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→BIOS Settings
== BIOS Settings ==
'''BIOS''' stands for '''basic input/output system''' and is basically a low-level operating system specific to certain hardware that allows more robust OS's like Windows, OS-X, or Linux to communicate and control the hardware. It often allows customization, allowing you to change rather technical hardware-related options, such as clock speeds, voltages, the boot order of storage devices, and disabling/enabling motherboard features/ports.
Most BIOS software can be accessed for configuration during bootup by pressing <code>Delete</code>, <code>Escape</code>, or one of the Function keys (<code>F1</code> - <code>F12</code>).
=== Power Saving Features ===
Most modern computers feature numerous power saving features. Usually these can be disabled via BIOS, and I recommend doing so for two reasons.
Power-saving features such as C states and Turbo Boost for the CPU work by shutting off power to CPU cores when they are not in use. Sounds good and it usually is. But for DAW usage with processor-intensive real-time audio streams, offline cores may often need to be brought up in the middle of recording or bouncing tracks, resulting in latency at best and hiccups/crackles at worst.
My computer had some nasty EMI/RFI being emitted that was certainly getting into my guitar pickups, regardless of how well they were shielded...any high-gain sound picked up what sounded like a modem - lots of somewhat high-pitched droning, pulsing garbage. I tried pushing the case further back - helped a little but holding the guitar in certain positions still sounded bad. I tried unplugging everything I didn't ''need'' - USB devices, printers...eventually I had everything unplugged from the wall and computer except the computer itself and my Kemper. I tried plugging everything through a power conditioner. I tried swapping the power lines used on the modular power supply. Nothing helped. Finally I decided to try BIOS and disabled all the power saving features. {{loud|Eureka!}} I'm not sure if the CPU itself is the problem (AMD FX-8 8120), or the motherboard, or how the PSU switches to regulate voltage when the CPU is enacting such power saving, but whatever it was the issue is now resolved and I can move on with my life <3.
== Operating System Tweaks/Optimization ==