![[H]ardOCP](/images/blank.gif){kind=small}
- Date:
- Tuesday , March 08, 2005
- Author:
- Morry Teitelman
- Editor:
- Kyle Bennett
- Google +1
DFI NF4 Ultra-D
The DFI NF4 Ultra-D is a nForce 4 Ultra chipset-based motherboard that started as an inexpensive SLI solution, but that was quickly reigned in by NVIDIA. Now it stands as a dual PCI-Express X16 motherboard that some modders are finding out is still good for SLI.
BIOS
DFI chose to design the nF4 Ultra-D’s BIOS based on the Phoenix AwardBIOS implementation. The version of the BIOS shown is NF4LD217.
The Advanced BIOS Features menu contains options for configuring system initialization settings including those directly involved with boot drive selection at system startup. With a USB 2.0 drive connected to the system at system post time and the device properly detected by the system, the drive will show as a listed device in the Hard Drive Boot Priority submenu. The priority of specific items in this menu can be changed using the + and – keys.
The Integrated Peripherals menu features options for configuring system integrated devices, including the IDE and SATA ports, the RAID BIOS, the USB 2.0 ports, and the audio solution. Using the RAID Config submenu, you have the option of enabling the NIVIDIA RAID boot BIOS, as well as configuring individual IDE and SATA ports for RAID operation. All ports, including the IDE master and slave ports within a single channel, can be individually configured for RAID operation. If a port is configured for RAID operation, it will not be detected on system initialization. The port will be available through the NVIDIA RAID BIOS, however.
Through the PC Health Status menu, the user has access to real time statistics on all system-monitored voltages, temperatures, and fan speeds, as well as options for configuring system events based on monitored temperatures. While the upper threshold temperature for a given fan header to run a fan at full speed is 75 C, the configurable maximum CPU temperature for system shutdown is only 70 C. Under ideal circumstances, you would want the option of configuring the shutdown temperature to a higher threshold than that of the full fan speed temperature threshold.
The PnP/PCI Configurations menu contains options for configuring the system IRQ and PnP-related settings. Although the BIOS does not give you the option of direct modification of the preset IRQ numbers, you can specify the pool settings for specific IRQ numbers through the IRQ Resources submenu. This submenu becomes accessible with the Resources Controlled By option set to Manual.
The CMOS Reloaded menu contains 4 individual banks in which you can store BIOS configurations. These BIOS configurations have the ability to store all settings configured in all the BIOS menus and submenus at the time of save to the individual bank. The menu also allows for customized naming of the saved configurations, as well as the setting of a hotkey value. The set hotkey value can be used at system initialization time to force a particular BIOS configuration to load, without having to go into the BIOS itself.
The Genie BIOS Setting menu contains all voltage and bus speed-related configuration options, in addition to status configuration for the integrated LAN, SATA port, and IEEE 1394 port devices. The MAC LAN option controls the state of the NVIDIA-based GigE controller, while the MARVELL Giga LAN Control option controls the Marvell-based GigE controller. The two listed Internal Phy SATA options controls the active state of the NVIDIA SATA II ports. The VIA 1394 Control option controls the two available IEEE 1394 ports.
The base CPU FSB speed is configured through the FSB Bus Frequency option, with a maximum allowable speed of 456MHz. The HyperTransport link speed is determined by combining the base CPU FSB and the multiplier selected within the LDT/FSB Frequency Ration option. At the default 200MHz CPU FSB, the HyperTransport bus can be set to run at a speed of 1000MHz using the 5x multiplier option. The LDT Bus Transfer Width controls the size of the upload and download transfer pipe available. For best performance, it is recommended to set this to 16 up and 16 down. The CPU multiplier value can be selected using the CPU/FSB Frequency Ratio option, with the values available ranging from 4x to the default multiplier setting of the CPU in use with the board. The CPU speed is determined by multiplying the selected CPU multiplier setting and the selected CPU FSB setting. The PCI Express bus speed is asynchronous to the CPU FSB speed, with its bus speed settable using the PCI eXpress Frequency option. This setting allows for a maximum PCI Express bus speed of 145MHz. Although no mechanism is provided to set or lock the PCI bus, there were no PCI bus-related issues encountered while overclocking testing was performed with the board.
An interesting option included with this BIOS is the CPU VID Startup Value. This option controls the amount of CPU voltage applied to the chip at system post with a maximum setting of 1.550v. With careful tweaking of this value, you can alleviate many overclocking-related low voltage startup issues. The CPU VID Control option sets the overall CPU voltage, again with a 1.550v maximum allowable. The CPU voltage can be increased past this maximum setting through the CPU VID Special Control option. This option allows for overvolting the CPU to a maximum of 36% over the selected voltage under the CPU VID Control setting. Keep in mind that using this amount of voltage with an Athlon64 socket 939 processor is not recommended without a superior CPU cooling solution.
The HyperTransport bus voltage is configured through the LDT Voltage Control option, with an available maximum of 1.50v. The nForce4 chipset voltage can be set to a maximum of 1.80v using the Chip Set Voltage option. The DRAM Voltage Control option configures the voltage supplied to all seated DRAM modules on the board. With the DRAM 4V Select jumper block disabled, the maximum DRAM voltage selectable is 3.2v. With the jumper block enabled (in the 2-3 position) and a non-Auto CPU voltage selected, a maximum of 4.00v may be chosen for the memory voltage. Note that with memory voltage set 3.0v or above, it is highly recommended to actively cool the memory modules for peak operation.