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

He cried out with a loud voice, " Lazarus, come forth."

Spoiler: Back from the dead! In full Legacy battle armor.

Cured of UEFI Cancer...

@johnksss
@pathfindercod

Nice job, Brother @Swick1981

 

I'm starting to think you might have got the better end of the deal with the trade we did... LoL!
(I'm TOTALLY KIDDING, HONEST!)
I'm just EXTREMELY happy I was able to con / tempt / manipulate you into flashing this bios mod. heheh Bring you back into the r2 family, HAHAHA!
Now you can get REAL performance out of the GPU. Plus, maybe you could try the NEWEST drivers... Although, I dont know if nvidia put some kind of power throttling into newest drivers vs the older ones, so... Maybe you'd be able to tell better than me, since I dont have the 900 series GPU to test. <EVILGRIN>
I'm also really curious to see how much you can overclock that GPU AND what kind of score you get (and maybe you can tell me if its being throttled, too?! hehe

Anyway, thanks for the kind words and for trustin me enough (after the last time) to flash it! Glad it helped you out! I really am. MAYBE you'll keep the PC, I HOPE! Really gonna have to tell ppl that the system is screwed up, they wont want to buy it cause you spilled some kind of coffee on the system, and that you also spilled some kind of non diet soda in the pc too. They wont want it... heh
<Kidding again>
Lastly, for someone that is an idiot like me when it comes to building circuits... how hard is it to build a really good PSU to give this system more power. And, how long does it take, and how much does it cost? And, with the bigger PSU, will that stop the system from throttling things, etc...?

Thank you my friend, and brother, @Mr. Fox

EDIT: BTW - IF you did get a chance to test, what was the score?
Also, did you get CLEVO & Maxwell GPUs tested? I'm assuming that if one works, the other will work, too - i think / hope. heh! Also, did you test both GPU's on 3dmark? If so, what were their scores? Lastly, if you have any idea's regarding the throttling, let me know... Thanks again my brother!

 

@Mr.fox you using the A18 vbios with that? Are the fans working properly too?

 

I am using the stock Clevo 970M on the 18 and the R2. Seems like the fan (1) is working OK. I only have one 970M for testing.

Looks like 3DMark 11 stock run is pretty much the same as it was on the AW 18 last night (see previous page).

Here is what is was on the Alienware 18 posted last night...

 

Hey Johnksss... Maybe you should fire it up. I'm CERTAIN you wont regret it!!! I'm positive you'll like it! haha

I KNOW youve done a LOT of testing with the GPU's and vBios stuff. Would it be okay if I PM'd you? I was thinking we could add to this bios mod of mine with one of your vBios mods . Perhaps you can kill throttling with you vBios? Or somehow compensate? I mean, I could add your vbios to my system bios mod and make each bios specific to the GPU they are using... assumoing you have mods for all 700m, 800m, and 900m GPU's. If not no big, but it was just a though / idea. (Probably a bad idea - if it was, sorry to bother you!)
Thanks for the kind words, means a lot to me. NO JOKE!

Anyway, let me know what you think about this idea. I'll certainly give you credit for the vbios mods... if it's too much work, trouble, etc... then never mind. I do not want to create a problem for you!
But i'm happy to add it if you think it would be a good idea, etc...

Thanks,
Swick

 

Hey @Mr. Fox ... Are you telling me that the 970m gets a score or about 10,000 with JUST ONE video card? Where I've got 2x780m's and have a score of 12,000... That's just amazing. That is what I need to get, next. Since I've been taught, by the master, how to open up / break down the R2... I'm most DEF am going to want to put 2 x 980m GPU's in here - I'd purchase them from @woodzstack, OBVIOUSLY! He's the ONLY person to go to for GPU's, plain and simple! Plus he has freaking awesome deals, AND unlike most other places, will honor the sale and warranty. <Sorry for the plug, but he's a really good guy to go to for these GPU's...>
Lastly.... was that 3dmark run in win7 or 8 or 8.1 or 10? I'm assuming it was win7 or 8... just curious.

 

14,000 for stock 780M SLI. And, overclocked over 17,000 for 780M SLI. But, yes... 970M is a little better.

---

OK, so here is Fire Strike... bear in mind this is Windows 7, so Fire Strike will be a little less than Windows 8.1. Given that difference, I would call it a draw.

And, here is was on the Alienware 18 yesterday with Windows 8.1

 

what can you get the 970m or 980m to do overclocked SLI?
Still, that 970m or 980m is amazing.... They can really put out, pardon the choice of words.
So, 1 980 comes close to 780m SLI stock... who knew?! heh

 

I don't have a clue on 970M SLI (can search Futuremark scores). We already posted @[Nikos] 980M SLI scores earlier in the thread.

OK, I am gonna flash a @Prema vBIOS for 970M and see if she throttles. Back in a few.

 

@Mr. Fox... Ooooooooooooo, cool! Really excited to see how she works. One person has told me, so far, that it DOES throttle, but it MIGHT be something more like the GPU is just not powerful enough to do what he wants it to do, or the drivers have a problem, OR... it's actaully being throttled! Let's hope it's not being throttled! heh

Talk to you soon...

Also, I just realized something... Instead of screwing with the DSDT tables, etc... If I can change the bios defaults to COMPLETELY DISABLE ACPI (even though the option isn't availble in the bios, the option will still be changed) that would solve our problem with throttling! whoo hoo! heh

Gonna go do that now. Should take a minute or 3. I'll send you the update if I can get it done QUICKLY!

 

@Mr. Fox I found that there are a few options in the bios that we DO have access to, regarding the ACPI tables. Just disable them all, and see what happens. That could do the trick...

 

Nope, I always have that disabled and it doesn't phase the Maxwell throttling problem. It's a BIOS power caps and/or vBIOS problem, not and ACPI problem. It behaves the same with ACPI enabled or disabled. Same behavior with 780M SLI using newer NVIDIA cancer drivers.

 

Ugh, that sucks... Then, it's either the DSDT tables (ACPI), drivers, or vBios for the GPU's. Im not entirely sure how to figure this out, heh. Wherer to start, heh....
Anyway, thanks for the test of the GPU's. BTW, are you using the 660 watt power supply, too, during test? Just curious.... heh

 

OK guys. I'm done testing now. I am putting 780M SLI back in the M18xR2 and pray it sells on eBay. Just sold the M18xR1 for the third time. Hopefully, the third time is a charm. Previous 2 buyers flaked out on me.

Anyhow, it appears this 970M is either a poor sample and doesn't overclock worth a crap or I'm just tired and don't have any more patience to find out what it likes. However, I am encouraged that a mild overclock of 1167/1400 and 1.067V there was NO THROTTLING in Fire Strike. I cannot get it to finish 3DMark 11 with an overclock without black screens, so I doubt I will be having any fun with in the the Alienware 18... really hate how much crap NVIDIA is producing now. The latest 970M Clevo vBIOS from @Prema seems to be the better option for the 970M in the M18xR2.

I am very encouraged for those of you that are electing to stick things out with the M18xR2... prospects for a brighter tomorrow using Alienware's last world-class beast machine haven't looked this great since Maxwell was released. You're in good hands with @Swick1981.

I will leave you with this throttle-free benchmark... http://www.3dmark.com/fs/8112394

 

OK, 780M SLI is back in the M18xR2. I have updated thread title and made it sticky in spot #1 at the top of the sub-forum, where it deserves to be.

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

 

What a beauty! Might be a bit outta my price range. :/

 

Man I wish I still had my r2 right now. If I weren't putting money aside to move back to Oz I'd be really tempted.
I'm so stocked this has been done. @Swick1981 well done again champion.

 

I'm more inclined to believe the throttling is on a driver level and not a BIOS level, given the fact my 780Ms do it too for no apparent reason on the M18x R1 and M18x R2 with svl7's vBIOS. When I examined the ERAM/EC tables in the DSDT for the M18x R2, I could find values for fan tables and CPU power, but not for GPU throttling flag, so I'm fairly positive it is a vBIOS or driver issue.

On a side note if we ever cracked the secureflash RSA code, I could fix the broken fan tables on the Alienware 18 but alas.....no cigar.

 

So maxwell throttles down with legacy or not?

 

Some users report throttling, some people report no throttling. We aren't sure as to the source quite yet.

 

What about the second fan on M18X-R2 with 980M SLI? I'm currently on A10 unlocked with prema vbios and my second fan only works with HWInfo installed, otherwise it heats itself to 94C degrees and then shut it off completely. For some people with the same setup this dont happens but I cant figure out how to fix it. Maybe this modified sbios fix this?

 

Thanks!

 

I had this behavior on the Alienware 18 with Prema's BIOS, but recently released a new Alienware 18 vBIOS that supposedly corrected it. I suggested you try that vBIOS first.

 

2nd fan is still not working.

 

I already tried that vBIOS and the same occurs with the second fan in R2

Thanks, so the second fan is a problem with all people with 980M SLI installed. It's good to know.

 

Time to flash it and find out. No more excuses bro.

But, really... several have gone before you with no regrets or bad reports. Git 'er done and you'll be answering questions instead of asking. You'll be glad you did.

 

I may have to take the plunge.

 

Well done!! Dell/AW management...

M17xR4's legacy support please if possible include all R2 FW updates, leaving BIOS defaults untouched,120Hz models IGP option certain brick.

ME FW v8.1.65.1058 -> v8.1.65.1586 (flash stock ME backup before updating BIOS).

@mariussx , @Solo wing (120Hz) you guys will need to set the BIOS to legacy for prr DOS flashing by disabling the sound card -> switching to Legacy BIOS mode -> Save without exit -> Power off -> Plug HDMI cable -> Power on http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...80m-sli-upgrade.765169/page-287#post-10138111...otherwise, use the stock card.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...us-working-great.777145/page-37#post-10209010

 

I'd be HAPPY to put the 17xR4 Bios with ALL the updates I did on the m18xR2. HOWEVER, no one has offered to test it. Therefore, I will NOT waste my time if it's something that people really do not want... I hope to hear back from ya'll and maybe someone will be willing to flash. Since I do not have the 17R4, I can certainly update the bios, but I cannot test, and figure out what is wrong, IF ANYTHING, so... I hope to hear from ya'll soon!

 

I'm ready to test A11...PM

 

I've already got enough testers for the m18xR2... But if you have any suggestions on updates that I should do, etc... let me know.
Do you have an m17xR4?

 

So I'm running stock A13 BIOS, Luckily I still have my 680M with me. If i install stock card what steps do i need to follow exactly?
No need to downgrade ME ?
Flash Modified BIOS -> Change to Legacy -> Install Windows 7
Follow svl7 unlocked BIOS guide (FPT method, prr)?

 

Yes, @j95 has the M17xR4 and I suggested you reach out to him. He is the Tech|Inferno and NBR community M17xR4 expert extraordinaire and all around great guy. You definitely need his help with testing. I would recommend sending him a PM.

Note what he said about BIOS defaults because having IGFX as the BIOS default on an M17xR4 with 120Hz display will brick it, so that mod is only awesome for the M18xR2. The M17xR4 with 120Hz display has no Intel HD Graphics functionality and it is eDP rather than LVDS. Brother @Solo wing is also ready to jump in and help with his M17xR4.

 

Yeah, I noticed that. VERY GOOD to know, heh. I do NOT want to brick any systems.
I've ONLY (I know, it's sad to say, but I have bricked ONE system - BUT ONLY ONE, and that was a while ago. Thankfully it wasn't my system, LoL)
While talking about bricking JUST one system, I look at Mr. Fox's name and start to crack a small grin and then start to feel TERRIBLE about it, again! heh

 

Oh, okay... Didn't know it was the 17. In that case, I'll talk to both of them now... Talking to j95 as i type this...

 

Hey... It's not bricked any more, so no worries. I'm glad it was me if it had to be just one person. It was easy for me to fix, but may not have been easy for someone else.

 

Very true, but still... my PERFECT RECORD was destroyed. It worked PERFECTLY for me...
(Then again, it was the first time I ever did any of this, and I did it on my pc, heh)
But, still... I guess it's true what my father taught me... if your failure rate isn't high enough, you aren't working hard enough! heh
Words to live by!

 

I don't mind testing as well but I don't have a maxwell gpu so I could only test to see if the system still boots and so on. So I don't think that would be usefull.

 

@Solo wing - That is interesting that you mention ME. When I created an M18xR1 bios mod, @Mr. Fox flashed it and because of the ME that was included in the bios file I had, and his BIOS had a newer ME (My ME update package no less), he flashed the ME upgrade first, then the bios mod, and it bricked his system. He fixed it, but still... VERY bad.
So... the r2 Bios file I have actually does not even have the ME Firmware for the r2.
IF anyone has the m17xR4 unlocked bios (NEWEST VERSION AVAILBLE), please send to me.
Because if it doesn't have the ME FIrmware included in the bios file, then you shouldn't need to downgrade. HOWEVER, just to be safe, I ALWAYS downgrade the firmware to stock just in case.
Just my 2 cents...

 

@_Drake_ LoL

 

Were you able to include the R1 MB that we purchased in your list of goodies with the selling of the R1?
And, I do NOT mind you selling the R1... I'm kinda done with it. Can't really do any other mods. I mean, I guess I could do a few more, but not as much as I can do on the r2, heh.
I'm really glad it's fixed, I did feel bad. Don't like to fail.
Thanks @Mr. Fox

 

Maxwell is the issue mate. I was able to use pure UEFI with the stock 680M and pure legacy, compatible both ways. I beileve legacy support won't matter much with non-Maxwell. But you could still test the modifications and enhancements implemented in the BIOS.

 

Yes. That motherboard and a new Vindicator backpack, Alienware mousepad and original Windows 7 Ultimate x64 OS DVD were included.

You did not fail. We made a mistake and the mistake is fixed. Big difference there. You learned where we went wrong and I got an extra mobo out of the deal, LOL.

I wish replacing the BIOS chip on every laptop was as easy as it is on the M18xR1/R2... stupid easy. No reason to be scared of bricking the BIOS. Take the battery out, remove 4 screws and slide off the bottom cover. Unsolder the chip, solder a new chip (or flash the old one) back on the board and done. Easy-peasy. That was the first time I had done that on the M18xR1, so I got something good out of it (experience on one more system) even though the timing was pretty sucky due to my busy schedule. So, Sky X9, M18xR1 and Alienware 18 BIOS, plus a few 980M GPU MOSFETS under my belt. Just enough experience to be dangerous, LOL.

 

Just an update... We are testing the M17XR4 Bios mod I just made.
Updated the CPU Microcode on microcode that could be upgraded, the LAN Firmware & PXE Boot, the iRST Legacy OpRom & iRST EFI Raid Rom to v12.9.0.2006 with support for TRIM in RAID0, and added NvMe support & M.2 support. Finally, I added LEGACY SUPPORT FOR 900 Series GPU's, too! Oh, it's UNLOCKED A11 I think, UNLOCKED BY SVL7!

 

Well, just an update...
The m17r4 bios updates that I did ALL worked, EXCEPT LEGACY SUPPORT, of course... LoL Sorry.
We are trying to fix it though. Will see what happens....
But the cpu microcode was updated, the lan, raid oprom (legacy & EFI), etc...

 

Jup I knew that, but still even without a maxwell card I could still use my system to validate if the new bios works with non maxwell cards (which would ofcourse be obvious, but when it comes to hacking, engineering and programming things aren't always what you expect ).

 

Hows the r2 bios coming today?

 

Hey all, was up ALL NIGHT, LITERALLY! NO SLEEP AT ALL. Exhausted... ill continue working on it in a little bit!

 

Yeah, don't forget food & sleep! BIOS mods are probably easier with a full stomach and a good nights sleep!

 

You would think that, but usually the opposite works for me... HAHAHA