MCLK Spread Spectrum
Common Options : 0.25%, 0.5%, 0.75%, Disabled
Quick Review
Spread spectrum clocking works by continuously modulating the clock signal around a particular frequency. This "spreads out" the power output and "flattens" the spikes of signal waveform, keeping them below the FCC limit.
This BIOS feature controls spread spectrum clocking of the memory bus. It usually offers three levels of modulation - 0.25%, 0.5% or 0.75%. They denote the amount of modulation around the memory bus frequency. The greater the modulation, the greater the reduction of EMI. Therefore, if you need to significantly reduce EMI, a modulation of 0.75% is recommended.
Generally, frequency modulation through spread spectrum clocking should not cause any problems. However, system stability may be compromised if you are overclocking the memory bus. Therefore, it is recommended that you disable this feature if you are overclocking the memory bus. Of course, if EMI reduction is still important to you, enable this feature by all means, but you may have to reduce the memory bus frequency a little to provide a margin of safety.
If you are not overclocking the memory bus, the decision to enable or disable this feature is really up to you. If you have electronic devices nearby that are affected by the EMI generated by your motherboard, or have sensitive data that must be safeguarded from electronic eavesdropping, enable this feature. Otherwise, disable it to remove even the slightest possibility of stability issues.
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