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[M14x R2] VBIOS mods - unlocked overclocking limits, voltage tweaks, modified clocks


svl7

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i'm also experiencing small downclocks while i'm gaming. it causes some weird input lag as well similar to 60 fps spiking down to 30 fps (except im still flatlining at 60). ive tried different clocks (135 & 250, 200 & 400) and still experience the issue. i also tried turning off my turbo boost and it still happened (blops2).

post-7368-14494993909087_thumb.jpg

the downclock near the end is when i alt tabbed, which can be deducted from my gpu usage. the problematic downclock is during actual gaming as you can see under Max: 1150 MHz

I also have a GT 650M in my laptop which I do some gaming on occasionally when I'm on the road. I also see this behavior with some games in certain circumstances.

What you're seeing is the boost clock being dynamically throttled down due to power or thermal constraints. Unlike CPU overclocking, overclocking on Nvidia Kepler GPUs basically just raises the clock speed ceiling for boost, instead of setting a hard clock target at load like CPU overclocking. Your temps are well out of the range of thermal throttling, so it's very likely the GPU boost clock ceiling is not being reached because the GPU is exceeding its rated TDP at such high clocks under certain loads, which forces the boost clock to lower to remain within spec. I'm not sure that there's a way to modify the TDP target of mobile Kepler GPUs, but if so, that's the solution to your issue.

if this is the case what can i do?

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Im really not sure on this one.. The 650 is a strange beast in that, if the utilization threshold is not met, it will not fully turbo correctly. If the temps get to high, it will down clock. Have you tried completely disabling the CPU turbo (using the same gpu clocks) and see if the same issue happens? Thanks!

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Im really not sure on this one.. The 650 is a strange beast in that, if the utilization threshold is not met, it will not fully turbo correctly. If the temps get to high, it will down clock. Have you tried completely disabling the CPU turbo (using the same gpu clocks) and see if the same issue happens? Thanks!

yep. its not cpu. also i can easily force 99% usage (if that's the usage you're talking about?) by turning vsync off, but seeing as the m14x r2's frame rates are capped at 60 i don't see the point of turning it off

should i try turning off windows aero and force the cpu to process more of the graphics n see if it will affect anything?

would forcing dynamic throttle off using nvidiaInspector help my case?

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1. The m14x is not capped at 60fps. I play bf3 above 60 all the time as well as other games. 2. the cpu and gpu have a "shared" cooling system. If you lower the cpu speed by disabling cpu turbo it will not "heat soak" the GPU and help keep it cooler. It really depends on whether or not your game or program requires the higher cpu clockspeed. 3. You should ALWAYS take steps to make sure your machine is running at its best. Setting windows to run for "maximum performance", cleaning registry, keeping hard drives defragged, removing unnecessary services and or drivers, etc. Good luck, StevenX

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1. The m14x is not capped at 60fps. I play bf3 above 60 all the time as well as other games. 2. the cpu and gpu have a "shared" cooling system. If you lower the cpu speed by disabling cpu turbo it will not "heat soak" the GPU and help keep it cooler. It really depends on whether or not your game or program requires the higher cpu clockspeed. 3. You should ALWAYS take steps to make sure your machine is running at its best. Setting windows to run for "maximum performance", cleaning registry, keeping hard drives defragged, removing unnecessary services and or drivers, etc. Good luck, StevenX

I mean my monitor's refresh rate is 60 hz seeing as i don't play with an external monitor & nvidia CP vsync being forced on.

Yeah i keep my laptop optimized and have already done everything that you've listed. Thanks

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hi.. i have a alienware m14 x r1 with a gt555m 3gb *stock speed 590ghz)... 0verclocked to 700ghz my max temps under full load is 67 degrees (after a hour of furmark benchmark)

i did a nice repaste job and temps dropped from 85-93degrees (under full load) to 65-67degrees full load...

anyways question is... after i apply the voltage unlock mod, what stable (safe overclock) should i expect?? and what roughly will be the increase in heat?

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@svl7, any progress about the M14x R2 A09 bios vmod and unlocked ?

@cagefighter, you have the M14x R1, these thread is for R2... however: if you read the already given answer, you will find that GPU have different potential of overclocking; although you have the same chipset and code and everything, still... different potential of overclocking. Flash the bios and do the loop: increase with 50Mhz and then benchmark, if it's ok then increase again with 50Mhz and benchmark again, otherwise restore the latest highest value and increase with 10Mhz and then benchmark, if it's ok then increase again with 10Mhz and benchmark again, else restore the highest value and increase with 5Mhz until unstable. anytime leave some Mhz difference for stability.

hi.. i have a alienware m14 x r1 with a gt555m 3gb *stock speed 590ghz)... 0verclocked to 700ghz my max temps under full load is 67 degrees (after a hour of furmark benchmark)

i did a nice repaste job and temps dropped from 85-93degrees (under full load) to 65-67degrees full load...

anyways question is... after i apply the voltage unlock mod, what stable (safe overclock) should i expect?? and what roughly will be the increase in heat?

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@svl7, any progress about the M14x R2 A09 bios vmod and unlocked ?

@cagefighter, you have the M14x R1, these thread is for R2... however: if you read the already given answer, you will find that GPU have different potential of overclocking; although you have the same chipset and code and everything, still... different potential of overclocking. Flash the bios and do the loop: increase with 50Mhz and then benchmark, if it's ok then increase again with 50Mhz and benchmark again, otherwise restore the latest highest value and increase with 10Mhz and then benchmark, if it's ok then increase again with 10Mhz and benchmark again, else restore the highest value and increase with 5Mhz until unstable. anytime leave some Mhz difference for stability.

thanks vladichimescu... im hoping to get a stable 800mhz core clock with the voltage mod. (when a mod lets me download privliges!! ;) lol.

one more question vlad buddy... should turn turbo boost off on i7 CPU ... i mean does it improve gaming really?... or is it just needless heat?

cheers

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I had the R1 as you and the temps were going like crazy even without overclock (I think I had 835Mhz on my GPU with voltmod) but ATTENTION, you have the R1 so get the R1 moded bios. you need to make 4 tests in order to check your optimum performance: use 5-10minutes for each test, prime95 for CPU, Furmark for GPU.

1.enable turbo on CPU - check temp

2.disable turbo on CPU - check temp

3.standard clock GPU - check temp

4.overclock GPU - check temp

after all tests, you will get your answer: why the system throttle ? because of the what configuration of the cpu/gpu ? set then the best settings for the system !

FOR THE R1: the system R1 does throttle so the performance is chocking and lagy !

FOR THE R2: the CPU with turbo goes to 80-85degree Celsius (the GPU is less than 70 even with overclock so no problem there). HOWEVER the R2, in any case, the system R2 doesn't throttle so the performance is maximum and very smooth !

I did some stress test, benchmark and some gaming at maximum graphic details at a 20-22degree Celsius environment and got the maximum temp: 78 for CPU, 67 for GPU.

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Hi all, I thought I would share what has just happened with my brand new M14xR2 (shipped with windows 8)...

After reading all of this I decided to downgrade my bios to A03 (I think from A09 as it is less than a week old). So I grabbed A03 from the dell website and pulled out the .FD file and renamed it to M14XR2.HDR (I had no response when leaving it as .FD and read this on another forum). Put it on a FAT32 formatted stick and did the whole END key thing until my laptop started beeping at me. It beeped for a couple of minutes but then did not reboot for a very long time. After 10/15 minutes I killed the power thinking that it was never going to reboot on its own and tadaaa!!!! a bricked laptop :)

Should have a technician round tomorrow to replace the motherboard but I was just wondering what I did wrong? was I too impatient or did I make some sort of error?

I did this without removing the battery also because of something suggested on another forum. I feel like an idiot now for not making this post before I attempted it but I wanted to know what I did wrong, especially if I muster up the courage to give this another shot with my new motherboard.

Thanks guys.

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You could try geting back to the 09 bios. remove the power cord, press END key and get the power cord back, if no go, then you need to do these steps while the battery connector is removed (no warranty void because Alienware allows users to do what they want with their space ships :applause:). It will beep like the heart, short short long pause then again short as it's geting alive

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You could try geting back to the 09 bios. remove the power cord, press END key and get the power cord back, if no go, then you need to do these steps while the battery connector is removed (no warranty void because Alienware allows users to do what they want with their space ships :applause:). It will beep like the heart, short short long pause then again short as it's geting alive

It wont respond at all anymore. Even when I use the end key malarky it wont how any sign of life. It's just completely dead :(

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Right, my laptop is back and finally fixed after some of Dells poorest customer support. can anyone who has actually managed to downgrade from A09 to A03 tell me the exact steps they used? I am hesitant to try again when I managed to brick my machine last time.

It would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

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I followed the instructions provided by svl, the same instructions that bricked yours. Either you did something you shouldn't have (say, pulling the flash drive before the process is finished) or the last resort firmware loading mechanism isn't 100% reliable.

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  • 2 weeks later...

There are no screen shots. It's called a "blind flash" with good reason: the screen is completely blank for the entire process. The only feedback is a few minutes of very loud beeping from the speaker. Follow the directions precisely. Failure to do so will permanently brick your notebook's mobo. If you are concerned about this possibility then don't blind flash your notebook.

Which is probably good advice in general. If you're not familiar with performance tuning and overclocking then learn about that first. The 'R2 CPUs and GPUs have a lot of safe overclock capabilities. Experiment with these, learn what they do, and learn what the effects of voltage changes are.

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Sorry misunderstanding i meant the screenshots showing the benchmarks at the beginning of the thread, not screenshots of the flash process.

I've had my 5 posts published so can see them now. Wasn't sure if it was restricted to vip members only when i first signed up.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

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  • 4 weeks later...
You have to downgrade to an earlier official bios (a03) via recovery flash procedure. you can't instal a modded bios straight over an original a10.

Slightly related question, I'm currently on the test A10, but it seems my overclocks were better on the unlocked A03. can I move from the test A10 back to unlocked A03 using the windows utility, or do this still require a blind flash?

thanks for all your help and clarification.

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  • 1 month later...

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