Some models of motherboards have sunk into oblivion. But their name still lives on, and users want to know about past technical achievements. Asus P5PL2 was able in due time to become a good motherboard, which would combine the necessary characteristics for each consumer.
Price
It's hard to believe, but this model is more than 10 years old. She first became known in 2006 and caused a lot of controversy, and most importantly, raised the main question about the Hi-End product.
Motherboard Asus P5PL2 was an inexpensive solution. It was she who dispelled all the myths that the more expensive the motherboard, the better. The line between affordable and expensive products has begun to blur.
Most users realized that for everyday solutions, a performance gain of a couple percent does not matter. Moreover, the same trend began to notice in processors.
The latter became hard to distinguish. The usual average user could not immediately find a significant difference between the Pentium 4 and Athlon 64. Even the frequency indicators did not solve anything in this case.
As a result, it became almost impossible to feel how much the Asus P5PL2 motherboard is worse than its expensive competitors.
Budget options
So, in 2006, it became clear that even the budget option is able to give the user everything he needs. At that time, almost all models were equipped with six-channel sound, a hundred-megabit network, a sufficient set of ports and a PCI Express bus.
Not only was this already enough, fastidious buyers could pay a penny so that the sound became eight-channel, and the network worked at 1 Gb / s.
The Asus P5PL2 board entered the market in several modifications, which differed in the letter in the index and the cost. Each model was still an inexpensive solution. The difference could be seen in the set of logic.
Differences
For example, the main version worked with 945PL logic. This chipset is also found in the Asus P5PL2-e model. He supported processors from Intel:
- Pentium 4.
- Pentium 4 Extreme Edition.
- Pentium D.
- Pentium Extreme Edition.
The logic is represented by the FSB bus with a frequency of up to 1066 MHz. Supported memory, already outdated today, DDR2. On the board, it was possible to place 4 modules up to 4 GB in size. There was a two-channel architecture.
A discrete graphics card could be installed on the system board. For this, the PCI-Express x16 bus was used. Interestingly, in the end, 12 expansion slots were available. Of these, half was available, since the manufacturer at that time parted the slots.
The Asus P5PL2 chipset could ship with a couple of south bridges. They had support for the second version of Serial ATA, speeds up to 300 Mb / s and support for useful technologies such as AHCI.
South bridges could also be distinct from each other. The ICH7R model differed from ICH7 in supporting RAID arrays. For the rest, both worked with eight USB ports, then still version 2.0. It was possible to connect 2 ATA100.
Modification
There was also a modification called Asus P5GPL-X. She worked with i915PL logic. This is a more outdated chipset. But it also supported DDR2 memory, PCI Express x16 and x1 buses. Had built-in sound from Intel. There were expansion technologies such as SATA and RAID.
This chipset was paired with the south bridge ICH6. This option was weaker in performance. I got only one ATA100, four pairs of USB, a gigabit network.
Supported processors Asus P5PL2 we have already considered. At Asus P5GPL-X they were no different. Technical specifications include Intel Pentium and Celeron.
Supply
The delivery set was no different at that time. Motherboards were hidden in cheap cardboard boxes. The graphic component was primitive. Looking at the packaging of that time, you immediately realize that in front of you is a model that has long been discontinued.
This motherboard is no exception. They hid her in a dark large box. On the front there was a graphic display of a porthole or just some kind of hole in the metal. Now it’s even hard to understand what it was.
In the middle placed the name of the model. In capital letters, the manufacturer and the product itself were listed. The characteristics of the model were immediately listed. The manufacturer indicated the model of the chipset, south bridge, bus parameters, ports and proprietary technology.
They hid a plug for the interface panel, put a couple of cables for Parallel ATA, FDD and Serial ATA. There was a disk with "firewood" and utilities.
Appearance
Before us is a fairly standard type of board, which is already 11 years old. Therefore, decorative gaming elements and a coolly thought-out design bypassed this model. Asus P5PL2-e motherboard and its modifications look all the same.
The mustard textolite has got all the necessary elements for the usual operation of the board. Four places for connecting memory modules are immediately visible: DDR DIMM. There are three types of PCI-Express slots with latches.
At that time, companies had already begun experimenting with design, so this model was slightly different from the reference model. On the one hand, the parameters stated that we have an ATX form factor board, but experts will immediately tell you that this is not entirely true.
Asus decided to slightly reduce the size to reduce the cost of the product. The power slot was placed under a place to connect memory. This placement removed the power cable from overhanging above the cooler. There was also an additional 12 V connector on the opposite side.
Connection
The FDD connection in the Asus P5PL2-e is implemented on the left edge of the board. Someone may not have enough cable length, so you may have to buy a convenient wire. If the cable for floppy is long, then such a connection, on the contrary, is considered successful.
Due to space saving, we had to close the slots for memory modules and a video card. Therefore, in order to install everything correctly, you must first place the RAM, and then connect the "Viduha". This is due to the fact that the latter blocks latches for memory modules.
In addition, if you install one "viduha", then PCI-Express x1 will be blocked by the cooling system.
The manufacturer was also smart with built-in sound. The connectors are placed upstairs, from the edge. Therefore, it is problematic to reach them. Also overloaded the bottom corner with different ports.
Items
The Asus P5PL2 board received quality elements. For the north and south bridge installed proprietary passive cooling. As practice shows, this is enough for the chipset.
Power is implemented through a pulsed three-channel stabilizer. You can see three pairs of MOSFETs and 12 capacitors. Six of them have 1,500 microfarads, and the rest have 1,000 and 680 microfarads each. The bad thing is that there are no additional cooling elements.
The interface panel is cramped. There is a place to connect the keyboard and mouse via the PS / 2 port, a pair of USB 2.0. There are various types of audio connectors, coaxial SPDIF, and one COM and RJ-45 each.
Main settings
The system board works with the FSB bus. From this it becomes clear that the processors can be Intel Pentium and Celeron on two cores.
One of the modifications allows placing memory modules in a two-channel architecture with four slots with a maximum capacity of up to 4 GB. There is a version of the board that supports only 2 GB of RAM. To activate two-channel mode, it is enough to install the modules in paired slots.
To maximize the performance of the RAM, it’s better:
- Symmetrically fill the slots.
- Use modules with the same number of banks and volume.
- Buy the same modules (if you use different models, the system will activate the slow type).
The characteristics of the Asus P5PL2-e practically do not differ from the main model. There is also a promising PCI-Express, only in smaller quantities. A sequential version was used, which was implemented through one x16 slot and one x1 each.
There are also three regular PCI ports. This is because the peripherals that support the top-end interface have not yet been fully developed. Although people who use a TV tuner or discrete sound, such a slot is necessary.
Sound
Despite the basic parameters of the chipset, the model was equipped with six-channel sound. The AC'97 codec of the ADI 1986A model was placed on the board. Before us are 192 kHz and 24 bit. Now you won’t surprise anyone with such values, but rather, upset you. In 2006, this indicator was excellent.
The codec also supported a lot of audio formats. For example, then Dolby Digital technology appeared, spreading over several channels. There were DVD-Audio and Super Audio CD and Jack Sensing / Retasking features.
The latest technology worked to automatically detect devices and configure them. It worked as follows. If you connected the speakers to the microphone port, the system transferred this channel to the desired one.
The advent of the ADI codec was a pleasant surprise. At that time, they began to actively use integrated ALC sound. They began to forget about the codec, as new technologies appeared. This board left the traditional integrated sound and proved that it can still compete with the new products.
The sound for the Asus P5PL2 motherboard passed the test. As a result, its results for a number of indicators exceeded the "good" rating. Conducted a test using the RightMark Audio Analyzer utility.
The sensitivity turned out to be very good, as well as the percentage of THD, IMD and IMD at 10 kHz. Stereo information was generally excellent.
Intel Desktop Board D955XBK
At that time, the motherboard had few competitors. The main ones were Intel Desktop Board D955XBK and Asus P5ND2-SLI.
D955XBK was launched in 2005. This board is specially designed for processors based on 945x / 955 x chipsets. New items began to support SLI technology thanks to the fruitful cooperation of Intel and NVIDIA.
Two PCIEx16 slots were placed on the board at once, but one of them works at 4x. Gigabit network adapter, there is an additional SATA. Integrated sound works with the SigmaTel codec.
This model appeared on the market with a full-fledged ATX design and form factor. Elements are placed on a dark textolite. In general, looking at this board, it seems that there is nowhere for the "apple to fall": a lot of slots, connectors, wiring.
A large radiator of an unusual shape was located on the north bridge. Despite the fact that it is massive and tall, in addition to it, you can install a standard processor cooler.
Not quite successfully implemented the placement of all the slots for connecting peripherals. Unlike Asus P5PL2, here you can get confused in wires, and some cables may not reach standard connectors.
This model works with socket 775. You can install four DDR2 modules with a total capacity of up to 8 GB. Two-channel operation is possible.
Asus P5ND2-SLI
Asus P5ND2-SLI is a similar model. Works with LGA775 and related processors. RAM is implemented identically to the previous model of the board.
This motherboard also supports SLI mode for connecting two video cards through the PCIEx16 slot. There is a gigabit network controller, a built-in audio codec and lots of technology.
Due to the fact that Asus is still trying to save money, the appearance of a second video card slot played a cruel joke. There is very little space on the board, so there may be problems connecting IDE, FDD and ATX.
You can see how the power slot for 4 contacts is clamped on both sides. And although it is only optional, it can still come in handy.
The placement of radiators of the south and north bridge was insufficiently implemented. They are executed poorly, backlash is noticeable. There are a couple of LEDs nearby that indicate the system is working and there is enough power for the PC.
Otherwise, this motherboard is also similar to the previous two and was considered a direct competitor to the monitored hero. Could be better thanks to the support of more RAM and the ability to connect two video cards.
Reviews
The characteristics of the Asus P5PL2 turned out to be quite enough for the office system even in 2013. The motherboard turned out to be flexible, it was able to accept both budget and more expensive processors.
Some users noted that they even managed to increase the RAM. According to the parameters that announced support for 2 GB, it was possible to install two modules of 2 GB. As a result, the system involved 3.47 GB.
The manufacturer recommended installing the processor on 2 cores, but some experimenters tried to put quad-core chips. As a result, three of them worked stably.
Of the positive noted low cost. Now a used version can be purchased for 1,500 rubles on average. Since the board lasted 10 years on some systems, it makes no sense to talk about its quality. Operating time speaks for itself.
Later, several more revisions of the board came out, which made it possible to install more powerful components.
The disadvantages of the Asus P5PL2-e are almost invisible. Sometimes complained about the placement of connectors, rather unsuccessful. I did not like the fact that the video card overlapped the latches of the RAM slots, because of which I had to dismantle the "viduha" in case of replacing the memory modules.
Otherwise, after 11 years, we can safely say that it was an excellent, high-quality, efficient and durable board. In some systems, it still remains, but objectively only works with office programs and surfing the Internet. She definitely will not pull toys or video processing, as well as processors suitable for the motherboard will not cope with this.