BIOS
As with all ASUS Deluxe motherboards, the P5K promises a high degree of flexibility in its BIOS settings - and doesn't disappoint.
| ASUS P5K Deluxe | |
|---|---|
| Item | Specification |
| CPU FSB | 200-800MHz (1MHz increments) |
| CPU Multiplier | CPU Min. (6x) – 13x (1x increments) |
| PCI-E Clock | 100-150MHz (1MHz increments) |
| Memory Clock | 667/800/889/1067 MHz (266/1066FSB) 667/800/833/1000/1067/1111/1333 MHz (333/1333FSB) |
| CPU Core voltage | 1.1000-1.7000v (0.0125v increments) |
| CPU Voltage Reference | 0.57/0.59/0.61/0.63x |
| CPU Voltage Damper | Enabled/Disabled |
| CPU PLL Voltage | 1.50/1.60/1.70/1.80V |
| Memory VDIMM | 1.80-2.55v (0.05v increments) |
| NB Voltage | 1.25/1.40/1.55/1.70v |
| NB Voltage Reference | 0.61/0.67x |
| SB Voltage | 1.05/1.20v |
| FSB Termination Voltage | 1.20/1.30/1.40/1.50v |
| Clock Over-charging mode | +700/800/900/1000mV |
BIOS Images
Summary
The more advanced sections of the P5K Deluxe's BIOS manage to fall just on the right side of bewildering, providing all the controls you want to tweak your system for that extra bit of performance without piling on hundreds of options with no real explanation for what they achieve.
Enabling AHCI on the ICH9R produces an option for Intel Robson Technology, the codename for Intel Turbo Memory, but it is unclear how a Turbo Memory module would be fitted to the board.
As with other ASUS boards, an AI Overclocking Automatic mode is included for those less familiar with the art of overclocking but the comprehensive manual options should be what interests most owners.
Overclocking headroom appears to be absolutely massive as well.
Most P965 or 680i boards struggle to remain stable with Kentsfield processors if the FSB is running
at over 400MHz but in our testing with a Core 2 Quad
Q6600, the ASUS reached a heady 430MHz (1720MHz once the QDR
is taken into account)
without increasing any of the voltages on the northbridge or front-side
bus itself.
In fact our very own forum users are already reporting hitting 480MHz FSB using a Core 2 Quad, a speed that you'd only hope to achieve with other boards if using a Core 2 Duo.
Clearly, the P35 gives the P5K Deluxe a lot of headroom for overclocking the front-side bus. In fact, for many, the CPU or memory they use could end up becoming the limiting factor.
