lemonlime
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BIOS Rundown
BIOS Rundown
Both the “M” and “V” models employ the very familiar AMI BIOS common to most ASUS boards. Aside from some very minor voltage differences, the “M” and “V” BIOS is essentially the same, so we won’t duplicate all of the screenshots. Under the System Information section, all of the processor and memory vitals can be observed, along with the amount of memory that the IGP has taken for its own uses.
As with all ASUS boards most of the fun settings can be found within the “Jumper Free” menu. We quite like the way ASUS grouped settings logically in a tree-type view that automatically hides additional settings related to those left at “auto”. The integrated GPU can be overclocked from this menu as well as the usual CPU multiplier, base clock frequency, NB multiplier etc.
Selectable Voltages Ranges:
All of the voltage settings that the majority of buyers would care about are accounted for, including CPU-NB voltage and chipset voltage. The ranges are quite good considering the EVO’s budget price. It is unlikely that anyone would want any more than 1.55V on the CPU, let alone 1.7V and it is nice to see that DDR3 voltage can be increased enough to seriously damage most modules. Not that we want anyone damaging their modules, but it is always strangely exciting that know that you could! On the other end of the spectrum, we were also pleased to see that CPU voltage can be “undervolted” to as low as 1V for those interested in super-quiet or super-cool computing.
Those looking to tweak their DDR3 have CPU-NB voltage adjustments up to a healthy 1.55V, which is plenty. So in other words, this EVO won’t be holding you back due to limited voltage adjustments. As with most new boards, the EVOs allow very small incremental increases so that you can get your set points just right. We’ll check to see just how accurate some of these voltage set points are with a digital multimeter later on in the review.
It was also interesting to see a selectable percentage for “LoadLine Calibration”. This feature helps to prevent voltage droop at full load. Most boards we’ve seen has an “On/Off” setting for this, so it is interesting to see that varying degrees of load line calibration can be used. We’ll be testing to see just how effective this is later on.
There is certainly no shortage of DRAM timing adjustments either. Everything from “CAS Latency” to a whole slew of other secondary timing options can be specified. Most buyers will have no desire to tinker beyond the usual CAS-tRCD-tRP-tRAS settings that usually need to be set with higher end DDR3, but it is nice to know the other options are there for maximum memory tuning performance. The usual memory “dividers” can be selected as well for 1066, 1333 or 1600MHz operation.
Under the “CPU Configuration” menu, C1E and Cool’n’Quiet settings can be found, as well as the “Secure Virtual Machine” setting that was strangely left disabled by default. Those interested in running VMWare player for folding purposes will have to enable this. Most interesting of all though, is the Advanced Clock Calibration setting and a strange setting called “Unleashing Mode”. Anyone familiar with Deneb core unlocking has likely already guessed what these are for. We’ll discuss core unlocking in the “Deneb Unlocking” section.
Additional memory configuration options can be found in the “Memory Configuration” section. These settings generally don’t need to be touched unless you want to run your memory controller in “Ganged” mode, or mess with bank interleaving. Ninety nine perfect of buyers will only touch settings in the “Jumper Free” section.
Under the “Internal Graphics” section, we find some interesting settings relating to the IGP and sideport memory. There is surprisingly quite a bit of tweaking that can be done here including overvolting the sideport, increasing the sideport frequency as well as increasing the UMA frame buffer (shared main memory). The sideport memory, and even the UMA can be enabled or disabled.
Under the “Power” tab, we find the useful “Hardware Monitor” screen. Here, we can see CPU and “MB” temperature readings, as well as fan RPM and voltage readings. Interestingly, ASUS Smart Q-FAN allows a “Fan Auto Mode Start Voltage” setting. This is very useful, as some fans won’t start unless a minimum voltage is applied. For those not familiar with Q-FAN, the CPU fan header can operate at a lower voltage until a certain CPU temperature is reached. Once that temperature threshold is exceeded, the fan runs at it’s full 12V. With Q-FAN disabled, the CPU fan operates at 12V at all times.
One great ASUS feature that we miss on the EVO boards is the “OC Profile” menu. Unlike some higher end models, multiple BIOS setting profiles cannot be saved and reloaded on demand. We were pleased to see ASUS continue with their great “EZ Flash 2” flashing application that allows flashing ROM files from a USB stick, or even from your PC’s hard drive. No more trying to find a bootable floppy disk! – What is a floppy disk?
You’ll also notice that the ASUS EVO boards support “Express Gate”. Express Gate is a pre-boot “instant on” Linux operating system that allows access to the basics – like a web browser and photo viewer. Since this is not a new feature, and is featured on many ASUS products, we won’t get too far into it for this review. We’d like to refer you to our coverage of the ASUS M4A78T-E if you’d like to see Express Gate in action.
We should note that Express Gate is set to “AUTO” by default, even if it is not installed, which will increase boot time significantly. If you don’t plan to use it, you should definitely disable the feature within the BIOS.
BIOS Rundown
Both the “M” and “V” models employ the very familiar AMI BIOS common to most ASUS boards. Aside from some very minor voltage differences, the “M” and “V” BIOS is essentially the same, so we won’t duplicate all of the screenshots. Under the System Information section, all of the processor and memory vitals can be observed, along with the amount of memory that the IGP has taken for its own uses.
As with all ASUS boards most of the fun settings can be found within the “Jumper Free” menu. We quite like the way ASUS grouped settings logically in a tree-type view that automatically hides additional settings related to those left at “auto”. The integrated GPU can be overclocked from this menu as well as the usual CPU multiplier, base clock frequency, NB multiplier etc.
Selectable Voltages Ranges:
- CPU Voltage: 1.025V – 1.700V (1.9V with OV_CPU jumper moved out of default position - M4A785TD-V only)
- VDDNB (CPU Northbridge): 0.800V – 1.550V
- CPU VDDA: 2.50V – 2.80V
- Memory Voltage: 1.500V – 2.310V
- Chipset: 1.100V – 1.600V
All of the voltage settings that the majority of buyers would care about are accounted for, including CPU-NB voltage and chipset voltage. The ranges are quite good considering the EVO’s budget price. It is unlikely that anyone would want any more than 1.55V on the CPU, let alone 1.7V and it is nice to see that DDR3 voltage can be increased enough to seriously damage most modules. Not that we want anyone damaging their modules, but it is always strangely exciting that know that you could! On the other end of the spectrum, we were also pleased to see that CPU voltage can be “undervolted” to as low as 1V for those interested in super-quiet or super-cool computing.
Those looking to tweak their DDR3 have CPU-NB voltage adjustments up to a healthy 1.55V, which is plenty. So in other words, this EVO won’t be holding you back due to limited voltage adjustments. As with most new boards, the EVOs allow very small incremental increases so that you can get your set points just right. We’ll check to see just how accurate some of these voltage set points are with a digital multimeter later on in the review.
It was also interesting to see a selectable percentage for “LoadLine Calibration”. This feature helps to prevent voltage droop at full load. Most boards we’ve seen has an “On/Off” setting for this, so it is interesting to see that varying degrees of load line calibration can be used. We’ll be testing to see just how effective this is later on.
There is certainly no shortage of DRAM timing adjustments either. Everything from “CAS Latency” to a whole slew of other secondary timing options can be specified. Most buyers will have no desire to tinker beyond the usual CAS-tRCD-tRP-tRAS settings that usually need to be set with higher end DDR3, but it is nice to know the other options are there for maximum memory tuning performance. The usual memory “dividers” can be selected as well for 1066, 1333 or 1600MHz operation.
Under the “CPU Configuration” menu, C1E and Cool’n’Quiet settings can be found, as well as the “Secure Virtual Machine” setting that was strangely left disabled by default. Those interested in running VMWare player for folding purposes will have to enable this. Most interesting of all though, is the Advanced Clock Calibration setting and a strange setting called “Unleashing Mode”. Anyone familiar with Deneb core unlocking has likely already guessed what these are for. We’ll discuss core unlocking in the “Deneb Unlocking” section.
Additional memory configuration options can be found in the “Memory Configuration” section. These settings generally don’t need to be touched unless you want to run your memory controller in “Ganged” mode, or mess with bank interleaving. Ninety nine perfect of buyers will only touch settings in the “Jumper Free” section.
Under the “Internal Graphics” section, we find some interesting settings relating to the IGP and sideport memory. There is surprisingly quite a bit of tweaking that can be done here including overvolting the sideport, increasing the sideport frequency as well as increasing the UMA frame buffer (shared main memory). The sideport memory, and even the UMA can be enabled or disabled.
Under the “Power” tab, we find the useful “Hardware Monitor” screen. Here, we can see CPU and “MB” temperature readings, as well as fan RPM and voltage readings. Interestingly, ASUS Smart Q-FAN allows a “Fan Auto Mode Start Voltage” setting. This is very useful, as some fans won’t start unless a minimum voltage is applied. For those not familiar with Q-FAN, the CPU fan header can operate at a lower voltage until a certain CPU temperature is reached. Once that temperature threshold is exceeded, the fan runs at it’s full 12V. With Q-FAN disabled, the CPU fan operates at 12V at all times.
One great ASUS feature that we miss on the EVO boards is the “OC Profile” menu. Unlike some higher end models, multiple BIOS setting profiles cannot be saved and reloaded on demand. We were pleased to see ASUS continue with their great “EZ Flash 2” flashing application that allows flashing ROM files from a USB stick, or even from your PC’s hard drive. No more trying to find a bootable floppy disk! – What is a floppy disk?
You’ll also notice that the ASUS EVO boards support “Express Gate”. Express Gate is a pre-boot “instant on” Linux operating system that allows access to the basics – like a web browser and photo viewer. Since this is not a new feature, and is featured on many ASUS products, we won’t get too far into it for this review. We’d like to refer you to our coverage of the ASUS M4A78T-E if you’d like to see Express Gate in action.
We should note that Express Gate is set to “AUTO” by default, even if it is not installed, which will increase boot time significantly. If you don’t plan to use it, you should definitely disable the feature within the BIOS.
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