ASUS P5K Deluxe (Intel P35) mainboard review -  Conclusion
Bluetooth 26 May 2007

The most important difference between the ASUS P5K3 is the removal of PS/2 mouse port in replacement of 2 USB ports. This can be a bit inconvenient for users who do not use a USB mouse or have misplaced their converter. On top of that, the WiFi Access point is good but it could be an accessory addon rather than bundled. The board also comes innovative features like AI GEAR 2 to save power and AI slot detector (with diagnostics leds to check PCI/PCIe card installation).

The overclocking features is very complete. With crazy voltage range, one can test out watercooling for those high voltages. The FSB can even be chosen from a range of 200 all the way to 800MHz. This is a bit too dynamic which most users might not even use anything beyond 600MHz FSB.

In our test,we managed to overclock E6300 to 500x7 Air cooled. Although the board can POST up to 520 x7, it is not too stable at that level.  For a list of options in the BIOS, you can refer to our Gallery for a view of the options available.

Overall, this board has performed well for its first official BIOS. With DDR2 modules pricing dropping further, this board would be a better choice. DDR3 would still be costly at this moment and availability is probably June. ASUS P5K with DDR2-1066 is definitely the better buy with a better price/performance ratio compared to its brother the DDR3 P5K3 Deluxe.

Pricing

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Pros

• Future CPU support

• Plenty of oc options in BIOS

• WIFi, AP

• 1394

• AI Slot Detector

• AI Gear2

Cons

• No PS/2 Mouse port

Ratings

Here are my ratings out of 10 stars.