Asus P8P67 Pro Revision 3 Review

Written by Munk in Motherboards

http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQsAu38ZMP5HMOGIxJYRgajfAKj87avTdekkcnYkbPxy3iIDI2-Motherboards are the heart and soul of a computer, providing a means of communication between all the different components. Having a good board could then be likened to that one guy who seems to be able to talk to everyone. Upgrading your Motherboard in this analogy would be like taking a public speaking course. Recently Asus has released a new communication course for us, in the form of the P8P67 Pro Revision 3 motherboard. This new addition to a strong line of boards for the new Sandy Bridge CPU family is a welcome addition. Will it be worth the time or the money? Let’s open the box and get to testing:

 

Provided by: Asus
Price: $174.99

Closer Look:

 

 

Features and Specifications:

 

 

Digital Power Design: The New Standard
The world’s first Dual Intelligent Processors from ASUS pioneered the use of two onboard chips – EPU (Energy Processing Unit) and TPU (TurboV Processing Unit). New generation Dual Intelligent Processors 2 with DIGI+ VRM digital power design launch control into a new era.

The digital architecture delivers twice the precision power, intelligently adjusting PWM voltage and frequency modulation with minimal power loss through BIOS tuning and an exclusive user interface to increase the board’s overclocking range while performance reaches its full potential. It also adjusts VRM frequencies dynamically, cutting radiation interference by half and decreasing Vcore power noise for CPU to enhance system stability through enabling VRM spread spectrum. ASUS DIGI+ VRM digital power design empowers users with superior flexibility and perfect precision to ensure optimized performance, extreme system stability and greater power efficiency.

DIGI+ VRM

Herald the Arrival of a New Digital Power Design Era
VRM, or voltage regulator modules, are considered among the most essential motherboard design components. They supply the voltage demanded by the CPU, and a good VRM must intelligently detect actual CPU power draw to provide precise power accordingly. ASUS DIGI+ VRM is an innovative, industry-leading technology that fully integrates Intel® VRD12 specifications on a native level, greatly enhancing power to go far beyond the limits of analog designs.

ASUS DIGI+ VRM design features a digital programmable microprocessor onboard and upgrades motherboard power delivery to a digital standard. The 16+2 digital architecture delivers twice the precision power, intelligently adjusting PWM voltage and frequency modulation with minimal power loss through BIOS tuning and exclusive user interface to increase over-clocking range while performance reaches its full potential. It also adjusts frequencies dynamically, cutting radiation interference by half to enhance system stability through enabling spread spectrum. The DIGI+ VRM digital power design empowers users with superior flexibility and perfect precision to ensure optimized performance. extreme system stability, and greater power efficiency.

Advantages of ASUS DIGI+ VRM Digital Power Design
Unlike previous VRD versions, Intel® VRD12 uses digital signals (SVID). To ensure perfect power delivery, ASUS specially designed DIGI+ VRM to sync completely with this new technology.

  • Faster sensing and response: ASUS DIGI+ VRM acts as a digital controller to perfectly match digital power signal (SVID) requests from the CPU, eliminating digital-to-analog conversion lag. 
  • Better cooling: exclusive dual driver and MOS design doubles the heat dissipation area with expanded cooling surfaces for improved thermal performance. Spacing components out over a wider area speeds up cooling to enhance reliability and stability. 
  • 2X CPU power supply: the same exclusive dual driver and MOS design also provides twice the CPU power supply with two complete power stages. This results in far greater phase load tolerances, so the CPU never has to wait for power to arrive, increasing performance and overclocking potential.

Active Cooling for Extreme Durability- Super Cool VRM
ASUS DIGI+ VRM delivers intelligent power management to balance loadings for each power phase by detecting VRM temperatures to ensure longer component lifespan and better cooling.

TPU

The Ultimate Turbo Processor
Unleash your performance with ASUS’ simple onboard switch or AI Suite II utility. The TPU chip offers precise voltage control and advanced monitoring through Auto Tuning and TurboV functions. Auto Tuning offers a user friendly way to automatically optimize the system for fast, yet stable clock speeds, while TurboV enables unlimited freedom to adjust CPU frequencies and ratios for optimized performance in diverse situations.

EPU

Energy Efficiency All Around
Tap into the world’s first real-time PC power saving chip through a simple onboard switch or AI Suite II utility. Get total system-wide energy optimization by automatically detecting current PC loadings and intelligently moderating power consumption. This also reduces fan noise and extends component longevity!

ASUS Exclusive Features

BT GO!

Diverse BT Enjoyment, New Technology Lifestyle
Onboard Bluetooth wireless design enables smart connectivity to Bluetooth devices with no additional adapter. ASUS BT GO! comes with 7 special functions that offer a significant breakthrough in Bluetooth evolution, including Folder Sync, BT Transfer, BT Turbo Remote, BT-to-Net, Music Player, Shot and Send, and Personal Manager. All are accessible through the exclusive, user-friendly ASUS interface.


* The Bluetooth word mark and logos are owned by the Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of such marks by ASUSTeK Computer Inc. is under license. Other trademarks and trade names are those of their respective owners

EFI BIOS (EZ Mode)

Flexible & Easy BIOS Interface
The new ASUS EFI BIOS is an Extensible Firmware Interface that complies with uEFI architecture, offering a user-friendly interface that goes beyond traditional keyboard-only BIOS controls to enable more flexible and convenient mouse input. Users can easily navigate the new EFI BIOS with the same smoothness as their operating system. The exclusive EZ Mode displays frequently-accessed setup info, while the Advanced Mode is for experienced performance enthusiasts that demand far more intricate system settings.

Supports Hard Drives over 2.2TB
ASUS EFI BIOS natively supports hard drives larger than 2.2TB in 64-bit, with full storage space utilization, helping deliver far more exciting computing than traditional BIOS versions!
Exclusive ASUS Interface

  • EZ Mode – easy to learn, use, and manage
  • Advanced Mode – for experienced performance enthusiasts that demand intricate system settings

AI Suite II

One-stop Access to Innovative ASUS Features 
With its user-friendly interface, ASUS AI Suite II consolidates all exclusive ASUS features into one simple-to-use package. It allows users to supervise overclocking, energy management, fan speed, voltage and sensor readings, even interact with mobile devices via Bluetooth. This all-in-one software offers diverse and easy to use functions, with no need to switch back and forth between different utilities.

Latest Transfer Technology

Complete USB 3.0 Integration

Double USB Access, Double Convenience 
ASUS facilitates strategic USB 3.0 accessibility for both the front and rear panels – 4 USB 3.0 ports in total. Experience the latest plug & play connectivity at speeds up to 10 times faster than USB 2.0. The P8P67 Deluxe affords greater convenience with high speed connectivity.

ASUS Front Panel USB 3.0 Box

Convenient USB 3.0 Front Panel Compatibility 
ASUS provides standardized USB 3.0 front panel support, compatible with any chassis. Enjoy the faster throughput of USB 3.0 without relegating cables and devices to the hard-to-reach rear I/O.

Industry Standard

Dual Gigabit LAN Support (with One Intel LAN)

P8P67 Deluxe features dual Gigabit LAN design which complies with 802.3az Energy Efficient Ethernet (EEE) standard and allows a PC to serve as a network gateway for managing traffic between two separate networks. Moreover, this motherboard also implements one Intel® Gigabit LAN controller which reduces power consumption during normal operation and enhances faster transfer speed through dual interconnection between the Integrated LAN controller and Physical Layer (PHY).

ASUS Crystal Sound

DTS

DTS Surround Sensation UltraPC
DTS Surround Sensation UltraPC delivers exceptional 5.1 surround experience through the most common PC audio setups – your existing stereo speakers or headphones. In addition to virtual surround, “Bass enhancement” provides stronger low frequency bass sound, and “Voice clarification” provides clear human dialogue even with loud background sound. With these technologies, you may experience a better home-theater audio with ease.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CPU, Chipset and Graphics features

 

Quad-GPU SLI and Quad-GPU CrossFireX Support!

Flexibl Multi-GPU solutions, Your Weapon of Choice!

P8P67 Deluxe 

 

 

LGA1155 socket for Intel® Second Generation Core™ i7/ Core™ i5/ Core™ i3 Processors

This motherboard supports the latest Intel® second generation Core™ i7/Core™ i5/Core™ i3 processors in the LGA1155 package, with memory and PCI Express controllers integrated to support 2-channel (4 DIMM) DDR3 memory and 16 PCI Express 2.0 lanes. This provides great graphics performance. Intel® second generation Core™ i7/Core™ i5/Core™ i3 processors are among the most powerful and energy efficient CPUs in the world.

Intel® P67 Express Chipset

The Intel® P67 Express Chipset is the latest single-chipset design to support new socket 1155 Intel® second generation Core™ i7/Core™ i5/Core™ i3 processors. It provides improved performance by utilizing serial point-to-point links, allowing increased bandwidth and stability. Additionally, the P67 provides 2 SATA 6Gb/s and 4 SATA 3Gb/s ports for faster data retrieval at double the bandwidth of current bus systems.


 

 

 

 

 

GreenASUS and ErP Ready

The motherboard is European Union´s Energy-related Products (ErP) ready, and ErP requires products to meet certain energy efficiency requirements in regards to energy consumptions. This is in line with ASUS vision of creating environment-friendly and energy-efficient products through product design and innovation to reduce carbon footprint of the product and thus mitigate environmental impacts.

P8P67 Deluxe Product Overview


 

CPU Intel® Socket 1155 for Intel® 2nd Generation Core™ i7 Processor/Core™ i5 Processor/Core™ i3 Processor/ 
Support Intel® 32nm CPU
Supports Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0
* The Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 support depends on the CPU types. 
* Refer to www.asus.com for Intel CPU support list 
Chipset Intel® P67(B3) Express Chipset
Memory 4 x DIMM, Max. 32 GB, DDR3 2200(O.C.)*/2133(O.C.)/1866(O.C.)/1600/1333/1066 Non-ECC,Un-buffered Memory
Dual Channel memory architecture
Supports Intel® Extreme Memory Profile (XMP)
* According to Intel® SPEC, the Max. 32GB memory capacity can be supported with DIMMs of 8GB (or above). ASUS will update QVL once the DIMMs are available on the market. 
* Hyper DIMM support is subject to the physical characteristics of individual CPUs. Some hyper DIMMs only support one DIMM per channel. Please refer to Memory QVL for details. 
* Due to CPU behavior, DDR3 2200/2000/1800 MHz memory module will run at DDR3 2133/1866/1600 MHz frequency as default.
* Please refer to www.asus.com or user manual for Memory QVL.
Expansion Slots 2 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (single at x16 or dual at x8/x8 mode) 
1 x PCIe 2.0 x16 [Black] (at x4 mode, compatible with PCIe x1 and x4 devices) 
2 x PCIe 2.0 x1 
2 x PCI
Multi-GPU Support Supports NVIDIA® Quad-GPU SLI™ Technology 
Supports ATI® Quad-GPU CrossFireX™ Technology
Storage Intel® P67(B3) Express Chipset 
2 xSATA 6.0 Gb/s ports (gray)
4 xSATA 3.0 Gb/s ports (blue) 
Intel® Rapid Storage Technology Support RAID 0,1,5,10 
Marvell® PCIe 9128 SATA 6Gb/s controller with HyperDuo function* 
2 xSATA 6.0 Gb/s ports (navy blue) 
JMicron® JMB362 SATA controller* 
2 xExternal SATA 3.0 Gb/s ports (1 x Power eSATA) 
* These SATA ports are for data hard drives only. ATAPI devices are not supported.
LAN Dual Gigabit LAN controllers- 802.3az Energy Efficient Ethernet (EEE) appliance 
Intel® 82579 Gigabit LAN- Dual interconnect between the Integrated LAN controller and Physical Layer (PHY)
Realtek® 8111E Gigabit LAN controller 
Bluetooth Bluetooth v2.1 + EDR 
ASUS BT GO! Utility
Audio Realtek® ALC889 8-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC 
– Absolute Pitch 192khz/24bit True BD Lossless Sound 
– BD Audio Layer Content Protection 
– DTS Surround Sensation UltraPC 
– Supports Jack-Detection, Multi-streaming and Front Panel Jack-Retasking 
– Coaxial / Optical S/PDIF out ports at back I/O
IEEE 1394 VIA® 6315N controller supports 2 x 1394a port(s) (one at mid-board; one at back panel)
USB NEC USB 3.0 controllers
– 4 x USB 3.0/2.0 ports (2 ports at mid-board for front panel support, 2 ports at back panel [blue])
Intel® P67(B3) Express Chipset
– 12 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports (4 ports at mid-board, 8 ports at back panel)
ASUS Unique Features ASUS Dual Intelligent Processors 2 with DIGI+ VRM: 
ASUS EPU 
– EPU, EPU switch 
ASUS TPU 
– Auto Tuning, TurboV, TPU switch 
ASUS Digital Power Design 
– Industry leading Digital 16+2 Phase Power Design 
– ASUS DIGI+ VRM Utility 
ASUS BT GO! (Bluetooth) 
– Folder Sync, BT Transfer, Shot & Send, BT to Net, Music Player, Personal Manager, BT Turbo Remote 
ASUS Exclusive Features 
– MemOK! 
– AI Suite II 
– AI Charger 
– Anti Surge 
– ASUS EFI BIOS EZ Mode featuring friendly graphics user interface 
ASUS Quiet Thermal Solution 
– ASUS Fanless Design: Heat-pipe solution 
– ASUS Fan Xpert 
ASUS EZ DIY 
– ASUS Q-Shield 
– ASUS Q-Connector 
– ASUS O.C. Tuner 
– ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3 
– ASUS EZ Flash 2 
ASUS Q-Design 
– ASUS Q-Code 
– ASUS Q-LED (CPU, DRAM, VGA, Boot Device LED) 
– ASUS Q-Slot 
– ASUS Q-DIMM 
Overclocking Features Precision Tweaker 2 
– vCore: Adjustable CPU voltage at 0.005V increment
– vCCIO: Adjustable I/O voltage at 0.00625V increment 
– vCCSA: 144-step system agent voltage control 
– vDRAM Bus: 160-step Memory voltage control 
– vPCH: 90-step Chipset voltage control 
– vCPU_PLL: 160-step CPU & PCH PLL voltage control 
SFS (Stepless Frequency Selection)
– BCLK/PEG frequency tuning from 80MHz up to 300MHz at 0.1MHz increment 
Overclocking Protection
– ASUS C.P.R.(CPU Parameter Recall)
Back Panel I/O Ports 1 x PS/2 Keyboard/Mouse Combo port 
1 x Bluetooth module 
2 x External SATA (1 x Power eSATA)
1 x IEEE 1394a 
2 x LAN(RJ45) port(s) (1 x Intel® LAN)
2 x USB 3.0/2.0 (blue)
8 x USB 2.0/1.1 
2 x S/PDIF Out (1 for Coaxial, 1 for Optical) 
8 -Channel Audio I/O 
1 x Clr CMOS switch 
Internal I/O Connectors 1 x USB 3.0/2.0 connector(s) supports additional 2 USB ports (19-pin)
2 x USB 2.0/1.1 connector(s) support additional 4 USB ports
1 x MemOK! Button
4 x SATA 6.0Gb/s connectors (2 x gray; 2 x navy blue)
4 x SATA 3.0Gb/s connectors (blue) 
1 x IEEE 1394a connector 
1 x CPU Fan connector(s) (4-pin)
2 x Chassis Fan connector(s) (1 x 4-pin; 1 x 3-pin)
2 x Power Fan connector(s) (2 x 3-pin)
1 x TPU switch
1 x EPU switch
1 x Power-on switch
1 x Reset switch
1 x S/PDIF Out connector 
24-pin EATX Power connector 
8-pin EATX 12V Power connector 
Front panel audio connector
System Panel (Q-Connector) 
BIOS 32 Mb Flash ROM , EFI AMI BIOS, PnP, DMI2.0, WfM2.0, SM BIOS 2.5, ACPI 2.0a, Multi-language BIOS, ASUS EZ Flash 2, ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3 
Manageability WfM 2.0,DMI 2.0,WOL by PME,WOR by PME,PXE
Accessories User’s manual
2 x SATA 3.0Gb/s cables
4 x SATA 6.0Gb/s cables
2 in 1 Q-connector 
ASUS Q-Shield
1 x ASUS Front Panel USB 3.0 Box 
1 x ASUS SLI bridge connector
Support Disc Drivers
Anti-virus software (OEM version)
ASUS Update
ASUS Utilities
Form Factor ATX Form Factor 
12 inch x 9.6 inch ( 30.5 cm x 24.4 cm ) 

 Testing Setup:

Testing:

 

Arithmetic

Dhrystone (GIPS)

Whetstone (GLOPS)

Sabertooth P67

138

83

Sabertooth P67 OC

156

122

P8P67 Pro Revision 3

138

83

P8P67 Pro Revision 3 OC

157

93

Multicore

Bandwidth (GB/s)

Latency (ms)

Sabertooth P67

21

42

Sabertooth P67 OC

24

39

P8P67 Pro Revision 3

22

41

P8P67 Pro Revision 3 OC

24

37

Memory Bandwidth

Integer (GB/s

Float (GB/s)

Sabertooth P67

17.44

17.46

Sabertooth P67 OC

17.7

17.7

P8P67 Pro Revision 3

17.7

17.7

P8P67 Pro Revision 3 OC

17.7

17.7

Memory Latency

Nanoseconds

Sabertooth P67

74

Sabertooth P67 OC

69

P8P67 ProRevision 3

72

P8P67 ProRevision 3 OC

69.8

Cache & Memory

GB/s

Sabertooth P67

98

Sabertooth P67 OC

106

P8P67 Pro Revision 3

98

P8P67 Pro Revision 3 OC

105

File Systems

Drive (MB/s)

Random Access (ms)

Sabertooth P67

197

1

Sabertooth P67 OC

197

0.9

P8P67 Pro Revision 3

210

1

P8P67 Pro Revision 3 OC

211

1

Physical Disk

Index (MB/s)

Random Access (us)

Sabertooth P67

238

80

Sabertooth P67 OC

238

80

P8P67 Pro Revision 3

254

68

P8P67 Pro Revision 3 OC

256

49

Power Management Efficiency

GIPS

Sabertooth P67

16.2

Sabertooth P67 OC

15.8

P8P67 ProRevision 3

16.3

P8P67 ProRevision 3 OC

15.6

Aida 64 Cache & Memory

Sabertooth P67

Read (MB/s)

Write (MB/s)

Copy (MB/s)

Latency (ns)

Memory

16278

18423

18330

53

L1 Cache

118728

59353

118689

1

L2 Cache

67185

59093

56704

3.2

L3 Cache

31439

24102

28578

5.5

Sabertooth P67 OC

Read (MB/s)

Write (MB/s)

Copy (MB/s)

Latency (ns)

Memory

16707

19481

18456

52.6

L1 Cache

127941

63955

127892

1

L2 Cache

72484

38352

61154

3

L3 Cache

38354

28283

35329

4.9

 

P8P67 Pro Revision 3

Read (MB/s)

Write (MB/s)

Copy (MB/s)

Latency (ns)

Memory

16588

18735

18436

52.6

L1 Cache

118725

60095

118665

1

L2 Cache

67751

36257

57091

3.3

L3 Cache

34884

25969

33001

5.1

 

P8P67 Pro Revision 3 OC

Read (MB/s)

Write (MB/s)

Copy (MB/s)

Latency (ns)

Memory

11617

19496

18549

52.3

L1 Cache

127933

63957

127892

1

L2 Cache

72480

38366

61045

3

L3 Cache

37746

27416

36036

4.8

POV Ray

PPS (Pixels Per Second)

Sabertooth P67

1189

OC

1562

 

POV Ray

PPS (Pixels Per Second)

P8P67 Pro Revision 3

1211

OC

1370

PC Mark Vantage

Score

Sabertooth P67

18347

Sabertooth P67 OC

20581

PC Mark Vantage

Score

P8P67 Pro Revision 3

17383

P8P67 Pro Revision 3 OC

21435

 

Super Pi

Seconds

Sabertooth P67

10.48

OC

9.31

Super Pi

Seconds

P8P67 Pro Revision 3

9.9

OC

9.3

Sabertooth P67

Pass 1

Pass 2

Run 1/4

encoded 1442 frames, 141.40 fps, 3911.63 kb/s

encoded 1442 frames, 35.84 fps, 3959.17 kb/s

Run 2/4

encoded 1442 frames, 141.85 fps, 3911.63 kb/s

encoded 1442 frames, 35.85 fps, 3960.06 kb/s

Run 3/4

encoded 1442 frames, 144.20 fps, 3911.63 kb/s

encoded 1442 frames, 35.88 fps, 3958.45 kb/s

Run 4/4

encoded 1442 frames, 144.71 fps, 3911.63 kb/s

encoded 1442 frames, 35.85 fps, 3958.77 kb/s

P8P67 Pro Revision 3

Pass 1

Pass 2

Run 1/4

encoded 1442 frames, 146.25 fps, 3911.63 kb/s

encoded 1442 frames, 36.36 fps, 3958.83 kb/s

Run 2/4

encoded 1442 frames, 146.26 fps, 3911.63 kb/s

encoded 1442 frames, 36.32 fps, 3960.31 kb/s

Run 3/4

encoded 1442 frames, 144.20 fps, 3911.63 kb/s

encoded 1442 frames, 36.33 fps, 3959.78 kb/s

Run 4/4

encoded 1442 frames, 146.95 fps, 3911.63 kb/s

encoded 1442 frames, 36.28 fps, 3959.47 kb/s

Conclusion:

As I said in my Sabertooth P67 review I quite enjoy the new BIOS. The overclocking is something I forgot to mention before so I will say it now, just a few clicks is all you need and the overclocking is ready and rearing to go. Some of the other great things on the board is the triple SLI capability and the many USB 2.0 and 3.0 ports. The solid state capacitors was a nice plus for me too as it adds some longevity to the board. I also appreciated the blue design on the board, it may be a small thing but aesthetics can be a deciding factor when making a purchase even when it comes to a motherboard that you would really see once it is installed.

The Sabertooth did come pretty close in the testing. Well for the difference there you get pretty much every feature you could want on a motherboard plus some and though the tests were relativity close the P8P67 did come up ahead on every test.

Would I recommend it? Yes, it is a great motherboard for enthusiasts offering a multitude of features and includes many ports and slots which will work for newer and older equipment.

Pros:

  • Easy Overclocking
  • Multitude of features
  • Triple SLI capable
  • backwards and forwards compatible
  • Plenty of I/O ports

Cons:

  • None 

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