Sony Vaio S Bios Mod For Gt640m Le

So, I'm in a bit of pickle.

I'm currently looking to buy a laptop for school. I'm a network admin student so it's core use should be a VM host and some light programming. Thing is, I might also use it to do some moderate to heavy gaming. At the same time, it should portable and light enough that I don't feel like I'm lugging my desktop around. Naturally, a 13,3 or 14' inch laptop seemed like the sweet spot in terms of raw power and portability.

Right, so here is the issue. My first choice was the Lenovo Y480 but the Canadian version only ships with a 640M-LE while the US gets the 650M. That's really annoying and pushed me into looking elsewhere. That's where the thread comes in and that I thought that the S series might be a good alternative. So:

I assume that the BIOS mod is only compatible with the Vaio S series? So, buying a Y480 would lock me out of using an amazing mod to boost my gaming performance which seems like quite a waste when the S and the Y480 are so close in terms of prices.
If I were to buy a new Vaio S laptop, would there be any issue with using the BIOS provided for the older S laptops?

I appreciate any help and thanks to Amal for a pretty kick mod!

 

Hi there.

Yes, you cannot use the same BIOS MOD here on to the Lenovo Y480.

As for the new Windows 8 model of Vaio S, it is currently not recommended to use the BIOS MOD made for the Windows 7 model, until further investigation.

Worse case, you have to wait for the new BIOS to come out for the Windows 8 model, so that I or other modder can help out with the MOD.

 

Amal,

How would you get the bios for the windows 8 lappy? u mean when they have an update to the window 8 bios and put it up for downloading online?

 

Excuse my noobyness but is there a way for us to dump our own bios and submit it to you?

 

Ah damn, that's what I feared. Is there any chance of a custom BIOS for the Y480?

 

That's not really a question we can answer. Is there an owners thread... who owns it are any of them dev. How are we supposed to know. These mods aren't uncommon but if its been out awhile and no one has taken a shot...

Also for those with a slightly lower "H" key... there is a screw on the bottom of the keyboard under that very key. I loosened it and the problem was fixed... this is complicated if you did an odd swap as the odd caddy bay be slightly too tall causing the h key to sit funny.

Sent from my SGH-I777 using Tapatalk 2

 

Yes, correct.

I'm not sure.
But I don't think it will work.

Which Y480? the one with the GT650M or GT640M LE.
Coz last I heard, the GT640M LE edition are the fermi's not keplers.
So you wont be able to OC it very high.

 

I think there may just be such a method. Please see the below thread.

link

There seems to be some complexity when combining the BIOS hex file with the actual executable/creating a .wph file that I couldn't fully grasp, but if somebody could upload a copy of the bios dump using the Universal Backup Toolkit that would at least be a starting point I think. Even if we can't create a fully working modded bios file, it sounds like at the very least modders can look at the code and see what the differences are between the Windows 8 version and the Windows 7 model versions.

 

Hey Amal, you have windows 8 now right? when you right click on your desktop to bring up that thingy tiny window where properties, nvidia, view sort by etc.. Does it respond slow like a circle shows that is loading and it takes about 2-3 sec? Because in Windows 7, when you right click anywhere on the desktop, it is instantaneous.

 

This is caused by the Intel graphics driver and not the BIOS mod.

There is a simple fix to this but it will remove the graphics properties lines from the right click menu

run the attached file (works in win7 and win8) which will make a small change to the registry [-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\Background\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\igfxcui]
View attachment Intel Lag Hotfix.zip

 

Cheers heywhitmarsh. Imma try this when i get home. Did it fix it and back to normal smooth and quick right clicking on desktop? This one will not disable the intel hd 4000 right and the only thing im losing is the right click option for the intel graphics?

 

Hi Amal, the Priority to Ventilation no longer exist in Windows 8 under Vaio Control Center. They changed the name to Silence/Standard/Performance. Basically the Priority to Ventilation is now called Performance under speed or stamina option.

Silence/Balance/Ventilation is now Silence/Standard/Performance

 

I tried this before I made my post and the BIOS dumping tools I tried (including that one) "couldn't identify" my bios (running Windows 8 and the R0080C8 BIOS)

 

Is it just me or the lid or hinge extension on the back of the s13 blocks the exhaust vent at the back when the lid is open and tilted?

 

Yup, I've tried to dump the BIOS before, it doesn't work.

The only one I can remember is to use the Insydeflash tool itself to backup the BIOS.
Not sure whether it can work without flashing a BIOS at all.

If you can find a way, I'll be willing to help you guys to MOD the BIOS once you have them.
But offcourse need to find a way to make it flashable also.

Ooo... I haven't update mine to the latest one I guess.

Yup, it does actually blocks the exhaust vent more.

Tried a short stress test on the GPU, it does however increase the temp by 1c-2c(from 73c).
Not much, but still.

 

good morning

I have some questions about this bios mod

If for example i use the 900/900 bios mod, how much is the temperature of the laptop after long period of gaming ?
Using this bios mod, is it safe to have a long gaming sessions (5Hr minimum) everyday ?
after the 900/900 mod, how does it compare to GT640M or GT645M ?

sorry if i'm asking too much question, i wanted to clear my head before i perform the mod

 

well you are not asking too many questions but you are asking questions that we have answered many many times. you should read the first 5-10 pages of the thread...

3-5 degrees C ive never had it over 75C those with high temps turn off the turbo boost on their cpu since the cpu utilization isnt as bad with games.
yes ive done a few hours then an hour or so off then another. it will wear your laptop like before... you will reduce the life of the laptop but thats not the mods fault... just that heat and just running kills....
it is on par with a ddr3 650M idk about the 645 but it blows away a 640.

 

Ahh got it. Well, I guess the only thing to do is wait and pray Sony releases a bios file for the new models

 

thanks tmckenn2, ill read the first 10 pages

if heat and running kills then ill just play less often

 

I'm amaze a 90 watt power supply is working perfectly fine for a laptop running a full mobile cpu with the bios modded gt 640m le to the speed of a ddr3 gt 650m. Even the M14x has a 150watt PSU on its ddr5 gt 650m.

 

Hey Amal i fixed the problem with the idle clocks, i preffer adding a new game manually than having the clocks always high on idle.

I thought the global settings was needed in order to the overclock to work...

Anyways my system is Windows 7, i ordered from the last ones that were on sale.
One question, im on te 900/900 mod but can i go to MSI Afterburner and set it to +100mhz and get the performance like the 1000/1000 mod
or it wont change the clock since it's already overclocked?
I checked on GPU-Z and it saids the clocks are on 1000mhz but MSI and other gadget i got stills saids its on 900s...

 

Consider it as an undervolt version of the GT650M DDR3, which still performs on par.

Good to hear that you have sorted that out.

Nope, any OC tools/application won't do a thing on the core clock, but you can still change the memory clock.

 

@Amal, when are you going to be finish with the bios mod for R0080C8 model SVS13A290X ? an 835mhz/1000mhz would be perfect. Let us know

 

Until I can get the file of the new BIOS, there's nothing much i can do.

 

Hi Amal! New version of BIOS R0081C8 is available for download on Sony Asia website.

And i've got some question about bios. There is a problem on my SVS1512 with RAM. Onboard memory 4GB DDR3L 1333 CL9 run with a Command Rate (cr) 2T. It doesn't matter if the additional module is installed, it always shows 2T.
I cant find any ways to set it to 1T (I've tried memset utility and it doesn't work). Is it possible to solve this problem with your modified BIOS?

 

Hi there.

A very good find there.

Btw, I can't download it from the link you gave.
But I do manage to download it from somewhere else.
Looking at the supported model, it is indeed showing the Windows 8 Model number.
It doesn't show all of the Windows 8 model though, as Sony always does to confuse us.

So, I have MODded it to 950MHz core, 900MHz Memory :
TAKEN OUT

One thing i found out is that the vBIOS are not the same as the Windows 7 model vBIOS.
So, I wouldn't recommend those with Windows 8 model to use the Windows 7 model BIOS, and vice versa.

MAKE SURE YOUR GT640M LE BIOS VERSION ARE AS PER BELOW (CHECK FROM GPU-Z) :
80.07.4A.00.05
OR
80.07.4A.00.06


Please, TAKE OWN RESPONSIBILITY.
I haven't tested the BIOS yet, since I can't.
I CAN'T PROMISE THAT IT'LL WORK ON OTHER MODEL NOT MENTIONED ON THE WEBSITE.

http://vcl.vaio.sony.co.jp/download/EP0000278577.html
http://www.sony-asia.com/support/download/524009


Edit : Anyone, please do report to me after you flashed yours.
Btw, forgot to mention about your memory. Sorry, I can't do anything on the memory side, I only changed the GPU clock.

Edit2 : Taken out the link, since it is not flashable.

 

Is this only good for asia version of that laptop because I have R0080C8 instead of R0081C8 and the only difference is the " 1" and I do have the 80.07.4A.00.05 on gpu-z

 

Brilliant find Landa! Anyone test out Amal's mod on a US SVS13A290X yet?

 

Well it seems the "1" difference is because this is an update. Since all the laptops are built in China anyway I would imagine it is the same...but of course it's always a risk.

 

I have the SVS13A290X w/ the R0080C8 instead of R0081C8. Will the bios mod that Amal just created awhileago work? Or do I need to update to R0081C8 from R0080C8 first or can we just use the bios mod with our R0080C8?

 

The real question to me is not whether you can directly jump to Amal's modded bios from R0080C8, it's whether the bios update is compatible with US models in the first place. That's the real risk.

Assuming that it is compatible, there should be no need to update to R0081C8 and then flash to Amal's mod. All he did was modify the clocks, everything else should be the same.

 

Along that note, Amal, if you don't mind terribly perhaps it's worth checking out if this version of the R0142C5 is the same as the US version? Only if it's easy though, I'm not sure how difficult it is to compare the bios, but it'd give some comfort to people with US versions of the new Windows 8 model that the AsiaPac and US bios versions of at least the Windows 7 models are identical and we can safely flash the R0081C8.

BIOS Update version R0142C5 : Download : Sony Asia Pacific

 

I ran diff on the two ROM files and found no differences, but you guys will probably want to wait for Amal to chime in

edit: I also ran diff on the modded file and the stock file and got "files differ" and tested diff on some random other files I have so it seems to ring true

Now the real question is if the hardware is any different between the countries. Weird how the release dates for the old bios files are the same date and the Windows 8 one has only been released in Asia...

edit 2: I took the jump on a US SVS151290X and no go. The system rebooted, showed the VAIO logo then underneath said "Updating system firmware failed" and a sinking feeling set in... so I pressed the power button after it turned itself off and luckily I'm back with no harm done!

 

Thanks Bobby! Not to discount your efforts, but I would like to also see confirmation of this from a more established person such as Amal (no offense intended, just want to be safe ).

I agree that it's strange on the release dates, but I'm also not terribly surprised given that Sony is a Japanese company. I do think that the hardware is the same globally (especially given that US notebooks are manufactured in China anyway...), and given the similarity of the bios name I'd guess we're probably okay flashing R0081C8.

But of course, I'm talking as someone who hasn't even received his notebook and can't test anything yet, so you guys will have to make your own judgements...

 

Haha, no worries warreo, I tried using a hex editor and there was too much so sift through when I remembered diff, but I'm probably not looking hard enough so we shall wait on amal

My laptop somehow didn't even allow me to flash it (which I guess is a good thing?) I shall try flashing the stock R0081C8 to see if that works. If it does, then there might be some signed file thing going on with the EFI

 

Just tried flashing the SVS13290X using Amal's new mod for the R0081C8 and it restarted then Vaio boot shows "Updating System Firmware Failed"!! then it shutdown by itself but it powered on again and luckily it didn't brick.

 

The stock R0081C8 flashes! But yeah, seems the modded one doesn't want to flash.

 

Maybe we need to try and update to R0081C8 from R0080C8. Then when we have the R0081C8, we go ahead with the bios mod that Amal made? have you tried that yet?

 

Already tried, still can't flash the modded one

 

Yes same here, upgraded to R0081C8 and ran Amal's bios mod and it didn't work. Update System Firmware Failed!

 

Just wait for Amal then. It's festive season in Malaysia now so he is probably busy receiving friends.

 

Hi guys.

Sorry for the late reply.

Thank you for the update on the BIOS.
Yes, by right the BIOS should be compatible, the previous Windows 7 model also work that way, they release BIOS for different region, but they are exactly the same.
Even the new R0143C5 BIOS is not out yet for my model, but it did work, thankfully.

As for the error thing, let me look into it once I'm back from work.
So the stock one does work and compatible with the Windows 8 model right?
Try to play around with the Stock BIOS R0081C8 first, and see whether there are any issues with the BIOS, while waiting.

Thanks.

 

Hahaha, yeah, everyone is busy with the holiday here, coz tomorrow is Deepavali.
But I'm not Indian. I'm a Malay. hehehe..

 

I am now using R0081C8 downloaded from that Japanese website that you linked upgraded from R0080C8 . We just need a bios mod that will work on R0081C8 since the one you just made gave us an Update Failure when it restarted. Thanks

 

Sorry, what I meant is that since you're using the Stock R0081C8, it's better to play around with it for a while, and see if there's any issue(such as fan, stability, etc) with it even in stock mode.
I'll get back to the BIOS once I got back from work.

 

I've had it for 2 weeks now, no issue, no throttle, no heat, everything is stable with windows 8 except Fraps does not work on Crysis.

 

Pretty sure he was referring to the new BIOS.

 

brilliant! Nice to know that we've got the working bios for the Win8 models.

Hopefully Amal can work his magic to fix the modded bios

 

Well Bro Amal, you have no obligation here to do this mod for us. But you did it on your own time for the benefit of many others, my salute to you. Thanks again and mean while, do enjoy the holiday, haha.

 

Hmmmm... seriously I'm not sure what could be the problem... the BIOS file seems to be MODDed as usual...
Maybe something to do with the InsydeFlash utilities configuration..

So, during the flashing in windows, it appear as per normal right?
Just that it won't go through after a restart?
So, it goes back to your previous BIOS after the unsuccessful restart?