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

If you can call having to use special BIOS settings and having to remove GPUs after a BIOS reset to avoid 8 beeps working, I can see the point of the question. But, I don't really look at it as working... certainly not optimal. Those that are already running Maxwell GPUs in an M18xR2 should be doing cartwheels with joy over the prospect of not having to jump through hoops, having to take out their GPU(s) for a BIOS reset, etc.. And, I suspect many of them would be happy about being able to go back to running Windows 7 in Legacy Mode if they feel like it. The need to use pure UEFI and only being able to use Windows 8 and 10 was a deal breaker for me, and probably some others that would gladly jump on the upgrade wagon. Having IGFX as the BIOS default is a huge blessing for everyone regardless of their BIOS and OS preferences if that means 8-beeps is a thing of the past.

 

Now that you obtained some experience in bios mod I think @Prema could help you in this regard because he fixes the throlling in some Clevo notebooks fixing something inside the bios. With this fixed would be awesome we could finally use maxwell gpus in the way it should.

I'm posting an old pic, a 3dMark11 result from my 980M SLI in stock. Thankfully no throttling occurs in this test that day =)

 

This is what no-throttling 980M SLI looks like for the M18xR2... and it might get better than this with the right drivers and vBIOS.

http://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/9925494


And, the best I could do with some minor throttling looked like this...

http://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/9202332

 

the first picture is oc or stock?

 

Most likely both are overclocked scores(good ones btw). My 3920XM physics wont reach more than 10K in stock Actually if I try to overclock the gpus my global score got worse because of throttling.

 

Both are OC'd. @Tulius, you will never have a good physics score with Windows 8 or 10. Both of them suck at that. Your CPU is probably just fine. When you're able to switch back to Windows 7 or dual-boot with Windows 8 you'll probably be able to get some really nice 3DMark 11 physics scores.

UPDATE: I flashed @Swick1981 newest mod and the M18xR2 works perfectly. IGFX is the BIOS default, so the 8-beep problem should never rear its ugly head after a blind flash or CMOS reset with Maxwell GPUs installed. I'll have to pull the 970M out of the Alienware 18 and test it. I am running Windows 7 in Legacy Option ROM mode. If that works (as I expect it will) then 8-beep crap will be gone forever, unless NVIDIA releases something new that screws things up worse than Maxwell did.

 

Hey all,
I believe i can mod the m17xR4 to give the same support. Do you all want me to also update the bios with all the mods I did on the m18xr2? If so, let me know... It's VERY similar to the m18xr2, so it should be a problem! I'll need people willing to test it, though. So, before I do any mods, I'll need people with 900 series GPU in the 17r4, and also someone (or the same person) with 2 x 900 series GPU's. So, if this is something ya'll REALLY want, please get back to me and let me know I'll have people to test. I can't test it, as I don't have that laptop. And if no one is willing to test, then there is no reason for me to do it. HOWEVER, it's highly likely that I'll be able to give you EVERYTHING that I've done on the m18xr4 bios... LMK!

 

Hopefully, @j95 will be able to help you with that. Since you pulled it off with the M18xR2 I have no reason to believe it won't work for the M17xR4 as well.

 

I'm sad I'm missing this....away from my M18x R2 for now

But this is promising. You were able to get Maxwell working in Legacy Mode, Fox?

 

There is no real throttle with the AW 17 R4 @j95 , M18xR2 @[Nikos] beta vBIOS...but it's an as per ASIC Mod so needs to be fine-tuned/customized/adjusted for each range...

Nikos@Firestrike: http://www.3dmark.com/fs/6473695
Nikos@3DM11: http://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/9925494

j95@Firestrike: http://www.3dmark.com/fs/4772347
j95@3DM11: http://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/10989723

 

I haven't tried Maxwell yet. Not sure when I will have time for messing with that. I'm very confident that it will work since it has already been tested by others. I hope it works. It will make my M18xR2 worth more money and should be easier to sell it for a nice price.

 

So other's have confirmed Maxwell works in legacy huh...well done Swick!

 

Yup, check out the opening post. I think @Rengsey R. H. Jr. and maybe one or two others have it working in Legacy mode.

 

OK, so I ran 3DMark 11 with 780M SLI with my 345.20 driver mod and no GPU OC and confirmed the mod does not hurt performance. Here's a wimpy 4.3GHz CPU baby-girl overclock and stock GPU with single 330W AC adapter sitting in my laptop in the recliner. Everything looks good so far. @Tulius - check the physics score, bro... only 4.3GHz. Gotta love W7 performance.

http://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/11146231

 

Good job!!

 

Hoping to give this a test when theres both a link available and when I got free time.

Some things to ask tho.

Do you have to downgrade your bios first to flash this?
The bios will definately default to the igpu in the event of a failed gpu initialisation? Ie no more 8 beep horrors?
Can anyone who has this now install UNMODIFIED nvidia drivers now as well?

And a big thx in advance to swick for working on this because if this works and gives my m18xr2 back its full functionality with 980m cards its definately a great day for us quality laptop seekers!

 

OK, so I'm putting this here for comparison purposes. I have a single GTX 970M from @woodzstack in the Alienware 18. I am going to be testing it in the M18xR2 for Legacy BIOS compatibility. I won't have time to mess with this for a few days, so be patient. When the results are available I will post them.

These two benchmarks are run at a anyone-can-do-this-baby-girl 4.3GHz CPU OC on the 4930MX and the stock vBIOS with no GPU OC. We will see how the same benchmarks compare after transplanting into the M18xR2. The only thing is, it won't be accurate on Physics because I am running Windows 8.1 on the 18 right now. It will still give us something to look at with the M18xR2 to gauge more so than if we had nothing whatsoever to go by. In other words, better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.

http://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/11146331


http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/11519634

 

Wonderful to see you bench one of the last real/proper AW laptops

 

Yes, and even using stock voltage and stock power limits @ 4.3GHz core, 4.1 cache, the 4930MX has no heat or throttling problems with Liquid Ultra. With stock voltage and power limits it pulls less than 20W. This is using a new ThrottleStop Beta 3 from @unclewebb with PowerCut enabled... very stable for this machine, M18xR2, Panther and Sky X9.

See screen shot. I will post this in the Alienware 18 overclocking thread for the people that are still struggling with CPU OC for some reason. Sorry, it is off-topic here so I won't clutter the thread with any crap about Alienware 18 CPU OC stuff. http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...tock-turbo-speed.734696/page-77#post-10233634

 

This is amazing news guys! Well done! Totally blown away by your dedication.
You've done the seemingly impossible.
Long live the r2!

 

I am waiting a set of new speakers to install and then post feedback from your bios. I have a single 980m in my R2. I hope we can have Legacy support because I am starting to hate this UEFI crap!!!!

 

So just to het things clear. This is indeed very good news for us m18x R2 owners since we could (if all the testing comes out good) use Maxwell 980m type GPUs in the R2, which was not the case before, unless with lots of hassles. There would still be the throttle issues that are linked with power and Maxwell GPUs right?

But considering the Alienware 18, which is allready compatible with the MAxwell GPU and has a newer chipset/CPU generation, what advantages would the R2 have against the 18? My little fingers points towards better bios options in the R2... and besides that?

 

Fully unlocked bios. PSU mods beyond 330 watt. More HDD bays.. The list is pretty long. Basically it's got serious balls

 

It's just me, yet again...
I'm now working on the throttling issue via the ACPI tables. I'm hoping to have it so that ALL Gpu's - no matter what you have, aren't throttled in any way, shape, or form. I've been able to get the ACPI tables dumped and ported into ascii (or something that is human readable). IF I can do this right (and that's a big if), these cards will run SOOOO much faster than the AW18 could ever WISH or DREAM of. This would be a HUGE advantage over the AW18! Wish me luck, as I'm about 50% of the way there modding the acpi tables. IF ANYONE knows how to EDIT ACPI tables, please contact me as this is not exactly my strong suit! Otherwise, wish me luck! lol

Lastly, just an FYI: The distribution of the bios is still something we are trying to work out, so other people dont claim my work as their own. (As I KNOW it will happen)! So you'll only need to wait a little longer. I'm just trying to put SOME protections in place, if possible. If not, then it is what it is, but still, I think it's worth doing. I'll keep ya'll posted, as it should be much longer!

Thanks,
Swick

EDIT: TBone, you beat me to it... LoL!

 

AMEN To That TBoneSan! I wish I had done this 3 years ago. SOOOO pissed at myself. You have NO idea how awesoem this would have been had I been able to do it back then! (GRRRRRRRR)!
* Looking for people to flog me for my procrastination!! *
(And lets face it, this is the epotime of procrastination. Plus I didn't think I could do i, but still... *sigh*

 

Perhaps a custom bios screen stating your name in it would be one of the options you could consider (like a watermark) just like Prema does.

 

I think I have an idea.....PM me the BIOS file and I'll see what I can do. I have some experiencing dickering with ACPI and DSDT tables for OSx86

AIDA64 and RW-everything will be useful here.

As far as distribution control, as soon as somebody has a file and wants to rebadge it themselves, it will be done. I would do what svl7 did and add your name in the setup utility. I'm totally 100% against changing the BIOS boot logos as you did, but that's just my personal opinion.

 

Then it needs to be based off your own factory bios and done from scratch and not svl7's. Because he could have done what he did to some of vbios files..... And that was brick your card for altering his files and trying to reflash Or try to copy code into your own and instant brick.

 

[HintON] You can imagine I mean absolutely no disrespect to all the hard work provided to improve the R2 bios with these questions ! [Hint OFF]

1) Fully unlocked bios => ok, but to get what precisely? I mean, the object here is to overclock right ? and get more performance, which is done by software once windows has booted right? (do we really need all those unlocked options?)

2) PSU mods Beyond 330W => ok. nothing to say against this although dual PSUs is only needed if you go for dual 980m (=overkill) and/or heavy CPU/GPU OC right?

3) More HDD bays : M18X R2 => 3 SATA 3 + 1 mSATA ( SATA 2). Alien 18 => 2 SATA 3 + 1 mSATA ( SATA 3)
I believe both can receive a optical drive HDD caddie replacement.

In the end, since there is no dual psu trick for the Alien18, is that the only reason why the R2 might outperform it?
I've seen some pretty massive scores on the Alien 18, courtesy of Mr. Fox...

 

Well, there is one thing you are forgetting... The cost of a new laptop vs a bios mod that allows you to do what the AW18 can do and a little more... The PSU, Overclock ability, upgrade ability of the r2, plus the bigger screen (granted the 1.4 inch isn't that big of a deal, but it is bigger). I'm sure there is more if I try to think about it. And at the end of the day, if the R2 does ESSENTIALLY what the AW18 does, with this bios mod, then this'll save people from having to shell out big bucks for a little while. And a GPU upgrade at 600$ is far easier than shelling out 3k for a new AW18. But that's just me, what do I know... lol

_Drake_ , I actually did put a custom logo, but Raidriar did NOT like that I did that. He scolded me (in a VERY kind way, of course), for doing such a thing. I'll probably have to give him a mod with the default bios settings, most likely. But, I did do that, at least. I figure it's something...

 

M18xR2 absolutely rapes the Alienware 18. Unlocked BIOS gets you lots more control. Some controls affect performance and CPU thermal throttling, etc. Living with a locked-down crippled BIOS is a no-win on a machine that should have been better than the M18xR2. On top of all that, the inability to use more than 330W makes it unfit for a performance enthusiast. At best, it is a very nice, well made gaming machine... not an overclocker's beast. It simply cannot handle anything extreme with GPUs because it runs out of power and shuts off long before it reaches the fringes of its functional capacity.

To sum it up in one word: crippled.

Beyond the limitations... say the end user is a gamer-boy that doesn't care about overclocking, if a person already owns an M18xR2 and this BIOS mod makes it 100% Maxwell compatible, buying an Alienware 18 would be a complete waste of money, and not an upgrade.

Let me finish this post by saying there's nothing wrong with not being interested in extreme overclocking. If that's not a person's cup of tea, then the Alienware 18 is a really nice machine. It does a fantastic job of playing games, mild overclocking, and it's made really well. It's easier to work on than the M18xR2 (although neither one is difficult). It's just not an upgrade. It's a downgrade on most counts.

 

Well, there is one thing you are forgetting... The cost of a new laptop vs a bios mod that allows you to do what the AW18 can do and a little more... The PSU, Overclock ability, upgrade ability of the r2, plus the bigger screen (granted the 1.4 inch isn't that big of a deal, but it is bigger). I'm sure there is more if I try to think about it. And at the end of the day, if the R2 does ESSENTIALLY what the AW18 does, with this bios mod, then this'll save people from having to shell out big bucks for a little while. And a GPU upgrade at 600$ is far easier than shelling out 3k for a new AW18. But that's just me, what do I know... lol

_Drake_ , I actually did put a custom logo, but Raidriar did NOT like that I did that. He scolded me (in a VERY kind way, of course), for doing such a thing. I'll probably have to give him a mod with the default bios settings, most likely. But, I did do that, at least. I figure it's something...

 

Well, personally I like it. As soon as I saw your custom boot logo I thought it was cool. Prema has his own BIOS boot logo as well. I think it was a smart thing to do. If I were going to keep the M18xR2 I would be asking you to do a special one just for me... one of a kind. Something wicked looking with no Alienware branding. Maybe something with my fox logo.

When I end up with my own Sky X9 I plan to have @Prema make me a personalized BIOS. I prefer having something unique in a world overrun with the ordinary. @Papusan and @Phoenix have really cool BIOS boot screen logos.

 

Well Said Mr. Fox (I had to edit the post cause I thought you beat me to it, but it looks like I was wrong, LoL!)

 

The intention was not to scold friend, it just didn't seem professional to me and looked a bit carried away. svl7 did his "signature" very cleanly in the upper right location of the setuputility. I would leave intel + alienware defaults well because...they did make the hardware and write the BIOS haha. I'm sure it would be possible to add something in the "info" tab of the setuputility.

As I said, it's a matter of personal taste and choice. Everybody is free to do what they choose.

 

Oh, I know you wern't scolding me in a bad way. and i was, of course, kidding...
I will be changing the bios logo screen but that that'll be the LAST thing I do before I release. (I think) heh

 

Okay, I know I'm a little slow, but... Being able to give legacy support on 900 series GPU's, is a pretty big deal in my opinion. So, why would someone say this mod needs more work? I dont think there is anything else that can be done to this mod. HAHAHAHA

 

To be fair, I think that vote was cast before you had the mod where it is now. There was only talk about the goal to fix Legacy issues. The person that voted that way may need to re-think it. But, don't worry about it even if they do not update their vote. If there is no feedback to explain what it means in the thread it must not be all that important.

I would put something in the blue band across the top in the BIOS environment like SVL7 did. Something with your name like "Swick BIOS Mods - Unauthorized Distribution Prohibited by Copyright" but I would also like to see a custom boot logo... just my personal opinion.

 

Who said anything about buying the Alien 18?

Right now I have both, with single 330W PSU and 780M SLI on both and I'm still playing on the Alien 18...

I have to admit I have not trying to OC either of the 2 beasts... for one simple reason : my room temps go around 20-30 °C all day (Africa ) so that setback kind of bothers me...

 

You never know who is reading the threads. The fatal error for most folks is the assumption that newer always means better. While that would be ideal, this is often not the reality.

I see you have quite the assortment of Alienware iron in your signature. You're definitely ready for battle with an armada like that under your command.

 

Now I can finally swap 980Ms into my M18x and sell this garbage Alienware 18 with 780Ms....I never hated a computer so much as I hate the Alienware 18.

 

I guess you can have a copy of it...
Lol. Heh

u r, after all, helping with dsdt tables. THATS HUGE! (I could probably figure it out, but that'll take time, and I would like this to be fully functional when distributed. Your help is going to be extreme to say the least.

In fact, I actually got pretty far with regards to the dsdt tables. I just need to find out what the flag is and then recompile it and also clean it up. But I've been literally working on this since 9 this morning. What can I say I didn't have to work today, for once, so I decided to take the day. Only downside is I now have a massive migraine and I didn't eat all day either. What can I say I'm an idiot sometimes. Anyway, I guess this is what happens when you don't eat all day and you work on a computer all day as well.doh!

 

I sent you the cleaned copy of DSDT.AML and DSDT.DSL, should be a good starting point for fixing the throttle. The DSDT written by Compal was....sloppy to say the least. Intel ASL compiler threw out so much crap...I'm sure you saw.

Original,buggy DSDT...



Fixed/optimized DSDT:


and no....it involves more than hitting that "fix errors" button that does absolutely nothing but complicated the matter lol

 

Man this is all awesome! and when I don't have any more 18r2's. i lost faith and hope. Make me want to find another red 18r2 again if this all works! you ned to set up a donate paypal thing like prema.. I absolutely commend you on your dedication to helping revive this machine.

 

I know where you can get one just like that, and a whole slew of extra parts.

 

Good job everyone!

 

You should try using my employer-provided Lenovo T430 for a couple of days. It's unbelievably disgusting. A piece of crap like that's enough to make you think the 18 is a slice of heaven... and I have to use it 8 to 14 hours a day.

 

Haha I was curious and looked for a picture of that model. Glad I did cos it gave me a good chuckle

 

Well, it looks like the DSDT table is NOT causing throttling... APPEARS to be so. As such, it might actaully be the drivers doing a power throttle or vbios throttling. Not sure, but still working on it.
Again, I know you ALL want this badly, BUT... I really want to SEE if I can get the throttling taken care of, though it may be something that has to be done via drivers.
If ANYONE has suggestions, please get back to me. I'm thinking that the older drivers are the ones to use, not the newest one...
Anyway, I'm just wanting to get this sucker to be finalized. I want to provide ya'll something that'll work REALLY well. So, I hope you dont mind waiting a little longer... heh
Plus, I'm TRYING to come up with a "safe" way to distribute this file. The T|I (techInferno) forum may be the way I have to distribute it, as they have some safety measures / protections that will decrease piracy. (Obvoiusly it can't eliminate it, but something is better than nothing!)
The release will be VERY SOON. I'm sorry to have you guys wait, as if I were in your shoes I'd literally be doing a backtrace on my IP address, then do an address search for that IP address, and show up at the developers house and beat him with a plastic spoon until he gave me the bios mod. hehe
Please believe me, I'm NOT trying to torture you guys! Just want this to be the BEST it can be.
I'm just TRYING to get the EDID info updated, the Terminal module, the GOP Policy updated (again to the newest version), allow the AW18 LED to work on the R2 (I HOPE), and also update the DSDT table / ACPI Tables to STOP throttling of GPU assuming I can find its flag, and a few other changes. Once done, then I'll release it! So its just a little longer! (Sorry, but the wait WILL be worth it, PROMISE!)

 

Does ANYONE have any kind of suggestion of anything else that should go into this bios mod? If so, lmk!
Thanks!