BIOS Setup

The BIOS of Asus P5K mainboard is based on AMI code and looks very familiar to those who have worked with Asus boards before. However, there are a few things that are different even from the Intel P965 based mainboards with similar functionality.

From now on almost all the overclocking friendly functions are gathered together in JumperFree Configuration section of the BIOS Setup. This is where we are going to start our discussion. The first page of this section looks very modest, but we were really pleased to see the CPU multiplier setting move here from the CPU Configuration section.

The automatic system overclocking by a few percent with the help of N.O.S. – Non-delay Overclocking System - remained there alright. However, this is not the primary feature for us, so let’s change the Ai Overclocking parameter from Auto to manual, so that we could really see what the JumperFree Configuration section has to offer.

To change any of the parameters you can use “+” or “-“ keys to go through the list of available values and select the right one. However, this approach is convenient only if there are 2-3 values in the list, for example: Transaction Booster: Auto, Enabled, Disabled. If there are more values to choose from, then it is easier to pick the desired parameter and hit Enter. You will get a drop-down list and you can use arrow keys to pick the desired value. This rule works for all parameters except FSB frequency. There is no list of supported values for the FSB Frequency parameter. You can either use “+” or “-“ keys or type in the frequency using numeric keyboard.

These are the supported parameter ranges:

• FSB Frequency: 200-800MHz;
• PCIE Frequency: 100-150MHz;
• CPU Voltage: 1.1V-1.7V with 0.0125V increment;
• DRAM Voltage: 1.8V-2.55V with 0.05V increment;
• FSB Termination Voltage: 1.2V-1.5V with 0.1V increment;
• NB Voltage: 1.25V, 1.4V, 1.55V and 1.7V.

If we compare the BIOS Setup features of Asus P5K mainboard with the higher-end Asus P5K Deluxe, the list is identical (except for the missing Command Rate adjustment option by the P5K model). However, the supported intervals will be lower by our today’s hero. You will not be able to reflash the Asus P5K Deluxe BIOS onto the P5K board, because they use chips of different capacity.

DRAM Frequency for the CPU with the nominal 266MHz FSB allows setting the memory to DDR2 667, 800, 889 or 1067. These dividers are supported up to 292MHz FSB, and starting with 293MHz FSB it also takes the following value: DDR2 586, 703, 733, 789, 938, 977, 1172.

As for the memory timings, here is the list of supported values that you can access by setting DRAM Timing Control to Manual:

When I checked out the CPU Configuration section I was very surprised to find out that the processor multiplier adjustment hasn’t disappeared anywhere, although it is now also available in the JumperFree Configuration section.

Of course, I decided to check what would happen if I set the processor frequency multiplier to x6 in one section and to x7 in another. What multiplier will actually be active? However, it turned out that both parameters are interconnected, and when you change one of them, the other one will get changed automatically.