Asus P5n32E-sli

[Jordan]

Hey, new member here thanks to sswilson :).

Anyway, I'm hoping to find someone who owns, or has some knowledge of, the ASUS P5N32E-SLI motherboard. Just looking for opinions / personal reviews.

I've spent the past day scouring the internet for motherboards that would go well with either new C2D E6750 or rereleased C2Q Q6600. While I haven't decided which processor to go with, the Q6600 at NCIX looks like too good of an option to pass up. The P5N32E-SLI is now my top candidate, especially considering it says it will support the upcoming 45nm processors.

I'm also hoping someone would know if I'm going to be able to fit the massive Thermalright Ultra 120 on, or if the chipset cooling will interfere.



http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=21494

[sswilson]

Welcome to HardwareCanucks Jordan! :)

I'm not familiar with the board myself, so hopefully somebody here has some first hand experience.

I know one of the first questions that folks are going to ask is if you intend on running SLI at any time. If not, there may be some single slot solutions that would fit the bill as well.

[Jordan]

It's very well a possibility. Since this board is going to have support for 45nm processors, I'm expecting it'll last me up until 2009 or so at a minimum, so I might as well be partially future-proofed.

[DurkaDurka]

I have that board and it has served me well so far.

You shouldn't have a problem fitting the cooler on the board, I was able to fit my OCZ vindicator without any issues.

I love how flexible the board is in regards to OC'ing. You can run a FSB:Memory ratio or you can unlink the 2. Lots of options for volts, memory timings, all the usual stuff, I run my E6400 stable at 3.2ghz@1.4v.


The only downside to the board is that the Northbridge can get pretty damn hot...

[Jim]

welcome dude

[Jordan]

Thanks Jim, hopefully I'll enjoy it here.

One positive review is good enough for me, just backs up everything I've suspected . Hopefully I'll have enough cooling in the case to keep the Northbridge a decent temperature.

[furiousdave]

Hi all,

New here myself, and I was wondering about the same board as well. I found the following reviews:

(Ok it won't let me post these links until I've posted at least once..., so I'll reply to this thread :) )

The first two reviews show better results than the last one, possibly because of the weird cooling setup of the last final review. The final review was rightfully concerned about the temperature, as it apparently it does get pretty hot, but I'm wondering if his setup may have actually restricted airflow rather than helping it? It looks pretty wacky.

Also, it's interesting to note that the product is labeled as 680i, but is apparently actually 650i, which is strange. I don't know enough at the moment to understand the differences.

I myself am still trying to decide on whether I should for NVidia SLI with this board or another similar, or go AMD/ATI Crossfire on an ASUS P5KC or Gigabyte P35.

Any advice or thoughts are appreciated.

[furiousdave]

The reviews:

Asus P5N32-E SLI Plus nForce 650i Motherboard Review - PCSTATS.com

bit-tech.net | Asus P5N32-E SLI Plus

Asus P5N32E-SLI Plus Review - Page 1 - Introduction

[Jordan]

They're actually two separate boards. The P5N32E-SLI Plus uses the "nForce 650 plus an nForce 570" chipset while the standard P5N32E-SLI actually uses the nForce 680i.

I haven't been able to find many reviews of the latter. Also, if a mod would correct the topic title, I forgot the "E" :).

[sswilson]

Is that the "E" you wanted???? :)

(I learned a new trick today.... :) ).