BIOS
The BIOS was manually updated to the latest release at the time of writing, -14. The first immediate enthusiast-orientated feature is the handy ability to save 5 different BIOS configurations that can be recalled at the touch of a few buttons. As you will see below, the ABIT AA8XE Fatal1ty has a myriad of user-definable options that can be lost if the BIOS needs resetting. Saving them to a particular config. file, then, saves the user the hassle of remembering and inputting precise parameters for, say, bleeding-edge overclocking and/or a high-performance stability setting. Every motherboard, I feel, should incorporate such a feature.
Here's the first subscreen you will encounter after selecting the µGuru utility, which is where the majority of the board's tweaking is undertaken. The i925XE chipset supports 133MHz/200MHz/266MHz CPUs natively, so one can set the northbridge strap for the appropriate FSB CPU. DRAM frequencies for a 200MHz FSB CPU can be set to DDR400 (synchronous), DDR533, and DDR600, and it's nice to see that PCI and PCI-Express buses can be locked. Perfect for overclocking.
Voltage manipulation is another Fatal1ty AA8XE strongpoint. Specifically, CPU Vcore can be adjusted, in 0.025v increments, from 1.4-1.75. At 1.4v and under full Windows load the board, when run with a Tagan-engineered OCZ PowerStream 520w PSU, dipped to an average of around 1.36v. At 1.55v the reported load voltage hovered around 1.51v. At least one has enough voltage to play with. ABIT dutifully warns the user not to raise it to (sic) high or it will damage your valuable CPU. Covering itself, eh?. FSB VTT voltage is a rarely-seen parameter in most BIOSes. This line controls the level of voltage on the system bus, and it can be toggled between 1.0v-1.8v. Note that 1.2v is the default parameter. DDR2 voltage also sees plenty of adjustment, from 1.60v-2.55v. That's DDR1 territory, so it's advisable only to run at 2v+ with adequate cooling. You now see why the RAMFlow has been included.
If the above options aren't enough for you to kill an expensive piece of hardware, you needn't worry. DDR VTT voltage tops out at an impressively toast 1.8v, and northbridge voltage can be whacked up to 2.1v, and northbridge 2.5v from 2.30-3.0v.
If the number of lines and adjustments has you understandably a little perplexed, the table below should help you out.
| External clock | 100-500MHz |
| N/B Strap | 133MHz, 200MHz, 266MHz |
| DRAM frequencies at 200MHz FSB | DDR2-400, DDR2-533. DDR2-600 |
| PCI Express clock | 99-255MHz |
| PCI Clock | 33.33MHz (default), 36.36MHz, 40MHz |
| CPU Voltage | 1.4-1.75v in 0.025v increments |
| FSB VTT voltage | 1.0v-1.80v in 0.05v increments |
| DDR voltage | 1.60v-2.55v in 0.05v increments |
| DDR VTT voltage | 0.80v-1.80v in 0.05v increments |
| Northbridge voltage | 1.30-2.10v in 0.05v increments |
| Northbridge 2.5v voltage | 2.30-3.00v in 0.05v increments |
Quite easily the most comprehensive adjustment on any motherboard to date.
Yes, there's more. A separate section is set aside for voltage reporting and fan controlling.
Extensive reporting for the power delivery system. ABIT's mantra must be something along the lines of too much information is never a bad thing.
Note that all parameters here can be adjusted from within Windows through ABIT's µGuru software. Further, you can even toggle the board's voltage lines that control the amount of juice pumped up to fan headers, and the same function is repeated in the Windows-based µGuru software.
Back to normality with DDR memory settings. The advice is simple, go as low, in numerical terms, as your memory allows. ABIT's Game Accelerator is the newest iteration of the bandwidth/latency enhancement setting found on i865-series boards in the past. Leaving it enabled adds a touch extra performance. All in all, a gamer-orientated BIOS that's above average in almost every regard.