![[H]ardOCP](/images/blank.gif){kind=small}
- Date:
- Tuesday , August 17, 2004
- Author:
- Morry Teitelman
- Editor:
- Kyle Bennett
- Google +1
ABIT AV8
ABIT chose to harness the power of the VIA K8T800Pro chipset for their AMD socket 939 motherboard. We find out whether this board is worthy of the ABIT moniker.
BIOS
ABIT used the well known Phoenix AwardBIOS template in order to design the AV8’s BIOS. The BIOS itself has been heavily customized to support their enthusiast friendly uGuru hardware manipulation and monitoring chipset. Note that the BIOS version used was 13.b02.
The uGuru Utility menu is a direct replacement for ABIT’s famous SoftMenu interface, with some notable differences. The screen itself is divided in to two sections - OC Guru and ABIT EQ. The OC Guru screen allows for direct manipulation of all board level FSBs and voltages, while the ABIT EQ screen controls system level responses to configured system stimulus.
With the CPU Operating Speed option within the OC Guru screen set to User Define, all configurable FSB settings become available for user customization. The External Clock option directly controls the CPU FSB, as well as showing the PCI and AGP bus speeds based on the ratio selected under the AGP Ratio option. The current BIOS allows for an incredible 410 MHz maximum FSB. The Multiplier Factor option allows for configuration of the internal CPU multiplier in .5 step intervals, which determines the actual CPU speed when combined with the CPU FSB. The AGP Ratio (CPU:AGP:PCI) option controls the speed of the AGP and PCI buses based on the ratios selected, as well as fixed speed modes of 66 and 74 MHz.
With the Voltages Control option within the OC Guru screen set to User Define, all system voltages are user configurable. The CPU Core Voltage option controls the power flow to your CPU, with a maximum of 1.85v permitted. For AGP voltage tweaking, the AGP VDDQ Voltage option allows for a 1.65v maximum. This should be enough to push your card a bit, but not enough to get you in to any real trouble. The DDR SDRAM Voltage option follows suite, with a 2.80v maximum selectable voltage. Not enough to really push your memory, but enough to give it a good nudge. The NB Voltage option controls the power going to the Northbridge chipset, while the SB Voltage option controls power to the Southbridge. Both options allow for a minimal 10-15% bump in voltage above default settings. Similarly, the HyperTransport Voltage option allows for a minimal voltage bump to be applied to the board’s HyperTransport link.
The ABIT EQ section within the uGuru Utility menu contains numerous submenus system level response configuration - Temperature Monitoring, Voltage Monitoring, Fan Speed Monitoring, and FanEQ Control. The Temperature Monitoring submenu contains a real time listing of all BIOS monitored temperatures, as well as the ability to configure system events based on pre-configured temperature thresholds. The Voltage Monitoring submenu displays all BIOS monitored system voltages, with the ability to configure system events based on voltage high and low limits. The Fan Speed Monitoring submenu displays current readings from all BIOS monitored fan headers, as well as the ability to configure system events based on fan speed slowdown or failure.
The FanEQ Control submenu controls the active state of manufacturer selected system fan headers through the use of configurable temperature and voltage thresholds. The Reference Temperature option ties a BIOS monitored temperature to a fan header of choice. The temperature threshold setting itself is controlled through the Control Temperature High and Control Temperature Low options. If the monitored temperature stays below the Control Temperature High setting, the controlled fan header has the power supplied to it as determined by the DC Fan Voltage Low settings. If the monitored temperature climbs above the Control Temperature High setting, the controlled fan header has the power supplied to it as determined by the DC Fan Voltage High settings. The BIOS directly manipulates the speed of the connected fans by varying the power supplied to the fan headers.