BIOS Rundown pg.2
The Intel Smart Connect subpage is a new addition to Z87 / Haswell systems. When enabled, this technology periodically wakes your system up from S3 state to update application data; for example, downloading your email or updating your social networking data.
The Power Management page on the other hand includes power related tasks like how the system handles an unexpected loss of power and if you want to optimized power usage in accordance with Europe’s latest 2013 ‘green’ regulations in accordance with Energy using Products 2013 standards. Enabling EuP 2013 means (amongst other things) that the motherboard meets 0.5 watt sleep state requirements though to use this feature your PSU must also meet EuP 2013 requirements and doing so will also disable RTC wakeup abilities.
The Windows 8 subpage contains a lot of great enhancements dealing with Windows 8. For example, MSI includes not one but two ‘fast boot’ options: Windows 8 Fast Boot and MSI’s version. The first includes the typical Windows 8 option list and while fast compared to normal start-up times, it is actually slower than MSI’s better-optimized option.
When MSI Fast Boot is enabled, USB, PS/2 and even SATA devices are not detected during the Power-On Self Test phase. This allows for two second or quicker start-up times, but makes entering the BIOS impossible using typical methods. The only way to enter the BIOS is either via the software or hardware Go2Bios options.
This subpage also includes enabling or disabling the other Window 8-centric features such as Secure Boot Control, secure boot mode and management of the ‘keys’ for secure boot.
The Wake Up Event Setup page deals with how and when the system will resume from S3/S4/S5 power states. The options include BIOS or OS event, RTC alarm, PCI-E device, USB device and PS/2 keyboard or mouse. All of these are triggers which can wake up the system.
The aptly ladled ‘OC’ or overclocking subpage is where most of the MAX’s intended customer base will spend their time. Simply put, these pages easily make up for the quirky UI. The list of features and settings for those options is insanely long and we doubt many will find a feature missing. The amount of detail here is nothing short of astonishing.
The page’s topmost section is where the most commonly accessed settings are located and as you scroll down the options become more esoteric and less likely to be changed all that often. As such, MSI starts things off with key adjustment to the CPU Ratio, Base Clock and Base Clock Strap. Further down are options like Turbo Boost, EIST and enhanced Turbo features. In this case, Enhanced Turbo is the same as other manufactures ‘core unlock’ option which means all CPU cores are allowed to run at maximum Turbo Boost frequencies. In our case this means that MSI’s ‘auto’ setting unlocked all four of our 4770K’s cores and allowed all four to automatically boost to 3.9Ghz simultaneously instead of allowing only one core at a time to hit 3.9GHz.
The only problem with this layout is that voltage settings are towards the bottom of the page. Scrolling down to them when dialing in an overclock can be annoying. This is a byproduct of the oddly segmented screen and if MSI had opted for a full screen interface we would not have had to continuously scroll down to located these modifiers.
Oddly, MSI doesn’t include any extensive auto overclocking options in the BIOS. All you can do on this front is enable OC Genie Gear 1 or Gear 2 and hope for the best.
For hardcore RAM overclocking enthusiasts this BIOS is sure to satisfy. Not only is there an entire subpage dedicated to RAM timings but you can even control fine-grain timing modes. For most people leaving timing mode in ‘Auto’ will be fine as the motherboard will use the stock SPD settings and for all but a few the Linked mode will also suffice as this allows simultaneously hard setting your custom RAM timings for all the available channels.
For those who want even more, MSI go one step further and include an unlinked mode option. This allows for timing adjustment at the per channel level and with some effort may be able boost the performance from your RAM and compensate for a slightly weaker DIMM.
For CPU clock speed freaks, MSI also includes a special subpage called ‘DigitALL Power’ which basically deals with how the board goes about optimizing power delivery. While most motherboards include basics such as Load-Line Calibration, MSI goes above and beyond this. Not only can you dial in how much of VDroop will be allowed but items like overcurrent protection, the CPU PWM’s switching frequency and even the DRAM power circuits’ switching frequency can be changed.
We will go over how well the ‘auto’ settings work in a later section but for the most part MSI’s defaults are very good. The only things we take issue with are MSI’s out of box settings which have the CPU Power Duty Control set to Thermal Balance instead of Current Balance, and the default voltage offset isn’t aggressive enough to prevent loads of VDroop.
The M-Flash subpage is very interesting as it allows you to update the BIOS from a Fat32/NTFS USB storage drive or save an existing BIOS to it. Where this approach differs is MSI’s inclusion of the ability to boot the motherboard directly from a BIOS image saved on a flash drive. This means even if the images on both onboard BIOS ICs get corrupted you can still boot up the system and restore without having to pull a chip and replace it. This is a brilliant bonus feature and one we wished all motherboards came with.
There is also an entire section dedicated solely to overclocking profile management. Aptly named ‘OC Profile’, it allows for up to six BIOS profiles which can be saved to a USB device whereupon the MAX can be booted from an external source.
The last option is Hardware Monitor and this is probably the most poorly titled of the six main navigation menu options. While this page can indeed monitor the various hardware attached to the motherboard – as well as voltages – this is only part of what it can do. With the help of the Nuvoton Super I/O controller chip, MSI has allowed an unmatched amount of control over the fans so everything from custom profiles to dynamic RPM curves can be set up.
The last top level menu option – ‘Board Explorer’ - is an interactive map of the MPower MAX and what is attached to it. By clicking on any of the highlighted areas you can easily pull up detailed information.
BIOS Rundown pg.2
The Intel Smart Connect subpage is a new addition to Z87 / Haswell systems. When enabled, this technology periodically wakes your system up from S3 state to update application data; for example, downloading your email or updating your social networking data.
The Power Management page on the other hand includes power related tasks like how the system handles an unexpected loss of power and if you want to optimized power usage in accordance with Europe’s latest 2013 ‘green’ regulations in accordance with Energy using Products 2013 standards. Enabling EuP 2013 means (amongst other things) that the motherboard meets 0.5 watt sleep state requirements though to use this feature your PSU must also meet EuP 2013 requirements and doing so will also disable RTC wakeup abilities.
The Windows 8 subpage contains a lot of great enhancements dealing with Windows 8. For example, MSI includes not one but two ‘fast boot’ options: Windows 8 Fast Boot and MSI’s version. The first includes the typical Windows 8 option list and while fast compared to normal start-up times, it is actually slower than MSI’s better-optimized option.
When MSI Fast Boot is enabled, USB, PS/2 and even SATA devices are not detected during the Power-On Self Test phase. This allows for two second or quicker start-up times, but makes entering the BIOS impossible using typical methods. The only way to enter the BIOS is either via the software or hardware Go2Bios options.
This subpage also includes enabling or disabling the other Window 8-centric features such as Secure Boot Control, secure boot mode and management of the ‘keys’ for secure boot.
The Wake Up Event Setup page deals with how and when the system will resume from S3/S4/S5 power states. The options include BIOS or OS event, RTC alarm, PCI-E device, USB device and PS/2 keyboard or mouse. All of these are triggers which can wake up the system.
The aptly ladled ‘OC’ or overclocking subpage is where most of the MAX’s intended customer base will spend their time. Simply put, these pages easily make up for the quirky UI. The list of features and settings for those options is insanely long and we doubt many will find a feature missing. The amount of detail here is nothing short of astonishing.
The page’s topmost section is where the most commonly accessed settings are located and as you scroll down the options become more esoteric and less likely to be changed all that often. As such, MSI starts things off with key adjustment to the CPU Ratio, Base Clock and Base Clock Strap. Further down are options like Turbo Boost, EIST and enhanced Turbo features. In this case, Enhanced Turbo is the same as other manufactures ‘core unlock’ option which means all CPU cores are allowed to run at maximum Turbo Boost frequencies. In our case this means that MSI’s ‘auto’ setting unlocked all four of our 4770K’s cores and allowed all four to automatically boost to 3.9Ghz simultaneously instead of allowing only one core at a time to hit 3.9GHz.
The only problem with this layout is that voltage settings are towards the bottom of the page. Scrolling down to them when dialing in an overclock can be annoying. This is a byproduct of the oddly segmented screen and if MSI had opted for a full screen interface we would not have had to continuously scroll down to located these modifiers.
Oddly, MSI doesn’t include any extensive auto overclocking options in the BIOS. All you can do on this front is enable OC Genie Gear 1 or Gear 2 and hope for the best.
For hardcore RAM overclocking enthusiasts this BIOS is sure to satisfy. Not only is there an entire subpage dedicated to RAM timings but you can even control fine-grain timing modes. For most people leaving timing mode in ‘Auto’ will be fine as the motherboard will use the stock SPD settings and for all but a few the Linked mode will also suffice as this allows simultaneously hard setting your custom RAM timings for all the available channels.
For those who want even more, MSI go one step further and include an unlinked mode option. This allows for timing adjustment at the per channel level and with some effort may be able boost the performance from your RAM and compensate for a slightly weaker DIMM.
For CPU clock speed freaks, MSI also includes a special subpage called ‘DigitALL Power’ which basically deals with how the board goes about optimizing power delivery. While most motherboards include basics such as Load-Line Calibration, MSI goes above and beyond this. Not only can you dial in how much of VDroop will be allowed but items like overcurrent protection, the CPU PWM’s switching frequency and even the DRAM power circuits’ switching frequency can be changed.
We will go over how well the ‘auto’ settings work in a later section but for the most part MSI’s defaults are very good. The only things we take issue with are MSI’s out of box settings which have the CPU Power Duty Control set to Thermal Balance instead of Current Balance, and the default voltage offset isn’t aggressive enough to prevent loads of VDroop.
The M-Flash subpage is very interesting as it allows you to update the BIOS from a Fat32/NTFS USB storage drive or save an existing BIOS to it. Where this approach differs is MSI’s inclusion of the ability to boot the motherboard directly from a BIOS image saved on a flash drive. This means even if the images on both onboard BIOS ICs get corrupted you can still boot up the system and restore without having to pull a chip and replace it. This is a brilliant bonus feature and one we wished all motherboards came with.
There is also an entire section dedicated solely to overclocking profile management. Aptly named ‘OC Profile’, it allows for up to six BIOS profiles which can be saved to a USB device whereupon the MAX can be booted from an external source.
The last option is Hardware Monitor and this is probably the most poorly titled of the six main navigation menu options. While this page can indeed monitor the various hardware attached to the motherboard – as well as voltages – this is only part of what it can do. With the help of the Nuvoton Super I/O controller chip, MSI has allowed an unmatched amount of control over the fans so everything from custom profiles to dynamic RPM curves can be set up.
The last top level menu option – ‘Board Explorer’ - is an interactive map of the MPower MAX and what is attached to it. By clicking on any of the highlighted areas you can easily pull up detailed information.
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