eVGA x58 SLI Classified review - The System BIOS

by Hilbert Hagedoorn on: 04/06/2009 02:00 PM [ ] 0 comment(s)

The System BIOS

Right, let's dig into the System BIOS a little, which is standard Phoenix. We'll address the more important sections.

eVGA X58 3X SLI Classified motherboard review

In a chart below we'll show you all the BIOS functions and tolerances. Here you can see PC Health status. All temps and rotations are displayed nicely. To the right you can see that the fans can be controlled on RPM automatically or set manually to your preference. I very much like manual FAN RPM control from within the BIOS as it enables you to run the system without additional fan controller(s) somewhere else in the system.

eVGA X58 3X SLI Classified motherboard review

The frequency control menu is probably the place where you'll spend the most time. For an easy overclock hit the Dummy OC function. It will enable a 150 MHz QPI x 24 multiplier = 3600 MHz instantly. The BIOS will select voltages automatically. Handy really. Apply some proper cooling and pretty much any Core i7 including the cheapest i7 920 should do this frequency just fine.

eVGA X58 3X SLI Classified motherboard review

If you go manual on your overclock, nothing is more handy than saving profiles of your OC configuration. As such you can create, save and load up seven profiles. To the left a quick overview of voltage selection. Get proper memory guys, it's very important for overclocking and tweaking sessions.

eVGA X58 3X SLI Classified motherboard review

Here are the two last screenshots, check out selectable memory frequencies 800, 1067, 1333, 1600, 1867, 2133, 2400, 2667, 2933 ... you can go nuts man.

Okay, I'd like to close the chapter System BIOS now, below an overview of BIOS functions, increments and selections.

VGA X58 Classified
DDR3 Memory Speed	800, 1067, 1333, 1600, 1867, 2133, 2400, 2667, 2933 Frequency Ratios
PCIe Speeds	Auto, 100MHz - 140MHz in 1MHz increments
Core Voltage	Auto, 1.00V to 2.24V in 0.00625V increments
CPU Vdroop Compensation	Enabled, Disabled
CPU Clock Multiplier	All available multipliers supported, processor dependant of course
DDR3 DRAM Voltage	Auto, 0.70V ~ 3.39V in 10mV increments, 1.50V standard
DRAM Timing Control	tCL, tRCD, tRP, tRAS, + 17 additional timings + Chipset Configuration
DRAM Command Rate	Auto, 1T, 2T
IOH Voltage	1.10V - 1.875V in 25mV increments
ICH Voltage	Auto, 1.05V ~ 1.825V in 25mV increments
CPU VTT (Uncore) Voltage	Auto, 1.17V ~ 2.17V in 25mV increments
CPU PLL Voltage	Auto, 0.60V ~ 2.70V in 75mV increments, 1.80V Base
IOH PLL Vcore	Auto, 0.60V ~ 2.70V in 75mV increments, 1.80V Base
QPI PLL Vcore	Auto, 1.10V ~ 1.875V in 25mV increments, 1.10V Base
IOH/ICH Voltage	Auto, 1.50V ~ 2.275V in 25mV increments, 1.50V Base
NF200 Voltage	Auto, 0.70v~1.075V in 125mV increments, then 1.20V~2.70V in 25mV increments. 1.20V Base
Fan Control	Full Fan speed Control Via BIOS

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eVGA x58 SLI Classified review
eVGA developped the X58 SLI Classified motherboard. An X58 based motherboard with more features, more design and aesthetics that make you scratch that head of yours. Armed at the really enthusiast end-users that wanted to create something so special and exclusive that it would bring shock and awe in the retail channel.

EVGA X58 SLI review
Today we'll test the fifth X58 motherboard in a row. This time from the folks at eVGA. They recently released their eVGA X58 SLI motherboard loaded with features. Tagged with a 299 USD sales price this motherboard seem to be very impressive. But since it's eVGA, they decided that this motherboard should be all about overclocking, and nothing else. We'll cover the motherboard from A to Z, and to spice it up a little I'll slap on some water-cooling and overclock our processor towards 4.2 GHz, stable.