***Prema Mod Alienware 18 970M / 980M SLI Performance vBIOS***

There is a new version, V2 that fixes black screen issue with latest drivers 361 +
https://biosmods.wordpress.com/gtx9/

 

I have seen, but for AW18 is needed special modified 2nd GPU vbios.

 

Do the clevo ones not work for the AW18? Fans on my M18Xr2 are working as normal with the clevo version. When I used the AW18 vbios before tho the 2nd GPU fan wouldnt rev up under load.

 

According to AW18 user Scanner the new Clevo based v2 Prema Mod now also works perfectly for the AW18 including both FANs.

So if that holds there will be no more need for an AW18 specific mod, just use the generic (Clevo based) v2 and you are golden for 361.xx+ driver.

 

On my AW18 2nd GPU cooler does not work on GTX980M_8GB_MXM_OC_PM_v2 (Win10 x64, pure UEFI, FB)

 

I can also confirm that PM 980M v2 doesn't start the 2nd GPU fan on AW18 2015 with original 980M SLI (not Clevo upgrade)

Win 10 x64, Nvidia 361.75.

Both master and slave vbioses attached. They seem to be different.

 

I am a third case, and a thorough tester, that found your Clevo vBIOS does not spin the Alienware 18 secondary GPU fan. I humbly request a vBIOS with the following:

I would like to request an Alienware 18 baseline vBIOS with the following:
1. Patch to take new nvidia drivers.
2. turbo clockspeed full time, no mods to clockspeed
3. Set base voltage to 1.000V, leave the slider open for adjustment up to 1.2V. It seems undervolting is impossible in Maxwell with the nvinspector slider, so please set the voltage lower so we can work our way up.

Thanks. I have the original Dell vBIOS files for primary and secondary cards if needed.

 

I think you guys are doing something wrong here. I installed the Clevo V2 Vbios last night. Did a restart after each flash. Rebooted and reinstalled Graphics driver. Both GPU Fans spin up, ran Fire strike. Nvidia 361.91 driver.

Second donation sent!! Cheers Prema

 

Please test in ePSA http://www.dell.com/support/Article/us/en/19/446143/EN You 2nd fan maybe modified control signal from 1st fan, and check vBIOS version on both GPUs

 

Hello

I have had this laptop since it first came out (2013) model i think??

I have not done the mod to run the 2nd fan off the first fan.

 

I will test this when i get home from work though..

 

Please post screenshots vBIOS version on both of you GPUs and test both GPU fan in ePSA, i'm find how to resolve my problem.

 

Hello

I will do. I will screen shot them in GPUz, then take a photo of the ePSA..

 

Hello

Please see attached pictures.

After running the ePSA the the picture shows cpu fan and Video fan2 at 0 rpm. But they do spin. So i included the results page after testing the fans one by one.
Hope this helps.

 

Hey!
I want to install the latest Nvidia driver to play HITMAN beta but as soon as I do so the laptop reboots into microsoft basic display driver. Why? It seems I can't install anything past 359.60 without it reverting to basic driver, rendering games unplayable. Why? Can anyone help me out here?

 

Does the driver installation process fail, or does it appear to complete successfully with no error messages? Are the GPUs identified as Micro$lop Basic Display Adapter in Device Manager only after rebooting to complete the driver installation? Are you manually rebooting because the GeForce driver installer prompts you to do so, or is it an unexpected reboot?

 

The installation always completes without errors. I didn't even manage to get to the reboot stage, actually, I said 'restart later' and picked up my phone to check emails - the laptop just died on its own (no shut down, nothing, just dies) and then restarted itself with basic display driver already in place of the two 980M adapters. It's always the same case with 361+ drivers. The computer dies on its own and reboots in basic. 359.06 works perfectly.
When I'm in basic - if I flash the VBIOS set that the cards came to me with (good thing I backed it up!) and reboot - the driver works fine. But obviously no overclocking and I get the throttling back
I extracted the game profiles from the latest driver via inspector using that original VBIOS set and injected them back into 359.06 driver to use under PREMA mod, so I guess it's not that big of a deal, but I would obviously like to keep up with the drivers in the future when new stuff comes out with later releases!

 

Thank You for the Heads Up Mr. Fox!!

 

I have no idea how you guys get them to work. They will NOT work for me (no second fan under load), no matter how many times I flash. I had to go back to original vbios.

 

Have you installed the A12 system Bios?

 

Yes....

 

Tested again (UEFI, Win10 x64, latest 361.91-notebook-win10-64bit-international-whql).
in ePSA: http://c2n.me/3uHK940.jpg (all fan tests pass)
in windows: http://c2n.me/3uHK5MG.jpg (fan2 not work)

Tested with uninstall all previous drivers with DDU, same situation, 2nd fan not work.

ePSA run into legacy mode, may be problem in UEFI mode?

 

Same issue as @rerfy, it does NOT run the secondary fan in Windows. I am using legacy BIOS, win 7 X64

 

In ePSA all fan test pass?

 

Yes

 

Stupid Question. Did you run 3dmark to see if second fan spins?
Have you removed HWinfo ( one user said his HWinfo was the culprit for the second fan not spinning?)
Enabled SLI after driver installation (I'm struggling to think of anything else)

 

I'm run witcher 3 for tests with SLI, HWinfo is not installed, only MSI Afterburner for monitoring in G13 display.

 

Does MSI Afterburner allow you to set fan speeds? If so i would remove this for now and test again? I dont use it so cant be sure.

 

I'm check it later

 

The only difference i have from you is that i am using windows 10 and not using Legacy bios

 

I am using UEFI secure boot Off (windows 10)

 

Here is a bigger question. Are you running Alienware 980Ms, or Clevo 980Ms?

 

Clevo's 8gb

 

Bingo, there it is. I have stock Dell 980Ms, which explains why the vBIOS doesn't activate the second fan. The fans have always been a compatibility issue between Clevo and Dell cards, something vBIOS doesn't seem to cure properly.

 

Sounds like that's the problem, maybe someone else can confirm what cards they are using?

 

My config in signature

Another comparison: http://c2n.me/3uHYgyA.png

 

Guys I need to apologize here.

I have just ran all benchmarks on 3dmark one after the other, went to have a coffee, and noticed that my fire strike score was very low.

on testing further it seems my fan is not spinning either, well it spins at very low speed, cause when i look through grill i cant see the fins.

So it seams i have the same problem with the clevo cards..

Before i had only tested it running 1 run of fire strike, and because my score was the same or similar to previous results i determined there was no throttling due to heas so assumed the fans were spinning up fine.

I am sorre, but seem this thread is back to square one

 

Well the request I made last week to Prema has gone answered, as have all my conversations with him in the past.....

 

Wouldn't a config with dual 980m direct from dell work right out the box? with all fans working properly ?

 

I would give him time. I imagine he is quite busy. Probably has a day job too. Just have to wait and see.

 

Now that Dell 980Ms are also making out, and fan needs Dell stock vBIOS only right ?

How about the Win7 / Legacy BIOS ? (I remember now sorry, raidriar was working on a patch for the M18x R2 to run them in legacy mode with BIOS code ported from AW18, so the Legacy works) And throttling, the new A12+ Dell stock vBIOS fixes that or need Prema vBIOS ?

But the M18x R2 throttles with OCing. Need to use the old drivers only with a beta vBIOS to get maxwell work properly, how does the AW18 fare with Overclocking ?

 

I have a slight overclock of +80mhz on core and vram at stock voltage (1.00V), so it's not bad really. I had the Prema vBIOS on there, but it the updated version does not work for the Alienware 18, as the second GPU fan never spun with the new vBIOS. I also did not like the voltage increase to 1.067V.....

 

thanks for the info, yeah the stock voltage bump is significant, the card runs hotter in high demanding tasks..many people notice that.

 

Hello @Prema

I would like to say thank you again for your work over the weekend.

Your Vbios for the Alienware 18 V2 works perfectly, installs latest Nvidia drivers. And second fan is spinning.

Worth every penny!!!

Can you post the V2 Vbios on your Prema Mod webpage under alienware so others in this forum can benefit from this.

Guys please remember to donate!! Show your appreciation!!

Thanks again

 

when did he release that Vbios ?

 

2nd fan no worky

I guess I'm back to stock vbios 4 life :[

 

I wonder if the secondary fan can get enough power running primary and secondary both from the primary fan power header? Honestly, I cannot see any good reason for having the GPU fan speeds work independently. That always seemed extra silly to me about the 18, and just an opportunity for something to go wrong... Oh, wait... it has, LOL. Running them both simultaneously at the same speed like the M18xR1/R2 would make a whole lot more sense.

Would it at least be better to control them manually with HWiNFO64 than use the stock vBIOS?

 

Haven't tried that, I'd have to give HWiNFO another go.

 

I have no problems at all with the second gpu fan..

I have no idea what kind of vbios i have on my 980m's they came pre flashed by woodzstack

I guess its not affecting every Alienware 18

 

Yeah, it's really strange. I wonder if folks started comparing notes about what OS version and installed software they have if the cause could be pinpointed.