![[H]ardOCP](/images/blank.gif){kind=small}
- Date:
- Thursday , June 05, 2008
- Author:
- Morry Teitelman
- Google +1
ASUS P5Q3 Deluxe
Based on the newly introduced Intel P45 chipset, the P5Q3 Deluxe board seems to have a good mix of power and features. ASUS looks to have a winner on their hands with this one, but does the P45 offer anything that the X35, X38, or X48 do not?
BIOS
The P5Q3 Deluxe uses an AMIBIOS style BIOS template, customized by ASUS for use with the board. The BIOS shown below and used in testing was version 0407.
The Storage Configuration submenu, located within the Main menu, contains options for configuring the onboard SATA 2 ports controlled by the ICH10R Southbridge chipset. The SATA Configuration setting determines the system port access. The Compatible mode option restricts access to a total of 4 active SATA 2 ports in IDE emulation mode, while the Enhanced mode setting allows for use of all 6 ports in either IDE or RAID modes. The Configure SATA as option becomes user configurable with the SATA Configuration set to Enhanced mode. This option sets the SATA controller configuration, including the AHCI and RAID functionality. Note that the RAID boot BIOS will only show with drives connected to the onboard ICH9R’s SATA 2 ports.
The System Information submenu contains read-only options detailing the current BIOS, CPU, and memory related default speed and type configuration settings.
The Ai Tweaker menu contains all overclocking related settings, including speed, voltage, and memory timing options. The Ai Overclock Tuner setting controls the integrated overclocking BIOS, with modes available for system automated and manual control. The CPU Ratio Setting option controls the base CPU Multiplier setting, with selections displayed determined by the CPU in use. The FSB Frequency option controls the base CPU FSB, with a maximum settable value of 800MHz. The actual CPU speed is calculated by multiplying the CPU Ratio Setting and FSB Frequency options. The PCIE Frequency option controls the PCI Express bus speed, with a user configurable maximum setting of 180MHz. The system memory speed is controlled through two options, the FSB Strap to North Bridge and DRAM Frequency options. The FSB Strap to North Bridge option gives access to various memory ratio settings based on the selected CPU FSB, with the DRAM Frequency option showing the real-time speed of the memory modules available based on the selected FSB Strap and FSB Frequency settings.
The user configurable memory settings become visible with the DRAM Timing Control option set to Manual. The configurable memory timing options include the following: DRAM clock skew per channel; CAS latency; RAS to CAS delay; RAS precharge delay; active to precharge delay; RAS to RAS delay; row refresh cycle delay; write recovery delay; read to precharge delay; read to write delay; write to read delay; read to read delay; write to write delay; write to precharge delay; read to precharge delay; and row cycle time (PRE to PRE Delay). Note that on the memory timings listed, the numerically lower setting forces more aggressive memory operation. The static read control, dynamic write control, read training, and write training settings can be enabled or disabled only. The MEM. OC Charger and Ai Clock Twister options control the aggressiveness of the internal chipset memory related settings controlled, while the Ai Transaction Booster option regulates how aggressively the BIOS attempts to overclock the system via pre-configured settings.
The CPU voltage is controlled through the CPU Voltage option, with a maximum voltage shown based on the CPU in use and the setting of the CPU overvolt jumper. The CPU GTL Voltage Reference options control the stability of the internal CPU circuitry while overclocked, with higher ratio settings giving the possibility of better overall CPU related signal integrity. The CPU PLL Voltage option sets the amount of power fed to the CPU power regulation circuitry, with a maximum of 2.78V allowed. The CPU Vtt voltage can be set to a 1.90V maximum using the FSB Termination Voltage option. The DRAM Voltage setting has a maximum voltage ceiling of 2.78V which should be more than enough to thoroughly cook your valuable DDR3 modules. The Northbridge chipset voltage can be set to a 1.90V maximum by default or as high 2.20V with the Northbridge overvoltage jumper enabled. The NB GTL Reference setting controls the voltage used to regulate the internal circuitry of the Northbridge, with a higher ratio setting giving better signal integrity while overclocked. The SB Voltage option sets the Southbridge voltage, with a 1.40V maximum allowed. The PCI Express and SATA bus voltage can be set to maximum of 1.80V using the PCI SATA Voltage option.
The Advanced menu contains all settings for configuring the integrated devices. The options are organized in to a series of logically grouped submenus.
The CPU Configuration submenu contains options for configuring internal CPU functions, as well as a real time display of the current CPU and CPU FSB speed. The CPU settings configurable include the following: CPU multiplier ratio, C1E support, CPUID value limit, Intel virtualization technology, CPU Trusted Module function (CPU TM Function), Execute Disable Bit, and Intel Speedstep.
The Northbridge Chipset Configuration submenu contains configuration options for the onboard graphics ports, and is accessed via the Chipset submenu.
The Onboard Devices Configuration submenu lists options for controlling the system integrated devices, which include the Marvell RAID controller, the GigE and 802.11n LAN controllers, the IEEE 1394 ports, and the ADI HD audio subsystem.
The USB Configuration submenu contains all USB related configuration settings, including the port speed mode controls. The Advanced PCI/PnP Settings submenu contains all system PnP configuration related settings. Unfortunately, the version of the BIOS tested did not allow direct manipulation of the IRQ interrupt or pool assignment related settings.
Accessed through the Hardware Monitor link in the Power menu, the Hardware Monitor submenu contains statistics on all BIOS monitored system temperatures, fan speeds, and voltages. The CPU and chassis fan speeds can be manually configured for temperature based control or fixed control through their respective Q-Fan Control options.
The Hard Disk Drives submenu, accessed from within the Boot menu, displays all detected hard drive type devices connected to the system at boot time including properly detected USB 2.0 devices.
The Tools menu is a central location for all proprietary ASUS BIOS tools, which include the Drive Xpert backup device settings, the Express Gate system startup screen settings, the EZFlash2 BIOS update utility, and a BIOS profile load and save mechanism. The ASUS EZ Flash 2 submenu runs the proprietary ASUS EZFlash2 BIOS update applet. This application allows for flashing the board from BIOS update files from any connected system device, including properly detected USB 2.0 devices. The ASUS O.C. Profile submenu allows for creation, storage, and loading of up to 2 BIOS profiles. The Start O.C. Profile option allows file based storage of BIOS profiles. 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.