BIOS modding for GPU OC fun and profit!!

A and another thing, your modded bios for GPU freezes the CPU.
After 5 min of gameplay.

 

What do you mean by 'freezes the CPU'? Is the entire system crashing? What are your temps before it freezes?

 

These are mine results:

I have faster graphic card but lower results and I can notice that there are very short jumps in animations (of windows and so on) in Windows from time to time.

Maybe it is because of modded bios for GPU.. Is it possible?

 

Freezez the cpu on x1, x2 multiplier and screen starts flickering, the sound in speakers is interupted, game goes down from 50-60fps to 1 or 0.If i exit the game in 2 minutes the cpu starts running ok and the multiplier works perfectly.Thing is that after updateing to no oc version i could play games with no problem.
Regarding temps they all are ok: Cpu - reaches around 84 Celsius and Gpu - reaches around 81 celsius in full load.

 

This happens all the time until I sleep the laptop.
This is my 3rd windows 7 Install, and it doesn't seem to be software related.
I'm just went from bios A09 to A13.5 but the problem still persists. I have no idea why not all XPS 1645 have this problem as it's not software related at all.

Anyway try sleeping your lapotp

 

The CPU throttles because of temps at 84C, so your temps are not ok. The GPU OC is causing the GPU to heat more, and because the CPU and GPU share one heatsink/fan, the hotter GPU heats up the CPU to over 84C, which causes CPU throttling. The throttling disappears as soon as you stop gaming because it gives the CPU time to cool down.

You can try to clean out your heatsink/fan with canned air, remove the dust filters and/or upgrade your thermal paste to reduce temps. If you don't want to try that, or it still doesn't help, then try a BIOS with a milder OC so the GPU doesn't heat the system up as much.

 

Thing is that cpu reaches those temps without the gpu beeing oc'ed.But only happens to throttle when i flash that bios with oc'ed gpu.As for cleaning , its close to looking brand new

 

I was get randomly distorted colorized pixels on screen in form of bars and dots with 1645_A13.5W_4670_ 810_970.zip. It's that way, as soon as the windows boot screen appears. The system also seems to be freezing, sought of lagging. I am using mobility catalyst 11.6 from ATI. I wonder whats causing that..
I have the normal non LEDRBG screen.
Had to end up reverting to A09, It seems most stable and least throttle causing on my system.

 

try looking at older pages..I had similar problems but after I removed that dust filter and re-pasted the heatsink contacts..my temps are very stable.

and you guys should probably test those clocks for reliability before flashing them.
@Godai_nin I think you need to get lower clocks. It seems like that's too high a OC for your card.

 

This is why I always recommend testing your OC with a software tool before flashing a BIOS. If you're seeing colored pixels all over your screen then your mem clocks are much higher than your laptop can handle.

 

And what about this low result in graphic performance in Win 7 (posted screen few posts up)? Is it possible it is coused by modded bios? (with lower clocks during normal office work).

 

That's weird. I have 6.9 for both graphics categories. The modded BIOS should make your score higher if anything. I noticed that you don't have the newest drivers installed, you could try updating them. Also, WEI is wildly inaccurate and the scores mean next to nothing. As long as your benchmarks, such as 3DMark, are where they should be I wouldn't worry about it.

 

Thanks for the suggestions, I pretty much figured that out that's why reverted. I shouldn't have flashed it without checking before hand.

The non-overclocked, unlocked A13 is working fine. So thanks seeker_moc.
For the time being I will use rivatuner as I have being using for quite some time. and Also thanks for the link to Tool to Insert/Replace SLIC in Phoenix / Insyde / Dell / EFI BIOSes, perhaps I might try making a bios myself.

 

Hello Guys ! I have a new problem with my XPS 1645,... I'm still in version A09 because it has the best graphic performance.

And yesterday when i turned the beast on it said " Battery not recognised, unable to charge it" Press F1 ton continue. The sides LED keep blinking Orange-orange-orange-orange-white-blank , and again.

In windows it says "plugged, not in charge". I've been looking everywhere on internet ton find any solution. The battery was working as a charm the day before, so it cannot be broken, i think.

The first try I gave was to flash the bios,... But the battery has 0% of charge and Winflash needs 10% percent at least... So I'm now trying to flash the bios with the NON_OC_13.5 modded .WPH under DOSboot to avoid the notification " you must have at least 10% of charge,... blablabla ".

So my question is how can i use the wflash16.exe (flash tool for dos) ?

I created a boot USB with dos98 files in it AND the 1645_A13W2_N C.WPH file renamed as BIOS.wph . Is it right ?

And when i boot on it, it says Cannot flash if memory manager (e.g. HIMEM) present. Press any key to continue. Then it goes back to dos.

Could please, anyone help me with the dos procedure to flash my bios ? Maybe my bootable version of DOS is bad ?

Thanks in advance, I'm wondering that the battery will be recognise again with the new os. And I really like OC so an unlocked version of the BIOS is a good news !

Max.

EDIT: Precision 1, I have a 90w and a 130w AC adapter, and it's the same with both of them. Precision 2, when it unplug the AC while the battery is not inside it shuts down instantly. So 0% of charge in the battery, even the control LEDS under the battery are no more lighting.

PS: excuse my bad english. I'm french speaker

 

Well.. I'm not really worried about this specific scores, but I really don't like these stops in animation in Windows. Everybody says that Win 7 is very fast, but for me it seems quite slow and not fluent in working. I see this also in Windows Mail Live and in opening and closing windows and things like that.

After I did a clean install of the system, it helped a little but I can still see this jumps and stops. I didn't think about the graphic card before, but if this score is that low maybe this is the reason for this (or maybe part of the problem).

Maybe I will just try to go back for original bios for a moment and see if there will be any difference.

 

Boot into Windows. Open a command prompt. Go to the flash drive. Type "dir /a". Look for himem.sys. If present, delete it "del himem.sys". Reboot to your flash drive, and try again. Also, A09 is only the best 'standard' BIOS if you have the 4670. If you have the 5730 there is no reason to hold on to that old BIOS.

I'm not sure if a BIOS flash will help you though, it just sounds like your battery went bad suddenly. It's not common, but it happens.

 

What clock speed is your GPU running at when you see the stops in animation? (use GPU-Z or similar) It shouldn't be running any slower at idle than the stock BIOS. If it's not a bad driver, and you did a fresh install, it may be a hardware problem. Try flashing a stock BIOS and see if it fixes it. If not, call Dell for a new motherboard.

 

GPU clocks in IDLE are 100 (Core) and 150MHz (Memory) - these are settings from bios that I got from you. When I start some animations they go up - for example 400 and 799MHz when I minimize and maximize window few times (just checked - 800 and 1049MHz after few more times).

I may check another driver but I notice that when I began to use this laptop (however I didn't have Windows 7 on any other computer to compare - I just assumed that it is characteristic of this system). It was the same (maybe even worse) with factory installed system, and after I did a fresh install.

But I need to underline that this "stops", "jumps" or whatever I call it, are not very visible. They are noticable for me, but they last a very short time, like one tenth of the second or so. I just think that is it supposed to work smoothly and that's why I worry if everything is all right (and actually I don't like it..). This low score in Windows seems to be another sign that something may really not be right.

This is also very easy noticable when I move curson to the taskbar and wait for thumbnail to show. Then if I move it to another windows and the thumbnail will move as well, it won't be smooth and some jumps or short stops are always visible. Maybe it is supposed to be that way. I really don't know (but I don't think so).


There is another think. I'm in Poland (Europe) right now. I had problems with hard drive so I tried to make a complaint. Unfortunatelly is was impossible because I didn't warranty transfer before (I didn't because I was told it wont be necessary..). So I tried but I received a message that it cannot be completed. I tried to explained that but didn't receive any straight answer so far. I will try again, but for now seems like there are problems with my warranty and it is going to end soon anyway (this month). I can make a complain, make a warranty transfer (when it is possible) and then wait for a repair, but it probably (actually for sure) wont be possible to ask a consultant to come to my house and check notebook to see what is the problem.

So, what I want to ask is, if there is a problem - is there a way to check it for sure? And if DELL diagnostic show no errors (I will run it again this weekend) are there any other tests that would show any possible errors?

Games seem to be working fine (I checked one - Portal 2, but beside few stops in the beginning (something could work in the backround) it was working smoothly), I ddint' have any trouble with testing CPU at full load, a also tested memory (here I did have some doubts. I did a few hours of memtest (boot from dos) and in the beginning it was working fine, then it was still working and showing text saying no errors, but full screen was filled with different marks (without any sens). Tests were still working, computer was responding, but these different marks were visible. I'm not sure if that means anything?


I just wonder if there is anything else I could check to make sure, that there is in fact something that could be (and should) repaired.

 

Ok thanks Seeker_moc ! It worked, but you were right the battery is still not recognised.

Do you know how long batteries are covered with the "Business Next Day International On site warranty" ? I have 3 years of warranty but I don't think they will replace my 9cell battery (only 18 months old).

BTW I have the 4670. Can you tell me what's the average (+-) 3dmark06 score with the "1645_A13.5W_4670_ 810_970" bios ?

It's AS5 modded but don't you think that 810 900 is a little to high ? It's a 20% OC.

Thanks !

 

I'm not sure, I have a 5730. You'd have to ask one of the guys who've tried it. As far as the speeds go, 810_970 is pretty mild. I do however highly recommend using a software tool like AMDGPUClockTool and stress tests like FurMark or OCCT to test an OC for temps and stability first before flashing it.

 

Battery isn't included in extension warranty, it has its own warranty extension if not mistaken..
Clocks isn't 810/970, but close and its with C2D P8700..

For gaming, normally I use 800/900..

 

This is what i don't get.. my 3Dmark scores are considerably lower.
6703 in 3dmark06.

And its clocked to 780core/ 950mem
Plus its a 5730, shouldn't my scores be higher than those posted above ?
It even says my score is low compared to similar systems..

could it be because im pushing dual monitors..??

im gonna disable that and try again.

without the second monitor (external one) my score increased to 6757.. whyy this difference ?
anyone?

Edit -

I checked my clocks again..thought the default showed up as the higher clocks.. my laptop was
running at clocks much lower 799mem and 550 core.. its something this PC keeps doing from time to time
i have no idea why..I just know that to fix it i can either restart (won't work always) or use riva tuner to overclock
and then disable rivatuner .. then the comp suddenly "remembers" that it can run faster. weird ..but it works all the time.
..any help in fixing this would be appreciated.

as far as the scores go.. 8164 is my new and final score.
yay

 

omg! Just figured it out..
I don't know how i did..but i some how figured this out.
Not sure if anyone else noticed this.. but everytime i have a flash plugin open
(youtube for example) .. Flash locks my Gpu in to default clocks ..
in this case its much lower than my OC.. and everytime i force higher clocks the system restarts/crashes.

Weird.. but i just did it multiple times.. and EVERYTIME flash is left open in any window in my tabs..
my gpu clocks get locked ..
no wonder my games got slower :|

 

^if you want, you can right click on the flash, then go to left most tab and disable the hardware acceleration.

8164 in what resolution ?

 

Thanks, but i tried that .. it didn't work for some reason
I read online..apparently flash 10.1 did this.. no one complained about it in the later revisions..

And since i dont own 3dmark.. everything was default.. 1024x768 i think was the res.. not sure..its teh same as in the screenshots above my post.

 

Ok thank you ! I tried 4670@ 730 880 with Rivatuner and I hit 7833 in 1280x1024. I think it's safe frequences. Before OC it was 7120 pts.

What are the main advantage to OC with custom Bios in comparison with OC in Rivatuner ?

Thanks

 

It's slightly more stable. Also, using Rivatuner will lock the GPU to the OCd clocks whether you need them or not. A BIOS overclock will still allow the GPU to downclock itself automatically and use the power saving clocks when the OC clocks aren't needed.

 

You're lucky you can even use RivaTuner on your Laptop. For some reason if I try to use any software overclocking utilities it just freezes my computer and restarts it.

 

Need to change a config file.. don't remember which and what change to make exactly.. but just a small change and it fixes that, if im correct.

 

Still searching to oc the i7 720qm .... tried setfsb but i can't find the answer .... just 5-10% top.

 

I'm pretty sure it is impossible (or at least extremely difficult) to overclock the i-core processors.

 

Its not that hard, some oc-ed acer, asus and hp notebooks with the same i7 720qm....and with setfsb prog.

 

ktd

 

They all use different PLL clock generator chip. In my case, the clock generator can only be switched to run at 100 or 133Mhz. So, no way I can overclock with SetFSB.

 

Not possible. Each BIOS has specific GPU clocks hard-programed into it (read the file name), you can't change them manually in the BIOS menu.

No. If it's shutting itself off it's either overheating or drawing more power than your adapter can supply. Try cooling mods like removing the dust filter, or upgrading your thermal paste. Also ensure you have a 130W adapter. If it still shuts itself down, you'll need to reduce your OC, as the laptop just can't handle that much heat, and you're dangerously close to causing permanent damage. You could also try calling Dell, explaining to them your overheating problem, and see if they'll replace your motherboard.

No manual, we don't even know what they all do, and some don't seem to do anything. You can read through previous posts in this thread to see what works and what doesn't, or you can figure it out yourself through trial and error. If you're not sure what it does, you probably shouldn't change it.

 

Exactly what I was going to say.. Its risky business ..you can destroy you perfectly good system by messing about.

 

kyf

 

The clocks are fixed. They can be changed but only by modding the BIOS, hence the mod thread. It's a case of "find what you're stable at and then mod the BIOS to default to those".

 

Yes, the BIOS mod is for GPU overclocking. What seeker_moc trying to explain to you is that the highest clocks (Core & Memory) are modified (to go higher). It's hardcoded mod - meaning you can't change the clocks manually. The best thing with this mod is PowerPlay still working - meaning if the GPU is idle or light usage, the Core & Memory clocks will throttle down.

First task in the business
If you want to use the modded BIOS, first you need to know the highest & stable clocks (Core & Memory) your GPU can support. Even the notebook & GPU are identical with everyone else, each of them have different highest clocks (overclock) the GPU can support. So, what you need to do is, use RivaTuner or MSI AfterBurner or Sapphire TRIXX to overclock. When you have obtain the highest & stable clocks, post them here & request the BIOS mod.

 

Except that I'm unable to upload anything right now, so I can't post any custom BIOSes. You'd have to pick one of the ones already made that come closest to what you test for, or you could always try to mod one yourself, it isn't that hard, and the instructions are posted a few pages back.

 

Seeker..Im lazy so i'll just wait for you to upload my request haha
take your time ..obviously

 

Here's the situation: my internet is constantly dropping it's connection. MediaFire and other sites don't use an upload/download manager for free users, so whenever I try to upload something, it times out or fails. However, Yahoo! Mail upload manager works for me.

So I'd like to ask for a volunteer to PM me their e-mail address, I'll e-mail the modded BIOSes to you, and you could post them on MediaFire (or whatever) and post the links here for everybody else.

 

Hi All,

These are seeker_moc's modded BIOS.

• 1645_A13W2_5730_780_950.7z
  MD5: 693FB9694E12F3F2935335918AD0C90F
• 1647_A11_5730_800_1067.7z
  MD5: 8CE9C9E738278EC06546DF26EC93F185
• 1647_A11_5730_825_1050.zip
  MD5: 401E9634F0E9DB151639B23E667B2906

 

Seeker_moc And Kizwan.. I cant i give you anymore rep.. lol..
But know that I if I could.. I would.
Thanks a lot guys.

 

Can you make a 1645 A13W2 for the 4670 with these speeds? It's exactly what I need but mediafire seems to have deleted the old version. Thanks!

edit: email me and I can post it on mediafire for everyone. sinecardinal at gmail.com

 

Has anyone tried disabling Hyperthreading in the unlocked BIOS as a way of lowering CPU temperatures?

 

i tried it once, but the settings didn't stick every time.

i don't have an actual value, but i would guess that one of three times the settings would not save and revert to default. the same thing happens with setting the # of cores (from 4 down to 2).

 

I'm currently running a custom OC on my 1647... 813/1067 (on A10 bios).

Is there any benefits to running any of these @ A11?

 

Unless you use that LoJack for laptops thing, then no. Everything else is identical.

 

Sent. Sorry it took so long.