Board Analysis

ASUS P4G8X – The Board

Granite Bay is an expensive chipset, and as a result has been classified as workstation-only by Intel. It officially supports PC2100 DDR memory, so at first glance it doesn’t appear to be bleeding edge like competing chipsets that claim PC3200 support, but then again, it only needs enough bandwidth to match the processor’s throughput. Granite Bay can accommodate up to 4GB of memory, which contributes to its workstation-centric typecast. ASUS’ P4G8X consequently features four memory slots that are split into pairs. Technically, the board does support a single-channel DDR configuration, but in the interest of performance, you’d probably want to occupy both channels. Running a dual-channel configuration has a few stipulations, though.

First, both modules must be identical in type and size (though not necessarily brand). Double-sided x16 DDR DIMMs are not supported and neither is a three-DIMM configuration. The third module would simply be ignored in dual-channel mode. ASUS has done a good job at spacing the DIMM slots on the P4G8X so that they can be opened even with an AGP card installed, making memory upgrades straightforward.

Plenty of space on upper half of board

P4G8X back panel

In the box - tons of accessories!

We’ve come to expect ASUS to take care in its board layout. That is to say, the 20-pin ATX power connector is strategically placed to avoid blocking airflow around the Socket 478 interface. The 4-pin EZ Plug connector, which takes the place of the 12V auxiliary power connector, is also well-placed. We had no problems using Intel’s reference heat sink and even larger designs should fit without a problem, as four 3300 microfarad capacitors are the only components near the processor interface. Power comes courtesy of a two-phase solution and Intersil’s HIP6302CB controller.

The board’s back panel sports the usual PS/2, parallel and serial connectors, in addition to four USB ports, three 1/8” audio mini-jacks and an RJ 45-connector that is powered by Broadcom’s Gigabit controller. Of course, most homes won’t be able to take advantage of the advanced Ethernet option, but again, the board lends itself to a workstation environment. The onboard audio is similarly designed. Realtek’s 18-bit ALC650 provides six-channel audio output, even if it is only from a codec rather than a hardware audio processor. Digital audio input and output is enabled through an onboard header that houses two coaxial plugs.

Socket interface on the motherboard

Silicon Image Serial ATA controller

Ethernet controller

Many manufacturers are still providing parallel IDE RAID through a HighPoint or Promise chip. ASUS is looking to the future, though, by using a Silicon Image Sil3112A Serial ATA RAID controller. We still haven’t seen widespread availability of the necessary S-ATA hard drives, but it is really only a matter of time. Texas Instruments provides IEEE 1394 Firewire support with the TSB43AB22 controller and the P4S8X Deluxe includes a header with two Firewire ports. Since the E7205 MCH is complimented by the ICH4, the chipset has native USB 2.0 support. As mentioned, four of the ports are available on the board’s back panel and the other two are accessible through yet another header.

PCI slots and BlueMagic slot

Finally, ASUS’ P4G8X offers a single AGP 8x slot and five PCI 2.2 expansion slots. ASUS refers to the fifth slot as BlueMagic, named for its color. According to the P4G8X manual, the slot supports future ASUS function cards. Markings below the slot suggest a possible wireless card.