Diagnostics of all PC devices. Motherboard testing Motherboard chipset test program
Testing laboratory "ComputerPress" tested nine motherboards with support for the PCI Express x16 graphical interface, designed to work with Socket 939 processors AMD Athlon 64 and AMD Athlon64FX. The following motherboards took part in testing: ABIT AX8, ABIT Fatal1ty AN8, Albatron K8X890 Pro, ASUS A8V-E Deluxe, Gigabyte GA-K8NXP-9, Gigabyte GA-K8VT890-9, MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum, WinFast NF4UK8AA-8EKRS and reference model based on the ATI RADEON XPRESS 200 chipset.
Introduction
The object of our regular testing was motherboards designed to work with processors of the AMD Athlon64/AMD Athlon64 FX (Socket 939) family and supporting GUI PCI Express x16. This choice was due to several reasons. First, the growing popularity of solutions based on the AMD64 architecture, in particular, desktop processors built on its basis. And this is not at all surprising, since the appearance of AMD Athlon64 processors was a kind of breakthrough that brought a number of innovative solutions to the world of desktop PCs, among which, first of all, we should note the appearance of a memory controller integrated on the processor core, which made it possible not only to reduce latency when working with RAM, but also, coupled with the use of the HyperTransport bus as a system interface, greatly facilitate the life of manufacturers system logic, and Cool'n'Quiet technologies. Through dynamic control clock frequency and processor supply voltage depending on the level of its load, this technology can reduce system power consumption and provide more efficient (and most importantly, quiet) cooling of the central processor.
Secondly, we paid attention to this particular category of motherboards because it is currently offered a large number of new chipsets designed to work with processors of the AMD Athlon64/AMD Athlon64 FX family. Almost all system logic manufacturers have presented solutions for these processors that support the PCI Express x16 graphics interface. The choice of the Socket 939 processor socket is primarily due to the desire to present the most productive models of motherboards, since this particular package form factor of the AMD Athlon64/AMD Athlon64 FX processors implies the presence of a dual-channel memory controller.
As for specific models motherboards, in this test we tried to cover the widest possible range of Socket 939 solutions in order to give the most complete picture of the capabilities and range of motherboards that support the PCI Express x16 graphics interface and are designed to work with AMD Athlon64/AMD Athlon64 FX processors. Unfortunately, we were unable to find any samples of motherboards based on the SiS 756 chipset, since serial models of such motherboards were not yet available at the time of testing.
Thus, nine mainboards based on ATI RADEON XPRESS 200 (ATI RS480), NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra and VIA K8T890 chipsets took part in our testing these are ABIT AX8, ABIT Fatal1ty AN8, Albatron K8X890 Pro, ASUS A8V- E Deluxe, Gigabyte GA-K8NXP-9, Gigabyte GA-K8VT890-9, MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum, WinFast NF4UK8AA-8EKRS and reference model based on ATI RADEON XPRESS 200 chipset.
Test participants
Considering the capabilities of motherboards, it would be logical to start with an acquaintance with their main technical specifications(Table 1), after which our readers may be interested in getting acquainted with some subjective assessments and comments regarding the presented models.
The ABIT AX8 motherboard is based on the VIA K8T890 chipset (VIA K8T890 + VIA VT8237R). The first thing you immediately notice when looking at the ABIT AX8 motherboard is its unconventional asymmetrical design. So, the northbridge chip in this model is located closer to the output panel, and the processor socket is now slightly to the right of the imaginary central axis of the board, exactly in the center of the DIMM slots intended for installing modules random access memory. By the way, despite ABIT's well-known predilection for all sorts of original active cooling systems, this time a passive, albeit rather large, aluminum radiator should ensure the optimal temperature regime for the northbridge chip, which will surely appeal to users who want to reduce the noise of their computer systems. Speaking about the design features of this motherboard, it is worth noting three more unusual design solutions: the use of PATA IDE connectors parallel to the motherboard, the placement of the main 24-pin power connector on the left side of the board (near the output panel) in close proximity to the 4-pin connector ATX12V and the presence of an additional MOLEX connector (apparently, it should provide additional power to the PCI Express x16 slot when using powerful graphics cards if a power supply unit with a 20-pin main cable is connected).
Today, of course, it is impossible to imagine a new motherboard from ABIT without ABIT Engineered technologies, and the AX8 is no exception. It is not necessary to study the specifications and accompanying instructions to understand this, since even a cursory glance at the board is enough to notice a small chip with a holographic sticker on which there is a name already familiar to many users? Guru, indicating that the ABIT AX8 motherboard has the full range of features provided by ABIT? Guru Technology. These include ABIT OC Guru, ABIT EQ, ABIT Flash Menu, ABIT Black Box and, of course, the long-time favorite of many overclockers ABIT's low-level ?Guru Utility, accessible through the BIOS Setup menu. It should be noted that there is another ABIT Engineered technology that has found its application in the described model of the motherboard, this is CPU ThermalGuard Technology, which provides additional protection processor from overheating and by means of which, in case of reaching a critical temperature, the system is turned off.
Another very useful solution, which can be considered traditional for ABIT motherboards, a two-digit seven-segment POST progress indicator, thanks to which you can easily locate and identify possible malfunctions of a computer system.
ABIT Fatal1ty AN8 is based on the NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra chipset. A more detailed acquaintance with the capabilities and scope of delivery of this mainboard can lead to the conclusion that this model has become a real testing ground for new ideas from ABIT specialists. Everything in this board testifies to its special place among other models of the company. Even the packaging is a black book-box with an ominous slogan "Built to kill" on the spread and with windows that reveal some key elements design with explanations of what benefits they offer, is not typical for the products of this company. Already by appearance boxes it's not hard to guess that the target audience this decision ABIT marketers consider gamers and computer enthusiasts first and foremost.
Among a number of original solutions used in the ABIT Fatal1ty AN8 model, the most interesting, in our opinion, are two implementations of the proprietary cooling concept of ABIT OTES Technology OTES Power and OTES RAMFlow, which should provide correspondingly more efficient cooling of the hot elements of the VRM unit and memory modules. This solution makes ABIT Fatal1ty AN8 a real find for fans of extreme overclocking experiments, especially since the board provides the widest possibilities for overclocking and diagnosing possible malfunctions thanks to ABIT?Guru Technology functions and a two-digit seven-segment POST progress indicator. The capabilities of CPU ThermalGuard Technology provide more high level protect the processor from overheating.
Another interesting feature of this motherboard is the original approach to the implementation of sound capabilities. So, the sound codec chip and audio connectors are soldered on a separate AudioMAX module, for installation of which a special connector of the same name is provided on the motherboard. ABIT specialists called this solution the sonorous name of AudioMAX Technology. It is, of course, not new, but for the ABIT Fatal1ty AN8 model it came in handy, since a significant part of the space usually reserved for output panel connectors is occupied by the OTES Power cooling system.
Perhaps this model will find its fans among fans of computer modding. Red textolite, red and black slots, red illumination of the board (by the way, there are eight LED indicators, six of which (red glow) are located on the back of the motherboard, apparently for a purely decorative purpose) all this will help bring some design ideas to life.
The Albatron K8X890 Pro based on the VIA K8T890 chipset (VIA K8T890 + VIA VT8237R) surprised us with two unexpected solutions. Firstly, there are no PCI Express x1 expansion slots on the board, and one PCI Express x4 slot is implemented instead. At first glance, this decision may seem controversial, although from a practical point of view it is quite justified, since this interface is compatible with both PCI Express x1 and PCI Express x2. As for the number of slots, there are currently very few expansion cards with a PCI Express interface (unless, of course, we take video cards into account), and the functionality of the motherboard is such that hardly anyone will doubt that their quantity will not be enough even for very demanding users.
Secondly, it is the mPOWER technology implemented in this model. Apparently, the laurels of GIGABYTE Technology, with which it was crowned for the invention of new power schemes, did not give rest to specialists from Albatron Technology. And now their research in this area has materialized in the form of the mPOWER module, the installation of which allows you to get not three-, as it was before its installation, but a four-phase power supply circuit, which should reduce the load on the power channels (first of all, this concerns the power supply of the central processor), and this, in turn, should lead to an increase in the stability of the supply voltage and, as a result, increase the stability of the system as a whole. It is also important that the motherboard can successfully work with both installed module mPOWER, and without it.
In addition, I would like to note that the Albatron K8X890 Pro motherboard is the only one of the models built on the VIA K8T890 chipset, fully implements the capabilities of VIA Vinyl Audio technology, which implies the implementation of eight-channel audio using a VIA Envy 24PT audio PCI controller and six-channel audio codec.
The ASUS A8V-E Deluxe motherboard, which is based on the VIA K8T890 (VIA K8T890 + VIA VT8237R) chipset, has become another model that has joined the ranks of the Proactive AI series. And this already says a lot, because only the best of the best, the most perfect, the most functional motherboards that incorporate the latest proprietary developments can be marked with the logo of this elite series.
The first thing that immediately attracts attention when looking at the board is the microcircuit covered with a shiny metal screen. physical layer Wi-Fi controller. It is the presence of this controller that supports the operation of the IEEE 802.11g wireless network that has become one of the main advantages of this motherboard. But still, the main advantage of this model, in our opinion, is the richest set of tools for system overclocking, ranging from the banal "manual" increase in frequencies and supply voltage of the main system interfaces and ending with such specially developed technologies as AI Overclocking (providing simplest way system overclocking), AI NOS (Non-delay Overclocking System, allowing dynamic overclocking depending on the system load) and PEG Link Mode (providing an increase in the performance of the graphics subsystem). Since we are talking about overclocking, it would be useful to note that an aluminum radiator is used to ensure better cooling of the hot elements of the VRM module, which to a certain extent contributes to more stable operation of the system with increased loads on the power channels. All this, coupled with a number of technologies that ensure the "unsinkability" of the system even with extreme overclocking experiments, such as ASUS CrashFree BIOS2 (allows you to restore the BIOS using the motherboard support CD) and C.P.R. (CPU Parameter Recall allows you to recover after a reboot BIOS settings default when overclocking fails) makes this board a great choice for those looking to try their hand at overclocking.
Gigabyte GA-K8NXP-9
Gigabyte GA-K8NXP-9 is based on the NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra chipset, and what about other 8 series motherboards? by GIGABYTE Technology, has a phenomenal level of functionality, supporting perhaps all the modern interfaces that a user may need, including the ability to connect to 802.11g wireless networks, which was achieved thanks to the included Gigabyte GN-WPKG PCI module. And of course, what Gigabyte motherboard, especially one in this series, can do without an extensive set of proprietary technologies and utilities, among which it is worth noting the Dual Power System (DPS) six-phase power supply technology, BIOS Dual BIOS dual code storage technology and naturally impressive package proprietary utilities ShieldWare including:
- M.I.B. function 2, aimed at increasing the performance of the memory subsystem;
- EasyTune 5 utility, which allows you to overclock the system directly from Windows environments;
- low-level "tweaker" of the M.I.T. (Motherboard Intelligent Tweaker), which gives the option through the menu BIOS Setup carry out all settings directly related to overclocking;
- S.O.S technology (System Overclock Saver), which allows you to avoid the consequences of rash actions of the user who overdoes it when overclocking the system;
- system for remote monitoring of the state of the system C.O.M. (Corporate Online Management);
- the Xpress Recovery option, embedded in the BIOS and allowing you to backup systems with the possibility of subsequent recovery from the created image;
- the Xpress Install utility, which allows you to extremely simplify the process of installing motherboard drivers and utilities that come with it.
The Gigabyte GA-K8VT890-9 motherboard is based on the VIA K8T890 chipset (VIA K8T890 + VIA VT8237R).
Creating this model, the specialists of GIGABYTE Technology, apparently, did not set themselves the task of once again surprising the world with original solutions and unusual technologies. This is simply a high-quality and reliable product, which, in our opinion, is the main advantage of the Gigabyte GA-K8VT890-9.
Based on the NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra chipset, the MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum board is a prime example of an attempt to create a basic PC platform with the highest possible level of functionality. And it should be noted that Micro-Star International specialists succeeded: at least, only the most complete motherboards presented in this test can be compared with this model in terms of the number of integrated devices.
Among the specific features of this model is the presence of a PCI Express x4 slot, which, by the way, can only work in PCI mode Express x2, since two more PCI Express lanes (in total, the chipset supports 20 PCI Express lanes, 16 of which are used for the PCI Express x16 graphical interface) are used by the network controller and the PCI Express x1 slot.
Looking at the board, it's hard not to notice the orange PCI slot that stands out from the rest of the slots. This is the so-called communication slot (Communication Slot), specially optimized for the operation of various network cards, including branded MSI Dual-Net modules, and combining Wi-Fi and Bluetooth controllers on one PCI-board.
And of course, speaking of Micro-Star International motherboards, one cannot ignore the company's know-how, such as the CoreCell chip, which opens up new possibilities for energy saving (PowerPro technology), noise reduction (BuzzFree technology), and increasing component lifespan. systems (LifePro technology based on constant temperature control and intelligent fan control) and dynamic overclocking (Speedster and D.O.T). By the way, here it would probably be appropriate to remind readers that it was MSI, which once implemented the D.O.T. technology on its motherboards for the first time, is a pioneer in the development of tools that provide dynamic overclocking of the system.
The last interesting feature of this model is the use of a button to reset the CMOS BIOS instead of a traditional "jumper".
WinFast NF4UK8AA-8EKRS
The WinFast NF4UK8AA-8EKRS motherboard based on the NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra chipset is, in our opinion, good example of how to create a top model without resorting to any circuitry sophistication, but simply by implementing the capabilities inherent in the base chipset. Although it's fair to say that there is one additional integrated device on the board - it's the IEEE-1394a Agere FW3226 controller.
Among the features of the WinFast NF4UK8AA-8EKRS motherboard, one can probably include the presence of an additional MOLEX connector (apparently, it should provide additional power to the PCI Express x16 slot when using powerful graphics cards in case of connecting a power supply with a 20-pin main cable) .
In conclusion, I would like to bring some clarity regarding the manufacturer of this model. The fact is that Leadtek has recently abandoned the production of motherboards and now WinFast-branded motherboards are manufactured by Foxconn (which was the company that produced them for Leadtek).
This reference motherboard is based on the ATI RADEON XPRESS 200 chipset (ATI RS480 + ATI IXP400). This motherboard is the only microATX model in our review. But, perhaps, its main feature is not the form factor, but the presence of the integrated graphics core ATI RADEON XPRESS 200, which was based on the already well-known RADEON X300 solution, though with a halved number of pixel pipelines (their number was reduced from four to two) . And although the assessment of the capabilities of the integrated "graphics" is not at all the task of this test, we cannot but note the fact that this model of the mainboard built on the RADEON XPRESS 200 chipset from ATI Technologies, which, by the way, became the first system logic chipset with an integrated graphics core for computer platforms based on AMD Athlon 64 processors and also has full DirectX 9 hardware support, including vertex and pixel shaders version 2.0 (there is a version of this chipset without a graphics core it is called ATI RADEON XPRESS 200P.) In fairness, it must be said that motherboards based on these chipsets have not yet become widespread we were even able to get a model of the motherboard for testing only thanks to the assistance of the Russian representative office of ATI Technologies. Nevertheless, we considered it necessary to include it in the testing program so that readers can get an idea about the capabilities of products based on the new chipset, which will most likely appear on the Russian market in the near future.
Test Methodology
For testing, we used a test bench with the following configuration:
Processor AMD Athlon64 4000+ (2.4GHz);
Memory 2x512 MB PC3200 Transend,
memory timings:
RAS act. to Pre 8,
CAS# Latency 2.5,
RAS# to CAS# delay 3,
RAS# Precharge 3;
Graphics card PowerColor X800 Pro;
Hard Drive Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 80 GB (ST380013A8).
Testing was carried out under the control of the operating room Microsoft systems Windows XP Service Pack 2 with installed updates for chipset and video driver ATI CATALYST 5.2. Each tested motherboard used the latest version at the time of testing. BIOS firmware. At the same time, all the settings of the basic I / O system were turned off, allowing any kind of overclocking of the system.
The tests used test packages that evaluate the overall performance of the system when surfing the Internet, namely the test package BAPCo WebMark 2004 (patch 1), and when working with office applications and multimedia applications used to create Internet content, Office Productivity and Internet Content Creation from the BAPCo SySMark 2004 test suite (patch 2). The capabilities of the tested models of motherboards on 3D gaming applications were determined using the FutureMark 3DMark 2005 v.1.2.0 test package and a number of test clips of such popular games as Half-Life 2, Unreal Tournament 2004, FarCry (patch 1.3) and DOOM III ( patch 1.1). For a more detailed analysis of the operation of motherboards (primarily the memory subsystem), synthetic tests SiSoft Sandra 2005 SP1, ScienceMark 2.0 and Cache Burst 32 were used. In addition, during testing, the performance of motherboards was evaluated when performing complex mathematical calculations, for which the Molecular utility was used. Dynamics Benchmark from the ScienceMark 2.0 test package, which was used to determine the calculation time for the thermodynamic model of the argon atom. The time of converting a reference WAV file into an MP3 file (MPEG-1 Layer III) was also estimated, for which the AudioGrabber v1.83 utility with the Lame 3.97 codec was used, as well as a reference MPEG-2 file into an MPEG-4 file using the VirtualDub 1.5 utility .10 and DivX Pro 5.2.1 codec and to a WME file using the utility Windows Media encoder 9.
Criteria for evaluation
To assess the capabilities of motherboards, we derived two integral indicators:
- integral performance indicator to evaluate the performance of tested motherboards;
- integral quality indicator for a comprehensive assessment of performance and functionality motherboards.
The need to introduce these indicators was due to our desire to compare boards not only in terms of individual characteristics and test results, but also in general, that is, integrally. In this test, we decided to abandon the evaluation criteria related to the price of motherboards, since many of the presented models are new and are not yet sold on the Russian market.
A few words about how the above integral indicators were determined. To calculate the integral performance indicator, all the tests we conducted were divided into four groups:
- Office and multimedia tasks (BAPCo SySMark 2004 and BAPCo WebMark2004).
- Estimated conversion time (WAV > MPEG-1 Layer III, MPEG-2 > MPEG-4, MPEG-2 > WME).
- Scientific computing (Molecular Dynamics Benchmark from the ScienceMark 2.0 test suite).
- Game tests (FutureMark 3DMark 2005, Half-Life 2, Unreal Tournament 2004, FarCry and DOOM III).
Each group of tests was assigned a weighting coefficient (Table 2), which, in accordance with our subjective opinion, reflects the level of priority of one or another kind of task for a modern high-performance PC.
Table 2. Weight coefficients
For each group, a geometric average was calculated that characterizes the performance of a particular motherboard for various types applied tasks:
,
where g i Geometric average characterizing the performance of the motherboard when executing application tasks i-th group;R ij the result of the jth i-th test groups; n the number of tests in the group.
The integral performance indicator was defined as the geometric mean of the weighted normalized values of the geometric mean of each group.
,
where P pr integral indicator of productivity; G i the normalized value of the geometric mean, characterizing the performance of the motherboard when executing application tasks i-th groups; k i weight i-th coefficient groups; i number of groups.
We used the integral quality indicator as a kind of comprehensive assessment of the functionality of motherboards (when setting it, we were guided by the criteria given in Table 3) and their performance.
List of assessed motherboard features |
Grade |
| Dual SATA port support with RAID 0 and 1 capability | |
| Support for four SATA ports with the ability to create RAID levels 0 and 1 | |
| Support for six or more SATA ports with the ability to create RAID arrays of levels 0 and 1 | |
| Availability of 6-channel audio | |
| Availability of 8-channel audio | |
| Availability of a gigabit Ethernet controller | |
| The presence of a second gigabit controller | |
| Availability of a 10/100-Mbit Ethernet controller | |
| The presence of a Wi-Fi controller (802.11g) | |
| Availability of IEEE-1394b controller | |
| Availability of an IEEE-1394a controller | |
| Implementation of proprietary technologies, etc. |
Table 3. Evaluation of the functionality of motherboards
This indicator was determined as the geometric mean of the normalized value of the integral performance indicator and the normalized value of the assessment of functionality:
,
where P k integral indicator of quality; nP pr normalized value of the integral performance indicator; nP f the normalized value of the complex assessment of functionality.
The result of all the above manipulations with points and coefficients was the definition of the "quality / price" indicator for the tested models of motherboards.
Test results
Comparing the performance of motherboards designed to work with AMD Athlon64/AMD Athlon64 FX processors is difficult, especially when it comes to models based on different chipsets. Since when making such comparisons, one always wants to come to an unambiguous and, if possible, objective conclusion about which set of system logic (and, consequently, decisions based on it) is the most productive. But in the case of the AMD64 architecture, everything is not so simple, because with the same configuration of the disk and video subsystems, the main contribution to the overall performance is made by the operation of the "central processor memory" bundle. Under the traditional architecture, the operation of this bundle meant the interaction of the central processor with the northbridge chip, and each system logic manufacturer offered its own options for implementing the controller and memory arbiter, its own technologies for processing requests to the processor through the system bus controller. In the case of AMD Athlon64/AMD Athlon64 FX processors, which, in addition to the processor core itself, also include a memory controller, we can no longer speak of a clear performance advantage of one or another chipset. For this reason, the test results turned out to be more than ever dependent on the chosen configuration, in particular, on how well this or that motherboard works with the specific model of memory modules used in the test. It was the work of RAM that turned out to be the decisive criterion in determining the leader. Although, in fairness, it should be noted that motherboards based on the NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra chipset turned out to be slightly faster than their rivals on average, which, in our opinion, is explained by the single-chip architecture of this solution, which resulted in a decrease in latency when accessing system devices, for the operation of which Traditionally, the southbridge is responsible for the memory and processor. In order not to be unfounded in the above statements, let's consider the test results (Table 4).
We would especially like to note the results shown by WinFast NF4UK8AA-8EKRS and ABIT Fatal1ty AN8 motherboards. In most tests, they were unrivaled, taking first and second places, respectively, so it is only natural that they were placed in this order after determining the winner in the "Best Performance" category.
But still, the main criteria when choosing a motherboard for most users are, first of all, its functionality and, of course, in these aspects, the difference between solutions based on different chipsets of system logic is much more obvious. Thus, motherboards based on the NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra chipset are indisputable leaders in terms of the level of offered functionality. This chipset provides many important features:
- bidirectional HyperTransport bus (16x16 bits, operating frequency 1 GHz);
- graphic interface PCI Express x16;
- support for three PCI Express x1 ports;
- support for six PCI slots;
- four-port SATA 2.0 controller (maximum channel bandwidth up to 3 Gb / s, NCQ support);
- dual-channel IDE ATA133 controller;
- the ability to organize a RAID array of level 0, 1 or 0 + 1 from disks connected to any built-in IDE controllers;
- gigabit ethernet controller (MAC layer);
- eight-channel audio controller AC'97;
- 10 USB 2.0 ports;
- ActiveArmor Firewall with hardware core.
It is clear that motherboards based on the NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra chipset turned out to be the most functional solutions, especially since manufacturers such as GIGABYTE Technology, ASUSTeK Computer, Inc. and Micro-Star International, in their models that participated in our testing, further expanded the already considerable capabilities of the basic system logic chipset by placing additional integrated controllers on the board and implementing a number of interesting proprietary developments.
But competing solutions also have their trump cards. So, for VIA K8T890 chipsets, with, of course, a more modest, but nevertheless quite acceptable, by modern standards, level of functionality, this is, of course, a lower price. And motherboards based on the chipset from ATI Technologies will surely find their fans thanks to the excellent integrated graphics core ATI RADEON XPRESS 200.
The editors express their gratitude to the companies for providing equipment for testing:
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System board testing. Setting BIOS settings
Program theme: The motherboard of a personal computer.
Objective: study the test program (Aida or CPU-z); study the basic settings of the basic input/output system.
Lead time: 2 hours
Equipment: educational personal computer.
Software: operating system, presentation, test programs.
Theoretical basis
Utility(English) utility or tool) - auxiliary computer program as part of the general software to perform specialized typical tasks related to the operation of equipment and the operating system (OS).
Utilities provide access to features (parameters, settings, settings) that are not available without using them, or make the process of changing some parameters easier (automate it).
Utilities may be part of operating systems, go bundled with specialized equipment or distributed separately.
BIOS
BIOS(Basic Input-Output System - base system I / O) is a small program located in read-only memory (ROM) and is responsible for the most basic interface functions and settings for the equipment on which it is installed. In other words, we can say that the BIOS is the basis of the computer system, as it is responsible for the most basic computer functions (similar to the human reflex system).
The most widely known among computer users is motherboard BIOS boards, but BIOSes are present in almost all computer components: video adapters, network adapters, modems, disk controllers, printers. The BIOS of the motherboard is responsible for initialization (preparation for work), testing and launching of all its components.
The operating system and application programs work with the computer hardware through the BIOS, which translates user-friendly operating system commands into a language that the computer understands.
Motherboard BIOS
Physically, the BIOS is a chipset permanent memory(ROM, Read Only Memory) located on the motherboard. Therefore, the chip is sometimes called the ROM BIOS.
If you look under the lid system block, then on the motherboard you can find a chip with a holographic sticker with an inscription and a logo indicating the manufacturer of the BIOS. There will definitely be a round battery nearby that powers the CMOS chip (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor - volatile memory used to store BIOS settings).
BIOS Setup Utility
Among the programs contained in the BIOS is the BIOS Setup Utility, which allows you to change the data stored in the CMOS memory using the menu system.
To ensure the correct operation of the operating system and application programs using the BIOS Setup Utility, you enter the parameters of all computer components, from RAM and the operating frequency of the processor to the operating mode of the printer and other peripheral devices. By properly configuring the contents of the BIOS of your computer, you can increase its performance by up to 30%.
Comment: careless actions of the user, as a rule, cannot lead to physical damage to the computer - it can only stop loading. This is easy to fix. Modern BIOSes have fairly extensive auto-configuration tools, so the user's role in setting the "correct" parameters can be minimized. Recently, the "Load Optimized Settings" item has appeared in the setup program. Selecting this item allows the user to set the "default options" for the existing equipment.
How to enter the BIOS Setup Utility
The BIOS Setup Utility is not available to the user while the computer is running. Entering the BIOS Setup Utility is usually done by pressing a key while the computer is booting up. There are also BIOS versions, the settings of which are entered using other keys or their combinations.
In this laboratory work to enter the BIOS, the most common option (key ) will be used.
Work order
1 part
On the personal computer turn on the program for testing the motherboard and fill in the table (for example, the CPU-Z program)
| Characteristic | Meaning |
| Motherboard manufacturer | |
| Motherboard name | |
| Form Factor | |
| Processor interface | |
| north bridge | |
| south bridge | |
| System bus frequency | |
| RAM type | |
| Number of slots for OP | |
| Maximum throughput of OP | |
| Maximum amount of RAM | |
| Number of PCI slots | |
| IDE Bandwidth | |
| Supported protocol name for IDE | |
| Number of USB connectors | |
| USB bandwidth | |
| Built-in sound card | |
| Built-in video card | |
| Built-in network card | |
| Number of LPT ports | |
| Number of COM ports | |
| Number of PS/2 ports | |
| Number of game ports | |
| Number of audio jacks |
2 part
Based on theoretical material
- Find out the BIOS/UEFI type and version.
- Find out the BIOS creation date /
- Installed and maximum supported memory size.
- Determine the parameters of drives connected to the channels of a standard IDE/SATA controller.
- Determine the current order in which drives are polled at boot.
- Change the order in which drives are polled at boot so that CDROM is polled first, then HDD. Other carriers are not interrogated.
Report
The report must contain:
Hi all. In today's article, we will talk about complete diagnostics all devices on your computer. I will show and tell you how to independently diagnose a computer and all its component devices:
- HDD.
- RAM.
- Video card.
- Motherboard.
- CPU.
- Power Supply.
We will check all this in this article and for each of the computer devices I will make a video in which I will clearly show how to diagnose a particular device.
In addition, by diagnostics, you will be able to determine whether you should completely change the device or you can repair it, we will also analyze the main sores of devices that can be determined without diagnostics. Well, let's start with the most important question of interest to everyone - diagnostics HDD/SSD.
HDD and SSD disk diagnostics.
Disk diagnostics do two-way check smart system hard or solid state drive and directly check the disk for bad or slow sectors in order to check SMART HDD and SSD, we will use the program. You can download it from our website in the download section.
Well, now let's go directly to the disk diagnostics itself, after downloading the program, launch the file of the required bitness and look at the main window if you see a blue icon with the signature good or in English good, then everything is in order with your SMART disk and further diagnostics can not be carried out.
If you see a yellow or red icon with caution, bad inscriptions, then there is some problem with your disk. You can find out about the exact problem below in the list of basic SMART diagnostic items. Wherever there are yellow and red icons opposite the inscription, it will indicate that your disk has suffered in this part.
If you have already exhausted the resource of the disk, then it is no longer worth repairing it. If you have several bad sectors there is still room for repair. I will talk about the repair of bad sectors later. If the disk has a lot of bad sectors, more than 10 or a lot of very slow sectors, then you should not restore such a disk. After a while, it will still fall further, it will need to be constantly restored / repaired.
Software disk repair.
By repair, I mean the relocation of bad and slow sectors on the disk. This instruction only suitable for HDD drives, that is, only a hard drive. For SSD this operation will not help, but only worsen the condition of the solid state drive.
Repair will help extend the life of your hard drive a little more. To restore bad sectors, we will use the HDD regenerator program. Download and run this program, wait until the program collects data about your drives after the data is collected you will see a window in which you will need to click on the inscription - Click here to bad sectors on demaget drive surfase directly under Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8 and 10. Click on the inscription you need to quickly in OS 8 and 10, so the window will quickly disappear, in 7 everything is fine. Then press NO. Then select your drive from the list. Press the start process button. A window will appear in the form command line in which you will need to press 2, Enter, 1, Enter.
After the performed operations, the system will start scanning for bad sectors and moving them to unreadable disk partitions. In fact, bad sectors do not disappear, but in the future they do not interfere with the operation of the system and you can continue to use the disk further. The process of checking and restoring the disk may take a long time, depending on the size of your disk. At the end of the program, press the button 5 and Enter. If you have any errors while testing and fixing bad sectors, then your disk cannot be recovered. If you have found more than 10 bad sectors - bad sectors, then restoring such a disk does not make sense, there will always be problems with it.
The main signs of disk failure are:
Video on how to diagnose HDD / SSD:
RAM Diagnostics
This time we will run a memory diagnostic. There are several options in which you can check the RAM, this is when your computer still turns on and somehow works, and when you can’t turn on the computer, only the BIOS is loaded.
The main signs that the RAM is not working:
- When loading resource-intensive applications, the computer freezes or restarts.
- With prolonged use of the computer, more than 2 hours, Windows starts to slow down, with an increase in time, the slowdown increases.
- When installing any programs, you cannot install them, the installation fails.
- Sound and visual jamming.
The first thing we will cover is how to check the RAM if your Windows boots. Everything is very simple, in any of the operating systems starting from Windows Vista You can search for a checker Windows memory. We launch the shortcut that appears as an administrator and see a message stating that you can reboot and start checking right now or schedule a check the next time you turn on the computer. Choose the value you need. After the computer restarts, you will immediately automatically start the RAM test. It will be held in standard mode, wait until the end of the test and you will find out if everything is in order with your RAM. In addition, after you have already loaded Windows, in the event viewer section you can open the Windows logs, select the System item and find the memory diagnostic event in the list on the right. In this event, you will see all the information about the diagnostics performed. Based on this information, you can find out if the RAM is working.
The next option for diagnosing RAM is if you cannot boot Windows. To do this, you need to write to disk or to bootable flash drive program and run it from BIOS. In the window that appears, a test to check the RAM (RAM) will be automatically launched. Wait until the end of the test and if there are any problems with your memory, the test window will change from blue to red. This will indicate defects or damage to the RAM. That's all, you have learned - how to diagnose RAM.
Video on how to check the RAM:
Video card diagnostics
The main signs of a defective video card:
- Computer throws blue screen of death.
- Artifacts appear on the screen - multi-colored dots, stripes or rectangles.
- When downloading games, the computer freezes or restarts.
- With prolonged use of the computer in the game, performance decreases, the game starts to lag.
- Video jamming, video playback failure, problems with the flash player.
- Lack of smoothing in text and when rewinding documents or web pages.
- Changing colors.
All these are signs of some kind of video card defects. Testing a video card should be divided into two stages: checking the graphics chip and checking the memory of the video card.
Checking the graphics chip of the video card (GPU)
To check the graphics chip, you can use various programs that put a load on this chip and detect failures under critical load. We will use the program and FurMark.
We launch Aida at the bottom in the tray near the clock, right-click and select the system stability test. in the window that appears, check the box next to GPU Stress Test. The test will run at the bottom you will see a graph of temperature changes, fan speed, and current consumption. To check, 20 minutes of the test is enough, if at this time the bottom field with the graph turns red or the computer restarts, then there are problems with your video card.
We start OCCT. Go to the GPU 3D tab, do not change the settings and press the ON button. Next, a window will appear with a fluffy donut, which is a visual test. The test will take 15-20 minutes. I recommend monitoring the temperature and monitoring the power readings, if multi-colored dots, stripes or rectangles appear on the screen, this will indicate that there is a problem with the video card. If the computer turns off spontaneously, this will also indicate a defective video card.
Now we have analyzed the diagnostics of the video card processor, but sometimes there are problems with the memory of the video card too.
Video card memory diagnostics
For this diagnosis, we will use the program. Unpack the program and run it as administrator. In the window that appears, check the box next to the inscription signal if there are errors and press the start button. A check of the RAM of the video card will be launched; if any errors are found with the memory, the program will issue a characteristic sound signal, on some computers the signal will be system.
That's all, now you can do video card diagnostics yourself. Check the GPU and memory of the video card.
Video on checking the video card:
Motherboard Diagnostics
The main signs of a motherboard malfunction:
- The computer knocks out the blue screen of death, reboots and turns off.
- The computer freezes without restarting.
- The cursor, music and video (friezes) stick.
- Connected devices disappear - HDD / SSD, drive, USB drives.
- Ports, USB and network connectors do not work.
- The computer does not turn on, does not start, does not boot.
- The computer is slow, often slows down or freezes.
- The motherboard makes various sounds.
Visual inspection of the motherboard
The first thing to do to diagnose the motherboard is to conduct a visual inspection of the motherboard. What you need to pay attention to:
- Chips and cracks - in the presence of such damage, the motherboard will not turn on at all or will turn on after a time.
- Swollen capacitors - due to swollen capacitors, the computer can turn on with 3, 5, 10 attempts or after a certain time, it can also go out for no reason and slow down.
- Oxidation - the computer can turn on after a time, slow down. It may not turn on at all if the tracks are completely oxidized.
- Warmed chips, microchips will have small burning points or holes - because of this, the computer may not turn on or ports, network cards, sound or USB will not work.
- Scratches on the tracks - the same as with chipped cracks.
- Burn around chips and ports - leads to the complete inoperability of the motherboard or its individual parts.
Software diagnostics of the motherboard
If your computer turns on and Windows boots, but there are incomprehensible glitches and slowdowns, you should do software diagnostics of the motherboard using the program. Download and install the program, run it, at the bottom in the tray near the clock on its icon, right-click and select "service" - "system stability test". Check the boxes next to Stress CPU, Stress FPU, Stress cache, remove the rest of the checkboxes. We press the "Start" button, the computer will freeze, the test will begin. During the test, monitor the temperature of the processor and motherboard, as well as power. The test is carried out for a minimum of 20 minutes, a maximum of 45 minutes. If during the test the bottom field turns red or the computer goes out, then the motherboard is faulty. Also, the shutdown may be due to the processor, uncheckStress CPU and check again. If you find overheating, then you need to check the cooling system of the motherboard and processor. with power fluctuations, there may be problems with both motherboard same with BP.
If the computer starts but Windows does not boot, you can check the mainland through the boot test. It must be written to a disk or flash drive. I'll show you how to use it in more detail in the video.
Diagnostics of the power supply unit (PSU)
The main symptoms of a power supply failure:
- The computer does not turn on at all.
- The computer starts for 2-3 seconds and stops working.
- The computer turns on from 5-10-25 times.
- Under load, the computer goes dead, reboots or throws out a blue screen of death.
- When under load, the computer slows down a lot.
- Devices connected to the computer spontaneously disconnect and reconnect (screws, drives, USB devices).
- Squeak (whistling) during computer operation.
- Unnatural noise from the PSU fan.
Visual inspection of the PSU
The first thing to do if the power supply fails is to make a visual inspection. We disconnect the PSU from the case and disassemble the PSU itself. We check for:
- Cinder, melted PSU elements - we look to make sure that all the elements are intact, if you find cinder or something obviously melted, we carry the PSU for repair or change it to a new one.
- Swollen capacitors - replace swollen capacitors with new ones. Because of them, the computer may not turn on the first time or go out under load.
- Dust - if dust is clogged in the fan and radiators, it must be cleaned, because of this, the PSU in the load may turn off due to overheating.
- Blown fuse - a fuse often burns when there is a voltage drop, it must be replaced.
We checked everything, but the power supply is behaving badly, we look.
PSU software diagnostics
Software diagnostics of the power supply can be carried out using any test program that gives the maximum load on the PSU. Before doing such a check, you need to determine whether all the elements of your PC have enough power from the power supply. You can check it like this: run AIDA program 64 link above and go to the calculation site required power BP. On the site, we transfer the data from Aida to the appropriate fields and press the Calculate button. So we will be sure exactly how much power the power supply is enough for the computer.
We proceed to the diagnosis of PD itself. We download the program. Install and run it. Go to the Power Supply tab. check the box to use all logical cores (does not work on all computers) and press the ON button. The test lasts an hour and if at this time the computer turns off, restarts, knocks out a blue screen, there are problems with the power supply unit (Before checking the power supply unit, you must first check the video card and processor in order to avoid the test being incorrect).
I will not show how to diagnose a PSU with a multimeter, because there is a lot of this information on the network, and it is better for professionals to do such diagnostics. I will show more detailed testing of the PSU in the video below:
How to check the motherboard for serviceability? If you are not sure of its correct performance and want to make sure that the case smelled of kerosene, you need to remove this board from the computer and prepare it for further visual inspection.
And God bless the fact that you don’t understand anything about this: some defects can be so obvious that it’s a spit to find them.
First you need to get some simple working tools, namely:
- processor
- power supply;
- video card (optional).
Why is this needed?
Often it is these components that fail, as a result of which they begin to sin for a malfunction. "motherboards".
Although processors burn extremely rarely, if they are not scalped and overclocked, there will be no problems with them.
With a power supply unit (power supply), the situation is more controversial: an incorrectly selected energy source burns out in 3 seconds.
Well, a video accelerator is needed to display the picture on the monitor, if no obvious defects were found during the inspection.
10 the best programs for computer diagnostics
Test inspection:
How to check the motherboard for performance? Connect the PSU (power supply) to it and start the card.
A blue (green/red) LED should appear to indicate the device's operating status.
By the way, the old-style motherboard is not so easy to start, since there is no power button, as such.
Contacts need to be closed.
If you are confident in the power supply, but the indicator is still lifeless, and the processor is safe and sound, then the matter is in the board.
We proceed to a visual inspection and look for any of the following:
- scratches on textolite;
- swollen capacitors;
- excess metal particles;
- twisted or broken connectors;
- dust;
- BIOS battery.
Any scratch on the board can cause irreparable damage to the system, since the tracks with contacts are spread over the entire surface.
The motherboard and are as thick as a human hair, if not even thinner.
Be extremely careful when inspecting the board.
Swelling of the "conders" is a screaming sign of a malfunction.
Carefully inspect each and if you find incapacitated - carry the product in service center.
Is it possible to replace it yourself and do you have the relevant knowledge?
Then go to the radio store and buy a part with the same marking, no analogues.
And yes, such a procedure will not give a tangible guarantee, extending life motherboard for a year - another, but in the field you need to save what you have.
Metal can close those very thin and invisible paths, in contact with them.
Thoroughly blow the surface of the textolite, additionally brushing with a natural bristle brush.
No synthetics - it is static! Additionally, clean from dust.
And pay key attention to the contacts that are closed together, forming a jumper, or simply curved.
Socket shown as an example Intel processors, however, by analogy, it can be understood that this should not be so.
By the way, most often the contacts to which the indicators of the system unit are connected “suffer”: external USB, various warning lights and everything else. Be careful.
South and north bridge on the motherboard
How to check the processor for performance
BIOS errors:
It would seem that, how to check motherboard for errors using this chip?
And she is responsible for everything. basic settings your computer and if the BIOS fails, only a complete replacement will save it. But let's not be so pessimistic.
First, change the battery of the device to a new one. It is labeled CR2032 and is available at any home electronics store.
It’s hard not to notice it on the motherboard, but look for it near the PCI-Ex X16 connector.
We turn off the power supply and very carefully remove the battery for 2-3 minutes so that all settings are finally reset to the factory settings, including the date and time.
Why is this needed?
Some "kulibins" could, without realizing it, do something in the system, or "disperse" components to a critical value.
The BIOS goes into protection and completely blocks the computer. Here is such a simple manipulation with the battery returns the factory appearance to the product.
But it is not yet certain that everything will work out.
If it doesn’t help, then we disconnect all the peripherals from the motherboard, leaving only the processor with the cooler and the internal speaker, which “beeps” at startup.
It is inserted into the connector, next to which is written "SPK" or "SPKR". It is located next to the socket for LED-indicators of the system unit.
The future of your motherboard will depend on it.
When the system starts up, a RAM failure sound will appear.
If you hear it, then everything is more or less in order with the motherboard. But if the silence is dead, then a trip to the service cannot be avoided.
No signal on the monitor when turning on the computer
Table of sounds that indicate a problem with a motherboard malfunction:
There are 3 in total BIOS type, each of which has its own logic.
You can find out which one you have by marking the motherboard.
The sounds for each are as follows:
Table of BIOS sounds - speaker, notifying about the problem of a malfunction of the AMI motherboard:
Table of BIOS sounds - speaker, announcing the problem of a malfunction of the Award motherboard:
The order of further actions:
So there is sound.
We turn off the motherboard, and first of all inserts one chip of RAM (random access memory).
We start again and listen.
If successful, we will be warned about a video card malfunction (see the table with sounds and their sequence).
We connect the video adapter and, if required, additional power. Additionally, we connect a monitor to output a visual signal.
We turn on the computer and wait for the speaker's signal.
If it is single and short, then everything is in order with your car. The cause was dust, metal shavings or a bent contact that was returned to its original shape. This is in case everything is in order with the capacitors.
But if the sound of a video card malfunction has not disappeared anywhere, then it is to blame.
AT otherwise it is worth looking among sound adapters, hard drives and other connected peripherals.
How to check hard working disk
Results:
Don't rush to bury motherboard as soon as possible.
Carefully inspect the device, following the instructions, then start cutting off the “tails” in the form of all additional installed equipment one by one and in a certain sequence until you stumble upon the cause of all the troubles.
You will succeed.
