The table below shows the BIOS settings I am using on the EPoX 8RDA+ motherboard. The BIOS is version 04/02/2003 which I flash updated myself using the BIOS flash update procedure I describe on my BIOS Flash Updates And Driver Updates page.
| Parameter | Setting | Comments |
| IDE Primary Master |
IC35L080AVVA07-0 |
This is the IBM 120GXP 80GB hard drive. The hard drive and CD-RW should not be on the same IDE since doing so will cause them both to run at the speed of the slower device. The CD-RW is much slower than the hard drive. Placing them on separate IDEs allows them to both run at their maximum speeds. |
| | IDE Primary Master (sub-menu) |
| Parameter | Setting | Comments |
| IDE Primary Master | Auto | |
| Access Mode | Auto | |
|
| IDE Primary Slave |
None |
|
| IDE Secondary Master |
LITE-ON LTR-40125S |
This is the Lite-On 40x CD-RW. |
| IDE Secondary Slave |
None |
|
| Drive A |
1.44M, 3.5 in |
This is the floppy drive. |
| Drive B |
None |
|
| Floppy 3 Mode Support |
Disabled |
Floppy 3 is the Japanese standard floppy drive mode. It stores 1.2MB on a 3.5" diskette instead of 1.44MB. |
| Video |
EGA/VGA |
|
| Halt On |
All, But Keyboard |
Halt on all errors except Keyboard Absent error. This enables the machine to boot without the keyboard plugged in. |
| Base Memory |
640K |
DOS device drivers, TSRs and any programs to be run, plus their data. |
| Extended Memory |
523264K |
Memory above 1 MB is known as extended memory, and is not normally usable under DOS. |
| Total Memory |
524288K |
Base + Upper + Extended = Total Memory. |
| Parameter | Setting | Comments |
| Virus warning |
Disabled |
Symantec Norton Antivirus protects My Super PC. |
| CPU Internal Cache |
Enabled |
Of course. |
| External Cache |
Enabled |
Of course. |
| Quick Power On Self Test |
Enabled |
Skip Power On Self-Tests (POST) for faster boot. |
| First Boot Device |
HDD-0 |
When it's set to HDD-0 the computer does not look to see if there's a floppy disk in the floppy drive from which it should boot. Set this to Floppy for disaster recovery procedures. |
| Second Boot Device |
HDD-0 |
HDD-0 is the only boot device. |
| Third Boot Device |
HDD-0 |
Ditto. |
| Boot Other Device |
Disabled |
Gives the "ok" for the BIOS to try the Second Boot Device and Third Boot Device if the First Boot Device is a "no-go", but My Super PC just boots from the First Boot Device, which is the hard drive so - Disabled. |
| Swap Floppy Drive |
Disabled |
I've only got one floppy drive, so it's going to be A:. |
| Boot Up Floppy Seek |
Disabled |
Skipping this check makes the boot go a bit faster. |
| Boot Up NumLock Status |
Off |
This item is a matter of personal taste. |
| Gate A20 Option |
Fast |
For best performance. |
| Typematic Rate Setting |
Enabled |
|
| Typematic Rate (Chars/Sec) |
30 |
6, 8, 10, 12, 15, 20, 24, 30 |
| Typematic Delay (Msec) |
250 |
250, 500, 750, 1000. This is the delay, in milliseconds, before the keyboard automatically repeats the keystroke that you have pressed continuously. |
| Security Option |
Setup |
If you have set a password, select whether the password is required every time the System boots, or only when you enter Setup. I don't even have a password set, so it's a moot point. |
| APIC Mode |
Disabled |
Setting to Enabled can cause instabilities. Once the operating system is installed, such as Windows XP in my case, this setting cannot be changed without reinstalling the operating system, regardless of whether the initial setting is Disabled or Enabled. The purpose of setting it to Enabled is to extend the number of IRQ's, which sounds like a real risky proposition. The number of IRQ's should be fine without being extended. |
| MPS Version Control For OS |
1.4 |
Not changeable with APIC Mode set to Disabled. |
| OS Select For DRAM > 64MB |
Non-OS2 |
IBM's relic. |
| HDD S.M.A.R.T. Capability |
Disabled |
It's no use having it set to Enabled unless you're also running software that monitors the S.M.A.R.T. status, and who does? Setting to Disabled will give best performance. |
| Full Screen LOGO Show |
Disabled |
|
| Small Logo(EPA) Show |
Disabled |
|
| Parameter | Setting | Comments |
| System Performance |
Expert |
This value lets you make whatever changes you like. |
| CPU Clock Ratio |
Default |
|
| FSB Frequency |
166 MHz |
The value for FSB Frequency should correspond to the FSB of the processor in the system:a value of 100 MHz for a 200 FSB processora value of 133 MHz for a 266 FSB processora value of 166 MHz for a 333 FSB processora value of 200 MHz for a 400 FSB processor If you don't know the FSB of the processor (it should be plainly stated as part of the product description when it's purchased) then you may be able to determine it from the numbers on the processor core as described on my Processor page. | .
| CPU Interface |
Aggressive |
|
| Memory Frequency |
100% |
Adjust this so that the next setting has the right value for the type of RAM being used. |
| Resulting Frequency |
166MHz |
The value for Resulting Frequency should correspond to the type of RAM in the system:a value of 100 MHz for PC1600 RAMa value of 133 MHz for PC2100 RAMa value of 166 MHz for PC2700 RAMa value of 200 MHz for PC3200 RAM
|
| Memory Timings |
Optimal |
This value causes the next set of parameters to become set to the recommended most stable settings for the type of RAM installed. If you instead use a value of Expert here then you can tweak the next set of parameters. But I've tried that and it always caused instability, so I'll stick with the Optimal settings which are stable. |
| T(RAS) |
7 |
Active to precharge. The following values are recommended to improve stability with no real los of performance. A value of 7 for PC2700 memory, a value of 6 for PC2100 memory and a value of 5 for PC2100 memory. The value of 7 is automatically set by the BIOS by setting Memory Timings to Optimal. |
| T(RCD) |
3 |
Active to CMD. |
| T(RP) |
3 |
|
| CAS Latency |
2.5 |
|
| FSB Spread Spectrum |
Disabled |
|
| AGP Spread Spectrum |
Disabled |
|
| AGP Aperture Size (MB) |
64M |
The BIOS optimization guide reference from Adrian's Rojak Pot above provides a great description of how this should be set and why. A value of 64MB is best for most configurations. |
| AGP Frequency |
66 MHz |
This is the only correct value, so use this even over other allowable values such as Auto. |
| AGP 8X Support |
Enabled |
If you don't have an 8X AGP video card then set this to Disabled. |
| AGP Fast Write Capability |
Enabled |
|
| CPU Thermal-Throttling |
Disabled |
If your CPU runs hot then you can try using different values here. |
System BIOS Cacheable |
Disabled |
This feature is only valid when the system BIOS (F0000-FFFFF) is shadowed. It greatly speeds up accesses to the system BIOS. However, this does not translate into much better system performance because the OS does not need to access the system BIOS much. As such, it would be a waste of L2 cache bandwidth to cache the system BIOS instead of data that are more critical to the system's performance. In addition, if any program writes into this memory area, it will result in a system crash. |
Video BIOS Cacheable |
Disabled |
Set to Disabled for best performance. That may sound backwards from what you'd expect. But yes, Disabled. |
| Parameter | Setting | Comments |
| OnChip IDE Channel0 |
Enabled |
Enables the first IDE interface, which for My Super PC has the hard drive on the primary. |
| Primary Master PIO |
Auto |
Set all of these to Auto and let the BIOS determine if each drive is capable of DMA support, and its respective PIO mode. |
| Primary Slave PIO |
Auto |
Ditto. |
| Primary Master UDMA |
Auto |
Ditto. |
| Primary Slave UDMA |
Auto |
Ditto. |
| OnChip IDE Channel1 |
Enabled |
For the second IDE interface, which for My Super PC has the CD-RW on the primary. |
| Secondary Master PIO |
Auto |
|
| Secondary Slave PIO |
Auto |
|
| Secondary Master UDMA |
Auto |
|
| Secondary Slave UDMA |
Auto |
|
| IDE Prefetch Mode |
Enabled |
For best performance. |
| Init Display First |
Onboard/AGP |
Set to AGP if your primary display is your AGP adapter, or to PCI if the primary display is a PCI video card. |
| OnChip USB |
V1.1+V2.0 |
EPoX 8RDA+ supports both USB V1.1 and the newer, faster USB V2.0. |
| USB Keyboard Support |
Disabled |
I'm not using a USB keyboard and mouse. |
| Enhance USB Compatibility |
Disabled |
|
| AC97 Speaker At POST |
Disabled |
This is something that was added later, and with a default value of Disabled, so my guess is there was some problem with it being enabled during the Power On Self Test. I don't see any reason to enable it anyway, so I'll leave it Disabled. |
| AC97 Audio |
Auto |
It can be set to a value of Disabled if you decide to use an add-on sound card. |
| MAC Lan(nVIDIA) |
Disabled |
I'm not using the on-board LAN to connect to the internet. Looks like some kind of Apple Computer thing though, doesn't it? |
| Machine MAC(NV) Address |
Disabled |
I don't need to enter a MAC address since I'm not using the on-board LAN. |
| MAC(NV) Address Input |
Press Enter |
You'd go into this sub-menu to enter the MAC address if you are using it. |
| OnChip 1394 |
Auto |
Enables the built-in support for FireWire (IEEE 1394). I don't actually have any FireWire devices at the moment, but this could come in handy in the future. |
| 1394 GUID |
Disabled |
|
| 1394 GUID Input |
Press Enter |
|
| IDE DMA transfer access |
Enabled |
|
| IDE HDD Block Mode |
Enabled |
For best hard drive performance. Windows NT 4.0 users should set this to Disabled unless they can confirm they have been updated with a Service Pack that will work with it. |
| POWER ON Function |
BUTTON ONLY |
|
| KB Power ON Password |
enter |
Since I only use the power button to turn on My Super PC, this parameter is not applicable. |
| Hot Key Power ON |
Ctrl-F1 |
Ditto. |
| Onboard FDC Controller |
Enabled |
Enables the Floppy Disk Controller. |
| Onboard Serial Port 1 |
3F8/IRQ4 |
Standard |
| Onboard Serial Port 2 |
2F8/IRQ3 |
Standard |
| UART Mode Select |
Normal |
If you are using an infra-red device then you would set this to the infra-red mode of the device. Since I don't have any infra-red devices, this values configures the second serial port as just a plain, normal serial port. And the next 4 parameters are not used since they have to do with infra-red settings. |
| RxD , TxD Active |
Hi,Lo |
|
| IR Transmission Delay |
Enabled |
|
| IR2 Duplex Mode |
Half |
|
| Use IR Pins |
IR-Rx2Tx2 |
|
| Onboard Parallel Port |
378/IRQ7 |
Standard. |
| Parallel Port Mode |
SPP |
Set this to SPP unless you have a device or printer that specifically requires use of ECP/EPP modes such as a parallel port scanner, zip drive, etc. |
| EPP Mode Select |
EPP1.9 |
Not changeable since Parallel Port Mode is set to SPP. |
| EPP Mode Use DMA |
3 |
Ditto. |
| PWRON After PWR-Fail |
Off |
|
| Game Port Address |
201 |
Standard. |
| Midi Port Address |
330 |
Standard. |
| Midi Port IRQ |
10 |
Standard. |
| Parameter | Setting | Comments |
| Reset Configuration Data |
Disabled |
Normally leave this Disabled. But if, for example, you add a new card and the subsequent system reconfiguration causes a serious conflict of resources (maybe the OS won't boot) then setting this to Enabled is a solution to be considered. |
| Resources Controlled By |
Auto (ESCD) |
Let the BIOS figure out IRQ's and DMA channels. |
| IRQ Resources |
Press Enter |
Inaccessible since I've selected a value of Auto for the previous pararmeter. |
| PCI/VGA Palette Snoop |
Disabled |
The VGA "palette" is the set of colors that are in use by the videocard when it is in 256-color mode. Since there are thousands of colors and only 256 can be used in that mode, a palette containing the current colors is used. Some special VGA cards, high-end hardware MPEG decoders, etc. need to be able to look at the video card's VGA palette to determine what colors are currently in use. Enabling this feature turns on this palette "snoop". This option is only very rarely needed. It should be left at "Disabled" unless a video device specifically requires the setting enabled upon installation. |
| Assign IRQ for VGA |
Enabled |
Set to Yes if you are using an AGP video card. |
| PCI Latency Tmer(CLK) |
32 |
A value of 32 is typically used, but other values may provide better performance depending on the PCI usage in a particular computer. The only way to know for sure is to try the different values and see how it impacts performance. |
| INT Pin 1 Assignment |
Auto |
The more the BIOS automatically figures out the IRQ settings the better I like it. |
| INT Pin 2 Assignment |
Auto |
Ditto. |
| INT Pin 3 Assignment |
Auto |
Ditto. |
| INT Pin 4 Assignment |
Auto |
Ditto. |