![[H]ardOCP](/images/blank.gif){kind=small}
- Date:
- Tuesday , April 24, 2007
- Author:
- Morry Teitelman
- Editor:
- Kyle Bennett
- Google +1
ASUS P5B Premium
The P5B Premium is ASUS’ latest introduction in their P5B series, touting full Windows Vista Trusted Platform support. With the stellar performance seen with the rest of the P5B series, this board shows lots of promise.
BIOS
For the P5B Premium’s BIOS, ASUS chose to use the AMIBIOS template design. The BIOS version used for board testing was version 0303.
The IDE Configuration submenu, accessible via a link within the Main screen, contains options for configuring the operational mode for the 6 SATA 2 ports tied to the ICH8R chipset. The SATA Configuration option configures how the ports are accessed by the system. The Compatible mode setting allows for a total of 4 active ports in IDE emulation mode, while the Enhanced mode setting allows for use of all 6 ports. The Configure SATA as option becomes visible with the SATA Configuration set to Enhanced mode, which controls the in-built AHCI and RAID functionality of the chipset. Note that the RAID boot BIOS will only show with drives connected to the onboard ICH8R’s SATA 2 ports. The System Information submenu contains read-only settings detailing the current CPU and memory speed and type.
The Hardware Monitor submenu is accessed via a link from the main Power screen. This submenu contains real-time statistics on all system monitored temperatures, voltages, and fan speeds, as well as automated fan configuration. With the header specific Q-Fan Control option enabled, the fan header run mode can be configured through the Fan Profile option. This option allows for selection of pre-configured modes ranging for silent operation to high performance operation.
Accessible via the Boot screen, the Hard Disk Driver submenu contains a list of all available hard drive type devices configurable for system initialization. A USB 2.0 type device will show as a viable device in this menu when the device is properly connected and detected at system start time.
The Tools screen contains all ASUS specific BIOS tools, including a BIOS flashing utility and a profile load and save utility. The ASUS EZ Flash 2 submenu runs the proprietary ASUS EZFlash2 BIOS update applet. This application can access BIOS update files from any connected system device, including properly detected USB 2.0 devices. The O.C. Profile Configuration submenu allows for creation and load of 2 BIOS profiles, which can be updated or restored through the profile specific Save and Load commands. The Start O.C. Profile option allows for saving or loading customized BIOS profiles from a file. The interface is very similar in design to the EZ Flash 2 interface, with access to all attached system storage devices for save and load operations, including attached USB 2.0 devices.
The Advanced screen contains various submenus containing configuration options for the numerous onboard devices and chipsets.
The USB Configuration submenu contains options related to USB device configuration. The USB Mass Storage Device Configuration submenu becomes accessible when a properly detected USB device is connected to the system. The Emulation Type option within this submenu allows you to set device specific emulation mode for all connected USB devices.
The CPU Configuration submenu contains CPU operation related options, including those for controlling the following internal CPU settings: ratio, C1E support, CPUID value limit, Vanderpool virtualization technology, CPU Trusted Module function support, SpeedStep, and Execute Disable Bit..
The Onboard Devices Configuration submenu contains options for configuring all integrated system devices, including the JMicron RAID controller, the integrated Marvell Yukon GigE LAN controllers, the IEEE 1394 ports, and HD audio devices. With the JMicron SATA/PATA Controller option enabled, the JMicron SATA Controller Mode option becomes user accessible. This option allows for setting the JMicron controlled SATA II and e-SATA ports for IDE, RAID, or AHCI operation. Note that the devices connected to the JMicron controlled IDE port are not RAID or AHCI enabled.
The Advanced PCI/PnP Settings submenu contains all system IRQ and PnP related settings. The PCI Latency Timer option controls the latency of the PCI bus, which can greatly enhance system performance and stability. The menu does not allow direct IRQ assignment, but does allow for specific IRQ pool assignment.