BIOS Features

The AW9D-MAX’s BIOS is composed of a Phoenix AWARD/BIOS. The BIOS version used in the review of this board is BIOS version 1.3.

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The AW9-MAX features a black and white bios screen. The black and white contrast actually works out well for the user here, it makes it very easy to pick out options. The uGuru Utility menu is divided into two sections, the OC Guru and ABIT EQ. Voltage and bus speed options are contained within the OC Guru screen, while system monitoring settings are located under the ABIT EQ tab.  We will begin with the OC Guru menu below.

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When you set the CPU operation setting to User Define, all CPU and memory speed options available are unlocked. The External Clock option sets the CPU FSB speed. It is selectable up to 600MHz. The Multiplier option determines the current CPU multiplier. CPU speed is set by multiplying the External Clock setting with the Multiplier Factor setting and is listed under the Estimated New CPU Clock. The N/B Strap CPU As function tells the motherboard what your target FSB is and therefore controls the memory ratios selectable in the DRAM Spec (CPU:DRAM) option.

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Memory voltage adjustments are available up to 2.65V, CPU core voltage can be raised to 1.6875V (using the Pentium D 930), The MCH & PCIe voltage can be set up to 2.0V. The MCH & PCIe voltage controls the voltage to the chipset and the PCIe slots and could prove very useful for overclockers.

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The Abit EQ tab within the uGuru Utility, holds the adjustable monitoring tools of the motherboard. The Abit EQ Beep Control option allows beep warnings via the PC speaker if the set values are exceeded.

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The Temperature monitoring menu shows CPU, System and PWM 1-4 temperatures and allows you to control shutdown and warning values.

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The Voltage Monitoring menu allows you to apply similar warning and shutdown actions for other motherboard components as seen in the above image.

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The Fan Speed Monitoring tab features monitoring of fan speeds for CPU, NB, SYS FAN, AUX1-3 and two additional fans. You can adjust the warning and shutdown values here as well.

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The Fan EQ Control menu contains a series of menus designed for configuration of the systems fans. The BIOS controls the fan speed by throttling the voltage supplied to that fan, based on set values for that fan. This allows your system to stay whisper quiet when not under load, and speed up to control heat while you’re playing your favorite game. The included uGuru software also allows you to configure these settings within Windows as well.

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