BIOS and BIOS Gallery, AI Suite and Included Software
The last AMD Brazos platform that I personally worked with was very limited in respect to overclocking as only memory timings could be tweaked. Here it is a bit different. With this board we have a more full set of tools allowing overclocking, voltage adjustment, total control of two fans as well as UEFI Unlocking of 2.2 TB+ hard drive support. Though there is not an option to run your memory faster than 1333 through memory multiplier/ratio adjustment, working with the base clock and timings you can get quite a bit of snappiness as these processors love fast timings. Below is a set of BIOS shots that will allow you to get a feel for the functionality ASUS has built into the E45M1-I BIOS.
ASUS AI Suite II
This version of AI Suite II is like a lite version of the software with a whole different set of tools for the functionality built into the E45M1-I. Showing up first here is the BT GO tool which works with the Onboard Bluetooth wireless allows you to take full advantage of your Bluetooth smart device. Though some functionality is dependent on your BT smart device\tablet the basics like media playing through your PC from your device and basic file manipulation should be there for most everyone even if the file work need be done by another application.
Other features that are available through the ASUS BT GO utility include Folder Sync, BT Transfer, BT-to-Net, Music Player, Shot and Send, Personal Manager as well as some utilities that allow you to control some functional and operational aspects of you PC from your device.
Enough cannot be said about the necessity of silence where a small form factor PC is concerned. Even when you are slamming an eight hundred watt Sony surround system the sound from a fan ruins the ambiances of a quiet or suspenseful movie moment
Moving to the general usage and tweaking components of the AI Suite (Gallery) we find all the functionality necessary for a user to take control of the setting and speeds of their system. (The first shot is notable only for the sidebar adjustments where it has been changed in the Probe II shots)
It is a pretty full package as far as software based hardware monitoring and control is concerned and even though there are no real tweaking options available in the AI Suite what is offered is very complimentary to this board.
Software/Other Utility
Other included software items on the included disk are:
ASUS Web Storage (useful for people on the go or people who must have off site backup)
ASUS@VIBE (Shots and commentary below) offers the little things without searching for them.
Music, Games, Applications, Books, News, Radio and Audio Books can be found here. Some of the selections are a little small but Vibe is functional and useful.
Yeah we had to get a little Petty going here
After some music we caught up on some news (not good news)
And at the end of our testing it was game time
Other Included Software
AI Charger (allows the charging of USB devices through onboard USB ports almost like a power pass through)
Adobe Acrobat Reader
Norton Antivirus
BIOS updater
Daemon Tools Pro (disk image software)
Disk unlocker (Access to larger drives)
Google Chrome (web browser)
PC Diagnostic software.
All in all ASUS has included a fairly complete and complimentary software package with the E45M1-I. Value added is the term of the decade and the only thing I can really think of that would be considered needed to complete the package would be a copy of Cyberlink Power DVD.
