The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.
← Previous pageNext page →

    L502X modded bioses download (GPU voltages and more!)

    Discussion in 'Dell XPS and Studio XPS' started by capitankasar, Dec 30, 2011.

  1. chris89

    chris89 Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    45
    Messages:
    246
    Likes Received:
    13
    Trophy Points:
    31
    Battlefield bad company 2 in directx 11 maxed out damn near and at 1920x1080 getting 35fps or more and it just runs great.

    According to the ES 2720Qm idk i can't control the multiplier so idk if it's unlocked or not but i know for sure only Extreme edition chips are unlocked but idk abou a lapotp extreme edition cpu. The Extreme edition cpu's run at 55 watts and maybe 65 watts in turbo boost so it would run way too high you would have to run it at 99% to 97% in game but might work in turbo boost for encoding or something.

    I also found out that the explorer.exe is forced to use the Integrated GPU so the windows experience index is not accurate since it's not using the GT540M. I might be able to say the same for 3dmark11... I get 7fps in the tests... seems a bit low... I guess it's accurate since 2 GTX 460's at 900Mhz each in SLI does 40fps ,and 2 GTX 470's at 835mhz in sli hit 60fps.

    Was only able to get 750-1500-975 at 0.980v and at 1.020v I could only get 780 totally stable no artifacts and it passed 3dmark11 tests.

    The problem with some of your guys systems is that the gpu uses 35 watts by stock and could see as much as 45 watts overvolted and overclocked, add a core i7 to that and add another 45 watts but turbo boost pushes it to 52 watts. So we are pumping 97 watts through a tiny heatsink assembly. It overheats in turbo boost so set max cpu to 99% which is a reduction in watts from 52 to 32 watts and that's 20 Celsius at least in temps so try 99% cpu thats overall load of 77 watts which is way cooler. The same applies to going to 98% which is 27 watts range, and 97% is like 19 watts so at 97% it's just 64 watts total load which is run very cool and stable.... Wouldn't it be nice to lock down the i7 gt cores to lesser watts too even undervolt/ underclock the cpu gpu and reduce the cpu temps. Like hard clock the intel hd3000 to 300mhz and reduce the voltage to get the cpu cooler for continuous load in turbo boost.

    Anyway Good Luck!
     
    capitankasar likes this.
  2. chocoseries

    chocoseries Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    18
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    6
    Thank you for the fanspeed control, captiankasar. Its been really frustrating to me that this computer fan never turned off!
    Now I can work and enjoy this beautiful device. :)

    Salute, sir.
     
    capitankasar likes this.
  3. timewalker75a

    timewalker75a Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    36
    Messages:
    100
    Likes Received:
    24
    Trophy Points:
    31
    capitankasar likes this.
  4. chocoseries

    chocoseries Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    18
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    6
    Anyaway--captiankasar, is it possible to make the RW and Fanspeed mod permanent? Because after hibernation or shut down, I had to do this all over again.
     
  5. capitankasar

    capitankasar Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    231
    Messages:
    1,663
    Likes Received:
    117
    Trophy Points:
    81
    @Timewalker75a

    as allways, thank you for your support timewalker, I wouldnt went so far without your guiadance and help :)

    anyway I think it would be better to put the info more easy/userfriendly for users in this forum, (like push this button, flash this, install this, images, etc... )

    just notice the first post of this topic, it is very explained with images and stuff and even doing that and update it with every question people ask, I keep reciving questions almost everyday :D

    anyway, I really miss the days we were active in bios-mods forums, as a team we were able to unlock almost everything, with you and jkbuha knowledge and me and my crazy mind allways ready to flash any kind of test or take appart the machine and electronic-mod it for the harder tests :)

    I was testing some bios logo modding into the other topic, but I didnt had success, maybe you can give me a hand over there :)



    @chocoseries

    mmm, it would be posible to alter the EC region like prema did on his mods, my brother flashed one of his mods into a compatible laptop, and he gained the ability of control the fan with a new hotkey prema created

    if was something like fn+f12 and he switched full fan speed and auto fan speed

    it worked everywhere, bios, booting, other OS.... since it was another hard shortcut like the sound fn functions or brightress

    I asked prema for some info by email, however didnt recived a reply yet :(

    so as for the moment, we can only keep doing the RW trick.

    another posible way could be someone wich write a piece of software wich automatize what our RW trick does without the need of RW and also allowing a more user friendly interface, like an automatic fan option on/off function and a slider controlling the speed % of the fan.

    anyway, with the software based control, it would still be needed to relaunch the app everytime you start or un-hibernate the laptop.

    with the BIOS EC based shortcut, it wouldnt be needed since the laptop automatically start with that.

    thats why I need to talk to prema, he acomplished both of logo image mod and keyboard shortcuts in his laptop ^^
     
  6. Giullio S.

    Giullio S. Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    12
    Messages:
    14
    Likes Received:
    9
    Trophy Points:
    6
    Just an uptade, tried to disable the cpu turbo boost as said before, I'm at 98%, it lowered my temps a lot. My core clock now is 610Mhz played a lot of deadspace 3 and left 4 dead 2, skyrim without crashes, so far these were the ones that crashed the most, I'm getting temps of 75ºC to 78ºC max at full usage of the GPU after a considerable time of gameplay My core temp under stress went to 83ºC tops. I guess it's working :) will give some more feedback..

    So bottom line, the formula to stop crashing the Dell XPS L502X with Geforce GT 540M is:
    Undervolt, Keep it's airways clean or bigger (remove the filters) , undo the turbo boost thing that happens when 100% power usage by your core and if that's not enough, underclock with MSI Afterburner.
    Edit: oh and now I have 8GB of ram instead of 4GB, not sure if that makes any difference.
     
    capitankasar likes this.
  7. capitankasar

    capitankasar Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    231
    Messages:
    1,663
    Likes Received:
    117
    Trophy Points:
    81
    @Giullio S

    thanks for your feedback :)

    yeah, those are all efective fixes, anyway I dont like some of them since involves underclocking or turboboost disable, wich involves performance loss, but well, sometimes it still needed as a last resource.

    glad your crashes are fixed :)
     
  8. windowsappme

    windowsappme Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    31
    Likes Received:
    6
    Trophy Points:
    16
    Hello captain,

    I noticed that after using your bios, I cannot use the default dell bios properly. I have to underclock the nvidia g540m card to play games, otherwise the laptop freezes and I have to hard reboot.

    I have to reduce the shader clock from 1344 to 1184.

    Or is it the fault of newer graphics drivers who have it at 1344 while dell supports only 1184?
     
  9. capitankasar

    capitankasar Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    231
    Messages:
    1,663
    Likes Received:
    117
    Trophy Points:
    81
    I highly doubt about its modded bios fault, you also allways can restore the default bios by running the other script into my bios package.

    the drivers , bios and other stuff run your card on default clocks, is that just sometimes on some gt540m cards, stock clocks arent stable for some reasosn.


    relating those freezes they ocurr many times with the original BIOS and sometimes even with the modded bios.

    they are gt540m gpu issues.

    try the solutions asked on this forum:

    * the 0.83v/0.85v undervolted bios (v5 prefered)

    * remove dust filters and repaste

    * add heatsinks to the voltage regulators

    * disable turboboost and underclock the gpu as last resource.
     
  10. damnlord

    damnlord Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    2
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Hi, all
    I'm new here and I need some help pls.
    I have xps l502x gt540x 4gb ram i7-2670qm. Bios A12
    I donwload and install undevolt bios from your list 0.83/0.85 V
    Update all my drivers (nvidia, chipset , ....all)
    Restore my nvidia to def.
    And now i can play games for 10-12 min. until it crashes (before that it was like 10-20 sec) if i underclock my video card everything is ok.
    With nvidia inspector 1.9.5.7 i can see 0.83 - 0.85 V

    I install gpu-z and set it log the sensor tab the temp. in the moment of crash is 64C which i think is ok
    but the voltage is 1
    Date , GPU Core Clock [MHz] , GPU Memory Clock [MHz] , GPU Shader Clock [MHz] , GPU Temperature [°C] , GPU Load [%] , Memory Controller Load [%] , Video Engine Load [%] , Memory Usage (Dedicated) [MB] , Memory Usage (Dynamic) [MB] , PerfCap Reason [] , VDDC [V] ,
    2013-12-18 16:02:21 , 670.8 , 896.8 , 1341.6 , 63.0 , 46 , 23 , 0 , 171 , 85 , 0 , 0.8500 ,
    2013-12-18 16:02:22 , 670.8 , 896.8 , 1341.6 , 63.0 , 49 , 23 , 0 , 171 , 85 , 0 , 0.8500 ,
    2013-12-18 16:02:23 , 670.8 , 896.8 , 1341.6 , 63.0 , 45 , 24 , 0 , 171 , 85 , 0 , 0.8500 ,
    2013-12-18 16:02:25 , 670.8 , 896.8 , 1341.6 , 63.0 , 47 , 24 , 0 , 171 , 85 , 0 , 0.8500 ,
    2013-12-18 16:02:26 , 670.8 , 896.8 , 1341.6 , 63.0 , 46 , 24 , 0 , 171 , 85 , 0 , 0.8500 ,
    2013-12-18 16:02:27 , 670.8 , 896.8 , 1341.6 , 64.0 , 46 , 23 , 0 , 173 , 85 , 0 , 0.8500 ,
    2013-12-18 16:02:28 , 670.8 , 896.8 , 1341.6 , 62.0 , 61 , 29 , 0 , 173 , 85 , 0 , 0.8500 ,
    2013-12-18 16:02:29 , 670.8 , 896.8 , 1341.6 , 61.0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 173 , 85 , 0 , 0.8500 ,
    2013-12-18 16:02:30 , 670.8 , 896.8 , 1341.6 , 60.0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 1.0000 ,
    2013-12-18 16:02:31 , 670.8 , 896.8 , 1341.6 , 60.0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 1.0000 ,
    2013-12-18 16:02:32 , 670.8 , 896.8 , 1341.6 , 60.0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 1.0000 ,
    pls advice me what to do. Do I take this to dell or is something that I'm missing (i don't want to underclock my vga and very much like this laptop :) )
    For underclocking I use nVidia Performence
    Ty all :)
    P.s sorry for my lang. it's not my native.
     
  11. speedboy3

    speedboy3 Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    19
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    6
    Chris89, THANK YOU SIR! I have had this laptop since it was released, and like many others I have battled the stuttering crash issue in a number of games. Every fix I've found is related to heat reduction, but I'm sure that's not the issue. It only happens in certain games, and it doesn't even relate to the engine (a number of Unreal Engine games, for example, crash, while others don't). I've tried drivers, repasting, extra fans... nothing fixed it. I previously had done the 99% max tweak to disable turboboost for temperature purposes, but this didn't help. The .83/.85 bios reduced the frequency of the crashes, but they were still fairly consistent.

    Down to 98% and the crashes (at least in Skyrim, but they had been consistent) have disappeared for a week. I think you're definitely on to something with the wattage difference. This works great for me, at the 540 is the bottleneck in my gaming anyway, so I can leave that at normal speeds, drop the CPU, and have no real performance loss.

    Thanks!
     
    Giullio S. likes this.
  12. capitankasar

    capitankasar Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    231
    Messages:
    1,663
    Likes Received:
    117
    Trophy Points:
    81
    @damnlord


    well, in your case, it seems you have to underclock :/

    you can also try the hardware mods suggested at this topic,

    you can also try disable the turboboost to see if that helps
     
  13. Giullio S.

    Giullio S. Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    12
    Messages:
    14
    Likes Received:
    9
    Trophy Points:
    6
    @Capitankasar
    I was wondering... If i try the 0.83V for both profiles, 2D and 3D, since I'm currently using the 0.83/0.85V and with that I could rise my GPU core clock from 540 to 600, With 0.83V At both profiles Do you think It could get more stable? The crashes still continue to happen, I've tried 650 at Skyrim and it crashed... With 600 there are no crashes. Played till lvl 15 (not sure how many hours) with 600 Mhz temps get to 76ºC
     
  14. damnlord

    damnlord Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    2
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    TY :)
    I try disableing turboboost .. no change .. when my video card is underclock i never see 1.0 V in the log file ... that is why i ask : do you thing i need a MB replace
     
  15. immael

    immael Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    6
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
  16. capitankasar

    capitankasar Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    231
    Messages:
    1,663
    Likes Received:
    117
    Trophy Points:
    81
    @Giullio S

    with 0.83v it probably would be unstable for the 540m on 3D

    there is an old A09 bios for 540m without other mods I made with 0.83v

    http://l502x.lag.re/L502X_A09_540m_83_83.rar

    if it improves your situation, I can try relase a similar version for A12 with the full mods the version5 have

    @damnlord

    motherboard replacement may not help, the crashes still there for many 540m users even after replace mobo

    use undervolted bios, repaste, clean heatsinks , install aditional heatsinks to the voltage regulators, remove dust filters ..

    if crashes still hapening, underclock :(


    @immael

    that one is the 5Mb version wich isnt compatible with the L502X

    L502X laptop uses the tiny version (1,5Mb version)

    if you can locate the 1.5mb version it would be interesting to test it :)
     
  17. immael

    immael Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    6
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    you are right, and it looks like there is no 1,5mb version yet :( and if i remember right you alredy tested 8.1.x, 9.0.x, 9.5.x versions (incompatible with our chipset) and it ended by bricking your laptop
     
  18. agalin

    agalin Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    24
    Messages:
    217
    Likes Received:
    22
    Trophy Points:
    31
    @capitankasar actually checking md5 of 0.80/0.83 version (A12 MD5 checksum: 636CBA20F91EE3BB5C1359EAB93D5AB9), so today I'll tell if it's stable or not.
     
  19. capitankasar

    capitankasar Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    231
    Messages:
    1,663
    Likes Received:
    117
    Trophy Points:
    81
    @immael

    yeah,sadly I wasnt able to sucesfully flash anything higher than 7.x versions

    I tried something related to flash a hybrid 7.x + 8.x version to get close relating to gain ivy bridge proccesor support.

    however, the machine got hard bricked and I needed to flash externally the flash chips with one of my previous dumps backups

    @agalin

    thanks :)
     
  20. agalin

    agalin Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    24
    Messages:
    217
    Likes Received:
    22
    Trophy Points:
    31
    Ok, after 1 hour playing Mortal Kombat (92% GPU Usage) with 720MHz clock, got no errors. Don't have games which often crash, so it doesn't say much :( Interesting thing: voltage should be 0.83v in 3d and 0.80v idle. It's 0.83v all the time.
     
  21. capitankasar

    capitankasar Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    231
    Messages:
    1,663
    Likes Received:
    117
    Trophy Points:
    81
    @agalin

    not sure if someone said before the minimal voltage for the 540m is 0.83v

    I think it was chis89
     
  22. agalin

    agalin Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    24
    Messages:
    217
    Likes Received:
    22
    Trophy Points:
    31
    So I think that there is already 0.83/0.83 version :) Just rename it :p
     
  23. capitankasar

    capitankasar Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    231
    Messages:
    1,663
    Likes Received:
    117
    Trophy Points:
    81
    @agalin

    where? I didnt noticed it :3


    instead,I just uploaded a new 0.83v / 0 .83v version5 for the gt540m right now :)
     
  24. agalin

    agalin Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    24
    Messages:
    217
    Likes Received:
    22
    Trophy Points:
    31
    As I said: now using 0.80/0.83 A12 MD5 checksum: 636CBA20F91EE3BB5C1359EAB93D5AB9 for 540m and it'll work the same.
     
    capitankasar likes this.
  25. ahmedshiko

    ahmedshiko Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    16
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    6
    i am forget password bios How to reset BIOS password
     
  26. agalin

    agalin Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    24
    Messages:
    217
    Likes Received:
    22
    Trophy Points:
    31
    Probably should work BIOS settings reset. Dismount bios battery for some time or use bios recovery method from first post.
     
  27. capitankasar

    capitankasar Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    231
    Messages:
    1,663
    Likes Received:
    117
    Trophy Points:
    81
    that will not work, I noticed that the bios password keeps there even after phisically remove the bios battery or load the recovery capsule (wich reset any other setting)

    the bios password setting is phisically written into the flash chip.

    after you enter 3 incorrect passwords, the machine shows a code over the password window, that probably is the thing to focus at.
     
    agalin likes this.
  28. ahmedshiko

    ahmedshiko Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    16
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    6
    iam enter 3 incorrect unlocked code hint number (790A2A5B)

    Please Heeelp
     
  29. capitankasar

    capitankasar Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    231
    Messages:
    1,663
    Likes Received:
    117
    Trophy Points:
    81
  30. dr3songz

    dr3songz Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    10
    Likes Received:
    7
    Trophy Points:
    6
    I had this idea.
    What if I bought a 150w charger compatible with the laptop. I was thinking that maybe the reason why we do keep crashing is because there simply isn't enough power going through the computer. Would this somehow destroy it or could it possibly help? Thanks!
     
    capitankasar and Giullio S. like this.
  31. capitankasar

    capitankasar Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    231
    Messages:
    1,663
    Likes Received:
    117
    Trophy Points:
    81
    that will not destroy anything,

    It will probably run better and charge the battery faster, I am running an i3 with the 130w one, 2 HDDs insider, overclocked BCLK and GPU and using all usb ports plus the minidisplay port and LAN

    no power issues yet, i7 proccesors will probably drain more power than i3 and i5s, but I'm not sure the charger is the source of the problem, well ,you can try it and report your results :)
     
    Giullio S. likes this.
  32. Giullio S.

    Giullio S. Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    12
    Messages:
    14
    Likes Received:
    9
    Trophy Points:
    6
    @dr3songz
    I've heard some say that was the problem but never saw anyone trying that solution, I think it could work, please give some feedback once you've tried it.

    EDIT: actually after doing some research: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGnMY1SMrfo

    And the last comment from the user:

    "actually look, GT40m used to come for alienware m11x alienware had better cooling system and better power suply...so the clock frequency was perfect for alienware but xps comes with 130W ac adapter and no good cooling system... thats y when u run your games without ac adapter they run perfectlly.... due to overheating your gpu driver crashes :) but when u underclock it... it reduces the power consumption aswell as it avoid over heating which fixes ur problem for XPS... :)"


    "I'm using cooler master cooling base with alienware's ac adapter which is 150W and m using my GPU on stock factry clock speeds... :) and they dont crash.. :)"
     
    capitankasar and dr3songz like this.
  33. dr3songz

    dr3songz Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    10
    Likes Received:
    7
    Trophy Points:
    6
    I might just buy it. Its only about 30 bucks and it will be worth especially since it could fix it. I'll let you guys know if this works! It also makes sense that i could be fixed since underclocking or undervolting helps. Feedback pls!
     
    Giullio S. likes this.
  34. fai2523

    fai2523 Newbie

    Reputations:
    12
    Messages:
    5
    Likes Received:
    4
    Trophy Points:
    6
    Register an account just for this.

    After alot of fidling trying out different bios version and voltage [ using 83 85 A12 with advance menu]
    Found out that the gpu do not crash at all even at stock clock if the battery is drained and you are gaming while charging. Previously even 601 would crash after 5-10 min of game play i have to set it to 600 900 for it to be stable. Now if only i can play more than 2 hour on it..once battery finish charging it crash and freeze again.

    side note, tested this bios version
    Custom voltage moded A12 bios mod for gt540m with advanced menus for L502X DOWNLOAD from mediafire /// MIRROR by ximinez
    MD5 checksum: F2A5CAB15B493ED84756B2DDDE947457
    BIOS version used: A12
    this bios mod has been tested by Untested!
    2D PROFILE: 0.83v
    3D PROFILE: 0.83v

    nvdia gpu simply fail to work and intel take over after 5 minute in game, other than that no problem whatsoever
     
    Giullio S. likes this.
  35. capitankasar

    capitankasar Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    231
    Messages:
    1,663
    Likes Received:
    117
    Trophy Points:
    81
    @fai2523

    thanks fr your info.

    so basically it run stable while the battery is chargning and it start crashing when the charge is over, that probably can discard the 130w power cord is the source of the problem.

    or maybe, while charging the battery, the main system uses less power to leave the other for battery charge, who know

    thanks for reporting that bios results.

    yeah, that bios is really undervolted and probably is unstable for most people, however the recomended one runs fine ^^
     
  36. Ussy

    Ussy Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    1
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Hey Captainkasar,

    Thanks for making these amazing bios and cooling mods. Gaming with my GT 540m at 800Mhz/1000Mhz and Coolermaster U2 is great and the quick boot time with Win8.1 is superb.

    Earlier in this thread another used mentioned Wake-on-Lan being in your modded bios but I can't find this setting. Please can you tell me how I can enable this setting in the bios?
     
  37. ThePallet

    ThePallet Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    1
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Hi there I am using one of your bios mods (a12 with .83v idle, .85v load) and i cant get my gpu stable on stock clock speeds (gt540m = 672mHz), however when i underclock it to 600mHz the gpu works fine. Can i just flash a gt525m bios on my gt540m laptop? According to notebookcheck they are the same chips but on different clockspeeds, it would save me a lot of trouble because afterburner is quite buggy with optimus enabled. Thanks
     
  38. Giullio S.

    Giullio S. Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    12
    Messages:
    14
    Likes Received:
    9
    Trophy Points:
    6
    @fai2523
    Have you considered playing without the battery, only with the charger ? I don't really know if this is heat related because when my laptop airways were very dusty my temps of the gpu used to go to 95ºC, sometimes it didn't freeze sometimes it froze, Now I've cleaned it up and I've been using the modded voltage bios 0.83/0.85V my temps are usually 70 - 75ºC in any game and it still freezes sometimes at the default 672Mhz clock. I think it's something related to voltage issues since heat and voltage are the only two variables. Before the undervolted bios I was using a 540 Mhz clock, now I'm using 600... I don't know if this is a dell issue, maybe it's Nvidia's fault.

    This guys had the sam
    Nvidia geforce gt 540m freezes - Nvidia - Graphics & Displays

    This is the Ac power problem we were thinking of...
    #EDIT: Now I'm remembering... I've had all of the three problems said below, usually it only crashes with a metallic sound forcing hard reboot, But sometimes when I've turned on my laptop it said that the AC power adapter wasnt compatible or something like that... It really might be the adapter...

    "I own an XPS L502x and I've had these same problems u do..

    U might be experiencing the following problems.

    # GPU crashed
    # windows kernel Nvidia graphics dirver version xxx.xx has stopped responding and has recovered
    # windows hangs and suddenly shows BSOD to restart..etc
    # anything like..

    Actually the issue is not with the GPU or the motherboard directly implied.. This is because the Laptop AC/DC charger adapter has worn out for supplying power for high performance mode GPU.. sometimes underclocking might help but this is not a permanent solution.. u maight face the problem again later in due time when the adapter worns out more. U can try the following with ur laptop.

    Remove the charger/adapter and start the game again in full performance mode, overclock it if u like do anything nut unplug the ac adapter and run the game.
    If it doesn't crash or doesn't stop and the game works smooth.. If this is the case then it is with your charging adapter and go for replacing it.

    After your charger got replaced your GPU works a smooth as never before.

    I again recommend you all strongly to considering replacing your charging adapter, it is entirely due to low voltage power supply of the adapter. I too had the same prob like you all do and now it is sorted out completely by replacing with a good adapter. It works 5/5!!"

    #EDIT2: I've tried playing only on battery, the temps were around 65ºC but, my fps were very unstable, I wasn't able to play due that, the GPU usage was also unstable it wasn't always 99% like when I use the ac charger, very weird... I've regulated the power usage at the advanced options to use max settings even on battery, altough my battery is with a lot of wear damage and it needs replacement, it might be because of that the fps/ temps and usage was weird...
     
    capitankasar and fai2523 like this.
  39. capitankasar

    capitankasar Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    231
    Messages:
    1,663
    Likes Received:
    117
    Trophy Points:
    81
    @Ussy
    thanks :)
    and nice clocks you have there hehe, many people here wich their clocks were stable on that like yours :)

    well,I never used that function, and I dont remember anyone from this topic talking about it, give a look o all the unlocked options over there, if it isnt there, I cant help you so much

    @ThePallet

    that will just not work because the L502X have two nvidia bios files, one for the gt525m and other one for the gt540m, if you flash one from 525m into a 540m, it will pick the one for 540m, in this case a unmodded bios with stock voltages and clocks.

    yeah, the chip is the same in both models, however it have a different board rev and also the memory ammount is different 1GB for 525m and 2 GB for 540m

    board names:

    525m

    GF108 Board - 1079df50

    540m

    GF108 Board - 1079df40

    I also didnt modified the clocks on my bioses since it is more headache and also useless since many people here have differente stable clocks, the best thing is to handle the clocks with software like msi afterburner.

    @Giullio S.

    rep added :)

    thanks for the info, well, in my case, aparently having a i3 and a 525m I may not notice any difference, however since I have two internal hdds and also added a usb internal mods, my system still draining maybe more than usual.

    is this the adapter you are talking about?

    link
     
    Giullio S. likes this.
  40. Giullio S.

    Giullio S. Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    12
    Messages:
    14
    Likes Received:
    9
    Trophy Points:
    6
    @capitankasar
    Yes, I was aiming for something just like that. I can't take off my mind that the problem is somehow related to wear issues because 80% of the users that reported that problem said It started happening with 6 months or more of use. The first thing that goes on your mind is that it might be a heat thing, but as I said before, the heat didn't change the freezes. So it comes to voltage, perhaps there is another source that can be responsible for that, but I didn't find anything else than what I've reported.
     
  41. fai2523

    fai2523 Newbie

    Reputations:
    12
    Messages:
    5
    Likes Received:
    4
    Trophy Points:
    6
    @Giullio S
    i have tried everything i can think of playing with or without battery but it make no difference whatsoever. However my temp have never go above 85 for cpu even under load for a long time at 100% and gpu at 75 with the read write utility capitankasar posted. Playing on battery it doesn't crash though maybe you are right, but i do not have a alienware 150 160 w adapter lying around lol. Currently using 130 W from dell

    Play around more with 83v/83v bios it actually does work very well on less demanding game gtaSA half life 2 portal so on on stock clock 83 85 would crash out right in 5 minute. But if i try and play say newer tittle skyrim blackops2 ac3 they will fail outright and intel take over pretty much after 5 min like i said.

    EDIT
    Tried 640 clock speed and able to get stable for 30 minute with 83 83.Heck is better than 600 clock at least whatever works
     
    capitankasar likes this.
  42. raibatlo

    raibatlo Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    1
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Hi capitan, I flashed my gt540m with a A12 0.83 0.85 bios and I'm suffering crashes with less than 5 minutes into any game. Skyrim and dark souls crash with the stutter sound in 5 minutes or less and I have to do hard reboot, dishonored would also crash but I can go to desktop and use task manager to kill it. I don't know too much about this stuff and just followed your guidelines in the original post. Previously, it did not crash this often. I haven't changed the clock speed and it is at the default 672, could that be the reason for this ? Does the undervolted gpu also need to be underclocked ?

    I am going to try underclocking it to 600 and see what happens. What is the best or most stable clock speed according to you ?

    Thanks for your work, I can't wait to finally be done with this crashing problem.
     
  43. capitankasar

    capitankasar Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    231
    Messages:
    1,663
    Likes Received:
    117
    Trophy Points:
    81
    @raibatlo

    did it improved over the stock bios?

    lower voltaje doesnt allways fix the problem, sometimes it just improves it, there are many fixes being talked here, use a higher W charger like the 150w ones from alienware, repaste, remove dust filter, disable turbooost, and as last resource, underclock, wich seems allways to work at cost of performace.

    there anrent stable speeds for all, every user have different stable speeds, try check if it is stable at 650 mhz, if not try on 640, 630 ... keep it stable with the highest posible clocks
     
    Giullio S. likes this.
  44. fai2523

    fai2523 Newbie

    Reputations:
    12
    Messages:
    5
    Likes Received:
    4
    Trophy Points:
    6
    not sure if anyone posted this before, using 301.42 driver version and up and you will not need to do a hard reboot any more even if it does crash on you. it will recover and come out driver not responding and has recovered error and you can test out different clock speed to find that sweet spot much more easily. Tried every driver before 3xx like 296.10 it will freeze and a hard reboot is needed

    just example i tested with

    GeForce 320.18 Driver WHQL 320.18 May 23, 2013
    GeForce 314.22 Driver WHQL 314.22 March 25, 2013
    GeForce 314.07 Driver WHQL 314.07 February 18, 2013
    GeForce 310.90 Driver WHQL 310.90 January 5, 2013
    GeForce 310.90 Driver WHQL 310.90 January 5, 2013
    GeForce 310.70 Driver WHQL 310.70 December 17, 2012
    GeForce 306.97 Driver WHQL 306.97 October 10, 2012
    GeForce 306.23 Driver WHQL 306.23 September 13, 2012
    Verde 301.42 Driver WHQL 301.42 May 22, 2012
     
    capitankasar and Giullio S. like this.
  45. capitankasar

    capitankasar Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    231
    Messages:
    1,663
    Likes Received:
    117
    Trophy Points:
    81
    @fai2523

    I noticed that after updating driver, but didnt noticed wich specific version it was, or that it was a fix caused by the driver because I were testing several stuff like voltage, hardware mods and other stuff

    thanks for the info :)

    +1 rep
     
  46. Giullio S.

    Giullio S. Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    12
    Messages:
    14
    Likes Received:
    9
    Trophy Points:
    6
    I see, currently I'm using 600 Mhz core clock, didn't had any crash for a long time, but i want my 672Mhz default clock that I've bought haha... I don't have a 150W charger either... Altough I have a friend that might help me with that, I'll test with him and give some feedback once I've done it. As for the drivers, currently using 331.82 version, I'm using Nvidia Geforce Experience, it keeps me up with the drivers version and that option of "optimizate" or something like that really helped me, some games gave me a hard time in the video configs... I was wondering what kind of knowledge we should seek to solve this issue, since neither the technicians from dell solved it, and there is not a plain solution on web... Even if it's switching parts i would gladly spend some money, I like this notebook, what I hate is the freezing all the time.
     
  47. shibbyiu

    shibbyiu Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    42
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    WoW for me has potentially boned my laptop.

    I play at 430mhz instead of the normal 672 or whatever 540m is. This is with undervolted bios. Just crashed (I had my laptop on for a long time though)

    When i play Lol i turn it to 450 and its ok.

    Gradually the card has gotten worse despite underclocking. Haven't opened it up because its too difficult.

    Laptop isn't even hot when this crash occurs. Some games like diablo3 have never crashed. Old games like Fable crash immediatly.
     
  48. Fayt666

    Fayt666 Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    9
    Likes Received:
    3
    Trophy Points:
    6
    Kasar, thnx for bioses!

    Registered just to say, that you need to check one thing in your xps. The PowerMizer.
    Dload NVPMManagerUni to control it.


    Waiting for your replies on the issue.


    And does anyone know how to make win7 and nvidia run DX9???
     
    capitankasar likes this.
  49. agalin

    agalin Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    24
    Messages:
    217
    Likes Received:
    22
    Trophy Points:
    31
    What do you mean by "run DX9"? DirectX9 is built-in for Win7 and all programs that needs it should properly work.
     
  50. theruan

    theruan Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    6
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    6
← Previous pageNext page →