BIOS Walkthrough

The ASUS Z97-DELUXE has gone through a few different iterations since I first got my hands on it, but its overall functionality has not changed. Upon first booting into the BIOS, you see the EASY MODE version of the BIOS with lots of stuff you can click and change, including some quick-performance-profile settings in the top-right corner.


There is also an Easy-Tuning Wizard, which will ask you a few different questions, shown above, to then overclock your system based on your answers.


My Intel i7-4770K CPU got a 4.5 GHz overclock, while the ASUS Z97-DELUXE pushed its BCLK up a bit and enabled my memory's XMP profile for a bit of extra in memory performance.


You can also access some nifty fan-control options via a graphical interface in the BIOS, or adjust date and time and list the quick-key that helps you get around the BIOS quicker. You can drag-and-drop boot devices which appear on the bottom-left side of the screen, making EASY MODE a one-stop-shop for most tuning needs. I remain rather impressed by how well it all worked, and how smooth the BIOS transitioned from one option to the next through fluid animations.