The P5Q is an unassuming board with a modest name, but it's actually one of the best-specified boards in this group. A case in point: where most boards offer either four or six SATA ports, depending on the south bridge, Asus has added a Silicon Image controller, leaving you with a whopping eight SATA ports and a choice of four RAID modes. And for external drives, you also get an eSATA and FireWire bracket - a convenience matched only by the Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R. You also get Asus' trademark ExpressGate environment, which lets you get online in a Linux-based environment within seconds of turning on your PC. We're not sure how practical this is, but it's nice to have the option. Another distinctive feature is 'Ai Nap', a user-invoked power-saving mode.

The ASUSTeK COMPUTER P5Q PRO is a Motherboard designed for use with PC systems, which support ATX form factor. RJ-45 LAN Port X 1, USB 2.0x12, PS/2 Keyboardx1, FireWire (Ieee1394a) X 2, PS/2 Mousex1, Floppy Port X 1. Serial Ata-300 (Raid) Additional Connectors: 6X USB 2.0: Socket Type: LGA 775/Socket T/Socket T Socket.

It shuts down hardware such as graphics cards and sound devices while leaving the CPU, network and hard disk active - useful for remote connections or long downloads. Manual de bomba bosch vp44 electronic control system. We measured the P5Q's idle power consumption at 85W - on the low side for this group, although nowhere near the economies achieved by boards with integrated graphics. Of course, this largesse has its limits. The P5Q has no multi-GPU support, nor can it boast onboard displays or controls - if that's your bag, check out the Biostar TP45 HP instead.

But the Asus BIOS offers plenty of latitude for those who like to fine-tune their systems, and if you get into serious trouble it can be restored from a USB flash drive. The P5Q is also one of this month's more expensive boards, but it's less expensive than the similar Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R, and for the money you do get some nice luxuries.