We already came across the PRB feature several weeks ago when we did our first Socket 775 motherboard roundup . At that time, Foxconn obviously had not completely implemented the PRB. As a result, the processor wouldn't run faster than 2.8 GHz with the buggy BIOS version.

Now, about six weeks later, Asus is running with the ball with its nifty overclocking feature. However, while a good proportion of all Socket 775 Pentium 4 processors should be able to run 3.5 GHz or even faster, you might come across one that doesn't. In addition, it would definitely operate at over-spec temperatures when under high load.

So far, Asus' CPU Lock Free feature is not cheap. It requires a PRB1 processor or, in other words, the 550 or 560 model combined with a powerful cooling solution, decent DDR2 memory that should be able to operate at 350 MHz, a fast PCI Express graphics cards for gaming and an Asus Socket 775 motherboard. Don't worry if you prefer other motherboards brands: We expect other manufacturers to add this feature in a few weeks.

The benchmarks are self-explanatory. With DDR2-710, FSB1066 and a 3.72 GHz CPU clock speed, the P4 without a doubt becomes very powerful again.