BIOS Settings...

Here, I intend to highlight the crucial settings that will critically determine your Fast PC's performance and operability. Many BIOSs do vary from computer to computer, so you may not find every one listed below in your BIOS.

There are a lot of settings within the BIOS that are simply personal taste (like the option to have the NumLock come on during startup). For more information on some BIOS settings, check out this BIOS Optimization Guide. Now, on to the important settings:

 

Advanced BIOS Features

Parameter Setting Notes
CPU L1 Cache Enabled For a more detailed explanation of why both of the "L" Caches are important, read this site's explanation.
CPU L2 Cache Enabled See above.
First Boot Device * See note This is important, as if at any point you need to use an emergency boot disk (viruses, OS crash, et cetra), you need to know where this is to change it to 'Floppy Drive' or CD drive. Otherwise, I leave it on HDD-0 and use the Quick Power On.
Second Boot Device HDD-0 This should remain like this in case you need to switch your First Boot device temporarily to your floppy/CD drive.
APIC Mode Disabled This is important to leave unchanged, as enabling it will cause you to need to reinstall your OS.

 

Advanced Chipset

Parameter Setting Notes
AGP Aperture Size 64 MB The above mentioned BIOS guide elaborates more fully on why this should be like so.
AGP 8X Support Enabled Most motherboards do not use AGP anymore but use PCIe instead. Make sure that it's enabled as well.
System BIOS Cacheable Disabled Simply put, the system does not really need to use the L caches, because it is a pretty simple and linear program that does not require it and also because it otherwise slows down your system performance.
Video BIOS Cacheable Disabled This may sound contradictory, but check out the L cache explanation for yourself and see why.

 

Miscellaneous Control

Parameter Setting Notes
CPU Ratio Default This can be slightly tweaked to make your computer go a little faster, but beyond a couple Hzs, you begin to go into the Overclocking zone.
Auto Detect DIMM/PCI Enabled This setting allows the BIOS to determine what capability your RAM has. If you have paired higher memory with a lower processor, you may have to change this.
Host/PCI Clock at Next Boot: 166/33 MHz

The clock/Front Side Bus setting should correspond with the processor as it is listed below. However, some motherboards may require to physically change the jumpers on the motherboard itself; consult your motherboard's manual.

  • 100 MHz for a 200 FSB Processor

  • 133 MHz for a 266 FSB Processor

  • 166 MHz for a 333 FSB Processor

  • 200 MHz for a 400 FSB Processor

    		•

     

    PC Health

    Parameter Setting Notes
    Shutdown Temperature 149° F I view this as a fail-safe, so that if something goes drastically wrong with my cooler (i.e. it dies), my processor and motherboard will be saved from a cruel, fast death.

     

     

    Here again are my complete recommendations for building a computer with a great Motherboard (with a great BIOS) at a low price!

     

    Next - Keep Your Fast PC Updated »