*** Official Clevo X170SM-G/Sager NP9670M Owner's Lounge ***

Hello, @Prema can u contact me with a pm? I need ur help

 

I have tried multiple times and cannot seem to get Windows 7 to install. It does not even try and fails within a few seconds of the USB stick booting a BSOD about the BIOS not being ACPI compliant. I believe Insyde H20 has conspired with the Redmond Retards to interfere with that. I also had trouble with Linux, but changing the ACPI version and changing to Legacy mode worked for Linux. Anyone thinking of buying an X170 with the intent of running Windows 7 on it needs to think twice. Sorry to have to be the bearer of bad news. This is a big deal to me, and I know it is not for some folks. Aside from the fact that Windows 7 is superior to Windoze 10, I do not appreciate any interference with end-users doing whatever the hell they feel like doing with their own property.

 

Is it possible to just install Win 7 on a desktop Z490 / SSD and then swap the SSD to the laptop or something?

 

Nope, already tried that. It simply does a reboot loop with a BSOD that says the BIOS is not ACPI compliant. That was actually what I tried first because I had difficulty with the Z490 USB ports not working when I first got a Z490 desktop mobo. That is how I got it to work on my desktop until I found a modded ISO with support added for it.

The behavior is the same as trying to do a clean install. It boots normally and after maybe 10 seconds the system simply reboots, but it happens too fast to see the BSOD.

I think it is something Insyde has done on purpose with the UEFI to prevent Windows 7 installation. It seems Insyde H20 BIOS (at least this latest version) lacks CSM. I cannot even install Windows 7 with the Legacy BIOS option enabled. I get the same BSOD and reboot loop as I do with UEFI enabled.

I also had trouble getting Linux installed until I used the option in the PremaMod BIOS to change the ACPI version to 3.0 instead of 5.0. It would get to the end of the installation and fail with a warning that the installation is not bootable. I finally got Linux installed creating the USB installer with Balena Etcher. Using Rufus (as I always have in the past) would not work.

 

Our best bet, is waiting for the alleged microsoft transition into supporting linux, especially app support and libraries, I sure miss ubuntu..

 

I am running Ubuntu already. The problem is the lack of support for Windows 7. Anything Micro$lop does to or for Linux is probably going to suck because they are brain-dead morons that haven't done anything right since their Windoze 8.X failure. I honestly do not believe they are capable of releasing a good OS anymore. Windows 7 is better than Linux or Windows 10 (or Windows 8.X - which was worse than 10) and I don't care that it is not supported because I stopped using their "support" for it probably around 2010 or 2012.

 

Would a USB-optical drive work or that wouldn't either?

 

No, I think you are misunderstanding the problem. it seems to be a lack of CSM support. I experienced the same behavior using Windows 7 already installed to NVMe as I did when trying to install it from USB. It's not a USB problem at all. It is a firmware problem. Windows will not load and throws a BSOD with an error about the BIOS not being ACPI compliant and keeps looping with the same BSOD. That is running Windows Setup or loading an already complete Windows installation. It begins to load normally in either case and after 5 or 10 seconds I get that BSOD and then it reboots.

I also had issues with Linux at first. I can enable Legacy Mode, but there is no CSM menu because Insyde H20 doesn't have that option anymore. If I enable Legacy Mode Linux will boot but the installation fails at the end with an error message that the volume is not bootable. It seems no OS will work in Legacy Mode. Only UEFI/GOP works. That sucks for a few reasons:

1. Legacy is my preference - in my opinion, it is superior
2. UEFI does not support external displays without an OS (For example, I get BIOS output to an external display with Legacy, but that doesn't work in UEFI mode. Only the laptop screen works in the BIOS with UEFI.)
3. Windows 7 is superior to Linux, Windows 8.X and Windows 10. I can count on one hand, with leftover digits, the number of benchmarks that Windows 10 performs better than Windows 7. Where CPU performance is concerned, Windows 7 beats Windows 10 by a significant margin in most benchmarks. Windows 10 literally only beats Windows 7 in a couple of graphics benchmarks.

 

I believe it is the continuation of Insyde H20's Satanic agenda. Sadly, it looks like Clevo has jumped on the Insyde BIOS dumb-dumb bandwagon along with other complete idiots like Dell and Alienware, and their competitors that sell broken trash. This has absolutely no place in an enthusiast product. You won't find this filth on high-end desktop motherboards and there is no excuse for it being deployed on notebooks. Even low-end notebooks. It's wrong to not give owners the right to do whatever they want to do with their personal property and limiting their choice in what OS can run is unethical.

Those that are enjoying the Windows 10 Kool-Aid will be fine. Those that are not will not be.

https://www.dell.com/community/Wind...-BIOS-setup/m-p/7381569/highlight/true#M14482



http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/alienware-m17xr3-and-m290x.777201/#post-10023985

 

To each new installation of windows 10, there are some required to-do things to carry out before using it imo. Farag2's Sophia script is an excellent starting point, you can manually remove / disable windows apps installation, cortana, edge / explorer, telemetry and many other steps scripts actually do automatically. The difference in perceptible performance is sizeable. Of couse one can run the scripts with an older installation, but you may run into problems depending on the use case. The fact one needs to do all these steps to get it usable. and to repeat some of these after big updates, is a huge reason of why I despise being basically forced to use windows, which, I agree, is far worse than win 7, their later policies of spying, cloud, telemetry and all that absolute rubbish should be considered crime.

 

As someone who helps out on a game support desk, and is sick and tired of telling people to upgrade from Windows 7 already (because UE4 is slowly dropping support for it)...

Thank god newer systems WONT install it!

 

On a cheerier note...the zTecpc zT-X170SM-G is now available for purchase.
Call me for Notebookreview discount.

 

Perhaps you can add these videos to the opening post, since both of us (meaning @B0B and me) are members of the community.

Excellent.

 

Well, wishing misfortune on the rest of the world just so your job can be easier with everyone owning a zombie PC seems a little be self-centered. But, I get it. The sheeple need to fall in line. And, the more the Redmond Reprobrates do things to undermine those who do not fall in line, the harder it makes your job. I blame them, not Windows 7. Windows 7 is proof they once had the capacity for excellence. If they try hard enough and fire the idiots that work there who are responsible for the messes, maybe someday they'll recover from their flagrant incompetence.

 

long and detailed review - instant like
talks about LEDs - instant sub

 

Win7 is out of support since 14 January 2020, if anything, Win7 users are the ones that might be part of the zombie aggregate (aka being on one or more botnets because there are so many Win7 exploits floating around)..

The average user wont gain anything by running Win7, and I still maintain the idea that you guys "optimise" windows 10 till its broken, only thing I run is Shutup10 and I never had any BSOD, and my hardware all perform like it should...

 

You mean everyones BSOD and problems is due the users tuning of the OS? And none should blame it on Microsoft? As a reminder... Most problems is still because of all different hardware configs that has to be supported and Microsofts enjoy for screw it up. That you yourself don't have problems doesn't mean others problems is self intdroduced. If it was.... You mean Microsofts engineers try to fix its OS in blind because of all the tuning out there?

The web is flooded with similar... Windows 10 Defrag TRIM bug still not fixed after six months

Nope, The OS is filled with bugs. The reason They didn't dare put it on own hardware before several months after it was pushed to the guinea pigs.


It's a bumpy road for the Win10 version 2004 rollout
Microsoft’s been testing the “final” version of Win10 May 2020 Update - better known as version 2004 - for almost six months now. The number and nature of extant problems at this late date hits a new low, even by Microsoft’s standards.

 

I get it. You don't care about performance. OK. But, I think you are assuming too much and sound a bit like the bald lollipop guy. I don't have any instability at all, with any version of Windows. Only slowness and bloat with an unmitigated Windows 10 installation. Fixing that doesn't cause me any instability. Not sure what you are referring to with that comment, so that is why I say you are assuming too much.

I don't like that everything is bloated and slower with Windows 10, or that is carries a huge payload of crap that I don't want, need, or use. My optimized Windows 10 installations run much faster than those I leave alone, and they are no less stable. But, they're slower that Windows 7. I don't expect a person that is not into maximum performance or competitive overclocked benching to understand that. What I do expect is to have the ability to do whatever I want to do on my computers with no interference. Having that ability removed by manipulators with cancer firmware is unacceptable.

 

I didn't say that its perfect, but many just grab random power shell "debloat" scripts and wonder why they Windows is all kinds of broken..

If you dont want an OS that can be installed in either a core2duo laptop from 2007 and using the same image install it on the most recent Ryzen based system and have both work out of the box, heck the core2duo laptop will even have working FN+Fx shortcuts without extra drivers, then by all means go for Mac OSX and buy one of the sanctioned pieces of hardware..

Microsoft supports so many years of hardware that bugs are a given, but so are bugs on any Unix flavour that you choose to use, got my ubuntu install destroyed by doing updates with apt more than once, and ending on dependency hell because I needed to use many different versions of gcc because they are not all compatible and code that works on one wont even compile in another....

My hardware works well, and it performs better than stock. Right now I have 10 chrome tabs open, a couple iX Developer instances running, 2 VMs(6GB RAM each), torrent in the background seeding, a ton of Notepad++ tabs, outlook, 3-4 excel instances, VNC server and clients, all this on a 8750H that is sitting at 6% usage and 20GB of RAM used, CPU is sitting at 39ºC, stock it would go to 95ºC just booting windows... I have even dual booted this with Win7, but I got tired of that and just slapped it all into VMs, works just as well, and just to add, I run Windows 7, but on a VM, I wont use Win7 on a PC connected to the internet due to the lack of updates, thats all, I dont hate Win7, I just dont like to use unpatched systems..

I understand the desired to bench, and anyone is free to do so, I just dont get a kick out of that, I prefer to grab my 90º dental tool and go port some 2 stroke cylinders, thats my passion, if yours is extracting the last bit of performance, then go for it, but dont blame MS because Clevo locked you out of something, blame Clevo...

 

Congratulations to brother Fox, Prema and Donald for taming Intels 10 core beast! Solid work as always!

This just goes to show how impressive the knowledge of the NBR community is in fact, since many mods are required to be implemented in order for it to reach this stage. And by the end they all add up to an impressive package, which is able to push this notebook beyond anything else out there by far. Well done!

 

Congratulations Fox, Prema and Donald !!!!!
what about existing clevo x170 user who want have this bios?
any news about this?

 

Yes, we are on the same page Brother @senso. And, for the record I blame both of them. I blame Micro$lop for asking them to do it and I blame Clevo for listening to them. It takes two to tango. Micro$lop is the instigator and Clevo is one of their many accomplices in committing high crimes and misdemeanors against PC owners. I don't think there is even one laptop manufacturer that is on the "nice list" anymore. They all suck. At least we have a good foundation to work with on the X170. Too bad there is only one option left.

 

The Custom Prema BIOS is only available when you buy your X170SM-G from a Prema Partner.

 

Whelp. . .orders in. I’ll keep everyone posted on how this piece of beast kit fairs from the customer side of things. But still thank to @Mr. Fox , @jc_denton , @Papusan , and @Donald@zTecpc for all of your hard work. With the way things are going with PCs these days it’s impressive to see a group of enthusiasts come together to make as awesome of a product as possible.

And thanks @B0B for letting know this was even happening.

 

I will eagerly await news of your experience with the monsterbook. What specs did you order?

 

Should be in good hands with ol Donald as my sales rep.

I got 144hz 1080p panel, 2080 SUPER, cherry picked 10900k 5.0 all core, and Phobya Nanogrease upgrade. I’m gonna slap in my own Corsair Vengence 2666 kit I’ve had lying around since the Area 51m R1 disappointment. I’ll see what I can do to over clock it. But at least it won’t be collecting dust anymore.

 

Now the wait begins! Worst part

 

The options for poor blokes like us europeans are very limited to be honest, best that I can see it do it ourselves, at least to the extent that is feasible and relatively safe to unlock insyde bioses.
Granted no one would be able to copy for instance prema's work, unless you unlock it yourself and work with someone who has prema mod to get more or less the same settings..similar to what you can do hardware-wise ( thanks to Fox's screw suggestions for instance, delidding and such).

 

Think it’s been over 4 months since Donald originally told me this was going up for sale on zTecpc. Kept my word and didn’t buy it from anyone else. So yes the wait has been murder.

 

Not that long, we ship by or before 3 business days.

 

Oh but it's the longest 3 days work will drag in all day.

 

The wait is almost over...

 

Do like so many do...get a Forwarder in the USA.

 

Thats a awful method. Taxes and shipping kill your wallet. It's by a big margin ovepriced unfortunatly.

 

Given that it is a holiday week and UPS/FEDEX are probably backlogged, yes... will be a long 3-day wait even though in the grand scheme of things not many days will pass. It will feel like a long time.

Anticipation.

And, since it is Thanksgiving...

 

This is why I went with standard shipping. No way it wasn’t coming sooner than next week.

Btw I hate ketchup.

 

Ordered from Donald. Guess I wasn’t the first, a few of you beat me to the shopping cart.
Thank you @Mr. Fox , @jc_denton , @Papusan , and @Donald@zTecpc

Got the cherry-picked 5.0 i9-10900K, Liquid Pro on CPU + GPU and Premium, and RTX™ 2060. Needed the beast for computing power. Wanted the 5.1 CPU but needed to keep the pricing below $3K.

Now the waiting.....

 

Nice. Well we can compare temps on the i9 since I went with Phobya Nanogrease. Figure it’s already on the cpu die itself and that’s where it would be the most needed. But we will see.

 

That we’ll do!

 

Still not feasable.

Take a $2000 laptop... let's say that's reasonable with shipping included to the UK, but might be a little on the low side. That's £1500. When it gets here, we then MUST pay 20% tax on the full thing, plus a processing fee, so that's easily another £300 on top.

And THEN, if there's any warranty issues, there's the whole mess of sending it back, and yes, we can get hit with an import fee on the way back AGAIN.

And this is why i'm against this "The BIOS can only go on a laptop supplied by a partner." Happy to pay for it. Not happy to deal with issues from other countries, warranty stuff, etc... but might bloody have to at this rate.

 

Unfortunately there are those out there that would use Prema’s hard work for their own gain. And that’s really the bottom line is he’s protecting his product. In a perfect world it would be easily accessible to everyone and no one would try to sell it as their own. But, we live in a world where the few ruin it for the majority. There are some people that have unlocked the bios themselves and done their best to make changes themselves. So your best bet for the time being would be to get in contact with one of them and see if they would be willing to show you what they have done. Just be warned there are settings that can brick your machine.

 

The bricking thing is exactly why I DON'T want to do it.

Again, not trying to get it for free, COMPLETELY happy to pay for the product through an authorized channel and have it installed on my machine so Prema can protect the product. But the whole "must be pre-installed on the machine and can't be installed on any other" really is just BS.

Basically it's "Hey, I want to buy this."

"You can't."

"Okay... why?"

"Because arbritary reason."

 

What some do not realize is there is an unlocked BIOS (menus exposed) and a BIOS that is unlocked (issues resolved). Exposing menus has some value, but exposing menus is only useful when it exposes features you are being unjustly deprived of. If you are trying to correct behaviors that result in malfunction due to cancer code, the menus don't fix that. This is the difference between a firmware mod and a BIOS unlock. Prema BIOS doesn't have every menu that exists. Some do not work, and some will mess up your machine (as in brick it). If the menu doesn't provide anything useful, he hides it. If the menu has options that will brick it, he hides it. Behind the curtain he fixes problems that don't have a menu, like throttle code. That requires real talent and knowledge at a level that most firmware modders do not possess.

It's not BS. What is BS is the draconian taxing crap that you and others in your country are subjected to that prevents you from having things you want because your government abuses its citizens. It is unfortunate that you have to live under that kind of abusive power, but it doesn't create conditions where special treatment or exceptions to the process are warranted. Buying it, at least for the time being, is not part of the program. Perhaps there may be some way that can change at some point, but we're not at that point right now.

Why not work with Clevo resellers in your country and get them to pull their heads out of their butts and sign on as a PremaMod Partner Shop? If they can't or won't, then you probably should ask yourself if you really want to patronize losers like that, or rather than punish the Partner Shops that are not losers and are willing to play by the reasonable rules that have been put in place to keep the author from getting screwed.

No, it's because that is not how the program works. It is arbitrary to think that people that do not like the program can change it to suit their own unique circumstances or wishes. It would be awesome if it worked that way and I wish it could, but it doesn't.

If I were selling my laptop and you said, I want to buy the CPU because it is a vastly superior sample that runs 5.3GHz with 1.150V and I said, I am sorry the CPU is not for sale unless you want the entire laptop; is it then unreasonable or arbitrary for me to refuse to sell it to you just because you want to buy it and you are willing to pay me top dollar for the CPU? It's my CPU and it's only available for purchase with the laptop.

I think it is perfectly reasonable for you to offer to buy the CPU. No harm in that. But, it's not BS if my answer is no. Perhaps I want to get top dollar for both, or I don't want to have to deal with the hassle of selling the leftovers after the main reason for people wanting to buy it is for the CPU and now it's no longer part of the package.

 

I for one cannot wait for @Prema to offer the pay to install option if it ever becomes available which i will pray with all my soul it does. I think whatever pay to install payment should be fully credited to prema. Prema has never disappointed before, he has me as a customer and a fan for life. Plus i gotta give props to those who always are around and also help prema with testing as well. shout out to those that help prema with that without you guys we wouldnt have through bug squishing or error catching or fixing. I wish there was a way to get into his inner circle too but i understand people may seem what they are not so its better this way.

finally got around to delidding today using @Mr. Fox vid and dropped about 9c from my processor temps it still says im thermal throttling but it takes a while before hitting 85c (at least 10 min) my understanding this is a bug of sorts. i still have to change a couple of things to further decrease temps like my paste as im waiting for my better paste to get here and some other thermal pads that havent got here yet

 

Hey. buying a new BIOS as part of a new system is not profitable from the point of view of logic for laptop owners who are not prema partners. As a result, buyers of new systems will start selling a dump of an exclusive BIOS. and who will ultimately benefit from this situation? there are not many of these laptops, it is a niche product and the market is small. I think it would be logical to update obsidian remotely using a program like obsidian. for me send a laptop for 12,000 km and 2 months on the road for an upgrade is expensive and long

 

We cannot stop dishonest people from doing wrong things and if someone goes to the trouble of buying an expensive laptop so they can dismantle it to access the BIOS chip on the palmrest side of the motherboard to pull the firmware off with an SPI programmer for the sole purpose of screwing the person that went to the trouble of creating it for his business partners, I guess they're free to do that. That dump would need to be applied with an SPI programmer, which would require everyone using it to remove their motherboard. It would be what is called a dirty flash that breaks some things that are unique to each system, and it wouldn't flash the EC where part of the throttle cancer resides.

That is different, and a whole lot of trouble for everyone involved, than providing a convenient flashable firmware package that the crooks can claim to be their own product and freely sell to anyone willing to buy it.

The laptop does not need to be shipped for flashing. There is a remote flash procedure available using custom tools that unlock the protected regions of the BIOS and EC and ME.

The problem with making it available to someone else to distribute is you no longer have the ability to control what they do with it. Once you surrender it, it's theirs to do with as they wish regardless of what was agreed to. That is why there is a Partner Shop program. You only partner with people that you have every good reason to believe you can trust.

Here is another thought though... at its worst, the X170 is head and shoulders better than any BGA turdbook that runs hotter, throttles more and doesn't clock as high. If there were no such thing as the Prema BIOS most of the people buying it would still be buying it because the alternatives suck worse. All laptops have sucky aspects to them. They are built on a concept of compromise. It's unfortunate that firmware castration is where the compromises start for all of them. At its best, even with significant thermal enhancements and a Prema BIOS there are still compromises. Just not as many, and not as screwed up as all of the other trashbooks that are being sold. You can put an AMD CPU in it and it's still going to suck. Laptop manufacturers cripple everything they build because they're not enthusiasts and they are building products for people that are willing to accept compromise. They have that down to a science and don't care if it runs hot or throttles because people will still buy it in spite of its faults.

 

I think it is possible to announce the cost and the ability to remotely flash the BIOS once there is such a technical opportunity for partner stores for all owners of laptops based on x170
otherwise there will be a black market and the exclusive will be resold uncontrollably
I personally am ready to pay for a remote procedure from official prema partners

 

Id pay 100 bucks for it i would pay more but my situation is poor.

 

It's like importing an R34 Skyline from Japan to Europe, it's expensive but for people who live and breathe them, its worth every penny. I went that route with the P870, and we pay 25% import tax here, which was an expensive endeavour

 

Congratulations Donald!

@ all

I'll be slowly rolling it out to more partner and eventually enthusiast end-user that are ready to void their warranty, but let's be clear, without Donald's initiative, there would not have been a PremaMod for the X170SM at all.