Intel MOBO with Fast POST boot time

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   Hello,I build virtual pipe organs that run on Hauptwerk (software application) and typically on Windows 7/10 64-bit platform. Hauptwerk doesn't require much to run happy (no need to overclock CPU or RAM). Hauptwerk is generally effective on quad core (64-bit) i7/i5/Xeon, 64GB RAM and 250GB SSD configuration. 
I am concerned about the most effective ASRock MOBO for fast POST boot time. Thus, my question is this:
For Intel Sockets 2011-3, 1151, 1150  MOBOs, which ASRock series (Extreme, Overclocking, Gaming) and specific MOBOs should I explore for "optimal" POST time result? By "optimal", I mean a good balance between fast time and price. In other words, I am after the MOBOs that offer the best value for money, with quick POST time as a very high priority.

Since I tried an ASUS X99-A board, which won't go below 16s with all the BIOS tweakings, I suspect the 2011-3 socket mobos are out. I am looking for a POST time of 4 to 8 seconds. 

I'll appreciate any help I can get from this forum.   

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aydamuchy Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 04 Feb 2016 Location: USA Status: Offline Points: 4	Post Options Post Reply Quote aydamuchy Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Intel MOBO with Fast POST boot time Posted: 04 Feb 2016 at 10:37pm
	Hello, I build virtual pipe organs that run on Hauptwerk (software application) and typically on Windows 7/10 64-bit platform. Hauptwerk doesn't require much to run happy (no need to overclock CPU or RAM). Hauptwerk is generally effective on quad core (64-bit) i7/i5/Xeon, 64GB RAM and 250GB SSD configuration. I am concerned about the most effective ASRock MOBO for fast POST boot time. Thus, my question is this: For Intel Sockets 2011-3, 1151, 1150 MOBOs, which ASRock series (Extreme, Overclocking, Gaming) and specific MOBOs should I explore for "optimal" POST time result? By "optimal", I mean a good balance between fast time and price. In other words, I am after the MOBOs that offer the best value for money, with quick POST time as a very high priority. Since I tried an ASUS X99-A board, which won't go below 16s with all the BIOS tweakings, I suspect the 2011-3 socket mobos are out. I am looking for a POST time of 4 to 8 seconds. I'll appreciate any help I can get from this forum.

parsec Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group Joined: 04 May 2015 Location: USA Status: Offline Points: 4996	Post Options Post Reply Quote parsec Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 05 Feb 2016 at 11:33am
	You are SO right about the X99 platform being slow to POST, that is the last platform you'd want for a quick startup system. Are you aware of "UEFI booting", for lack of a better term? That is accomplished by setting the CSM option to Disabled during an OS installation, and in use. That causes the EFI boot loader to be used, and the UEFI firmware not run in emulated Legacy BIOS mode, as it is as long as CSM is Enabled. Best done with Windows 8 - 10, the only major requirement is a GOP compatible video source. All Intel integrated graphics since Sandy Bridge are GOP compatible, with the appropriate Intel VBIOS, which ASRock normally provides. All EVGA video cards of the Nvidia 700 series and beyond are GOP compatible out of the box. EVGA 600 series need a VBIOS update. AMD and other makes of video cards must be confirmed for GOP compatibility by the manufacture. It's not that they can't do it, Intel has had it for years. UEFI booting speeds up the POST process considerably. You can then use the Fast Boot options Fast and Ultra Fast to shorten POST time further. It won't work miracles with X99, that caveat still holds. Of all the ASRock boards that I've used, the fastest starting is the Z87 Extreme6. That is with an SSD as the OS drive, and UEFI booting. Nothing I've used is faster at startup. I use only two SSDs in that PC, and a video card. Using the integrated graphics make it start a little faster. My ASRock Z97 board is a bit slower starting, but I have six SSDs in that PC, one a PCIe SSD. Yes it is the OS drive, but start up with a PCIe drive seems a bit slower than none. Slower for POST time that is. Same for Z170. Both may be equal to the Z87 board with SATA SSDs, I can't recall if the Z97 was. The Z170 has never had a SATA OS drive. The Intel 750 NVMe SSD is slow to start, a known trait from its enterprise connections. Fine in as X99 system, it just blends in. Another hint in that about what not to use in general. I don't even bother using the Fast Boot options with a UEFI booting Windows installation, at least on a board like this one. Plus it is the fastest while using a Pentium Anniversary G3258. Yes it is over clocked, which I don't think makes much of a difference speeding up start up time at all. Peripherals slow down startup, the worst being optical drives and standard HDDs. If you want fast start up, they must go away. You mentioned a balance between fast starting and price. High price does not necessarily give you a faster starting board, and much more likely gives you a slower starting board. Why? More fancy features/chips/devices to get started and checked during POST. Lean and mean is faster for any mother board. Disabling anything you don't use in the UEFI/BIOS also helps.


aydamuchy Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 04 Feb 2016 Location: USA Status: Offline Points: 4	Post Options Post Reply Quote aydamuchy Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 21 Feb 2016 at 7:24pm
	Thanks ever so much for this in-depth "treatise" on the subject of concern to me. Thanks for bringing the UEFI BIOS mode up. I knew nothing about this. So I tried it out on the X99 mobo that I am currently working with it but ran into trouble with an incompatible video card. Thus, I got a 7 series EVGA card and did all the rituals with the CSM and Secured Booting settings. You are so right - no improvement on POST time on the X99 mobo. But the important exercise is that I now know how to go about using the UEFA BIOS mode for other mobos. So I guess I will work with the Z170 mobos for my feature projects. I see that it is already getting difficult to source Z87 mobos. Generally, for me, I guess it goes down to a trade-off between the LGA 2011 socket mobos (which accommodate intel CPUs with more than 6 cores but with slower POST time) and LGA 1150, or 1151 mobos (which are limited to 4-core Intel CPUs but with fast POST time). The major issue being that, Hauptwerk, the virtual pipe organ that I use for my work, is optimized for multiple CPU cores - the more the cores, the better. So it is a matter of making Hauptwerk very happy versus the client (the traditional organists) who wants his virtual pipe organ to be powered up in 2 seconds. Once again, thanks for this eye opener!