BIOS
ECS uses an AMI-derived BIOS for the PF5 Extreme. There's a couple of overclocking-specific features on this model; IOC and ECSonic II. IOC (Instant Overclocking Control) is a regular feature on a wide range of motherboards these days. It's basically behind-the-scenes dynamic overclocking of the subsystem (CPU, FSB, RAM) in an OS environment when the PC is placed under load. For the case of our test Pentuim 4 660, IOC results in an overclocked speed of around 3760MHz, or around 5%. IOC was switched off whilst benchmarking. ECSonic II, on the other hand, allows the user to set the desired speeds.
DRAM frequency with a CPU running at 200MHz FSB can be set to DDR2-400, 533, and 667, supposedly. We say supposedly because a couple of problems were apparent when testing the shipping BIOS for the PF5. Firstly, we couldn't run a tried-and-tested pair of Corsair XMS2 5400UL modules at their 3-2-2-8 native timings, even with 2.2v. The board would simply apply 4-4-4-12 timings, which is close to the modules' SPD. You'll also note that CAS latency cannot be manually altered. Secondly, the DRAM speed was incorrectly set in Windows. 533MHz, shown above, actually ran at 500MHz (2.5x system FSB, and not the expected 2.66x). We hope these niggles are ironed out with a new BIOS release.
Voltage adjustment is reasonable. The CPU's ranges from 1.3v-1.6v in 0.025v increments, DDR2's from 1.8v-2.25v, and the chipset's 0.15v above default. Voltage lines were strong and steady on each line.
Although not shown above, you can change FSB speeds from 100MHz-500MHz in 1MHz increments. Take a look back at the PCB picture on the previous page. Note how ECS proudly proclaims a 1.2GHz FSB (300MHz in old money). It seems to infer a guaranteed running speed of 34MHz above the board's 266MHz default limit. Overclocking, then, should be fun.
Smartfans, a.k.a temperature-controlled fans, are all the rage now. ECS isn't left out in the cold in the PF5 Extreme's hardware section. All-in-all, a pretty basic BIOS that only appeals to the conservative overclocker/tweaker.
