Best BIOS settings for pro audio workstation [A7N8X-E Deluxe]

[Linux Rockz]

Hi, I purchased this motherboard to use in my studio for sequencing/audio
editing. I have partitioned the main drive into two, both running XP. [I
switched ACPI 'Off' on install because I want to specify a low IRQ for
my pro audio card as I want this as a high priority device] I have one
partition for pro audio and the other for multimedia. The audio partition
is the most important and I'm running Cubase SX, Wavelab & many plugins, I
also connect a lot of MIDI hardware devices to the machine. I have a
seperate machine running Linux on the internet, I want to keep my audio
workstation clear of the internet due to the many security flaws in XP.

I have an Athlon 2800XP [333] 2x512Mb ram sticks and 1x256Mb stick, all
are DDR400. I also have an Nvidia 64Mb AGP Video card, seperate pro
audio card & MIDI interface, so I don't need any onboard sound enabled. My
Keyboard/Mouse is PS/2, I also have a Thermaltake fan speed controller.

The important BIOS settings are as follows;

Advanced BIOS Features:

CPU Level1 Cache [Enabled]
CPU Level2 Cache [Enabled]
Quick pwr on self test [Enabled]
Gate A20 option [Enabled]
APIC Mode [Enabled]
OS/2 Onboard Mem>64 [Disabled]
Speech POST Reporter [Enabled]
POST Complete Report [Enabled]

Advanced Chipset Features:

CPU External Freq. [166MHz]
CPU Freq. Multiple Setting [Auto]
System Performance [Optimal]
Memory Frequency [By SPD]
FSB Spread Spectrum [Disabled]
AGP Spread Spectrum [Disabled]
CPU Vcore Setting [Auto]
Graphics Aperture Size [64Mb]
AGP Freq. [Auto]
System BIOS Cacheable [Disabled]
Video RAM Cacheable [Disabled]
DDR Reference Voltage [2.6V]
AGP VDDQ Voltage [1.5V]
AGP 8X Support [Enabled]
AGP Fast Write Compatibility [Enabled]

Integrated Peripherals:

Primary VGA BIOS [AGP VGA Card]
USB Controllers [V1.1+V2.0]
USB Keyboard & Legacy Support [Enabled]
USB Legacy Mouse Support [Disabled]
Onboard AC97 Audio Controller [Disabled]
Onboard LAN(Nvidia) [Auto]
Onboard 1394 Device [Auto]
Floppy Disk Access Controller [Enabled]
Onboard Serial Port1 [Disabled]
Onboard Serial Port2 [Disabled]
Onboard Parallel Port [Disabled]
Onboard Game Port [Disabled]
Onboard MIDI I/O [Disabled]

Power Management Setup:

ACPI Suspend to RAM [Disabled]
Video Off Method [DPMS Support]
PWR Button <4 Secs [Soft Off]
Power Up On PCI Device [Disabled]
Power Up On Ext Modem [Disabled]
Automatic Power Up [Disabled]
AC Power Loss Restart [Disabled]
Power On By PS/2 Mouse [Disabled]
Power On By PS/2 Keyboard [Disabled]

PnP/PCI Configurations:

Resources Controlled By [Manual]
PCI/VGA Pallette Snoop [Disabled]

Hardware Monitor:

Q-Fan Control [Enabled]
Fan Speed Ratio [Full Speed]
Speed Up/Down Response Time [2 Sec/4 Sec]

If anyone can sees any setting that they would recommend changing for my
use, please post and give a reason for it, I'd rather understand why I
need to change something than do it blindly because someone suggested it,
if you can see my logic ;o)

Thanks in advance...

 

[Linux Rockz]

Hi, I purchased this motherboard to use in my studio for sequencing/audio
editing. I have partitioned the main drive into two, both running XP. [I
switched ACPI 'Off' on install because I want to specify a low IRQ for
my pro audio card as I want this as a high priority device] I have one
partition for pro audio and the other for multimedia. The audio partition
is the most important and I'm running Cubase SX, Wavelab & many plugins, I
also connect a lot of MIDI hardware devices to the machine. I have a
seperate machine running Linux on the internet, I want to keep my audio
workstation clear of the internet due to the many security flaws in XP.

I have an Athlon 2800XP [333] 2x512Mb ram sticks and 1x256Mb stick, all
are DDR400. I also have an Nvidia 64Mb AGP Video card, seperate pro
audio card & MIDI interface, so I don't need any onboard sound enabled. My
Keyboard/Mouse is PS/2, I also have a Thermaltake fan speed controller.

The important BIOS settings are as follows;

Advanced BIOS Features:

CPU Level1 Cache [Enabled]
CPU Level2 Cache [Enabled]
Quick pwr on self test [Enabled]
Gate A20 option [Enabled]
APIC Mode [Enabled]
OS/2 Onboard Mem>64 [Disabled]
Speech POST Reporter [Enabled]
POST Complete Report [Enabled]

Advanced Chipset Features:

CPU External Freq. [166MHz]
CPU Freq. Multiple Setting [Auto]
System Performance [Optimal]
Memory Frequency [By SPD]
FSB Spread Spectrum [Disabled]
AGP Spread Spectrum [Disabled]
CPU Vcore Setting [Auto]
Graphics Aperture Size [64Mb]
AGP Freq. [Auto]
System BIOS Cacheable [Disabled]
Video RAM Cacheable [Disabled]
DDR Reference Voltage [2.6V]
AGP VDDQ Voltage [1.5V]
AGP 8X Support [Enabled]
AGP Fast Write Compatibility [Enabled]

Integrated Peripherals:

Primary VGA BIOS [AGP VGA Card]
USB Controllers [V1.1+V2.0]
USB Keyboard & Legacy Support [Enabled]
USB Legacy Mouse Support [Disabled]
Onboard AC97 Audio Controller [Disabled]
Onboard LAN(Nvidia) [Auto]
Onboard 1394 Device [Auto]
Floppy Disk Access Controller [Enabled]
Onboard Serial Port1 [Disabled]
Onboard Serial Port2 [Disabled]
Onboard Parallel Port [Disabled]
Onboard Game Port [Disabled]
Onboard MIDI I/O [Disabled]

Power Management Setup:

ACPI Suspend to RAM [Disabled]
Video Off Method [DPMS Support]
PWR Button <4 Secs [Soft Off]
Power Up On PCI Device [Disabled]
Power Up On Ext Modem [Disabled]
Automatic Power Up [Disabled]
AC Power Loss Restart [Disabled]
Power On By PS/2 Mouse [Disabled]
Power On By PS/2 Keyboard [Disabled]

PnP/PCI Configurations:

Resources Controlled By [Manual]
PCI/VGA Pallette Snoop [Disabled]

Hardware Monitor:

Q-Fan Control [Enabled]
Fan Speed Ratio [Full Speed]
Speed Up/Down Response Time [2 Sec/4 Sec]

If anyone can sees any setting that they would recommend changing for my
use, please post and give a reason for it, I'd rather understand why I
need to change something than do it blindly because someone suggested it,
if you can see my logic ;o)

Thanks in advance...

Judging from the lack of response, I'm guessing that either my settings
are perfect or nobody knows the answer?

 

[Ed]

Judging from the lack of response, I'm guessing that either my settings
are perfect or nobody knows the answer?

It's been said... for best stability and performance run the ram and CPU
buses in sync, so you may want to try setting Memory Freq to 100%
instead of AUTO.

If you want to squeak a little more bandwidth out of it change Optimal
to Aggressive, also setting the memory timing "RAS to CAS" to 11 boosts
bandwidth on the NF2 chipset.

I prefer setting the ram timings manually and don't trust SPD as it 's
not always right. If you know the timings of your ram run CPU-Z or
Nvidia's utility to see if SPD is actually setting up your ram
correctly.

Ed

 

[Linux Rockz]

If you know the timings of your ram run CPU-Z or

Nvidia's utility to see if SPD is actually setting up your ram
correctly.

Ed

What programs can I run to determine the timings? or do I type "CPU-Z" at
the command prompt?