BIOS and tweaking software
So far, the A8N32-SLI looks pretty stacked, but what about the BIOS?

As far as memory timings go, the A8N32-SLI's BIOS has it all. Users have control over every timing imaginable, although most will probably only tinker with the first four. The BIOS also supports a 1T DRAM command rate, which can have a much more profound impact on memory bandwidth than CAS latency and other timings.

The A8N32-SLI's BIOS is also well-equipped in the overclocking department, with support for HyperTransport speeds up to 400MHz in 1MHz increments. CPU voltages only go up to 1.5625V, which is a little low for extreme overclocking. The BIOS does offer an "Over-Voltage CPU Vcore" option that gives the processor an additional 0.2V, but it's unclear whether it actually works for all processors and BIOS revisions, and why Asus separates it from the standard Vcore menu in the first place. Asus at least gets props for offering a wide range of CPU multiplier options in 0.5x increments.

If manual overclocking isn't your style, the BIOS also supports load-dependent automatic overclocking and percentage-based overclocking that will turn up the clocks by 1-10%. Asus dabbles in graphics card overclocking, as well. The BIOS's PEG Link mode capable of turning up the clocks on certain NVIDIA graphics cards, and it's enabled by default, which is a little alarming. Overclocking will almost always void your warranty, and a motherboard shouldn't take the liberty of overclocking a graphics card without asking first. Fortunately, PEG Link mode is easy to disable. Those who want to overclock their graphics cards will probably want more detailed control over clock speeds than PEG Link mode's ambiguous Normal, Fast, and Faster settings provide, anyway.

Despite all its overclocking and memory timing options, the A8N32-SLI's BIOS falls a little flat when it comes to hardware monitoring and fan speed control. The board can monitor voltages, temperatures, and fan speeds, but there are no BIOS-level alarm or shutdown conditions for any of those variables. "Smart" fan speed control is also limited to a simple on/off switch, with no user control over fan voltages or temperature thresholds. Asus's "Q-Fan Control" feature at least appears to apply to the board's auxiliary fan headers in addition to just the CPU fan.

Those who are uncomfortable with poking around in the BIOS have several options when it comes to tweaking and monitoring the A8N32-SLI from Windows. Unfortunately, nTune isn't one of them.

None of nTune's monitoring features are available on the A8N32-SLI, and although the system will load up an nTune Lite panel, you can't actually change any bus speeds or memory timings. I rather like nTune's interface and its ability to log monitored variables, so the A8N32-SLI's lack of support is disappointing.

I suspect that Asus would rather users install its own tweaking and monitoring software. Asus' AI Booster software covers motherboard tweaking, giving users access to Q-Fan Control, CPU voltage, HyperTransport speeds, and other overclocking settings. AI Booster also monitors a small collection of system variables, but doesn't support memory timing tweaking.

If all you're interested in is hardware monitoring, it's better to use Asus' PC Probe software. This app provides a flexible user interface, and is capable of monitoring system voltages, temperatures, and fan speeds. PC Probe can also be used to set alarm thresholds for each monitored variable, and even a target temperature for the Q-Fan speed control.