[18th Anniversary] Asus Black Pearl - P5k-Premium Testing Report

[VictorWang]

18th black pearl: P5K-Premium, very nice packaging.

http://bbs.unihw.com/attachments/for...QbkrNZtX0n.jpg
http://bbs.unihw.com/attachments/for...0p6zWNmCBs.jpg
http://bbs.unihw.com/attachments/for...Rf4eBSAtP0.jpg


2*PWM HS Fan, Black I/O Panel
http://bbs.unihw.com/attachments/for...DPAPXKbAXi.jpg


18th Anniversary Logo



Asus Style, All solid-alu-cap, shield inductor Trio 1R1, nikos mosfet, 8layer PCB.



8phase pwm
http://bbs.unihw.com/attachments/for...cIQraMWmMw.jpg


2 phase for ddr2 ??? but it's not let's wait for blitz.
http://bbs.unihw.com/attachments/for...QH3dq4gBZ4.jpg


same solution on northbridge
http://bbs.unihw.com/attachments/for...re4lg7lsen.jpg


2Slot Space Dual 16X PCIE, support 16+4x crossfire
http://bbs.unihw.com/attachments/for...Grk5V2nbkx.jpg


southbridge area, seems ready for ROG
http://bbs.unihw.com/attachments/for...fS7JEHCyJU.jpg


CPU CLK Generator : ICS-9LPRS9188KL



Realtek 8810SC gigabyte lan
http://bbs.unihw.com/attachments/for...DkvsEFSuRz.jpg


JM IDE Controller
http://bbs.unihw.com/attachments/for...dOLiQmyBxH.jpg


Agere 1394 chip
http://bbs.unihw.com/attachments/for...1gwUVLkVtv.jpg


BIOS Overclking Settings:
1）voltage
http://bbs.unihw.com/attachments/for...2ggzsJoFvD.jpg


2）FSB/DRAM Strap&Ratio
http://bbs.unihw.com/attachments/for...FAKpL5M82f.jpg


3) Ram Tweak
http://bbs.unihw.com/attachments/for...Nbn3Ntb2kd.jpg


4) CPU=400*9， Ram=DDR2-1200 4-5-4-9-2T Demo



FSB Strap keep the same.
Higher fsb/memclk means higher efficiency.
1）400*9, DDR2-1200 4-5-4-9



2）450*8, DDR2-1350 5-5-4-9, sisoft memory bandwidth > 9k



3）514*7，DDR2-1285 5-5-4-9，9654mb/s



4） Asus Power, Super pi_32m = 13min30sec w/o any tweak.



still, higher fsb+higher memclk = faster.



5）P5K-Premium, 570fsb on Air (same chip , 565fsb on P5K3-Deluxe with same cooling)



Summary:
1） Nikos Mosfet
2） TRIO 1R1 Inductor
3） 8Layer PCB
4） 6.3v/561uf Solid-Alu-Cap

2．more volt.
1） Max CPU PLL Volt = 2.2v
2） Max vMCH = 1.95v
3） Max vDDR2= 2.55v

3．More tweak options
1） FSB Strap with corresponding Tips/Notes
2） FSB/MemoryCLK Ratio auto adjustable, improve overclk successful rate.
3） mem clk 1T/2T

Test report powered by Uni Hardware.

[michaLcoughliN]

sexy board but too much bling$$

[kcnyc]

sexy board but too much bling$$

how much are they going for? are they even on sale yet?

[FatHippo]

Asus is at it again, using gimmicks to sell a board >.> When will they ever end this gimmick thing??

[Machinus]

I'm hoping to get this board, thanks for the info!!

[eklipze]

wow not bad. but too much $$ lol

[OBR]

nothing special ... we have better choices for better price ... with P35 Express ...

PS. Where is "designed for Watercooling platform" ... special support?

[VictorWang]

price might be about the same with p5k-deluxe I think, or a little bit higher but not too high.

[over@locker886]

Nice new logo!

[largon]

I wonder what's the purpose of the upper mch-mosfet heatpipe...

"FSB Strap to North Bridge"

[eva2000]

Nice... Victor looks like 1 phase DDR2 not 2 phase ??? Blitz Formula SE 2 phase looks like this photo here.

[justin_c]

what is voltage reference? i'm guessing voltage damper reduces vdroop, correct?

price please! (err, i won't buy it, just waiting for x38).

[VictorWang]

Nice... Victor looks like 1 phase DDR2 not 2 phase ??? Blitz Formula SE 2 phase looks like this photo here.

i'm kidding, blitz is rock

[DEVIL K-ce]

price might be about the same with p5k-deluxe I think, or a little bit higher but not too high.

Little higher than P5K Dlx ; 10-15$ in Poland

And yes I have the same question as OBR : "designed for Watercooling platform"


Martin

[ineedaname]

It looks like the only thing specially designed for water cooling is the extra passive fan....

[doomed]

im disappointed... i was expecting alot more from this mobo...to much advertisement. rather go for a p5k deluxe or w8 for the next chipset (if i can afford DDR3) lol

[zoob]

Does this board run as hot as the P5K Deluxe?

[VictorWang]

Little higher than P5K Dlx ; 10-15$ in Poland

And yes I have the same question as OBR : "designed for Watercooling platform"


Martin

this mobo is not designed for watercooling.
Blitz will be the Ultimate Asus P35 mobo with watercooling solution.


the mobo is running pretty cool 'coz of better inductor and mosfet.
and there are no mosfet at back of the pcb, so better cooling also.

it's definetly an Evo Version of P5K-Deluxe and is about the same price but better overclking.

[Machinus]

Does the watercooling design make it hotter than p5kd with just air?

EDIT: Anyone have OC testing to compare with deluxe?

[palese]

VR Zone

The P5K Premium motherboard is specially designed for water-cooled solutions and allows users to enjoy enhanced overclocking speeds of up to 100% faster in water-cooled systems; and stays 40ºC (72ºF) lower than other thermal solutions. This motherboard also natively supports DDR2 1066 for better compatibility, and with ASUS’s exclusive Super Memspeed Technology, memory speeds can be automatically enhanced by 75%, up to DDR2 1400MHz. It is also able to provide users with stable CPU power and 30% reduced power ripples during heavy loading. Signal delivery is also enhanced with low cross-talk for even faster speeds.

287.09 in stock http://www.shopsharksystems.com/brow...IUM%2FWIFI-AP/

[1badhabit]

That board is sexy, but sexy isn't always better....In a PC perspective...

[doomed]

yeah i dont get it... it says on the website that its suppose to be enhanced for water cooling... but i dont see anything speciall about it... the blitz on the other hand has a NB/SB/and mosfet WC blocks integrated in them, thats water cooling. (although idk if its a good idea cause it would put alot of extra heat loop, if you already have a quad and a 8800gtx on the same loop) idk if that would be worth it. and to bad its only DDR3

[Machinus]

Does putting in water cooling sinks make it worse for air? I can't find what about the board is so different that it would change it.

The only things I can see are better CPU power management?

[eva2000]

i'm kidding, blitz is rock

hehe... so far i'm liking the blitz alot more smaller incremental voltage options!

yeah i dont get it... it says on the website that its suppose to be enhanced for water cooling... but i dont see anything speciall about it... the blitz on the other hand has a NB/SB/and mosfet WC blocks integrated in them, thats water cooling. (although idk if its a good idea cause it would put alot of extra heat loop, if you already have a quad and a 8800gtx on the same loop) idk if that would be worth it. and to bad its only DDR3

probably they mean enhanced for water cooling in terms of the board designed to run cooler in water cooling environments where additional fan/air flow usually from air heatsinks are NOT present.

[doomed]

still... if you think about any mobo will run alot cooler with water cooling than with air... just because your away a lot of the heat that the cpu (and sometimes gpu(s)) from the case.