A technology known as UEFI, the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface, has been around for years, waiting in the wings to replace the ugly BIOS. Though it has quietly gained prominence as the backbone of Apple computer firmware — a decision largely responsible for Mac OS X’s incompatibility with the BIOS-based PC — it remains obtuse for PC users. Despite supporting sounds, peripherals, full color menus and other swank features, the BIOS has simply been too entrenched to reject. Enter the UEFI-based MSI P45D3 Platinum which is looking to change all that.
Intel developed the original EFI in a bid to drag the PC out of the 1980s, as the business of changing the date, boot order of devices, or overclocking your PC using the Bios can be a horrible experience. It looks horribly dated and it can come as a nasty surprise when you look behind the veil and see the clunky mechanism that sits beneath your shiny copy of Windows 7 or Vista.
Though little is revealed about the board itself, this is an exciting look at the potential of tomorrow’s firmware. We can only hope that this is a move that catches on, as EFI really is a swank technology.
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