Key findings
- Do not change BIOS settings unless you are prepared. If you are not careful, it may damage your system.
- Secure Boot is critical for Windows 11, but it can hinder dual-boot setups – proceed with caution.
- Use BIOS options for virtualization and Resizable BAR to improve performance, but overclocking comes with risks.
Just like the Registry Editor in Windows 11, new PC users are often advised to avoid BIOS settings. Despite the built-in failsafes on most modern motherboards, if you carelessly change BIOS settings, your system can easily become unusable.
However, if you want to gain insight into BIOS settings, read on. We have compiled a list of the most important options to help you prepare for your first expedition into the world of BIOS!

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4 Startup settings
Where it all begins. Literally.
If you built your own PC, you may have previously entered the BIOS to change the system's boot priority to a USB drive containing the operating system files. As the name suggests, the boot priority settings allow you to decide which storage medium is given higher priority at boot time. The lower this number, the higher the device's priority.
If you're using UEFI boot mode, you might have noticed the Disk BBS Priorities section. This is where you can switch between drives with different bootloaders. Whether you're setting up a dual boot or embarking on a journey through distros, the Boot section will soon feel familiar.
3 Safe start
Necessary for Windows 11, but can be disruptive in dual-boot setups
While we're on the topic of boot settings, Secure Boot is another option you should know about. Secure Boot is designed to protect your system's kernel from malware infections. It uses digital signatures to verify the authenticity of the firmware. This protects your system from rootkits that try to infiltrate your PC by injecting themselves into the firmware.
Microsoft has made Secure Boot a mandatory feature on Windows 11, and we recommend that most users keep it enabled in the BIOS. However, if you try to install an operating system other than Windows 11 on your PC, Secure Boot may prevent you from booting into the second operating system, so your only option is to disable the setting.
2 Virtualization and IOMMU
For virtualization enthusiasts
Virtualization is a topic that comes up quite often in discussions about server PCs. Simply put, this handy feature allows you to split the processing power and resources of your host machine into isolated virtual machines. Not only does it allow you to use new operating systems without having to install them on your main system, but virtualization is also great for security reasons, as all virtual machines and containers are isolated instances of a system and you can experiment with them as you like.
If you want to try out this amazing technology, you will need to enable CPU virtualization in your BIOS. Depending on your motherboard manufacturer, this setting may be called VT-x, AMD-V, or SVM. Advanced users using Linux-based virtualization platforms like Proxmox can enable another setting called IOMMU before they can set up PCIe passthrough to access the GPU, Ethernet cards, and other devices connected to the PCI Express slots in your virtual machines.
1 Overclocking settings
To push your processor and memory beyond their normal limits
Before we begin, you should know that overclocking your CPU and RAM can lead to higher temperatures and shorten their lifespan. Once you've decided to do that, the CPU ratio and CPU core voltage are the main options you can tweak to overclock your processor. The former refers to the clock frequency of the processor, while the latter indicates the amount of power sent to the CPU. By increasing the voltage, you can increase the clock frequency a little, but at the cost of temperature.
Overclocking memory usually only increases the DRAM frequency, but you can further calibrate the timings and voltages if needed. For most beginners, I recommend enabling the Auto OC settings for the CPU and XMP/EXPO option memory, as they are quite reliable and will not jeopardize the stability of your system.
Finally, there is one setting that I recommend every user to enable in the BIOS. The Resizable BAR feature is only available on modern motherboards and allows your processor to access all of your GPU's VRAM instead of limiting it to using fixed blocks of video memory. You can usually find it under PCIe settings, such as PCI Subsystem Options. Enabling it will improve your frame rates, especially if you are the proud owner of an Intel Alchemist graphics card.
I also wanted to mention the fan curves in the BIOS, but the free Fan Control utility offers more customization options and, more importantly, doesn't require you to poke around in potentially dangerous options in the BIOS.

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However, if you're not sure about changing BIOS settings, there's no need to rush. For the average user, only the Virtualization and Resizable BAR settings are worth looking at. Most users probably won't need to install multiple operating systems, so the Boot Priority and Secure Boot settings are largely redundant. Plus, you can still game at respectable frame rates without having to go down the overclocking rabbit hole.