BIOS Option Of The Week

Adrian Wong · Mar 30, 2014

BIOS Option Of The Week - L1 Data Cache Context Mode

Since 1999, we have been developing the BIOS Optimization Guide, affectionately known as the BOG. From a meagre beginning of a single page, it now covers over 440 BIOS options. As old BOG readers will know, we started offering two editions of the BOG since Revision 8.0 - a simplified edition and the complete edition.

Normally, the complete edition is only available to subscribers who help sponsor the development of the guide through a small fee. However, that changes today! From now on, we will post a BIOS option from the complete edition of the BIOS Optimization Guide every weekend.

This week, we will be taking a look at the L1 Data Cache Context Mode BIOS setting. Here's an excerpt :

In current implementations of the Intel Hyper-Threading Technology, each processor has two logical processors. In operating systems that support Hyper-Threading Technology, the processor behaves as two separate processors.

These logical processors not only share the processor's execution engine, they also share its L1 cache. This is where this BIOS feature comes in. This BIOS feature allows you to modify the operating mode of the processor's L1 data cache...
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Link : BIOS Option Of The Week - L1 Data Cache Context Mode

Adrian Wong · Apr 5, 2014

BIOS Option Of The Week - Delay Prior To Thermal

Since 1999, we have been developing the BIOS Optimization Guide, affectionately known as the BOG. From a meagre beginning of a single page, it now covers over 440 BIOS options. As old BOG readers will know, we started offering two editions of the BOG since Revision 8.0 - a simplified edition and the complete edition.

Normally, the complete edition is only available to subscribers who help sponsor the development of the guide through a small fee. However, that changes today! From now on, we will post a BIOS option from the complete edition of the BIOS Optimization Guide every weekend.

This week, we will be taking a look at the Delay Prior To Thermal BIOS setting. Here's an excerpt :

The Delay Prior To Thermal BIOS feature controls the activation of the Thermal Monitor's automatic mode. It allows you to determine when the Thermal Monitor should be activated in automatic mode after the system boots.

Generally, the Thermal Monitor should not be activated immediately on booting as the processor will be under a heavy load during the booting process. This causes a sharp rise in die temperature from its cold state. Because it takes time for the thermal output to radiate from the die to the heat sink, the thermal sensor will register the sudden spike in die temperature and prematurely activate the TCC. This unnecessarily reduces the processor's performance during the booting up process...
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Link : BIOS Option Of The Week - Delay Prior To Thermal

Adrian Wong · Apr 13, 2014

BIOS Option Of The Week - EXT-P2P's Discard Time

Since 1999, we have been developing the BIOS Optimization Guide, affectionately known as the BOG. From a meagre beginning of a single page, it now covers over 440 BIOS options. As old BOG readers will know, we started offering two editions of the BOG since Revision 8.0 - a simplified edition and the complete edition.

Normally, the complete edition is only available to subscribers who help sponsor the development of the guide through a small fee. However, that changes today! From now on, we will post a BIOS option from the complete edition of the BIOS Optimization Guide every weekend.

This week, we will be taking a look at the EXT-P2P's Discard Time BIOS setting. Here's an excerpt :

The NVIDIA nForce2 south bridge chip, officially called the Media and Communications Processor (MCP), does not come with support for Serial ATA (SATA). Therefore, most nForce2-based motherboards have external Serial ATA controllers. For example, the ABIT NF7-S, arguably the most famous nForce2 motherboard, makes use of the Silicon Image SiI3112 SATA controller.

However, there is a bug in the nForce2's PCI bridge controller. When the time runs out, it doesn't flush its internal buffer to make way for the second read request, as it should. Instead...
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Link : BIOS Option Of The Week - EXT-P2P's Discard Time

Adrian Wong · Apr 20, 2014

BIOS Option Of The Week - Burn-In Mode

Since 1999, we have been developing the BIOS Optimization Guide, affectionately known as the BOG. From a meagre beginning of a single page, it now covers over 440 BIOS options. As old BOG readers will know, we started offering two editions of the BOG since Revision 8.0 - a simplified edition and the complete edition.

Normally, the complete edition is only available to subscribers who help sponsor the development of the guide through a small fee. However, that changes today! From now on, we will post a BIOS option from the complete edition of the BIOS Optimization Guide every weekend.

This week, we will be taking a look at the Burn-In Mode BIOS setting. Here's an excerpt :

This BIOS feature allows you to overclock the processor and memory modules, even if Intel stamps its foot petulantly and insist that it is not meant for this purpose. While it does not give you direct control of the bus clocks, it allows some overclocking of the processor and memory modules.

Please note that while this BIOS feature allows some adjustment of the processor and memory bus clocks, it does not allow you to modify individual clocks. Whatever you set using this BIOS feature affects...
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Link : BIOS Option Of The Week - Burn-In Mode

Adrian Wong · Apr 27, 2014

BIOS Option Of The Week - Dynamic Counter

Since 1999, we have been developing the BIOS Optimization Guide, affectionately known as the BOG. From a meagre beginning of a single page, it now covers over 440 BIOS options. As old BOG readers will know, we started offering two editions of the BOG since Revision 8.0 - a simplified edition and the complete edition.

Normally, the complete edition is only available to subscribers who help sponsor the development of the guide through a small fee. However, that changes today! From now on, we will post a BIOS option from the complete edition of the BIOS Optimization Guide every weekend.

This week, we will be taking a look at the Dynamic Counter BIOS setting. Here's an excerpt :

The Dynamic Counter BIOS feature controls the memory controller's dynamic page conflict prediction mechanism. This mechanism dynamically adjusts the idle cycle limit to achieve a better page hit-miss ratio, improving memory performance.

When enabled, the memory controller will begin with the idle cycle limit set by Idle Cycle Limit and use its dynamic page conflict prediction mechanism to...
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Link : BIOS Option Of The Week - Dynamic Counter

Adrian Wong · May 5, 2014

BIOS Option Of The Week - Differential Current

Since 1999, we have been developing the BIOS Optimization Guide, affectionately known as the BOG. From a meagre beginning of a single page, it now covers over 440 BIOS options. As old BOG readers will know, we started offering two editions of the BOG since Revision 8.0 - a simplified edition and the complete edition.

Normally, the complete edition is only available to subscribers who help sponsor the development of the guide through a small fee. However, that changes today! From now on, we will post a BIOS option from the complete edition of the BIOS Optimization Guide every weekend.

This week, we will be taking a look at the Differential Current BIOS setting. Here's an excerpt :

This new clocking method reduces the effect of noise on the voltage swing of the system clocks. This results in better timing margins which can translate into tighter, faster timings or better stability.

This BIOS feature allows you to change the amount of differential current produced by the clock driver pairs, effectively changing the voltage swing of the system clocks...
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Link : BIOS Option Of The Week - Differential Current

Adrian Wong · May 11, 2014

BIOS Option Of The Week - Delayed Transaction

Since 1999, we have been developing the BIOS Optimization Guide, affectionately known as the BOG. From a meagre beginning of a single page, it now covers over 440 BIOS options. As old BOG readers will know, we started offering two editions of the BOG since Revision 8.0 - a simplified edition and the complete edition.

Normally, the complete edition is only available to subscribers who help sponsor the development of the guide through a small fee. However, that changes today! From now on, we will post a BIOS option from the complete edition of the BIOS Optimization Guide every weekend.

This week, we will be taking a look at the Delayed Transaction BIOS setting. Here's an excerpt :

To meet PCI 2.1 compliance, the PCI maximum target latency rule must be observed. According to this rule, a PCI 2.1-compliant device must service a read request within 16 PCI clock cycles for the initial read and 8 PCI clock cycles for each subsequent read.

If it cannot do so, the PCI bus will terminate the transaction so that other PCI devices can access the bus. But instead of rearbitrating for access (and failing to meet the minimum latency requirement again), the PCI 2.1-compliant device can make use of the PCI Delayed Transaction feature...
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Link : BIOS Option Of The Week - Delayed Transaction

Adrian Wong · May 18, 2014

BIOS Option Of The Week - ISA 14.318MHz Clock

Since 1999, we have been developing the BIOS Optimization Guide, affectionately known as the BOG. From a meagre beginning of a single page, it now covers over 440 BIOS options. As old BOG readers will know, we started offering two editions of the BOG since Revision 8.0 - a simplified edition and the complete edition.

Normally, the complete edition is only available to subscribers who help sponsor the development of the guide through a small fee. However, that changes today! From now on, we will post a BIOS option from the complete edition of the BIOS Optimization Guide every weekend.

This week, we will be taking a look at the ISA 14.318MHz Clock BIOS setting. Here's an excerpt :

The ISA bus (also known as the AT bus) was originally an 8-bit bus running at just 4.77 MHz. It was then expanded to include a 16-bit bus running initially at 6MHz and later at 8MHz. Eventually, the ISA bus was standardized to run at a maximum speed of 8.33 MHz.

Because each ISA data transfer takes anywhere from two to eight clock cycles to complete, this yields a maximum bandwidth of only...
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Link : BIOS Option Of The Week - ISA 14.318MHz Clock

Adrian Wong · May 25, 2014

BIOS Option Of The Week - Hardware Prefetch Queue

Since 1999, we have been developing the BIOS Optimization Guide, affectionately known as the BOG. From a meagre beginning of a single page, it now covers over 440 BIOS options. As old BOG readers will know, we started offering two editions of the BOG since Revision 8.0 - a simplified edition and the complete edition.

Normally, the complete edition is only available to subscribers who help sponsor the development of the guide through a small fee. However, that changes today! From now on, we will post a BIOS option from the complete edition of the BIOS Optimization Guide every weekend.

This week, we will be taking a look at the Hardware Prefetch Queue BIOS setting. Here's an excerpt :

These processors have a hardware prefetcher that automatically analyzes the processor's requirements and prefetches data and instructions from the memory into the Level 2 cache that are likely to be required in the near future. This reduces the latency associated with memory reads.

When it works, the hardware prefetcher does a great job of keeping the processor loaded with code and data. However, it doesn't always work right...
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Link : BIOS Option Of The Week - Hardware Prefetch Queue

Adrian Wong · Jun 1, 2014

BIOS Option Of The Week - Errata 123 Enhancement

Since 1999, we have been developing the BIOS Optimization Guide, affectionately known as the BOG. From a meagre beginning of a single page, it now covers over 440 BIOS options. As old BOG readers will know, we started offering two editions of the BOG since Revision 8.0 - a simplified edition and the complete edition.

Normally, the complete edition is only available to subscribers who help sponsor the development of the guide through a small fee. However, that changes today! From now on, we will post a BIOS option from the complete edition of the BIOS Optimization Guide every weekend.

This week, we will be taking a look at the Errata 123 Enhancement BIOS setting. Here's an excerpt :

As processors get more and more complex, every new processor design inevitably comes with a plethora of bugs. Those that are identified are given errata numbers.

Errata 123 refers to the 123rd bug identified in AMD Athlon and Opteron processors. This bug affects the cache bypass feature in those processors...
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Link : BIOS Option Of The Week - Errata 123 Enhancement

Adrian Wong · Jun 8, 2014

BIOS Option Of The Week - MD Driving Strength

Since 1999, we have been developing the BIOS Optimization Guide, affectionately known as the BOG. From a meagre beginning of a single page, it now covers over 440 BIOS options. As old BOG readers will know, we started offering two editions of the BOG since Revision 8.0 - a simplified edition and the complete edition.

Normally, the complete edition is only available to subscribers who help sponsor the development of the guide through a small fee. However, that changes today! From now on, we will post a BIOS option from the complete edition of the BIOS Optimization Guide every weekend.

This week, we will be taking a look at the MD Driving Strength BIOS setting. Here's an excerpt :

The default driving strength is usually sufficient for normal DRAM loads. It is kept low in order to reduce EMI (Electromagnetic Interference) and power consumption. However, this means that the default driving strength may not be sufficient for heavy DRAM loads.

This is where the MD Driving Strength BIOS feature comes in. It offers simplified control of the memory data bus' driving strength...
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Link : BIOS Option Of The Week - MD Driving Strength

Adrian Wong · Jun 16, 2014

BIOS Option Of The Week - Errata 94 Enhancement

Since 1999, we have been developing the BIOS Optimization Guide, affectionately known as the BOG. From a meagre beginning of a single page, it now covers over 440 BIOS options. As old BOG readers will know, we started offering two editions of the BOG since Revision 8.0 - a simplified edition and the complete edition.

Normally, the complete edition is only available to subscribers who help sponsor the development of the guide through a small fee. However, that changes today! From now on, we will post a BIOS option from the complete edition of the BIOS Optimization Guide every weekend.

This week, we will be taking a look at the Errata 94 Enhancement BIOS setting. Here's an excerpt :

When there's an instruction cache miss, the sequential prefetch mechanism in affected processors may incorrectly prefetch the next sequential cache line. This may cause the processor to hang. Affected 64-bit processors that run 32-bit applications may end up executing incorrect code.

This bug is present in AMD's processor revisions of SH-B3, SH-C0, SH-CG, DH-CG and CH-CG. These revisions affect the following processor families...
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Link : BIOS Option Of The Week - Errata 94 Enhancement

Adrian Wong · Jun 22, 2014

BIOS Option Of The Week - Fast R-W Turn Around

Since 1999, we have been developing the BIOS Optimization Guide, affectionately known as the BOG. From a meagre beginning of a single page, it now covers over 440 BIOS options. As old BOG readers will know, we started offering two editions of the BOG since Revision 8.0 - a simplified edition and the complete edition.

Normally, the complete edition is only available to subscribers who help sponsor the development of the guide through a small fee. However, that changes today! From now on, we will post a BIOS option from the complete edition of the BIOS Optimization Guide every weekend.

This week, we will be taking a look at the Fast R-W Turn Around BIOS setting. Here's an excerpt :

When the memory controller receives a write command immediately after a read command, an additional period of delay is normally introduced before the write command is actually initiated.

Please note that this extra delay is only introduced when there is a switch from reads to writes. Switching from writes to reads will not suffer from such a delay. As its name suggests, this BIOS feature allows you to...
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Link : BIOS Option Of The Week - Fast R-W Turn Around

Adrian Wong · Jun 30, 2014

BIOS Option Of The Week - Interrupt Mode

Since 1999, we have been developing the BIOS Optimization Guide, affectionately known as the BOG. From a meagre beginning of a single page, it now covers over 440 BIOS options. As old BOG readers will know, we started offering two editions of the BOG since Revision 8.0 - a simplified edition and the complete edition.

Normally, the complete edition is only available to subscribers who help sponsor the development of the guide through a small fee. However, that changes today! From now on, we will post a BIOS option from the complete edition of the BIOS Optimization Guide every weekend.

This week, we will be taking a look at the Interrupt Mode BIOS setting. Here's an excerpt :

This BIOS feature is used to enable or disable the motherboard's APIC (Advanced Programmable Interrupt Controller). The APIC is a new distributed set of devices that make up an interrupt controller. In current implementations, it consists of three parts - a local APIC, an I/O APIC and an APIC bus.

The local APIC delivers interrupts to a specific processor so each processor in a system has to have its own local APIC. Therefore, a dual processor system must have two local APICs. Because a local APIC has been integrated into every processor since...
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Link : BIOS Option Of The Week - Interrupt Mode

Adrian Wong · Jul 7, 2014

BIOS Option Of The Week - SATA Operation Mode

Since 1999, we have been developing the BIOS Optimization Guide, affectionately known as the BOG. From a meagre beginning of a single page, it now covers over 440 BIOS options. As old BOG readers will know, we started offering two editions of the BOG since Revision 8.0 - a simplified edition and the complete edition.

Normally, the complete edition is only available to subscribers who help sponsor the development of the guide through a small fee. However, that changes today! From now on, we will post a BIOS option from the complete edition of the BIOS Optimization Guide every weekend.

This week, we will be taking a look at the SATA Operation Mode BIOS setting. Here's an excerpt :

This BIOS feature is similar to the SATA Mode BIOS feature, but with different options available. It controls the SATA controller's operating mode. There are two available modes - Enhanced and Compatible...
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Link : BIOS Option Of The Week - SATA Operation Mode

Adrian Wong · Jul 13, 2014

BIOS Option Of The Week - OS/2 Onboard Memory > 64M

Since 1999, we have been developing the BIOS Optimization Guide, affectionately known as the BOG. From a meagre beginning of a single page, it now covers over 440 BIOS options. As old BOG readers will know, we started offering two editions of the BOG since Revision 8.0 - a simplified edition and the complete edition.

Normally, the complete edition is only available to subscribers who help sponsor the development of the guide through a small fee. However, that changes today! From now on, we will post a BIOS option from the complete edition of the BIOS Optimization Guide every weekend.

This week, we will be taking a look at the OS/2 Onboard Memory > 64M BIOS setting. Here's an excerpt :

Older versions of IBM's OS/2 operating system use the BIOS function Int15 [AX=E801] to detect the size of installed system memory. Microsoft Windows, on the other hand, uses the BIOS function Int15 [EAX=0000E820].

However, the Int15 [AX=E801] function was later scrapped as not ACPI-compliant. As a result, OS/2 cannot detect the correct size of system memory if more than 64 MB of memory is installed...
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Link : BIOS Option Of The Week - OS/2 Onboard Memory > 64M

Adrian Wong · Jul 20, 2014

BIOS Option Of The Week - AGP Comp. Driving

Since 1999, we have been developing the BIOS Optimization Guide, affectionately known as the BOG. From a meagre beginning of a single page, it now covers over 440 BIOS options. As old BOG readers will know, we started offering two editions of the BOG since Revision 8.0 - a simplified edition and the complete edition.

Normally, the complete edition is only available to subscribers who help sponsor the development of the guide through a small fee. However, that changes today! From now on, we will post a BIOS option from the complete edition of the BIOS Optimization Guide every weekend.

This week, we will be taking a look at the AGP Comp. Driving BIOS setting. Here's an excerpt :

The auto-compensation circuitry has two operating modes. By default, it is set to automatically compensate for the impedance once or at regular intervals by dynamically adjusting the AGP drive strength. The circuitry can also be disabled or bypassed. In this case, it is up to the user (through the BIOS) to write the desired drive strength value to the AGP I/O pads.

When you set this BIOS feature to Auto, the AGP drive strength values are obtained from the auto-compensation circuitry. Normally, this is the recommended setting as it allows the AGP controller to dynamically adjust for motherboard impedance changes. However...
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Link : BIOS Option Of The Week - AGP Comp. Driving

Adrian Wong · Jul 28, 2014

BIOS Option Of The Week - AGP Aperture Size

Since 1999, we have been developing the BIOS Optimization Guide, affectionately known as the BOG. From a meagre beginning of a single page, it now covers over 440 BIOS options. As old BOG readers will know, we started offering two editions of the BOG since Revision 8.0 - a simplified edition and the complete edition.

Normally, the complete edition is only available to subscribers who help sponsor the development of the guide through a small fee. However, that changes today! From now on, we will post a BIOS option from the complete edition of the BIOS Optimization Guide every weekend.

This week, we will be taking a look at the AGP Aperture Size BIOS setting. Here's an excerpt :

This BIOS feature does two things. It selects the size of the AGP aperture and it determines the size of the GART (Graphics Address Relocation Table).

The aperture is a portion of the PCI memory address range that is dedicated for use as AGP memory address space while the GART is a translation table that translates AGP memory addresses into actual memory addresses which are often fragmented. The GART allows the graphics card to ...
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Link : BIOS Option Of The Week - AGP Aperture Size

Adrian Wong · Aug 3, 2014

BIOS Option Of The Week - ACPI 2.0 Support

Since 1999, we have been developing the BIOS Optimization Guide, affectionately known as the BOG. From a meagre beginning of a single page, it now covers over 440 BIOS options. As old BOG readers will know, we started offering two editions of the BOG since Revision 8.0 - a simplified edition and the complete edition.

Normally, the complete edition is only available to subscribers who help sponsor the development of the guide through a small fee. However, that changes today! From now on, we will post a BIOS option from the complete edition of the BIOS Optimization Guide every weekend.

This week, we will be taking a look at the ACPI 2.0 Support BIOS setting. Here's an excerpt :

For ACPI to work properly, both the motherboard and operating system must support ACPI. This means using Microsoft Windows 98 or newer, if you are on the Microsoft Windows platform. Even so, ACPI may not be enabled if ACPI support is not enabled on the motherboard.

While its name hints that this BIOS feature is a toggle to enable ACPI 2.0 features, this is not the case. Enabling this BIOS feature does not turn on ACPI 2.0. Similarly, disabling it does not turn on the original ACPI 1.0 standard. It disables ACPI completely...
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Link : BIOS Option Of The Week - ACPI 2.0 Support

Adrian Wong · Aug 10, 2014

BIOS Option Of The Week - IOAPIC Enable

Since 1999, we have been developing the BIOS Optimization Guide, affectionately known as the BOG. From a meagre beginning of a single page, it now covers over 440 BIOS options. As old BOG readers will know, we started offering two editions of the BOG since Revision 8.0 - a simplified edition and the complete edition.

Normally, the complete edition is only available to subscribers who help sponsor the development of the guide through a small fee. However, that changes today! From now on, we will post a BIOS option from the complete edition of the BIOS Optimization Guide every weekend.

This week, we will be taking a look at the IOAPIC Enable BIOS setting. Here's an excerpt :

The IOAPIC Enable BIOS feature is used to enable or disable the motherboard's APIC (Advanced Programmable Interrupt Controller). The APIC is a new distributed set of devices that make up an interrupt controller. In current implementations, it consists of three parts - a local APIC, an I/O APIC and an APIC bus.

The local APIC delivers interrupts to a specific processor so each processor in a system has to have its own local APIC. Therefore, a dual processor system must have two local APICs. Because a local APIC has been integrated into every processor since the debut of the original Intel Pentium P54C processor, there's no need to worry about the number of local APICs...
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Link : BIOS Option Of The Week - IOAPIC Enable

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BIOS Option Of The Week

Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

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Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

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BIOS Option Of The Week

Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

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