The ASUS P8B WS is based on Intels C206 server chipset. It comes with features especially designed for small and medium companies. Therefore it is possible to monitor engery consumption as well as dissipating power. Furhtermore the chipset also features vPro which allows comfortable and efficient management within a corporate network.
With the P8B WS, ASUS uses Intel's C206 chipset which derives from their C200-series. The C206 is the only one out of the three C200-chipsets which supports Intel's HD graphic unit which can be found in todays Sandy Bridge based CPUs and latest Xeon SKUs. Back in January we reviewed the ASUS P8P67 WS Revolution. This board is intended to be used in consumer PCs whereas the P8B WS lacks all the overclocking features normal ASUS boards are equipped with. Instead the C206 offers support for ECC memory which is a sophisticated addition to a reliable workstation motherboard. Regarding memory one can put PC-1066 as well as PC-1333 modules into the DIMM slots and that's it.
If you take a closer look at the PCI-Express x16 expansion slots you'll see that the first two slots share a total of sixteen lanes which means that when both slots are being used the operate in x8/x8-mode. PCI-Express x16 slots number three and four can operate a x8 when only one is being used. If you should decide to use both slots they will work at x4/x4.
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 2 - Specifications / Delivery | Page 5 - Conclusion |
| Page 3 - Layout |
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Spezifikationen / Lieferumfang
| CPU | Intel Socket 1155 Core i3, i5, i7, E3-1200 |
| Chipset | Intel C206 |
| Memory | Dual Channel DDR3, 4 x DIMM, Max. 32 GB DDR3, 1333 / 1066 ECC, Non-ECC,Un-buffered |
| Multi-GPU | AMD Quad GPU CrossFireX |
| Slots | 4 x PCIe x16 (x 16, x4, x4 / x8, x8,
x4, x4) 1 x PCIe 2.0 x1 1 x PCI |
| Sound | Realtek ALC892 8-Channel HD Audio Codec |
| Storage | 2 x SATA 6 Gbit/s 4 x SATA 3 Gbit/s (RAID 0, 1, 5, 10 |
| Internal connectors | 2 x USB 2.0 connector(s) support(s) additional 4 USB 2.0 port(s) 2 x Vertical USB 2.0 port(s) 1 x TPM connector(s) 1 x COM port(s) connector(s) 1 x IEEE 1394a connector(s) 1 x CPU Fan connector(s) 1 x Power Fan connector(s) 1 x S/PDIF out header(s) 1 x 24-pin EATX Power connector(s) 1 x 8-pin ATX 12V Power connector(s) 1 x Front panel audio connector(s) (AAFP) 1 x System panel(s) 1 x MemOK! button(s) |
| External connectors | 1 x PS/2 keyboard/mouse combo port(s) 1 x DVI-I 1 x IEEE 1394a 2 x LAN (RJ45) port(s) 2 x USB 3.0 6 x USB 2.0 1 x Coaxial S/PDIF out 1 x Optical S/PDIF out 6 x Audio jack(s) |
| LAN | 2 x Gigabit LAN (Intel 82574L) |
| Fan connectors | 5 |
| Forfactor | ATX (30.5cm x 24.4cm) |
| BIOS | Bios (2 x 32 Mb flash ROM, EFI AMI BIOS) |
- Manual
- 1 x ATX I/O bezel
- 4 x SATA 6.0 Gbit/s cable
- 2 x SATA 3.0 Gbit/s cable
- 2 in 1 Q-connector
- 1 x Adaptor cable HDD to SATA
- 1 x Driver CD, Antivirus software, ASUS Update, ASUS Utilities
Regarding the delivery you'll find everything you need. Under certain circumstances you might wish there was a CrossFire bridge in the delivery but the fact that this is an aggressively priced product makes it understandable why they didn't do that.
Features
| EPU | If you activate the EPU this chip monitors all possible voltages and clock speeds and automatically sets them to guarantee an energy efficient operation of you system. |
| Digital Power Design | Meanwhile ASUS also provides its boards with digital power designs. Using the the right software, in this case ASUS DIGI+ VRM Utility it is not only possible to adjust voltages whilst being in Windows on can now also control impedances. |
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 2 - Specifications / Delivery | Page 5 - Conclusion |
| Page 3 - Layout |
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Layout
Already at a first glance the ASUS P8B WS looks very good with it harmonic design. The colors look suite nicely and the different blue tones on a black PCB are calming. Generally the P8B WS looks very similar to the ASUS Desktop boards. The layout itself is well thought and there is for example plenty of space around the CPU socket to install even todays largest CPU coolers.
ASUS provided the P8B WS with a 8+2 phase current supply whereas the CPU can rely on eight phases and the memory gets its own two phases. Furthermore ASUS implemented a digital power design which should emit less electromagnetic radiation than its analogue counterpart. Therefore ASUS claims that the system stability can be enhanced even further, especially during extreme overclocking.
Totally you'll find four DIMM-slots on the P8B WS. Officially supported are DDR3 1333 as well as DDR3 1066 with up to 32 GByte capacity. The DIMM-slots aren't too close to the CPU socket which makes it easy to install big air coolers.
Southbridge as well as the current converters are being held at adequate temperatures via a passive cooling solution. The aluminium blocks around the CPU socket are quite small. Installing big air coolers therefore is very simple because there is plenty of space.
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| Page 2 - Specifications / Delivery | Page 5 - Conclusion |
| Page 3 - Layout |
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Anschlüsse und I/O
Totally ASUS provided the P8B WS with six angled SATA ports which should be sufficient for workstation PCs such as DAW's (Digital Audio Workstations) or rendering PCs. You wont find practical onboard power and reset buttons. Nevertheless there is a small diagnosis card which also carries a two digit debug display. Furthermore you'll also find a mem OK! button which lets you boot even if you chose memory settings which didn't work.
Totally you'll find five fan header on the P8B WS which is enough, to provide a well equipped workstation with fresh air. The fanheaders are located around the CPU socket as well as on the right edge of the board.
Looking at the external connectors directly at the back-panel ASUS provided the P8B WS with a PS/2 mouse/keyboard connector, six USB 2.0/1.1 ports, two USB 3.0 ports, a firewire port, two Intel gigabit ethernet ports, an optical and coaxial audio out as well as an analogue audio panel a DVI port.
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| Page 2 - Specifications / Delivery | Page 5 - Conclusion |
| Page 3 - Layout |
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Fazit
| Allgemein | + | - | |
| At a first glance ASUS leaves a good impression with its P8B WS. Unfortunately there still are some things which could have been done in a better way. Most importantly there are the cooling blocks which keep the current supply at adequate temperatures. They're simply too big which has the consequence that several high end aircoolers are not compatible with this board. On the other hand the board looks absolutely marvellous. We very much like the color design and to us it very appealing. | - Server
chipset - Intel vPro Support |
||
| Layout | + | - | |
|
Generally the ASUS P8B WS's Layout has been well thought. Once more practical are the angled SATA connectors as well as the power- and reset-buttons which can be found on an additional diagnosis card. Furthermore it is possible to install a total of four graphics cards. Unfortunately one can only build a CrossFire multi GPU setup and therefore your limited to applications which cause high open GL loads. A closer look at the area around the CPU socket reveals that there is plenty of space to install any big CPU cooler. The fact that the cooling blocks are much smaller makes it easy to install a CPU cooler too. the placement of the third PCI-Express slot isn't perfect. We would have love to see it as the second last expansion sloat onboard but in with the P8B WS it is the last and therefore when a dual slot video card is being installed in the last PCI-Express x16 slot it will cover the connectors at the bottom edge of the board. Unfortunately as we already phrased out in the text above there are some issues if you focus on the CPU socket. The aluminium blocks which keep the current converters cool can cause compatibility problems with high end CPU coolers. Another thing is the DIMM slots. They are also very close to the socket. In this case memory which is equipped with big heatspreaders can also collide with big aircoolers. |
- Angled SATA connectors - Debug card |
- No SLI |
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 2 - Specifications / Delivery | Page 5 - Conclusion |
| Page 3 - Layout |
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Author: m.buechel@ocaholic.ch