Recently there have been a lot of new product releases and while this is not unusual in the computer industry, the amount of new products and technologies being released at the same time is a little unusual. Perhaps because ATI and AMD have been so quiet over the past year things are now starting to really move, as both companies are rolling out a few new products with plans for many more very soon. However, Nvidia and Intel are also still producing a large number of new products, which adds to the chaos.

Furthermore new technologies such as DDR3 are coming to light, creating a new range of chipsets, motherboards and of course memory modules. However, with new technologies comes new ideas, and the engineers at ASUS always seem to be full of new ideas. ASUS has been a strong driving force behind integrating features into motherboards such as wireless access-points and now memory. Recently ASUS announced plans to develop a motherboard that would feature in-built DDR3 memory capable of operating at up to 1500MHz.

The first motherboard to include this new integrated DDR3 memory design is the P5K3 Premium/WiFi-AP. This makes the P5K3 Premium somewhat unique, as we have never once seen a high-end motherboard feature integrated memory. Furthermore we have never ever seen a desktop motherboard engineered for gaming come without DIMM (Dual Inline Memory Module) slots. However, the list of unusual features does not stop at the integrated DDR3 (Double Data Rate – 3rd Generation) memory, no in fact there is even more to the P5K3 Premium.

Lately we are seeing more and more high-end motherboards implementing insane heatpipe orientated designs that are intended to passively cool numerous board components. Well the P5K3 Premium is another motherboard that features an insane heatpipe cooling design, but this is the most elaborate design we have encountered yet. The P5K3 Premium is confusing just to look at due to its complex network of heatpipes that connect to a series of heatsinks.

The P5K3 Premium is a serious motherboard and if the cooling setup does not convince you of that, the feature list is sure to. While the P5K3 Premium may not be the most feature packed motherboard we have ever reviewed, it is certainly up there nonetheless, packing every essential feature with a few added luxuries. Of course there are also the unique features that we spoke of that not only make the P5K3 Premium an unusual motherboard but also a very pricey one at that.

At this stage we believe the MSRP (Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price) is set at $1299 US (Initially believed to be $499) giving the P5K3 Premium yet another claim to fame. This makes the P5K3 Premium the most expensive desktop motherboard ever to be released, a title previously held by the ASUS Striker Extreme motherboard which began life at $400 US. However, unlike the Striker Extreme, the price of the P5K3 Premium is a little easier to justify given the many unique features of this motherboard. For now let’s explore these features in a little more detail...