HP OMEN 15 and 17 owners lounge

Which gpu do you have ? Wondering what fire strike score is like .


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Well, for what its worth, the 17" Omen's virtually always have the full fat MaxP GPUs, one of the cheapest laptops to do so; something I have loved both my current and previous Omen 17s for (and I'd buy another in future if they remain competitive on price and warranty).

I have the CB0002NA, 9880H with 2080 (non-super), I get the following in my signature with undervolt on the CPU and overclock on the GPU (but no BIOS flashing to increase power etc).
Set to performance mode, CPU is allowed to turbo for as long as it wants at 90W via TS, fan set to auto.

Might go even faster if the fans were maxed as scores do go up and down a bit on auto. Happy though!

 

Got myself the new HP Omen 2020, after my first gen. HP Omen with GTX 860m gave up after almost 5.5 years. Got the intel version with following specs -

- Core i7 10750H
- 16 GB DDR4 Ram
- 1 TB pcie nvme samsung ssd
- 144 hz 1080p with 72% NTSC panel
- 70.9 watt hr battery 6-cell
- 4 zone RGB lighting (static)

The initial impressions related to my first gen Omen are as follows -

1. Build quality has definitely taken a step down from first gen. especially on hinges & display flex. Please do check offline once before making a purchase
2. Thermals are awesome and as all reviews are stating - above par. However, fan do make a lot of noise when gaming and / or under load
3. Have loaded fee games - Doom Eternal & Metro Exodus. Am getting excellent performance on both these games with approx. 132 fps on eternal and 42 fps on metro with ultra settings and everything cranked up at 1080p.
4. Battery life under normal work load - surfing net, excel sheet, word work, some youtube and netflix with approx 70% brightness and rgb off - am getting approx 5 hours of battery life.

Am satisfied as of now with the purchase and it is definitely a step up from gtx 860m.

 

Anyone having problem undervolting and modifying the power limits on the CPU in the 2020 HP Omen 15T? I have tried Intel XTU and Throttlestop.

After Intel XTU initially loads up, the core voltage offset is greyed out. You can change power limits, but they have no effect. Then upon trying to load Intel XTU a second time, it comes up with a message saying, "Unable to start Intel XTU. If there is another performance tuning application running, you must close it before trying to start this application." Now it won't open at all.

Throttlestop opens, seems to change voltages, but then no settings are actually applied to the processor--so that's a no go as well. This is the HP Omen 15T with RTX 2060 and i7-10750H. Thoughts?

 

I am sorry to have to tell you that it is probably one of the broken systems with feces firmware. You'll need to send it back for a refund if you cannot downgrade the BIOS to an earlier version without the silly Plundervolt cancer lockdown. Totally unacceptable, but that's HP for you. And, they're not alone. A few of their closest competitors are selling equally unacceptable broken turdbooks with the voltage locked and no provision to unlock it if that's what the owner wants to do.

BLACK LIST. Adjustable voltage control/turbo ratio limits are locked out due latest Win Update/Bios

 

Try going into services and disabling XTUOCDriverSerivce. Then see if Throttlestop works (your active undervolt will be in the FIVR upper right). It's a little weird, but Omen Command Center has a SDK that runs underneath it that actually contains XTU components. This is because the desktop Omens let you overclock them. That stuff isn't available in the OCC on laptops but it's still running in the background. This is why XTU is so tricky on the Omen--I had to install a really old version for it to work, but eventually just went to Throttlestop with that service disabled. You can also try running HP Support Assistant and see if it's flagging the Omen SDK update, that may or may not repair XTU. The trick is finding a XTU version that is compatible with the SDK so you don't brick OCC, and vice versa (I've done all of these).

If that doesn't do it then it must be a BIOS lockout. Try an older version, at least HP has the decency to make them available.

 

Okay, well this is going to really bust y'alls proverbial balls then...

I've been testing two HP Omen laptops for review, one with LM repaste job. But one of the HP Omen's have a lifted PL2 to seemingly infinite (long power limit that results in the laptop hitting thermal limits at 100C), while the other one power limits to 45W after the initial burst resulting in an average temp of around 75C, but with significantly reduced performance. I've updated the bios on both, reinstalling Command Center, updating drivers, tried Intel XTU, Throttlestop, etc. Nothing has budged the power limits on either machine, and yet both act so differently yet they are supposed to be identical, aside from the LM repaste job. Super weird.

Yes, I do believe you're right that a service is running in the background blocking power limit and undervolting changes. I will test and report back.

 

Do both have the same version of the Intel microcode file? Compare the versions of mcupdate_GenuineIntel.dll in the C:\Windows\System32 folder. Maybe the Redmond Mafia slipped a mickey to one of them and the other one hasn't received its lobotomy yet. If the one malfunctioning has newer microcode, simply take ownership of the mcupdate_GenuineIntel.dll and delete it. It's not a necessary file. Windows will use the BIOS microcode if the file is gone. If the BIOS microcode is also a Plundervolt cancer version, if the laptop that works correctly has an older Windows microcode file, copy it to the computer that is messed up.

 

Okay, so I have looked through the services and disabled XTUOCDriverSerivce. But both Throttlestop and Intel XTU still do not work (installed/ran independently from one another). Intel XTU still can't even open at this point.

I tried end tasking the HP Command Center application, but they still don't do anything. Throttlestop settings are also still not applied (with XTU removed). Any other thoughts?

It's like the power limits are locked in on both laptops, but locked in at different values, which is going to make for a very weird review comparison.

 

Did you already compare the Intel microcode versions in the C:\Windows\System32 folder to see if the messed up laptop got slipped a mickey through Windoze Updates?

 

Both files have same file version number in their file properties, and a two day difference in last modified date. Interesting idea to copy them from one to another. I'll give it a shot.

 

Yeah, or just delete it if copying it over does not work. The Windoze file is absolutely not needed or required.

 

I wrote that previous post before you sent your post. I just check the files. They have the same file version number in properties with last modified dates two days apart. Could just be when windows was installed on them.

Windows OS is not letting me overwrite the file from one system to the other. I've backed up both files just in case. It's giving me a permissions error, even when I grant it administrative privileges to overwrite. Thoughts?

Edit: Just saw your other post. I'll tried deleting. Says I need permission from "TrustedInstaller" to delete or overwrite the file.

 

Are these the 2020 Omen 15s? Or Omen 17t? Very concerning, losing undervolt is one thing but if they move the long term turbo from 90W to 45W.... Can probably unplug the fans!

 

It's Omen 15T 2020, the recent models.

 

Nvidia RTX 2080 Super with i9-10885H.

I hold the record for TimeSpy with my processor. That was with +160 core / +520 mem in MSI Afterburner.

https://www.3dmark.com/newsearch#advanced?test=spy P&cpuId=2600&gpuId=&gpuCount=0&deviceType=ALL&memoryChannels=0&country=&scoreType=overallScore&hofMode=false&showInvalidResults=false&freeParams=

Update: Didn't realize I could use that test on the demo. First run all stock no OC. 19838

Just took #1 for my processor there too!

Update #2: It did 20484 with a +175 core / +525 mem

I believe HP purposely stopped undervolting.

 

Yes... They certainly did. And, they're not alone. Several of their competitors have been making exactly the same asinine mistake. HP doesn't have a patent on bad judgment or stupidity, LOL. There's more than enough of that floating around without their contribution.

Blocking undervolting is not necessary for Plundervolt mitigation unless SGX is enabled with no option to disable it. The problem is they're lazy. They need to expose the menu item that allows the end-user to decide if they have any use for SGX. (Hardly anyone needs it or uses it.) If they don't they can disable SGX, and then there is no Plundervolt exploit and likewise no need to have the voltage locked.

 

@Mr.Fox Well we could all send a request to HP support to unlock the SGX option in the bios menu (at least for our gaming notebooks like OMEN's.)?
If only I send a reuqest they are bound to ignore it. But If we send many requests, they could grant us the option. What do you think?

 

Certainly wouldn't hurt for a bunch of Omen owners to do that. They might listen if there are numerous requests from owners of the product.

 

Hi Guys


I got my Omen X 2s a few days ago I noticed these visual glitches. I can't quite remember what I was doing when it occurred

Specs:
i9-9880H
RTX 2070 with Max-Q
64GB Ram

I have the latest windows updates and drivers. I'm using nvidia studio drivers

Any idea what can cause this or how to fix it?

 

Dang, I barely updated to Bios F.30, and my Omen 17-cb0009nl already has another bios update F.32 (notes: Provides improved system stability).
As usual, Hp doesn't specidie if it has or not the plundervolt update inside (F.30 doesn't for my model).
Anyone tried it yet?

 

I had this happen if my screen saver turned on or screen turned off while Chrome was on the screen. I google'd the answer and it doesn't do it anymore. Sorry I forgot exactly how. I was little inebriated at the time...lol

 

Any chance you can send me the vbios on the gpu ? I was gonna try to flash the Lenovo 7


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Its been a long time since I was active on this forum, probably 14years ago when I was carting around a dell 17in and playing bioshock. Long since changed email etc lost password

Anyway, after some time with smaller hp business laptops, bought a new OMEN Laptop - 15-ek0003na
I put a second NNMe 1TB drive in it, this thing flies. Christalmighty what a difference to an elitebook with an SSD. For productivity work this is instant.

I did have a Razor 1660 for a minute, but couldn't get on with the keyboard and it was louder, liked the chassis though.

My recent gaming has been restricted to low demand games like cold waters so looking forward to being able to do more. It has the 2060gtx and I saw 103watts power draw max on hwinfo it that means anything.

I need to learn how to manage the laptop as it went off on a mad max fan burst on auto when just playing cold waters which is more of a cpu game, which is why I came surfing over here

I know the design is a little less robust than the z book line but I am surprised at how close in weight it and charger is to my old 14in G1 840, and as I travel a lot, I love that

very happy....

 

Just updated My Omen 17-cb0009nl to the latest bios (F.32).
No plundervolt patch so we can still undervolt our CPU's.
Tested with TS 8.70 & CPUID HWMonitor 1.41

 

That's a Nvidia driver problem most definetly. It happens to me too with recent drivers. USually when the LCD panel goes into sleep mode.

 

deleting this post until I do more testing....

playing with throttlestop for cpu and afterburner for gpu....

 

I have 2018 Omen 15 with 8750h and I'm very confused about plundervolt, maybe you can help clear my confusion? Originally when I setup my Omen back when new, if I offset core voltage too low using throttlestop my laptop would crash. Now, no matter how low core voltage is set to, even something silly as -600mV, my laptop won't crash and core voltage can't be set lower than 550mV.All other voltage settings work as expected, set them too low, laptop will crash, except core voltage. My new Sager I got just couple weeks ago shows exactly same behavior. Is your computer working the same as mine?
Can you crash it by setting (only) core voltage too low? The reason I'm asking is because 1) I don't believe Intel and HP would leave all those computers vulnerable to plundervolt all this time.
2). I hazard to speculate all those computers are already fixed against plundervolt, by setting hard limit on how low can you set core voltage and therefore won't be any more plundervolt fixes for them.
Maybe the laptops that have undervolting disabled altogether have no capability to set lower voltage limit for core, so it's all or nothing type of thing, or they need to be more secure? The way my Omen works now, I don't believe you can use plundervolt to break in.

 

I followed this guys video and was able to get both CPU and GPU temps down. Decent workaround until someone can offer a hacked undervolt solution for HP omen laptops

 

What firestrike scores are people getting with the 2080 super


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Hi pete962, I will try to answer to all of your questions

Well as I stated I can definetly undervolt my Intel i7-9750H with the latest F.32 bios. Here is the proof.


Of course I can undervolt until crash /freeze my notebook (TS 8.70 should automatically reverts to previous voltages in those situations, unsless you apply the voltages permanently yourself in the program).
With my 9th gen Intel CPU (ah.....silicon lottery) the processor crashes if I set it under -0.145V CPU CORE and under -0.110V CPU CACHE
That is using TS 8.70.

I belive your CPU is 1 generation OLDER than mine (8th gen), so it SHOULD be software undervolt enabled. That is unless your notebook has a bios update that specifically blocks the plundervolt exploit and thus the possibility to use software undervolting altogether.

You can test your ability to software undervolt the CPU easily: Set undervolt -0.100V on CPU CORE, apply, and run HWMonitor. IF it doesn't show -0.100V on IA Offset, you are unable to undervolt probably (thus meaning your notebook's bios is probabluy updated with plundervolt). Newer Intel CPU's (10th gen) have plundervolt blocked by default so those CPU's also can't be software-undervolted (you could do it in the bios, if that option existed, but unfortunately manufacturers usually don't give us that option).

I belive I saw a HP plundervolt update on my notebook's driver page (under security updates for my OMEN 17-cb) but I never bothered to chek it thoroughly since I don't want to use it anyway. Fortunately for me, HP didn't force plundervolt on my model in any of the previous BIOS updates in 2019-2020. And I hope it stays that way

Last thing, I must admit I don't know what all the fuss is about people talking of 'windows update blocking undervolting by changing some files'. I have W10 fully updated and I can undervolt just fine my CPU. Nor should windows update block any CPU features. But I could be wrong since I am no expert; maybe someone with better knowledge share more light on the matter?

 

Your last part I can answer: modern cpu use microcode that can be updated either by BIOS, window program or third party program (I used to have program like that to update microcode under win7). Since microcode is just a set of low level instructions for cpu, you can disable undervolting by reprograming microcode.

C:\Windows\System32\mcupdate_GenuineIntel.dll -> for Intel CPUs
This updates your microcode on window boot up , no BIOS update required.
You see my i-7 8750 Omen will not crash no matter how low I set core voltage, it does undervolt , but only down to 545mV idle from about 650mV idle. Exactly same with my new Sager using newest i-7 10875h cpu. Normal idle is about 660mv, I can undervolt core voltage down to about 560mV and after that it will not lower core voltage anymore. Both computers have latest BIOS, latest Win10 updates and I can undervolt both but only limited amount mV. I think this is plundervolt fix for some computers, I don't expect anymore fixes regarding plundervolt and I'm happy with that. I wish there was some way to test for plundervolt vulnerability, to put all this to rest, but Intel was made aware of plundervolt in spring of 2019, more than a year ago and if they didn't disable undervolting on my laptops I don't think they ever will unless they find something new.

 

Well I'm a bit skeptical about that microcode updates myself. From what I have read, plundervolt works on a deeper level than software and microcode. It's a hardware flow of the Intel CPU's wich can be exploited by software. You have to block some hardware functions embedded in the CPU in order to stop the exploit.

As you've stated yourself, you have the latest BIOS update (is it from late 2019 or 2020 by chance?) so I am more incline to belive your notebook model was patched for plundervolt over BIOS, not over some microcode update in windows.

Also, your explanation about microcode (updated mcupdate_GenuineIntell.dll) doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Why would Microsoft/Intel update microcode only for some CPU's (like yours) while keeping others that have the vulnerability (my CPU) open to a possible attack? It doesn't make sense, you have to agree on that. By all accounts, a microcode update should resolve ALL plundervolt affected CPUS'.

I don't know honestly. But from my (limited) experience, microcode update has nothing to do with plundervolt or undervolting (in)ability on our Intel CPU's. Only a BIOS update can resolve the plundervolt problem permanently probably..

As for my model still being able to undervolt even with the july 2020 BIOS update, my guess is that my model (OMEN 17-cb) being a gaming rig, HP want's us to preserve the ability to undervolt.
A system that performs well will have good reviews and sell many units. SO they are not updating the plundervolt problem yet over bios. But they may in the future so I will have to keep my eyes open.

 

My 2020 Omen 17t can't undervolt. You can see it but nothing changes. You can play with the 2080 Super power limits I believe but CPU is fully locked.

i9-10885H and 2080 Super 150w(Seen up to 185w so far under heavy load)

 

Do the new Omen models, including the redesigned ones, have any sort of software or BIOS setting that allows you to set a battery charge limit like you can on Asus, Lenovo, or MSI laptops?

 

That's because you have an intel i9-10885H (10th gen) unfortunately. It's locked out of software undervolting form the get go because of the plundervolt problem.

 

Yes, there is a setting in the BIOS of my OMEN 17-cb that set's the battery charging only if the battery goes under something like 93-95%. But there are no specific options to set it to something lower like 50% charge unfortunately. Some manufacturers (Asus) have a software that does this in Windows if the battery supports it.

 

Really, where did you see that? I haven't seen any BIOS options of any interest on this machine. Some one was asking on Reddit why his wouldn't charge above the low 90s and I didn't have an answer for him. Same machine, I'm running F.30

 

F10 to bios setup.
Under 'configuration' you will see an option called 'adaptive battery optimizer'. If ON, it doesn't charge the battery all the time to 100%, thus preserving battery life. If off, it will charge battery always to 100%

 

Interesting, thanks. 8 months in and mine has yet to ever run on the battery lol. I should keep an eye on it though, that hotspot above the trackpad concerns me. Wouldn't surprise me at all if it swells on this thing.

 

Trying out one of the new 15-inch models with the i7 and RTX 2060. The CPU doesn't seem to downclock past about 4.2 GHz with the AC adapter plugged in. This happens with both the "HP Recommended" and Windows standard "Balanced" power profiles, with the minimum frequency set to 5% on both AC and battery. While unplugged, the processor drops down to as low as 800 MHz as expected. It's not the end of the world since even with the CPU in this elevated state, it idles in the mid-30s, which is phenomenal, but if there's a way to get it even lower by having the CPU get its frequency down while connected to an outlet, that would be naturally be better.

 

When that happened to me few times, something was messed up, for example just yesterday speed shift in Throttlestop changed by itself to being not ticked and that locked cpu at full GHz, but I had other reasons Win related, just need to look.

 

Throttlestop, turn on SpeedShift, and a EPP of 64 should idle it around 800 MHz provided there's not much background activity. I use 32 to help nudge my i9 to hit 4700. It will very, very rarely hit 4800 MHz, those Intel specs are almost unattainable so don't be disappointed if you don't hit the max turbo limit multipliers. It usually benches all cores at 4000 not 4100, getting that last notch out of it is an ongoing discussion (the all-core isn't technically thermal velocity boost, I don't think, just a regular cap it should be able to hit).

 

I think I found an easier solution: Create a new power profile using the "Power Saver" template. I changed the advanced settings to otherwise match HP Recommended. I have to do some more testing, but so far, the CPU seems to both downclock and boost properly when plugged in.

 

headsup

Over on HP forums, @waley from HP has told me that the next version of omen command centre, which is due out soon, will restore under volting for i7-10750H

the current version without it is v10.3.10.0 and they have an internal pre-release with it active

 

Wonder if this will apply to the i9-10885H

 

17t usbc-dp is still broken on the latest nvidia driver (452.06)

But I did figure out that if you extract the new driver and 446.14 using 7zip, and then copy the Display.Driver folder from 446.14 to 452.06 it will install the latest version of everything else along with the old driver so usbc-dp works.

If anybody is bored, a bunch of submissions here might help get it resolved.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSewHJk1xP-C5elLBRCDLTLpNQZ9eiefrdZmUGP9hMCN6gKssA/viewform

 

Any updates on this? Can you provide a link to the thread on the HP forum where it's being discussed? I'd like to register and show support for this initiative.

 

It may be a red herring, I asked the guy for confirmation and he never answered, he had an HP on his avatar but might just be a yahoo trying to be helpful, and me projecting onto that.
I was under the impression he had an advance release, but his profile has a desktop which has the facility to under-volt, so....apologies if this turns out to not be the case

I have linked the thread: https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Gamin...Too-much-fan-noise-on-idle/m-p/7736771#M31894

I fixed my cpu by re-pasting, here is the before picture of the factory paste. There are a lot of posts complaining of cpu temps so I think they had a bad assembly situation in a production run. There was no paste layer between the cpu and heat sink across much of the area

https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Gamin...5-2020-Ek0-poor-CPU-thermal-paste/m-p/7737622

 

A BIOS update was released for the 2020 refresh that supposedly addresses manual fan control from within Omen Command Center. I'm probably not going to update since that aspect seems to be working for me.