TZ77XE3 UEFI
If low-cost overclocking is Biostar’s niche, then a solid UEFI has be its first priority. Biostar's O.N.E. menu has changed only slightly in the transition from BIOS to UEFI, retaining all of the straightforward functionality that overclockers love without the glamor and confusion introduced by some competitors.
CPU multiplier and base clock controls are found up top, followed by a few pertinent power settings. We were able to reach almost 4.7 GHz using 46 x 101.80 MHz, and the only thing that could have made those settings easier would have been a decimal point on the base clock menu.
Scrolling past a few more power settings, we were able to reach a DRAM data rate of nearly 2.7 GT/s with two modules installed. XMP works, but setting it blocks access to manual multiplier and timing adjustment. Switching back to manual frequencies also forces tuners to set all timings manually. The baseline are derived from SPD values rather than XMP timings, and automatic configuration doesn’t exist for individual settings.
Biostar's O.N.E. menu continues to display SPD timings rather than current timings, even after setting XMP. Users who want to use XMP values as a baseline for manual overclocking must instead rely on its Biostar Memory Insight submenu to see most of those timings. Unfortunately, the Biostar Memory Insight menu doesn’t show things like tREFI, and UEFI’s reversion to too-tight SPD values forced us to look at screen shots from competing products to see what the missing settings were actually supposed to be. Users who would like to manually configure their RAM but don’t have another motherboard to show them appropriate settings for unfamiliar timings might be stuck.
The TZ77XE4 supports CPU Vcore at both fixed levels and more energy-conscious offset modes. We achieved our 1.25 V full-load target using 1.230 V core with 0% Load Line. Wait, what?
Rather than list load-line as a positive compensation value, Biostar lists it as a negative stock value. So, 100% Load Line means 100% of Intel’s intended droop, and Disabled means 0% droop.
Scrolling a little further down the O.N.E. menu, we find DRAM voltage and the link to the previously-viewed Biostar Memory Insight submenu. Note that 1.620 V gets us to at least 1.644 V. The board responded to our memory’s 1.65 V XMP value by setting nearly 1.69 V!
Five custom UEFI configurations can be saved as user profiles at the bottom of the TZ77XE3’s Exit menu.
