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| by FiXT | August 29, 2009 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| BIOS Rundown BIOS RundownAsus has been well known for their logical and well laid out BIOSes, especially in the area of tweaking. They feature a smorgasbord of overclocking features that allow to users to set precise speeds, ratios and/or voltages, and don't deal with addition or subtraction from stock. Their function descriptions are common sense, and easily dechiperable from the manual if need be. One of the great features of ROG boards is the added extras found within the Extreme Tweaker settings, many of which may seem like relatively obvious additions but are rarely found on most boards.   The Crosshair opens immediately to the Extreme Tweaker section of the BIOS, rather than the typical "Home" screen which features the date/time and storage devices; users get to immediately dive right in. Extreme Tweaker is the overclocking section and has all the common adjustments. Starting at the top; the Ai Overclock Tuner allows you to set overclocking to Automatic or Manual mode. On Auto, the CPU Level Up utility is Asus's custom auto overclocker which is a three point tool that which will increase your CPU to the "next level" depending on what your running. Most users can expect to see three options in the 5%-20% range. Adjusting to manual unleashes the remainder of the custom options and we see device frequencies such as the FSB, RAM and HT open for selection. Adjusting voltages with the CIIIF prompts the typical popup with the scrolling list of available settings; users must key in the exact voltage they want but the system will jump to the closest possible voltage if the selected voltage is not available. For those seeking the ultimate thrill and using extreme cooling solutions such as Dry Ice or LN2, Asus has included Extreme OV for you. Enabling this setting unlocks the CPU Voltage from it's 1.75V ceiling, to allow for adjustments all the way up to 2.25V! For those playing it safe, voltages are also colour coded to warn when a user may be pushing beyond what is safe. Yellow serves as a warning that damage may occur, and seeing red can almost guarantee it without adequate cooling. Asus also provides current voltage stats as a reference underneath the options.
  Within the Extreme Tweaker section are a few subselections for more advanced features. The usual DRAM Settings for full control over ram timings, as well as a quick link to the the CPU Configuration for adjustments to CPU technologies such as Cool 'N' Quiet as well as the ACC control.  The Main page is follows the Tweaker section and holds the usual date, time and storage device information.   The Advanced section allows for additional control over both the CPU and Chipset features while also including subsections to also configure your onboard devices and USB ports. This section also includes the section for the unique ROG LCD Poster. Quite simply is allows for the selection of what a user wants displayed on the LCD module when it is installed. Options such as the current time and hardware statistics can be selected.   The Power section of the Crosshair includes some of the most comprehensive monitoring capabilities ever seen within a BIOS. There are separate areas for both Voltage and Temperature monitors, and Fan's are given two pages for both monitoring and control! The Voltage monitor furthers the astonishment with a listing of practically every single bit of electricity coursing through the board's traces.   Temperature sees the usual with CPU, MB and both chipsets, along with the three optional temperature probes that can be added onto the board. As we saw, the board boasts 8 PWM fan headers allowing for full control of the included fans straight from the computer (if PWM capabable fans are used). Asus's fan speed control section does not skimp on settings, and users are able choose between setting the fan at a custom speed to suit their needs, or place tempurature restrictions on when the fans should spin at a low speed and when they should begin to run at full.   With the Crosshair's focus on overclocking, they include the standard O.C. Profile settings, which allows users to store up to 8 pre-configured BIOS settings that can be quickly switched in a matter of seconds. This board also brings the ROG feature "TweakIt" to the AMD platform, allowing users to be able to quickly and easily over volt nearly everything that requires electricty, and syncs through software within the OS as well. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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