15 - Final words | Conclusion

The Verdict

So, I told you guys in the introduction already this was a quick review, and yes it really is. Due to time constraints (number of Intel related articles for this week) I didn't even have the time to connect the OC Palm module and test overclocking. A quick altered setting in the BIOS allowed me to push the Core i7 processor to 3.9 GHz (29 multiplier) on the fly... I guarantee you, covered or not, this mainboard is the shiznit and will make your Core i7 experience a very pleasant one.

But with this article I hope at the very least you have a good idea of what the mainboard is all about. It's seriously one of the best motherboards we have ever had our hands on. Stability, speed, style, design, features... everything is just 99% right with this motherboard. There was only one thing I didn't like the positioning of; the three PCI-e x16 slots. It was deliberately done in a way that you cannot opt for 3-way SLI. See, ASUS would like you to buy the more expensive Asus X58 Rampage II Extreme for that. But if you are not planning on 3-way SLI anyway, you are good to go man.

Even so, the ASUS P6T DELUXE won't be cheap. Expect the normal version without the OC Palm to cost you roughly 299 USD / 270 EUR. If you decide to go for the Full Monty... with the Palm OC device you are looking at 349 USD / 315 EUR. That's an awful lot of money for any mainboard. Next to that of course the entire upgrade will empty your wallet, the memory needs to be purchased, ours was roughly 80 EUR / 100 USD per DIMM, you want three of these. The cooler is roughly 55 EUR / 65 USD. So sure, that adds up quickly.

So other than that really, everything is and feels right from design, positioning of connectors, 2x Gigabit Ethernet, passive cooling, black PCB color, micro-switches, USB ports, digital audio connectivity... yeah it's just all bloody fantastic. So here we have seen a good example of what you can achieve when everything is right. We got to test the absurdly fast OCZ memory, which honestly I can recommend so much. The bandwidth you witnessed today is just totally amazing, and it's just the beginning, we haven't even tried to tweak it any further. Then the Core i7 processor, which so much power. The infrastructure on the X58 chipset just blows away everything in it's path. And then we showed you that high performance yet totally silent Noctua NH-C12P heatpipe cooler with the free Socket LGA 1366 mounting kit. This entire symbiosis of components just works out so extremely well. This system as shown today is a good example of having all the components right.

So let me close this verdict right here and now, I didn't have the time just yet to cover everything on this mainboard, but dang, it's close to being perfect. Have you ever heard me say that before in a review? Yeah, me neither.

Extremely recommended. Best hardware award granted. Lovely.

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