ASUS has been a global leader in motherboard production for years, and by their figures they produced the motherboard for one in three desktop computers sold in 2006. That is quite an accomplishment, but they seem to have kicked into an even higher gear recently. They offer an ever expanding assortment of products designed to suit the wants and needs of most users, and they manage to get the newest technology to market quickly in order to satisfy those who insist on the latest and greatest.
The promotional image above shows off the newly released motherboard provided for this review, the ASUS P5E64 WS Evolution X48 ATX. Without knowing anything about the capabilities, the aesthetics alone could be enough to grab your attention. The black PCB equipped with blue, white, and black features provides a unique look that is quite appealing. Of those features, the first ones I took note of are the four x16 PCI Express slots which would no doubt be useful for an array of multiple monitors for business applications, or for use in a CrossFire setup designed for some serious game play.
Before taking a look at this motherboard and all it has to offer, let's start with some introductory information regarding the features, specifications, and presentation.
Features and Specifications:
The lists of features, specifications, and other interesting details regarding the ASUS P5E64 WS Evolution are quite extensive. The seven bullet points below represent the top items that ASUS might want a potential buyer to be aware of, but they barely scratch the surface of what this motherboard is capable of. In lieu of regurgitating all of the data from the ASUS website, I suggest that you visit the following links for the most complete, and up to date information. Please visit this page for a summary of all of the features, and please visit this page for the specifications.
» Intel X48 chipset
» Extreme energy saving with new HE 95 power efficiency feature
» ASUS EPU (Energy Processing Unit)
» ASUS 3rd Generation 8-phase Power Design
» Support Intel next generation 45nm multi core CPU
» 4 x PCIe x 16 Graphic (dual PCIe 2.0 x 16)
» G.P. Diagnosis card bundled
Intel's X48 chipset is currently their top of the line offering, and arguably one of the best chipsets presently available from any source. The P5E64 WS Evolution couples this with the ICH9R southbridge in order to handle things like SATA (including various RAID arrays), Gigabit LAN, USB 2.0, and high definition audio.
The P5E64 WS Evolution is marketed as a workstation motherboard, but by looking at all of the information at the links above it is clear that is somewhat of a hybrid. It may have all of the horsepower for workstation duty, but it seems to be more than adequately equipped to appeal to enthusiasts and gamers. Over the course of this review we will take a look at all of the features with this in mind, in order to see how well it could address the demands of each type of user.
Packaging:
The P5E64 WS Evolution's box is shown in the images below. Every surface is covered in images and information, and that obviously wasn't enough room to cover all of the features and specifications since the top cover flips open to reveal two more surfaces packed with even more details.
 
In addition to being a great marketing tool, the box also keeps the board safe by isolating it from the ample supply of accessories you also receive.
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