BIOS Rundown
BIOS Rundown
The Rampage II Extreme is a high-end overclocking-oriented motherboard, and as such we are expecting a BIOS that is feature-rich but functional, and which puts an emphasis on its enthusiast roots. Let's see if ASUS can meet our expectations...
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Upon entering the BIOS we are automatically presented with the Extreme Tweaker section, which is obviously a great start. From this section, we can tweak all essential system frequencies: CPU, memory, BLCK, PCI-E, UCLK, QPI Link, etc. As you will see, aside from with the CPU ratio, ASUS have foregone the four types of multipliers and instead list the actual frequencies which definitely simplifies the overclocking process.
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The CPU Level Up and Memory Level Up menus allow novice users to automatically overclock those components without having to mess around with clocks speeds, multipliers, and voltages. Much to our surprise, this feature did successfully overclock our Core i7-965 processor to 4.0Ghz, although the set voltages were quite a bit higher than we would otherwise need to run at this level.
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The Ai Overclock Tuner menu offers various automatic memory overclocking options, such as X.M.P, the aforementioned Memory Level Up, and the ROG Memory Profile. As you can see, when combined with the unlocked Core i7 965 XE processor, the RIIE has an impressive array of selectable memory multipliers. The 920 and 940 models only have two available memory multipliers, but a future BIOS release <b>should</b> provide unlocked memory multipliers. It should be noted that the memory speeds are related to the base clock, so as you increase the BLCK the memory frequency options increase as well.
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The UCLK Frequency options are plentiful and what you see here is just half of the available frequencies. The QPI Link Data Rate option lists the three selectable rates: 4800 MT/s (2400Mhz), 5600 MT/s (2600Mhz), and 6400 MT/s (3200Mhz).
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The DRAM Timing Control option leads to the memory timings sub-menu, and ASUS have dutifully included every possible memory setting that an enthusiast user could ever need. It may appear quite complex and overwhelming, but thankfully all the options can be left on auto if you are so inclined.
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As you scroll down, the motherboard voltage options are revealed, and every voltage setting that a serious overclocker could ever want is present and accounted for. There are no drop-down lists for the voltage options, but you can select up/down or manually insert the voltage settings which is our favourite method. The more perceptive among you will have noticed in the above screenshots that this model also features Load-Line Calibration (LLC), which is a terrific feature that eliminates droopage on the CPU vCORE, and which we will take a closer look at in our
Voltage Regulation section. We are also pleased to see that the POST codes can be displayed on the
LCD Poster, which makes up for the lack of onboard debug LED display.
For a complete list of voltage ranges, see the chart below:
<table border="0" bgcolor="#666666" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="1" width="735px"><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#cc9999" width="100"> </td><td align="center" bgcolor="#cc9999" width="100"><b>Minimum</b></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#cc9999" width="100"><b>Maximum</b></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#cc9999" width="100"><b>Increment</b></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#cc9999" width="335"><b>Notes</b></td></tr><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">CPU vCORE</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">0.85v</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">2.50v</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">0.00625v</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="335">Normal sets the VID for the CPU</td></tr><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">CPU PLL</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">1.81592v</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">3.08792v</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">0.01325v</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="335">Standard 1.80v</td></tr><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">QPI/DRAM</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">1.20v</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">2.50v</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">0.00625v</td> <td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="335">Standard 1.20v</td></tr><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">IOH</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">1.11341v</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">2.19991v</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">0.01325v</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="335">Standard 1.10v</td></tr><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">IOH PCIE</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">1.51106v</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">2.78306v</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">0.01325v</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="335">Standard 1.50v</td></tr><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">ICH</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">1.11341v</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">2.00116v</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">0.01325v</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="335">Standard 1.10v</td></tr><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">ICH PCIE</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">1.51106v</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">2.05431v</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">0.01325v</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="335">Standard 1.50v</td></tr><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">DRAM Bus</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">1.51106v</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">3.00831v</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">0.01325v</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="335">Standard 1.50v</td></tr></table>
As you can see, ASUS have been very liberal with the voltage options, and they have provided high enough maximums to not only satisfy the most hardcore overclockers, but to also instantly fry any & all components.
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The Main menu is next, and it features the standard storage device list, and even a basic System Information section which lists some rudementary information about the system itself, including the bios version, the type of processor, the amount of memory installed, and which of the two BIOSes is in use.
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The Advanced menu contains options for CPU configuration, chipset settings, onboard devices, USB configuration, LCD Poster and LED control, and iROG configuration. This is where you can enable or disable HyperThreading, the number of cores in use, all the Intel-specific energy saving features, the onboard audio, the various storage and network controllers, etc. The LCD Poster and LED control provides a level of control over the
LCD Poster and its functions, as well the ability to enable/disable the multiple LEDs strewn throughout the motherboard. The iROG Configuration allows you set how the motherboard will react to a BIOS crash, namely switch to the second BIOS or automatically copy one BIOS to the other.
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The PC Health Status or Power menus are usually a big disappointment on most motherboards, and we consistently chastise manufacturers for skimping on this important section. Thankfully, this one put a big smile on our faces. The Rampage II Extreme has top-notch temperature and voltage monitoring capabilities, everything you need to know about your system's vital stats is right there for your viewing pleasure. ASUS have even provided three additional
thermal sensor cables, so you can monitor temperatures at three other areas of your own choosing. ASUS has also provided an abundance of fan monitoring and fan controlling functionality, which is great to see as well.
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The Boot menu is essentially where you set storage device priority and select the boot drive. The only noteworthy addition to this page is the BIOS Boot Priority section, where you can select which individual BIOS chip the motherboard will boot from (once the onboard jumper is set to menu select). This is a feature that we first saw on the
Rampage Extreme and a true dual BIOS design remains a rarity.
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ASUS EZ-Flash 2 is a built-in utility that greatly simplies the BIOS updating process. You can easily update your BIOS from a ROM file located on your hard drive(s), USB flash drive(s), or even a CD. It's quick, painless, and it takes the worry out of BIOS flashing.
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The ASUS O.C Profile feature gives users the option to save and switch between BIOS profiles, for example an everyday profile and a benchmarking profile. Not only is this infinitely quicker than manually inserting every setting, but the profiles can be saved and shared among other Rampage II Extreme owners. We are glad to see that ASUS have listened to our recommendations, and increased the number of profiles from a meager 2 to a more reasonable 8 profiles.
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In similar fashion to the ASUS O.C Profile feature, you can also create custom TweakIt batch files which can be conveniently saved and shared. Lastly, there is the BIOS Flashback feature which allows you to backup or restore BIOS content from one BIOS chip to the other, as well as edit their descriptions.
In summary, this BIOS has everything that we have come to expect from a Republic of Gamers model and then some! The level of tweakability and functionality is far-above anything we have experienced thus far, and it is ideal for a motherboard of this caliber.