- Joined
- Jan 12, 2001
- Location
- Kansas, USA
Everything you wanted to know about the Abit AA8XE (i925XE chipset)
**but were afraid to ask (includes info about other Abit i915/i925 mobos too).
EDIT: Product links were moved to the end of the guide. Other general info links are being added.
NOTE: If you don't see the BIOS screenshot images, just right mouse click and select "show picture".
Introduction
The AA8XE motherboard uses the latest Intel 925XE chipset and officially supports 533, 800, and 1066 bus processors. The AA8XE has the newer LGA775 socket. The AA8XE has a PCI-Express slot (no AGP slot), so you must use a PCI-E video card. The AA8XE uses only DDR2 RAM. The AA8XE also has a 24-pin power supply connector on the motherboard (although a standard 20-pin ATX power connector will work if you don't have the newer PSU). See the link below for all the features and complete specifications. The AA8XE is a good overclocker with a PCI-E lock that works better than the earlier i915/i925 motherboards produced by Abit. The power circuitry is far more robust than previous socket 478 motherboards, so it can handle the Prescott processors with ease. I really like my AA8XE.
The AA8 DuraMax (i925X chipset) is very similar, except does not include official support for 1066 processors.
The AG8 (i915P chipset) is similar to the AA8, although it uses regular DDR RAM instead of the newer DDR2 RAM.
There is an AG8-V version (i915P chipset), but I'm not entirely sure of all the differences other than it lacks RAID.
The IG-80 and IG-81 are the micro-ATX versions of the 915P chipset. The IG-80 has firewire, but the IG-81 don't.
The only real difference in "Third Eye" models of the AG8/AA8/AA8XE is the optional external "clock" gimmick.
The "Fatal1ty" model is the fancy gamer's version of the AA8XE with "OTES" cooling, dual LAN, and LED lights.
BIOS settings for overclocking.
First thing you should consider doing before any serious overclocking attempts is to update the BIOS. Download the FlashMenu program from Abit, it's quite easy to use. But, before flashing your BIOS, make sure you are running 100% stable at default speed/settings. If something goes wrong with the flash, or if there is a disaster like a power surge due to lightning, then you are totally screwed. Be very careful when flashing a BIOS.
I will be describing BIOS settings specifically for the AA8XE, but most of the other Abit i915/i925 motherboard have similar BIOS menus and settings. Also, when Abit makes BIOS upgrades, sometimes they make minor changes to the menus or setting options. There are several differences in these new i915/i925 BIOS menus compared to the older i865/i875 BIOS menus. I'll try to point out some of differences, but I'll be primarily concentrating on the main overclocking settings.
I will assume you already have Windows and all the drivers installed on your rig. Now, if you start/reboot the system, the very first thing you'll see is the POST screen (or logo splash screen if you have not disabled it yet). Push the "delete" key at this time to enter the BIOS (sometimes called the setup menu). If you miss the BIOS, just press "ctrl+alt+del" (the 3 finger salute) or push the reset button and try again. The first thing you'll see is a blue BIOS main menu (see screenshot).
For the purposes of overclocking, you will spend most of your time in the "uGuru Utility" sub-menu. This is where the actual overclocking takes place. It is also where you can select memory ratios, set PCI-E/PCI frequencies, and adjust voltages. Use the arrow keys to select (highlight in red) the sub-menu you want and then push the "enter" key. By default, the "uGuru Utility" sub-menu will be selected (highlighted) when you first enter the BIOS. The next screenshot is the "uGuru Utility" sub-menu.
There are two sub-menus in the "uGuru Utility" menu. What you will see at first is the "OC Guru" sub-menu. If you use the "right arrow" key, you can highlight and enter the "Abit EQ" sub-menu (upper left part of the screen). However, I will explain the "OC Guru" sub-menu first. To select settings in the BIOS you can use the up/down arrow keys to highlight the desired option and then use the "page up" or "page down" keys to change the setting. Alternatively, you can highlight the setting and press the "enter" key for a full list of the options. After you made all the changes you want, then use the "esc" key to return to the main menu. Select the "Save and Exit Setup" and type "Y" when it asks if you are sure. This will save your BIOS settings and reboot the system. If you O/C too far you might hear a buzz or get an error message or just lock up or just keeps rebooting. Just hold the power button down 5 seconds to shut off the system and then power back up. Now it will be using the last stable settings and you can enter the BIOS again.
CPU Operating Speed: By default you will see the CPU clock speed of your installed processor with the default FSB in parenthesis. The very first thing you need to do in order to overclock is to select the "User Define" setting which unlocks the overclocking options immediately below.
--External Clock: This is how you adjust the FSB (front side bus) or CPU frequency. Default speed with 200 bus processors is 204 MHz. At some point one of the motherboard manufacturers did this to get a benchmarking advantage during product reviews, so now Abit does it too. To overclock your computer, just increase the External Clock (FSB) settings. Use caution though, only increase the FSB a little at a time, then go check temps and test for stability. But, before you raise the FSB and start overclocking, read the rest of this guide, because there are more settings that need adjusted.
--Multiplier Factor: With a few exceptions, the multiplier is locked on most Intel processors. If you have an engineering sample (ES), then a range of multipliers are unlocked. With some processors, you are allowed to select either the default multiplier or the 14X multiplier. For example: with my 3.8 CPU, I can use either the 19X or 14X multipliers. If your CPU is completely locked, then forget about trying to adjust the "Multiplier Factor" setting.
--N/B Strap CPU As: Default will be the "By CPU" option. The other options are "PSB533", "PSB800", and "PSB1066". On motherboards that don't support 1066 bus CPUs, you might not have the "PSB1066" option available. I have an 800 bus processor, so I just choose the "PSB800" setting. These options change what settings are available in the "DRAM Frequency" or CPU/memory ratio found in the next line down.
--DRAM Frequency: What is available here will be determined by what you selected as the "N/B Strap CPU As" right above it. The available options for "PSB800" are "auto", "DDR400(1:1)", "DDR533(3:4)", and "DDR600(2:3). Which setting you select depends on what RAM you have and how high your FSB is set. For example, let's say you have PC2-4200 RAM which is rated DDR2-533 or 266 memory frequency. So, if your FSB is just a default 200 MHz, then select "DDR533(3:4)" which runs your RAM at 266 MHz or DDR2-533. Obviously. if you have an AG8 that uses regular DDR RAM, these settings will be slightly different. If this is confusing you and don't know what to select, you can always start out with "auto" (default) or maybe just pick the 1:1 ratio at first until you get more experience.
--PCI Express Clock: This setting allows you to select the PCI-E bus frequency (like the old AGP bus). The options are "auto" or a bunch of increments from 100 to something like 255 MHz. The PCI-E bus is in spec at 100 MHz. On the AA8XE series, the PCI-E lock works well, so definitely select "100". With the older AA8 series or AG8 mobos, you might want to leave it set to "auto". On my old AG8, I got my best O/C results using the "auto" setting.
--PCI Clock: This selects the PCI bus speed. Just leave it at the default "33" setting.
Voltage Controls: Selecting the "User Define" setting unlocks all the voltage options. The default "Auto Detect" will leave the following three voltage settings grayed out.
--CPU Core Voltage: The lowest setting will be your default voltage and you have several voltage options up to about 1.75v. Well, forget about a voltage that high or your CPU will be toast in no time. If you have good cooling, then up to about 1.5v is probably fairly safe, but of course, the lower the better. Don't increase vcore unless you really have to in order to stabilize the system. Raising vcore will raise CPU temps, so watch those CPU load temps like a hawk.
--DDR SDRAM Voltage: This is your RAM voltage or sometimes also known as vdimm. With DDR2 RAM, default is usually 1.80v and available options are up to 2.25v. I personally would not go too much above 2.1v in most circumstances, but 2.0v seems fairly safe from my personal experience if you have good quality RAM. Regular DDR RAM uses more voltage, so on the AG8 the RAM voltage options are something like 2.5v to 3.2v.
--NB Voltage: This controls juice to the Northbridge chip. Default is 1.5v and has options up to 2.05v. Don't raise this unless you are pushing FSB to the limits of your mobo. Like vcore, the lower the better, but I have used up to 1.8v during extreme overclocking. I have been too nervous to go higher. Use caution when raising the NB voltage and watch your system temps.
Let's move on to the "Abit EQ" sub-menu where you will find beep control, temperature monitoring, voltage monitoring, fan speed monitoring, and fan EQ settings (see screenshot above). I'm not going to spend much time explaining this menu. I would leave the beep control (alarms) "enabled". If you go into the temperature monitoring, voltage monitoring, fan speed monitoring sub-menus you can select or deselect what options to monitor by clicking on the spacebar. You can adjust the temp, volts, or RPM monitoring too, within a certain limit. I like to set my CPU temp beep to 65 degrees and my shutdown to 75 degrees. I also "disable" all the fan EQ settings, so that my fans will run at full speed. Spend a little time exploring all these settings and options. It's nice that Abit provides this level of monitoring and control.
Ok, now hit the "esc" key and get back to the "main menu". I'm going to assume you know your way around the basic parts of a BIOS. If not, then you'll have to pull out your instruction manual to learn about the menus that I don't cover. The next menu that you'll spend time in when overclocking is the "Advanced Chipset Features" sub-menu (see screenshot).
DRAM Timing Selectable: The three options are "auto", "SPD", or "manual". If you don't have much experience tweaking RAM timings, then either leave it on the default "auto" or select "SPD". For the RAM timing pros, choose the "manual" option which unlocks all the RAM timing settings immediately below. I'm not going into detail for each of the individual RAM timings. I will say this though, for those used to regular DDR RAM, the DDR2 timings will seem more relaxed than what you are accustomed. For example, CAS timings were 2.0, 2.5, and 3.0 with regular DDR, but CAS timings are 3, 4, and 5 with DDR2. Super tight timings with regular DDR was 2-2-2-5, but with DDR2 RAM, super tight timings are 3-2-2-8. Good quality DDR2 RAM might be rated at 3-3-3-8 or 4-4-4-10. It's not uncommon to see generic DDR2 RAM rated at 5-5-5-12.
Game Accelerator: The two options available are "enable" and "disable". What is it and what does it do? I don't know. I've tried it both ways and it don't seem to make much difference as far as overclocking goes. I haven't tried any extensive benchmarking yet either.
Official product links.
Go to the desired product link (listed below) and on the upper left side of each webpage you'll see a link for additional specifications. On the right side are links to download BIOS updates, drivers, utilities, and user manuals.
AA8XE
http://www.abit-usa.com/products/mb/products.php?categories=1&model=236
AA8XE-3rd Eye
http://www.abit-usa.com/products/mb/products.php?categories=1&model=241
Fatal1ty AA8XE
http://www.abit-usa.com/products/mb/products.php?categories=1&model=239
AA8-DuraMAX
http://www.abit-usa.com/products/mb/products.php?categories=1&model=199
AA8-3rd Eye
http://www.abit-usa.com/products/mb/products.php?categories=1&model=202
AG8
http://www.abit-usa.com/products/mb/products.php?categories=1&model=200
AG8-V
http://www.abit-usa.com/products/mb/products.php?categories=1&model=208
AG8-3rd Eye
http://www.abit-usa.com/products/mb/products.php?categories=1&model=203
IG-80
http://www.abit-usa.com/products/mb/products.php?categories=1&model=218
IG-81
http://www.abit-usa.com/products/mb/products.php?categories=1&model=228
General info and modding links
Download the easy to use Abit FlashMenu program for BIOS updates.
http://www.abit-usa.com/downloads/bios/flashmenu.php
What in the blazes is that "Third Eye" thing?
http://www.abit-usa.com/technology/3rd-eye.php
How to install a Thermalright XP-120 heatsink onto an Abit i915/i925 board.
http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=344251
Conclusion
Ok, that wraps up this little beginner's guide to overclocking the Abit AA8XE (and similar mobos). Hope you find it useful. I'll add to this post or edit it as needed. Feel free to PM me with suggestions, comments, or complaints.
**but were afraid to ask (includes info about other Abit i915/i925 mobos too).
EDIT: Product links were moved to the end of the guide. Other general info links are being added.
NOTE: If you don't see the BIOS screenshot images, just right mouse click and select "show picture".
Introduction
The AA8XE motherboard uses the latest Intel 925XE chipset and officially supports 533, 800, and 1066 bus processors. The AA8XE has the newer LGA775 socket. The AA8XE has a PCI-Express slot (no AGP slot), so you must use a PCI-E video card. The AA8XE uses only DDR2 RAM. The AA8XE also has a 24-pin power supply connector on the motherboard (although a standard 20-pin ATX power connector will work if you don't have the newer PSU). See the link below for all the features and complete specifications. The AA8XE is a good overclocker with a PCI-E lock that works better than the earlier i915/i925 motherboards produced by Abit. The power circuitry is far more robust than previous socket 478 motherboards, so it can handle the Prescott processors with ease. I really like my AA8XE.
The AA8 DuraMax (i925X chipset) is very similar, except does not include official support for 1066 processors.
The AG8 (i915P chipset) is similar to the AA8, although it uses regular DDR RAM instead of the newer DDR2 RAM.
There is an AG8-V version (i915P chipset), but I'm not entirely sure of all the differences other than it lacks RAID.
The IG-80 and IG-81 are the micro-ATX versions of the 915P chipset. The IG-80 has firewire, but the IG-81 don't.
The only real difference in "Third Eye" models of the AG8/AA8/AA8XE is the optional external "clock" gimmick.
The "Fatal1ty" model is the fancy gamer's version of the AA8XE with "OTES" cooling, dual LAN, and LED lights.
BIOS settings for overclocking.
First thing you should consider doing before any serious overclocking attempts is to update the BIOS. Download the FlashMenu program from Abit, it's quite easy to use. But, before flashing your BIOS, make sure you are running 100% stable at default speed/settings. If something goes wrong with the flash, or if there is a disaster like a power surge due to lightning, then you are totally screwed. Be very careful when flashing a BIOS.
I will be describing BIOS settings specifically for the AA8XE, but most of the other Abit i915/i925 motherboard have similar BIOS menus and settings. Also, when Abit makes BIOS upgrades, sometimes they make minor changes to the menus or setting options. There are several differences in these new i915/i925 BIOS menus compared to the older i865/i875 BIOS menus. I'll try to point out some of differences, but I'll be primarily concentrating on the main overclocking settings.
I will assume you already have Windows and all the drivers installed on your rig. Now, if you start/reboot the system, the very first thing you'll see is the POST screen (or logo splash screen if you have not disabled it yet). Push the "delete" key at this time to enter the BIOS (sometimes called the setup menu). If you miss the BIOS, just press "ctrl+alt+del" (the 3 finger salute) or push the reset button and try again. The first thing you'll see is a blue BIOS main menu (see screenshot).
For the purposes of overclocking, you will spend most of your time in the "uGuru Utility" sub-menu. This is where the actual overclocking takes place. It is also where you can select memory ratios, set PCI-E/PCI frequencies, and adjust voltages. Use the arrow keys to select (highlight in red) the sub-menu you want and then push the "enter" key. By default, the "uGuru Utility" sub-menu will be selected (highlighted) when you first enter the BIOS. The next screenshot is the "uGuru Utility" sub-menu.
There are two sub-menus in the "uGuru Utility" menu. What you will see at first is the "OC Guru" sub-menu. If you use the "right arrow" key, you can highlight and enter the "Abit EQ" sub-menu (upper left part of the screen). However, I will explain the "OC Guru" sub-menu first. To select settings in the BIOS you can use the up/down arrow keys to highlight the desired option and then use the "page up" or "page down" keys to change the setting. Alternatively, you can highlight the setting and press the "enter" key for a full list of the options. After you made all the changes you want, then use the "esc" key to return to the main menu. Select the "Save and Exit Setup" and type "Y" when it asks if you are sure. This will save your BIOS settings and reboot the system. If you O/C too far you might hear a buzz or get an error message or just lock up or just keeps rebooting. Just hold the power button down 5 seconds to shut off the system and then power back up. Now it will be using the last stable settings and you can enter the BIOS again.
CPU Operating Speed: By default you will see the CPU clock speed of your installed processor with the default FSB in parenthesis. The very first thing you need to do in order to overclock is to select the "User Define" setting which unlocks the overclocking options immediately below.
--External Clock: This is how you adjust the FSB (front side bus) or CPU frequency. Default speed with 200 bus processors is 204 MHz. At some point one of the motherboard manufacturers did this to get a benchmarking advantage during product reviews, so now Abit does it too. To overclock your computer, just increase the External Clock (FSB) settings. Use caution though, only increase the FSB a little at a time, then go check temps and test for stability. But, before you raise the FSB and start overclocking, read the rest of this guide, because there are more settings that need adjusted.
--Multiplier Factor: With a few exceptions, the multiplier is locked on most Intel processors. If you have an engineering sample (ES), then a range of multipliers are unlocked. With some processors, you are allowed to select either the default multiplier or the 14X multiplier. For example: with my 3.8 CPU, I can use either the 19X or 14X multipliers. If your CPU is completely locked, then forget about trying to adjust the "Multiplier Factor" setting.
--N/B Strap CPU As: Default will be the "By CPU" option. The other options are "PSB533", "PSB800", and "PSB1066". On motherboards that don't support 1066 bus CPUs, you might not have the "PSB1066" option available. I have an 800 bus processor, so I just choose the "PSB800" setting. These options change what settings are available in the "DRAM Frequency" or CPU/memory ratio found in the next line down.
--DRAM Frequency: What is available here will be determined by what you selected as the "N/B Strap CPU As" right above it. The available options for "PSB800" are "auto", "DDR400(1:1)", "DDR533(3:4)", and "DDR600(2:3). Which setting you select depends on what RAM you have and how high your FSB is set. For example, let's say you have PC2-4200 RAM which is rated DDR2-533 or 266 memory frequency. So, if your FSB is just a default 200 MHz, then select "DDR533(3:4)" which runs your RAM at 266 MHz or DDR2-533. Obviously. if you have an AG8 that uses regular DDR RAM, these settings will be slightly different. If this is confusing you and don't know what to select, you can always start out with "auto" (default) or maybe just pick the 1:1 ratio at first until you get more experience.
--PCI Express Clock: This setting allows you to select the PCI-E bus frequency (like the old AGP bus). The options are "auto" or a bunch of increments from 100 to something like 255 MHz. The PCI-E bus is in spec at 100 MHz. On the AA8XE series, the PCI-E lock works well, so definitely select "100". With the older AA8 series or AG8 mobos, you might want to leave it set to "auto". On my old AG8, I got my best O/C results using the "auto" setting.
--PCI Clock: This selects the PCI bus speed. Just leave it at the default "33" setting.
Voltage Controls: Selecting the "User Define" setting unlocks all the voltage options. The default "Auto Detect" will leave the following three voltage settings grayed out.
--CPU Core Voltage: The lowest setting will be your default voltage and you have several voltage options up to about 1.75v. Well, forget about a voltage that high or your CPU will be toast in no time. If you have good cooling, then up to about 1.5v is probably fairly safe, but of course, the lower the better. Don't increase vcore unless you really have to in order to stabilize the system. Raising vcore will raise CPU temps, so watch those CPU load temps like a hawk.
--DDR SDRAM Voltage: This is your RAM voltage or sometimes also known as vdimm. With DDR2 RAM, default is usually 1.80v and available options are up to 2.25v. I personally would not go too much above 2.1v in most circumstances, but 2.0v seems fairly safe from my personal experience if you have good quality RAM. Regular DDR RAM uses more voltage, so on the AG8 the RAM voltage options are something like 2.5v to 3.2v.
--NB Voltage: This controls juice to the Northbridge chip. Default is 1.5v and has options up to 2.05v. Don't raise this unless you are pushing FSB to the limits of your mobo. Like vcore, the lower the better, but I have used up to 1.8v during extreme overclocking. I have been too nervous to go higher. Use caution when raising the NB voltage and watch your system temps.
Let's move on to the "Abit EQ" sub-menu where you will find beep control, temperature monitoring, voltage monitoring, fan speed monitoring, and fan EQ settings (see screenshot above). I'm not going to spend much time explaining this menu. I would leave the beep control (alarms) "enabled". If you go into the temperature monitoring, voltage monitoring, fan speed monitoring sub-menus you can select or deselect what options to monitor by clicking on the spacebar. You can adjust the temp, volts, or RPM monitoring too, within a certain limit. I like to set my CPU temp beep to 65 degrees and my shutdown to 75 degrees. I also "disable" all the fan EQ settings, so that my fans will run at full speed. Spend a little time exploring all these settings and options. It's nice that Abit provides this level of monitoring and control.
Ok, now hit the "esc" key and get back to the "main menu". I'm going to assume you know your way around the basic parts of a BIOS. If not, then you'll have to pull out your instruction manual to learn about the menus that I don't cover. The next menu that you'll spend time in when overclocking is the "Advanced Chipset Features" sub-menu (see screenshot).
DRAM Timing Selectable: The three options are "auto", "SPD", or "manual". If you don't have much experience tweaking RAM timings, then either leave it on the default "auto" or select "SPD". For the RAM timing pros, choose the "manual" option which unlocks all the RAM timing settings immediately below. I'm not going into detail for each of the individual RAM timings. I will say this though, for those used to regular DDR RAM, the DDR2 timings will seem more relaxed than what you are accustomed. For example, CAS timings were 2.0, 2.5, and 3.0 with regular DDR, but CAS timings are 3, 4, and 5 with DDR2. Super tight timings with regular DDR was 2-2-2-5, but with DDR2 RAM, super tight timings are 3-2-2-8. Good quality DDR2 RAM might be rated at 3-3-3-8 or 4-4-4-10. It's not uncommon to see generic DDR2 RAM rated at 5-5-5-12.
Game Accelerator: The two options available are "enable" and "disable". What is it and what does it do? I don't know. I've tried it both ways and it don't seem to make much difference as far as overclocking goes. I haven't tried any extensive benchmarking yet either.
Official product links.
Go to the desired product link (listed below) and on the upper left side of each webpage you'll see a link for additional specifications. On the right side are links to download BIOS updates, drivers, utilities, and user manuals.
AA8XE
http://www.abit-usa.com/products/mb/products.php?categories=1&model=236
AA8XE-3rd Eye
http://www.abit-usa.com/products/mb/products.php?categories=1&model=241
Fatal1ty AA8XE
http://www.abit-usa.com/products/mb/products.php?categories=1&model=239
AA8-DuraMAX
http://www.abit-usa.com/products/mb/products.php?categories=1&model=199
AA8-3rd Eye
http://www.abit-usa.com/products/mb/products.php?categories=1&model=202
AG8
http://www.abit-usa.com/products/mb/products.php?categories=1&model=200
AG8-V
http://www.abit-usa.com/products/mb/products.php?categories=1&model=208
AG8-3rd Eye
http://www.abit-usa.com/products/mb/products.php?categories=1&model=203
IG-80
http://www.abit-usa.com/products/mb/products.php?categories=1&model=218
IG-81
http://www.abit-usa.com/products/mb/products.php?categories=1&model=228
General info and modding links
Download the easy to use Abit FlashMenu program for BIOS updates.
http://www.abit-usa.com/downloads/bios/flashmenu.php
What in the blazes is that "Third Eye" thing?
http://www.abit-usa.com/technology/3rd-eye.php
How to install a Thermalright XP-120 heatsink onto an Abit i915/i925 board.
http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=344251
Conclusion
Ok, that wraps up this little beginner's guide to overclocking the Abit AA8XE (and similar mobos). Hope you find it useful. I'll add to this post or edit it as needed. Feel free to PM me with suggestions, comments, or complaints.
Last edited:
