Prema mogućnostima, opremi i performansama, Asusova ploča P5K3 Deluxe WiFi može se bez sumnje svrstati u sam vrh ponude ploča baziranih na Intelovom P35 čipsetu. Ploča nudi sve dodatke zanimljive zahtjevnim korisnicima kao što su moćno hlađenje čipseta bazirano na toplovodnim cijevima, dva PCIe utora s podrškom za CrossFire, eSATA konektore, Firewire, dvije gigabitne mrežne kartice te WLAN kartica. Ista je stvar s BIOS-om koji je odlično organiziran i nudi pregršt opcija za fino podešavanje i overclockiranje računala. Maksimalna takt FSB-a koji smo uspjeli postići koristeći četverojezgreni procesor bio je 435 MHz što je solidna brojka, barem ako se ne svrstavate u ektremne overclockere. Performanse s 1066-megahercnom DDR3 memorijom su također dosta dobre, no i dalje u pravilu nešto lošije u odnosu na ploče s 1066-megahercnom DDR2 memorijom. Obzirom da je P5K3 Deluxe WiFi podržava i 1333-megahercni DDR3, uz ovakvu bržu memoriju ploča može imati i još bolje performanse.

Dakako, sve nas ovo dovodi do cijene, ne samo ploče već i DDR3 memorije. Asus P5K3 Deluxe WiFi u hrvatskim trgovinama košta između 1700 i 2000 kn što je nekakva standardna cijena za Asusove ploče visoke klase. Većini korisnika će ovo biti previše, no P5K3 Deluxe WiFi ionako nije ploča za mase. Problemi počinju pri kupovini DDR3 memorije. Jedna pločica od 1GB brzine 1066 MHz koštat će vas oko 1500 kn, a ako imate sreće možda možete nabaviti i 1333-megahercnu pločicu istog kapaciteta za oko 1600 kn. No, da ste se odlučili za ploču koja podržava DDR2 memoriju, za 1500 kn oko šest gigabajtnih pločica 800-megahercne DDR2 memorije ili pak dva gigabajta overclockerske DDR2 memorije s tim da bi vam u ovom slučaju još ostalo love da okrenete koju rundu u obližnjoj birtiji.

Iz svega rečenog jasno je da ploče s DDR3 memorijom u ovom trenutku jednostavno nisu dobra kupovina jer je cijena DDR3 memorije toliko visoka da anulira bilo kakve dobitke na performansama. Ako pak spadate u onu malu grupu korisnika kojima cijena ne igra bitan faktor prilikom kupovine, kombinacija high-end ploče kao što je Asus P5K3 Deluxe WiFi i DDR3 memorije na taktu od 1333 ili više megaherca je najbolji izbor za postizanje maksimalnih performansi.

Conclusion

Judging by its features, equipment and performance, Asus P5K3 Deluxe WiFi is without a doubt one of the best P35 based motherboards available on the market. Motherboard offers pratically all features which are interesting to enthusiast – powerful heat-pipe based chipset cooling, two PCIe graphics card slots with CrossFire support, eSATA connectors, Firewire, double gigabit LAN and WiFi support. BIOS is in similar shape, packed with features for tuning, managing and overclocking various components. Maximal FSB clock we managed to achieve with our quad core CPU was 435 MHz, pretty good value unless you are aiming for extreme overclocking. Performance with 1066 MHz DDR3 was also pretty solid but in general a bit lower in comparison to P35 motherboard with 1066 MHz DDR2. Considering the fact that P5K3 Deluxe WiFi supports 1333 MHz DDR3, there is certainly more performance potential if you decide to install high-end DDR3 memory.

Of course, all these good things come at a price and in this case its not so much about the price of the motherboard, but about the price of DDR3 memory. Asus P5K3 Deluxe WiFi in croatian stores can be purchased at a price between 1700 and 2000 kn (that would be 235 to 275 € including VAT). This is a standard price for a high-end motherboard (especially one with Asus tag on it) and there are no issues about it. Most users will find the price too high, but P5K3 Deluxe WiFi is not really a motherboard for regular John Does. Things get hairy when we start looking for DDR3 memory. One 1066 MHz DDR3 stick with capacity of one gigabyte will cost you about 1500 kn (205 € inc VAT) and if you are lucky, you could even get 1333 MHz DDR3 stick for about 1600 kn (215 €). At the same time, for the same amount of cash you could buy about six 1GB sticks of regular 800 MHz DDR2 memory or two 1GB stick of overclocker grade 1066 MHz DDR2 memory. Even then, you will still have some left over cash for a round or two in the local pub.

Considering everything we said in this article, its pretty clear that buying motherboard with DDR3 support today or in the near future is not a good decision because price of DDR3 memory is so high that it completely nullifies any performanse gains which this type of memory can offer. On the other hand, if you are one of those rare people who don’t have any issues with high prices (or money in general), combining high-end motherboard like Asus P5K3 Deluxe WiFi with high-performance DDR3 memory (1333+ MHz) is certainly the best way to achieve maximum performance.