Specifications
Here are the specifications pulled right off of ASUS's web site:

Processor
  Socket 370 for Intel® FCPGA Pentium® III 450MHz~933+MHz processors and Intel® PPGA CeleronTM 333~566+MHz.

Chipset
  Intel® 82815 Graphics and AGP Memory Controller Hub (GMCH)
  Intel® 82801BA Enhanced I/O Controller Hub 2 (ICH2)
  Intel® 82802AB Firmware Hub (FWH)
  Support 4x AGP, 4MB AIMM, PC133/PC100 SDRAM, UltraDMA/100 IDE Devices

Super I/O & USB Hub
  ITE IT 8703F LPC Chip
  AU9254 USB Hub

FSB
  66/100/133 MHz Front Side Bus

System Memory
  3x 168-pin DIMM supporting 8MB to 512MB 3.3V PC133/100 SDRAM
  Maximum 512MB PC133/PC100 non-ECC SDRAM

Expansion Slots
  1 x 32-bit AGP Pro/AGP 4X slot
  6 x 32-bit PCI
  2x CNR (Communication and Networking Riser)
  Supports AGP Pro Slot with Universal AGP Connector and additional Power Connectors to Support Highend 3D or Workstation Class Graphics Adapters

VGA
  AGP Pro/4X/2X/1X Graphics Adapter Compatible
  Integrated 4X AGP Graphics

IDE Ports
  2 x UltraDMA/100/66/33 Bus Master IDE Ports
  Supports DVD-ROM, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, and LS-120 Drives

Special Features
  Power Loss Restart
  ASUS JumperFreeTM CPU Throttle
  STR (Suspend to RAM)
  SFS (Stepless Frequency Selection)
  Vcore & VIO Adjustable

Back Panel I/O Ports
  2 x USB Ports
  1 x Serial Ports
  1 x Parallel Port (ECP, EPP Port)
  1 x PS/2 Keyboard Port, 1 x PS/2 Mouse Port
  1 x VGA Port

Onboard I/O Interface
  ASUS® iPanel Connectors
  3 Headers to Support Optional 5 USB Ports
  24-pin ASUS® Panel
  SIR/CIR
  CPU/Power Supply/Chassis Fan
  ATX Power
  IDE LED
  COM2
  TV/Out/LCD Module Connectors

BIOS
  Award® 4Mb BIOS with Full ACPI, SM BIOS 2.3, Green, PnP, Trend® ChipAway Virus (TCAV) & Symbios® SCSI BIOS

Industrial Standard
  PCI 2.2, USB 1.1

Manageability
  Wfm 2.0, DMI 2.0, WOL (Wake-on LAN), WOR (Wake-on Ring), Chassis Intrusion, SM Bus

Accessories
  User's Manual
  UltraDMA/66 Cable
  IDE Cable
  Floppy Cable
  3-Ports USB Bracket

Board Size
  ATX Form Factor with Size : 20.8cm x 30.5cm (8.2" x 12")

From the looks of the specifications, the CUSL2 is a pretty basic board that borrows most of its features from the i815E chipset that's on-board. Through the chipset, this board supports all three Intel-standard buses: 66MHz for the Celeron, 100MHz for older Pentium III's, some Coppermine Pentium III's and 133MHz for most Coppermine Pentium III's. It supports 512MB of PC100 or PC133 SDRAM but not PC66 SDRAM because it utilizes the asynchronous memory and FSB operation built-into the i815E chipset (mentioned above) that allows, for example, PC100 memory to be used with the 66MHz FSB Celeron.

A quick look at the specifications shows us that this board has 6 PCI slots, while most other boards have only 5, and 2 CNR slots, while most others have only 1 or even none. These 2 CNR slots show that this board is targeted towards the OEM market where system builders might want to shave off a few bucks by purchasing CNR networking, modem or sound cards instead of the usual PCI cards, while the 6 PCI slots makes it perfect for power users who are looking for plenty of room for expansion. The 2 CNR slots are shared with 2 of the PCI slots to save space on the PCB and, most importantly, cost.

Also through the i815E, the CUSL2 has an AGP slot that has support for up to 4X AGP and also AGP Pro, which is a feature that I've noticed ASUS include on most of their new motherboard products. The AGP Pro specification calls for an extra 20-pin bay to supply extra power to demanding high-performance AGP Pro graphics cards. Unfortunately, there are currently no consumer-level cards that utilize AGP Pro and only some in the high-end workstation level use AGP Pro, so this feature is pretty much useless. If you don't have, or don't wish to use an AGP graphics card, the CUSL2 also has the extremely poor-performing built-in video courtesy of, once again, the i815E chipset.

First Impressions
Included in the package was the motherboard itself, the driver/software CD, a USB connector board for 3 more USB ports (from my experience, ASUS is the only manufacturer that includes these connector boards in their motherboard packaging rather than making them "optional"), a connector for a second serial port, a floppy, IDE and ATA-66/100 (40-pin, 80 conductor) cable and a very detailed manual explaining all the facts that you need to know about installing the board and the software that comes with it.

A lot of the manufacturers out there nowadays simply include a quick-start guide to help you get started in installing the board and then includes the detailed manual on the driver and software CD. This is a pretty stupid idea, in my mind, because if you can't get the computer to work properly during the install process, how are you supposed to read the manual to help you figure out what the problem is if you don't have another working computer lying around? Fortunately, it's nice to see that ASUS is not moving towards including a manual on their CD instead of in hardcopy form.

It's also nice to see that ASUS has included all the cables that are needed, including both a regular 40-pin, 40 conductor cable for UDMA-33 or older devices and a 40-pin, 80 conductor cable for UDMA-66/100 devices.

Layout
The board had a Socket 370 ZIF socket that supports both older PPGA processors (for older Celeron's) and newer FC-PGA processors (for newer "Coppermine" Pentium III's and Celeron's). This is a very nice feature that ensures that this board will support any type of Socket 370 CPU you throw at it, regardless of how old or new it is. Placement of this socket was just perfect and not too close to the edge of the board. With a huge heatsink, the one included with the Pentium III 1GHz processor that I used to test this board with installed, it just reached the edge of the board and was quite a ways off from the bottom of the power supply.

Surrounding this socket is a whole bunch of capacitors to assure plenty of stability. Unfortunately, there was a group of these capacitors that are placed too close to the release clip for the socket and so I found it very difficult to get around these capacitors to release the clip.

The PCB is very standard in terms of its size and there shouldn't be a problem in putting it into any type of ATX cases. The ATX power connector was placed above the CPU socket, which means that the cable for the ATX power would have to be pulled around the processor and could block airflow if not properly restrained. Unfortunately, this isn't the most annoying component placement found on this board.

What is annoying is the placement of the CPU fan header. It's placed on the bottom side of the memory slots meaning that the cable for the CPU fan would have to be pulled over the RAM slots and could get in the way when inserting memory.

Other connectors such as the floppy and IDE connectors were placed pretty much in a pretty standard spot: near the bottom edge of the board.

The board that I received had no built-in audio (there's also a version of the CUSL2 that includes integrated audio) so all there is in the back of the board are 2 USB ports (you can add an extra 3 by using the included USB connector board), a parellel port, a serial port and a VGA monitor port for the built-in video in place of the second serial port. Another serial port connector board is included if you need that second serial port, but I have long abandoned the serial port so I won't be needing any.

On to: Powering Up...