Intel P67 3-Way Motherboard Roundup - PAGE 4

The packaging of the ASUS P8P67 Deluxe motherboard is very simplistic, as the front is not cluttered with details of the product's support. Even with the front panel being relatively clean, ASUS was able to squeeze in some icons advertising key features.

The front panel of the packaging can be opened like a book, allowing more information to be revealed. On this panel ASUS has listed the supported features of the P8P67 Deluxe, as well as more detailed descriptions of the features. With the side panel open there is also a clear view into the contents of the box, giving us a good look at the ASUS motherboard while it is still in the packaging.

The motherboard and accessories come packaged in separate areas of the box, with the motherboard at the top in its own protective packaging and the accessories at the bottom. The accessories that come with the P8P67 Deluxe consist of a user guide, support DVD, 4 SATA 6Gb/s cables, 2 SATA 3Gb/s cables, 1 SLI bridge connector, a rear I/O Q-Shield, and a 2-in1 Q-connector kit. This is more than a standard motherboard bundle already, but ASUS also includes a front panel USB 3.0 I/O. This panel can be used in an open drive bay in your case and is connected to the USB 3.0 header on the motherboard.

The ASUS P8P67 Deluxe is an ATX sized motherboard that uses high quality components such as solid Japanese capacitors, a robust 16+2 phase architecture, heatsinks on both the MOSFET and chipset, and a feature called "Dual Intelligent Processors 2 - DIGI+ VRM". The Dual Intelligent Processors 2 design consists of a Energy Processing Unit that automatically monitors the entire system's power consumption, and a TurboV Processing Unit that gives superior performance for any task. Both of these increase the motherboard's performance and power efficiency, which in turn improve the operating temperature and extends the board's operational lifetime.

Along with its exceptional quality, the ASUS P8P67 Deluxe also has a very attractive design that uses shades of blue and black throughout the PCB. The color scheme works very well together, and is in some ways similar to other ASUS boards that we have been seeing throughout the past year. This model also boasts a very nice layout, and even with a large heatsink, it should have no issues with add-on components.

The CPU socket on the ASUS P8P67 Deluxe uses the LGA 1155 interface that supports all second generation Intel Core i7 and i5 processors. This is of course the case will all the upcoming P67 based motherboards, but where this model differs is the use of a 16+2 phase design along with a large heatpipe on the MOSFET and Dual Intelligent Processors. This will ensure the CPU area has adequate power while remaining thermally cool.

There are four memory DIMMs on the P8P67 Deluxe that support DDR3 memory in a dual-channel configuration. This motherboard can support up to 16GB of memory rated at 2133(O.C),1866(OC), 1600, 1333, and 1066MHz. Some of the additional features found in the memory area are ASUS's MEMOK and TPU switches. The MEMOK switch, when enabled, will ensure the installed memory is configured for the best compatibility to boot the motherboard. The TPU switch is a simple means to enable or disable the on-board TPU feature.

For power sources, the ASUS P8P67 Deluxe includes a main 24-pin ATX power connector and a 8-pin 12V power connector. The main power connector is found to the right of the memory DIMMs and the additional connector is located at the upper left hand portion of the PCB.

The rear I/O options on the P8P67 Deluxe include a PS/2 keyboard/mouse port, optical S/PDIF out port, Coaxial S/PDIF out port, eSATA port, power eSATA port, a Bluetooth module, IEEE 1394a port, eight USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports, One Realtek LAN RJ-45 port, one Intel LAN RJ-45 port, a clear CMOS button and the audio I/O ports. This is a massive amount of expansion and should be more than even enthusiasts will need.

The included rear expansion ports consist of 2 PCI Express x16 slots, one PCI Express x16 slot (in x4 mode), two PCI Express x1 slots and two PCI slots. The first two PCI Express x16 slots support SLi and CrossFireX, and work at x16 in a single graphics card configuration or x8/x8 when two cards are installed.

There are a total of eight SATA ports on the motherboard with the top four utilizing the SATA 6Gb/s interface and the bottom four using the SATA 3Gb/s interface. The four SATA 6Gb/s connectors are divided into two groups (those connected via the chipset and those connected through an add-on controller) and color coded accordingly. The top navy blue ports are not connected directly to the P67 Express chipset and are instead utilized via an on-board Marvell PCIe 9128 SATA 6Gb/s controller. The two gray ports are the 6Gb/s options that are connected through the chipset and as such support RAID 0,1,5 and 10 configurations. The remaining ports all use the SATA 3Gb/s interface and support RAID 0 through 10.

Just above the SATA ports is an integrated USB 3.0 header that is in a convenient location to install the aforementioned USB 3.0 box, giving the user four additional USB 3.0 ports. This is quite impressive; motherboard manufacturers are utilizing the USB 3.0 interface faster than I had originally anticipated.

To cool the vitals, ASUS uses a large heatpipe solution on the MOSFET and a stand alone cooler on the P67 Express chipset. All of the included heatsinks use a very robust design, which should keep the motherboard at a lower thermal level. The heatsinks play a large part in the overall look of the motherboard, with their blue and black color scheme and use of wave-like fins to add to the aesthetics.

Along the bottom of the motherboard, ASUS has included plenty of expansion options and from left to right you have a SPDIF out header, front panel audio header, IE1394a header, EPU switch, power/reset buttons, two USB 2.0 headers, two 3-pin fan headers, a diagnostics LED and the front panel connection headers. For the most part these are self explanatory, with the exception of the TPU switch. What this switch does is enable or disable the TurboV technology.