ASUS really went all out with this one. I was really surprised to find the added GigaBit LAN and RAID functionality for both a parallel and serial ATA interface. ASUS has also included a full complement of extra cables, software.

They have included an add-in bracket for two USB ports and a game port, a couple of serial ATA cables and extra serial power connectors. Making a bid to be the multi-media motherboard for you, ASUS has included a bracket for both types of digital outs. Unfortunately, there is no digital input connector.

The added documentation is pretty good too. You get a Quick Setup Guide for the experienced user, a detailed User Guide, and a driver’s disk with more documentation. On top of the utilities and PC-Cillin included on the driver’s disk, ASUS has included WinDVD Suite which includes WinDVD 5 Platinum, WinDVD Platinum Creator 2, and WinRip.

Here are a few detailed extras:

• ASUS Instant Music - A rather cool feature that allows you to play music without booting into the OS.

• ASUS LAT (LAN Acceleration Technology) - With specific link to the North Bridge, P4R800-V doubles the bandwidth for LAN to 266MB/s, completely fulfilling the need for ramping Gigabit LAN. With it, P4R800-V can simply handle large amounts of data, as is the case with streaming video files and 3D pictures. Thus, P4R800-V helps users enjoy surfing abundant Internet contents.

• Crash-Free BIOS 2 - when BIOS gets corrupted, ASUS Crash-Free BIOS 2 allows users to restart the computer and do a smart auto-recovery procedure through the motherboard support CD.

• Q-Fan - This unique technology wisely and automatically adjusts CPU fan speeds according to system load and temperature, enabling users to work in a distraction-free environment with minimum noise.

• ASUS POST Reporter - A voice warning design during POST notifies users of any system errors, which means no more complicated LED messages! A really cool feature that can be customized to have it say what ever you want for each type of defined error.

• RAID - The SiS 180 RAID controller supports two ATA 133 and two SATA devices, enabling users to build most four hard disks as an RAID0, 1, or 0+1 array. And the graphical user interface provides a simple way to build up and manage disk drives or disk arrays connected.

• Multi-language BIOS - ASUS provides a friendly, localized BIOS setup menu to help you configure your system as simply as possible. The P4R800-V Deluxe supports English, German, and Japanese BIOS.

• MyLogo - Configure your own image to be displayed during system boot up.