BIOS
DFI continues to use a modified Phoenix AwardBIOS.
For those that have used it before, it's intuitive, easy to use, and we prefer it over the competing solutions that populate boards in particular. The Genie BIOS settings draw our attention immediately.
DFI's Super PATCH technology (it could have thought of a better name ?) is its attempt to match the Canterwood's Performance Acceleration Technology. The idea is to reduce the latency that exists between the CPU and system memory. It can only be enabled if the CPU's FSB and system memory are running at synchronous speeds. Speaking of which, the CPU's FSB goes all the way up to 400MHz. Optimistic but useful, and it can be inputted directly without the usual cycling through of each step. The three important clocks that control AGP / PCI / SATA speeds can be locked at different speeds; only the SATA clock remains locked at 100MHz. AGP / PCI, with the latter at one-half of the former, can be set to 66/33, 72/36, and 80/40MHz, respectively.
Voltage-wise, it's usual DFI. CPU voltage goes up to an CPU-frying 1.975v, but one cannot reduce it below default, unfortunately. DIMM voltage tops out at 2.9v. That's what we like to see as certain RAM modules now require a full 2.8v to function at specification. We're thinking of TwinMOS and OCZ, for example. AGP voltage is kind of pointless, we reckon.
The regular HEXUS 2-6-2-2 latencies are used for testing. With Super PATCH enabled, performance should resemble a PAT-like BIOS's.
The newer 13/11/2003 BIOS brings with it some form of automation. Rather than input the overclock manually, DFI allows the user to raise the overall system's speed by the percentages shown above. It's not too hard to figure out what the percentages correlate to, but it should make the BIOS a little more intuitive for the first-time user. Remember, though, that raising the CPU's FSB by the given amount also increases the memory frequency by the corresponding amount. We reckon it would be preferable to have this subscreen in the same section as the CPU's speed. That way, you should be able to discern exactly what each percentage will result in. 35% for a 3.2GHz P4 is no less than 4320MHz. That's beyond the reach of all but the most esoteric cooling.
Another DFI in-house BIOS trick is known as CMOS Reloaded. DFI allows the user to save a couple of BIOS configurations that can be restored at the touch of a few keys. Assuming that the settings were stable in the first instance, you should simply be able to boot back into an OS with a tuned BIOS. In practice, saving a configuration took about 10 seconds and restoring it took around 5 seconds. That's certainly a lot better than having to manually key in each parameter individually after locating the paper that you wrote each one down on. A decent and thoughtful inclusion.
A comprehensive hardware monitoring section is another plus for the LANPARTY 865PE. However, there's no indication of DDR voltage or manual manipulation of fan speeds. Much like the layout, the BIOS isn't the best we've seen but is far from the worst. Another solid showing.
