is possible to develop a board with wide functionality.

The battery is positioned vertically to save space

The engineers also took care of the convenience of assembling the system. In particular, the PCI Express video card does not block the DIMM slots latches, and the power connectors are installed very conveniently along the edges of the board: 24-pin - on the bottom edge, 8-pin - on the right.

Note that the board has retained backward compatibility with "old" power supplies, and allows them to be used with 20 + 4 cables. The unused contacts of the additional connector are covered with a plastic cover.

Next to the processor socket is a 4-pin CPU_FAN connector for the corresponding cooler.

Besides it, the board has four more 3-pin connectors: PWR_FAN and CHA_FAN1 - on the bottom edge of the board, CHA_FAN2 - near the "north bridge" and CHA_FAN3 - near the "south" one.

A massive radiator is installed on the "north bridge", which is connected to the radiator on the power supply module using a heat pipe. Also, with the help of a heat pipe, heat is transferred from the "south bridge" to the "north" one.

Moreover, the cooling efficiency can be improved by installing an additional fan on the radiator of the power supply module, which should be included in the package.

Six 240-pin DIMM slots for DDR3 memory modules are installed under the north bridge. They are divided into three groups of two slots, with alternating colors. As a result, in order to use the three-channel mode, you need to install modules in slots of the same color (option with three modules).

Note that the board supports DDR3-1066 / 1333/1600 memory; and the maximum total memory capacity is 12 GB. As soon as voltage is applied to the board, the backlight of the Power and Reset buttons, which are installed on the left edge of the board, come on. And after the board starts up, the backlight of the "south bridge" radiator with the ASUS logo lights up.

The board has three PCI Express Graphics slots (all with latches), which are designed for video cards.

The installation of video cards should be started from the first slot (blue). With one installed video card, 16 PCI Express v2.0 bus lanes are allocated to it, and eight lanes to the second and third slots. You can install expansion cards in them. When installing two video cards, 16 PCI Express v2.0 lines are allocated to them, and only one line is allocated to the third PEG slot. Thus, the scheme for distributing lines by slots looks like 16 + 16 + 1. When installing three video cards, the 16 + 16 + 1 scheme is also possible, but the most optimal mode, in terms of performance, is the 16 + 8 + 8 line distribution scheme.

distribution of lines to the second and third PEG slots

We also note that hardcore enthusiasts will be able to install four (!) Video cards on the board. But in order to install the fourth video card in the PCI Express x4 slot, which does not have a rear wall, it is necessary to slightly modify the cooling system. And completely unhealthy individuals can install all six video cards! However, in this case, the two video cards must be PCI standard.

By the way, if you really need a system with an LGA1366 processor and six video cards, then it makes sense to wait for the ASUS P6T6 WS Revolution board on the Intel X58 chipset.

Expansion options

The ASUS P6T Deluxe has an ICH10R "south bridge" with a heatsink. As a result, the board supports six SerialATA II ports and allows you to combine drives into RAID arrays of levels 0, 1, 5, and 10. The ports are colored red; four of them are oriented parallel to the board plane, and two are perpendicular (located near the "south bridge").

In addition, the board supports one ParallelATA link using the 88SE6111 controller made by Marvell. The same chip supports one SerialATA II link, the corresponding port of which is routed to the rear panel of the board. In addition, the board is equipped with a Marvell 88SE6320 controller, which supports two SAS / SATA II channels and RAID 0 and 1 modes (orange ports; oriented parallel to the board plane). In total, 11 hard drives (nine SATA II + two PATA) can be connected to the ASUS P6T Deluxe board.

Then, the board has 14 (!) USB 2.0 ports: eight of them are located on the rear panel, and six more are plugged in using brackets (only one bracket with two ports is included in the package bundle). Since the south bridge ICH10 (R) supports only 12 ports, ASUS engineers somehow cheated. In addition, it should be noted that placing the Express Gate hardware module on the board uses a pair of USB 2.0 ports. So, the trick is to install an additional NEC 720114 controller, which just supports the four "missing" ports.

The board also supports another type of serial bus - IEEE1394 ("FireWire"). For this, a VT6308P controller made by VIA is installed on the board. As a result, the board supports two FireWire ports: one is located on the rear panel, the other is connected using a bracket (included in the bundle).

Further, the ASUS P6T Deluxe board has eight-channel Intel High Definition Audio, and the AD2000B chip is used as the codec. Now, a few words about networking: the board has two high-speed Marvell 88E8056 (Gigabit Ethernet) network controllers connected to the PCI Express (x1) bus.

Both RJ-45 connectors are routed to the rear panel of the board, which has the following configuration:

ASUS engineers have completely abandoned support for the LPT port and COM ports. But there are plenty of USB 2.0 ports, there is a FireWire port, SerialATA II, as well as optical and coaxial SP-DIF outputs. As for the PS / 2 port, there is only one, however, it allows you to connect either the appropriate mouse or keyboard.

Four jumpers are installed on the ASUS P6T Deluxe board: CLRTC to reset the CMOS settings, OV_CPU (increase the voltage range on the processor to 2.1 V), OV_DRAM_BUS (increase the voltage range on the memory to 2.46 V), and OV_QPI_DRAM (increase the voltage range on the controller memory up to 1.9 V). In addition, the ASUS P6T Deluxe board has buttons for turning on the system and for rebooting:

Now let's talk about BIOS settings.

BIOS

The BIOS of the ASUS P6T Deluxe board is based on the AMI BIOS version, and its volume is 16 Mbit.

All memory settings are located in the overclocking functions section:

There is also a parameter that affects performance - setting the memory frequency.

Now let's look at the section on system monitoring.

The board displays the current temperatures of the processor, system, rotational speeds of all fans, as well as voltage levels. In addition, the connected coolers can change the rotational speed depending on the temperature of the processor and system, thanks to the Q-FAN 2 technology:

You can also track monitoring parameters in Windows, either using the AI \u200b\u200bSuite software (basic set of parameters) or using the PC Probe II utility (advanced set).

However, the P6T Deluxe board just came out and the ASUS software doesn't recognize this product yet. In the next versions of the utilities (and possibly the BIOS) this flaw will be eliminated.

There are several ways to update the BIOS version. First, use the AFUDOS (DOS) and ASUS Update (Windows) utilities, and in the latter case, you can write a POST image to the BIOS (the MyLogo 2 function is intended for this). Secondly, the user can use the EZ Flash 2 utility, which is built into the BIOS. Moreover, the file with the new firmware can be located not only on a 3.5 "floppy disk, but also on a hard disk or a USB flash drive.

In addition, the board supports the CrashFree BIOS 3 function (recovery of damaged firmware using a floppy disk, CD or Flash disk).

Traditionally for ASUS motherboards, the BIOS supports displaying parameters in several languages \u200b\u200b(Multilanguages \u200b\u200bBIOS).

The BIOS also gives the user access to setting up all the functions of modern processors:

Note the OC Profile technology, which allows saving all BIOS settings in memory and loading them if necessary. ASUS P6T Deluxe supports two independent profiles:

A few words about the ASUS Express Gate technology, which is a compact shell based on the Linux kernel.

The hardware version is implemented on the P6T Deluxe board, which is physically a module (with an SSD disk) located between the second PCI and the second PEG slot. I must say that the functionality of this technology has remained the same; the only difference is a new button on the start screen (Online Games) that opens the browser and redirects the user to the site with the games.

But if the Express Gate is even slightly improved, then the OC Palm module is a frank step backward. A year and a half ago, ASUS ScreenDUO supported more functionality. On the contrary, OC Palm only allows you to change the overclocking parameters (thanks to close interaction with the TurboV utility) and gives access to the resources of Yahoo Widgets.

In addition, the device should output system monitoring data by interacting with the PC Probe II utility. But this utility does not yet support P6T Deluxe, and therefore, this function does not work for OC Palm yet.

Overclocking and stability

Before moving on to overclocking, let's look at the power converter. It has a 16-phase circuit with four 270 μF capacitors and 15 560 μF capacitors.

By the way, the power converter of the memory controller (which is integrated into the processor) is made according to a two-phase scheme, so the specifications indicate that PWM works according to the 16 + 2 scheme. Also note that ASUS engineers have implemented the Energy Processing Unit (or EPU) technology, which controls the power mode at idle or under low load.

Now let's move on to examining the overclocking functions.

Immediately, we note the lack of dynamic overclocking (ASUS calls this technology NOS). Instead, there is D.O.C.P support. and X.M.P.

ASUS Super MemProfile Technology stands for Intel XMP (Extended Memory Profiles) technology. This is a kind of analogue of NVIDIA EPP (Enhanced Performance Profiles), the essence of which is additional information written in the SPD of memory modules, which lists guaranteed stable modes of memory operation. Each set includes information about memory frequency, voltage and corresponding timings and, most importantly, sub-timings. Thus, overclocking with the Super MemProfile function occurs, as it were, starting from the memory capabilities: the memory frequency is set to the maximum possible, and then, using the available multipliers, the FSB frequency (and, therefore, of the processor as well) is set.

The meaning of the D.O.C.P. (stands for DRAM O.C. Profile) consists first of all in overclocking the RAM, and only then in adjusting the QPI bus frequency and the processor multiplier. Unlike the previous mode, RAM modules may not support Intel XMP technology, but a novice user can get exactly the same performance boost. In particular, the ASUS board offered to overclock the memory up to 1333 MHz:

In this mode, the processor multiplier is reduced to 16, and the base frequency of the QPI is increased to 166 MHz. When the memory is overclocked to DDR3-1600, the following happens: the multiplier drops to 14, and the QPI frequency rises to 200 MHz. Moreover, if in the first case the processor frequency remains the nominal (2.66 GHz), then in the second case it rises to 2.8 GHz.

But let's not forget that this is also the nominal frequency for the Core i7 920, thanks to the Turbo function.

However, professional overclockers prefer to set all the settings themselves. Therefore, we list the corresponding functions in order. First, the ASUS P6T Deluxe board allows you to change the QPI bus frequency in the range from 100 to 500 MHz in 1 MHz steps. Conveniently, the required FSB frequency can be entered from the keyboard.

Let's list the rest of the overclocking functions:

The maximum voltage values \u200b\u200bare indicated taking into account the expansion of the corresponding ranges by means of jumpers.

Now let's move on to practical overclocking. So, ASUS P6T Deluxe showed the following results: stable operation at QPI \u003d 200 MHz with a processor based on Bloomfield core.

This result can be considered very good, since our board lacked functions for changing the frequency (multiplier) of the QPI bus and the frequency (multiplier) of the memory controller. Accordingly, when the base QPI frequency is increased, the remaining frequencies increase proportionally, and when the QPI is more than 200 MHz, the system loses stability.

The most interesting thing is that some of the few users of this board faced the same problem, but the other part provides screenshots of the overclocking section, where there are functions for changing the QPI Frequency (QPI bus frequency) and UCLK (memory controller frequency). For comments, we turned to the ASUS representative office, from which a reply came rather quickly. The problem lies in the processors, or rather, in the Intel engineering samples. When using engineered processor samples, this is normal and not an error. Changing QPI / Memory multiplier from processor engineering samples only supports I7-965. I7-940 and I7-920 samples do not support this feature.

By the way, a few words about the memory controller and the voltage on the modules. These parameters are interrelated with each other, and Intel does not recommend exceeding the voltage of RAM modules above 1.65 V, as this can damage the memory controller (and therefore the processor itself). In fact, even earlier Intel was against overclocking, did not recommend setting parameters (frequency, multiplier, Vcore) other than the standard ones. But this time everything is serious: a few "lucky ones" have already acquired key fobs worth $ 500 after increasing Vmem to 1.8 V.

Continuing the theme of overclocking, we note the new proprietary TurboV overclocking utility:

Lovers of gadgets can use the OC PALM device to set the overclocking parameters:

Unfortunately, ASUS P6T Deluxe is the only representative of the new platform in our test lab. Therefore, it is not possible to determine how much its performance is higher or lower than competitors.

Instead, we ran some tests of NVIDIA SLI technology. It turned out that organizing an SLI array is as easy as shelling pears: you need to install two video cards, connect them with a bridge (included in the bundle) and install 180.xx drivers. After that, a corresponding tab appears in the ForceWare control panel, in which the user can activate SLI. However, it was not without overlays. Although a number of applications showed a performance gain of more than 50%, some applications did not respond at all to SLI, and the popular 3DMark tests worked every other time. However, the platform is new, and these problems can be associated with a large number of factors: board and processor revision, board BIOS version, and NVIDIA drivers version.

conclusions

Since we cannot yet compare the ASUS P6T Deluxe board with competitors, let's talk about the Intel X58 chipset. Unfortunately, you can't say much about it either: the expansion options remained at the X48 level (due to the same "south bridge" ICH10R), support for the PCI Express v2.0 bus is unchanged. Moreover, the X58 Northbridge has become simpler as the memory controller migrated to the processor. Hence, the X58 chipset can be expected to be cheaper than the X48. But now it is not so: the X58 chipset is an exclusive solution for the LGA1366 platform, and as long as the "novelty effect" persists, motherboards based on it will be very expensive.

As for the support for NVIDIA SLI technology, it is in no way connected with the chipset. Support for this technology is determined by the motherboard model and associated NVIDIA drivers. In particular, ASUS P6T Deluxe supports this technology.

As for the proprietary ASUS technologies implemented in the test motherboard, we did not find any special advantages. Express Gate has a minimum of changes, the OC PALM add-on module has weak functionality, the new TurboV overclocking utility pleases only with its new design. From the technical point of view, ASUS P6T Deluxe was liked by its good study of overclocking functions and the presence of a large number of additional controllers. In particular, there are two SerialATA controllers, a FireWire serial bus controller and an additional 4-port USB 2.0 controller. With a couple of Gigabit LAN controllers, we conclude that the expansion options of the P6T Deluxe are among the best in their class.

Conclusion

• 16-phase processor power supply;
• 2-phase power supply of the memory controller;
• the presence of three slots PCI Express x16 v2.0;
• support for NVIDIA SLI and AMD CrossFire technologies;
• sAS / SerialATA II / RAID support (nine channels; ICH10R + Marvell 88SE6320 + Marvell 88SE6111);
• support for one P-ATA channel (Marvell 88SE6111);
• high Definition Audio 7.1 sound + two network controllers Gigabit Ethernet;
• support for USB 2.0 (14 ports) and IEEE-1394 (FireWire; two ports);
• a wide range of ASUS proprietary technologies (PC Probe II, EZ Flash 2, CrashFree BIOS 3, MyLogo 3, Q-Fan 2, etc.);
• an additional set of AI Proactive technologies (AI Overclock, OC Profile, AI Net 2, etc.);
• passive cooling system for the chipset and power supply module;
• power and Reset buttons;
• support for ASUS Express Gate technology.

• not found.

From the mid-range price range, the Asus P6T SE has removed very few features and added significant money savings.

Click on the picture to enlarge.

Asus P6T SE motherboard layout is as good as the model P6T , but we still think the board would benefit if Asus placed the two (blue) PCI Express 2.0 x16 slots at least one more slot apart from each other. The white long slot is still limited to x4 bandwidth, but it's ideal for a low-end graphics card or a high-bandwidth RAID controller.

As before, we disagree with the traditional arrangement in the lower rear corner of the front panel audio jack, as it makes it very difficult to route cables to the upper bays of the tower cases. Fortunately, some of Asus's competitors have already moved away from this tradition.

Asus is one of the few companies that provides support for both LGA 1366 and LGA 775 CPU coolers. This can be a particularly valuable addition for all users who want to upgrade from an LGA 775 socket without spending a lot of money on replacing already existing water cooling system.

BIOS

All BIOS frequencies, voltages and delays are listed in the summary table in the Overclocking section.

Using the same PCB as the more expensive P6T model allowed the P6T SE to use the same BIOS as well, although Asus has updated it since we tested P6T .

The Intel XMP Profile performs exactly as we expected on all Asus motherboards we tested, which is not the case with some of the competing models. However, overclockers, even with little experience, can easily set the memory voltage and latency manually.

The voltage parameters are more detailed than you'd expect from an X58 board under $ 200, but most of the added settings are rarely used. Extreme overclockers will love this, however the settings for other components are not as detailed.

In the "DRAM Timing Control" menu, we again see unusually extensive memory settings. Fortunately, the user can set some settings manually and leave the rest in automatic mode.

The Asus EZ Flash 2 supports BIOS firmware updates using its own interface, eliminating the need for bootable discs. The opposite of this useful feature is the automatically enabled Express Gate feature, which increases load times without adding functionality. Neither the P6T SE nor the P6T have an Express Gate module.

Accessories

The Intel platform with an LGA 1366 processor socket and the only set of logic for it - X58 Express - appeared more than a year ago. All motherboard manufacturers did not hesitate to release their products for it. And the hosts - their whole series. The current variety of motherboards based on Intel X58 Express also contributed to the fact that during this time the chip of its north bridge was transferred to a new stepping, and all manufacturers rushed to update their products.

Motherboards based on this set of logic are intended for desktop systems of the highest price segment, and it is he, and not Intel P55 Express, that takes the lead in mastering the new Intel Nehalem architecture. Asus has released a fairly wide range of X58-based motherboards, covering literally all market segments: inexpensive options (if this word is generally applicable to the LGA 1366 + X58 bundle); premium boards that meet the most sophisticated requirements; boards for single-processor entry / mid-range servers or powerful workstations; and, of course, motherboards for enthusiasts that are endowed with advanced overclocking functions. Let's consider them in order.

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Entry level boards

By itself, a platform with 1366-pin processors does not imply the availability of budget solutions, since is based on a fairly expensive set of logic, requires the use of three-channel DDR3 memory, and the cheapest CPU costs just under 10,000 rubles here. The difference between the boards of this group from the rest is insignificant and is very conditional. However, it is impossible not to highlight them.

The characteristics of the boards are summarized in a table for comparison:

Model	P6T	P6T SE
Pay
I / O panel
Number of phases	8+2	8+2
CrossFire / SLI support	Yes Yes	well no
PCI-E x16 connectors	3 (16+16+4)	3 (16+16+4)
PCI-E x1 connectors	1	1
PCI slots	2	2
PATA	1 (JMicron® JMB363)	1 (JMicron® JMB363)
SATA	6 (ICH10R) +2 (JMicron® JMB322)	6 (ICH10R)
SAS	no	no
eSATA	1 (JMicron® JMB363)	1 (JMicron® JMB363)
USB2.0 on I / O panel / on board	6/6	6/6
IEEE 1394a on I / O panel / on board	1/1	1/1
Lan Realtek 8111C
Sound	Realtek® ALC1200	Realtek® ALC1200
Dimensions, mm	305 x 244	305 x 244
Average retail price, rub	7700	6500
Specification