Tech Link(Motherboard): ASUS P5K3 Deluxe

HardOCP has a new motherboard review up for your scrutiny. This bad ass motherboard sports the latest chipset from Intel and supports the latest Intel processor and can overclock well too. It didn't get the highest Gold honor, but still, a pretty cool board if you're a kind of geek who always wanted to try things out first thing they came out on the stor. Expand to read the conclusion...

The Bottom Line

The ASUS P5K3 proves to be another motherboard founded on stellar engineering culminating in great stability, excellent performance, and solid overclocking prowess. This is an expensive motherboard however and once you factor in the cost of DDR3 modules you are going to find yourself easily above a $600 upgrade investment.


Had we seen it outpace other motherboards in top end CPU bus overclocking it certainly would have been worthy of a Gold [H] Award. Still the levels of overclocking shown on the P5K3 are nothing short of awesome and will likely fill the needs of any overclocker other than the super-hardcore.

Source:ASUS P5K3 Deluxe

Press Release: Corsair Announces World's Fastest DDR3 Memory

Oh dear, Corsair* just announced their fastest memory DDR3. The future of Intel chipset looks to be even brighter for the enthusiasts who crave for bigger, better, faster memory. The timings/latencies seems to be high right now, i.e. loose, but hey I am sure they'll improve with time. Check it out...

Optimized for Current and Future Intel Platforms, Corsair demonstrates production-ready DDR3-1600 DOMINATOR and previews next generation speed grade at DDR3-2000

COMPUTEX – Taipei, Taiwan (June 4, 2007) – Corsair® http://www.corsair.com, the worldwide leader in high performance computer and flash memory products, today unveiled the world’s fastest production DDR3 memory rated at a blazing-fast 1,600MHz (PC3-12,800) and the world preview of the Corsair DOMINATOR memory running at 2,000MHz (PC3-16,000). Live demonstration of the new DOMINATOR memory will be on display in the Corsair VIP suite (#1334) at the Grand Hyatt Hotel. The TWIN3X2048-1600C10D DOMINATOR is the latest addition to the Corsair line of high-performance memory modules. Also on display is the upcoming generation of DDR3 DOMINATORs, ranging from 1GB modules running at over 2,000MHz and 2GB modules showing performance promise for 64-bit based applications. All DDR3 products have been developed to support the new Intel® P35 and X38 Express platforms, ensuring customers of an extreme user experience whether for gaming or applications with high computing needs.

The TWIN3X2048-1600C10D DOMINATOR will be available shortly after Computex. Both XMS3 DHX and XMS3 Classic products are currently available through Corsair’s worldwide authorized dealer channel:

FAMILY PART NUMBER SPEED LATENCIES
DOMINATOR TWIN3X2048-1600C10D 1600MHz 10-8-8-24
XMS3 DHX TWIN3X2048-1333C9DHX 1333MHz 9-9-9-24
XMS3 CLASSIC TWIN3X2048-1333C9 1333MHz 9-9-9-24
TWIN3X2048-1066C7 1066MHz 7-7-7-21

All DDR3 modules operate at lower memory voltages to deliver better performance with the same amount of power when compared to DDR2. Dynamic I/O Signal Termination and On-die Dynamic Termination (ODT) reduce the reflective signals transmitted to standby RAMs, thereby enabling support for higher memory frequencies. A larger prefetch means more data is immediately available for the processor and the differential data strobe reduces noise while accessing data, especially at higher frequencies.

“Corsair is supporting the industry’s transition to DDR3 with a full line of highly-engineered memory solutions. Our partnerships with leading technology companies and suppliers have allowed us to be first-to-market with the world’s fastest production DDR3 memory and demonstrating our next generation DOMINATOR running at 2GHz,” said Jack Peterson, VP of Marketing at Corsair. “DDR3 memory technology brings scalability and features that DDR2 cannot deliver. The fact that we are able to realize 50% more memory speed rating at launch compared to the standard DDR3-1066 specification is simply stunning.” continued Peterson.

Like their DDR2 brethren, DDR3 DOMINATOR and XMS3 DHX feature Corsair’s patent-pending DHX technology - an innovative quad-layer heat sink design that optimizes memory performance and reliability by maximizing thermal dissipation. With DHX Technology, heat is removed via two paths – the leads of the BGA chips into the PCB (convective cooling) and the back of the BGA packages into the custom designed extruded aluminum heat sinks (conductive cooling).

“The enthusiast community demands solutions that push the envelope and are capable of delivering the highest level performance experience, and very fast DDR3 is the next step in delivering cutting-edge computing,” said Steve R. Peterson, Director of Chipset & Graphics Marketing, Intel. “We work closely with Corsair to help deliver a cutting edge experience for the enthusiast power user. Corsair’s release of the new DDR3-1600 DOMINATOR memory, combined with an Intel P35 or X38 Express chipset based motherboard, plus an Intel Extreme Edition CPU, shows just how exciting platforms based on DDR3 will be.”

Source:Corsair Announces World's Fastest DDR3 Memory

Tech Link (Motherboard): Asus P5K3 Deluxe WiFi AP with DDR3

BitTech has posted a review of the new board from Asus*, based on Intel's newest chipset in town, supporting DDR3. While the crew at BitTech gave it a perfect 10 in features, the "value" is at low score of just 5. Over all, they gave the board a 7, but I am not really sure if it reflects the experience, as the score seems to be the "average" of (10 + 6 + 5) / 3 thingamajig. Check out the Final Thoughs by expanding this news post...

Final Thoughts
Apart from the ton of features and excellent stability, the board doesn't offer any spectacular performance and is far more expensive than the competition, or even other Asus boards. You'd be far better off investing in anything DDR2, rather than forcing yourself down and extremely expensive upgrade path. It will allow some future proofing, but by that time in 12-18 months, you might as well upgrade the motherboard with a newer chipset which will undoubtedly support faster DDR3 modules and newer features as well.

It's a really weird situation because it's genuinely a really good board, but there's absolutely no reason to buy it. Get the P5K Deluxe or something P965 or nForce 680i (LT) SLI instead... oh and a ton of performance DDR2, a large monitor, a better graphics card and perhaps a new car or apartment as well. You know, the same kind of money you would have spent on the P5K3 Deluxe and DDR3.

It you're after CrossFire support to match a couple of Radeon HD 2900 XTs you've just bought (I'm assuming you run Vista here) and are dying for an updated chipset rather than the antique 975X, then you've either got to settle for the DFI LANParty UT ICFX3200 T2R/G, or wait until September for X38. However, X38 will also be DDR3, sooo I'd just buy the DFI...

Source:Asus P5K3 Deluxe WiFi AP with DDR3

Tech Link (Chipset): Intel P35 Bearlake Motherboard And DDR3 Memory – Asus and Corsair

The lucky folks over at HotHardware managed to get themselves some cool motherboard and memory to play with. They have tested DDR3 and the newest motherboard from Asus with the latest chipset from Intel. They are pretty much happy with the results, check out the conclusion...

Performance Summary:
Over the course of our testing, we saw the new Intel P35 chipset and DDR3 memory combination offer up gains in the 2 - 5% range in various applications. This was largely attributed to the new Intel MCH and its improved access latency characteristics. There were several occasions where the P35 chipset driven Asus P5K3 Deluxe out-paced its 965 counterpart with the same DDR2 memory running in its DIMM slots. In terms of DDR3 memory, it's obvious the technology is still maturing somewhat but at its higher clock speeds, especially with a correspondingly higher FSB, there are significant gains to be had.



Intel's new Bearlake chipset family is off to a great start with the P35. Our first time out with this new chipset showed surprisingly good stability and performance with obvious headroom for growth. One look at a 1733MHz DDR3 clock speed and you can't help but get a little bit excited for what the future holds. The only caveat will be how quickly latency settings can be brought in line.

At this point in the game, if you were building a new system for work or pleasure, its probably doesn't make sense to spring for a DDR2 driven version of one of these new P35 motherboards, like the Asus P5K we tested. The product simply will have a more finite life-span with the inevitable migration to DDR3. In addition, DDR3 has a bit of growing-up to do for the next few months, so we'd recommend users wait and see what second generation products coming down the pipe will offer perhaps. Refinements in motherboard design are bound to be forthcoming, as well as tighter timings for DDR3.

Though, if you're itching for something to tinker with and spending a little extra cash on being an early adopter isn't out of the norm for you, we'd say jump in, the water is just fine. The P35 chipset with its snappy new memory controller impressed us more-so than many chipset product launches of late and we've seen plenty. What's perhaps more exciting is the upcoming X38 chipset with PCI Express 2.0 technology and a few extra lanes integrated with the chipset to boot. It's always hard to judge the entry point with a new platform but these are good problems to have.

Source:Intel P35 Bearlake Motherboard And DDR3 Memory – Asus and Corsair

Tech Link (Memory): Intel Initiates Widespread DDR3 Memory Chips Validation Ahead of New Platform Launch.

Looks like chipzilla is making sure that all is smooth as marble by the time they launch a platform based on DDR3. It;s all good, check out the news from XBitLabs.

Intel Corp., the world’s largest supplier of x86 central processing units and supporting chipsets, has begun to publish details about next-generation DDR3 memory chips that are certified to be compatible with the company’s forthcoming core-logic sets. So far seven of the world’s top dynamic random access memory suppliers have received validation from Intel.

So far Elpida Memory, Hynix Semiconductor, Micron Technology, Qimonda AG, Nanya and Samsung Electronics have received validation of their DDR3 memory chips from Intel. The list of validated memory modules is currently located at Intel’s web-site, days before the company plans to release its new platforms that use the new type of DRAM.

So far Intel has validated 512Mb and 1Gb memory chips with 800MHz and 1066MHz clock-speeds as well as CL5 5-5, CL6 6-6, CL7 7-7 or even CL8 8-8 latency settings. Specifications of Intel-validated memory components seem to be very conservative, as initially the company’s P35 and G33 chipsets will only support PC3-8500 (DDR3 1066MHz) memory, while more advanced X38 core-logic is set to support PC3-10600 (DDR3 1333MHz) memory speed in the third quarter of the year.

DDR3 memory is designed to increase performance and lower power consumption of DDR2 memory utilized today. The new memory standard features relatively low operating voltage of 1.5V, 8-bit pre-fetch architecture (compared to 4-bit pre-fetch buffer with DDR2), on-die termination (ODT), power-saving modes known as PASR (partial array self refresh) and ASR (auto self refresh) and some other capabilities.

The DDR3 memory will be able to operate at up to 1600MHz, but in the exchange for enhanced latencies of CAS (column address strobe) 5 to 10 (compared to CAS 3-6 on DDR2). Even though CL7 latency setting is considerably higher compared to CL5 of DDR2 at the same frequency, improved pre-fetch and other technical advantages of DDR3 versus DDR2 may help the new memory type to be as fast or even faster compared to the previous-gen one.

Demand for DDR3 is expected to emerge towards the end of the year. According to market research firm iSuppli, DDR3 will account for 25% of total DRAM shipments by the end of 2008 and dominate the market by 2010.

Source:Intel Initiates Widespread DDR3 Memory Chips Validation Ahead of New Platform Launch.

Tech Link (Motherboard): MSI P35 Platinum

I have been doing some scouting of upcoming boards from Intel coupled with a new chipset and I found several that are pretty interesting. One is the MSI P35 Platinum from MSI*. This particular board will be great looking to ugly looking depending on who you ask and personal preference. For me, it looks decent, and as long as those heatpipes and heatsink does the job, does not obstruct installation of aftermarket heatsink fan, and will not inflate the price skyhigh then I am all for it.



You can find more information about this board on quite a few sites. windwithme of XS has posted some pictures already. HardwareZone posted their initial thoughts as well.

Here are some more pictures for your viewing pleasure (pictures owned by respective owners):




I reserve my final judgement of this board till the results and benchmarks comes out in the open. As it is right now, it is still under NDA I believe. Till next...

Tech Link (Motherboard): ASUS Bearlake P35 Chipset DDR2 P5K Deluxe and DDR3 P5K3 Deluxe

AndreYang of XS manage to get his hands dirty with an upcoming Asus* motherboard. It looks really nice, with a new chipset from Chipzilla and supporting DDR3. AndreYang posted lots of pictures, but not benchmark results due to NDA. Be ready for some pic loving post over at XS, check it out...

Source:ASUS Bearlake P35 Chipset DDR2 P5K Deluxe and DDR3 P5K3 Deluxe

Tech Link (Industry); DDR3 mobos will ship in mid 2007

XS member, metroc.cl, has shared info that DDR3 mobos will ship in midyear. Earlier, he posted a DDR3-based mobo and in this current posting, he is now showing some DDR3 modules.

If you are wondering what benefit DDR3 would bring, I suggest reading up an article over at LostCircuits. I suggest you guys review this link, though it's been quite dated already (and focusing on GDDR3). Expand for more...

Hello Guys,
i just got info from supertalent that DDR3 motherboard will start shipping in mid 2007, that DDR3 wont be pin compatible with DDR2.


Also they already have finished prototypes of DDR3 they are testing the in several mobos now.

All this info will be public tomorrow when ST releases their newsletter, if you want to sign up in supertalents newsletter, check their home page and you have to look at the right side

Source:DDR3 mobos will ship in mid 2007