Test: ASUS P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe

Konklusion

Kan man leve med begrænsede overclockingmuligheder, så er P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe et ganske udemærket bundkort. Der er understøttelse for SLI og kortet er også godt med når det kommer til features.

Innovation / Teknologi - Nvidias nForce4 chipset er så småt blevet pensionsmodent. Især efter 680i chipsettets fremkomst. Der er dog stadig betydelig prisforskel på de to. Rent teknisk så er nForce4 en anelse bagud, hvilket afspejler sig i de mange ekstra controllere på boardet til bl.a ekstra SATA og FireWire. Boardets opbygning er solid, og ASUS holder et højt kvalitetsniveau. Kølesystemet er også godt lavet. Jeg er i julehumør, så den får 4 point.

Bundle / Tilbehør - ASUS er jo ikke kendt for at spare på tilbehøret, og denne bundle kan de godt være bekendt. Ud over standard kabler, CD'er osv, følger der to radialblæsere med til at sørge for køling i det tilfælde at man køler med vand eller andet ikke-luftcirkulerende køling.4 point.

Design / Layout - Bundkortet er fornuftigt opbygget, og selv om man installerer to store grafikkort vil der altid være plads til udvidelseskort i alle sokkeltyper. Der var ingen problemer under installationen af kortet. 3 point.

Software / BIOS - ASUS har tradition for at lave nogen fremragende BIOS'er, og denne er ingen undtagelse. Den er ligeså nem og overskuelig som vi kender det fra andre ASUS modeller. Under overclocking forsøget var der heller ingen slinger i valsen. Hvis ikke indstillingerne kan "godkendes", så går der 3-4sek hvorefter boardet genstarter i safe-mode. På softwaresiden mangler heller ikke noget. Ud over den medfølgende software i bundle, har man valget mellem ASUS egen PC-Probe/AI booster og nvidias nTune program. 4 point.

Ydelse - Ydelsen ligger på niveau med Intels chipsets. Det der skal sælge nForce4 kortene er naturligvis SLI understøttelsen. Her skal man ud og rode med driverhacks på Intel 975X hvis man vil have et alternativ i samme prisklasse. Det eneste der trækker ned er det noget begrænsede overclockingpotentiale. 3 point.

Pris - Små 1400kr koster P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe, så spørgsmålet er om ikke man trods alt er bedre tjent med et 975X med SLI-driverhack hvis man vil køre to nvidia grafikkort. Til de penge vil jeg i hvert fald godt se lidt mere OC potentiale. For pengene får du et kvalitetsbundkort med udemærket grundydelse, og ca 10% ekstra i posen til overclocking. 3 point.

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UK Summary

If you can live with a very limited overclocking potential, the P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe is a descent motherboard. SLI is supported, and the number of features is satisfactory.

Innovation / Technology - Nvidias nForce4 chipset is going into retirement. Especially after the appearence of the 680i boards, although there is still a huge pricegap between the two. On the tech side, nForce4 is a little behind, and extra controllers have been added to the board to support eSATA and FireWire. The board is built with quality components to uphold ASUS reputation as a manufacturer of high quality motherboards. The heatpipe coolingsystem is also a well made feature. 4 points.

Bundle / Accessories - ASUS are not known to hold back the goodies, and this bundle should satisfy most users. Apart from the standard cables and CD's, the are two radialfans included. For use in the event that you want to use watercooling or other non-aircirculating type of cooling. 4 points.

Design / Layout - The layout is fairly standard. I like the fact that you can install two large graphics cards, and still have access to one of each expansion socket type. I had no problems during the installation of the board. 3 points.

Software / BIOS - ASUS have a tradition for making excellent BIOS'es, and this is no exception. As easy to maneuver in as we have seen on so many other ASUS motherboards.. During the overclocking session the board behaved well. If my setting were nor "approved", all I had to do was wait 3-4secs, and it would reboot in safe-mode. The software includes a couple of programs in the bundle, and you have the option to use either ASUS' own PC-Probe/AI Booster or nvidias nTune to monitor the board. 4 points.

Performance - Performance is on par with Intels chipsets. The SLI support is the one feature meant to sell the nForce4 chipset. If you want SLI on an Intel board you need a 975X type and a driverhack. The only real dissapointment is the very limited overclocking potential of nForce4. 3 points.

Price - The pricetag is 190_. The big question is if one is not better off with a 975X board and a driverhack at this pricepoint. I would definitely want more in the OC department before I spend 190_. You get a motherboard with a good overall performance at stockspeed, and about 10% headroom for OC'ing. 3 points.