Alienware M18xR2 New/Updated BIOS Mods - NOW WITH MAXWELL LEGACY SUPPORT - Testers Needed

Using Windows 7 on M18X R2 GTX 980M SLI with 368.69 and I haven't noticed anything either IN GAME, Now on 3dmark11, I can sometime get FPS dips on 1 or 2 tests, (but it is the same spots each time) So I am not entirely sure if that is throttling or not.

Speaking of detecting throttling, is there ANY other program to monitor Temps, CPU/ GPU usage etc. besides MSI Afterburner? - I don't like running it because (for some reason) it can't change my voltages. where as Nvidia Inspector can.

 

Use Hwinfo64, Rtss and Nvidia Inspector.

 

You can use it for up to +100 with the right tweaks. Thanks to @j95 for letting me know this.

GUIDE to enable "voltage control" in MSI Afterburner

This is definitely much better for monitoring things rather than MSI Afterburner.

 

I'm about to upgrade from 680M SLI and am slightly confused, do I this BIOS if I am on Win 10?

 

This Bios A11 Mod is aimed for 980M users to bypass the Bios beep problem when install the gpu in legacy mode. For some reasons I dont recommend it for 680M users and its not needed anyway.

 

I see you are about to upgrade from a 680m and since your question is on the 980m Forum you must be using a 980m. So yes you can use the BIOS. it will prevent it from the 8 beep Bios glitch that is on all other BIOS'. Also It adds the Ability to use windows 7/8/10 in legacy mode without that UEFI security layer.

You will be Good to go with out worries of your screen blacking out and having to tear apart the laptop again to swap back in the 680m.

Pro Tip from Mr. Fox. when you install the new GFX card. leave the laptop apart and using a usb keyboard and mouse get things setup how you like first and confirm you are good to go before rebuilding the laptop.

Tip two if you have trouble updaing your vBios on the card you can always use your 680m as a master and update your 980m using the 2nd slot. Using the Standard Prema vBIOS v2 Clevo, on 2 Dell cards currently and running very stable for me

 

I apologize for the confusion, yes I am upgrading from 680M SLI to a single MSI 980M. I wasn't sure if flashing to Swicks BIOS was necessary if I was on Win 10. I'm worried I will have to reinstall Win 7, any way to prevent this?

So I will need to place 980M in secondary slot, flash to Prema's vbios first, then flash to Swicks BIOS, then move to primary slot, and then fingers crossed OS doesn't need reinstalling and from then on I need to enter BIOS upon each boot and switch from IGFX to PEG (could someone elaborate on this or show me the page in this forum where this is elaborated?) to prevent throttling? Oh and I will need modified nvidia drivers, where do I get those?

Thanks everyone!

 

I'm nearing this boat... the question is if I'm already on Win 8.1 and 2x 980Ms with UEFI, can I flash to the new system BIOS, switch to legacy and boot Win 8.1? or do I have to reinstall something.

Homer

 

I have a few more questions, with 980M and Swicks BIOS is it possible to use the laptop while on battery?

Is the throttling issue limited to SLI or does it also occur with single 980M?

 

Is it possible to install 980m without having to reinstall the OS? I'm going to stay on Windows 7. I just had to reinstall Windows 7 twice in a row as I made the mistake of switching from RAID to AHCI while troubleshooting a drive that refused to show in BIOS under RAID. It takes forever to DL the updates. What about backing up Windows 7, reinstalling and then restoring to backup?

 

If you switch from UEFI to Legacy you will have to reinstall Windows.

 

You will definitely throttle on battery power even my old 7970m always throttled on battery power

 

Absolutely. if you want Windows 7 install the BIOS. remove your graphics card drivers with DDU. Install the card and you should be good to go. Since you are on Windows 7 you are in legacy mode correct?

I'll get you the link to the driver mod in the morning if someone doesn't beat me to it

 

Thanks for the help, actually the person I'm getting the 980M from and I were trying to figure out if I am in Legacy mode or not. He suggested checking the the boot tab in BIOS so I did but there is nothing there to indicate if I am or not. I am still on A03.

But if I am in UEFI mode it would be possible to copy my existing version of windows to another disk and then restore it after getting Windows up and running again and it would have all of the updates?

Picking it up tomorrow, really excited, kinda wish I could afford both of them, which would still be amazing even with default clocks. But I really am doing the upgrade because 2GB of VRAM just isn't enough anymore and I'm actually seeing performance problems in games now because of it and SLI support isn't what it used to be. So yeah, I will probably be single GPU from here on.

So just to make sure, order of things is:

1. Back up Windows 7 to another disk.

2. Flash to Swicks BIOS

3. Install 980M in primary slot.

4. Reinstall Windows (if in UEFI).

5. Or hope system boots and then flash to Prema's vbios? Some people on here say they like the default dell vbios as the voltage drops down to 1.00v under light load, how does this vbios OC?

6. Oh I forgot to add uninstalling the display driver via DDU in safe mode before booting. I should probably have the latest modified driver before hand. Where do I get that?

7. And then from here on I have to enter BIOS and switch from IGFX to PEG and back if I am experiencing throttling in games? Does the throttling occur in games or is it only in 3Dmark for whatever reason or is it only Win 10 that doesn't suffer from throttling in games without the IGFX to PEG switch?

Anything else I need to be aware of?

Thanks again.

 

Any way to tell if I am in Legacy Mode on A03, it doesn't indicate anything in BIOS.

 

Reply is inline ^

 

A03 should be in Legacy only (I believe)

 

Thank you so much for helping with this! And + rep

I have one more question before taking the plunge, reading Swicks initial post here, does DX11 work? What exactly would I be losing running in Legacy Mode?

Best way to image Windows built in imaging tool?

 

Hey Guys, been working my ass off. been on the clock from 16 - 18 hour days for the last several weeks! But I'm back for a third time, HAHAHA! LoL
I do have the m17xR4 bios modded with potential to give 900 gpu support. Still waiting for ppl to msg me if they want to test it! Let me know! heh if not, no big... I understand if you guys don't want to!

 

Swick, thanks for the work on this BIOS, I have a quick question, does DX11 work?

 

Will you have one for the M18x R1 as well?

 

DX11 works perfectly fine. Been playing Fallout 4 which is DX11 for 200 hours on windows 7 with no issues. its DX12 support that isn't available in windows 7 (included with windows 10) I'm not sure if they will ever release a standalone or force us to upgrade in a few years. But by then (if the 1080m doesn't end up working on the M18X R2) we might all be looking at upgrading to the next new AleinKillers anyway. IMHO

You don't "lose" anything theoretically UEFI should boot some what faster but that is nominal at best.

It's been years since i did an image. (like Norton Ghost 2003 edition) But that worked great. Makes a Bit level copy and allows you to reinstall onto different partition sizes, Newer versions have RAID support. You will have to research that buddy.

 

@vulcan78 Modded Driver

Go to this forum on TechInferno

Download
Alienware
nv_dispi.inf_v368.25_Win7_8.1_PEG_Dedicated.zip

Download the newest version of the GFX driver. I am currently using 368.69

• Attempt install (It will fail)
• Goto C:\NVIDIA\DisplayDriver\368.69\Win8_WinVista_Win7_64\International\Display.Driver
• Place the nv_dispi.inf you downloaded from TechInferno in that ^ folder. Overwrite = Yes
• Now go back 1 directory and Run the "setup.exe"
• It Will install now.

IF you have trouble Reboot hit F8 and boot with Driver Signing disabled. As the patched INF will make the driver "uncertified"

Protip: Several sites recommend NOT installing the Geforce Experience app Nor 3dvision Driver (if you don't have a need for it) Only uses for GE is if you have the nVidia Shield Tablet and want to stream to a tiny screen and play with a controller.

 

@Swick1981 Welcome back brother! Glad to see you around some more!

 

I posted before reading your post, thanks and I would +Rep you again if I could!

 

Getting this error on TI trying to DL that .inf file:

"Sorry, there is a problem

The page you are trying to access is not available for your account.
Error code: 2C171/1"

 

Yeah I actually just got banned for complaining about the inability to download the stupid .inf file. Where else can I get the file? There was a reason I stopped going on Tech Inferno.

I simply complained about their "Pay us to become an "Elite Member" policy with a single short paragraph without profanity and was perma-banned by "Brian" in a rather rude way.

Isn't that a bit overkill "Brian"? Probably not the best idea to be a moderator if youre emotionally unstable. Hope you never try to do something serious in the real world, like say Law Enforcement, you'll likely end up in one of those "person got shot for Jay Walking today" videos. Sorry if this is offensive, I am really really frustrated ATM and need to vent.

Any other place I can get the .inf file to update my display driver to get 980M working correctly?

Read their "about us" bit on the left of that perma-ban image. The irony is unreal. Yeah really lax moderator oversight, issuing permabans for minor first offence posts without a warning and no way for a user to issue a grievance or regain access to the site, that's really supportive of an open internet community where people can publicly air grievances, real or perceived.

 

Duplicate post.

 

Duplicate post.

 

Don't you just have to make 5 quality posts (as in not Spam) and then you can download - that's not TOO hard is it!?

 

Last time it was 15 and I needed to make 15 spam posts to download a unlocked BIOS. Seems this requirement gives them more problems than profits

@Swick1981 I would like to know that as well but no pressure m8

 

Yeah! @Swick1981 M18x R1! TELL US NOW! lol j/k buddy I don't have one, just had too much coffee and trolling. #QualityPost

 

Yeah my "first post" (I've actually been a member on TI from way back in 2011 when I was overclocking my M17X R2) yesterday was helping someone with their M18X R1.

https://www.techinferno.com/index.php?/profile/157-vulcan78/content/

Somewhere along the way, after hundreds of "quality posts" I either rubbed an overzealous mod the wrong way or lost my login credentials when they revamped the site and simply made a new profile.

Yeah the quality post count is there to get people to give them money. There is no other rationale for it.

Contributing members lol, been there since 2011 been helped and in turn helped others and now some new tween mod with raging hormones and a power complex feels permabanning me for questioning their "pay us $20 to download the 200Kb file you need to run you 980M that can't be found anywhere else" scheme in a few sentences, without profanity or going overboard, yeah that's really conducive to an open and free community with lax moderator oversight as they make out in their "about us" speel.

In their mind they think they are rallying behind Edward Snowden and Anonymous when in reality their action is so far from that philosophy towards Joseph Goebbels and George Orwell's Thought Police.

Brian I hope you're reading this, time to reread TI's mission statement and either put your money where your mouth is or step down from being a moderator.

 

Yeah my "first post" (I've actually been a member on TI from way back in 2011 when I was overclocking my M18X R2 yesterday was helping someone with their M18X R1.

https://www.techinferno.com/index.php?/profile/157-vulcan78/content/

Somewhere along the way, after hundreds of "quality posts" I either rubbed an overzealous mod the wrong way or lost my login credentials when they revamped the site and simply made a new profile.

Yeah the quality post count is there to get people to give them money. There is no other rationale for it
Contributing members lol, been there since 2011 been helped and in turn helped others and now some new tween mode with raging hormones feels permabanning me for questioning their "pay us $20 to download the 200Kb file you need to run you 980M that can't be found anywhere else" scheme in a few sentences, without profanity or going overboard, yeah that's really conducive to an open and free community with lax moderator oversight as they make our in their "about us" speel.

In their mind they think they are rallying behind Edward Snowden and Anonymous when in reality their action is so far from that philosophy towards Joseph Goebbels and George Orwell's Thought Police.

Brian I hope you're reading this, time to reread TI's mission statement and either put your money where your mouth is or step down from being a moderator.

 

Can someone copy/extract ME firmware from BIOS, from their machine. I really need it!!! Thank you...

 

I think the ranting is more than a little bit over the top, bro. That web site is a grass roots effort run by a small group of enthusiasts. The site maintenance, servers and other costs that go along with it come out of their personal grocery money. All of the files and firmware mods available on their web site are intended for use by the contributing members of that community and not everyone on the internet that wants to do a drive-by download for self-serving purposes or, even worse... to steal the fruits of another man's labor, call it their own and sell it on another forum. Nobody has to pay anything to download anything, but they do need to hang around and be a contributing member of the community to earn the right to benefit from the files. I think that's reasonable. Nobody has a special "right" to access any of it unless they're willing to follow the rules and the privilege is earned as a gift from the authors hosting their files there.

Many people appear out of nowhere and their first and only post is to ask for help downloading from another host or via email. Those accounts are instantly banned, and for good reason. Those that have an urgent need can pay a nominal fee to get instant access. Not sure why that should strike anyone as unreasonable. If you cannot afford $5 for instant gratification after buying a 980M GPU, something doesn't add up. Running Brian down here publicly in this community because you disagreed with his approach and did not like his private communication with you only makes you look bad.

 

@stefan063 - I am going to be talking with @Swick1981 by phone in a little bit and I will mention your need to him. He may have the firmware you need, but I'm not sure you will be able to flash it successfully. It won't hurt to try, though. Maybe you'll get lucky even though I never did. I hope so. Good luck, bro.

 

Yeah I would gladly contribute if the paywall wasn't as outwardly Mafia-esque as it currently is, say something akin to a file count download limit, where the first 3 files or so are free and then after that you either have to pay to become a member etc. All of the software I currently have, all of it, I have donated to the author in question, this is to include not only utilities such as ThrottleStop but also mods that I really like in games that can be found on say Nexusmods.com, where I have even paid the owners of that site.

But don't come out of the blue and perma-ban me for being critical of your Mafia-esque paywall scheme that disallows me from downloading a stupid 200Kb file that I need, or sit around with a year old driver and the inability OC my newly installed 980M with the default vbios nor play Doom 2016 at all and create "5 quality posts" for a profile that I had to re-create because one of your overly sensitive tween moderators found something I said to be "politically incorrect" (i.e. against the personal belief system of the 1st world ultra-conservative who can afford expensive computing who usually always wind up in a moderator position on this sites, i.e. overclock.net) and banned me 3 years ago.

Sure I will gladly contribute to work, no man works for free, but drop the Mafia BS while simultaneously mouthing platitudes about a free and open community with relaxed moderator oversight.

Read the "About us" bit and juxtapose that with perma-banning someone for being critical of the Mafia paywall BS:

Edit:

I was unaware that it was only $5 to become an "Elite Member" as clicking on the "Pay the Mafia / become an Elite Patron" link didn't work. I would like to give $5 directly to whoever is responsible for making the 980M driver's work though, just as long as it's not through the TI Mafia paywall.

 

Duplicate post. Posting here has slowed to an absolute crawl lately, don't know if its the server or what.

 

"Unprecedented amount of freedom" = perma-ban on first post critical of Mafia paywall.

LMFAO.

Anyhow, got my first run in with the freshly installed 980M without throttling via IGFX to PEG and back and default Dell vbios at the +135 / 200 MHz limit (not sure what the memory OC limit is) and its a bit faster than 680M SLI, especially the combined score where it went from 2900 to 3900 points, from 13 to 18 FPS, a 33% increase!

http://www.3dmark.com/compare/fs/9382040/fs/9257164

It's a bit hot, card hit 71C. It idles in the mid 30's though, going to try some Doom 2016 and check the temps.

Now if only I can get my hand on Premas vbios so the clocks actually stay at 1250 or so, throughout the run the clocks were around 1140 with default vbios.

 

Lol 71C isn't hot. It's cold.

 

Thank you very much for you effort. I have been in contact over my post "Urgent advise..." @Raidriar have sent me ME Firmware I am just waiting for someone to tell me how flash it... I mean I know basically,just to confirm. Also @Swick1981 detailed me about flashing,just that last part "with what" to flash haven't

 

You can find instructions here...

http://www.win-raid.com/t596f39-Intel-Management-Engine-Drivers-Firmware-amp-System-Tools.html

 

Which

Which one should I download for my M18x R1???

 

Found it ... Intel ME System Tools v6.x 1.5MB/5MB r3 Invalid usage again...

 

Duplicate post fun today. Server running like molasses.

 

Wow, single 980M runs Doom 2016 so much better than 680M SLI it is nearly unbelievable. I'm replaying the level "Get to the Lazarus Facility" and whereas with 680M SLI there was plenty of adaptive v-sync stutter there is zero, and I mean zero stutter now and I even went in and turned all of the settings up, one by one and slowly from High / Very High to Ultra and taking Virtual Page Texturing Size from Low to Ultra as well which eliminated the apparent texture pop-in, especially noticeable when swapping weapons, and the 980M is handling all of this with no problem at all. Clocks hold steady at 1261MHz with avg. load around 75% at 1080p everything on Ultra with AA on "TSAA8x".

I literally can't believe how much better single 980M is, talk about instant gratification. Before with 680M SLI, Virtual Page Texturing Size on anything above low resulted in unplayable hitching and the game exhibited atrocious stutter a good 33% of the time in general. Now all of that is gone. Attached is the temp data from the half an hour play session indicating 110W drawn and peak temp of 79C and avg. temp of 72C. This is actually right about in line of what I would see with games that I attempted to run with a single 680M, i.e. Planetside 2 etc. I would see load temps single 680M in the low-to-mid 80's, even with good thermal compound like IC Diamond.

Oh and PSU is barely luke warm whereas before it would have been piping hot.

Completely happy with my decision to upgrade. If youre reading this and still in possession of an M18x R2 with 680M or 780M SLI switching to single 980M is absolutely worth the cost and hassle.

 

Glad it worked out for you!

 

server lag. 2x post. Either that or NBR doesn't play well with Chrome lol

 

lol