ASUS & Intel 845PE/GE Motherboard Reviews - Page 10

Benchmark Analysis

Based on our benchmark testing, we feel that the i845PE is the fastest DDR333 Pentium 4 platform money can buy, and that the i845GE is not far behind. Keep in mind that none of these boards gave the option for DDR400, and if you've got the cash for some hotrod memory, there are a few platforms that can actually make use of it. That said, we feel that DDR333 is the current performance standard, and that for the vast majority of users, the i845PE will make a very good case for their PC dollars. Since the i845PE has all the features of the i845GE, there is really no reason to buy the integrated video chipset, unless you really plan to use it. The only question is how long before Intel (and others) release their dual-channel DDR platforms, and essentially bring with it an even higher level of performance.

Naturally, there are some downsides and how these affect your buying decision will depend on their overall importance. The lack of AGP 8X is a downer, not due to any huge performance difference, but because very soon all graphics cards will be AGP 8X and it's nice to have for potential upgrades. ATA-133 is another similar feature that is lacking in the i845PE/GE chipset, and while it also doesn't amount to higher performance differences, it's still a nice-to-have, especially for RAID use. On the flip side, on-board Serial ATA is present on two of the three motherboards we reviewed and definitely makes these products more future-proof.

Conclusion

When viewing the i845PE and i845GE chipsets from a current standpoint, both are very impressive products in terms of performance and stability. The three boards we reviewed are also impressive, and each in their own way. The Intel D850EMV2 offers up a combination of high-end performance and adequate integrated video, while the D845PEBT2 is a bit faster and ships with additional RAID and Serial ATA hardware. At the end of the day, it's still the ASUS P4PE that is bound to turn the most heads. This is one impressive piece of hardware and its high-end performance, nearly perfect design, and staggering array of features definitely make it a product to keep an eye on.