BIOS
Jumping straight to the adjustments possible.
| Item | Adjustment |
|---|---|
| CPU bus frequency | 266MHz to 750MHz in 1MHz steps (for 266FSB CPUs) |
| DRAM frequency | DDR2-667/800 |
| DRAM ratios (Fox ratio select) | 1:1.2/1:1.5/1:2 (for 800MHz memory clock 1:1/1:1.25/1:1.66 (for 667MHz memory clock) |
| CPU voltage | 1.275V-1.600V in 0.0125V steps |
| CPU voltage | 0 to 0.7875V (+12.5mv increments) |
| CPU multiplier | 6x - 60x |
| DRAM voltage | 1.665-2.340v in 0.045v increments 1.894-2.662v (0.051/0.052v increments) if "1.13x memory voltage table" option enabled. 2.131-2.995v (0.057/0.058v increments) if "1.28x memory voltage table" option enabled |
| P35 MCH voltage | 1.1574-1.6267V in 0.312/0.313v steps |
| PCI-Express voltage | 1.3875-1.9500V in 0.0375v increments |
| Intel SpeedStep Control/EIST | Yes |
Discussion
FSB ranges are decent and overall voltages are good. Memory speed can be explicitly set to either DDR2-667 or DDR2-800 or, if invoking the FSB-to-RAM ratios under Fox Ratio Select, be run at various speeds. For example, setting the main DDR2 clock at 800MHz brings FSB-to-RAM ratios of 1:1.2/1:1.5/1:2 into play, that is, final (effective) speeds of 533MHz, 800MHz, and 1066MHz. Our testing showed that the 1:2 option didn't work correctly on our pre-production sample, and the highest speed we could set was 888.4MHz via the 1:1.66 ratio available under the 667MHz clock option. We expect the shipping models to provide the full range of frequencies.DRAM voltage is also good, if, again, a little difficult to access via having to go through a memory voltage table for the upper limits. It keeps novice users from overheating their modules, we suppose.
We also noted that AHCI support, present in the ICH9, wasn't working correctly and thereby missing out on the benefits of native command queueing. Foxconn informs us that it's looking into this, too.
Gallery
A lot of options but the BIOS needs a fix or two for it to be fully functional. We fully appreciate that the pre-production model, received early, is a work in progress, though.