Asus uses the old fashioned AMIBios interface, similar to what we grew up with on Intel-motherboard based systems. Fortunately, Asus was able to include modern overclocking conveniences in its familiar GUI, through added menus.

CPU bus clock can be adjusted from 100-500MHz (400-2000FSB!) in 1MHz increments. ALL chipset-supported DRAM ratios are available, which included 533/667/800/889/1067MHz with our Core2 Duo at stock speed. PCI-Express clock rates go from 90-150MHz in 1MHz increments.

A wide range of voltages include DRAM from 1.800 to 2.450V in 50mV increments, CPU VCore from 1.1625 to 1.7000V in very fine 2.5mV increments, FSB termination voltage from 1.200 to 1.450V in 50mV increments, Northbridge external voltage of 1.250 to 1.550V in 100mV increments, Southbridge voltage from 1.50 to 1.80V in 100mV increments, and if that’s not enough, ICH voltage is controlled separately at 1.057 or 1.215V.

Those running a fast board will want to get the most of their RAM, and Asus doesn’t disappoint, with CAS Latency settings of 3-6 cycles, tRCD and tRP from 2 to 6 cycles, and tRAS of 4-12 cycles.

And now for the stunning news: Our early-stepping E6300 overclocked to 2.55GHz at its stock multiplier, 364MHz bus, and 1.45V Core! Retail samples should do even better! Meanwhile, our comparison P9657AA-8KS2H from Foxconn only made it to 310MHz bus clock at the same settings.

Finally, a note on graphics configurations. The two x4 and x1 slots are configurable as either x4/disabled, or x2/x1. The P5B Deluxe WiFi-AP Edition supports dual x16 graphics cards in x16 and x4 modes -- but the P965 chipset officially does not support Crossfire mode. Using x4 mode for the second card requires disabling the x1 PCI Express slot. We tested multi-card capability using a 7600GT as primary display adapter and an X1600 Pro as displays 3 and 4, and found multiple displays functioned flawlessly.