UEFI Features

ASUS bundled the X99-A II motherboard with the latest revision of their ASUS UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) implementation, a customized version of the AMI baseline UEFI BIOS replacement. The UEFI offers full keyboard and mouse support while using the BIOS pages. ASUS changed the way mouse right-click functions in their UEFI implementation with right-click having no impact on the screen. By default, the user sees the EZ mode screen when entering the UEFI. The Advanced mode screens accessible via the Exit/Advanced Mode button at the upper right corner of the screen or by hitting the F7 function key. Advanced mode screens can be set for the default user interface via the UEFI Boot menu as well.

As we've stated in previous reviews, the ASUS UEFI implementation remains among the best out there. The UEFI is very responsive to both keyboard and mouse input with almost no lag or questionable click-space evident anywhere. The UEFI is designed in an intuitive manner so that both novice and advance BIOS users can quickly find what they are looking for. The EZ Mode screen lays out everything in a highly readable format, while the Advanced Mode tabbed layout displays as you would expect from a traditional BIOS. ASUS also gives you the ability to taken screen captures from within the BIOS by pressing the F12 key with those screen-caps saved in a 1024×768 bitmap format to an attached USB device. From the Tools menu, ASUS houses their collection of of BIOS-related tools and applets, ranging from an UEFI-based updater (EZ Flash3) to their full UEFI profile load and save utility.

UEFI Notable Features

The X99-A II UEFI includes several enhancements to their base feature set. ASUS revised their EZ Mode page with added utility, integrating a customizable My Favorites tab into the Advance mode menu, Shortcut screen, a graphical fan tuning interface, a graphical EZ Tuning Wizard interface, support for display in nine different languages, and a Quick Note interface with memo persistence across UEFI sessions.

My Favorites tab, populated

My Favorites & Shortcut setup popup

The My Favorites tab houses user selected settings for access to these from a centralized location. To access, select the My Favorites tab from within the Advanced Mode interface. Note that if a menu or sub-menu is added to this page, all fields on that page will be added. The real strength in this My Favorites tab implementation comes with the ability to mix and match commonly used options in a central location, rather than having to hunt them down through multiple sub-levels of menus.

EZ Mode page

The EZ Mode page presents information organized into sections in an easy-to-read manner for those users who do not want to be bothered with the labyrinth of the Advanced Mode settings.

Q-Fan Tuning page

The Q-Fan Tuning page allows for graphical configuration of fan operation based on predefined threshold levels. The interface is similar in nature to the Windows-based Fan Xpert3 fan configuration interface and is a nice touch in-lei of the text-based configuration approach. The Q-Fan Tuning page is accessed by clicking on the Manual Fan Tuning button within the EZ Mode page.

Easy Tuning Wizard – OC Page

Easy Tuning Wizard – RAID Page

The EZ Tuning Wizard can be accessed by hitting the F11 function key from within the EZ Mode page or from within the Advanced Mode interface. This wizard can be used to setup BIOS configured system performance optimization or drive RAID setup based on user selections made within the wizard interface.

EZ Mode, Search on FAQ QR-Code pop-up

ASUS provided an innovative way to drive users to their FAQ page, embedding a QR-Code link on the EZ Mode page. The QR-Code pops up when the Search on FAQ link is clicked, and takes the user to the ASUS FAQ page when scanned from a mobile device.

Advanced Mode, Tools tab, ASUS EZ Flash 3 pop-up source selection

Advanced Mode, Tools tab, ASUS EZ Flash 3 pop-up USB drive selected

The ASUS EZ Flash 3 utility was updated, allowing for BIOS update via an attached drive or through a network connection. When selecting the network update method, the utility launches a network connection wizard for getting the most up to date BIOS file from the ASUS servers.

Advanced Mode, Monitor tab, Water Pump Control section

ASUS enhanced their Q-Fan control capabilities in their latest UEFI version, allowing for user configurable pauses in between when the BIOS detects a change in threshold temperature and when the BIOS increases the header fan speed. As with previous version of the UEFI, the user is able to set temperature thresholds and fan speeds (based on percentage run speed) for the board's fan headers.

Ai Tweaker tab with Manual mode enabled

The Ai Tweaker tab houses all overclocking settings.  Starting with the Skylake product family, ASUS opened up the CPU back clock settings with user capable settings up to 650MHz and CPU Strap settings of up to 250MHz. This became possible with the decoupling of the PCIe and DMI buses from the base clock with the introduction of the Intel Skylake processors.

Ai Tweaker tab, Tweaker's Paradise page

To cater to the extreme overclockers, ASUS exposed many esoteric board settings not normally exposed to the end user and housed them in the Tweaker's Paradise menu. This menu contains voltage, timing, and bus settings for those of you trying to squeeze every last ounce of speed and stability out of you overclocked board. It contains settings for tweaking everything from CPU internal settings to PCI-Express bus related settings. Enjoy your time in the Tweaker's Paradise.

Advanced Mode, Save & Reset popup

The Save & Reset page displays to the user a scrollable list of all UEFI changes made since the last save. Listed changes are not committed to BIOS memory until saved by the user. Note that the same list displays when the user chooses any of the save settings from the Exit page or the Last Modified option with Advanced Mode active.

BIOS Walkthrough

Ai Tweaker tab with XMP mode enabled

Ai Tweaker tab with Manual mode enabled

Ai Tweaker tab with Manual mode enabled, CPU ratio settings

Ai Tweaker tab with Manual mode enabled, submenu list

Ai Tweaker tab with Manual mode enabled, CPU voltage settings

Ai Tweaker tab with Manual mode enabled, voltage settings continued

Ai Tweaker tab, DRAM Timing Control page, Primary and Secondary Timings

Ai Tweaker tab, DRAM Timing Control page, Secondary and Third Timings settings

Ai Tweaker tab, DRAM Timing Control page, Third Timing settings continued

Ai Tweaker tab, DRAM Timing Control page, Miscellaneous settings

Ai Tweaker tab, DRAM Timing Control page, Miscellaneous and DRAM Training settings

Ai Tweaker tab, DRAM Timing Control page, RTL IOL Control page

Ai Tweaker tab, DRAM Timing Control page, RTL IOL Control page continued

Ai Tweaker tab, DRAM Timing Control page, RTL IOL Control page continued

Ai Tweaker tab, DRAM Timing Control page, IO Control page

Ai Tweaker tab, DRAM Timing Control page, IO Control page continued

Ai Tweaker tab, DRAM Timing Control page, IO Control page continued

Ai Tweaker tab, DIGI+ Power Control page

Ai Tweaker tab, DIGI+ Power Control page continued

Ai Tweaker tab, CPU Power Management page

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