GA-P35-DS3R BIOS Settings - Need Help
Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2007 11:25 pm
I have my PC built (first time builder), everything is plugged in, and everything appears to be functioning properly. The system powers up, the Nexus fans spin up, and the POST screen accurately shows my CPU and amount of RAM. It also shows I have the F4 BIOS version already, so I assume I don't need to flash the BIOS or anything.
I have not configured anything yet, installed Windows XP, or anything like that. Instead of just going forward and installing windows and charging forward, I am looking for advice on my BIOS settings.
Here's a quick run-down of my PC:
P182 case
3 Nexus 120mm fans (rear exhaust, video card, lower chamber - top fan opening covered)
Corsair HX520 power supply
GA-P35-DS3R motherboard
E6750 CPU
Fanless Ninja Rev. B heat sink (push-pin attachment) - no fan attached
2 x 1GB of G.Skill 2GBHZ DDR2 800 RAM (4-4-4-12 timings)
Gigabyte Fanless GeForce 7600GS video card
Samsung SH-S203B SATA DVD burner on GSATAII 0 port
Mitsumi combo 3.5" floppy / USB 2.0 flash card reader
WD1600YS 160GB hard drive on SATAII 0 port (OS drive)
WD5000ABYS 500GB hard drive on SATAII 2 port (data drive)
WD1600YS 160GB hard drive on SATAII 1 port (Photoshop cache drive)
eSATA bracket connected to SATAII 4 port
WD5000ABYS 500GB hard drive inside Antec MX-1 external enclosure (data backup drive)
I am assuming that before I go any further, I should go into the BIOS and change the settings. So this is where I'm at currently. As I look around at the settings, some I understand and some I don't. For the ones I don't understand, I am finding that the manual isn't very helpful. As such, I am turning to the helpful folks here for help. The following are the areas I need help.
Standard CMOS Features Screen
No questions here.
Advanced BIOS Features
1. Since I have not installed an operating system, formatted hard drives, or anything yet, what should I set as my first boot device, second boot device, and thrid boot device?
2. Any point enabling HDD S.M.A.R.T. Capability?
3. Any point enabling No'Execute Memory Protect?
4. I assume I want to disable CPU Enhanced Halt (C1E) if I want to overclock, correct? Any reason to enable it?
5. I assume I want to disable CPU EIST Function if I want to overclock, correct? Any reason to enable it?
6. Virtualization Technology - what is this? The BIOS says the following: "When enabled, a VMM can utilize the additional hardware capabilities provided by Virtualization Technology". Should I enable this?
Integrated Peripherals
1. I am going to make a floppy that has the ICH9R SATA drivers so that I can configure the ICH9R SATA controller to run in AHCI mode, to take full advantage of my SATA hard drives. When do I insert the floppy in the floppy drive to load the drivers?
2. If I am using a USB keyboard and a USB mouse, I assume I need to set USB Keyboard Support and USB Mouse Support to Enabled, correct?
3. With my hardware, I can disable Legacy USB Storage Detect, correct?
4. I have no idea what setting to set for Onboard LAN Boot ROM. The motherboard manual says it allows me to decide whether to activate the boot ROM integrated with the onboard LAN chip. It's showing disabled currently... is this okay?
Power Management Setup
1. I am not sure which selection to choose for the ACPI Suspend Type - S1(POS) or S3(STR). I do not want the PC to go into a sleep state, as I do not leave my PC on overnight or sleep with it in my bedroom. Is the S1(POS) selection what I should do?
PnP/PCI Configurations
Is there any reason not to have the Resources Controlled By set to Auto?
PC Health Status
1. Does the P182 case have a built-in speaker? I couldn't find a front-panel speaker connector. I ask because I figure it's pointless to set a CPU Warning Temperature if there is no speaker on the front panel of the P182 case. Or will the warning come through my speakers which will be hooked up to the on-board audio? If so, then what temperature should I set it to?
2. Which fan headers does the Smart FAN Control Method, if set to Enabled, control?
MB Intelligent Tweaker (M.I.T.)
1. With my graphics card, should I set the Robust Graphics Booster to anything but Auto (other choices are Fast and Turbo)? I'm not a gamer, nor do I do 3D modeling or video editing/rendering. Photoshop CS3 will be my most intensive program.
2. I assume the CPU Host Frequency (MHz) is the CPU FSB that I change to overclock the CPU, correct? It was set to 100 when I first got to this screen, and if I'm assuming correctly what this feature is, then it seems that the setting should have been showing 333 to get to the stock CPU speed of 2.6GHz (333 x 8 multiplier).
3. I read somewhere that the PCI Express Frequency (MHz) should be locked in at 100 rather than set to Auto if overclocking. Is this correct? Why not have it set to Auto?
4. Judging from the description of what C.I.A.2 does, I should disable this functionality if I plan to overclock, correct?
5. The motherboard manual says the High Speed DRAM DLL setting can be set to Option 1 or Option 2, but doesn't go into details of what each option is. How do I know which option to choose?
6. I am assuming that the following DRAM timings are the ones I want to set to 4-4-4-12 as specified by G.Skill for my RAM: CAS Latency Time; DRAM RAS# to CAS# Delay; DRAM RAS# Precharge; Precharge Delay (tRAS). Is this correct?
7. Any reason not to set the following DRAM timings to Auto: ACT to ACT Delay (tRRD) - Auto sets this to 11
Rank Write to READ Delay - Auto sets this to 5
Write to Precharge Delay - Auto sets this to 10
Read to Precharge Delay - Auto sets this to 5
tRD - Auto sets this to 7
tRD Phase Adjustment - Auto sets this to 0
8. The motherboard has set the Refresh to ACT Delay at a value of 46. This setting allows me to choose any value between 0 and 255. Any reason not to leave it at 46?
9. If my RAM is specified to be at 2.0 to 2.1 volts, do I need to choose the +0.2V setting for the DDR2 OverVoltage Control?
10. The PCI-E OverVoltage Control is set to Normal. The options are +.1V, +.2V, or +.3V. Should I leave it at Normal?
11. The FSB OverVoltage Control is set to Normal. The options are the same as for PCI-E OverVoltage Control. Should I leave it at Normal?
12. The (G)MCH OverVoltage Control is set to Normal. The options are the same as PCI-E OverVoltage Control and FSB OverVoltage Control. Should I leave it at Normal?
13. The CPU Voltage Control is set to Normal. This is where I can under or over volt the CPU, correct? Right underneath this, in blue writing (read only), it shows Normal CPU Vcore as 1.31250V. Is this okay? If I change the CPU Voltage to something other than Normal, will the BIOS display something other than 1.31250V here?
I know I have a lot of questions above. If you've read to here I applaud you. Please take the additional time to try and help me figure this BIOS out and what settings I need at stock speeds, as well when overclocked. I am shooting for 3.2GHz with my current fan setup.
With the side of my case off while I typed all of the above, the BIOS is showing the Current System Temperature to stay at about 36 degrees C, with the Current CPU Temperature staying around 36 degrees C as well. When I put the side of the case back on, the Current System Temp rises to about 38 degrees C and the Current CPU Temp rises to about 38 degrees C. Are these good temps? All three Nexus fans are running at a full 12V and the BIOS is reporting the RPMs to be between 1025 and 1060 RPM each.
Regards.
Jason
I have not configured anything yet, installed Windows XP, or anything like that. Instead of just going forward and installing windows and charging forward, I am looking for advice on my BIOS settings.
Here's a quick run-down of my PC:
P182 case
3 Nexus 120mm fans (rear exhaust, video card, lower chamber - top fan opening covered)
Corsair HX520 power supply
GA-P35-DS3R motherboard
E6750 CPU
Fanless Ninja Rev. B heat sink (push-pin attachment) - no fan attached
2 x 1GB of G.Skill 2GBHZ DDR2 800 RAM (4-4-4-12 timings)
Gigabyte Fanless GeForce 7600GS video card
Samsung SH-S203B SATA DVD burner on GSATAII 0 port
Mitsumi combo 3.5" floppy / USB 2.0 flash card reader
WD1600YS 160GB hard drive on SATAII 0 port (OS drive)
WD5000ABYS 500GB hard drive on SATAII 2 port (data drive)
WD1600YS 160GB hard drive on SATAII 1 port (Photoshop cache drive)
eSATA bracket connected to SATAII 4 port
WD5000ABYS 500GB hard drive inside Antec MX-1 external enclosure (data backup drive)
I am assuming that before I go any further, I should go into the BIOS and change the settings. So this is where I'm at currently. As I look around at the settings, some I understand and some I don't. For the ones I don't understand, I am finding that the manual isn't very helpful. As such, I am turning to the helpful folks here for help. The following are the areas I need help.
Standard CMOS Features Screen
No questions here.
Advanced BIOS Features
1. Since I have not installed an operating system, formatted hard drives, or anything yet, what should I set as my first boot device, second boot device, and thrid boot device?
2. Any point enabling HDD S.M.A.R.T. Capability?
3. Any point enabling No'Execute Memory Protect?
4. I assume I want to disable CPU Enhanced Halt (C1E) if I want to overclock, correct? Any reason to enable it?
5. I assume I want to disable CPU EIST Function if I want to overclock, correct? Any reason to enable it?
6. Virtualization Technology - what is this? The BIOS says the following: "When enabled, a VMM can utilize the additional hardware capabilities provided by Virtualization Technology". Should I enable this?
Integrated Peripherals
1. I am going to make a floppy that has the ICH9R SATA drivers so that I can configure the ICH9R SATA controller to run in AHCI mode, to take full advantage of my SATA hard drives. When do I insert the floppy in the floppy drive to load the drivers?
2. If I am using a USB keyboard and a USB mouse, I assume I need to set USB Keyboard Support and USB Mouse Support to Enabled, correct?
3. With my hardware, I can disable Legacy USB Storage Detect, correct?
4. I have no idea what setting to set for Onboard LAN Boot ROM. The motherboard manual says it allows me to decide whether to activate the boot ROM integrated with the onboard LAN chip. It's showing disabled currently... is this okay?
Power Management Setup
1. I am not sure which selection to choose for the ACPI Suspend Type - S1(POS) or S3(STR). I do not want the PC to go into a sleep state, as I do not leave my PC on overnight or sleep with it in my bedroom. Is the S1(POS) selection what I should do?
PnP/PCI Configurations
Is there any reason not to have the Resources Controlled By set to Auto?
PC Health Status
1. Does the P182 case have a built-in speaker? I couldn't find a front-panel speaker connector. I ask because I figure it's pointless to set a CPU Warning Temperature if there is no speaker on the front panel of the P182 case. Or will the warning come through my speakers which will be hooked up to the on-board audio? If so, then what temperature should I set it to?
2. Which fan headers does the Smart FAN Control Method, if set to Enabled, control?
MB Intelligent Tweaker (M.I.T.)
1. With my graphics card, should I set the Robust Graphics Booster to anything but Auto (other choices are Fast and Turbo)? I'm not a gamer, nor do I do 3D modeling or video editing/rendering. Photoshop CS3 will be my most intensive program.
2. I assume the CPU Host Frequency (MHz) is the CPU FSB that I change to overclock the CPU, correct? It was set to 100 when I first got to this screen, and if I'm assuming correctly what this feature is, then it seems that the setting should have been showing 333 to get to the stock CPU speed of 2.6GHz (333 x 8 multiplier).
3. I read somewhere that the PCI Express Frequency (MHz) should be locked in at 100 rather than set to Auto if overclocking. Is this correct? Why not have it set to Auto?
4. Judging from the description of what C.I.A.2 does, I should disable this functionality if I plan to overclock, correct?
5. The motherboard manual says the High Speed DRAM DLL setting can be set to Option 1 or Option 2, but doesn't go into details of what each option is. How do I know which option to choose?
6. I am assuming that the following DRAM timings are the ones I want to set to 4-4-4-12 as specified by G.Skill for my RAM: CAS Latency Time; DRAM RAS# to CAS# Delay; DRAM RAS# Precharge; Precharge Delay (tRAS). Is this correct?
7. Any reason not to set the following DRAM timings to Auto: ACT to ACT Delay (tRRD) - Auto sets this to 11
Rank Write to READ Delay - Auto sets this to 5
Write to Precharge Delay - Auto sets this to 10
Read to Precharge Delay - Auto sets this to 5
tRD - Auto sets this to 7
tRD Phase Adjustment - Auto sets this to 0
8. The motherboard has set the Refresh to ACT Delay at a value of 46. This setting allows me to choose any value between 0 and 255. Any reason not to leave it at 46?
9. If my RAM is specified to be at 2.0 to 2.1 volts, do I need to choose the +0.2V setting for the DDR2 OverVoltage Control?
10. The PCI-E OverVoltage Control is set to Normal. The options are +.1V, +.2V, or +.3V. Should I leave it at Normal?
11. The FSB OverVoltage Control is set to Normal. The options are the same as for PCI-E OverVoltage Control. Should I leave it at Normal?
12. The (G)MCH OverVoltage Control is set to Normal. The options are the same as PCI-E OverVoltage Control and FSB OverVoltage Control. Should I leave it at Normal?
13. The CPU Voltage Control is set to Normal. This is where I can under or over volt the CPU, correct? Right underneath this, in blue writing (read only), it shows Normal CPU Vcore as 1.31250V. Is this okay? If I change the CPU Voltage to something other than Normal, will the BIOS display something other than 1.31250V here?
I know I have a lot of questions above. If you've read to here I applaud you. Please take the additional time to try and help me figure this BIOS out and what settings I need at stock speeds, as well when overclocked. I am shooting for 3.2GHz with my current fan setup.
With the side of my case off while I typed all of the above, the BIOS is showing the Current System Temperature to stay at about 36 degrees C, with the Current CPU Temperature staying around 36 degrees C as well. When I put the side of the case back on, the Current System Temp rises to about 38 degrees C and the Current CPU Temp rises to about 38 degrees C. Are these good temps? All three Nexus fans are running at a full 12V and the BIOS is reporting the RPMs to be between 1025 and 1060 RPM each.
Regards.
Jason