The Asus uses a Phoenix Award BIOS that will be simple to navigate for people who have used their technology before. For those not familiar, things are quite tricky to find, with overclocking options being locked away in the obscurely named “Jumper Free Configuration” (who has used jumpers to set CPU speed in the last 5 years) and the memory timings locked away in CPU Configuration. Overclocking options are good, with the board allowing a CPU voltage of up to 1.65V, a maximum V-Dimm of 3.0V and adjustable FSB all the way up to 400MHz.
Only the CPU cooler’s RPM can be regulated by the Asus, which is disappointing when you consider the Abit can control every fan plugged into it.
Overall the Asus is a superb, feature-packed motherboard that will be an excellent choice for most users. Asus have, unfortunately, been a little stingy with the bundle, the layout has a couple of small issues and the overclocking options are not as strong as the DFI or Abit. Nevertheless, the exceptional layout, passively cooled Northbridge and comprehensive feature set make it a strong contender, jsut bare in mind that there are boards available that offer a little more for the money.
