Presentation / Layout / I/O / Bundle

Presentation

The ASUS E350M1-I Deluxe comes on a black PCB with expansion slots, one DIMM slot and the power connector colored in blue. Furthermore the different colors creates a very homogenous look that is pleasing for ones eye.

Layout

For once we find a single passive heatsink that takes care of cooling everything CPU/IGP and the FCH (also called Northbridge) while other manufacturers are providing an active cooling system with a fan. This means that the E350M1-I Deluxe doesn't make any noise and during the tests it appears to be very efficient and managed to keep the setup at adequate temperatures under load conditions.
On the following picture we can see the two DDR3 Slots that come in single channle because Zaccate is not a dual channel architecture. However tests prove that only in certain cases dual channel performs better, in most cases single channel is well enough. On this board, you can use up to 8 GB of memory @ 1333 MHz.
We can also find a PCIe x16 for anybody who wants to make use of a low profile graphics card which is more powerful than the IGP. Right above that PCIe you can find a Mini-PCIe used by the WiFi Card which has been connected to antennas at the Back panel.

At this point you can find the front panel connectors such as Power/Reset and activity LED for both CPU and HDD. As well as the chassis intrusion connector. What would have been very useful too is a CLR_CMOS button to easily erase the BIOS. On the second picture you can find the CLR_CMOS jumper and Turbo_Key_II button just next to the CPU power connector.

I/O

The rear panel is very well equipped, you can find the video connectors that are DVI and HDMI. Other connectors are PS/2 for both keyboard or mouse, two Wifi antennas, one bluetooth, two USB 3.0, four USB 2.0, one eSATA 3.0 and audio connector panel as well as an optical connector.

ASUS equipped the E35M1-I Deluxe with a total of five SATA3 connectors and an internal USB3 connector that can handle up to two USB3.0 ports. And two USB2.0 connectors that can both handle two USB2.0 ports.

At this point one can see the two fan connectors located behind the cooler. It would have been nice if there was a third fan header although two are enough.

Bundle

The delivery is well equipped, you can find an installation guide, the motherboard manual, a DVD with drivers and ASUS software suite, two antennas, the I/O shield and finally two SATA3 cables. Maybe you'd like to have another SATA3 cable in the delivery.