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M17x r3 unlocked BIOS for 2920xm overclocking [BIOS works, untested with XM CPU]


svl7

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***Credit for this goes to "Schnuffel" from aw-community.com***

Original thread can be found here: All Powerful M17X R3 M17x r3 bios *unlocked*

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User "Schnuffel" in a German AW forum has uploaded an unlocked BIOS which should enable all the overclocking features for extreme processors.

There was a discussion about the similarities between the M17x r3 and M18x and after I pointed out that the 2920xm is locked in the M17x r3 BIOS, he posted a modded BIOS which should enable it.

The guy is a hardware engineer, works a lot with Dell/AW machines and is always able to provide some good insider information, so he knows what he's doing.

Here's what he said (translated ;))

The M17x r3 and the M18x mobos have almost the same design, a little tweak in the DMI and a little patch on the BIOS installation tool allows to put the M18x BIOS on the M17x r3

All of this is unofficial and not approved by Dell. It can endanger the hardware and disables all protection functions.

It is crucial that you have an extreme CPU and a Nvidia GPU to be able to use all hidden options.

Don't change the bus clock when you use an AMD card.

Mind that there are two "main menus" in the new BIOS.

[...]

I don't take any responsibility for any bricked/damaged hardware due to this BIOS. I can't test all different machines and there are always risks, I can't know for sure what exactly Dell modifies/omits on the mobos. On the machines I have it works.

-2.html#post10874"]>>>SCREENSHOTS of the BIOS menus can be found here.<<<

(note, XM overclocking menu is not visible since the test system didn't have an XM processor in it, let me know if you test this with a 2920xm)

Thanks for the pics and first testing goes to @DaneGRClose !!

*** This BIOS may be a bit glitchy, according to DaneGRClose the system is much more likely to suffer from a BSOD or unusual behaviour, see -3.html#post11288"]his post here. Try loading the default settings in the BIOS after flashing it, this couldsolve this.***

- Before the flashing:

Reset the Bus overclock in your BIOS to avoid future troubles.

- Flashing:

The flashing is easy, extract the attached archive and put the .exe file on a DOS bootable USB drive. Then boot from the USB drive, enter the name of the file and press enter to flash it. In case you can't remember the name of the .exe file once you're in DOS, just write "dir", press enter and it'll list all files which are on the root of the drive.

- After the flashing:

Go to the BIOS and load the default settings (there's a function for this). Apply and reboot.

So again, a quick summary:

This is a M18x BIOS which got modified to work on a M17x r3.

DaneGRClose has tested it on his machine and it works, though he had some BSOD issues. It hasn't yet been tested with a 2920xm, so it would be really interesting to see whether it really allows full control of the multiplier, TDP, VID etc.

An overclockable 2920xm would make the M17x r3 just perfect! :D

About the warning with the bus clock... this BIOS has certain protective functions disabled. Among them is one that controls the BCLK and slows down the CPU in case of problems/heat.

It's advisable to NOT use the BCLK overclock with this unlocked BIOS since the protective functions are present anymore, as long not when you use an AMD video card.

Since I don't have an r3 I'm unfortunately unable to test this myself.

**As always with such mods, you are responsible for any changes you make on your system.**

M17R3 Vers4 unlock.zip

Edited by svl7
some updates
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When he refers to bus clock is that the BCLK? AKA 101.0, 105.5, 107.0, etc? Or what bus clock is he referring to? I wonder if this would unlock the TDP on my 2820qm? The modded bios I'm running now will allow me to tweak the TDP a bit but not much and the multi is locked solid.

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When he refers to bus clock is that the BCLK? AKA 101.0, 105.5, 107.0, etc? Or what bus clock is he referring to? I wonder if this would unlock the TDP on my 2820qm? The modded bios I'm running now will allow me to tweak the TDP a bit but not much and the multi is locked solid.

I don't think so, I guess it's the PCI BUS, but I haven't seen screenshots so far, so I don't know which hidden options there are... I can't see the BCLK interfering in anyway with the GPU. I'll see whether I can get more information on this.

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wow nice, but dang looks like i have to order another es chip to test out, hahaha

dane are you gonna test this bios?

next thing we need is the gpu voltage unlocked too, then we'll start having real fun!!!!!

Edited by iloveb00bs
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Ok cool, I'll probably guinea pig this tonight, be nice if I could unlock even a few extra things on my rig over the modded bios I'm currently running. May have to order myself an es chip as well. Gotta make sure I stay on top of those bench charts ;):D

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@DaneGRClose : Cool, I really want to see some screenshots of the BIOS menu, I'm curious what exactly is hidden there. Haven't heard from the creator of the VBIOS yet, asked him about the busclock thing. Will let you guys know as soon as I have more information.

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So one thing I'm not clear on here, I just create a dos bootable usb then place the file on it. My questions are:

1-do I place it on there as a zip, or unzip it and have the exe on there

2-just normal boot procedure of boot off usb first right?

3-is there anyway I can create a crisdisk to recover if something goes wrong in vmware xp?

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So one thing I'm not clear on here, I just create a dos bootable usb then place the file on it. My questions are:

1-do I place it on there as a zip, or unzip it and have the exe on there

2-just normal boot procedure of boot off usb first right?

3-is there anyway I can create a crisdisk to recover if something goes wrong in vmware xp?

Oh, sorry, I will update the first post. You just have to extract the archive and put the .exe file on the root of your USB drive, then boot from the drive and execute the file (write the file name and press enter, if you don't remember the file name, just write "dir" and press enter to list all files on the root of the stick).

I don't know about recovery methods for Insyde BIOS, the creator of the modded BIOS said that he'll post a guide about how to recover the M17x r3 in case of a bad flash, should be up in a couple of days I guess, I'll post it as soon as it's up.

In any case, here's some information for recovering an Insyde BIOS: Recovering From A Bad Insyde Bios Flash

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Thanks for the info svl7, I flashed it and based on what I can see there is absolutely no difference between this one and the one that is posted on the bios-mods.com site that people were talking about on nbr. The two things I wish I had access to for testing is a 120hz screen and a 2920xm. Those two things may show some promise but with the hardware I have there's no difference for me.

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Ok, thanks a lot for the information!! I guess it has to be tested with an unlocked CPU, then we'll see whether it really allows to overclock it, would be awesome!

Do you have some screenshots or a link to some pics of the menus? Can't find any pics of the mod which was on mydigitallife... only the BIOS file.

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There you go ;) If anyone sees something promising or wants to see the sub menus or selection options let me know as there is a lot of stuff in there that I don't know what it is. The one thing that could be promising that I wish I hadn't sold my 120hz screen for is if the IGP is disabled it may make the 120hz screen+AMD combo possible. If Nvidia's 580 wasn't so ridiculously priced it wouldn't matter, but let's face it, $600 for one card is asinine.

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Yeah it's all of the menus and sub menus, the only thing I didn't get was the selectable options on each indiviudal item and a couple of the sub menus on stuff like SATA options. Most of them work, if you see white it's selectable, if you see grey those are the few that are not usable in any way. Now the only things I messed with were the IGP options and the overclocking options. The TDP is lightly changable but nothing that really makes a lot of difference, aside from that the only really useful option is the option to disable the IGP. I have no idea what a lot of the options in the "Power Options-->CPU" menu are so there could be something great in there that I have no idea what it is.

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Ok, got some more information about the "Bus Clock" thing.

According to the creator of this BIOS, this BIOS has certain protective functions disabled, which normally control the BCLK and would slow the system down in case something goes wrong (too much heat etc.).

It seems that the AMD cards are differently linked to the Bus than the Nvidia cards, which gives them less headroom, especially temperature-wise since this kind of linking makes them heat up faster. I don't know much about this so far.

As far as I see this, it's no problem to use the BCLK overclock as long as you don't go crazy with it. Or did anyone of you ever see some of the protective functions kick in while benching or similar? Because this would indicate that you'd have to be careful with this BIOS, but I think it'll be fine.

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  • Founder

Thanks for the heads up! I don't think it will affect the BCLK overclock either, I think those mechanisms you refer to could be related to the chipset modulation where it throttles to prevent if from overheating (ThrottleStop has the option to disable it at least for the CPU) but I could be wrong and this to be something completely different.

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Just as a heads up to everyone, I'd steer clear of this bios for now. The only thing I've updated in the last 3 weeks is this bios and it was throwing BSOD's about 3-5 times a day most of the time while doing absolutely nothing. The computer also seemed very glitchy while using it. Now that I've flashed back to the other bios everything is fine. Just a heads up.

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Ok, thanks for letting me know, added this to the first post, and I'll report this to the creator of this BIOS.

I still hope someone tries this with an unlocked CPU :)

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Well, according to the creator it's not a M17x BIOS but a M18x BIOS which got modified to work on the M17x (the mobos are very similar) ... this could explain the issues. I'm not an expert when it comes to BIOS modding.

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