ASUS P5Q3 Motherboard

Launched last summer by Intel, the P45 chipset has quickly grown in popularity, replacing the aging P35 chipset. Intended for a mid to upper mainstream consumer base, the P45 chipset boasts some impressive features, such as: full DDR2/DDR3 support, 20 PCI Express 2.0 lanes, ATI Crossfire support, and a 65nm manufacturing process. By now manufacturers have had ample time to design and refine their P45 based motherboards and today Benchmark Reviews takes a look at ASUS' mainstream P45 DDR3 motherboard: the P5Q3. As a twist on our usual motherboard reviews, this article will also shed some light on the growing DDR2 vs DDR3 debate with some hard numbers in the benchmark sections.

DDR3 has been around for a while now, but its increased cost over DDR2 has limited it to mostly the enthusiast segment. With the launch of the new Core i7 platform, however, DDR3 prices have been steadily falling. While the high cost of the Core i7 platform is still out of reach for most consumers, the effect it's had on DDR3 prices can be felt throughout most market segments. Combined with the P45 chipset, which offers support for DDR2 and DDR3, these price drops have brought about an interesting question: is DDR3 worth the extra cost?

To help answer that question, Benchmark Reviews will be comparing our P5Q3 to one of its many siblings within the ASUS P5Q family, the P5Q-E. This board is similar to the P5Q3 in most respects, but with one important distinction: it uses DDR2 instead DDR3. This will allow us to isolate the memory technology used as the only variable affecting system performance. As usual, we'll also take a look at the various features and technologies offered by the P5Q3 and how they relate to real world settings.

About the company: ASUSTek Computer, Inc.

ASUS, a technology-oriented company blessed with one of the world's top R&D teams, is well known for high-quality and innovative technology. As a leading provider of 3C (computers, communications and consumer electronics) total solutions, ASUS offers a complete product portfolio to compete in the new millennium.

ASUS products' top quality stems from product development. It's like learning Chinese Kung-Fu; one must begin with cultivating the "Chi" and inner strength. Besides innovating cutting-edge features, ASUS engineers also pay special attention to EMI (electromagnetic interference), thermal, acoustics and details that usually go unnoticed to achieve complete customer satisfaction. ASUS notebooks are the first TCO'99-certified notebooks worldwide. The requirements for this honor include radiation emission control, energy (battery consumption), ecology (environment friendly) and ergonomics.

To succeed in this ultra-competitive industry, great products need to be complimented by speed-to-market, cost and service. That's why all 100,000 over employees of ASUS strive for the "ASUS Way of Total Quality Management" to offer the best quality without compromising cost and time-to-market while providing maximum value to all customers through world-class services.

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