Sapphire PC-A9RD580 BIOS, Bundle and Presentation
BIOS
Sapphire appease the tweaker with the PC-A9RD580's BIOS. The interesting screens are as follows, click for big versions.
HT/LDT bus control is all there should you fancy a spot of overclocking, including link multiplier and directional widths.
You can see there are settings present for adjusting almost all the pertinent voltage and clock ranges required for a decent stab at overclocking. Voltage and clock ranges are as follows:
Vcore is adjustable from 0.825V to 1.550V in 0.025V steps, although max VID depends on the core revision of your CPU. There's also a Vcore/VID offset value available with a max of 0.60V in 0.02V steps, but again the maximal value is core dependent.
Vdimm gets a 2.50V to 4.00V range in 0.02V steps (between 2.50 and 3.00V), and then 0.05V jumps (up to 4.00V). Memory Vtt is also adjustable in a -10.2% to +10.2% swing, in 0.7 or 1.6% steps depending. Northbridge has a 1.22 to 1.50V range in 0.1V steps (with a solid step between 1.22 and 1.30). Southbridge is 1.80 to 1.96 (1.80V, 1.85V, 1.90V, 1.96V values) and HTT and PCI Express get the same 1.22-1.50V range in 0.1V jumps (bar the solid 1.22 to 1.30 jump). Quite the adjustment set.
The PCI Express controller on Xpress 3200 gets extensive control in the BIOS, too. The BIOS context help and manual aren't too helpful in explaining what the unfamiliar settings mean or should be set to, though.
You can fix the memory ratio the CPU's memory controller will use to drive the DRAMs you install and all the usual timings are available for adjust.
The last interesting screen concerns the health of the PC system built around the PC-ARD580. We note that while the BIOS implements a shutdown temperature setting, we never witnessed it being adhered to. Setting a shutdown value of 60°C, we let the CPU run to a monitored 65°C without the system shutting itself off.
Bundle and Presentation
Being one of Sapphire's PURE series mainboard, the PC-ARD580's box gets the striped alien garb and peek-a-boo cutout section for the PCB voyeurs.
Software wise you a Sapphire Select games trial CD, driver CD and selection of software from Stompsoft.
The bundle mostly befits a low-end board, with just the bare minimum of cables required to compliment the board's feature set and flesh out what's available there.