ASUS Republic Of Gamers Maximus Formula II Review :: BIOS and Overclocking

ASUS uses a modified version of the American Megatrends BIOS AMIBIOS on their Maximus II Formula board. The main menu of these BIOS is split into Extreme Tweaker, Main, Advanced, Power, Boot, Tools and Exit submenus. The Main menu gives the system information including date time, and language. The Storage configuration is where you would set the SATA as IDE or RAID. System information contains the CPU information and memory size.

The Advanced submenu has the AI NET 2, Chipset, Onboard Devices Configuration, USB Configuration, PCIPnP, LCD Poster and LED Control, and Other configuration. The Chipset menu is where the Memory Remap feature and the first Graphics Adapter is set. Onboard Devices is where the High Definition Audio, Gigabit LAN, VIA Firewire, IDE/external SATA and Speeding HDD is set. The iROG submenu is where the BIOS can be set to use the backup BIOS if it crashes.

The Extreme Tweaker menu is where all of the overclocking is done on the BIOS. AI Overclock Tuner can be set from Manual, Auto or CPU Level Up. Manual allows the user to change all of the settings to your pleasure. CPU LevelUp allows the user to overclock to a specified CPU parameter. In the case of the E6750 the choices were X6800, E6850 and Crazy. Other CPUs will change it to different speeds. The Ratio CMOS Setting can change the CPU Multiplier on unlocked CPUs.

FSB Strap to North Bridge changes the memory timings and ratios according to the FSB Frequency and DRAM Frequency. Auto sets it to 1:1. The other options are 200MHZ, 266MHz, 333MHz, and 400MHz clock speeds. DRAM Frequency sets the memory speed from 667MHz to 1335MHz in various increments according to the memory ratio. There are also various Skews to each DRAM Channel on the motherboard advancing or delaying by 50ps-350ps.

Memory timing controls need to be set to Manual to change the timings. Here’s a chart of the various settings of the BIOS

ASUS Maximus II Formula	Range
VID
CPU Voltage	Auto, 0.85000v-2.50000V in 0.00625v increments
SB Voltage	1.5V Auto, 1.50000V-2.05625v in 0.01325v increments
SB Voltage	1.1v Auto, 1.10000V-2.00100V in 0.01325v increments
DRAM Voltage	Auto, 1.80000V-3.40325V in 0.01325V increments
NB Voltage	Auto, 1.10000V-2.05400V in 0.01325V increments
FSB Termination Voltage	Auto, 1.10000V-2.00100V in 0.01325V increments
PCIE Frequency	100-180MHz
CPU overclocking	Auto, Manual, X6850, E6850 Crazy on E6750
CPU PLL Voltage	Auto, 1.50000V-3.0105V in 0.01325V increments
Memory Clock Value	200, 266,333, 400, 533MHz
CPU Ratio	6x-8x on E6750 locked
CAS Latency	3-11 DRAM Clocks
DRAM RAS to CAS# Delay	3-18 DRAM Clocks
DRAM RAS# Precharge	3-18 DRAM Clocks
DRAM RAS# Activate	to Precharge 3-18 DRAM Clocks
RAS# to RAS# Delay	Auto, 1-15 DRAM Clocks
Row Refresh Cycle Time	Auto, 20-132 DRAM Clocks
Write Recovery Time	Auto 1-15 DRAM Clocks
Read to Precharge Time	Auto, 1-15 DRAM Clocks
READ to WRITE Delay S/D	Auto, 1-15 DRAM Clocks
WRITE to READ Delay (S)	Auto, 1-15 DRAM Clocks
WRITE to READ Delay (D)	Auto, 1-15 DRAM Clocks
READ to READ Delay (S)	Auto, 1-15 DRAM Clocks
READ to READ Delay (D)	Auto, 1-15 DRAM Clocks
WRITE to WRITE Delay (S)	Auto, 1-15 DRAM Clocks
WRITE to WRITE Delay (D)	Auto, 1-15 DRAM Clocks
WRITE to Pre Delay	Auto, 1-15 DRAM Clocks
READ to Pre Delay	Auto, 1-15 DRAM Clocks
Pre to Pre Delay	Auto, 1-3 DRAM Clocks
ALL PRE to ACT Delay	Auto, 1-15 DRAM Clocks
ALL PRE to REF Delay	Auto, 1-15 DRAM Clocks

BIOS Shots