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[TUTORIAL] [4GHz+] Overclock i7 4XXXm(q/h) to i7 extreme conversion Intel Haswell CPU Microcode bug hack


tmash

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Hi all,

 

After I saw this result: http://hwbot.org/submission/2830783_0.0_cpu_frequency_core_i7_4700mq_4550_mhz , I got interested to replicate it with a similar method and decided to share my steps to score higher than a desktop 4.4ghz 4770k (according to cinebench ;))

 

Intel Stock microcode has a Turbo multiplier bin glitch that allows unlimited multiplier increase, I used prema's bios and removed a cpu microcode update to let the cpu run the stock glitched microcode. I will share the bios file, use it at your own responsibility and if you know what you are doing.

 

1) Download or dump your BIOS, if your bios is ami (my casethen use AFUWINx64

2) Get AMI Aptio UEFI MMTool v5.0.0.7 and UEFITool, HxD (or your fav hex editor)

3) Open your BIOS image with UEFITool, then File>Search, in our case Haswell has the following ID: 

Quote

C3 06 03

, enter C3 06 03 in Hex pattern dialog click OK

4) You can see the last four Hex pattern result, double click the first result and a structure item in the main dialog will be highlighted, right click>Extract as-is to a folder (be sure to be neat and organized or you will mess things up)

Untitled1.png

5) Do the same with the third result and save it as a diff name other than the first one

6) Now in the folder you have saved the 2 files from step 4&5, open the first one with HxD(any hex editor) and look for 

Quote

C3 06 03

Untitled3.png

be sure to choose Datatype:Hex-values then hit search

7) Press F3 to find again till you reach this pattern(highlighted):

8) (1) Indicates the microcode version, 17 in this case, we want 00 (cpu stock), (2) the platform ID (the search context we reached at) (3) the microcode length = 5000 (in my case) in reverse (important to know when the microcode ends in order to remove).

9) Adjust the cursor on the beginning of the highlight text/microcode (01) right click>Select Block>Length>5000 or whatever in your case

10) Delete the highlighted blocks (after step 9) then save the file

11) Do the same with the second result from step 3 to 10 then save

12) go back to UEFITool, double click the first result like you did in step 4, right click the highlighted structure in the main dialogue > Replace as-is then choose the FIRST file you edited in HxD

13) Double click the third result and follow step 12 with the SECOND file you edited in HxD

14) You will see "Rebuild" in action row, File>Save image as> P15SM04.PM2 in my case (can be any name as long as your flashing tool recognize it)

15) Open AMI Aptio MMTool > Load Image > your modified rom > CPU Patch Tab and verify there is no 06C3 in CPU ID

16) Be brave and flash your BIOS ;)

 

Windows Mod to remove auto update microcode on boot:

 

  1. Click on Start
  2. Type CMD in the Search box
  3. Right-click on CMD and choose Run as Administrator
  4. In the Command Prompt window and change to the directory where the file is located. To do this, use the CD command. You can follow the example below.
  5. to change to the Windows\System32 directory you would enter the following command and Press Enter
cd \windows\system32

 

Now use the DEL command to delete the offending file. Type DEL mcupdate_GenuineIntel (and backup) Done!

 

Overclocking:

1) Check CPU MCID:Download AIDA64 , open AIDA64>Motherboard>CPUID and look at IA Brand ID, it should be 00hUntitled4.PNG

2) Download the latest beta Throttlestop (not stable) in my case 810b2

3) Make sure you don't have XTU installed or running (especially at startup) or it will reset any changes in Throttlestop

4) Open throttlestop, click FIVR and look at "[checkbox] Overclock [DIALOG] Max" and note it down

5) Now here is the magic! close FIVR and open it again, [DIALOG] Max value should increase by 2 (up to 80x max ~ 8ghz) everytime you open and close FIVR aslong as long as you increase one of the cores, LOLUntitled5.PNG

6) Increase "Set multiplier" to maximum after your final changes in FVIR (Iv set mine to 42x all cores, so I increased set multiplier to 42 aswell - note voltage ID is messed up ignore it)Untitled6.PNG

7) Increase voltage in FVIR for stability by using cinebench run 3 times instead of prime95, as it stresses FPU which increases heat and tdp instead...

8) Unlock maximum TDP and turbo wattage in TPL, in my case

Untitled7.PNG

9) Done! Changes should be persistent as long as you dont save and exit from BIOS, here is my result in Cinebench with temp throttling (from 4.3 to 3.9 ghz), room temp 25-27 XD: (no.1 at 4.2ghz, no.7 stock latest microcode)

 

UPDATE: OCed RAM from 1600 to 1866, [email protected], +200mV adaptive vcore:

Ce41pxwUAAAZlFW.jpg

I'm also getting 852 with 4.5ghz with this adaptive voltage-like method:

 

 

 

Note: You can maintain maximum turbo multiplier bin with latest microcode after setting it in throttlestop (imp: no crash when testing; make sure its stable) then flash the latest microcode for bug fixes (more stable on my side at x45 with only +230mv, depends on your CPU, i7-4800+ will require less voltage), and you will still be able to set the bin high (up to 80x) as long as you don't crash...

 

Post your results and I'll copy it here.

 

Tips:

 

  • I highly recommend lapping heatsink and use liquid metal thermal paste or any decent tp ( I used collaboratory liquid ultra) before doing this
  • -If your cpu throttles no matter what, try decreasing dynamic voltage in FVIR and look at maximum value the package power indicate while stressing, decrease the value by 10% in order to avoid rapid throttling (happens with bad TP) :D
  • -Do not attempt the OC if you are looking after long service life wear&tear (I expect 2 years from now if I stress the cpu everyday for an hour, which i never do :P)

 

Happy overclocking, and don't melt your laptop:) 

 

Thanks to Intel if they leaked this on purpose, kinda futureproofed my machine XD

 

P150SM 1.03.05 modded bios (at your own risk):

MOD EDIT: link removed, please use a clean BIOS base because of legal implications with Intel : 

 

Edited by tmash
TYPOS! :( - New benchscore, going for 4.5 soon after i finish my cooling mod
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In

 

Quote

9)Adjust the cursor on the beginning of the highlight text/microcode (00) right click>Select Block>Length>5000 or whatever in your case

 

the block you have highlighted in your selection starts with a "01" not "00". Was this a typo, or do you start the selection at "00"?

 

Either way, after deletion it leaves a "01" there, I just was hoping for some clarification :)

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34 minutes ago, MC-Sammer said:

In

 

 

the block you have highlighted in your selection starts with a "01" not "00". Was this a typo, or do you start the selection at "00"?

 

Either way, after deletion it leaves a "01" there, I just was hoping for some clarification :)

yep its 01, sorry, will add note

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Found another typo :)

22 hours ago, tmash said:

15) Open AMI Aptio MMTool > Load Image > your modified rom > CPU Patch Tab and verify there is no 06C2 in CPU ID

That should be 06C3, since that's the microcode we're removing :)

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@tmash I was doing some more digging and found that (according to them anyway) the 07 Microcode update is the last to support overclocking

 

http://www.win-raid.com/t154f16-Tool-Guide-News-quot-UEFI-BIOS-Updater-quot-UBU.html

 

Screen Shot 2016-03-31 at 12.02.03 PM.png

 

Perhaps something to investigate? I'd imagine all of the Microcode for haswell is universal (as an architecture), but I'm just getting into BIOS editing, so I'm just guessing :)

 

And who knows, maybe one of those microcode updates was actually important!

 

@Prema

 

Maybe this is something that could be rolled into your mods?

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10 minutes ago, MC-Sammer said:

@tmash I was doing some more digging and found that (according to them anyway) the 07 Microcode update is the last to support overclocking

 

http://www.win-raid.com/t154f16-Tool-Guide-News-quot-UEFI-BIOS-Updater-quot-UBU.html

 

Screen Shot 2016-03-31 at 12.02.03 PM.png

 

Perhaps something to investigate? I'd imagine all of the Microcode for haswell is universal (as an architecture), but I'm just getting into BIOS editing, so I'm just guessing :)

 

And who knows, maybe one of those microcode updates was actually important!

 

@Prema

 

Maybe this is something that could be rolled into your mods?

 

07 is for 36x on all cores, not +2 bin everytime you read ME settings, anything below 07 works, 07 just for locking all cores to 36x, and yes they are universal, what do you mean one of the microcode is actually important?

 

EDIT: forgot to mention that, 06 to 01 does not allow adaptive vcore increase over 250mV, 00 does

Edited by tmash
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It would be really nice to try this on other Haswell CPUs, results would be interesting, guess 4900mq can go 4.8ghz stable due to having high quality ASIC compared to 4700mq, 200+mV to reach 4.6 should be less with better cpus

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1 minute ago, tmash said:

It would be really nice to try this on other Haswell CPUs, results would be interesting, guess 4900mq can go 4.8ghz stable due to having high quality ASIC compared to 4700mq, 200+mV to reach 4.6 should be less with better cpus

Agreed, though now you've sent me down a rabbit hole of trying to find newer Intel iGPU GOP drivers and trying out different SATA driver Option ROMs :frantics:

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1 minute ago, MC-Sammer said:

Agreed, though now you've sent me down a rabbit hole of trying to find newer Intel iGPU GOP drivers and trying out different SATA driver Option ROMs :frantics:

Haha, though I would be careful modding these if I dont have SPI flash programmer and soldered header :p, screwing up microcode part will change file size and UEFITool wont be able to rebuild which makes it kinda safe...

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This modding method has already caused legal problems and a bunch of 'cease and desist' orders by Intel in the past involving major ODMs.

The original source of this 'mod' have been AsRock, Asus & MSI in 2014. Who renamed the v7 microcode to v99 to block it from being updated in Windows. 

I have removed the Link which is using the premamod as its base. Kindly do not alter and distribute the premamod version in anyway and instead use a clean BIOS base to do this modification. We can not legally be implicated and accidentally considered being the source of distribution. 

Sorry that I have to be 'that' guy...but there are lines we can not cross. One being this, another unlocking g-sync or converting GeForce into Quadros. :(

 

Thank You & ENJOY! 

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5 hours ago, Prema said:

This modding method has already caused legal problems and a bunch of 'cease and desist' orders by Intel in the past involving major ODMs.

The original source of this 'mod' have been AsRock, Asus & MSI in 2014. Who renamed the v7 microcode to v99 to block it from being updated in Windows. 

I have removed the Link which is using the premamod as its base. Kindly do not alter and distribute the premamod version in anyway and instead use a clean BIOS base to do this modification. We can not legally be implicated and accidentally considered being the source of distribution. 

Sorry that I have to be 'that' guy...but there are lines we can not cross. One being this, another unlocking g-sync or converting GeForce into Quadros. :(

 

Thank You & ENJOY! 

 

Hey thank you for mentioning this, sorry to be dumm about legal issues this might introduce and any wrong attempt I have done.

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Flashing with afuwingui (64 bit) initially didn't take (the first microcode revision was gone, according to MMTool, but there was another one present), but I came across https://downloadmirror.intel.com/11979/eng/Release_Notes_P09.10.TXT and discovered that microcode isn't stored in the main block :)

 

Quote

 


=============================================================================
                            KNOWN ISSUES/WORKAROUNDS
=============================================================================
- When running the Flash Utilities (AFUDOS, AFUWIN etc ) do not use the
  following options

	/pn   - for flashing NVRAM Block
	/k    - for flashing all Non-Critical Blocks only
	/c    - for flashing all Non-Critical Blocks along with main BIOS image
	/k0   - for flashing the Non-Critical Block 0 only
	/c0   - for flashing the Non-Critical Block 0 along with main BIOS
	        image

  Since the above options try to flash protected areas NVRAM or Non-Critical
  Block 0 the verification fails.

  Always use the following command to flash a bios

	C:\afudos /iXXXX.ROM /pb /c1 /c2 /n
	
	/i    - Input .ROM file
	/pb   - Flash Boot Block
	/c1   - Flash Non-Critical Block 1 (OEM Logo & User Binaries) along
	        with Main BIOS Image
	/c2   - Flash Non-Critical Block 2 (CPU MicroCode) along with Main BIOS
	        Image
	/n    - don't check ROM ID

 


 

 

And I know, I should be using a USB to flashing, but when I'm in DOS my SO gets all paranoid lol

 

I'll report back on findings, if I have any.

 

EDIT: Flashing the non-critical block didn't get rid of the Microcode either... hmmm...

Untitled.jpg

Edited by MC-Sammer
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2 minutes ago, MC-Sammer said:

Flashing with afuwingui (64 bit) initially didn't take (the first microcode revision was gone, according to MMTool, but there was another one present), but I came across https://downloadmirror.intel.com/11979/eng/Release_Notes_P09.10.TXT and discovered that microcode isn't stored in the main block :)

 



 

 

And I know, I should be using a USB to flashing, but when I'm in DOS my SO gets all paranoid lol

 

I'll report back on findings, if I have any.

Yeah, i think the microcode in volume 4 (in my case, see scr) gets uploaded when using UEFI

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@Prema while we're on the subject (slightly) how to you feel about Microcode? I know you have version 17 in your p15xsm bios, but the mcupdate_GenuineIntel.dll automatically puts in a newer version (I think mine was deploying something like a1). Would you put instructions on removing that file on your main blog, or would that be a legal hubbub too?

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40 minutes ago, MC-Sammer said:

@Prema while we're on the subject (slightly) how to you feel about Microcode? I know you have version 17 in your p15xsm bios, but the mcupdate_GenuineIntel.dll automatically puts in a newer version (I think mine was deploying something like a1). Would you put instructions on removing that file on your main blog, or would that be a legal hubbub too?

Done:

 

On 3/30/2016 at 9:03 PM, tmash said:

Windows Mod to remove auto update microcode on boot:

 

  1. Click on Start
  2. Type CMD in the Search box
  3. Right-click on CMD and choose Run as Administrator
  4. In the Command Prompt window and change to the directory where the file is located. To do this, use the CD command. You can follow the example below.
  5. to change to the Windows\System32 directory you would enter the following command and Press Enter

cd \windows\system32

 

Now use the DEL command to delete the offending file. Type DEL mcupdate_GenuineIntel (and backup) Done!

 

EDIT: oops, thought you quoted me, sorry...

But why would you want to do it when stock (clean) bios has the update anyway? Would be useless without posting how to remove mc from bios first XD

Edited by tmash
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1 hour ago, tmash said:

Done:

 

 

EDIT: oops, thought you quoted me, sorry...

But why would you want to do it when stock (clean) bios has the update anyway? Would be useless without posting how to remove mc from bios first XD

Yeah it's just like why update the uC at all if the OS overwrites it lol

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The OS microcode updates contain many bug fixes and improvements down the road and are generally a good thing.

We could simply stop the OS from updating by customizing the BIOS microcode, but I would't recommend using old microcodes as a daily driver.

This old code stuff is only good if you wanna fool around a bit and run a couple benches...

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6 hours ago, Prema said:

The OS microcode updates contain many bug fixes and improvements down the road and are generally a good thing.

We could simply stop the OS from updating by customizing the BIOS microcode, but I would't recommend using old microcodes as a daily driver.

This old code stuff is only good if you wanna fool around a bit and run a couple benches...

 

Thankfully, my system up time has been 3 days on OC, though I also think MC can improve performance, stock frequency bench on stock MC < latest, I also noticed that in newer MC , CPU voltage has been decreased, 45w mc17 cinebench vs 48 with 1% power throttle current (00) without modifying anything

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I flashed in DOS and the uC is no longer detected, though I'm not able to bump up the multiplier in throttlestop; I think it's because I have the ICC watchdog installed. I'm gonna try removing that some time soon and give it another try.

 

 

 

I'm also in the process of doing some cooling mods to my Laptop, and I have a bunch of mini sinks, sandpaper, thermal pads, etc, on order so I'm gonna have a busy weekend :)

 

My plan is to document it, along with temp differences, in another thread.

 

I also got 2 sets of CMSX8GX3M2B2133C11, which I'm hoping works well (and at 1.35V) because my current config is less than optimal.

 

YAY.jpg

Edited by MC-Sammer
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On 4/6/2016 at 8:33 PM, MC-Sammer said:

I flashed in DOS and the uC is no longer detected, though I'm not able to bump up the multiplier in throttlestop; I think it's because I have the ICC watchdog installed. I'm gonna try removing that some time soon and give it another try.

 

 

 

I'm also in the process of doing some cooling mods to my Laptop, and I have a bunch of mini sinks, sandpaper, thermal pads, etc, on order so I'm gonna have a busy weekend :)

 

My plan is to document it, along with temp differences, in another thread.

 

I also got 2 sets of CMSX8GX3M2B2133C11, which I'm hoping works well (and at 1.35V) because my current config is less than optimal.

 

YAY.jpg

 

Your uC is stock, not undetected, I'm on 06 right now since I no longer need to do overvolting over 250mv

 

Disable C1E for stability(as it introduces scaling issue), and BD PROCHOT for throttling (down to non turbo clock speeds instead of decreasing frequency by 1 step).

Ofc, P157 and P150 has the worst airflow design, try removing the back-plate and see the temp drop down, 10 in my case(punched holes), this is what i have done to both gpu/cpu and decreased around 5c: brc23DV.jpg

 

Check this awesome blog: http://null-bin.blogspot.com/2015/04/extensive-clevo-p150sm-cooling-and.html

 

Glad it worked for you! :D

Edited by tmash
clarification
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Btw, you can always flash the latest uC after opening the FVIR (bin recursion bug) multiple times till u reach 80x with the old uC

Right now i'm on the latest, will add note...

On 4/4/2016 at 7:18 AM, Prema said:

...

This old code stuff is only good if you wanna fool around a bit and run a couple benches...

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1 hour ago, aarpcard said:

This mod/hack looks fantastic.  Definitely want to try it - I'm doubtful I have the available cooling though to support over 4ghz.  3.9ghz on my 4800mq barely results in acceptable temps.

 

I don't mind throttling as long as long as it doesnt stay at tjmax temp, see this video i made for a fix (a.k.a adaptive voltage): 

switches 4ghz to 4.5 back and forth, 4800 can run at lower voltages, so yours should run much cooler, 180mv at 4ghz, and 270 at 4.5 ghz, insane 360 at 4.6 pulling 110 watts which worries me about mobo components and warping XD

Edited by tmash
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  • Guest changed the title to [TUTORIAL] [4GHz+] Overclock i7 4XXXm(q/h) to i7 extreme conversion Intel Haswell CPU Microcode bug hack

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