Introduction
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Motherboards based on the Intel H67 chipset are the best option if you are building a basic PC with integrated video using an Intel processor, or need an affordable motherboard using the microATX form factor for building a small form factor (SFF) PC. Currently, ASUS has six motherboards based on this chipset. Let’s take a look at the P8H67-M EVO, which is a microATX solution featuring two PCI Express x16 slots.
Of course, if you want more performance, you will probably pick a motherboard based on the Intel Z68 chipset, so you can enjoy the Intel Smart Response Technology (SRT), which allows you to speed up disk performance by using an SSD unit as a cache unit for your conventional (i.e., mechanical) hard disk drive. This technology works by storing in the SSD the programs and data you access the most. Also, the Intel Z68 chipset allows you to use the Virtu technology, which allows the computer to dynamically switch video cards, depending on what you are doing with your computer. In a typical scenario, this software will make the system use the CPU’s integrated video engine when you are not playing games instead of using your add-on video card. This allows you to save energy, since the CPU integrated video consumes less power than add-on video cards.
With so many options from ASUS, we decided to create the table below, listing the main differences between all of its H67-based motherboards.
| P8H67-M PRO/CSM | P8H67-M EVO | P8H67-M LE | P8H67-M LX | P8H67-V | P8H67-I DELUXE | |
| Form Factor | microATX | microATX | microATX | microATX | ATX | Mini-ITX |
| PCI Express x16 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| PCI Express x4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| PCI Express x1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Standard PCI | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| SATA-300 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| SATA-600 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| ATA-133 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| eSATA-300 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| USB 2.0 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 6 |
| USB 3.0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| FireWire | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| VGA | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| DVI-D | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| HDMI | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| DisplayPort | No | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Optical SPDIF | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Wi-Fi | No | No | No | No | No | 802.11b/g/n |
| Bluetooth | No | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Audio Codec | ALC892 | ALC892 | ALC887 | ALC887 | ALC887 | ALC892 |
As you can see, the P8H67-M EVO is an upgraded version of the P8H67-M PRO/CSM that we’ve analyzed recently, coming with one DisplayPort output, two FireWire ports, one PCI Express x1 slot, and one eSATA-300 port. The EVO model also has a better voltage regulator circuit. Another two features not listed in the above table are the “EPU” and “GPU Boost” switches. The first one reduces the CPU voltage in order to save energy, while the second automatically overclocks the graphics processor (GPU) available inside the CPU, thereby increasing the system performance for games. Two features that the EVO model lost were the legacy parallel port header and one standard PCI slot.
In Figure 1, you see the ASUS P8H67-M EVO motherboard.
Figure 1: ASUS P8H67-M EVO motherboard