BIOS confusing options - please help! - Z170X-UD5

[Slc80]

Hello, new to the forum with a few questions about my new pc using a Gigabyte Z170X-UD5 rev. 1 motherboard, appreciate the help! I've searched and read for countless hours for more definitive info on the below settings but the information is very conflicting. Does anyone have the definitive, correct answers??

(1) Is it worth it to reinstall Win 10 64bit onto a GPT drive for UEFI boot, or just leave it as MBR on Legacy bios? Boot drive is a Samsung SSD.

(2)(a) By using UEFI, I can use secure boot, but I heard this can cause all sorts of problems (unable to boot from usb drives, certain video cards not supported, etc) and to leave secure boot off?
(b) Is secure boot really that secure and worth the trouble??
(c) Do I need to disable uefi and/or secure boot anytime I want to boot up from other media, i.e. a bootable cd like memtest86 or flash drive with image restore utilities?

(3) Can anyone explain the below bios options clearly, the manual is very vague and leaves a lot of questions:
(a) Windows 8/10 Features - do I set this to Windows 8/10 and does this basically mean "enable UEFI" while Other OS means disable UEFI? Someone else mentioned they got Win 10 UEFI GPT to work with this still set as default "Other OS"...hmmm?!?
(b) CSM Support - by setting above to Windows 8/10 (enable UEFI?), if I enable CSM Support does this mean "UEFI first then Legacy" or does it mean "Legacy only"? Or is enabling CSM support just allowing the below options to show up for more fine tuning of UEFI/Legacy options (for example if CSM Support is enabled, and Lan PXE, Storage Boot, PCI Device etc. is set to UEFI only, this essentially disables CSM even though CSM option above them is enabled)?
(c) LAN PXE Boot Option - leave disabled? No idea what this is.
(d) Storage Boot Option Control - is this to decide whether disk controller drives boot as UEFI or Legacy? If set to default Legacy then GPT boot drive won't work? Anyway to set this to UEFI first, then legacy rather than one or the other?
(e) Other PCI Device Rom Priority - what does this control exactly?? Manual says not LAN, storage, or graphics, then what is it? PCI sound card etc? Must support UEFI to work? Why is this UEFI default and Storage Boot is Legacy default?

(4) Does Fast Boot and Ultra Fast Boot require UEFI? The option seems to be independent of UEFI but I can't really tell the difference.

Thanks in advance!

[Slc80]

Re: BIOS confusing options - please help! - Z170X-UD5

Can anyone help?

[Slc80]

Re: BIOS confusing options - please help! - Z170X-UD5

Well, I received a reply from Gigabyte through a tech support ticket and the answer was absolutely useless. No explanations, "use default". Can anyone here help?

[profJim]

Re: BIOS confusing options - please help! - Z170X-UD5

Welcome to the forum.

I'm sorry to hear that the reply from GB tech support report was useless.

Search the web using: uefi secure boot tutorial guide windows and see what uefi experts recommend. Obviously it will be best to focus on guides that deal with windows but you might find helpful general information from sites that deal with other operating systems.

It might be helpful if you click on the Tweaktown forum's Advanced Search option which is in the upper right portion of forum web pages and type eufi in the Keyword(s): section, then select the Search Titles Only option and then click the Search Now button.

I'd help you if I could, but I'm using LGA775 systems and I don't have first hand experience with uefi or secure boot.

You might find useful secure boot information from eufi user guides from other motherboard manufacturer websites.

I'm pretty sure that your video card needs to have a compatible bios to be able to use Secure Boot.

Good luck, I don't envy you.

[Slc80]

Re: BIOS confusing options - please help! - Z170X-UD5

Hey, thanks for the suggestions. I've done an exhaustive search on these options but there is a lot of conflicting info, especially since other mobo brands will have slightly different implementations of UEFI (partial, UEFI and legacy, UEFI or legacy, UEFI first then legacy, etc.). There isn't anything really specific to Gigabyte's bios settings and according to their tech support the manual isn't even accurate (for instance they said to leave storage boot on legacy only, which will automatically choose uefi or legacy apparently). Also some of the options can be enabled or disabled or visible or hidden depending on the order that you set them, which is really annoying. For instance, if I set to Win 8/10 then enable CSM, then set it back to Other OS, the CSM options remain. Very buggy implementation!

[profJim]

Re: BIOS confusing options - please help! - Z170X-UD5

You're welcome.

I mentioned looking at the documentation from other Z170 motherboard brands in the hope that their documentation might assist you when dealing with the conflicting info and suggestions. For solid tech information, one of the best websites that I've used frequently for many years is sevenforums.com. They have quite a few very experienced forum members and they do an excellent job pointing out when junior members post bad or inaccurate information. Many or most well known, major websites do not do a good job replying when bad or vague information is posted. I assume that the newer eightforums.com and tenforums.com sites are also well run.

It looks like dealing with the secure boot setup is as messy and confusing as it was when dealing with IME (Intel Management Engine) setup and configuration.

Have you tried web searches using: secure boot gigabyte z170 or uefi install windows 10?
Some major sites have "official" or unofficial threads that include specific motherboard brands and/or models and you might find good information from their experts and members who have been successful with uefi and secure boot setup and configuration. Check out Xtreme Systems, Overclock.net and some of the best European tech sites.

parsec was a very experienced Tweaktown forum member that helped many others with solid secure boot advice and recommendations, but most of his posts were in the TT ASRock forum.