Board Analysis

Just as ASUS has implemented a few changes in the feature set of the P4P800 Deluxe versus the P4C800 Deluxe, the same applies to the board layout of each respective board. One of the most notable differences is the location of the power connectors. The ATX12V connector is now located just below the CPU interface on the P4P800 Deluxe, making it a longer reach in comparison to the P4C800 Deluxe. Meanwhile, the ATX connector swaps positions with the secondary IDE connector.

As you can see, the North Bridge on our P4P800 Deluxe is tilted towards the CPU interface; this is a standard aspect of the 865PE/875P reference design. While this shortens trace lengths between both components, the end result is that heatsink installation was more difficult on the P4C800 Deluxe, especially in the case of some of the larger Pentium 4 coolers available on the market.

To address this, ASUS has rotated the CPU interface 90 degrees. As a result, you have a lot more room to work with during heatsink installation/removal -- your fingers are no longer fighting for space between the CPU socket and the North Bridge’s heatsink. We’ve also heard that ASUS has implemented a newer revision of the P4P800 Deluxe that tilts the heatsink so that it’s parallel with the edge of the CPU socket. You can see this pictured on the ASUS website right now for the P4P800. This change increases the amount of free space between both components.

Another profile shot of the board

AGP retention mechanism holding NV35

Color-coded DIMMs

Since the P4P800 Deluxe isn’t intended for the workstation market, ASUS has implemented a standard universal AGP slot rather than the AGP Pro slot we’ve seen on previous ASUS products. The AGP retention mechanism is also a little different than what we’re used to seeing, it slides back and forth to lock the AGP card into place.

Real tight fit there

Another shot of the tight fit

Unfortunately, there isn’t a lot of space between the memory sockets and the AGP slot. As with many motherboards, you’ll have to install your memory before the graphics card can be installed. It was surprising for us to see this on the P4P800 Deluxe, as this is one advantage so many ASUS designs have had over their competitors over the past few years.

Overall, there aren’t any significant showstoppers in the board design of the P4P800 Deluxe. The rotation of the CPU interface gets a big thumbs-up, but the lack of space between the graphics card and memory is a step backwards. There’s just enough space for the GeForce FX 5900 Ultra and RADEON 9800 PRO 256MB to be installed properly, but both are tight fits.