Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
Advanced Chipset Configuration Menu
Chipset configuration allows access to settings that control the core of the system. Because of the
wide variations in different chipset, motherboard, and BIOS designs, the options you see here may
vary greatly from board to board.
Many motherboards include features designed to overclock the system, which enables you to set the
system to run the CPU bus (and therefore the CPU itself) and possibly other buses at higher-than-
normal rated speeds. These settings are especially useful for stress-testing a system after initial
assembly, which is often called a
burn-in test
.
You can use these settings to speed up the processor and interconnected buses such as PCI and AGP.
For specifically testing AGP video or PCI adapter cards, some motherboards allow the AGP/PCI bus
speed to be set independently of the CPU bus. If you intend to use these settings to speed up a system,
be aware that—depending on the specific hardware and software you have—running faster than the
default clock speed can reduce system stability and shorten the useful life of the processor, and it
might not be covered under warranty. You also might need to invest in better system cooling to offset
the extra heat generated by overclocking your system. In general, if you don't know what a particular
setting is designed for, it is best to leave it at the default or automatic setting. If problems occur, start
by returning all frequency and timing settings to their default values.
Table 5.11
lists settings used by a typical motherboard's Advanced Chipset Configuration menu.
Table 5.11. Advanced Chipset Configuration Menu
