ASUS P5B Deluxe Wi-Fi-AP Edition Motherboard Review :: ASUS P5B Deluxe Wi-Fi Layout

The CPU area is mostly cleared of obstacles, with the capacitors laid neatly across two sides of the CPU Socket. The 8-pin EPS12V power connector is on the top of the board, the perfect positioning as the cable won't interfere with airflow on the board. The 24-pin ATX connector is located next to the FDD controller. The North Bridge is cooled by ASUS's Heat Pipe technology with the heat transferred from the NB to a heat sink. The South Bridge has a heat sink as well, with a fan required if an airless cooling system is used.

CPU Socket

8-pin EPS12V

North Bridge

South Bridge

24-pin ATX connector

Heat Pipe

Heat Sink

USB

Front Panel IO

Two headers are present for additional USB 2.0 ports, bringing the total supported by this board to 8 with brackets. A Firewire header is on the Deluxe board bringing the total supported by the board to two. Cooling fan headers on the P5B Deluxe number four besides the CPU fan. This provides enough headers for everyone. The Front Panel IO is labeled, so no mistake can be made with the Power Button or Reset buttons.

Fan header

CPU fan header

Chassis fan 3

CD 1

The board has several fan headers for cooling fans. I'm of the mind that the more cooling fan headers, the better as the more fans the cooler the system runs and the better the airflow in the system is. There are three fan headers besides the CPU fan header. The placement is all around the board, meaning that the user can route the fan to the closest header.