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  1. Got my Dell 7970m (ES) today... and so far it rocks! Native fan control, runs cooler than the 6900m series, and it simply kicks ass. It's pretty much plug-and-play, no issues so far, though I will need to continue the testing (and benching ). Only did a Vantage and 3dM11 run so far, with GPU and CPU at stock, Tess on, check it out, hehe: Confirmed for the Dell 7970m (part nr. 747M2) in the M15x: Fan control is working properly Sound per DisplayPort / HDMI is working GPU clocks and performs as expected Possible issues: The card runs slightly warmer than the officially supported cards, due to it's higher power draw. This also leads to less overclock headroom. The card works fine even if you have an i7 920XM in your system, but if you overclock the CPU too hard, the GPU voltage drops, resulting in a drastic performance drop. (This is actually not directly caused by a power limit due to the PSU... the CPU can draw as much power as it can get, but it seems that when the CPU draws more power than usual, the GPU voltage supply somehow doesn't get provided anymore with enough power, even though there's headroom power-wise, it's probably caused by the circuit design of the mobo). Things to do before changing the GPU: Download working drivers. At the moment you can either get the drivers of the M17x R4 from Dell, or the modified, but actually more recent (12.5) from "benchmark3d". Get some thermal paste, e.g. Arctic MX-4, or Prolimatech PK-1, or whatever you prefer, you'll also need something to clean the GPU die and heatsink, isopropyl alcohol or similar will do. I highly recommend using an ESD mat and wristband whenever working Get familiar with the upgrading procedure, respectively disassembling the system. Refer to the M15x service manual if you need help, or to this pictured guide which explains how to replace the GPU in the M15x. The upgrading procedure: Uninstall your GPU drivers. Make a power drain (Turn off your M15x, remove the power cord and the battery. Then press and hold down the power button (Alienhead) for about 10-20 sec. Remove your GPU - Here's a little guide with pics in case you need some help. Clean your heatsink, if necessary replace the thermal pads with new ones. Make sure the 7970m has the correct backplate on it. Insert your GPU, make sure that it sits properly. Apply the thermal paste, and attach the heatsink. More to come.
  2. Hello everyone! First of all sorry if this isn't the correct forum to post this. I bought a laptop few days ago. The laptop is Sager P150EM. Cpu:i7 3610qm Gpu: amd hd 7970m Ram: 8gb Os: windows 8.1 pro So my problem is that everytime i install the amd driver after the intel driver my laptop freezes or gets a bsod or something that stops it from working. Any help would be appreciated. I saw somewhere something about vbios does this matter anywhere?
  3. ADMIN EDIT 12/15/15: The original referenced zip pack is now restored. Did some tests with the VBIOS of the AMD 7970m, here's what I've got so far: - Overvolting: So far no success, when I increase the 3d voltage the card simply stays at the 2d profile. Fixed that Be aware that overvolting should only be done by experienced users and can seriously harm your GPU, shorten the life of its components and lead to unsuspected effects and / or system instability. I take no responsibility for any possible damages. Overvolting has been tested by me and @widezu69 (thanks!). It works, but can lead to instability, you need to find your limit. The M15x doesn't handle it well. I noticed similar behaviour as with my overvolted 6970m, drops in clocks, instability etc. At 1.15V even immediate crash at GPU load. The M17x R3 seems to handle it a bit better, there's probably more headroom in the voltage supply circuits which are providing the voltage for the GPU. I was able to run some vantage tests at 1Ghz with a 0.05V overvolt, my previous core clock limit was at about 950Mhz... so it definitely works. Different systems will behave in different ways, only way to find it out is to test it. Don't do it if you lack overclock experience. - Undervolting: Only did some quick tests, but it seems to work. The driver crashed all the time at clocks which normally worked fine. And at more sane clocks the card worked as expected. - Update: Yes, works very well - Core / memory clocks: Works fine so far, I only tested the 3d settings, but I assume it also works for the other clock profiles. In the GPU-Z screenshot you can see the changed clocks: A package with a selection of modified VBIOS files can be found here: AMD 7970M vbios pack There's quite a bit of work behind this, so just in case you want to buy me a beer... Here's a list of what the package contains. The names are pretty self-explanatory. "uv" for undervolt, "ov" for overvolt, clocks are "core-memory" Keep in mind that you need to rename the files before flashing due to the 8 character file name limit in DOS. Modified clocks: Dell7970m-900-1250.ROM Dell7970m-925-1300.ROM Dell7970m-940-1350.ROM Dell7970m-940-1400.ROM Dell7970m-950-1350.ROM Dell7970m-950-1400.ROM Undervolted: Dell7970m-uv-0950v.ROM Dell7970m-uv-0975v.ROM Dell7970m-uv-1000v.ROM Overvolted: Dell7970m-ov-1125v.ROM Dell7970m-ov-1150v.ROM Overvolted & modified clocks: Dell7970m-900-1300-ov1075v.ROM Dell7970m-900-1300-ov1100v.ROM Dell7970m-950-1400-ov1100v.ROM All files are based on the OEM Dell 7970m VBIOS. Instructions: For flashing refer to this guide: There's a list with the checksums of all files included in the VBIOS package, I highly recommend to check the integrity of the file before flashing it. This can easily be done with ATIflash, if you don't know how please check the guide linked above. And as always, flash on your own risk, you are responsible for your system and the changes you make on it. Feel free to ask questions, feedback is welcome as well!
  4. Привет. Помогите, мне грустно. Существует clevo p150em, недавно обновленный с 7970 до 8970 м (от 150 см) Bios, R.2.0 / 1.02.17EC v3b / 1.02.11EC. Когда он был установлен 7970 м, в BIOS на линии gpu это было 7970 м. После установки 8970m, NVIDIA пишет вместо 8970m. Драйверы на 8970m не установлены, либо синий экран, либо ноутбук замерзает. Windows 10 1713. Я пробовал разные версии драйверов, все равно. Что вы посоветуете? 8970m vbios VER015.041.000.000.044964 BR44964.009 it s DELL? ps. when I bought 7970m for a place of 670m. At 7970m there was also a problem with the drivers, but I somehow skipped it.
  5. Hello forum, i have a problem. I own a P370EM it had a 7970m but its not working anymore. I bought a GTX 770M to replace it. But after changing the cards, after POSTing the screen goes white even though the pc boots into windows normally. What may be the issue?
  6. I received early in the morning a couple of 7970Ms and a cfx cable from MXM Upgrade Home Page 3DMark11 Unigine If you are upgrading from the 5870Ms, the screws are a bit bigger in diameter and they won't fit the backplate of the 7970M (probably a clevo card? I will find out soon). Other issues I encounter is that both display and HDMI port don't work so I attach my Dell 2410 with a VGA cable... Temps are fine and I am idling at 56-58 C with the external monitor attached (which brings the clocks up to 300/1200 @0,825V) so not that bad. 7970M.zip
  7. Hello all, I have a P370EM from 2013 with two stock 7970m cards that are starting to die. In hindsight I probably should've just bought a newer card but I bought a used 7970m to replace one of the stock cards. All the cards are v1.1 but the new one has a different vBIOS. When I boot with the new card it is just a black screen. Putting it in slot two and booting with the good old card, the new card does not show up in atiflash utility or in device manager in windows. My system BIOS is prema mod. Is my new card just dead on arrival? Could this be a driver issue? The dealer claims it was tested prior to shipment. Thanks for any help... manatee
  8. Hi, I have a Clevo P170EM with an AMD 7970M. Last year I tried to change the vBIOS of my 7970M, a friend of my tried to change it because he wanted to ''overlock'' the card. He said no worries I said okay do it, then later on he returned my laptop and bricked both my card and the normal BIOS. I had to repair the laptop trough a repair company in the city. They only could repair the BIOS by doing another BIOS on it. They said to try everything with the card but my laptop wouldn't accept it. The problem: After the Windows 10 installation I installed all the drivers from the manufacters site (http://www.eurocom.com/ec/drivers(226)ec). Including the SSD driver, then I FIRST installed and fully updated the Intel HD Graphics. After that I installed the AMD videocard drivers (crimsons edition), the weird part is, AMD autodetect sees my card and so does Windows. Then the driver ask me to restart my laptop, after restarting the Windows logo appears then the screen goes black with a blinking cursor left upper screen. I believe it has someting to do with the vBIOS of the card and I also believe that the card is not bricked but just wrong BIOS. I asked the manufacter and they say that the card may be bricked, when I ask for the BIOS they would not provide it for free (bastards). I asked for both the motherboard and AMD card BIOS, they said I have to pay for it. Question: Can someone provide information and files for the right vBIOS? I mean the vBIOS that is standard. Greetz, Jamie P.s I have some pictures and screenshot of Windows and the BIOS detecting the graphic card, the weird thing is both OS and BIOS detect the card but when I install the drivers it goes black P.s.s I already tried everything AMD support provided so I have no use for comments like ''Try unistall with DDU'' or try with second monitor etc. As you can see I've disabled the card because when I enable, Windows freezes and screen goes black.
  9. Hi, I am trying to do the "Ultimate" G73jh upgrade and I have power related issues. So I have the most "basic" G73jh, with i5-430m and 5870m. This version is the one with the brown MB, with only 2 memory slots. What I did: - Opening the whole laptop - Swapping 5970m to 7970m - Blind-Flashing 7970m vBios - It boot ! But GPU/RAM frequency stay at 450/300 maximum, because of my 120W PSU I think (throttle), So I ordered a 240W One - Swapping i5-430m to i7-920XM - It boot but I almost didnt use it because I was affraid of my weak PSU (dont want to burn it !) Then I received my new PSU, from ebay ( http://www.ebay.fr/itm/201638674476). And... Nothing change !! My 7970m is stil throttling. And I cant OC the 920XM, if I go over 70W TDP, the G73 instent shutdown :-/. I need your help to be sure Its a PSU related issue, and not something else, like my mobo etc. I dont want to buy a 100+€ PSU if this is not the problem. As my G73 is still out of his case, I manage to solder the PSU wire directly on the MB, and then I measured voltage during full load (prime95). IDLE 19,4-19,5V LOADED: 19,3-19,4V Not that bad ! I am very confused because the PSU seams to work. I have no oscilloscope to watch the signal in real-time... For sure it is not a real DELL but if voltage is not droping, whats wrong ? Its very frustrating to know that everything work but can't be "feeded" with Amps ! Any ideas ? EDIT: All temps are OK ! Furmark : 58° GPU... (because of the low Freq :-/ ) EDIT2: new info: I tried on battery, It is the same, is it a common behavioor ? (My battery is almost dead, only 30% capacity) EDIT3: Do you know if the "metalic" part of the case (under the keyboard) have somthing to do with the power delivery in the mobo ? EDIT4: I reassemble the laptop, so no, the metal plane have nothing to do with ground...
  10. Hi guys! I have a big problem-> I need to undervolt my GPU (MSI 7970M@DELL_BIOS). I am using this vBIOS: https://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/132831/dell-hd7970m-2048-120629 Stock VDDC on this GPU is 1.050V and when I changing this one to 0.975 in VBE7 it is ok-> I can save it and flash it. Computer succesfully restarts but when I check modded settings the VDDC is still on 1.050V I checked if the VBE7 seriously saving the VDDC to vBIOS but it is ok. I have no idead what i need to UV this card (i know it's possible...) Everything is changing (GPU, MEM MHz) but VDDC can't change. Please help me ;-)
  11. Hello guys, I've got 2 graphics cards - 7970M's. I believe one card is Revision 1.1 and the other one is Revision 1.2 because it has double row of capacitors as described here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/amd-hd-7970m-revision-through-software.788469/ Laptop is XMG P702 Pro (P170EM). I bought it with 7970M (Rev 1.2) from a guy who said he played a game and laptop just went BSOD. Since then, the card doesn't work properly. Win 8 was installed, I removed it and installed Windows 7 so it's easier to boot in Safe Mode. Things I have tried so far: - with XMG BIOS (version 1.02.17) 1) BIOS recognizes the GPU - 7970M 2) Safe Mode works, I see the GPU, if drivers installed it is 7970M, if not, then Standard VGA Graphics Adapter, I can run DDU no problem 3) Windows detects the GPU under Display Adapters as Standard VGA Graphics Adapter 4) I have tried different AMD drivers, some of them install the drivers with no problems in Windows and the GPU shows as 7970M with no warnings or such, some show black screen during installation. Clevo 7970M.zip (believe driver is 9.1.0.0) package from Clevo website installs normally and during Windows loading screen, I see the mouse and after few seconds I see the black screen with top left underscore blinking. I also hear the Windows welcome sound. (Tested with Teamviewer autostart from my PC, I see the desktop, but it's like Minecraft, whenever I drag mouse around, it creates some blocks) - with latest PREMA BIOS (version 1.02.17PM v2) 1) After installing Clevo 7970M.zip driver, laptop boots to Windows and 7970M shows Code 43 in Device Manager. 2) Safe Mode works, DDU too, 7970M shows up when drivers installed, Standard VGA Graphics Adapter when not installed. Now with the second 7970M... Revision 1.1. 1) doesn't pass POST screen with old BIOS 2) doesn't pass POST screen with PREMA BIOS (I press F2 and it shows as selected, but just hangs on it at that moment) 3) laptop starts beeping and shutdowns Note: 7970M has been tested in Alienware 17 R1, BIOS shows 7970M, Windows show 7970M, drivers installed, all good. Question: does Rev. 1.1 work in P170EM? If so, could it be wrong VBIOS? P.S. After checking out physically 7970M Rev. 1.2, I found everything to be messy around the double row of capacitors, especially one bridge so I decided to remove it and make everything clean, but later I found in the first link I posted, there should actually be a bridge? Acted too fast, stupid... (I have quality soldering station, hot air station and microscope). I didn't examine the GPU at first, I tried all the methods above, didn't work, then I proceeded with desoldering the bridge and trying again the GPU. Didn't work either. I can resolder the bridge if necessary? I can give you pictures from the GPU's, VBIOS or anything else that you might think could be useful. If it turns out 7970M Rev. 1.1 needs another VBIOS, I was thinking of getting EEPROM Programmer, desoldering the GPU BIOS chip and flashing new (compatible) one to it. Ideas? P.S. #2 if anyone could drop a hint on what to physically check on the 7970M Rev. 1.2, that would be great. I googled the black screen problem and could it be that voltage regulator is blown? I don't mind resoldering another one.
  12. I've had this issue a while ago on my Alienware m17x R4 with 7970m and windows 7 Ultimate x64 and I've been trying to fix this since, but I've found a solution :DIt's probably more simple then you thought it would be :PBasically, what you do is you switch to iGPU Intel HD4000 first (FN+F7),then you have to install this audio driver (A01, 4/30/12, Creative Labs CT9570, Audio_Creative_W74_5NJ7K_A01-Setup_ZPE.exe), 6.0.100.2033 driver from their website,Switch back into dGPU again,there you go :DHope this helps
  13. Has anyone with the AMD 7970m GPU successfully upgraded to an aftermarket 120hz screen? I know there's no 3d support but otherwise? I've read the guide at 120Hz 3D Screen upgrade for Alienware 17 | NotebookReview and they point out that there would be no support for 3d which is not what I'm looking for anyway, and I know that Enduro must be disabled by setting display to PEG in BIOS, but the writer of the guide seems unsure whether it's otherwise possible for the 7970m to utilize the 120hz screen, stating that it requires testing. There are also posts here mentioning at least two people bricking their systems by connecting the 120hz replacement screen. I assume the cause was that they did not use the N392W replacement video cable mentioned in the notebookreview guide, and just connected the new screen to their existing cable? Has anyone here tried this combination (120hz LCD / 7970m) or know of any further references to it? Thanks guys!
  14. so i've got an old 7970m from a gx60 so it has a msi vBIOS version 015.024 on it im wondering if i will need to downgrade to the Dell vBIOS version 015.017 for the GPU to function correctly? Second question is that ive read i need to enable legacy support in the BIOS with an unlocked BIOS version, will this still need to be done even though the 7970m has an MSI vBIOS? any help is greatly appreciated, thankyou
  15. Version 1.0.0

    96 downloads

    Did some tests with the VBIOS of the AMD 7970m, here's what I've got so far: - Overvolting: So far no success, when I increase the 3d voltage the card simply stays at the 2d profile. Fixed that Be aware that overvolting should only be done by experienced users and can seriously harm your GPU, shorten the life of its components and lead to unsuspected effects and / or system instability. I take no responsibility for any possible damages. Overvolting has been tested by me and @widezu69 (thanks!). It works, but can lead to instability, you need to find your limit. The M15x doesn't handle it well. I noticed similar behaviour as with my overvolted 6970m, drops in clocks, instability etc. At 1.15V even immediate crash at GPU load. The M17x R3 seems to handle it a bit better, there's probably more headroom in the voltage supply circuits which are providing the voltage for the GPU. I was able to run some vantage tests at 1Ghz with a 0.05V overvolt, my previous core clock limit was at about 950Mhz... so it definitely works. Different systems will behave in different ways, only way to find it out is to test it. Don't do it if you lack overclock experience. - Undervolting: Only did some quick tests, but it seems to work. The driver crashed all the time at clocks which normally worked fine. And at more sane clocks the card worked as expected. - Update: Yes, works very well - Core / memory clocks: Works fine so far, I only tested the 3d settings, but I assume it also works for the other clock profiles. In the GPU-Z screenshot you can see the changed clocks: There's quite a bit of work behind this, so just in case you want to buy me a beer... Here's a list of what the package contains. The names are pretty self-explanatory. "uv" for undervolt, "ov" for overvolt, clocks are "core-memory" Keep in mind that you need to rename the files before flashing due to the 8 character file name limit in DOS. Modified clocks: Dell7970m-900-1250.ROM Dell7970m-925-1300.ROM Dell7970m-940-1350.ROM Dell7970m-940-1400.ROM Dell7970m-950-1350.ROM Dell7970m-950-1400.ROM Undervolted: Dell7970m-uv-0950v.ROM Dell7970m-uv-0975v.ROM Dell7970m-uv-1000v.ROM Overvolted: Dell7970m-ov-1125v.ROM Dell7970m-ov-1150v.ROM Overvolted & modified clocks: Dell7970m-900-1300-ov1075v.ROM Dell7970m-900-1300-ov1100v.ROM Dell7970m-950-1400-ov1100v.ROM All files are based on the OEM Dell 7970m VBIOS. Instructions: For flashing refer to this guide: There's a list with the checksums of all files included in the VBIOS package, I highly recommend to check the integrity of the file before flashing it. This can easily be done with ATIflash, if you don't know how please check the guide linked above. And as always, flash on your own risk, you are responsible for your system and the changes you make on it. Feel free to ask questions, feedback is welcome as well!
  16. Hi guys, I've managed to brick my graphics card trying to install an undervolted vbios. I'm running an M15x and so can't slot in an extra card to run the screen in order to flash another vbios. I'd be happy to pay to cover anyone's time. Thanks
  17. Yesterday I installed a tested 7970m in my laptop because my old video card (675m) was broken (artifacts all the way), When it turned my laptop on however my bios said there was no video card detected. here is what I tried so far: Clean connectors and reseat card downgrade bios to A05 upgrade to unlocked bios A05 upgrade Bios to A11 and A13 So far none of the above made the video card show up in the bios. How do I proceed?
  18. I used atiflash to undervolt my card to 9.75, with slv7's bios (and it worked great (thanks slv7) for reducing temps but i still had what i believe were throttling issues since bf4 fps was bouncing all over the place) but then i wanted to undervolt it further to get even better temps and because i ignorantly though maybe it would stop the fps bouncing on bf4.... lo and behold now the screen won't come on anymore after that. I believe i undervolted it to far. Is there a way i can get the card back up to 9.75 or the default factory setting or am i stuck with the old 260m again? Help would be MUCH appreciated. Thanks! cpu i7-940 es 7970m (reverted back to the 260m until i can fix the 7970m) 8gb ram
  19. Hello, I have Clevo P150HM with GTX 675M. However I have problem with this card described at this thread. I've bought another GPU card which. It is AMD Radeon HD 7970M. At this time I have second problem. When I turn on notebook fans goes at maximum speed, three leds from left side are blinking and after a dozen seconds the laptop reboots itself. It is possible to boot to windows but after few seconds after log in, it reboots. It doesn't matter if it is in BIOS or in Windows. Notebook always reboots after a dozen seconds. Do I have to flash other BIOS to GPU, however I've tried few BIOSes. Maybe to make it work under Clevo P150HM I need special BIOS? Could someone help me in this problem?
  20. So i put a 7970m in my laptop because the 675m that was in it was broken but my laptop doesn't recognise it in the bios. My bios revision is A11 Any ideas?
  21. Hello all, got a new Dell 7970M and installed it in AW with A12 unlocked BIOS (downloaded from here), but it is not recognized. I have another laptop, Clevo P150EM, and installed the 7970M in it and there it gets recognized in BIOS as AMD Radeon 7970M. I ran Atiflash in Clevo and it listed one adapter which is 7970M I believe and there was something like test failed and bios n/a. No idea. Also, Clevo laptop was making beeps, probably due to thermal shutdown because I didn't put any heatsink on the memory, just core? vBios sticker on the 7970M says this: 015.022.000.001.000000 How do I get it to work and run in AW?
  22. Hey Guys, Having trouble with my 7970m, it hard freezes pc at any overvoltage. Is this a PSU issue? Its in my Alienware m17r4. I was trying to run 1.075v at 980/1380. It froze, so I took it back to the stable OC of 925/1300. Still froze. Took it back to stock clocks and guess what. It froze! On stock clocks! This only happens when I disable the integrated graphics. (I assume enduro prevents the card from hitting max power use/performance/whatever) On stable clocks, dedicated card only, stock volts i get 50 fps in I:SS. With enduro on, at 1000/1400/1.075v i get about the same fps. With enduro on at stable clocks and stock volts i only get about 34fps... so obviously enduro is throttling me somewhere. I just don't get why it crashes on voltage, shouldn't this not be possible at stock clocks?? Do I have a dodgy alienware? Thanks guys, Scott.
  23. This game has gotten pretty high reviews and deservedly so because I just finished it (high chaos, evil ending) and I loved every minute of playing it. I'm not the type to finish SP games either, I usually get bored and quit (e.g. Skyrim, Witcher 2 etc) but this game kept me intrigued the entire time which says a lot about it. The rune system worked really well and the relationship you build with the characters in the game determines how everything will play out. I hope they make a sequel to this because I think this game is up there with the Half Life series in how fun it is. Some spoilers: My biggest complaint with the Crossfire 7970M (12.8 WHQL driver) is that the UE3 streaming textures causes a lot of hitches. I heard this problem was mainly with AMD cards but I'll investigate further when my 680M SLI cards get here on Tuesday. I played the game with max settings in game with SSAO + enhanced AA enabled in the AMD control panel. Framerate was generally 60+ the entire time except for parts where the texture streaming took place (mainly during the beginning of a level) and it would cause hitching. My overall rating for the game: Fun factor: 10/10 Gameplay/Controls: 9/10 Replayability: 9/10 (multiple endings) Graphics: 8.5/10 Sound/Music: 9/10 Reviews: Metacritic overall: 91 IGN: 92 PC Gamer: 92 Gamespot: 90 Gamespy: 90 Edge Magazine: 90 Game Informer: 88
  24. I noticed this the very first day I received my Alienware M17x R4 two years ago, and I ignored it until now but I now have a reason why I'd like to run with AMD's Enduro Switchable Graphics disabled. Doing so (Fn+F7 or equiv.) causes the built-in LCD to display a reduced color palette, even though it's set to 32-bit color on the desktop. There is also this weird interlaced look to the display in this mode - it's hard to capture with a camera but I'll attach a picture. 16-bit desktop color setting looks normal and there's no interlacing but 16-bit color sucks for Win7. Has anyone else observed this color depth reduction / display interlacing? (Discrete card is AMD Radeon HD 7970m) Why does it occur with Enduro off? Is there a fix or workaround to run in full discrete-only GPU mode and still have full 32-bit color so that Windows looks as good as it does with the Intel GPU? Thank you!
  25. Hello. I've been tinkering with this issue for a couple months now, and wondering if anyone can shed some light or help think of something I have not. Purchased new M17x R4 from Dell, roughly 3 months ago. Unit has i7 3740 CPU and AMD 7970m GPU. I Added 240GB Mushkin SSD for boot and slaved the original 750GB drive into the secondary bay for data. Upgraded original 1600MHz RAM to 16GB (4x4GB) of Kingston's HyperX 2133MHz DDR3. The 2133MHz RAM does run - and passes all stress/performance tests with flying colors but is generally "finicky" at POST. Laptop likes to come on for a few seconds and then shut back off until a successful POST happens after a few tires. Once it's worked once, it works fine from then on - until you change something related to hardware configuration/settings. I read the wiki page for modern BIOS POST process and I'm thinking this "working fine once it's worked" behavior could be due to BIOS building a "hardware table" that it can then just read from instead of enumerating and detecting everything from scratch - until something changes. I have verified to my own satisfaction that it's not defective RAM. I purchased some extra sticks and observed same behavior with only new sticks installed. Another note - the 2133MHz RAM will function without this issue if forced into 1866MHz mode in BIOS (but I don't want to do that unless I absolutely have to.) Now, for most purposes, it's fine to just leave everything as-is and once I've tried a few power-ups and gotten a successful POST (sometimes it even works the first time after tinkering) all is well. The one place it's an issue is with manual graphics switching. I have the AMD 7970m card with Enduro (which sucks for certain games unless Enduro is disabled.) I don't want to leave the laptop in exclusive dGPU mode all the time because I do use it on battery at times and the discrete mode cuts battery life nearly 50%... so I switch modes with the Fn+F7 and reboot method when I want to play certain games. This causes a full reset and the failing at POST behavior is observed when the unit tries to power back on (in discrete or switchable mode - it's the ACT of switching that's the issue.) Final note - I use svl7's modified A10 BIOS (have verified same behavior with stock BIOS versions A05 and A10) so I have a lot of available options I can tinker with. Here are the things I've found that INCREASE stability (lessen the chances of the failure at POST, or the number of times it will repeat:) Reduce power limits on the CPU in the Performance menu (this helps but even at lowest stock settings, does not quite alleviate 100%) In advanced CPU power options menu, change boot performance mode from "Max Performance" to "Max Battery." In advanced CPU power options menu, apply a current limit setting of 160 (20 amps) to 2nd plane current limit (integrated GPU.) The fact that these things make an impact suggests that available power at time of POST may be a component of the problem. I do own 2x 240w PSU's and same behavior is observed with both, as is on battery. I wonder if the issue could have to do with the 7970m card not supporting power gating? I have observed that if I hang out in BIOS for a while, the 7970 card gets extremely hot - so it's definitely sucking back the juice at boot time! Once I exit and Windows begins to load, the GPU fan will then spin up fast for a few seconds to cool the chip. It runs cool then-on unless under stress. Adding voltage to the RAM (1.55v vs. the standard 1.5v) DOES NOT help, and in fact decreases stability. If anyone has any thoughts or suggestions, I'd much appreciate! -Adieu, Angie.
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