¿Best upgrades for M18X-R2? [CPU - GPU - RAM - Cooling] Best for the buck.

Thanks for the answer but I am not quite sure what are you telling me. Are you suggesting that I can create a RAID 0 from Windows and that is not necessary to build it up after BIOS posting?
Previous to my answer I try to find the information but I couldn't find it so if you don't mind to explain this to me, will be very appreciated.

 

http://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/19/SLN288974/EN this post show how to setup RAID 1 (RAID 0 must be similar) using Intel Rapid Storage Technology software, I don't have a RAID setup with me, so can't help much info...

Plus my second point was about that another RAID 0 stripe you wanted (but afaik that's not much effective due to SATA III >> SATA II) you need a pair of another 2 similar HDD / SSD for the job but the R2 has all other SATA ports under SATA II (mSATA, ODD , 3rd slot in that HDD bay). So If you get another 2x SSD /HDD (SATA III) and RAID them they will be in SATA II speed &

Third was my doubt about mixing a SATA II port with a SATA III port for RAID 0, I guess that would result in a SATA II RAID 0 stripe..

Hope this was it..

 

Yes SATA II + SATA III in raid = 2x SATA II in raid. but works just fine.

 

For most purposes involving data storage with spinning platter drives, 2 or more drives in RAID0 at SATA-2 3.0GB/s delivers perfectly acceptable results. The M18xR2 allows you to put 2 SATA-3 6.0GB/s SSDs in RAID0 for blistering OS performance and a couple of 2TB HDD in RAID0 using the ODD bay for one of them for a massive storage volume, or 3 1TB SSDs in RAID0 using the mSATA port and ODD bay. I run Windows 8.1 (my secondary OS for stuff like Fire Strike since it like Windows 8 better) on mSATA at SATA-2 speeds and it feels no different than SATA-3 under most scenarios. I can see the difference in SSD benchmark results, but in everyday use it is pretty much irrelevant. Windows 7 in 2 SSD RAID0 on the SATA-3 ports gives me more speed than what can be felt in normal daily use.

 

The difference must driver related as is the very limited gains from overclocking. I have mucked around with a fair few drivers lately and gotten lower scores with some drivers... I was just never able to test 350.12 as they throttled like crazy with premas vbios. I also get very limited gains (if any) from an overclock with my current 347.90 drivers. When I had the 344.75 drivers going properly they worked the best with overclocking but would very quickly reach the system power draw limit (325-335watts) in 3dmark 11 with overclocks like you have and would get major throttling.

Seriously hoping Nvidia will release solid drivers and just forget all this throttling and user babying, The Geforce Experience vision should go something like: Striving for Extreme Performance and Visual Fidelity in ALL systems that are running Nvidia Hardware!

 

I do that with Intel RST from within Windows all the time. It is very simple to create your RAID volumes using RST in Windows. You do not have to do it using the Intel Option ROM (Ctrl+I before POST). Just set the BIOS to RAID instead of AHCI before you install the OS.

 

GTA V's benchmar (settings inside):
ShadowPlay takes some performance while recording.

Without shadowplay these are the results:

Frames Per Second (Higher is better) Min, Max, Avg
Pass 0, 7.743727, 71.899429, 58.170055
Pass 1, 16.693260, 66.607018, 57.081474
Pass 2, 48.836601, 67.864098, 59.789188
Pass 3, 46.277634, 65.620140, 59.901073
Pass 4, 16.578547, 82.309044, 57.791790

Time in milliseconds(ms). (Lower is better). Min, Max, Avg
Pass 0, 13.908317, 129.136795, 17.190975
Pass 1, 15.013433, 59.904415, 17.518818
Pass 2, 14.735332, 20.476446, 16.725431
Pass 3, 15.239223, 21.608711, 16.694191
Pass 4, 12.149333, 60.318920, 17.303495

Frames under 16ms (for 60fps):
Pass 0: 39/542 frames (7.20%)
Pass 1: 24/526 frames (4.56%)
Pass 2: 24/565 frames (4.25%)
Pass 3: 48/566 frames (8.48%)
Pass 4: 461/6700 frames (6.88%)

Frames under 33ms (for 30fps):
Pass 0: 538/542 frames (99.26%)
Pass 1: 520/526 frames (98.86%)
Pass 2: 565/565 frames (100.00%)
Pass 3: 566/566 frames (100.00%)
Pass 4: 6683/6700 frames (99.75%)

Percentiles in ms for pass 0
50%, 16.00
75%, 17.00
80%, 17.00
85%, 18.00
90%, 19.00
91%, 19.00
92%, 19.00
93%, 20.00
94%, 20.00
95%, 21.00
96%, 21.00
97%, 22.00
98%, 23.00
99%, 26.00

Percentiles in ms for pass 1
50%, 16.00
75%, 17.00
80%, 17.00
85%, 19.00
90%, 21.00
91%, 21.00
92%, 22.00
93%, 22.00
94%, 24.00
95%, 25.00
96%, 26.00
97%, 26.00
98%, 31.00
99%, 32.00

Percentiles in ms for pass 2
50%, 16.00
75%, 16.00
80%, 17.00
85%, 17.00
90%, 17.00
91%, 17.00
92%, 17.00
93%, 17.00
94%, 17.00
95%, 17.00
96%, 17.00
97%, 18.00
98%, 18.00
99%, 18.00

Percentiles in ms for pass 3
50%, 16.00
75%, 17.00
80%, 17.00
85%, 17.00
90%, 17.00
91%, 17.00
92%, 17.00
93%, 17.00
94%, 17.00
95%, 17.00
96%, 17.00
97%, 17.00
98%, 17.00
99%, 18.00

Percentiles in ms for pass 4
50%, 16.00
75%, 17.00
80%, 17.00
85%, 18.00
90%, 19.00
91%, 20.00
92%, 20.00
93%, 21.00
94%, 21.00
95%, 22.00
96%, 23.00
97%, 24.00
98%, 26.00
99%, 29.00

=== SYSTEM ===
Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit (6.2, Build 9200)
DX Feature Level: 11.0
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3920XM CPU @ 2.90GHz (8 CPUs), ~3.1GHz
8192MB RAM
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M, 8418MB, Driver Version 350.12
Graphics Card Vendor Id 0x10de with Device ID 0x13d7

=== SETTINGS ===
Display: 1920x1080 (FullScreen) @ 60Hz VSync ON
Tessellation: 3
LodScale: 1.000000
PedLodBias: 0.200000
VehicleLodBias: 0.000000
ShadowQuality: 2
ReflectionQuality: 2
ReflectionMSAA: 4
SSAO: 2
AnisotropicFiltering: 16
MSAA: 4
MSAAFragments: 0
MSAAQuality: 0
TextureQuality: 2
ParticleQuality: 2
WaterQuality: 2
GrassQuality: 1
ShaderQuality: 2
Shadow_SoftShadows: 5
UltraShadows_Enabled: true
Shadow_ParticleShadows: true
Shadow_Distance: 1.000000
Shadow_LongShadows: false
Shadow_SplitZStart: 0.930000
Shadow_SplitZEnd: 0.890000
Shadow_aircraftExpWeight: 0.990000
Shadow_DisableScreenSizeCheck: false
Reflection_MipBlur: true
FXAA_Enabled: true
TXAA_Enabled: true
Lighting_FogVolumes: true
Shader_SSA: true
DX_Version: 2
CityDensity: 0.700000
PedVarietyMultiplier: 1.000000
VehicleVarietyMultiplier: 1.000000
PostFX: 3
DoF: true
HdStreamingInFlight: false
MaxLodScale: 0.700000
MotionBlurStrength: 0.500000

 

Thanks for the test result Nikos.The benchmark looks really good for the 980m sli, i guess if you lower down msaa, you might increase the min fps to 50+! Now i cant wait to get hold on my 980m sli. By the way, which driver where you using? And did you flash the vbios?

 

Hi! It's good to hear that was useful for you ;D
I used driver version 350.12 j95 mod (awesome work bro j95). Stock vbios.
The video shows FPS drops because I was using ShadowPlay to capture the benchmark. If I play without it there is no drop downs of FPS.

The FPS average for non-shadowplay gaming is the one I posted before:


Pass 0, 58.170055
Pass 1, 57.081474
Pass 2, 59.789188
Pass 3, 59.901073
Pass 4, 57.791790

Hope you get your SLI980M ASAP

 

AW 980M 'OCing' Throttling FIXED!.. AW GTX 900M Throttling FIX

 

For SLI too? This is the best gift since I do not remember when LOL

 

Please test his driver mod and let us know if that is actually true for SLI. I'm sure @j95 would appreciate it a lot, and so would the rest of us.

 

I can't right now if you let me 4-6 hours I will be able to test all you want. I'm so hyped right now. I would love to see throttling gone for good.

I will come here with results or any questions.

 

I think it's fixed:
FireStrike:
+135 MHz/+400 MHz +25 mV
i7 3920XM @ 4.6GHz
14445
No throttling at all.
More than 340W during the test. I've recorded a video showing that. What's next?
How I can flash my cards to test with svl7 or Premas mod?
@j95 if this is the end to the throttling problem I guess it's safe now to say We love you! I will donate to you as soon as I can. You deserve everybody respect.

 

If it is fixed beyond +135 on core, that will be truly wonderful. It won't fix the pure UEFI problem and not being able to run Windows 7, but if I had to, I could live with those defects if the throttling is gone for good.

To flash the vBIOS mod, remove the secondary GPU. Change the BIOS to SG mode and UEFI with Legacy Option ROM. This will allow you to boot using the Intel HD Graphics in Optimus mode. Disable the 980M in Device Manager (this is required with Maxwell). Flash the primary GPU, reboot and re-enable the GPU in Device Manager. Be patient, because UEFI with Legacy Option ROM flashing takes a bit longer sometimes. I may seem like nothing is happening or it may appear that NVFLASH is frozen. Just wait a minute or two and it should complete. After flashing, test or bench if you wish using a USB keyboard.

Now, shut down your laptop, disconnect all power again. Put the secondary GPU in the primary slot. No need to separate the heat sinks. Lay the heat sink radiator on top of the chassis above the VGA/HDMI port. It will make a solid connection in the PCIe slot for flashing. Since there is no air being pushed through the radiator, it will get too hot if you try to use it this way, but it will be fine just for flashing. Disable the GPU in Device Manager, flash, reboot, re-enable the GPU and confirm proper function.

BEFORE REASSEMBLY, put the BIOS back to PEG mode with pure UEFI (no Legacy Option ROM). If you forget to do this you will have to remove the secondary GPU or the machine will fail to POST with 8 beeps. Once the BIOS is correctly set, put everything back the way it is supposed to be and you're ready to go.

Looking forward to hearing if the throttling problem is gone above +135. I am optimistic it may be. Let us know.

 

Thanks for such a fast response and for the info. I think I read there is a way to use a e-sata Win7 or something like that?
Here is too late and I have to go to bed, can't do everythink you are telling me right now (sorry for that I can't wait to see if this fix is for good, I hope so).
I will ask every step I do not understand clearly tomorrow if you do not mind to help me or j95 himself or who ever wants to help me with this procces .

Here you are more benchmarks for today.

3DMark 11:

+135 MHz / +450MHz +25 mV
3920XM @ 4.6 GHz

P16859

 

3DMark Vantage:

+135 MHz / +450MHz +25 mV
3920XM @ 4.6 GHz

P46616

 

GTA V Bencmark:

Frames Per Second (Higher is better) Min, Max, Avg
Pass 0, 9.796758, 66.402061, 56.924992
Pass 1, 18.336826, 64.102226, 56.915047
Pass 2, 40.957005, 62.882477, 58.495880
Pass 3, 44.026077, 64.666275, 58.862694
Pass 4, 26.095234, 67.816902, 56.700104

Time in milliseconds(ms). (Lower is better). Min, Max, Avg
Pass 0, 15.059773, 102.074585, 17.566977
Pass 1, 15.600082, 54.535065, 17.570045
Pass 2, 15.902681, 24.415848, 17.095221
Pass 3, 15.464011, 22.713812, 16.988689
Pass 4, 14.745586, 38.321175, 17.636652

Frames under 16ms (for 60fps):
Pass 0: 11/531 frames (2.07%)
Pass 1: 2/531 frames (0.38%)
Pass 2: 3/552 frames (0.54%)
Pass 3: 28/557 frames (5.03%)
Pass 4: 106/6537 frames (1.62%)

Frames under 33ms (for 30fps):
Pass 0: 528/531 frames (99.44%)
Pass 1: 527/531 frames (99.25%)
Pass 2: 552/552 frames (100.00%)
Pass 3: 557/557 frames (100.00%)
Pass 4: 6528/6537 frames (99.86%)

Percentiles in ms for pass 0
50%, 17.00
75%, 17.00
80%, 17.00
85%, 18.00
90%, 19.00
91%, 20.00
92%, 20.00
93%, 20.00
94%, 21.00
95%, 21.00
96%, 22.00
97%, 24.00
98%, 24.00
99%, 27.00

Percentiles in ms for pass 1
50%, 17.00
75%, 17.00
80%, 17.00
85%, 18.00
90%, 19.00
91%, 20.00
92%, 20.00
93%, 20.00
94%, 20.00
95%, 21.00
96%, 22.00
97%, 24.00
98%, 27.00
99%, 27.00

Percentiles in ms for pass 2
50%, 16.00
75%, 17.00
80%, 17.00
85%, 17.00
90%, 17.00
91%, 17.00
92%, 17.00
93%, 17.00
94%, 18.00
95%, 18.00
96%, 18.00
97%, 18.00
98%, 19.00
99%, 20.00

Percentiles in ms for pass 3
50%, 16.00
75%, 17.00
80%, 17.00
85%, 17.00
90%, 17.00
91%, 17.00
92%, 17.00
93%, 17.00
94%, 17.00
95%, 18.00
96%, 18.00
97%, 18.00
98%, 18.00
99%, 19.00

Percentiles in ms for pass 4
50%, 17.00
75%, 17.00
80%, 18.00
85%, 18.00
90%, 19.00
91%, 20.00
92%, 20.00
93%, 21.00
94%, 21.00
95%, 22.00
96%, 22.00
97%, 23.00
98%, 24.00
99%, 26.00

=== SYSTEM ===
Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit (6.2, Build 9200)
DX Feature Level: 11.0
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3920XM CPU @ 2.90GHz (8 CPUs), ~3.1GHz
8192MB RAM
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M, 8418MB, Driver Version 350.12
Graphics Card Vendor Id 0x10de with Device ID 0x13d7

=== SETTINGS ===
Display: 1920x1080 (FullScreen) @ 59Hz VSync ON
Tessellation: 2
LodScale: 1.000000
PedLodBias: 0.200000
VehicleLodBias: 0.000000
ShadowQuality: 2
ReflectionQuality: 2
ReflectionMSAA: 4
SSAO: 2
AnisotropicFiltering: 16
MSAA: 2
MSAAFragments: 0
MSAAQuality: 0
TextureQuality: 2
ParticleQuality: 2
WaterQuality: 2
GrassQuality: 1
ShaderQuality: 2
Shadow_SoftShadows: 5
UltraShadows_Enabled: true
Shadow_ParticleShadows: true
Shadow_Distance: 1.000000
Shadow_LongShadows: true
Shadow_SplitZStart: 0.930000
Shadow_SplitZEnd: 0.890000
Shadow_aircraftExpWeight: 0.990000
Shadow_DisableScreenSizeCheck: false
Reflection_MipBlur: true
FXAA_Enabled: true
TXAA_Enabled: true
Lighting_FogVolumes: true
Shader_SSA: true
DX_Version: 2
CityDensity: 0.700000
PedVarietyMultiplier: 1.000000
VehicleVarietyMultiplier: 1.000000
PostFX: 3
DoF: true
HdStreamingInFlight: true
MaxLodScale: 1.000000
MotionBlurStrength: 0.300000

 

These all sound too good to be true! The 980m sli on the m18x r2 can last even longer with a moderate overclock! Thanks for all the test result provided by Nikos!

 

@[Nikos] You need to Flash Prema's vbios mod v1.1.

 

I'm going to make a list to try to simplify as much as I can the whole process:

Feel free to copy the list and edit it if I miss any step.


Flashing process:

1. Get Prema's vbios version 1.1 (Download HERE) (Make a donation to him - HERE).
2. Get @j95's modded drivers (Download HERE) (Make a donation to him - HERE <- need your link @j95 please ).
3. Remove the secondary GPU and turn on the laptop.
4. Change the BIOS to SG mode and UEFI with Legacy Option ROM.
5. Disable the 980M in Device Manager (this is required with Maxwell).
6. Flash the primary GPU, reboot and re-enable the GPU in Device Manager (Be patient, because UEFI with Legacy Option ROM flashing takes a bit longer sometimes).
6.1. After flashing, test or bench if you wish using a USB keyboard.
7. Shut down your laptop. Disconnect all power.
8. Put the secondary GPU in the primary slot.
9. No need to separate the heatsinks. *
10. Disable the GPU in Device Manager (this is required with Maxwell).
11. Flash the secondary GPU, reboot and re-enable the GPU in Device Manager (Be patient, because UEFI with Legacy Option ROM flashing takes a bit longer sometimes).
12. BEFORE REASSEMBLY, put the BIOS back to PEG mode with pure UEFI (no Legacy Option ROM). **
13. Access startup settings. Next, click or tap the Advanced options tile. Select the Startup Settings tile on the Advanced options screen.
13. Reboot into safe mode (option 4)
14. Remove previous drivers with DDU, and access again to startup settings. Next, click or tap the Advanced options tile. Select the Startup Settings tile on the Advanced options screen.
15. On the Startup Settings screen, tap the F7 or 7 key on your keyboard to select the “Disable driver signature enforcement” option.
16. Install GeForce 350.12 WHQL -> Install using nv_dispi.inf from HERE.
17. NV Inspector -> Match P0/P1 stock clocks first -> Run Valley Benchmark then find out how much the card will hold w/ 1.068v , finally update settings. Don't mess w/ voltage offset including undervolting, only when OCing.
18. Do some benchmark (3DMark FireStrike 1.1, 3DMark 11, 3DMark Vantage...)


*Lay the heat sink radiator on top of the chassis above the VGA/HDMI port. It will make a solid connection in the PCIe slot for flashing. Since there is no air being pushed through the radiator, it will get too hot if you try to use it this way, but it will be fine just for flashing.

**If you forget to do this you will have to remove the secondary GPU or the machine will fail to POST with 8 beeps. Once the BIOS is correctly set, put everything back the way it is supposed to be and you're ready to go.

Note:
The only thing I do not understand is how I am supposed to boot into windows 7. I would like to do all this without having to format my current system. Is it possible that someone share an image (ISO or so) that let me boot up and flash? I hope you understand what I am talking about.

 

If you have a mSata cache drive...just use that. There is actually a way to make USB thumb drives windows bootable too. Tek Syndicate did a video on it.

 

Could someone explain a little further the step 4 please? Where is that option or all the BIOS settings step-by-step you need to change? Thanks.

Also I forgot to explain the flashing procedure (nvflash commands) and where to get the latest nvflash version.

 

I did it in window 8.1 just then (sg, uefi with legacy support).... I assume it flashed correctly as it seemed to flash as usual in windows 7

 

What makes you like W8 better dans W8.1? how do the two of them compare to W7 on a M18x R2 like in this thread?

Any advantages on running one of the 3 more than the others for gaming?

 

Hi, Brother Tom. Sorry if you misunderstood my post.

I don't like it better than 8.1. While there are differences between updates, Windows 8.1 is still Windows 8. My assumption is that almost everyone using Windows 8 would have the latest Service Pack applied. It's not a different OS, just an update. I don't specify Windows 7 SP1 when posting for the same reason... it's simply Windows 7. Overall, I am of the opinion that Windows 7 is superior to Windows 8. It definitely is where CPU performance matters. In most ways, there's no distinct advantage to using one versus the other. There are not any meaningful areas where Windows 8 stands out as distinctly superior or remarkable in the grand scheme of things. If you like chasing benchmark numbers you need both to do well at everything. If not, then it only boils down to personal preference.

To answer your second question about advantages, Windows 8.1.1 is the best patched version of Windows 8.

 

Flashed everything went OK but it seems that the keyboard is not working. Don't know if it's a connection issue or something went wrong while installing the keyboard. I will try to reconnect it.

Here you have 3DMark FireStrike 1.1

Graphics Score 20528

+200MHz/+450MHz

I'm not quite sure why I see always the same clocks. The memory work just fine but the core is not mantaining the 1300+ MHz and always comes back to 1126MHz

Maybe some P1-P0 stuff I forgot to change or something. They are supposed to be matched. I will try to recover the keyboard and I will come back asap with more testing.

 

The keyboard is back! So, lets do some benchmarks.
But first, lets make a clean driver install

Stay tuned!

 

Here is a problem I see:




The Vcore is always dropping from 1.1 (1.068 +37.5mV) to 1.068 (P0 to P1) so the cores can't get enough Voltage to work properly @ +148MHz / + 300MHz (the memory is just fine always working at the same frecuency)
During FireStrike the first 3 seconds or less the core frequency stays where it has to be, but after the Vcore drops to 1.068 the core clock get back to 1126MHz.

Also with the power metter I saw higher values than with stock vbios.

 

Well, it seems like it is better now, but not completely fixed. At least you are not dropping below 1126MHz on core and memory clocks are holding, so that alone is a big improvement from where I was when trying to run 980M SLI in my M18xR2. When overclocking it would often drop to 135MHz on core, memory would also throttle, and it totally ruined any benchmark or gaming attempts. The only way it would work right most of the time was stock clocks with a stock vBIOS.

What happens if you disable SLI and run a single GPU overclocked? Does it still drop? I ask because if there still some kind of cancer that is reading your AC adapter rating from the BIOS and telling the vBIOS to pull back the clock speeds to stay under some silly threshold, it may be causing that. If you disable SLI, it won't draw as much. Even having your dual AC adapter won't help because the BIOS identifies it as 330W. Having a dual AC adapter didn't change the behavior for my system running 980M SLI either.

 

You read my mind :

Graphics Score 11541

You were right, 1271 MHz it wont go up or down.



But before disabling SLI, I saw an average of 370W during the 3DMark FireStrike benchmark (SLI ON) Max I saw 384W.

 

OK awesome. Now another question... you probably are doing it correctly, but I should at least check in case it somehow slipped your mind by accident. As the GPUs do not sync up like Afterburner or Precision, you are manually setting the P1 clocks to P0 and clicking "apply" for each P-state, and for each of the GPUs independently using NVIDIA Inspector, correct? Not only GPU0? If you change the P-state drop-down menu or the GPU selection drop-down before clicking on "apply" any changes made on that screen will be discarded. I know this, but still sometimes forget because NVIDIA Inspector is not my primary GPU overclocking tool.

 

Yes that's what I'm doing, clicking on apply button every time I change anything from any P state :S.

This is how it looks like (no SLI).

Graphics Score 11840
1300MHz no throttling

 

Between 1300 MHz and 1331 MHz is the limit for my GPU core @ 1.068 V

 

Mr.Fox do you mind to check my BIOS settings for checking out that I have everthing set up properly?

Nikos BIOS settings album

Thank you in advance

 

Sure, almost everything matches what I use. Below are the exceptions for what I have set differently that you can try to see if they help:

http://imgur.com/a/yIpVw#13 < set DMI Link ASPM Control to Disabled

http://imgur.com/a/yIpVw#15 < set TCO WatchDog Support to Disabled (this is primarily for CPU)

http://imgur.com/a/yIpVw#16 < set the top two items (PCIe Clock Gating and ASPM) to Disabled

http://imgur.com/a/yIpVw#22 < AES set to Disabled (shouldn't affect GPU behavior, does CPU)

Edit: If I am remembering what he suggested correctly, without changing Bus Clock Frequency, from here choose "Apply Settings Immediately" and then "Apply Settings Permanently After Reboot" according to @j95 suggestion. He found this tricked something to stop the GPU throttling.

 

Thank you so much I will try it tomorrow here is like 4.20AM :S

I think I have the best 3DMark FireStrike score so far (M18X-R2)!

14893

 

Very good. Nice score!

Two other things I set differently...
http://imgur.com/a/yIpVw#1 < Virtualization is set to Disabled
http://imgur.com/a/yIpVw#2 < Level 1-3 Overclocking option is set to Disabled

 

This is the video of the 14893 score . Check power consumption

 

Those clocks are not "matched"...the P1 is only 1183 while the P0 is 1272...P1 also needs to be 1272 or you will only get full clocks, but not full GPU utilization.
You added the 145Mhz on top of the base clock instead on top of the stock 3D clock.

 

Hello!
Thanks for the info, after I posted that I did what you are saying. I guess I posted it wrong the other day. Anyway tomorrow I will upload all the info I can obtain from my system to let you or others to check if I'm doing something wrong and the overclocking is 100% fixed. I hope I'm doing something wrong and have overclock back

 

Good catch!

This is where my line of questions were going in a previous post, but I missed seeing the mistake in your screen shots like Prema did.

I am optimistic now, because the "throttling" you were seeing now appears to be your GPUs doing exactly what you set them to do. There is no way to stop the vBIOS from sending the GPUs to P1 states, but if P1 is identical to P0 it will have no effect on behavior. We used to have to do this with 580M also. I tried this several times back when I was still attempting to get 980M SLI to work correctly in my M18xR2 and it did not work correctly. My GPUs were also throttling below P1 under load when overclocked. The progress that @Prema and @j95 have made since then is excellent. I am expecting a good report tomorrow once you have the P-states equalized.

If that works, @Prema might need to mod your vBIOS to increase P1 voltage to allow you to overclock the core higher... I am assuming that modding P1 voltage might be possible. Otherwise, your max stable overclock will be limited to what is stable at whatever P1 voltage has been set. It would be nice if there was a way to adjust P1 voltage like we can P0, but it appears to be fixed and would need to be flashed if there is no way to unlock the P1 voltage slider.

 

From what I have been told, overvoltage doesn't drop to P1 once core and vRAM are matched.
It holds 1.2v without a problem.

EDIT: With my v1.1 Mod that is.

 

Oh wow, that's fantastic news. That should greatly simplify things.

 

Going higher than this clocks is not working for me or I think so :S

Prema VBIOS:




NVinspector no overclock just both Pstates matched:
GTX 980M (0)


GTX 980M (1)




Test with those settings (no throttling at all):



Test 2 (same clocks / +137.5 mV)

GTX 980M (0)



GTX 980M (1)



Test with those settings (no throttling at all - voltage going down to 1.068):

 

You again put the P1 clocks wrong...P1 core clock has to match the P0 Turbo clock (1126) and not 3D base clock (1038) otherwise the voltage and utilization will drop.
Also hit apply defaults before making any changes (inspector has a few bugs reading the vBIOS values correctly).

 

This post is not updated right now the latest test are located in the other thread (980M SLI upgrade). Sorry for that I will update this one as soon as I can. Thanks for the update