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For most system builders, motherboards come in two flavors—Intel
or AMD. Otherwise they are pretty much
considered a commodity item. Sure, some system builders will pick one vendor
over another or show some loyalty to a particular brand, but for the most part,
price and availability are the two major factors used when selecting a
motherboard for building white-box PCs.

Asustek Computer is aiming to change that perception by focusing on value,
along with features, to bring choice back to the world of motherboards. A tough
objective, when one considers that a few dollars in price can have an impact on
margins, and Asus’ products often cost a few dollars more than products from
some of the bottom-tier vendors. Asus hopes that system builders understand
that you often get what you pay for and exemplifies that adage with the P5Q
Deluxe Green motherboard, which has a street price of around $150.

While the P5Q Deluxe does come in at a few dollars more than some competing
LGA775 motherboards, it is loaded with features that benefit both the system
builder and the user. For example, the P5Q includes Asus’ innovative Express
Gate technology, which allows users to boot instantly into a Web browser, Skype
session or photo editor.