A Closer Look:

   You can see ASUS implemented plenty of I/O connections on the rear of this motherboard including:

1 x PS/2 Keyboard
1 x PS/2 Mouse
1 x Serial port
1 x S/PDIF Out (Coaxial + Optical)
1 x External SATA
1 x IEEE1394a
2 x RJ45 port
4 x USB 2.0/1.1
1 x WiFi-AP Solo antenna jack
8-Channel Audio I/O

   Also you'll see some close-ups of the passive cooling system (heatpipes) above. The Northbridge heatpipe is quite large which should offer maximum heat dissipation. The Southbridge is a stand alone copper heatsink with a ton of fins to dissipate heat.

   Along with the 8-phase power system, ASUS also implemented a 4-pin/8-pin ATX connection. Since most of the newer higher end power supplies have 8-pin connections anyway, you might as well use it. I'm using the OCZ GameXStream 700w PSU and it has a dual 4-pin (which will make an 8-pin connector) so I just plugged them both in to it. As you can see the cap blocking off 4 of the 8 pins, that shows you that you can still use just a normal 4-pin 12v ATX plug. I just figure, if it takes 8, and I got 8, I'm gonna use 8!

   This board has 4 DIMM slots and supports up to 8GB of DDR2 533/667/800mhz non-ECC memory. They're also dual channel capable and ASUS has marked each of those channels with yellow and black slots. I'm using 2x1GB memory config, so I can use either both yellow slots, or both black slots. I like the slots staggered like this because it allows more space for cooling in between the memory sticks.

   Since ASUS introduced the Q-Connector with the M2N32-SLI Deluxe I reviewed, I've paid practically no attention to the front panel connections on the motherboards anymore. Luckily this P5B Deluxe also comes with the Q-connector so I just pulled it off my M2N32-SLI and slapped it right on this P5B Deluxe. You just gotta love that.

   6 SATA ports are included on the board, along with a (7th) SATA RAID port located in a rather odd position right inbetween the wireless card and the graphics card.

   The USB and Firewire ports are very neatly done and color coded on the P5B Deluxe and best of all, there are 2 ASUS Q-Connectors (red and blue) to easily attach your tangled USB and/or Firewire wires to the board. Honestly, the Q-Connectors are so handy it's rediculous.

   Lastly you see that there are dual PCI-e slots. Honestly this is pretty useless since dual x16 SLI or Crossfire isn't supported. The ASUS P5B Deluxe, in my opinion, should be a single video card motherboard solution. Only the blue PCI-e slot is 16x, the other one is up to 4x. I think they should've just used a regular PCI slot as the 2nd one.

Installation:

   I ordered myself a retail Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 CPU for testing of this motherboard. Actually I was planning on switching from my main AMD rig to the Core 2 Duo anyway, so I killed 2 birds with 1 stone here and went ahead and swapped over my system. That's truly the best way to test it thoroughly rather than throw it on a test bench. So, I'm typing this review on my new E6400 Core 2 Duo/ASUS P5B Deluxe rig right now.

   Installing the CPU is an easy process and as I've mentioned earlier; I like Intel's socket 775 the best for secure CPU installation. When you look at the current AMD socket 939/940 and the current Intel socket 775; the Intel's just looks more modern, expensive, and secure. I've removed socket 939/940 heatsinks before and ripped the CPU right out with it stuck to the bottom of it. Amazingly it still worked, but still, ripping out a $500 CPU makes me load my boxers thinking "ITS DEAD!". That just can not happen with the Intel Socket 775.

   Installing the stock Intel heatsink takes some care and a good bit of force, but I don't find it to be too tough. Once installed, it gives a clean look to the platform and there is plenty of space around the socket for aftermarket coolers. You will notice too that the stock Intel coolers are the 4-pin variety. That's because the extra pin is for Intel's onboard controls of the fan and thermal properties (all aftermarket fans would be 3-pin, but still work just fine).

   I think I've talked enough about the board, accessories, and layout. It's time to complete the installation of the entire system and see what this new generation platform has to offer in terms of stock performance and overclocking.