To help us provide you with free impartial advice, we may earn a commission if you buy through links on our site. Learn more

Asus P5Q Pro review

Our Rating :
Price when reviewed : £98
inc VAT

Specifications

LGA775, ATX, Intel P45 chipset, supports: Pentium 4, Pentium D, Pentium Extreme Edition, Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Quad, Core 2 Extreme Edition

http://www.ebuyer.com

Asus’s P5Q Pro fell behind many of the other Intel motherboards in our benchmarks. However, it has plenty of overclocking options and, in theory, memory can be overclocked to a maximum speed of 1,200MHz.

Other extras include Express Gate, a basic version of Linux equipped with versions of programs such as Firefox and Skype. This boots in seconds, so it’s useful for checking web pages without having to wait for Windows to start. An included adaptor (the Q Connector) lets you plug the numerous front panel connectors into their headers in one easy step.

Like four of the other Intel motherboards here, the P5Q Pro has two PCI Express x16 slots so it can use two ATI graphics cards in CrossFire mode to boost 3D performance, although you won’t see double the performance. Fitting a card into the second slot may also be difficult, as the Southbridge and the CMOS battery are very close.

The P5Q Pro has two PCI slots, a pair of PCI Express x1 slots, eight SATA ports, a six-pin FireWire 400 port, six USB ports and a coaxial S/PDIF connector. It’s a generous array of slots and ports, but Gigabyte’s GA-EP45-UD3R has even more.

Asus’s P5Q Pro is a good motherboard, but others here are better value. Gigabyte’s similarly priced GA-EP45-UD3R has even more slots and ports and similar overclocking options. If you want an Intel motherboard with CrossFire and an S/PDIF output, Foxconn’s P43A is £26 cheaper.

Basic Specifications

Rating ****
Processor socket LGA775
Form factor ATX
Size 305x244mm
Processor support Pentium 4, Pentium D, Pentium Extreme Edition, Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Quad, Core 2 Extreme Edition
Processor external bus 400MHz (1,600MHz quad-pumped FSB)
Chipset north bridge Intel P45
Chipset south bridge Intel ICH10R
Passively-cooled north bridge yes
Integrated graphics No
Supported memory type DDR2 667/800/1066/1200
Maximum memory speed PC2-9600
Memory slots 4
Maximum memory 16GB
Dual-channel support yes

Buying Information

Price £98
Supplier http://www.ebuyer.com
Details www.asus.com

Internal Ports

Power connectors 1x 24-pin ATX, 1x 8-pin ATX
PCI-E x16 slots 2
Dual graphics architecture CrossFireX
PCI-E x4 slots 0
PCI-E x1 slots 2
PCI slots 2
Fan headers 3
Floppy ports 1
IDE ports 1
Serial ATA ports 8
RAID chipset (max disks) Intel ICH10R (6x SATAII, RAID 0, 1, 5, 10)

Features

Wired network ports 1x 10/100/1000
Sound (ports) Realtek ALC1200 (coaxial S/PDIF, 6x analogue out)
USB2 ports / headers 6/6
Firewire ports / headers 1/1
Legacy ports 2x PS/2, serial header
Other ports none
Cables included 2x SATA, 1x IDE, 1x Molex to SATA power
Brackets included 1x eSATA, 1x FireWire
Software included none

Setup and Overclocking

Voltage adjustment CPU/RAM/chipset
CPU clock max adjustment 800MHz

Read more

Reviews | PCs