Some models of motherboards have sunk into oblivion.But their name still lives, and users want to learn about the past technical achievements. Asus P5PL2 could in due time 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. It 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 border between affordable and expensive products has become blurred.
Most users realized that for everyday solutions, performance gains do not play a couple of percentages. And the same trend began to notice in the processors.
The latter became difficult to distinguish. The usual average user could not immediately find a significant difference between the Pentium 4 and the Athlon 64. Even the frequency metrics did not solve anything in this case.
As a result, to feel how much the motherboard Asus P5PL2 worse than its expensive competitors, it became almost impossible.
Budget Options
So, in 2006 it became clear that evenThe budget option is able to give the user everything he needs. At that time almost all models were equipped with a six-channel sound, a hundred-megabit network, a sufficient set of ports and a PCI Express bus.
Not only was this already enough, fastidious customers could pay a penny to make the sound eight-channel, and the network worked at 1 Gb / s.
The Asus P5PL2 board entered the market in severalModifications that differed in the letter in the index and in value. Each model was still an inexpensive solution. The difference could be seen in the set of logic.
Differences
For example, the basic version worked with the logic 945PL. This chipset is also found in the Asus P5PL2-e. He supported the 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. The memory, already obsolete for today, DDR2 was supported. The board could accommodate 4 modules up to 4 GB. There was a two-channel architecture.
You could install thediscrete graphics card. For this, the PCI-Express x16 bus was used. Interestingly, as a result, 12 expansion slots were available. Half of them were available, as the manufacturer at the time was building slots.
The Asus P5PL2 chipset could be shipped with a pair of south bridges. They had support for the second version of Serial ATA, speed up to 300 Mb / s and support of useful technologies such as AHCI.
The southern bridges could also be different from each otherfriend. The ICH7R model differed from ICH7 support for RAID arrays. In the rest, both worked with eight USB ports, then version 2.0. It was possible to connect 2 ATA100.
Modification
There was also a modification called AsusP5GPL-X. It worked with the logic of the i915PL. This is a more outdated chipset. But it also supported DDR2 memory, PCI Express x16 and x1 buses. Has built-in sound from Intel. There were technology extensions 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. Asus P5GPL-X they are no different. In the specifications, Intel Pentium and Celeron are indicated.
Supply
Nothing special at that timediffered. Motherboards hid in cheap boxes of cardboard. The graphic component was primitive. Looking at the packaging of that time, you immediately understand that before you is a model that has long been removed from production.
This motherboard was no exception.She was hidden in a dark large box. In front there was a graphic display of the window or just some hole in the metal. Now it's even hard to understand what it was.
In the middle put the name of the model.Above, in huge letters, was the producer and the product itself. Immediately list the characteristics of the model. The manufacturer indicated the model of the chipset, the south bridge, the tire parameters, the availability of ports and proprietary technology.
In the box, a stub for the interface panel was stashed, a pair of cables for Parallel ATA, FDD and Serial ATA were laid. There was a disk with "firewood" and utilities.
Appearance
Before us - a fairly standard type of board,which is already 11 years old. Therefore, decorative gaming elements and cool design have bypassed this model. The motherboard Asus P5PL2-e and its modifications all look the same.
Textolite mustard color has got allnecessary elements for the normal operation of the board. Immediately visible four locations for connecting memory modules: DDR DIMM. There are three PCI-Express slots with snaps.
At that time, companies had already started experimentingwith the design, so this model was slightly different from the reference one. On the one hand, the parameters say that we have a form factor ATX board, but experts will tell you at once that this is not quite true.
Asus decided to reduce the size a little toreduce the cost of the product. The power slot was placed under the memory connection. This placement has removed the power cable from overhanging the cooler. There was also an additional 12 V connector on the opposite side.
Connectivity
Connecting FDD to Asus P5PL2-e is implemented onleft edge of the board. Someone may not have enough cable length, so you may have to buy a convenient wire. If the cable for the floppy is long, then this connection, on the contrary, is considered successful.
Because of the economy of the space had to be closeslots for memory modules and video cards. Therefore, in order to install everything correctly, you must first put the RAM, and then connect "viduhu." This is due to the fact that the latter locks the latches for memory modules.
In addition, if you install one "viduhu", then PCI-Express x1 will be blocked by the cooling system.
Nadudril producer and with built-in sound. The connectors are placed at the top, from the edge. Therefore, it is problematic to get to them. Also overloaded the lower corner with different ports.
Elements
The Asus P5PL2 board received quality elements. For the north and south bridge, a proprietary passive cooling has been installed. As practice shows, this is enough for the chipset.
Power is realized through a pulsethree-channel stabilizer. You can see three pairs of MOSFET and 12 capacitors. Six of them have 1500 uF, the rest - 1000 and 680 uF. The bad thing is that there are no additional cooling elements.
On the interface panel closely. There is a place to connect the keyboard and mouse through the PS / 2 port, a pair of USB version 2.0. There are also audio connectors of different types, coaxial SPDIF and COM and RJ-45 each.
Main settings
The board works with the FSB bus. From here it becomes clear that the processors can be Intel Pentium and Celeron for two cores.
One of the modifications allows you to place modulesMemory on a dual-channel architecture with four slots up to a maximum of 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 the pair slots.
In order to maximize the performance of 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 Asus P5PL2-e features virtually nodiffer from the basic model. There is also a promising PCI-Express, only in smaller quantity. A serial variant was used, which was implemented through one slot x16 and one x1.
There are also three conventional PCI ports.This is because the periphery, which would support the top-end interface, has 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 modelEquipped with a six-channel sound. On the board, we placed the AC codec "97 of the ADI 1986A model. We have 192 kHz and 24-bit indicators. Now you will not surprise anyone with such values, but rather disappointment. In 2006, this indicator was excellent.
Кодек к тому же поддерживал массу аудиоформатов.For example, then the technology appeared Dolby Digital, distributed to several channels. There were DVD-Audio and Super Audio CD functions and Jack Sensing / Retasking.
Latest technology worked on automaticidentifying devices and setting them up. It worked as follows. If you connected the speakers to the microphone port, the system translated this channel into the desired one.
The appearance of the ADI codec was a pleasant surprise.At that time, they actively began to use the integrated sound ALC. They began to forget about the codec, as new technologies appeared. This board has left the traditional integrated sound and proved that it can still compete with the new products.
The sound for the Asus P5PL2 motherboard has been tested. As a result, its results for a number of indicators exceeded the rating of "good." Conducted the test using the utility RightMark Audio Analyzer.
Sensitivity was very good, as were the percentages for THD, IMD and IMD at 10 kHz. Stereo in general was excellent.
Intel Desktop Board D955XBK
At that time, the motherboard had few competitors. The main models were Intel Desktop Board D955XBK and Asus P5ND2-SLI.
The D955XBK was released in 2005.This board is specially designed for processors based on 945x / 955 x chipsets. New items began to support technology SLI thanks to the fruitful cooperation of Intel and NVIDIA.
On the board, two PCIEx16 slots were placed at once, but one of them works with 4x. Gigabit network adapter, there is an additional SATA. Integrated audio works with the SigmaTel codec.
This model appeared on the market with a fulldesign and form factor ATX. The elements are placed on a dark PCB. Generally, looking at this board, it seems that there is no place for the apple: there are a lot of slots, connectors, grips.
A large radiator of unusual shape was placed on the north bridge. Despite the fact that it is massive and high, in addition to it, you can install a standard processor cooler.
Not quite successfully implemented the placement of all slots for connecting peripherals. In contrast to the Asus P5PL2, here you can get tangled in the wires, and standard connectors may not reach some connectors.
This model works with a 775 socket. You can install four DDR2 modules with a total capacity of up to 8 GB. It is possible to work in dual channel mode.
Asus P5ND2-SLI
Asus P5ND2-SLI - a similar model. Works with LGA775 and related processors. RAM is implemented identical to the previous board model.
This motherboard also supports SLI mode for connecting two video cards through the PCIEx16 slot. There is a gigabit network controller, built-in audio codec and a lot of technologies.
Due to the fact that Asus is still striving to save money, the appearance of the second slot for a video card played a cruel joke. There is very little space on the board, so there may be problems with connecting IDE, FDD and ATX.
You can see how the power supply slot for 4 contacts is clamped on both sides. And although it is only an extra, it can still be useful.
Not enough quality implemented placementradiators of the south and north bridge. They are executed is unimportant, there are noticeable backlashes. There are a couple of LEDs nearby that indicate system performance and sufficient power for the PC.
Otherwise, this motherboard is also similar tothe two previous ones were considered to be a direct competitor of the hero under review. Could be better thanks to the support of more RAM and the ability to connect two video cards.
Reviews
Characteristics Asus P5PL2 was enough for an office system, even in 2013. The motherboard was flexible, able to accept both low cost and more expensive processors.
Some users have noted that they managedeven increase the RAM. According to the parameters that spoke about the support of 2 GB, it was possible to install two modules of 2 GB each. As a result, the system involved 3.47 GB.
The manufacturer recommended installing the processor on 2 cores, but some experimenters tried to install quad-core chips. As a result, three of them worked stably.
Of the positive noted low cost.Now the used version can be purchased for 1500 rubles on average. Since the board has served 10 years on some systems, it’s pointless to talk about its quality. Operation time speaks for itself.
Later came out a few more revisions of the board, which allowed to install more powerful components.
Disadvantages of Asus P5PL2-e are almost imperceptible.Sometimes they complained about the placement of connectors, rather unfortunate. I didn’t like the fact that the video card blocked the latches of the RAM slots, because of which it was necessary to dismantle the "video card" in case of replacement of the memory modules.
The rest, after 11 years, we can safely saythat it was an excellent, high-quality, efficient and durable board. In some systems, it remains until now, but objectively it works only with office programs and surfing the Internet. It definitely will not pull toys or video processing, as well as the processors suitable for the "motherboard" will not cope with it.
