AMD Value Platform Analysis Part 2: The Performance

BIOS Settings

We are using the F2 Bios in the screens below. The settings may change slightly as newer BIOSes are released.

Here is the screen that you will first see on starting the board. This screen masks the POST test and can be turned off on the BIOS options. It displays the major feature of this board that is called the “Ultra Durable 3” branding.

Press the “Del” key here and you will reach the main BIOS screen as shown in the second image. The “MB Intelligent Tweaker (M.I.T.)” is where you need to be to have some overclocking fun.

The third image shows that you can save on different BIOS setting profiles this board and load them as needed without adjusting every setting again. This is a big time saver, as there are so many overclocking options you may have to deal with.

The first image shows the M.I.T. section that I talked about above. It contains all the necessary settings to overclock the CPU, HTLink, NB, Memory, PCI-E bus and also control the voltages.

The second image shows the multipliers that can be used to control the CPU Northbridge (Integrated Memory Controller) clock.

The third image shows the various speeds that can be set for the HTLink.

There is a bit of a BIOS bug with this board. The HTLink speed is the same as the CPU Northbridge speed even when the maximum allowed speed in the BIOS for HTLink is 2GHz. If you check the maximum overclock image I left in the part one, the HTLink is running at 2930 MHz. I have written to GIGABYTE about this issue but have yet to receive any response.

On the left is the memory multiplier selection which is basically 800, 1066, 1333 and 1600 DDR3 speeds.

In the middle is the DRAM Configuration section where you can set all the timings for your memory kit.

On the right is the CPU NB Voltage control section. The voltage can be set from –0.6V to +0.6V in 0.025V increments.

The left image shows the CPU Voltage control which can be set from –0.6V to +0.6V in 0.025V increments.

The middle image is the Memory Voltage control allowing you to set voltages from 1.5-2.38V with 0.02V increment.

The third image shows the voltage control for the Northbridge.

The first image shows the “Standard CMOS Feature” section where it shows the connected drives.

The middle image shows the “Advanced BIOS Features” section which contains necessary settings for AMD C1E power saving state, AMD Cool&Quiet control etc.

The third image is for the “Integrated Peripheral” control.

The last two images are for the Power Management setup control and PC Health Status which allows you to check on CPU temperature, fan speed and CPU votlage.