SPEC CPU2017 Platform Settings for ASUSTek Systems

Firmware / BIOS / Microcode Settings

Race To Halt (RTH):

Enable RTH will dynamically increase CPU frequency in order to enter Package C-State faster to reduce overall power. Values for this BIOS option can be: Enable/Disable. Current default is Enable.

Intel VT for Directed I/O (VT-d):

Enable/Disable Intel Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d) by reporting the I/O device assignment to VMM through DMAR ACPI Tables. Current default is Enable.

Software Guard Extensions (SGX):

Intel Software Guard Extensions is an extension to Intel architecture. With new CPU instructions and platform enhancements, enable this technology allows capable applications to create private areas to protect sensitive information. Sensitive information is protected even when attackers has full control of the platform. Values for this BIOS option can be: Enabled/Disabled/Software Controlled(Software that will actually use SGX functionality can manually enable it ). Current default is Enabled.

Hardware Prefetcher:

Enable Hardware Prefetcher can automatically analyze the processor's requirements and prefetch data and instructions from the memory into the Level 2 cache that are likely to be required in the near future. This reduces the latency associated with memory reads. Values for this BIOS option can be: Enabled/Disabled. Current default is Enabled.

Adjacent Cache Line Prefetch:

When enabled, two 64-byte cache lines are fetched into a 128-byte sector, regardless of whether the additional cache line has been requested or not. If this prefetcher is disabled, only one cache line (64 bytes) is collected, which contains the data required by the processor. Values for this BIOS option can be: Enabled/Disabled. Current default is Enabled.

Hyper-Threading[ALL]:

Enables Hyper Threading(Software Method to Enable Logical Processor threads. Values for this BIOS option can be: Enabled/Disabled. Current default is Enabled.

SR-IOV Support:

In virtualization, single root input/output virtualization or SR-IOV is a specification that allows the isolation of the PCI Express resources for manageability and performance reasons. A single physical PCI Express can be shared on a virtual environment using the SR-IOV specification. If system has SR-IOV capable PCIe Devices, this option Enables or Disables Single Root IO Virtualization Support. Values for this BIOS option can be: Enabled/Disabled. Current default is Enabled.

Advanced Encryption Standard (AES):

These instructions enable fast and secure data encryption and decryption, using the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) which is defined by FIPS Publication number 197. Values for this BIOS option can be: Enabled/Disabled. Current default is Enabled.