BIOS
The EPoX BIOS has many different options to adjust which can leave the tweaker entertained for hours. Starting with the Advanced Chipset Features, you can adjust the LDT frequency from 1x to 5x, and like some other Intel SLI boards, there is a 3.5x option.
For memory controls, the BIOS offers the basic settings to tweak your RAM.
The PC Health Status screen is where you can take control of your CPU fan and monitor your temperature and voltages. The EPoX fan controller has three modes: full speed, duty cycle, and temperature. Full speed option sets the fan on 100% speed all the time. Duty cycle mode uses pulse-width modulation to adjust the fan to a predefined speed.
Temperature setting is a bit more interesting than the other modes as it allows you to manually set three different fan speeds and the temperatures those fan speeds are activated. This allows for high, medium, and low fan speed settings that adjust as your CPU heats up or cools due to its load.
Finally, the Power BIOS Features screen is where you get into the meat of the overclocking options. Here you can change the PCI-Express bus frequency (100 – 148.4375 MHz), the CPU multiplier (14x – 18x / CPU default), and system voltages.
There is a “Realtime turbo mode” mode that you can specify a value from 0-15, but it does not appear to do anything when tested – the CPU and bus frequency do not change depending on the load.
The system clock adjustments are offered as optimal, linked (memory and bus at a constant 2:1 divisor), or expert modes. Expert mode is the most useful for overclocking as you can specify your memory and bus frequency manually. This allows you to get the perfect frequency settings for your memory and bus (and CPU). The bus can be adjusted from 790 to 1300 MHz, and memory 400 to 1300 MHz.
Voltage options are located in a subscreen where you can change the core, chipset, and memory voltages. The options are as follows:
- VCore -0.1V to +0.2375V
- VChip – 0 to +0.3V
- VDimm – 0 to +0.35V
The BIOS is pretty comprehensive for what you need.
