Out with BIOS, in with UEFI.

Ever since the computer was born, there needed to be a program to tell the CPU where things are and how to use them. In 1981 the IBM 5150 introduced the BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) to the IBM-PC market. The IBM 5150 had an 8088 16bit (16bit internal bus, 8bit external bus) processor, so the BIOS chip was limited to 16 bits and 1MB of memory space. Years went by and the CPU became more powerful, with a wider bus and more memory access. However, the BIOS remained the same, and retained it’s 16bit bus and 1MB memory limit, depending on the PC-AT hardware platform.

Enter EFI/UEFI (Extensible Firmware Interface/Unified Extensible Firmware Interface respectively).… >>>Click Here To Continue Reading

No overclock option in your BIOS? No Problem.

Overclocking your CPU can be risky business, however if done properly and with the proper amount of care, it can improve system performance anywhere from 5% to 50% depending on the CPU and how it is overclocked. In this article, I am going to discuss the various methods, benefits and downfalls of overclocking. Remember, ALL forms of overclocking beyond the manufacturers specifications voids the warranty and has the potential of “bricking” your CPU, Motherboard, or both. Therefore I take no responsibility what happens to your CPU/Motherboard if you attempt an overclock. If you are not technically inclined, or feel uncomfortable changing these settings, please give it to someone who is or just don’t try it.… >>>Click Here To Continue Reading

Success: NVIDIA GTX 580M SLI on Alienware M17x-R2 Laptop

With the release of Dell Alienware’s M18x laptop, many gamers and enthusiasts have been impressed by the performance seen with its dual NVIDIA GTX 580M SLI graphics cards. Owners of the M18x predecessor, the M17x-R2, upgraded their laptops from the 285M SLi configuration to that of the 580M SLI platform, thinking it would be an easy upgrade to make their laptop of equal value in comparison to the M18x. Unfortunately, while the 580M cards were installed correctly, SLI was not enabled in the driver as the graphics upgrade was not natively supported by Alienware or Dell, effectively only allowing the use of one GPU.
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