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[keasy]

It's a pain in the arse getting BIOS settings right at times.

So I reckon a collective experience should help out.


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My findings on my MOBO.

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If on an Intel chip-set and you over clock, via the easiest route upping the FSB - Don't forget to lock your PCI @ 33.33 and PCI-E @ 100 or else on auto they will over clock with everything else and cause problems.

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On an ASUS board disable PEG Link - This is a manual GFX port over clock.  It's far safer to over clock graphics using a software tool such as RivaTuner and also wields far more control via decisive set frequencies.

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Spread spectrum - Disable it if you can. - It creates a 1% variance in CPU clock cycles and is intended to keep it more stable so as to reduce electromagnetic emissions. Essential if in an office and close to other PC's to keep within the law regarding such levels that are regulated. If at home turn it off, especially if over clocking.


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Execute Disable Bit

Allow it. It's a stronger security by disallowing virus/trojan atatcks that exploit buffer over flow in the memory/DRAM via the OS. If enabled they can't exploit the OS as it's disabled at the fundamental BIOS level.

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Please add as appropriate....

[corroded]

disable full screen logo, many show this but gives important error codes/system information. if you have someone out (if you aren't techy) it'll be one of the first things they disable if they are looking for errors etc.

disable all hardware on motherboard you do not use. this will likely be in a peripherals or similar. if you do not use onboard lan, disable it. onboard sound, raid etc. the hardware still uses some of your resources, so theres no point doing that.

optimise your boot sequence. if you do not have a floppy drive, remove it. also, if you're a bit paranoid you can disallow anything other than hard drives to boot... dvd drives will spin up to check for disks, slowing the booting process, so again remove those unless you need to install windows etc.

turn on quick memory scan. full memory scans take fucking ages and are unnecessary unless you think there is a problem, at which point memtest is better

turn on quick post too, if its not.

one not strictly bios, but useful anyway. for boot loaders, alter the timeouts down from 30 seconds to 10 or even less. I usually have 5 seconds. It really doesn't take long to notice and change if you are there. and the whole pc will boot faster if you leave the room whilst booting etc, specially with the other trim downs.