P370SM3

Hello, Got some random reboots happening while in game (Tomb Raider). Checked Event viewer and noticed these :Description: The speed of processor 0 in group 0 is being limited by system firmware. The processor has been in this reduced performance state for 71 seconds since the last report. All the processors 0 through 7 say the same thing more or less. Any ideas?

@ Prema I just had an unexpected thing happen : I pressed the power button and the Vbios custom branded post screen appeared the screen went blank for 1-2 seconds then rebooted this happened again so I unplugged the power brick cord and waited 30 secs or so then plugged it back in and pressed the power button and the system booted correctly into win7. As I was browsing the web I opened the Nvidia control panel and there were 3-4 beeps and the panel opened. Is this unusual activity? I'm running custom mods for both vBios and EC/Bios (P37SM332.PM1).

Hello and THANK YOU PREMA JOHNKSSS & svI7. I have referred you guy's to my reseller and to the ITC service guy I was dealing with through the problems I had, This is an extract of an email to both : I have tried all I can to resolve the problem I have had with the flickering and scan lines with black flashing and have come up unable to make it work with both versions of the vBios. I backed up the originals and tried them but no go. I then decided to download the Prema/svI7 modified vBios for the 780m to avoid another RMA. It works. I can confirm that now when I play a 3D game in SLI mode at 120Hz the corruption does not happen. I played Tomb Raider-Fall Out NV- Dead island RT- COD2-COD WaW- MOHAA and The Dark Mod (my mission Solar Escape) and did not see the problem manifest at all. These guys (Prema/svI7 ) should be working for Nvidia as they think it's a problem with the implementation of the temperature throttling method used when the cards are outputting a signal at 120Hz and I tend to agree. You guy's should either seek their advice/Service or mod the vBios your selves for the 3D models. The temps are good. The first GPU peaked at 89C after 3+ Hours of playing Tomb Raider (Max settings no Stereoscopic and FXAA ON), The second was hovering around 10C cooler. Yes This is hot but I was not in a cool environment and the ambient temp in the room was around 35C so the fans were kicking in load but were not full throttle, When I Fn+1 the fans to full throttle the temps dropped to the mid 70's and stayed there on the first card. I brought it for 120Hz SLI gaming that wouldn't break my back taking it to a LAN Tournament I will really only use the stereoscopic 3D for blue ray movies. Now I have what I thought I was buying in the first place but had to research for two week, become a member of another forum, Post at least 5 posts to download the Vbios image and do all the work my self, Still I'm satisfied for the time being and the system is running fine now. I just stopped playing Tomb Raider after more than 3 hours again and no signs of the issue at all, This time the ambient room temp is about 19C and the temp on the first card hovered around the 75-80C. Thanks for the help guy's it has been much appreciated. I also got a hold of the Prema Bios mod firmware for the system Bios. @ Prema I am an old time overclocker but the last system I OC'ed was my C2Q6600 Go stepping and that runs awesome, XTU is a different kettle of fish, What should I do to get the most out of my CPU boost. dGPU's so no iGPU. Thanks again and I'll be around if any would like me to beta something for them (sys specs in sig).

Ah Now that makes sense we can lay the blame at Nvidia's feet after all it is their chip design their technology (SLI). After playing The Witcher 2 for 15 minutes the flickering and scan lines stopped. After another 15 mins I get a black flash or half screen flash some scan lines and flickering then all of a sudden they disappear. From then on playing I'll get the occasional flickering scan lines and black flashes then back to normal. It seems when the first card heats up to around 82C then the problem stops almost altogether. +1 Prema thanks mate.

Thanks Prema for your reply, K so ME is an acronym for (Management Engine). Or is it an acronym for (Management Engine Firmware. Controls mainly bus clocks). I only ask because it seems logical for the first but knowing people these days the second is more likely:) Also can I revert to my original bios at any time?

I would go with what you've got there but would, if I could stretch the budget out, Go for 8 gig of ram simply because windows loves ram (it is stated in the post some video/audio editing). Short of that I would spend every last cent on a second card to run in SLI. Sure the memory is a limiting factor but at 1080p resolution you will be better off with SLI in future as you already have one card (just place an order for the same card now to keep some in stock at your local retailer or get them to retain one for you for a minimal deposit I'm sure they will). So when the time comes to upgrade you have a place to go to get what you need. Peace

Sweet thanks Prema & svI7, Does svI7's vBios alter voltages? From reading the forums I gather the stock vBios do not supply enough juice while outputting a 120Hz signal? It would seem that the problem is due to not enough power being supplied to the cards when feeding a display at 120Hz, a link bridge issue between SLI bridging firmware or a low level software driver hook incorrectly configured in the driver. I am only guessing from the information I have gleaned online from Tech inferno and Note book review. I still haven't had an answer to my question (Is it nvidia hardware or is it the manufacturer that f'd the system build up?) I may try the modded vbios firmware but at the moment I'm tight on time. P370sm3 my new notebook and the problems so far My system vendor would only want me to RMA it again. As I have already done this once and it took ages I'm reluctant to again. Will post back when I have completed some tests. I can always mod the vbios my self if need be. @ Prema my KBC/EC version is 1.03.01 on my P370SM3, would you update the firmware with the P370SM3_32_31_Stock from the third post : http://forum.techinferno.com/clevo/3119-%5Bbios-mods%5D-prema-mod-latest-stock-bios.html

Yeah, I just got access to the Prema vbios mod but I'm thinking should I first up date the system bios I mean I will at some point OC this beast. my KBC/EC version is 1.03.01 and my ME version is 9.0.20.1447. (what does the acronym ME stand for? Mechanical edition?, Mobile Evolution?).

Define : a more weird game freeze issue. Is it a longer freeze or something else? Also I would just add that 87C is a little on the hot side, it sounds like a bottleneck in the system or the Video card throttling due to heat. Where the fans at full throttle?

I just got word back from ITC. Joe was comfortable for me to try the flash. I just flashed the older bios with the newer one to make them the same from the 80.04.92.00.09 to the 80.04.DB.00.05. The With the drivers that came with my system on disc the problem was still there. I updated the drivers to 332.21 and now the clocks stay at 771 for most of the time and the temps go a little higher however the problem is still there but nowhere near as obvious now. Games are now playable with the annoying occasional flicker or group of scan lines. They don't stay as long now either. If I get my posts up past the five mark I'll humbly request @svl7 and @johnksss for the use of their modded bios image. In the mean time I'm going to (when I get time) try more games and settings in SLI mode @ 120Hz refresh rate. I just can not believe that a $3.6K notebook is crap @ 120Hz with SLI. Is it nvidia hardware or is it the manufacturer that f'd the system build up? How hard is it to do some real research and testing on any system let alone my system? my latest to ITC : I successfully updated the firmware of the .92.09 Card to the .DB.05 Bios. The problem still persists with the drivers from the drivers disc so I tried the 322.21 drivers and they seemed to minimize the problem but its still there. I'm going to do some more testing ill update you next week some time. @Prema is your modded vbios for SLI 780m systems overclocking in any way or is it just modifying the voltage and OC limits? Reason I ask is cause I'm in Australia and the summer here is like a fry pan on heat. So I don't want to OC the cores or mem until winter.

Hello, New member here and this is where I'm at : P370sm3 my new notebook and the problems so far I just sent this to ITC : This is where I'm at at the moment. I tried the new nvidia drivers but that did not fix the problem. I then uninstalled all nvidia drivers and rebooted, then I installed the drivers off the system drivers disc. After setting SLI to on (max 3d performance) I started playing Fallout NV and monitored all the GPU speeds, temps, and usage and it was ok for about 10-15 mins the GPU clocks were dynamically changing from around 500 to 600 MHz. Then I noticed at first a black half screen flash and checking the clock speeds noticed them now at around 700 MHz then the screen started exhibiting the issue with scan lines and flickering so I shut down the game. The temps were hovering around the 47-55 C mark so I know it's not that. I almost always have a second install of an OS made as a cloned image after updating when I first install an OS and as it goes I have a second copy of the OS I'm running on a separate HDD with nothing installed on it so I just restored the image and installed the drivers but the problem still persists. It would seem that the problem is due to not enough power being supplied to the cards when feeding a display at 120Hz, a link bridge issue between SLI bridging firmware or a low level software driver hook incorrectly configured in the driver. I am only guessing from the information I have gleaned online from Tech inferno and Note book review : http://forum.techinferno.com/clevo/4980-%5Bfix%5D-clevo-p370sm3-sager-np9380-s-120hz-3d-sli-flickering-scanlines.html and *Official Sager NP9380, NP9390 / Clevo P370SM, P370SM3, P375SM Owner's Lounge** and http://forum.techinferno.com/clevo/4951-sager-np9380-s-120hz-sli-issues-fluttering-scanlines-flickering.html. I'm thinking I might try a flash of the vBios to both cards or would you recommend just one card to match them up? I'm quite comfortable flashing bios (basic input output systems) and have usb dos boot keys already setup for motherboard bios flashes and the occasional vBios flash for my own graphics cards. I have flashed many system motherboards in the past but never a laptop with separate cards in an SLI system. If your comfortable with it (I am) I would like to try a flash update to the firmware of the card/cards. Your instructions and any vbios images you can supply would be much appreciated. If not I can return the system for your appraisal but would like to avoid it if at all possible. Yours kindly, What do you think I should do? Should I try a simple flash of the card/s or should I just return it and insist they fix it?