ASUS P5E3 Deluxe Overclocking: DDR3 Takes Front Stage
by Kris Boughton on November 20, 2007 4:00 AM EST- Posted in
- CPUs
Back in September we published an early first look of the ASUS P5E3 Deluxe motherboard. Based on the Intel X38 chipset, this feature-rich board provided us with the promise of good things to come. Unfortunately, rumors surrounding Intel's unexpected problems with the production and distribution of their newest performance desktop chipset were correct and prevented us from going into much more detail. We ended our preliminary examination with the promise of revisiting the board at a not-so-distant date. Our hope was that our patience in the matter would ultimately bestow upon us - first-hand - the benefits of more mature BIOS releases.
Regrettably, not much has changed in regards to the performance of the X38, although the last few weeks have given us the chance to thoroughly explore the BIOS and map some of the rather elusive feature options to improve performance. At this stage, we are finally comfortable with the X38 chipset and believe it has plenty of hidden performance potential if you know where to look for it. In truth, ASUS has given considerable attention to improving the board's BIOS functionality, but quantifying these differences can be a challenge.
In the end, it is difficult to unlock massive amounts of hidden performance when it's just not there. One thing's for certain though, motherboards based on the X38 chipset that make use of older DDR2 technology will never reach the same levels of performance we are starting to see with the DDR3 boards. A quick scan of current DDR3 memory and motherboard prices should be enough to convince just about anyone that upgrading today is serious business.
The last few weeks have presented many enthusiasts with the opportunity to catch their breath; having just experienced the P35 launch last spring, they now have to decide whether to go the X38/X48 and DDR3 route. Deciding whether to make the change to DDR3 is not very difficult: you can afford the buy-in, or you cannot. Given the choice, especially considering the rate at which DDR2 prices continue to plummet, it should come as no surprise that a large majority of users will probably find themselves in a rather favorable situation - one in which the benefits of staying with DDR2 for a little while longer make too much sense to move at this point.
Of course, it's fair to point out that it is common for the market to endure a period of significant buyer hesitation associated with the adoption of new products or technology - usually attributed to a general unfamiliarity with the benefits that come from purchasing the new technologies. As bleeding edge enthusiasts carrying enough credit card debt to send the stock market spiraling downward, we find it hard to stick with DDR2, even though this would be the wise decision at this point. However, after using DDR3 for the past few months, we find it difficult to go back for several reasons, the primary one being our ever-increasing thirst for improving the performance of our shiny new Penryn based processors.
True to fashion, ASUS has once again taken center stage, having worked hard to deliver the P5E3 Deluxe quickly into the hands of salivating enthusiasts. Competition for the title of "world's greatest overclocking motherboard" is fierce, often times having no clear winner. The measured performance margin between close competitors is frequently trivial enough that the tough decision regarding which board to buy comes down to nothing more than personal preference, even brand loyalty. This particular performance segment is exceedingly narrow though, as the number of DDR3-flavored X38 boards for the overclocker is limited at this time.
Those that find themselves entirely unfamiliar with the ASUS P5E3 Deluxe general feature set would do well to check out our first look at this capable board. This time around, we will be taking a detailed look at overclocking capabilities, specifically memory scaling and the effect on overall performance. Before we do this though, let us take a second look at the general board features and layout. We will also point out a few of the hardware features ASUS includes in an effort to improve the motherboard's ability to deliver a strong and stable overclock for Intel's latest processors.
Regrettably, not much has changed in regards to the performance of the X38, although the last few weeks have given us the chance to thoroughly explore the BIOS and map some of the rather elusive feature options to improve performance. At this stage, we are finally comfortable with the X38 chipset and believe it has plenty of hidden performance potential if you know where to look for it. In truth, ASUS has given considerable attention to improving the board's BIOS functionality, but quantifying these differences can be a challenge.
In the end, it is difficult to unlock massive amounts of hidden performance when it's just not there. One thing's for certain though, motherboards based on the X38 chipset that make use of older DDR2 technology will never reach the same levels of performance we are starting to see with the DDR3 boards. A quick scan of current DDR3 memory and motherboard prices should be enough to convince just about anyone that upgrading today is serious business.
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The last few weeks have presented many enthusiasts with the opportunity to catch their breath; having just experienced the P35 launch last spring, they now have to decide whether to go the X38/X48 and DDR3 route. Deciding whether to make the change to DDR3 is not very difficult: you can afford the buy-in, or you cannot. Given the choice, especially considering the rate at which DDR2 prices continue to plummet, it should come as no surprise that a large majority of users will probably find themselves in a rather favorable situation - one in which the benefits of staying with DDR2 for a little while longer make too much sense to move at this point.
Of course, it's fair to point out that it is common for the market to endure a period of significant buyer hesitation associated with the adoption of new products or technology - usually attributed to a general unfamiliarity with the benefits that come from purchasing the new technologies. As bleeding edge enthusiasts carrying enough credit card debt to send the stock market spiraling downward, we find it hard to stick with DDR2, even though this would be the wise decision at this point. However, after using DDR3 for the past few months, we find it difficult to go back for several reasons, the primary one being our ever-increasing thirst for improving the performance of our shiny new Penryn based processors.
True to fashion, ASUS has once again taken center stage, having worked hard to deliver the P5E3 Deluxe quickly into the hands of salivating enthusiasts. Competition for the title of "world's greatest overclocking motherboard" is fierce, often times having no clear winner. The measured performance margin between close competitors is frequently trivial enough that the tough decision regarding which board to buy comes down to nothing more than personal preference, even brand loyalty. This particular performance segment is exceedingly narrow though, as the number of DDR3-flavored X38 boards for the overclocker is limited at this time.
Those that find themselves entirely unfamiliar with the ASUS P5E3 Deluxe general feature set would do well to check out our first look at this capable board. This time around, we will be taking a detailed look at overclocking capabilities, specifically memory scaling and the effect on overall performance. Before we do this though, let us take a second look at the general board features and layout. We will also point out a few of the hardware features ASUS includes in an effort to improve the motherboard's ability to deliver a strong and stable overclock for Intel's latest processors.
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retrospooty - Friday, November 23, 2007 - link
I should have added that beyond the current Intel roadmap, they are looking at Rambus XDR for future CPU's. DDR and its minor generational bumps arent going to cut it for long. DDR4 and DDR5 arent much better, higher speeds and higher latencies all the way = very minor performance increases.I really wouldnt advise anyone, even the enthusiests to get DDR3 now, in 1 more year Nehalem will be out with 3 channel DDR and it will likely be faster, or lower latency and cheaper than current DDR3 is, and anyone who fancies themselves and "enthusiest" will be upgrading again at that point, because 3 channel DDR3 on top of Nehalems internal memory controller WILL give a notable performance increase.
jkostans - Tuesday, November 20, 2007 - link
Spending an extra $50-100 on a GPU is still way more effective than spending the $200-300 more for DDR3. The only games that struggle with framerate on a modern mid-high end system are mostly GPU and somewhat CPU dependent. You get about the least bang for your buck with memory, but at the bleeding edge of performance I guess money is not a barrier.TA152H - Tuesday, November 20, 2007 - link
Another way to look at it is, would you rather have 1 GB of DDR3 or 2 GB of DDR2? They cost roughly the same.I'd rather have the 1 GB, since I can add more memory later. If you end up with DDR2, your system is forever degraded by inferior memory. You can't add it later unless you get a new motherboard. Besides, faster memory makes everything run faster, more memory only makes things run faster if you have to page (pretty much, I know Microsoft steals memory for caching, but that's a mixed bag anyway). Also, more memory wants more power.
I can already hear the argument from people saying that you can get 1 GB of DDR2 as well, and still realize a cost saving. It's a valid point, but at 1 GB the cost difference isn't that great, and I think the performance, and future upgradeability still make DDR3 attractive for some people.
LoneWolf15 - Tuesday, November 20, 2007 - link
Another way to look at it is, would you rather have 4GB of high-performance DDR2 for $150 (or cheaper, my 4GB of Crucial Ballistix cost me $140 this summer and is cheaper yet now), or 2GB of DDR3 for $200?
The industry must really love folks like you, who buy into the marketing hype. DDR2 is far from inferior, or Intel wouldn't have been using it all this time, and saying your system will be "forever degraded" is ridiculous tripe.
DDR3 has more bandwidth, but isn't necessarily "faster" as it is higher latency. That $150 DDR2 I mentioned has a CAS latency of 4; the $200 2GB DDR3 has a CAS latency of 7. DDR3 will only be attractive once it gains market share, lowering its price. What with enough P35 boards and some X38 boards still supporting DDR2, there is no reason to switch.
TA152H - Tuesday, November 20, 2007 - link
DDR3 is faster, if you can't accept that much, you aren't worth arguing with. DDR2 is inferior, but it's cheaper.DDR2 was not inferior until DDR3 came out. Inferior is a relative term, there has to be something better. Is English not your first language?
natebsi - Tuesday, November 20, 2007 - link
Sheesh. Personal attack much?TA152H - Tuesday, November 20, 2007 - link
Actually, you don't think his rant was a personal attack? If you don't agree with some people, you are just listening to marketing hype, or don't understand this or that. Instead of realizing there are reasons for both DDR2 (cost and compatibility) and DDR3 (everything else), you get people who accuse you of not understanding anything, and just being part of some company's marketing machine. It's so uneducated and insulting, it warrants something of the same kind back.Anyone that thinks DDR3 is completely useless, even now, is an idiot. This type of person is not worth arguing with. They are both useful, right now, and the arguments should really be about the gray areas where they begin to overlap. I might think DDR3's area is a little bigger than most, but at least I recognize that there are many people that are better off with DDR2. By the same token, I expect people to have at least basic intelligence and recognize there are areas where DDR3 makes more sense, even now. Pure performance always has a place, especially when it costs only $500, or less, more.
aeternitas - Sunday, December 9, 2007 - link
Grats on being the article clown.yyrkoon - Thursday, November 22, 2007 - link
I think the point if entirely lost on you.First, you can for instance get the same overclocks from DDR2 memory(at least from what I've seen here, because even my Promos 800 sticks can hit 1:1 475Mhz FSB which is 10Mhz faster than what I saw in the benches here).
Secondly, a system with 4GB of DDR2 vs 1-2GB of DDR3 *will* be more responsive. You can argue about it all you want, until you're blue in the face, and the only thing you will prove is that you have no actual hands on experience. Yes, this is even on a system with a 32BIT OS.
Thirdly, remember all the discussion a while back about AMD systems not performing any better than the Intel C2D systems despite having faster memory capabilities?
Lastly, even the writer of this article said the differences between the DDR2, and DDR3 system was barely a whisper . . .
But, you're right, anyone claiming that DDR3 RIGHT NOW is useless is an idiot, because they obviously can not see the eManhood effect capabilities here in saying that they paid X amount more for DDR3 vs DDR2. Anyone who has bragged about their $3000 usd set of car rims being much better than the stock rims that came with the car can surely see this point.
Griswold - Tuesday, November 20, 2007 - link
Oh yea I bet DDR3 makes perfect sense in your basement "lab" where you run your benchmarks all day long. Instead of yapping like a chihuaha with a superiority complex, you could instead just provide some realworld applications that make DDR3 not look like a waste of money right here, right now with todays hardware.Future proofing my ass, get a clue.