ASUS PQ5 Deluxe P45 Eaglelake Motherboard

EXPRESS GATE SSD

ASUS Express Gate SSD is a neat feature which uses an optional Linux OS bootup installed on a small flash drive on the board for quick access to the Internet in just a few seconds. Express Gate allows you to enjoy commonly used functions like accessing the Internet, VoIP, and Web emailing without entering the OS.

Flash Drive Housing Express Gate SSD

To operate the ASUS Express Gate SSD system one must first activate it in the Tools menu of the system BIOS. After that, when the P5Q Deluxe boots you will be presented with a full screen option that allows you to opt for Express Gate as opposed to booting into the operating system. Once chosen and configured, Express Gate SSD has you on the web in literally a matter of seconds, assuming you have a high speed internet connection.

Main Express Gate SSD Screen

Express Gate SSD Options Screen

Default Express Gate SSD Home Page

We think the idea of Express Gate SSD is quite innovative except for one minor issue, you can't download from it as there is no room on the flash drive for storage; and you can't access your system's hard drives using express gate. We can envision the time when you need a certain driver or tool from the Internet to restore your main system to a working state. Express Gate SSD is your only means of accessing the Internet but there is no way to download the necessary component. If and when this is resolved we think Express Gate SSD will be a perfect adjunct to this and any other motherboard. We might add that we heard through the proverbial grapevine that in the near future ASUS intends to include Express Gate SSD on most if not all of its enthusiast level motherboards.

DRIVE XPERT

Think of ASUS Drive Xpert as your own personal drives as they require no BIOS settings or drivers to function. Drive Xpert functions using an onboard Silicon Image SIL5723 controller that operates 2 SATA 3.0 GB/sec ports. These ports are located immediately adjacent to the the standard SATA ports on the on the P5Q, the only difference is they are orange in color as opposed to red for the standard ICH10 SATA ports. To make Drive Xpert operational you must first enable the option in your system BIOS and then install the Drive Xpert Utility located on the support disk. Next install one or two drives, and you're ready to rock 'n' roll.

Orange Drive Xpert SATA Ports

If you use only one drive with the Drive Xpert system, you are limited to using only its data backup feature. With two drives you have the option of RAID Mirroring (RAID 1) in your data backup where the data backed up fails over to both drives. You also have the option of RAID striping (RAID 0) which is called Super Speed in Drive Xpert. Super speed greatly enhances the data transfer rate but doesn't offer the redundancy found in RAID 1.

Drive Xpert Main Screen

Drive Xpert Super Speed Screen

This is a wonderful adjunct to the ASUS P5Q Deluxe board! The beauty of the entire system is that it doesn't impact system performance when it is operational; think of it as having an onboard RAID controller completely separate from that offered by your ICH10 supported SATA ports.