Computer Assembly - How To Assemble A PC
Configure The BIOS Parameter Settings
At this point the computer is sitting inside the IBM Drive Fitness utility waiting to be rebooted. We're ready to setup the rest of the BIOS parameters. Press the reset button on the computer to get it to reboot. Enter the CMOS Utility Menu by using the "Delete" key after the single beep is emitted and the BIOS header screen appears. By now you're somewhat familiar with navigating around the CMOS Utility Menu with the arrow keys and using the keypad plus "+" and minus "-" keys to change values, so I'll simply list the values I use.
The table below shows the BIOS settings I am using on the ABIT KR7A-133 motherboard. My ABIT KR7A-133 BIOS version is B5, dated 10/3/2002 which I flash updated myself. The motherboard arrived with BIOS version 6N, dated 12/27/2001. Italics indicate values that are not updateable, although they might be under different BIOS settings.
SoftMenu III Setup
Parameter | Setting | Comments
|
CPU Operating Speed |
1800+(133) |
|
CPU FSB Clock (MHz) |
133 |
|
Ratio (FSB:AGP:PCI) |
4:2:1 |
|
Multiplier Factor |
x11.5 |
|
Speed Error Hold |
Disabled |
|
CPU Power Supply |
CPU Default |
|
Core Voltage |
1.750v |
|
I/O Voltage |
3.50v |
|
DDR Voltage |
2.55v |
|
DQ Control |
Center DQ |
|
CPU Fast Command Decode |
Fast |
This setting will give a performance improvement over Normal and is safe with the high-quality components I'm using. The Ultra setting makes little performance difference and isn't worth the risk of causing instability. |
Standard CMOS Features
Parameter | Setting | Comments |
IDE Primary Master |
IC35L080AVVA07-0 |
This is the IBM 120GXP 80GB hard drive. 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 Master (sub-menu) |
Parameter | Setting | Comments |
IDE Primary Master | Auto | |
- Access Mode | Auto | |
|
IDE Primary Slave |
None |
|
IDE Secondary Master |
LTN525D |
This is the Lite-On 52x CD-ROM. |
IDE Secondary Slave |
None |
|
Drive A |
1.44M, 3.5 in |
This is the floppy drive. |
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 |
523264K |
Memory above 1 MB is known as extended memory, and is not normally usable under DOS. |
Total Memory |
524288K |
Base + Upper + Extended = Total Memory. |
Advanced BIOS Features
Parameter | Setting | Comments |
Virus warning |
Disabled |
Symantec Norton Antivirus protects My Super PC. |
CPU L2 Cache ECC Checking |
Enabled |
Improves stability and reliability with no real impact to performance. |
Quick Power On Self Test |
Enabled |
Skip Power On Self-Tests for faster boot. |
First Boot Device |
CDROM |
Normally this should be set to HDD-0 to boot directly from the hard drive, but set it to the CDROM for now since that's how we'll need it when we're ready for the step after configuring the BIOS parameters. When it's set to HDD-0 the computer does not look to see if there's a floppy disk in the floppy drive from which it should boot. Set this to Floppy for disaster recovery procedures. |
Second Boot Device |
CDROM |
Normally this would be set to HDD-0 since the First Boot Device is the only boot device. |
Third Boot Device |
CDROM |
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 First Boot Device, which is 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 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. |
APIC Mode |
Disabled |
Setting to Enabled can cause instabilities. Once the operating system is installed, such as Windows XP in my case, this setting cannot be changed without reinstalling the operating system, regardless of whether the initial setting is Disabled or Enabled. The purpose of setting it to Enabled is to extend the number of IRQ's, which sounds like a real risky proposition. The number of IRQ's should be fine without being extended, anyway. |
MPS Version Control For OS |
1.1 |
Not changeable with APIC Mode set to Disabled. |
OS Select For DRAM > 64MB |
Non-OS2 |
IBM's relic. |
Report No FDD For WIN 95 |
No |
When using Windows 95 without a floppy drive, set to Yes. Say - how many ABIT KR7A-133 motherboards do you suppose are out there running under Windows 95 without a floppy drive? |
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. |
Delay for IDE Initial (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. |
Small Logo(EPA) Show |
Disabled |
|
Advanced Chipset Features
Parameter | Setting | Comments |
| DRAM Clock/Drive Control (sub-menu) |
Parameter | Setting | Comments |
DRAM Clock | 133 MHz | |
DRAM Timing | Manual | |
DRAM CAS Latency | 2 | Although the memory is spec'd at 2.5, Crucial memory is high quality and will run at the faster 2 setting. |
Bank Interleave | 4 bank | For best performance. |
Precharge to Active(Trp) | 2T | |
Active to Precharge(Tras) | 6T | This value is recommended for PC2100 memory to improve stability with no real loss of performance. A value of 5T is recommended for PC1600 memory and a value of 7T is recommended for PC2700 memory (which the ABIT KR7A-133 doesn't support anyway). |
Active to CMD(Trcd) | 2T | |
DDR DQS Input Delay | Auto | |
Input Delay Value | 24 | |
DDR DQS Output Delay | Auto | |
Ouput Delay Value | 40 | |
Command Drive Strength | Hi | Set this to Hi for added stability, especially with multiple DIMM's in use. |
Rx6C OverWrite | Disabled | Default value. Even ABIT technical support couldn't tell me what this does, so it's best to leave it alone. |
OverWrite Rx6C | 00 | Ignored since Rx6C OverWrite, whatever that is, is disabled. |
Rx6D OverWrite | Disabled | Default value. Even ABIT technical support couldn't tell me what this does, so it's best to leave it alone. |
OverWrite Rx6D | 0A | Ignored since Rx6D OverWrite, whatever that is, is disabled. |
DRAM Queue Depth | 4 level | For best performance. |
DRAM Command Rate | 2T Command | The 1T Command setting is unstable and problematical. |
DCLK Feedback Delay | 0 ps | The only agreed safe value. |
|
| AGP & P2P Bridge Control (sub-menu) |
Parameter | Setting | Comments |
AGP Aperture Size | 64MB | A value of 64MB is best for most configurations. |
AGP Mode | 4x | |
AGP Driving Control | Auto | Setting to Manual may destabilizes the video card. |
AGP Driving Value | DA | Not changeable with AGP Driving Control set to Auto. |
AGP Fast Write | Enabled | |
AGP Read Synchronization | Disabled | Setting to Enabled may cause instability. |
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 with the motherboard and video card I have in My Super PC. 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. |
|
| CPU & PCI Bus Control (sub-menu) |
Parameter | Setting | Comments |
PCI Master Read Caching | Disabled | Setting to Enabled allows CPU L2 cache to be used for PCI master reads, but that leaves less CPU L2 cache for system memory which doesn't sound like a good trade, so I've set it to Disabled. |
PCI Master Bus Time-Out | Disabled | Default value. If a PCI device is troublesome, like crackling noises are coming from the PCI sound card, then changing this parameter may clear it up. |
PCI Master Priority Rotation Co | Disabled | Controls the CPU's access to the PCI . The default value is Disabled. As long as the PCI devices are performing properly it's fine to leave it disabled. By the way, it looks like the full name of the parameter was overwritten on the display by it's displayed value. |
PCI1 Master 0 WS Write | Enabled | Performance is better when set to Enabled. |
PCI2 Master 0 WS Write | Enabled | Ditto. |
PCI1 Post Write | Enabled | Ditto. |
PCI2 Post Write | Enabled | Ditto. |
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. |
Master Delay Transaction | Disabled | Default value. Even ABIT technical support couldn't tell me what this does, so it's best to leave it alone. |
|
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. |
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. |
Integrated Peripherals
Parameter | Setting | Comments |
| VIA OnChip IDE Device (sub-menu) |
Parameter | Setting | Comments |
IDE Prefetch Mode | Enabled | For best performance. |
Onboard IDE-1 Controller | Enabled | These are the ATA/133 IDE controllers. |
Onboard IDE-2 Controller | Enabled | These are the ATA/133 IDE controllers. |
- 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. |
|
| SuperIO Device (sub-menu) |
Parameter | Setting | Comments |
Onboard FDD Controller | Enabled | I do have floppy. |
Onboard Serial Port 1 | 3F8/IRQ4 | Standard. |
Onboard Serial Port 2 | 2F8/IRQ3 | Standard. |
- Onboard IR Function | Disabled | No Infra-Red devices. |
- RxD , TxD Active | Hi,Lo | Not applicable since IR is disabled. |
- IR Transmission Delay | Enabled | Not applicable since IR is disabled. |
- IR Function Duplex | Half | Not applicable since IR is disabled. |
- Use IR Pins | IR-Rx2Tx2 | Not applicable since IR is disabled. |
Onboard Parallel Port | 378/IRQ7 | Standard. |
- Parallel Port Type | SPP | Set this to SPP unless you have a device or printer that specifically requires use of ECP/EPP modes such as a parallel port scanner, zip drive, etc." |
- EPP Type Select | EPP1.9 | Not changeable since Parallel Port Type is set to SPP. |
- ECP Mode Use DMA | 3 | Ditto. |
|
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 |
All Enabled |
|
- USB Keyboard Support |
BIOS |
|
Power Management Setup
Parameter | Setting | Comments |
ACPI Suspend Type |
S1(POS) |
|
Power Management Option |
User Define |
My Super PC does not use the Suspend power saving mode. |
HDD Power Down |
Disable |
Ditto. |
Suspend Mode |
Disable |
Ditto. |
Video Off Option |
Suspend -> Off |
Screen off when system is in SUSPEND mode, which it never is, in my case. |
Video Off Method |
DPMS Support |
Use this setting 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. |
State After Power Failure |
Off |
|
| IRQ/Event Activity Detect (sub-menu) |
Parameter | Setting | Comments |
PS2KB Wakeup from S3/S4/S5 | Disabled | My Super PC awakens on pushing the power button only. Just so you know, PS2KB is the PS/2 keyboard and S3/S4/S5 are sleep states |
PS2MS Wakeup from S3/S4/S5 | Disabled. | PS2MS is the PS/2 mouse. |
VGA | OFF | |
LPT & COM | NONE | |
HDD & FDD | OFF | |
PCI Master | OFF | |
PowerOn by PCI Card | Disabled | |
Modem Ring Resume | Disabled | |
RTC Alarm Resume | Disabled | |
Date (of Month) | 0 | Not applicable with RTC Alarm Resume Disabled. |
Resume Time (hh:mm:ss) | 23 :0 : 0 | Not applicable with RTC Alarm Resume Disabled. |
|
| IRQs Activity Monitoring (sub-menu) |
Parameter | Setting | Comments |
All interrupt Event | Off | Disable IRQ's from having any effect on power management. |
|
PnP/PCI Configurations
Parameter | Setting | Comments |
PNP OS Installed |
Yes |
If you're using Windows (and who isn't?), set this to Yes. |
Force Update ESCD |
Disabled |
Normally leave this Disabled. But if, for example, you add a new card and the subsequent system reconfiguration causes a serious conflict of resources (maybe the OS won't boot) then setting this to Enabled is a solution to be considered. |
Resources Controlled By |
Auto (ESCD) |
Let the BIOS figure out IRQ's and DMA channels. |
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 video card. |
Assign IRQ for USB |
Enabled |
Set to Yes if you are using an USB device. |
PIRQ_0 Use IRQ No. |
Auto |
The more the BIOS automatically figures out the IRQ settings the better I like it. |
PIRQ_1 Use IRQ No. |
Auto |
Ditto. |
PIRQ_2 Use IRQ No. |
Auto |
Ditto. |
PIRQ_3 Use IRQ No. |
Auto |
Ditto. |
PC Health Status
Parameter | Setting | Comments |
Temperature Warning |
Disabled |
|
CPU Shutdown Temperature |
Disabled |
|
Shutdown when CPUFAN Fail |
Disabled |
|
Don't forget to save all changes when you exit the BIOS. This is done with the "F10" key on the ABIT KR7A-133 motherboard. The computer reboots after saving the changes. Re-enter the BIOS when the computer returns to the BIOS header screen again.
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