Motherboard layout is always an important factor in system building and the layout of the P5N-E SLI makes pretty efficient use of the room made available by an ATX motherboard. Except for the return of the annoying SLI channel changer in the middle of the two x16 PCI-E slots. As usual, you can expect to loose one PCI slot if you SLI a video card that requires two slots each - like the 8800GTX.

     Since there are no MOSFET voltage rectifiers to cool around the CPU area, the more elaborate heatpipe cooling has been replaced by a simple, yet large, heatsink dedicated to the  650i Northbridge. The Southbridge is left to fend for itself with no cooling of any kind.

     Even a first time hardware installer should have no problem installing memory in the correct configuration for dual channel operation with these color coded sockets. Some motherboards also have the memory sockets way to close to the primary PCI Express x16 (PEG) slot. With this board, that is not the case. The only things which adds any clutter to this area is the 24 pin ATX main power connector and the four pin CPU cooler fan header.

     Asus has gotten into the (for better or worse) habit of positioning the peripheral I/O connectors on the edge of the board like this. It all depends on your particular enclosure whether or not this will be beneficial. Normally this is a pretty busy section of the motherboard anyway with most of the drive and the front panel connections all grouped together. The Asus Q connector does take a lot of hassle out of the installation process.