Smart 6 and other Gigabyte features

As its name implies, Smart 6 are six new technologies Gigabyte has added to their P55 motherboard lineup.

Smart QuickBoot

No one likes waiting 30 seconds or more for their PC to bootup. We all want as close to instant on access as possible.

Therefore to reduce the bootup process as much as possible, Gigabyte has created Smart QuickBoot.

Smart QuickBoot encompasses two methods to reduce boot up times. The first is BIOS QuickBoot. BIOS QuickBoot is designed to shave a few seconds off the POST process that occurs every time you first turn on your PC. Every time you boot up the system, your motherboard’s BIOS checks all of your hardware components, CPU, GPU, RAM, hard drives, memory, etc, to make sure they’re all working properly before finally handing everything off to the OS.

With BIOS QuickBoot, your motherboard’s BIOS will only run a full POST test once if everything’s okay, the BIOS will only scan critical components the next time you boot up. This shaves a few seconds off your total boot time.

The second component of Smart QuickBoot is OS QuickBoot. With this feature, the motherboard will suspend (S3) and hibernate (S4) at the same time when you shut down your PC. By combining S3 with S4, you get the benefits of both modes, allowing you to save energy while still having quick access to your data. So the next time you boot up your PC, you will resume from suspend mode in just a few seconds, instead of having to reboot into the OS.

With OS QuickBoot relying on both S3 and S4 modes your data is stored in memory, and your hard drive. So you if your system becomes unplugged or you lose power, your PC will automatically resume from hibernate using the data stored on your hard drive.

Smart QuickBoost

Smart QuickBoost can be used to automatically OC your processor a set amount depending on the level you set. 3 settings are available, Fast, Turbo, and Twin Turbo.

Fast automatically OCs your CPU’s base clock from 133MHz to 140MHz, while Turbo bumps it up to 150MHz. Finally, Twin Turbo OCs the bclk to 160MHz.

Gigabyte points out that each setting is somewhat similar to the equivalent of going up one speed bump. So enabling Twin Turbo with your Core i5-750 gives you speeds well above that of the stock Core i7-870, as your CPU will be OC’ed to 3.2GHz.

Smart DualBIOS

One feature Gigabyte has included on their motherboards for quite some time is DualBIOS. Gigabyte was actually the first motherboard manufacturer to integrate dual BIOS chips on their motherboards. This gives you an instant recovery BIOS to fall back on in case you suffer from a bad flash or the primary BIOS is corrupted by virus.

With Smart DualBIOS, Gigabyte has doubled the size of the BIOS chip’s memory from 8MB to 16MB. With this extra memory, the BIOS can be used to store all kinds of data, including passwords. The BIOS can be used to store up to 12 different passwords, so in case your hard drive fails and you have to reinstall the OS, your BIOS will still have your passwords stored safely for you.

These passwords can range from VPN, online banking passwords, to login info for FTP and websites.

Smart DualBIOS can also be used to save important dates. Say for instance, your anniversary, or birthdays. You can even use SmartDualBIOS to send you reminders up to a week in advance of your important dates.

Smart Recovery

With Smart Recovery, you can backup important system data such as settings, documents, music etc, even if its been deleted. Each day Smart Recovery can take a snapshot of your PC’s hard drive. Any changes you make after the snapshot are saved in case you need to restore back to that point later. Smart Recovery can be used to save up to 60 snapshots.

You can customize the amount of hard drive space reserved for Smart Recovery, as well as when the snapshots are taken.

Smart Recorder

This feature can be used to monitor when your PC is turned on/off as well as when large amounts of data are transferred from your PC’s hard drive to external storage devices.

Smart TimeLock

Smart TimeLock provides parental controls for your PC. Say for instance, you don’t want your kids to boot up the PC after 9PM on weekdays and 11PM on weekends. You can even use Smart TimeLock to limit the number of hours per day your children can get on the PC. Once their allotted time is up, the computer locks access.

Besides the Smart 6 features, all of the Gigabyte motherboard’s featured in today’s article support Gigabyte’s Ultra Durable 3 technology introduced last year. UD3’s most notable feature is its 2-ounce copper in the power and ground layers of the motherboard. Adding additional copper in the power and ground layers in the PCB improves signal quality, reducing EMI and providing better ESD protection, reduces energy waste, and helps to lower PCB temperatures. This in turn can all lead to better OC’ing results in theory.

Other Ultra Durable 3 features include the use of 50,000 hour Japanese solid capacitors, lower RDS MOSFETs, and chokes with a ferrite core.