ABIT KV8-MAX3 (VIA K8T800) Motherboard

ABIT KV8-MAX3 BIOS:

The KV8-MAX comes with a very strong BIOS that allows users to tweak almost every aspect of their hardware from voltages to memory timings. Individual voltages such as CPU, AGP, and DDR can all be adjusted in the Soft Menu setup as well as the FSB settings. The board also does not allow for the adjustment of the multipliers or AGP/PCI ratios. Though the AGP/PCI dividers are not available in the BIOS, they are indeed there and adjust automatically as FSB is changed.

In the DRAM Configuration menu, memory timings can be modified to enhance system performance or set to default in which the memory tells the system what timings it is designed to work properly. Another feature present in this menu is the ability the modify the DRAM clock by using various ratios that can run the memory at a different speed from the system bus.

Most boards do not come with such a detailed PC Health Status menu as we see in the ABIT BIOS. AS you can see, the menu is subdivided into four sections. The first section displays temperatures and has temperatures that can be set to shut down a system if the CPU temperature gets to the set point and another setting to set an alarm that will sound if the temperature reaches the set value. The second menu under the PC Health Status shows all of the system's voltages such as CPU and memory but of course all of this information is available in Windows thanks to ABIT's software.

The last two menus show fan speeds and allow for extreme control over the fans for the CPU, North Bridge, and the OTES. This option is helpful because it can make a system run cooler for overclocking or slow down the fans speeds if they are not needed.