BIOS

Now on to the BIOS, the scene of so many traumas and triumphs for many a PC owner.  ASUS have always tried to mix ease of use with a powerful feature set on their motherboards, particularly with their 'Ai' branded line up.  So, just what does the P5E3 Deluxe have to offer?

The main BIOS screen you see first is obvious enough, sticking to the basic configuration options.

Moving on to the Ai Tweaker Tab is where we find all of the items of interest to overclockers, and there's certainly plenty for consideration here, as befitting of a high-end motherboard.  While the FSB to northbridge strap speed can be set to any of the major speeds on offer (200/266/333 and 400MHz), the FSB itself can be adjusted in 1MHz increments between 200 and 800 MHz.  The PCI Express bus can also be clocked in 1MHz increments between 100 and 150 MHz, while DRAM frequency can be set between 533 and 1066MHz, with all of the usual memory timing goodies on offer coupled with the ability to use Intel's XMP functionality if you have capable modules.

There's also plenty of granularity on offer when setting voltages within the BIOS, with CPU voltage ranging from 1.1 to 1.7V in 0.00625 Volt increments.  Memory and CPU PLL voltage can be set between 1.5 and 2.78 Volts in 0.02 Volt increments, while the northbridge and FSB termination voltage can be set in similar increments, between 1.25 - 1.91 and 1.2 - 1.5 respectively.

You can even choose to skew the clock timings for either DDR3 memory channel if you so wish.

The ability to turn on NX bits and Intel's Vanderpool virtualisation technology are also all on offer within the BIOS' advanced CPU settings.

Hardware temperature monitoring is another de facto standard for most modern motherboards these days, and that is unsurprisingly the case with the P5E3 Deluxe.

Finally, one of the useful features of the P5E3 Deluxe's BIOS for overclockers is the ability to save two different overclocking profiles, enabling you to switch between performance profiles relatively easily to test settings or simply run your system in different ways dependant on what you're doing.  A very nice touch.

ASUS ExpressGate

Outside of the main BIOS, you may already have heard the excitement from some quarters regarding ASUS' ExpressGate technology.  So, what's it all about?  In essence, the P5E3 Deluxe contains the ability to boot into a hugely cut-down embedded Linux-based Operating System, which allows you to perform a few basic features within seconds of switching on your PC.  At present, only Internet and Skype VoIP applications are supported, but ASUS are planning to extend this functionality as we move into 2008 to include additional features such as DVD playback and the like.  Definitely a case of watch this space.

As it stands, entering ExpressGate simply involves making the appropriate selection when your machine first powers up, where you are given a time-limited option to boot the OS, boot into ExpressGate or shut down the PC.  The first time you fire up ExpressGate, select your language and time settings, and you're ready to go.

Fire up the Internet browser, and provided you have network connectivity you can surf to your heart's content mere seconds after turning on your system.  Of course, there's only one place you'll want to visit first, as pictured above...

Alternately, if you urgently need to make or receive a VoIP call, open up the Skype application and log into your Skype account.  This functionality may seem trivial at the moment, and in all honesty the practical uses for it are few and far between at the moment, but it'll be interesting to see how it's received as ASUS bolsters ExpressGate's functionality and abilities.  If nothing else, it deserves a thumbs-up for innovation.