The upcoming Intel X48 chipset has been a poorly kept secret, but then again there has been little to be secretive or excited about. This is because the X48 is nothing more than a slightly updated version of the existing X38 chipset, which is a solid offering that nevertheless is not a whole lot better than the less pricey P35. So why not, let's blame Intel for making great mainstream chipsets that perform like its cream of the crop.

And while the X48 chipset is yet to be officially released, we have already seen a number of motherboards that use it and are just waiting for the announcement to go mass production. Intel should be unveiling the X48 chipset later this month bringing official support for 1600MHz FSB (Front Side Bus) processors and DDR3-1600 memory, but other than that picking a difference between the X38 and X48 chipsets is near impossible. So don't expect Intel or any of its partners to make a big fuss about it. The X48 is an evolutionary step that we believe may not come at any price premium over current X38 products, with that in mind today we will be looking at the ASUS P5E3 Premium WiFi-AP @n motherboard, the company's first X48 motherboard.