The CPU, IDE and RAM sockets are all positioned in a manner that do not interfere with each other. I was particularly happy to see that there was ample room between the AGP slot and DIMM sockets so that the RAM can be added or changed without having to remove the video card. Since this is an overclocking board, we were pleased to see that the north bridge comes equipped with a heat sink, even though it was attached with thermal tape. Although we are not the biggest fans of thermal epoxy, it would be recommended that the thermal tape be replaced with it as long as it is made by a reputable company, like Arctic Silver. This would help in effectively conducting the heat away from the chip, which is especially important when overclocking.
The BIOS
The AE25R comes with the Award Modular BIOS v6.00PG. We found that the Award BIOS on this board to come with a wide variety of settings to assist users in getting their system successfully overclocked. Although this isn't the most options we've seen in a BIOS, there is a sufficient amount available to help adjust and perfect a system while overclocking.
In particular, there is an excellent selection of voltage adjustments available the allows for the setting of the CPU Core and Chipset Core Voltages. If you are a first timer and are concerned about over-heating your processor, the Health Monitor comes with a Shutdown Temperature setting that will turn off the machine if the temperature exceeds the setting.
Now that we've had a glimpse of the brains behind the brawn, let's get the show started by running some numbers...
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