The BIOS:
The
ECS G33T-M2 (V1.0) Intel G33 mATX Motherboard uses the latest BIOS from American Megatrends, Inc (V2.61). In the BIOS you will find the standard features found on all motherboards (configuring hard drives, peripherals, power management, etc), so I will only discuss a few of the advanced features that computer enthusiasts might be interested in.
Under "Advanced Chipset Setup" there are just a few settings that can be configured to adjust the performance of the system memory. There are no other settings to fine tune the DRAM timings, so all individual timings are for the BIOS to decide.
» DRAM Frequency: Auto, 667MHz, 800MHz
» DRAM Timing by SPD: Enable, Disable
» DVMT Mode Select: 128MB, 256MB, Auto
» High Performance Event Timer: Enable, Disable
The "Frequency/Voltage Control" screen will assist if you are looking to do any overclocking. However, I would not expect to get much of an overclock out of this board, as the fine tuning options just aren't present.
» Auto Detect DIMM/PCI Clk: Enable, Disable
» Spread Spectrum: Enable, Disable
» Memory Voltage: 1.85V, 1.9V, 1.95V, 2.0V
» CPU Over-Clocking Func: Enable, Disable
» Enabling CPU Overclocking will give access to:
» CPU Ref. Frequency: 100% - 255% of CPU Frequency.
Direct access to the "CPU Frequency" is locked out, so users can only make changes to the frequency by adjusting the "CPU Ref. Frequency". While the CPU frequency will vary with different processors, the CPU used for this review, an Intel E6400 Core 2 Duo, had a CPU frequency of 266MHz with the CPU Ref. Frequency set to 100%. Adjusting the CPU Ref Frequency, I could adjust the CPU Frequency up to 680MHz (assuming the CPU could actually handle it).
Considering that the specifications indicate that a 1333MHz bus is achieved via "OC", it would seem that this would be the place to set it. You most likely won't see a 1333MHz processor boot at 100%, and you would have to overclock in order to get to what should be the default speed.
The "Frequency/Voltage Control" screen is also where the memory voltage can be adjusted in .05V increments from 1.85V to 2.0V. I would have liked to have been able to go above 2.0V, to perhaps 2.3V.
Attempting to perform any overclock on this motherboard may result in varying degree of success. I was able to adjust an Intel E6400 Core 2 Duo CPU from a base frequency of 266MHz (2.13GHz) to 333MHz (2.67GHz) while keeping the system stable. I could push it to 338MHz (2.7GHz) but the system was unstable, and at 346MHz (130%) the system would not boot.
