SoftMenu III

BIOS Interface

We've been fans of Abit's SoftMenu interface for many years. When we saw Abit's latest iteration - SoftMenu III - make its debut on the BE6-II and BF6 we loved the new features added to the interface.

BIOS Main Menu

Adjusting CPU settings

SoftMenu III continues to be extremely easy to navigate with the same basic menu system previously used on the BE6-II.

For adjusting the front side bus speed however, a new system has been implemented.

With previous motherboards, adjusting the front side bus was accomplished with one BIOS setting: simply adjusting the front side bus. With the KA7, two settings can be used: "CPU FSB/PCI Clock" and "CPU FSB Plus."

The CPU FSB/PCI Clock setting is the primary way to adjust the front side bus speed. Front side bus options from 100-155MHz are present, with increments between 2 and 5MHz. The added addition this feature brings is the display of the clock speed of the PCI bus. Previously, when overclocking the front side bus, you'd have to do the math yourself for the PCI bus. With the KA7 the PCI clock speed is displayed for you.

The second setting "CPU FSB Plus" is used to make small, 1MHz adjustments to the front side bus. Say for instance, you can't get your system running stable at the 115/38MHz setting available with the CPU FSB/PCI Clock option. Simply dial in 112/37MHz for CPU FSB/PCI Clock and then "2" for the CPU FSB Plus setting, and your front side bus is now running at 114MHz. If 114MHz doesn't work, you can always adjust the FSB Plus setting to the exact speed you need to get your system running stable. This gives the end user lots of flexibility when it comes to tweaking your CPU for optimal performance.

FSB settings

The FSB Plus setting

The Help Menu used on the BE6-II and BF6 is still present on the KA7. With it, brief descriptions of some settings are available as well as recommended settings. (In some cases) The Help Menu makes it easier for end users to adjust BIOS settings, but it still isn't an adequate substitute for the motherboard manual.

Adjusting CPU voltage

Advanced Chipset menu