Build A Computer Like My Super PC

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Build A Computer Like My Super PC - BIOS Settings

The table below shows the BIOS settings I am using on the ABit KT7 motherboard. Italics indicate values that are not updateable, although they might be under different BIOS settings.

This BIOS settings reference available from WickedCases is an excellent source of additional information.
This BIOS optimization guide available from Adrian's Rojak Pot is another outstanding source.
This unofficial ABit KT7 FAQ reference from Paul Howland is a wonderful source of information about the ABit KT7/KT7A motherboards, including the BIOS.

SoftMenu III Comments
CPU Operating Speed 1G
Multiplier Factor x10
CPU FSB/PCI Clock 100/33 MHz
CPU FSB Plus (MHz) 0 People say PCI and AGP frequencies do change with this.
Speed Error Hold Disabled
CPU Power Supply CPU Default
Core Voltage 1.750v
I/O Voltage 3.30v
Fast CPU Command Decode Fast
CPU Drive Strength 2 A setting of 2 is best for system stability, but a setting of 3 may boost performance at the risk of introducing instability.
Enhance Chip Performance Enabled Aggressive CPU scheduling. Known bug in my version of the BIOS, version UL dated 25-Aug-2000. Using this value causes the value for the "Fast Writes Supported" setting under Advanced Chipset Features Setup to be treated as Disabled no matter what value is set there. Once I get around to flashing the new BIOS version I'll re-check the performance measurements.
Force 4-way interleave Enabled The WickedCases reference above shows how to use SiSoft Sandra Standard to tell if you have this or not.
Enable DRAM 4K page mode Enabled Improve memory bandwidth.
DRAM clock HCLK+PCICLK HCLK-PCICLK (66 MHz RAM), Host CLK (PC100 RAM), HCLK+PCICLK (PC133 RAM)

SoftMenu III		Comments
CPU Operating Speed	1G
Multiplier Factor	x10
CPU FSB/PCI Clock	100/33 MHz
CPU FSB Plus (MHz)	0	People say PCI and AGP frequencies do change with this.
Speed Error Hold	Disabled
CPU Power Supply	CPU Default
Core Voltage	1.750v
I/O Voltage	3.30v
Fast CPU Command Decode	Fast
CPU Drive Strength	2	A setting of 2 is best for system stability, but a setting of 3 may boost performance at the risk of introducing instability.
Enhance Chip Performance	Enabled	Aggressive CPU scheduling. Known bug in my version of the BIOS, version UL dated 25-Aug-2000. Using this value causes the value for the "Fast Writes Supported" setting under Advanced Chipset Features Setup to be treated as Disabled no matter what value is set there. Once I get around to flashing the new BIOS version I'll re-check the performance measurements.
Force 4-way interleave	Enabled	The WickedCases reference above shows how to use SiSoft Sandra Standard to tell if you have this or not.
Enable DRAM 4K page mode	Enabled	Improve memory bandwidth.
DRAM clock	HCLK+PCICLK	HCLK-PCICLK (66 MHz RAM), Host CLK (PC100 RAM), HCLK+PCICLK (PC133 RAM)

Standard CMOS features Comments
IDE Primary Master IBM-DTLA-307045 The hard drive and CD-ROM 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-ROM is much slower than the hard drive. Placing them on separate IDEs allows them to both run at their maximum speeds.
IDE Primary Slave None
IDE Secondary Master 40X CD-ROM
IDE Secondary Slave None
Drive A 1.44M, 3.5 in
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 261120K Memory above 1 MB is known as extended memory, and is not normally usable under DOS.
Total Memory 262144K Base + Upper + Extended = Total Memory.

Standard CMOS features		Comments
IDE Primary Master	IBM-DTLA-307045	The hard drive and CD-ROM 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-ROM is much slower than the hard drive. Placing them on separate IDEs allows them to both run at their maximum speeds.
IDE Primary Slave	None
IDE Secondary Master	40X CD-ROM
IDE Secondary Slave	None
Drive A	1.44M, 3.5 in
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	261120K	Memory above 1 MB is known as extended memory, and is not normally usable under DOS.
Total Memory	262144K	Base + Upper + Extended = Total Memory.

Advanced BIOS features Comments
Virus warning Disabled Norton protects The Super PC
CPU Level 1 cache Enabled 64KB instruction / 64KB data
CPU Level 2 cache Enabled 256KB on-die
CPU Level 2 cache ECC checking Enabled Said to improve stability at no cost.
Quick Power On Self Test Enabled Skip Power On Self-Tests for faster boot.
First Boot Device HDD-0 Skipping the floppy saves a bit of boot time. Set back to Floppy for disaster recovery procedures.
Second Boot Device HDD-0 If the First Boot Device didn't do the trick then it's big trouble.
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 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.
Typematic Rate Setting Enabled
Typematic Rate (Chars/Sec) 30 6, 8, 10, 12, 15, 20, 24, 30
Typematic Rate 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.
OS Select For DRAM > 64MB Non-OS2. IBM's relic.
Video BIOS Shadow Disabled Your system will perform better with this setting at Disabled. As you can read in the MS Knowledge base, shadowing is not an advantage. Only enable this if you still use DOS mode a lot, where it can improve performance as it will speed up VGA BIOS (C0000-C7FFF) accesses.
C8000-CBFFF Shadow Disabled 16K expansion card (such as network adapters) BIOS blocks, not system or video BIOS. Turning on shadowing would speed these adapters up in the same way that shadowing the system BIOS speeds up the system BIOS code. However, things are much more tricky here, because some adapters use RAM as well as ROM. If they do, and you enable shadowing, the adapter will malfunction because shadowing write-protects the RAM it uses.
CC000-CFFFF Shadow Disabled Ditto.
D0000-D3FFF Shadow Disabled Ditto.
D4000-D7FFF Shadow Disabled Ditto.
D8000-DBFFF Shadow Disabled Ditto.
DC000-DFFFF Shadow Disabled Ditto.
Delay for HDD (Secs) 0 Certain hard disk drives require some extra time to spin up in a cold boot. If the system does not start after the memory test, try adding time in this field.

Advanced BIOS features		Comments
Virus warning	Disabled	Norton protects The Super PC
CPU Level 1 cache	Enabled	64KB instruction / 64KB data
CPU Level 2 cache	Enabled	256KB on-die
CPU Level 2 cache ECC checking	Enabled	Said to improve stability at no cost.
Quick Power On Self Test	Enabled	Skip Power On Self-Tests for faster boot.
First Boot Device	HDD-0	Skipping the floppy saves a bit of boot time. Set back to Floppy for disaster recovery procedures.
Second Boot Device	HDD-0	If the First Boot Device didn't do the trick then it's big trouble.
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 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.
Typematic Rate Setting	Enabled
Typematic Rate (Chars/Sec)	30	6, 8, 10, 12, 15, 20, 24, 30
Typematic Rate 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.
OS Select For DRAM > 64MB	Non-OS2.	IBM's relic.
Video BIOS Shadow	Disabled	Your system will perform better with this setting at Disabled. As you can read in the MS Knowledge base, shadowing is not an advantage. Only enable this if you still use DOS mode a lot, where it can improve performance as it will speed up VGA BIOS (C0000-C7FFF) accesses.
C8000-CBFFF Shadow	Disabled	16K expansion card (such as network adapters) BIOS blocks, not system or video BIOS. Turning on shadowing would speed these adapters up in the same way that shadowing the system BIOS speeds up the system BIOS code. However, things are much more tricky here, because some adapters use RAM as well as ROM. If they do, and you enable shadowing, the adapter will malfunction because shadowing write-protects the RAM it uses.
CC000-CFFFF Shadow	Disabled	Ditto.
D0000-D3FFF Shadow	Disabled	Ditto.
D4000-D7FFF Shadow	Disabled	Ditto.
D8000-DBFFF Shadow	Disabled	Ditto.
DC000-DFFFF Shadow	Disabled	Ditto.
Delay for HDD (Secs)	0	Certain hard disk drives require some extra time to spin up in a cold boot. If the system does not start after the memory test, try adding time in this field.

Advanced Chipset Features Comments
Bank 0/1 DRAM Timing Turbo Turbo setting will work with good name-brand PC133 SDRAM, like Crucial.
Bank 2/3 DRAM Timing Turbo Ditto.
Bank 4/5 DRAM Timing Turbo Ditto.
DRAM Bank Interleave 4-way Check the WickedCases reference to determine the best value for your system.
Delay DRAM Read Latch NO Delay Delay DRAM Read Latch sets the time required to catch DRAM data. If the DRAM load is heavy, such that you had three double sided DRAM modules installed, you may need to choose a longer delay time for data reading.
MD Driving Strength Hi Set this to Hi for some added stability when using aggressive RAM timings.
SDRAM Cycle Length 2 The Super PC uses CAS 2 memory.
Memory Hole Disabled Some special ISA cards require this area of memory for them to work properly. Enabling this function reserves the memory area for the card's use. It will also prevent the system from accessing memory above 16MB. This means that if you enable this function, your OS can only use up to 15MB of RAM, irrespective of how much RAM your system actually has. So, always disable this function unless your ISA card absolutely requires this memory area to work properly.
PCI Master Pipeline Req Enabled
P2C/C2P Concurrency Enabled Set to Enabled if you have a SoundBlaster Live! card, and who doesn't?
Fast R-W Turn Around Enabled
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 RAM Cacheable Disabled Set to Disabled for all nVidia based cards.
AGP Aperture Size 128MB Graphics card texture storage. Should be around half the system memory size.
AGP-4X Mode Enabled
AGP Driving Control Auto Setting to Manual may destabilizes the graphics card.
AGP Driving Value DA Depends on graphics card, 0xDA to 0xEA is claimed to be OK by Abit.
Fast Write Supported Supported Fast write to AGP. No effect on my system. My BIOS, version UL dated 25-Aug-2000 has a bug that's been corrected in version WW dated 22-Dec-2000. See the comment for the "Enhance Chip Performance" BIOS setting under the SoftMenu III BIOS settings. Once I get around to flashing the new BIOS version I'll re-check the performance measurements.
K7 CLK_CTL Select Optimal Aggressive timing.
CPU to PCI Write Buffer Enabled
PCI Dynamic Bursting Enabled Block store instructions in memory, then send to PCI device en masse.
PCI Master 0 WS Write Enabled
PCI Delay Transaction Enabled This option should be enabled for better performance and to meet PCI 2.1 specifications. Disable it only if your PCI cards cannot work properly or if you are using an ISA card that is not PCI 2.1 compliant.
PCI#2 Access #1 Retry Disabled For optimal performance.
AGP Master 1 WS Write Enabled By default, the AGP busmastering device waits for at least 2 wait states before it starts a write transaction. This option sets the delay to 1 wait state. This setting works fine in My Super PC with the KT7A motherboard and ELSA Gladiac GeForce2 GTS graphics card. But if you see anything strange with your graphics then set back to Disable and see if it clears up.
AGP Master 1 WS Read Enabled Default is at least 2 wait states. The Comments under AGP Master 1 WS Write apply.

Advanced Chipset Features		Comments
Bank 0/1 DRAM Timing	Turbo	Turbo setting will work with good name-brand PC133 SDRAM, like Crucial.
Bank 2/3 DRAM Timing	Turbo	Ditto.
Bank 4/5 DRAM Timing	Turbo	Ditto.
DRAM Bank Interleave	4-way	Check the WickedCases reference to determine the best value for your system.
Delay DRAM Read Latch	NO Delay	Delay DRAM Read Latch sets the time required to catch DRAM data. If the DRAM load is heavy, such that you had three double sided DRAM modules installed, you may need to choose a longer delay time for data reading.
MD Driving Strength	Hi	Set this to Hi for some added stability when using aggressive RAM timings.
SDRAM Cycle Length	2	The Super PC uses CAS 2 memory.
Memory Hole	Disabled	Some special ISA cards require this area of memory for them to work properly. Enabling this function reserves the memory area for the card's use. It will also prevent the system from accessing memory above 16MB. This means that if you enable this function, your OS can only use up to 15MB of RAM, irrespective of how much RAM your system actually has. So, always disable this function unless your ISA card absolutely requires this memory area to work properly.
PCI Master Pipeline Req	Enabled
P2C/C2P Concurrency	Enabled	Set to Enabled if you have a SoundBlaster Live! card, and who doesn't?
Fast R-W Turn Around	Enabled
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 RAM Cacheable	Disabled	Set to Disabled for all nVidia based cards.
AGP Aperture Size	128MB	Graphics card texture storage. Should be around half the system memory size.
AGP-4X Mode	Enabled
AGP Driving Control	Auto	Setting to Manual may destabilizes the graphics card.
AGP Driving Value	DA	Depends on graphics card, 0xDA to 0xEA is claimed to be OK by Abit.
Fast Write Supported	Supported	Fast write to AGP. No effect on my system. My BIOS, version UL dated 25-Aug-2000 has a bug that's been corrected in version WW dated 22-Dec-2000. See the comment for the "Enhance Chip Performance" BIOS setting under the SoftMenu III BIOS settings. Once I get around to flashing the new BIOS version I'll re-check the performance measurements.
K7 CLK_CTL Select	Optimal	Aggressive timing.
CPU to PCI Write Buffer	Enabled
PCI Dynamic Bursting	Enabled	Block store instructions in memory, then send to PCI device en masse.
PCI Master 0 WS Write	Enabled
PCI Delay Transaction	Enabled	This option should be enabled for better performance and to meet PCI 2.1 specifications. Disable it only if your PCI cards cannot work properly or if you are using an ISA card that is not PCI 2.1 compliant.
PCI#2 Access #1 Retry	Disabled	For optimal performance.
AGP Master 1 WS Write	Enabled	By default, the AGP busmastering device waits for at least 2 wait states before it starts a write transaction. This option sets the delay to 1 wait state. This setting works fine in My Super PC with the KT7A motherboard and ELSA Gladiac GeForce2 GTS graphics card. But if you see anything strange with your graphics then set back to Disable and see if it clears up.
AGP Master 1 WS Read	Enabled	Default is at least 2 wait states. The Comments under AGP Master 1 WS Write apply.

Integrated Peripherals Comments
Onboard IDE 1 Controller Enabled These are the ATA/66 IDE controllers.
Onboard IDE 2 Controller Enabled Ditto.
Master Drive PIO Mode 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.
Slave Drive PIO Mode Auto Ditto.
Master Drive Ultra DMA Auto Ditto.
Slave Drive Ultra DMA Auto Ditto.
IDE Prefetch Mode Enabled For best performance.
Init Display First AGP Set to AGP if your primary display is your AGP adapter, or to PCI if the primary display is a PCI video card.
USB Controller Enabled
USB Keyboard Support BIOS
IDE HDD Block Mode Enabled Enable this to allow the BIOS to determine the optimum block sizes for best performance.
Onboard FDD Controller Enabled I do have floppy.
Onboard Serial Port 1 3F8/IRQ4 Standard.
Onboard Serial Port 2 2F8/IR!e Standard.
- Onboard IR Function Disabled
- IR Function Duplex Half
Onboard Parallel Port 378/IRQ7 Standard.
Onboard Parallel Mode Normal Set this to Normal unless you have a device or printer that specifically requires use of ECP/EPP modes such as a parallel port scanner, zip drive, etc.
- ECP Mode Use DMA 3
- Parallel Port EPP Type EPP1.9

Integrated Peripherals		Comments
Onboard IDE 1 Controller	Enabled	These are the ATA/66 IDE controllers.
Onboard IDE 2 Controller	Enabled	Ditto.
Master Drive PIO Mode	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.
Slave Drive PIO Mode	Auto	Ditto.
Master Drive Ultra DMA	Auto	Ditto.
Slave Drive Ultra DMA	Auto	Ditto.
IDE Prefetch Mode	Enabled	For best performance.
Init Display First	AGP	Set to AGP if your primary display is your AGP adapter, or to PCI if the primary display is a PCI video card.
USB Controller	Enabled
USB Keyboard Support	BIOS
IDE HDD Block Mode	Enabled	Enable this to allow the BIOS to determine the optimum block sizes for best performance.
Onboard FDD Controller	Enabled	I do have floppy.
Onboard Serial Port 1	3F8/IRQ4	Standard.
Onboard Serial Port 2	2F8/IR!e	Standard.
- Onboard IR Function	Disabled
- IR Function Duplex	Half
Onboard Parallel Port	378/IRQ7	Standard.
Onboard Parallel Mode	Normal	Set this to Normal unless you have a device or printer that specifically requires use of ECP/EPP modes such as a parallel port scanner, zip drive, etc.
- ECP Mode Use DMA	3
- Parallel Port EPP Type	EPP1.9

Power Management Setup Comments
ACPI Suspend Type S1(POS)
PM Control by APM Yes If you're using Windows (and who doesn't?), set this to Yes.
Video Off Option Suspend -> Off Screen off when system is in SUSPEND mode.
Video Off Method DPMS Support Set this to DPMS if you have a PnP capable monitor.
Modem Use IRQ NA Manually assigning the IRQ is not needed.
Soft-Off By PWRBTN Instant-Off You don't want slow death.

Power Management Setup		Comments
ACPI Suspend Type	S1(POS)
PM Control by APM	Yes	If you're using Windows (and who doesn't?), set this to Yes.
Video Off Option	Suspend -> Off	Screen off when system is in SUSPEND mode.
Video Off Method	DPMS Support	Set this to DPMS if you have a PnP capable monitor.
Modem Use IRQ	NA	Manually assigning the IRQ is not needed.
Soft-Off By PWRBTN	Instant-Off	You don't want slow death.

PnP/PCI Configurations Comments
PNP OS Installed Yes If you're using Windows (and who isn't?), set this to Yes.
Reset Configuration Data Disabled Most people with problems seem to have greatest success if they put their soundcard in PCI Slot 4. Remember to enable Reset Configuration Data in the PnP/PCI Configuration page of the BIOS after moving your card.
Resources Controlled By Auto (ESCD) Let the BIOS figure out IRQ's.
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 videocard.
Assign IRQ for USB Enabled Set to Yes if you are using an USB device.
PIRQ-0 Use IRQ No. Auto
PIRQ-1 Use IRQ No. Auto
PIRQ-2 Use IRQ No. Auto
PIRQ-3 Use IRQ No. Auto

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PnP/PCI Configurations		Comments
PNP OS Installed	Yes	If you're using Windows (and who isn't?), set this to Yes.
Reset Configuration Data	Disabled	Most people with problems seem to have greatest success if they put their soundcard in PCI Slot 4. Remember to enable Reset Configuration Data in the PnP/PCI Configuration page of the BIOS after moving your card.
Resources Controlled By	Auto (ESCD)	Let the BIOS figure out IRQ's.
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 videocard.
Assign IRQ for USB	Enabled	Set to Yes if you are using an USB device.
PIRQ-0 Use IRQ No.	Auto
PIRQ-1 Use IRQ No.	Auto
PIRQ-2 Use IRQ No.	Auto
PIRQ-3 Use IRQ No.	Auto