X-bit labs

Foxconn E-bot Small Form-Factor System Review (page 9)

Category: Mobile

by Platon Scheblykin

[ 05/03/2005 | 10:37 PM ]

BIOS and Overclocking

The mainboard’s BIOS is based on the widespread AwardBIOS v6.00PG microcode. The overclocking options offered here are rather scarce, and you have to search for them. Why? Because as is often the case with AwardBIOS, the overclocking options are split in three groups: for controlling frequencies and voltages, for memory timings, and for system monitoring. In this case, you can find them on “Frequency/Voltage Control” (which doesn’t allow setting either frequencies or voltages, by the way), “Advanced Chipset FeaturesàDRAM Clock/Timing Control” and “PC Health Status” pages. Two important options can be found on the “BIOS Features” page: for adjusting the FSB frequency and for changing the memory frequency divider.

Besides them, this page contains settings pertaining to Foxconn’s innovations. Here’s a list of the options you can find on the above-mentioned pages:

• CPU multiplier adjustment. But the multiplier is locked in modern processor models, so this adjustment is only possible with engineering CPU samples;
  
  
  
• FSB adjustment from 200MHz to 350MHz stepping 1MHz;
• Memory frequency divider adjustment. The memory divider is specified explicitly. The possible values are given in the following table:
  

  FSB	RAM
  1	1
  2	1
  3	2
  6	5

• CAS Latency can be set to 2, 2.5 or 3;
  
  
  
• tRAS can be set from 4 to 9 stepping 1;
• tRP can be set from 2 to 5 stepping 1;
• tRCD can be set from 2 to 5 stepping 1;
• You can set the CPU temperature threshold at which the computer shuts down automatically. This option can be set to 60, 65 or 70°C or Disabled;
  
  
  
• Enable/disable control over the fans on the CPU and North Bridge.

Our overclocking the system didn’t bring any considerable profits. The E-bot wouldn’t pass the S’n’M test to the end after the FSB frequency had been lifted up by 12MHz. This seems to indicate a failure of the CPU voltage circuitry. Anyway, this is a satisfactory result just because the E-bot is not a platform for overclocking experiments.

Before proceeding to the test results we want to offer you a list of the above-mentioned innovations in the BIOS settings. Here they are:

• SuperBoot accelerates the system boot-up process by saving the results of a successful test and using them at next boot-ups.
• SuperBIOS-Protect can block the flash memory the BIOS data is stored in against any changes. It helps to safeguard your system from viruses that change the BIOS data.
• SuperRecovery is a tool for backing up and restoring information on the hard disk.
• SuperSpeed is the option of changing the FSB frequency and the memory frequency divider.