More into detail True 16+2 phase powerThe true 16 power phases are need for the cpu, and the two extra are for the memory/QPI controller. The large number of phases should protect your computer against overshoot or undershoot which often happens during rapid current changes.
This Asus board will use the Fujitsu RE Series 560µF Capacitator, where regular boards use the ME series or equivalent. The RE series are rated at 5000 hours at 105°C and over 5 years at 86°C. The ME series will only last 2000 hours at 105°C and should live only 2 years at 86°C.
Unique layoutThe following picture will explain it all, up to you to draw conclusions out of it.
Sorry for the poor quality of the picture, it's from a presentation where I clearly wasn't sitting on the front row. Unique wind flow thermal designThe new cooler on the P6T boards should be a whole thermal design crafted with aesthetics. The heatpipe and fin design directs the heat out of the system, away from the cpu. And this results in a 10° cooler configuration in Overclocking circumstances.
Fast start and resetTwo buttons will allow you to easy reset or power on your system.
Heat pipe coolerA heat pipe and heatsink construction will not only cool the chipset but also the power circuit.
Rear I/O panel ...... will provide:
1 PS/2 connector
8 USB ports
2 times RJ45 network
Firewire
E-sata
Spdif and regular audio
SAS - Serial attached SCSI
Two of the previous mentioned serial ata ports aren't what they seem to be. They are SAS ports.
Sas raid (Seagate ST373455SS 73GB/16M) provided an average read speed of about 179 Megabyte per second, where sata raid (Western Digital WD5000ABYS 500 Gb/16M) only managed to get 117 Megabyte per second. Also did the Sas setup it more stable, whilst the SATA had drops to about 75 Megabyte per second. SAS can usually be seen on server grade hardware; SCSI never really got popular with the enthusiast crowd, let’s see if SAS will stand a chance, as it’s not a very affordable solution.