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4 BIOS settings every PC user should know
Just like the Registry Editor in Windows 11, newcomers to the PC landscape are often advised to stay away from the BIOS settings. That’s because, despite the built-in fail-safes on most modern motherboards, it’s easy to brick your system if you carelessly modify the BIOS settings.
But if you’re looking to gain some insight into the BIOS settings, then read on. We’ve compiled a list of the important options to help you prepare for your first expedition into the BIOS frontier!
Boot settings
Where it all begins. Literally.
If you built your own PC, you may have previously entered BIOS to switch the boot priority of the system to a USB drive containing the OS files. Just like the name sounds, the Boot Priority settings let you decide which storage media is given more precedence during startup. The lower this number, the greater the priority of the device.
For those using the UEFI Boot Mode, you may have noticed the Hard Drive BBS Priorities section. This is where you can switch between drives with different bootloaders. If you're setting up dual-boot or embarking on a journey of distro hopping, the Boot section will soon become a familiar sight.
Secure Boot
Necessary for Windows 11, but can be annoying in dual-boot setups
While we’re on the subject of Boot settings, Secure Boot is another option that you should know about. Designed to protect your system’s kernel from malware infection, Secure Boot uses digital signatures to verify the authenticity of the firmware. This protects your system from rootkits that try to infiltrate your PC by injecting themselves into the firmware.
: Never Press the BIOS Key Again (Viral Tech)
Microsoft made Secure Boot a mandatory feature on Windows 11, and we actually recommend most users leave it enabled in the BIOS. That said, if you’re attempting to install another OS besides Windows 11 on your PC, Secure Boot could stop you from booting into the second operating system, meaning your only option is to disable the setting.
Virtualization and IOMMU
For the virtualization enthusiasts
Virtualization is a topic that comes up fairly often in discussions pertaining to server PCs. In layman's terms, this neat facility lets you split the processing power and resources of your host PC into virtual machines. Besides letting you use new operating systems without installing them on your main system, virtualization is also great from a security standpoint, as all virtual machines and containers are isolated instances of a system, and you can experiment with them as much as you like.
If you wish to dip your toes into this amazing technology, you’ll need to enable CPU Virtualization in your BIOS. Depending on your motherboard manufacturer, this setting can be called VT-x, AMD-V, or SVM. For the more advanced users running Linux-based virtualization platforms like Proxmox, you'll have to enable another setting called IOMMU before you can set up PCIe passthrough to access the GPU, Ethernet cards, and other devices attached to the PCI Express slots inside your virtual machines.
Overclock settings
To push your processor and memory past their normal limits
It's important to preface this section by adding that overclocking your CPU and RAM can result in higher temperatures and reduce their lifespan. Once you’ve steeled your resolve, the CPU Ratio and CPU Core Voltage are the most important options you can tweak to overclock your processor. The former refers to the clock speed of the processor, while the latter is the amount of power sent to the CPU. Increasing the voltage will let you push the clock speed up a notch at the cost of raising the temps.
Meanwhile, memory overclocks typically involve increasing just the DRAM frequency, though you can further calibrate the timings and voltages if you so desire. For most beginners, I recommend enabling the Auto OC settings for the CPU and the XMP/EXPO options memory, as they’re quite reliable and won’t endanger your system’s stability.
Finally, there’s a BIOS setting that's worth enabling regardless of your use case. Available only on modern motherboards, the Resizable BAR facility lets your processor access the entire VRAM on your GPU instead of forcing it to use fixed blocks of the video memory. You’ll typically find it under the PCIe settings, like the PCI Subsystems Options, and turning it on will improve your frame rates, especially if you're the proud owner of an Intel Alchemist graphics card.
The BIOS menu may seem intimidating, but you'll get the hang of it soon enough
I also wanted to mention the fan curves in the BIOS, but the free-to-use Fan Control utility provides more customization options and, more importantly, doesn’t require you to poke around potentially hazardous options in the BIOS.
How often should you update your BIOS?
But if you’re on the fence about modifying the BIOS settings, there’s no need to rush things. For the average user, virtualization and Resizable BAR are the only options worth enabling. Most users probably won’t need to install multiple OS, making the Boot Priority and Secure Boot settings largely redundant, while you can still game at respectable frame rates without diving into the overclocking rabbit-hole.
