150EM - 7970m vbios read/write

For a long time I know this wasnt possible but I have read that the newest versions of ATIFlash I hear it is now indeed possible? I did download and use WINFlash while in Windows to save a copy of my stock vbios. I got a file witih the a size of 128 kb which I believe would be the correct size. But how does one verify that it is indeed correct? Is there an editor that now works? Just dont want to do this blindly on my own without asking some questions first.

I am interested in playing with the overvolting a bit but mainly I'm thinking about undervolting for day to day use. I'm hoping to increase battery life signficantly when I'm running a dgpu program that doesn't require a ton of horsepower like AutoCAD and Solidworks. And obviously a quick flash to a 1.00 or maybe 1.025 overvolt for gaming would be rather nice.

Please help! Also if there are any tips of using WINFlash in windows is "riskier" or any step by steps would be awesome. (Does one need to "engage" the dgpu right before flashing?) Stuff along that line!

Thanks in advance!

 

Anyone? Bueller?

 

Ok - so playing around with it I figured out it is indeed grabbing the entire rom. I was even able to get the ROM date, verison, and all that jazz. I have a bios date of 4/6/12 and am curious if there are any bios versions I need to be wary of? I've read some people recommending staying away from xxxx.rom because of a bios date of 12/12 or something of the sort.

Sorry for the questions - I just like to make sure I have all my questions answered when using something new. I'm not exactly stupid when it comes to this stuff - just very cautious when I do something for the first time.

 

You are more likely to get answers like this over at tech inferno. I was not aware of the EM having issues with any Vbios.

 

Thanks for responding!

Yeah I posted over there too but haven't received any kind of response.

I figured out how to run it and such, but just wanted to check to be sure which vbios I can download and use. Hoping to find a 1.075 to start. I also want to try to undervolt for some of my applications to see what the results are.

I found a 150en 1.075v vbios over on techinferno but for some reason can not download it. I do have 5 posts so I'm not sure why it wont let me.

If anyone has a vbios or two to share - please shoot me a PM! I'll get you my email addy immediately!

 

It has been too long for me to have a file, what error are you getting over there?

 

I'm actually not getting any kind of error. I just want to verify with someone that x vbios file will work with my 150em. I'm not sure which vbios will work mainly because of the enduro issue. Also - I read on one thread about a warning not to use a certain vbios with an original vbios from december 2012 or something of the sort. Which again, I just want to make sure I retrieve a vbios from someone that knows the vbios works on the 150em.

I have atiwinflash working perfectly - saved a copy of my original vbios so I can always go back to stock. I even took screen shots of all the original vbios information that it provided via the information commands. I just want to make sure I flash to the correct vbios so I dont end up with a bricked card and have to go into blind flashing and all that jazz. Just being cautious really.

 

Vbios warnings were for the HM series since they don't use enduro.

 

Just makin sure. Still trying to get my hands on a over vollted vbios confirmed to work on the 150em.. If anyone can share I'd really appreciate it!!!

 

Well - I found and flashed a 1.075 vbios and can see an awesome improvement in gaming (BF3 I had about a 10-15 fps improvement by being able to game at 970/1400!!)

However for benching I need a repaste and some new thermal pads because she gets a little warm and starts to throttle. (Highest was about 96 deg)

So I'm definitely happy - I just can't wait to repaste and replace the thermal pads with something better like the Fujipoly. Im debating between the 11 mw/k and the 17 mw/k. Kinda leaning towards the later since it doesn't seem to stiff where it wont conform properly.

The other thing I'm up in the air about is TIM. Sticking with the ICD7 or switching it up and trying something different. Kinda leaning towards keeping things the same - but I guess we will see.

If anyone needs help - Id be glad to answer any questions. Its a really easy thing to do, its just nerve wracking obviously. So if your like me and want all questions answered before you do the flash - I can sympathize! I can't garuntee I can answer every question.... but I'll answer what I can and do my best to get you pointed in the right direction to find the information if I cant provide it.

 

Hi,

Where did you manage to find an overvolted vbios? On stock clocks is the temperature rising considerably under load, when comparing to stock clocks and stock vbios?

Glad you got it solved. Was following this thread, but unfortunately, I had nothing to share, so I kept quiet!

 

I was able to download at vbios from techinferno that was created by svl7 specifically for the 150em. The only "hiccup" was the SSID mismatch which was fized by adding the "-fs" flag to command line, which forces the flash by telling it to ignore the SSID mismatch. I read that it is an extremely common error when flashing and there would be no harm in forcing it because of this. So far, so good!

Temps are a smidge higher. I think the highest I'd seen on my machine while benching the other day was 92 to 94 deg C. Today it peaked at 96 deg before throttling.

Im confident a repaste (current ICD7 paste is nearly 12 months old!!) would fix this but I'm going to repaste and replace the thermal pads with better performing pads by Fujipoly. Im betting this will not only fix my throttling issues, but also keep temps at a much more comfortable level. I can't wait!

 

The thermal pads don't have much of an impact on core temps unless there is room to make them thinner to improve contact which does not apply to the sagers.

 

While I agree for the most part..... removing heat from the memory and vrm's that surround the core that results in any amount of improvement is going to have an impact on core temps. It may be small - but Im sure there will be a difference. Not to mention 12 month old TIM is definitely going to see a cooling improvement when replaced with fresh stuff! I'd say I may see an improvement from doing it myself versus the person who built my laptop - but I know that isn't a possibility considering the guys at Mythlogic built mine.

I'l definitely be sure to share the honest facts when I get around to it. I'm even thinking about doing a test of just replacing the TIM versus replacing the TIM and the thermal pads.

This thread may not be the best place for this question - but has anyone managed to replace the thermal pads with anything else like a copper shim?? I definitely plan on staring at it for a bit while I have it apart to see if anything can be done.

 

Just figured out that my throttling issues are due to my power supply not pushing enough juice, not heat related throttling.

Everything is peaches and cream in 3DMark11 until the last test where it stresses the CPU and GPU at the same time. Then I go from 99% utilization to 70's. Which when I paid closer attention to the temperatures, I should have caught on to that much faster. Temps are just fine for now. Plus now I have Prema's bios running so I can turn on Max Fans from the start to help even more. I can't wait to figure out my power supply issue, probably do a repaste and replace the thermal pads for grins - and see what this puppy can do! (hoping to replace the CPU down the line to... 3840qm or MAYBE an XM for the fun of it if I can find a good enough deal, that's a big maybe though becaue Id like to upgrade to a new laptop next year)

Just thought Id shrare for anyone wondering and contemplating the flash for themselves. While I wouldn't recommend it for absolutely anyone because of the possible issues that can come up. As long as you take your time, are diligent about details, temps, etc. You will be ok. Everyone has to learn some how, right? Just make sure you are ready for the consequences if you do take the plunge should something go wrong!!

 

Interesting, usually the brick decides to just cut out rather than the system throttle. Have you got something to measure the power consumption?

 

Could you write here or on pm the entire command which you used for flashing ?

 

The EM series still needs to use atiwinflash I believe.

 

The commands are the same but yes, you need to use ATIWinflash.

I'm not a fan of giving out commands because I dont want to be blamed. I would try a regular old flash ie - "atiwinflash -p 0 newbios.rom" without the quotes obviously. See if that works for you. You may see something like SSID mismatch beacause it is extremely common. Look up the command that forces the flash while ignoring the SSID mismatch. There is a flag you add, I believe it is "-fs". You can then use something like "atiwinflash -fs -p 0 newbios.rom"

I recommend playing around with the read and save current bios commands so you understand how it works and get used to the program, make sure it works on your machine - etc before going right to the flash. Make sure you understand what the command list means. ie when it says -p <num> <file> in the command list. You should understand that num is your gpu adapter number according to the system. You can confirm this from the read commands but it should amost always be 0. You will only have to worry about something else if you have a dual gpu system.

At the end of the day, its really easy to use. Its relatively safe as long as you type your commands correctly, use the correct files that are not corrupt in anyway... and pay attention to the details. Good luck to you, feel free to ask any questions if you have them before just guessing and ending up with a bricked system!