Groove's Guide to Volt moding your gpu for lower temps

WARNING: YOU WILL VOID YOUR GPU WARANTY (AND QUITE POSSIBLY YOUR FULL WARRANTY) BY FOLLOWING THESE INSTRUCTIONS AND CAN PERMANENTLY DAMAGE YOUR VIDEO CARD IN THE PROCESS. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANYTHING THAT MAY GO WRONG. FOLLOW THIS GUIDE AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Ok, this is a rough draft and quick guide to volt modding your m15x 8800mGTX gpu to bring down some of those alarming temps. Some of you tech heads might know exactly how to do this but this is for those who don't.

Why would you want to do this? Well, the m15x is an amazing little piece of machinery, and a gaming wet dream, but as we all know it doesn't exactly have the best cooling system in the world. After ATITool stress testing brought my gpu to a max of 104C and Crysis brought me to 101C, I felt a little nervous having my gpu temps so close to the critical threshold value for the 8800m gpu which is 105C. Now, I haven't been able to reach 105C, and I want to make that clear. So, technically the card is performing within it's allowed technical and thermal parameters. However, for my peace of mind, I wanted to see if I could lower those temps just a few degrees.

What I'm outlining here is a way to modify the voltage settings on your gpu bios with a very slight decrease in voltage. I'm not doing anything crazy here and would be very surprised if anybody ran into problems with their card because of this. If I had strong reservations or doubts, I wouldn't be posting this guide. That being said, nothing is 100% certain in this word, so you do take a risk.

Tools you'll need:
HP USB Drive Boot Key Software
Dos Boot Files
Nibitor 4.2
Nvflash 5.67(must be 5.67 or above)

1. Ok, insert any usb key in a free usb port and start up the HP USB program in administrator mode (Vista) or normally in XP. We want to select the USB drive in the first drop down box and FAT as the filesystem in the 2nd drop down box. Check "Create a DOS startup disk" and point it to where you unzippd the Dos Boot files. It should look like this:



Add a name for your usb key such as "USBDos" and click start. You'll get the following warning:



Click Yes, of course!

2. Ok, now that the USB key is created. Unzip the Nvflash files into the root of the USB key. you should have 3 Nvflash files in the root. The important ones are:

cwsdpmi.exe
nvFlash.exe

Great, now let's make a backup of your gpu vbios so that we can put it on the usb key along with a custom created one with the new voltage settings that we want to use!

3. Boot up nbitor. If you are using Vista, you will need to right click on the main executable and choose "run as administrator". On the main screen, click "Tools -> Select device". Choose your card and hit "ok". Go back into "Tools ->Read bios->Read into nibitor" and the main screen should be populated with all the correct values at this point. It should look like this:



Ok, what we need to do first is make a backup copy of your vbios so that we can revert to the original if anything bad happens. Click file->save bios, and name it stock.rom. Save this rom directly on your usb key!

Ok, now that we have a backup, let's make our new bios... Click on the voltages tab as shown here:



Ok, what we're interested in changing are the 4 values located here. Choose the following values:
Extra: 0.95V
3d: 0.8V
Thrtl: 0.8V
2D: 0.8V

It should look like this:



Click File->Save Bios-> and name this new bios 80VE95.rom on your usb key.

4. Ok, we've got everything we need to successfully flash your gpu with the new bios. So, let's double check what should be on this usb drive. It should have been successfully formatted as a bootup drive and should have the following files on it:

cwsdpmi.exe
nvFlash.exe
stock.rom
80VE95.rom

Also, plug your laptop into a good power source. You don't want the battery dying on you during the flash process.

5. Reboot! When you see the alienhead logo, hit F12 to access the boot menu. Choose the USB key. It should look like this:



Hit enter and it will dump you at a dos prompt. I'm the paranoid type, so I choose here to make ANOTHER backup of my rom with the nvflash utility. Type in the following command and hit enter:

nvflash --save stock2.rom



Now, we're ready to flash the rom! Type in the following and hit enter:

nvflash 80VE95.rom



It will ask if you are sure. Press "y" to continue, and the output should be:



Ok, that's it! Easy, huh?

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CAUTION:

Ok, let me stop and stress something. The step 5 that we just covered needs to be memorized by you so that you could do it with your eyes closed. I would recommend practicing the F12, usb key bootup choice, and all the nvflash commands so that you could do it blindfolded JUST IN CASE you had any sort of problem that prevented your gpu from displaying upon bootup. If this ever happens, you can follow the steps in 5 and flash your original bios to the card with "nvflash stock.rom" or "nvflash stock2.rom".

Now, if it makes you feel any better, I've never had to do this and I've flashed my fair share of gpus. The reason is that the gpu has a set of startup clocks that are fairly low and conservative. If you are going to have any instability issues, it's usually after you start booting up into Windows.

Anyway, we aren't making any drastic changes here. We made a very small voltage drop and I would be extremely surprised if anyone had problems from applying this mod. IF YOU HAVE ANY ERRORS IN THE FLASH PROCESS, DO NOT REBOOT THE COMPUTER. Reflash with the original stock.rom and wait for a successful flash. THEN restart.

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That's it! If you've followed this guide, you now have a gpu that should be running a few degrees cooler within stress applications or games.

6. Reboot and you're ready for testing.


Results:

ATITool Max from 104C to 98-99C
Crysis Max from 101C to 96C

100% Stable

Notice that the first time I did the 104C stress, I only ran ATITool for 9 mins so I might have gotten it higher. I ran the new stress test for 15 mins. That's a 5-6C decrease in temperatures with a very mild lowering of gpu voltage on the reflashed bios. I am VERY pleased with the results so far. NO ERRORS.

New max (98-99C):



Old max (104C):



Crysis New max(95-96C):



Crysis Old max(101C):




New 3dmark96 Score (for stability testing, not increased scores) Perfectly Stable with no errors.



Old score was 9188 (no screenshot). I'm not sure why m new score was so much higher. It's possible that I wasn't using the new beta drivers with the first score but I'm not sure.

That's it! I've had 100% stability so far and am very pleased with the decrease in max temps. I hope you've found this thread informative and let me know if you have any suggestions or corrections. Thanks.

 

Ok, I plan on doing much more additional testing with various settings but here is the basic outline. I'm sure it's possible to get even better results but I wanted to outline the smallest change you could make to avoid any potential problems or instability. In my opinion, I don't see that any further voltage modification is required. I'm rather happy with a ~5C drop in temps.

 

nice tutorial Groove!

 

Hey Groove. That was a very precise, clear guide. THanks for that! Just a question though, at what res was 3dmark06 ran at? My 3dMark scores at 1064x768 are in the 9100-9300's with the BETA 175.80 drivers and X32 bios. Only just recently has my scores dropped down this low.

 

I must admit that this is a very tempting thing to try out but I'm a little hesitant about the warranty issue. I wish there was some kind of app that would allow you to do this on the fly much like with rmclock for the cpu.

EDIT:

Unwinder over at guru3d forums said this:

What would be interesting to know is what happens if you undervolt your card too much and it bsod's you in windows. Will it still POST and allow me to flash it back to the stock bios or will I have ruined my machine for good?


EDIT2:

Unwinder also stated about Riva Tuner that:

Does this mean that there is a way you can use RT to change the voltage?

 

Thanks guys!

@dhoang - I'm running the free version which is locked at 1280x720. Actually, I rechecked and I was running the beta drivers the first time also, so I'm not sure why I had a gain in speed. I did shut down all non-essential applications before running, but I wouldn't worry about your score. That sounds normal. My stock benchmark from the AW factory was only ~9300

@Fr33m4n - Yes, that's what I was alluding to in my guide about the bootup clocks. As long as you do testing with each stepwise voltage drop, you should have errors in Windows way before you would ever have errors booting up. 90% of problems that people have booting up in my experience is due to a non-successful flash with an error and they reboot without re-flashing the old bios or re-flashing correctly. Many times errors are simply due to using the wrong parameter with the nvflash command. Just to give you an example... I am having errors with an "Extra" voltage of .90 That's only within windows though as would be expected since the frequencies used are NOT bootup clocks. I don't get errors in ATITool but I get a driver crash after a few minutes of Crysis. That voltage gives me amazingly low temps though so it's a shame it's not stable for me! Anyway, that leaves manipulating VID values, voltage table and doing a few more things in nibitor to allow me to test in .01 increments... .92,.93,.94, etc.. which I'm now doing. Anyway, I don't think you have anything to worry about as far as voltage modification causing your card to fail at bootup. Again, you've got really low clocks at that time. The important thing is to make sure you type the nvflash commands successfully and DO NOT reboot if you get any error within the flash process.

 

Nice guide, mind if i add it to my Notebook Care & Maintenance Guide?

I think it would be a good addition?

OB

 

Be my guest, thanks OB.

 

It's done my friend,

I'm adding all and any useful guides and such like, to the list. I figured that new and old members might find the list useful, instead of searching through threads etc.

If you think of any that you think are worth adding, please let me know?

OB

 

Good deal, and absolutely. Great job on that thread by the way. It looks very thorough and useful.

 

No problem, we're all here to help so...

OB

 

Just one thing I've been thinking about. Not long ago nvidia released a statement saying that there was a lot of potential defective gpu's. So, if the gpu is prone to failure, and this will void your warranty, then I'm not sure I want to take that plunge at the moment. The other thing is that, when this process is done the correct way, and things are perfectly stable, then this process can only be a good thing. I wonder if CS over at AW might ever "approve" of this?

 

Nice guide.. +REP

 

hey, groove - what does undervolting the 8800m to this level do for your battery life?

ps - nice guide! +rep

 

Well, that depends on how many amps this thing uses. According to the power brick it outputs 6.3amps.... so the max power it would pull with all 6.3 amps at 1v would be 6.3 watts and 5.985 watts at .95v

You would be saving a maximum of .31 watts... not very significant.

 

@Freeman - I kind of doubt AW would use a "fix" like this due to the fact that they would be implementing operating parameters outside the official specifications set forth by Nvidia. I'm sure this would "void" any sort of warranty they have on defective gpu's and they would have to eat the cost if a gpu failed which would be a pretty bad move on pc manufacturer's part...

@Friar - Thanks for the rep! You know, that's a good question and I'll try to do some testing when I benchmark my battery life next week. As kefka said, I really doubt a drop in .05V would have any pronounced effect but you never know...

 

Groove. Awesome thread.

 

Decreasing the voltage also decreases the current so your calculation is not altogether accurate. Although the current reduction due to decreased voltage to the GPU may not be a linear one, the power reduction is greater than your estimate.

 

Friar on my laptop i set the throttle and 2d voltages to .75 and with UV CPU i got a little over 4 hours of battery on 5/7 brightness.

Careful though guys if you screw up you will be trying to flash this blindly with a blank screen.

 

minkang, what were you getting before?

 

4 hours??! Holy crap - that's awesome! Battery life is really my only motivation for undervolting. My temps are just fine. Course, cooler can never hurt...

 

I don't claim to be an expert on this but as far as I'm aware the equation is Amps * volts = watts

Are you saying that decreasing the volts also decreases the amps?

 

Volt = Resistance * Amp?
so if voltage decreases, and resistance stays constant, amp also decreases?

 

Anyway, it seems sort of counter productive to try to undervolt the 8800gtx for the sole purpose of enhancing battery life when you can switch to the far less power hungry integrated video.

 

Well, I'm not an m15x owner...

I was thinking of performing this mod on the 8800 in my Clevo, for the sake of battery life.

 

Current = Volts/R (Ohms Law). Since the GPU is not a pure resistive load, the reduction in current does not follow Ohm's law exactly, but there is a reduction due to the reduction of voltage to the load.

 

With everything on stock with screen dimmed at 3/7 i got 1hr and like 10 minutes of battery. With CPU UV from 1.1375v - > .95v in 6x mult and 7x mult i got 2h 40mins of battery. With GPU UV in Throttle and 2v from .85 -> .75 and .7v it went above 4 hours.

 

Ah, well minkang is your man then

 

There's a reason they're set the way they are... if I were you guys I wouldn't risk breaking a notebook that you spent thousands of dollars on. And you don't want to even try to void the warranty on an Alienware .

 

That's pretty significant. I wonder what the voltage usage is for the integrated intel GPU? I haven't been able to reach those battery times even with an UV CPU and the intel gpu.

 

Thanks for the guide grooves, did the same undervolt to my stock 3d settings and it runs about 3-4c while gaming and I also adjusted the voltage for 2d settings and dropped it down to .7v and lowered my 2d clocks to 100/200/100.

 

Good to hear people are having success with this. If you guys give me your detailed voltages and clock frequencies, I'll add it under the original post and we can keep track of all the settings that have been tested to be stable.

 

Also us sager people and the m15x owners have different vbios from different manufacturers so we will be getting different results.

 

Well, I can't get it to work. Again, must be an x64 issue... the driver supplied with Nibitor won't initialize, so I can't read the GPU.

Groove... any tips for x64? If not, oh well!

 

Nice guide!
I just got my m15x yesterday, and I immediately ran stress tests on the 8800M GTX GPU & T9300 CPU. To my relief, Both aren't underclocking but have relatively high max temps. I have underclocked the CPU successfully, but can't seem to manage undervolting the GPU.

When I'm flashing the modified .rom file via the usb, this shows up:

"WARNING: Firmware image PCI subsystem ID (10DE.0556) does not match adapter PCI subsystem ID (152D.0770)"

and:

"PCI subsystem ID mismatch"

anybody can help me? thanks.

 

I'm curious if the extra voltage taken out would affect the peripherals or anything that requires power connected to it (ex. mouse or notebook cooler?)

 

Hey guys, sorry I've been away for awhile and didn't notice this thread being updated. Are any of you still having problems? If so, let me know on here and I'll try to help you out in the next couple weeks before I sell my m15x. The notebook is still running like a dream but I think I'm going to switch over to Apple. (gasp) I don't seem to be gaming on this thing like I thought I would be and really hate Vista. I haven't decided 100% yet, but am definitely strongly considering it. I think I've gamed on this thing twice in the past 4-5 weeks, lol. It doesn't change my opinion of the m15x being one of the best gaming notebooks out there at the moment so hopefully you don't feel bad for owning one! Peace. -Groove

One thing I haven't done is test the temps with the new bios, so I'll try to do that in the next few days and post my results. The only problem is that I'm testing at a much cooler time of the year here in NY and didn't have AC when I was testing before, so that may falsely skew some of the temps.

 

No, it will not affect power distribution to rest of your laptop/peripherals.

 

Your USB boot file link is no longer available. Mind updating it a bit so I could download a copy of the USB boot files?

 

..............updated.....................

 

Hey groove75. Might also wanna update nibitor as it has reached v4.4. Also, I was wondering if you might say something about how you go about changing the voltages in smaller increments because I got a BSOD at 0,9V on the Extra voltage and just doing the small drop you suggested in your initial post only gives me 1C lower temps. So it doesn't quite seem worth voiding my warranty for just that.

 

Woo! Thanks.

I'm getting the exact same error message. Been reading around, should I go ahead and -4 -5 -6 the new BIOS?

Edit2: Did a --check and --compare with the new bios and both were identical. The only thing was, it came up with an error message with:

Mismatch at offset 0x00000152.

Edit3: After being satisfied that I could do the flash blindfolded, I went ahead with the force flash. I was able to flash it successfully. I'll throw you the results later. Thanks for the guide Groove.

 

For ****s and giggles I tried a modest OC of about 100MHz on each setting as well as upping the voltage to 1.05. This resulted in downclocks and a 3DMark06 score of 7500. The funny thing is that the temps never went above 84C which is 3C less then what I usually max out at.

Anyway, I think I can say that for my system stock bios and current drivers is good enough.

 

Hey sorry for resurrecting this thread but when i tried to undervolt my 8600m gt via nibitor, my extra option was blanked out, while thrtl and 2d were at the lowest possible voltages already. Is that normal?

 

Sorry for necroposting.

The first post's link to HP USB Boot drive is dead.

New one...

http://www.eocfiles.com/bdc86eb1ed2989c30dcd1902e84939ae/bootdisks/SP27608.exe