Enable undervolting on your Dell XPS 9500/9700 (or others)

Dell's lack of undervolting on their recent XPS systems is super annoying but thankfully on their 10th Gen stuff there is a way around it. I've tested this on my 9500 and 9700 and it worked like a champ. It does NOT work on 11th gen CPUs, I've tried it on my 9310 2-in-1 but Intel has blocked it.

This quick tutorial is something you use at your own risk. Neither myself or NBR is responsible if you mess something up, it doesn't work for you, or anything else happens. I cannot take full credit for this, I found this page which helped me tremendously.

It has been suggested that these variables can change with different bioses, and that's possible. It's also possible that Dell with enable undervolting on their own, but not likely. Having said that these flags have been tested and are working on:
Dell XPS 9700 Bioses: 1.04, 1.06, 1.32, 1.5.0, 1.6.3, 1.8.2, 1.9.2
Dell XPS 9500 Bioses: 1.4.0, 1.6.1, 1.7.1, 1.8.1, 1.9.1

I will update my Dell XPS 9500 to ensure support but sadly I no longer have a 9700 to test on.

If you don't have one of the bioses above or you want to upgrade your bios and it hasn't been tested please view the guide found here.

Click the spoiler below to learn how to enable undervolting on your XPS 9500/9700.

Spoiler: Click here if you acknowledge that you’ve read above

Create a EFI USB Boot Drive

1. Download the grubx64.efi file from v1.0 alpha release available here.
2. Get (or format) a blank FAT32 flash drive.
3. Create a folder called EFI. Within this EFI folder, create a folder called Boot.
4. Place the grubx64.efi folder above into the EFI/Boot folder path.
5. Rename grubx64.efi to bootx64.efi.

You should now have a flash drive with one file, bootx64.efi, located in the path X:/EFI/Boot (where X is your flash drive’s drive letter.) Time to boot it!

Disable Secure Boot in BIOS and Boot Prepared EFI USB Drive
Before your computer can boot the EFI flash drive, you will have to disable the Secure Boot option in your BIOS. To do so simply go into the bios with F2 and under the boot options there should be a Secure Boot mode, set that to disable. After that leave your USB drive in and hit F12 to select your USB drive to boot from.

Edit EFI Variables of Interest (again after verifying they are the CORRECT variables):
Once in the EFI shell simply type (without the quotations):
"setup_var CpuSetup 0xDA 0x0"
"setup_var CpuSetup 0x3E 0x0"
Once you change the variables, you can simply unplug your flash drive, reboot, re-enable SecureBoot, and boot back into Windows.

Now you can actually use throttle stop to undervolt!

Spoiler: Click here if you acknowledge that you’ve read above and have a 9710

XPS 9710 with 11th i9-11900H
Undervolting Worked with Bios 1.2.1

with this Settings:

"setup_var CpuSetup 0xDF 0x0"
"setup_var CpuSetup 0x43 0x0"

Compliments of @Kenji242

Spoiler: Click here if you acknowledge that you’ve read above and have a Precision 5560

comfirmed on precision 5560 with i7-11850h (BIOS 1.4.0):

setup_var CpuSetup 0xDF 0x0
setup_var CpuSetup 0x43 0x0

same as xps 9510 and 9710

Compliments of @arshcaria http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...00-9700-or-others.835235/page-4#post-11119194

 

Erm, I am honestly a bit confused about your post on here. This was already discussed several times about a year ago, I also posted the links several times on the 9570 post and you mostly seen it. Example here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Dell/comments/fzv599/xps_7590_160_uefi_unlock_undervolting_and_remove/

It works for all Dell laptops obviously. Also what you said is not 100% safe. It assumes specific cvars which is NOT SAFE. Because they can and will change with newer bios versions and are just SAFE to use for a specific bios version. I've seen the cvars change in some of the bios updates of the 9570.

The most secure way to do this, is to download a specific bios version for your model from Dell, and then use some tools (the article you posted discusses this Ive seen right now), to export the cvars from the bios file, and check before doing this.

You can use this python script to decompress a dell bios file:

https://github.com/platomav/BIOSUtilities/blob/master/Dell PFS BIOS Extractor/Dell_PFS_Extract.py

The extracted content should then look like this:


You then have to use some tool (have to see where I find it, cant find it right now), to extract the cvars from the bios file, looking something like this:



And check the flags for the settings you want to set, in this example force S3 for example. You can basically set every imaginable setting this way, Dell has hidden and the bios would allow to set, like undervolt on/off too.

Some settings are not able to change this way though, mostly because the firmware overwrites them with some default values after each init phase.

For the 9570 regarding overclocking it looks for example like this:



And the right cvars for bios version 1.16.2 are 0x659 and 0x5BD.

You have to check these first for each model and each bios. Might happen, with a newer bios version, they change.

 

Why are you confused by my post?

This is applicable to the 9500 and 9700, no need to extract the bios, I've already done that. Your variables DO NOT work on the 9500/9700 fyi, with any of the bios releases. Sure it could change but likely won't. If it does I'll update the thread.

*on edit*
I'll update the thread with the full guide in a spoiler and include the bios revisions this currently works on. I haven't seen these variables change yet, but who knows with Dell. I'll do the beta testing on new 9500 bioses but my 9700 has been returned to Dell.

 

@custom90gt You didnt seem to understand what I said. The cvars are UNIQUE to a bios version. x<=>y<=>z bios version x connects to char y for setting z. What you said makes no sense. Maybe read what I said again above I edited my post a few times.

For each new bios you want to flash / update, or for what version people have, you have to check the chars. You might have bios 1.2.3, others might have 1.2.4 and for 1.2.4 the char changed. THAT is what I said.

And of course those chars I talked about where examples for the 9570, that is what I also said.

Confused, because you seem to be new to this all, where it was all discussed before severals times, and you also read the discussion because you were owner of a 9570.

 

No I'm not new to this but thanks for assuming. The vars haven't changed in any of the bios versions for the 9500 or 9700 (hint I looked at and tried them all). Also previous flags for the 9550 never changed in the million bioses they released at least for the things I was interested in. In the off chance they do change I'll post the guide. Perhaps you should re-read what I wrote...

*On edit* maybe you're just trying to get credit for this? Rest assured I didn't use any of your posts for this or previous work such as with my 9550 or RB15.

 

Seems you are new to this though. Youre coming one year too late. What you say is really naive though and childish. Cvars can change with new bios version, didnt say they will, just can, and are just save to assume for a specific version, and Ive seen them change, especially on the 9570 for Dell literally changed the entire bios with one version and lots of chars changed position. If you want to do this, check the cvars yourself for your bios version and/or for the next you will update. If not, there is a little rest risiko, that the cvars are different for different bios version. It's playing russian roulette if you dont check first.

 

Cool, you've said your piece, insults and all. I haven't seen Vars change in the work I've done (working with IMON slope on the 9550 which btw was released in 2016), but noted that you've seen it. I've already put the caveat to it in the initial post.

 

Well I don't think I'll have time to re-create the wheel in showing how to find vars in future bioses or other bioses. Having said that, I've edited the first post a little to show that things can change in newer bioses. I'll update the 9500 bios release section and would appreciate if 9700 users commented on theirs.

 

This freaking worked! @mrcustom90gt I could kiss you! my Initial undervolt on the dell xps 9500 with bios 1.6.1 I did an UV of -90mv and I ran a complete run of intel xtu benchmark without thermal throttling - maintained 80C for a long while before 90W cpu spikes caused it to run into the 90's ... it ran at 4.5ghz without any throttling! Thank you so much!

Undervolt trial 2 -125mv in throttlestop and fan speed still set to default by dell (fans barely spin up at all!) Max temp at 94C with 4.66ghz max processor frequency in intel xtu benchmark mode.

 

Hello,

Anyone tested this bios undervolt?

 

Update: Worked on BIOS 1.7.1 XPS 9500.

 

Yep, verified here as well.

 

Hi,

I checked in bios settings and saw this feature was hidden.



I don't see anything difference Default BIOS and Factory Default.

 

Hi,

I found this case. If I turn off TPM option, the TPP can be chosen.

 

Dell XPS 17 9700 with Bios Version 1.8.2 worked!

 

Added the latest releases to the list

 

Hi,
I just received the new Xps 9510 with the 11800h, undervolting is locked, so I was wondering if this method could work with this cpu. What do you guys think?

 

You can send your laptop to unclewebb throttlestop author and wait for. =))))

Gen 11th can not do undervolt.

 

You may be able to do so, but I would go through the whole process of checking for the cvars variable to be sure though. It's likely the same, but better safe than sorry.

 

I just tried it works!!
My variables were 0xDF for overclocking and 0x43 for CFG lock.

11th gen is undervolted!!

Here's a pic of my FIVR settings:
https://imgur.com/J6oN7M8

 

@custom90gt , thanks for the easy to follow and summarized instructions.

I was successfully able to undervolt my 10750H. Windows recently updated me to 1.8.1 (didn't get a chance to disable Windows BIOS updates) and I noticed that the undervolt still stuck. I didn't have to go through the process again which honestly I was expecting to do...

Is this expected behaviour?

 

Yeah if the undervolt is still listed in throttle stop then it's good to go. Most bios updates don't reset CVARs so that's pretty expected. Glad your undervolt is working for you.

 

@custom90gt , first of all, thanks for the guide, I am now able to select the "Unlock Adjustable Voltage" setting in ThrottleStop after following your guide. I am using XPS 9500, BIOS version 1.8.1

However, for some strange reason, the undervolting does not seem apply to my machine. The offset value remain at constant 0 at the FIVR screen even after applying and saving.

I have also tried setting the slider to some ridiculous value of -1000mV but the system did not crash, so I know the undervolt is not working. Anyone sharing the same experience as mine? Thanks.

 

Humm, I would re-try to apply the bios switch to see if that fixes it. For me without applying those bios switches, throttlestop would allow me to select an undervolt but it would not appear under the offset, just like you're showing. Mine still works on bios 1.8.1 so I don't believe the cvar has changed.

 

Yea I just tried it again, still got the same results. I was not able to select the "Unlock Adjustable Voltage" before the EFI Vars change, so I am pretty sure the EFI vars changes are taking effect, at least part of it.

Perhaps it has to do with later revision of 9500? Mine is manufactured November 2020, not sure if it has anything to do with that.

Photo of the EFI vars terminal edit below:



Edit: Reading the comments from the Brenden GreenLay guide, apparently it does not seems to work on every XPS 9500 for some reason.

Update: Tried downgrading to the lowest possible BIOS version available from Dell website (v1.6.1), still get the same result.

 

I'm not sure how it would be possible to disable undervolting on some laptops and not others. If I have some time this weekend I can look at bios 1.8.1 more closely. Have you tried setting smaller, more realistic values for the undervolt? My XPS tops out at -50mv.

 

I have tried downgrading the BIOS to 1.6.1 and redo the steps again, but to no avail. In fact, I have even tried following Brenden GreenLay guide and dump the BIOS from my machine to make sure. And the EFI vars are in facts pointing to 0xDA and 0x3E, very bizarre indeed.

 

Also test out with an older XTU version.

Here you find my library of XTU versions
http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...m-owners-lounge.831618/page-536#post-11110394

Edit. See also http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...3-owners-lounge.797884/page-925#post-11112592

 

Thanks for the advise, downloaded an older version of XTU (6.5.2.40) to try. Unfortunately, I am not able to see the voltage offset slider in the app, it is not even greyed out like most people's.

 

please complete:


XPS 9710 with 11th i9-11900H
Undervolting Worked with Bios 1.2.1

with this Settings:

"setup_var CpuSetup 0xDF 0x0"
"setup_var CpuSetup 0x43 0x0"

lg.

 

@custom90gt
I've done the bios mod on DELL XPS 9700 with bios 1.6.3 version, the last verified version at the time (December 2020). It worked. I've since done an elaborate tutorial on how to do it here: Dell XPS 9700 undervolting - The Complete Guide - Guides and Tutorials - Linus Tech Tips
(if there's anything incorrect about the tutorial, feel free to correct me. You are of course fully credited. I just wanted to spread the word.)

I've avoided bios updates up until recently, when I've been forced to update to bios version 1.9.2. Just wanted to let you know that all bios mods stuck after update and undervolting works normally as before. You can add 1.9.2 bios to your list of working ones.

Cheers

 

Confirmed working on XPS 9710 with i9 11980hk. Stable at -60 cache and core thus far. Dell kindly released a Bios update straight after I did this (yesterday) - the undervolt stuck.

Xaphier you mentioned the offset not working in Throttlestpp. I had this initially also. Are you running Windows 11 by chance? Try disabling virtualisation in the BIOS. Fixed it for me.

 

So after the bios update and re-entering the commands, the undervolting didn't work?

 

No, the BIOS update had no impact either way. The key to getting it working is disabling virtualisation (I believe this is a Windows 11 issue).

 

comfirmed on precision 5560 with i7-11850h (BIOS 1.4.0):

setup_var CpuSetup 0xDF 0x0
setup_var CpuSetup 0x43 0x0

same as xps 9510 and 9710

---

Edit

I played a bit with ThrottleStop and the 5560 laptop stables with Prime95 at -90.8 mV offset for CPU Core (All other parts are 0 offset).

Cinebench R23 results with undervolting are 12015 / 1528 (MC/SC).

Performance is decent considering the thin chassis. But its undervolting potential is much less than my 6 year old xps 9550 with i7-6700hq, which stables at -170 mV for CPU Core and CPU cache.

 

I wonder is it possilble to force eanble S3 sleep mode using similar methods (to get rid of S0 standby in 9500/9510)?

 

Were these settings used?

XPS 9710 with 11th i9-11900H
Undervolting Worked with Bios 1.2.1

with this Settings:

"setup_var CpuSetup 0xDF 0x0"
"setup_var CpuSetup 0x43 0x0"

I have the i7 and it has the most recent bios, are those settings for all 9710s regardless of bios and cpu?

 

yes I believe so

 

Great to read that some of you undervolt the new 11th generation XPS.
My bios nr. is: BIOS Revision 2.4.1 I have my laptop since 1 September.
My Laptop: XPS 13 9310 2-in-1 11th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-1165G7


I have tried this guide: https://brendangreenley.com/undervo...s-to-improve-thermals-battery-life-and-speed/

When I try to put the "setup_var CpuSetup 0xDF 0x0" in guide>, I get:
Error: Usages: Setup.var .....

 

Can someone help me with it? Is is possible with my laptop?
I am willing to pay for it

 

Intel leaves very little ability to undervolt as they are doing that now "at the factory" to tweak out every bit of performance possible and catch up with AMD. So any consumer undervolt results may be disappointing.

You might try a repaste of the heatsink with quality thermal paste.

Below is a MMIO power tweak that might help performance for some users. Keep an eye on the throttlestop thread here as Tiger Lake undervolt news may be there.

https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/...-temps-xps-13-9310.276524/page-2#post-4596127
http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/the-throttlestop-guide.531329/

 

Undervolting is not an option with the i7-1165G7

 

Thank you very much, I also read this whole thread https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/throttlestop-on-tigerlake-u-i7-1165g7.275464/page-2

But I am really a noob, there is so much info.
What can I do to lower the temp, I am not a gamer, it is just annoying to have the fans fluctuating so much while I'm working.
So I start in the morning with a kitchen paper and Hot-Cold Pack from my freezer, to keep the system temps low till early afternoon.
Also bought an ergostand, but that didn't do anything and was noisy as well.

A pitty because this laptop was 2400 euro.

 

I don't undstand what I can do Limiting the CUP voltage with FIVR is no option unfortually
That guide I understood.

But what is are the Turbo Power Limits do?
Should I just lower the 'Long Power PL1' and the 'Short Power PL2'

And locking the MMIO, what does change that?
This is current, nothing changed yet:
https://ibb.co/Sns5tMy



I don't care so much about performance, my laptop just runs almost only web-based stuff, sometimes some Photoshop and speadsheets.
My old XPS 13, I had for over 6 years, so I though this was a good buy, but the fans are noisy.

 

The best CPU power management tool is enabling Intel "Speed Shift". You change performance using the EPP. ThrottleStop has an easy interface for that but you should be able to enable it in BIOS and select on Windows Power Options.

- 0 is high performance and runs hot.
- 100% (or 255 depending on computer) is energy savings and CPU runs cooler
- Around 30% (or 78) should give full clocks but also some power savings. You would need to experiment on your laptop

Also, can you install and use Dell Command | Power Manager (thermal management - cool)?

http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/dell-xps-speed-shift.796891/

 

Yes I have Dell Power manager, when I choose Cool, it makes the fans run harder, when I use quiet, the fans are less noisy.

I have put on Speed Shift - EPP in ThrottleStop 9.4.2.
So what you are saying is that I should put up the SpeedShift EPP from 128 to 255, to have a cooler system? Thanks, I will try that and leave the PL1 en PL2 and MMIO just the way they are?



I will check the guide you linked to, and try to change savely some settings to keep the temp lower and fans more off.

 

The EPP [is next to the] SST letters in ThrottleStop (SST will be in green when SpeedShift is enabled). You can change that number "128" just by [double clicking] on that area and typing in say 255, which might cause a very laggy laptop. Or 0, which would cause a responsive but hotter laptop. Speed shift is the best way to quickly adjust CPU power consumption.

Another trick is to shut down any background activity. Shut down all programs and just open the main screen on ThrottleStop; at idle, you want to see the c0% to be very low, say below 1%. If it is not, then you can search for programs running in the background (some may be in the startup process that you don't need running at startup for example). In the ThrottleStop Guide you can search for tips to get that c0% down below 1%.

C0% indicates how much the CPU is working. For rough reference, the pkg power figure below that indicates how much power the CPU is consuming in watts.

 

Thank you very much, I'm running now on 255 SST, works perfect, fans stay off, and I am using the laptop almost only for web-based stuff, so works fine for me

Long Power PL1 and PL2 should I change that too.

And the Speed Shift in the 'Turbo Power Limits' window? There I can put a Min and max in.
It runs now on min 1 and max 47

 

PL1 & PL2 are adjusted upwards for people that want to run the CPU harder, with more heat. So I wouldn't touch them.

IIRC, the TPL range 1 to 47 is just showing the theoretical speed multipliers of your CPU (e.g. 47 indicates your CPU could go to 4.7GHZ for a few seconds. Don't bother touching those. You are adjusting the CPU via SpeedShift's EPP.

I can't remember what the Speed Shift box does on the TPL window. It probably is another way to turn on the SpeedShift. Once you enable SpeedShift, you can change EPP but can't disable it (without turning off the laptop).

In any case, your laptop probably has a switch in the BIOS to SpeedShift to enable or disable SpeedShift.
- If that BIOS switch is OFF, SpeedShift is IS NOT enabled everytime you turn on the laptop.

- If that BIOS switch is ON, SpeedShift IS enabled everytime you turn on the laptop.
--> The EPP would be based on the EPP dropdown box in "Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Power Options\Edit Plan Settings\Power Options"

--> Sometimes you need to enable that EPP dropdown box (see the SpeedShift thread above).

--> Once you have settled on a good EPP setting that you will use most of the time, it is a good idea to MATCH the EPP settings of this WINDOWS DROP DOWN BOX & THROTTLESTOP (you need to do some basic maths as the ranges differ, say 1-100% vs 0-255, respectively). That way there is no EPP "fight" in the system.

--> For occasional changes, just change EPP in ThrottleStop

 

Thank you very much, you are right, no need to tweak more.
The fans are staying off

I tried cinebench R23 benchmark and the results where:

SST on: 255 - result: 2172
SST on: 200 - result: 2236
SST on: 128 - result: 3651
SST on: 80 - result: 3764

My old XPS 13 of 6 years old had with no tweaks 1588
I have it now on 200 and that works fine for me, no fans super happy with this solution.
Laptop CPU stays around 34 degrees with a max of 48 is I start up some programs.

I will try 190, 180 etc, to see how far I can go without the fans going on.

I don't reboot often, maybe once every few weeks, but in worst case I will start ThrottleStop than again