12.5" HP Elitebook 2570P Owner's Lounge

[Andrew479]

Hello, Everyone!

At the moment I have two disks in my configuration: 256GB SSD + 500GB HDD, as shown below:

I would like to know: did someone manage to move "HP_Recovery" and "HP_Tools" partitions to the HDD drive?

And if this is possible anyways?

Thanks!

You need to shrink BIG_DATA for them to fit there. Then maybe using software such as HD Clone will solve your issue.

[jaijailyc]

Unfortunately the 2570p uses and insyde BIOS, not an AMI. I only know how to enable multiplier overclocking on AMI. What he has done is a 4.8% BCLK overclock, which will work for all CPUs.

Maybe I can find where to raise the TDP by 10W, but that will require drudging through the BIOS decompressed into assembly.

His BIOS + ME FW:

2570OC.bin

Do the keyboard sequence:

WIN+left_arrow+right_arrow, then release on POST to enable the flash descriptor override.

Download FPT here:

fpt.zip

FPT needs to be run from DOS. There is a windows version but flashing in windows is very dangerous.

Backup your original ROM using FPT at the commandline in case you get a bad ME as discussed below and need to flash back:

fpt.exe -d origbios.bin

Flash the modified ME firmware with FPT using the command:

fpt -me -f 2570OC.bin

The file included is a full BIOS + ME FW image, but we are only flashing the ME FW. I could cut out the BIOS portion for a smaller download but this works. There is no danger in overwriting the ME FW with any other version, so flashing this mod properly is safe for any 2570p.

After flashing XTU may need to be reinstalled to enable the BLCK slider.

I do not know if this BCLK overclocking also overclocks the PCH PCI-E for eGPUs. It would be nice if someone could test PCI-E bandwidth in SANDRA with a BCLK overclock to verify if it does or not. If not I can provide an additional mod which definitely will overclock the PCH PCI-E.

UPDATE: New modified ME firmware file that works for Tech Inferno Fan, since this one didn't, is located here: http://forum.techinferno.com/hp-business-class-notebooks/2537-12-5-hp-elitebook-2570p-owners-lounge-41.html#post79212

How to check for a bad ME flash or XTU version

Below I've included an image showing what I check for a bad ME flash and/or bad XTU. A 'bad ME flash' in my case was Aikimox's modified ME contained in this post. I believe jot23 had this same issue.

I upgraded from XTU 3.2 -> 4.0 -> 4.2. All of them had the reference clock slider once I had flashed a good ME firmware with unlocked clocks c/o Khenglish.

Khenglish modified my system's own fpt.exe BIOS dump which resulted in a good ME flash. Now I can successfully adjust my BCLK. The captured XTU screenshot belowing showing a 4.63% overclock (2.7Ghz->2.825Ghz)

Can I use this on a 8470p? I recently installed a 3820qm on my 8470p and would like to be able to OC it a little bit and decrease voltage if possible.

[dgeesaman]

Hello,

My company is cycling through old computer hardware and put out a pile of old laptops. I picked up a 2570p with no hard drive and a broken screen as well as a couple of 2540's. The screen is dead, dead so I haven't seen the BIOS screen to begin to know what exactly is in it.

So I thought I was doing pretty good. Until I talked to our IT director, and when I told her how old this model was, she suggested it could still be under warranty and she would have the screen replaced for free. I checked and it's got two weeks left! Boom!

So I'm reading a bit about the modularity and durability of this unit and obviously I lucked out. There is so much to learn about this notebook (you guys are pushing the mods hard), I have just a couple of questions.

I want to install an SSD where the hard drive used to be, and I'm thinking 240GB Samsung. Is that possible, and if so what format do I need to buy? I would prefer to leave the optical drive in place.

My older HP has a 18.5v / 3.5A / 65W charger that plugs in. Is this safe to power the 2570p?

Thanks in advance for your suggestions and answers.

David

[badbadbad]

The first page should be useful for you to get started on modding ideas. Most, if not all of the possible upgrades discovered are there.

And yes, SSDs are possible. Even Raid-0 SSDs (switching the Optical Drive for a second SSD and running them simultaneously in Raid-0 array).

Hope to read more on your upgrades.

[paul75]

Hello everyone again. I have a few questions and observations to share with You. I was recently wondering if there's a way to improve the light that's supposed to light the keyboard. How does it work in your laptops? In mine when i turn it on, i can barely notice any difference. Also i've recently replaced the dvd with a second hard drive and i noticed that windows takes longer to boot now, not much longer but i noticed it. Another thing, i recently added a second 8GB memory module and the windows index for graphics went up from 5.5 to 6.6. I didn't notice any difference but i rarely play any games. And finally HWinfo shows my CPU actually reaching the maximum 3.7 GHz. Don't know what's up with that.

[Andrew479]

Hi there,

I discovered 2570p for quite reasonable price, but before I went on purchasing it, I'd like to ask on few things first:

1. Early BIOS for 2570p had disabled ASPM for all PCI-E devices, has this been fixed in newer versions?

2. Can anyone 100% confirm 2570p supports mSATA, if so at which speed 3gbps/6gbps ? - taught myself to read previous posts

3. Weight - I found specs which stated 1.96kg but QuickSpecs from HP listed 1.67kg. The point here is, how lighter it is compared to 2560p equipped with the same accessories?

4. SD card slot - does SD card protrude when inserted?

5. Does USB 3.0 work under WinXP? I didn't find any drivers for it, so it probably will.

6. Turbo Boost - is it possible to disable it in BIOS?

Thanks

[Tech Inferno Fan]

Hi there,

I discovered 2570p for quite reasonable price, but before I went on purchasing it, I'd like to ask on few things first:

1. Early BIOS for 2570p had disabled ASPM for all PCI-E devices, has this been fixed in newer versions?

2. Can anyone 100% confirm 2570p supports mSATA, if so at which speed 3gbps/6gbps ? - taught myself to read previous posts

3. Weight - I found specs which stated 1.96kg but QuickSpecs from HP listed 1.67kg. The point here is, how lighter it is compared to 2560p equipped with the same accessories?

4. SD card slot - does SD card protrude when inserted?

5. Does USB 3.0 work under WinXP? I didn't find any drivers for it, so it probably will.

6. Turbo Boost - is it possible to disable it in BIOS?

Thanks

1. No fix for the ASPM issue. I logged a call with HP about it and the best I was able to negotiate was them providing hardware to improve battery life. Eg: bigger battery or SSD in place of HDD.

3. Only weight saving I can see a 2570P having over a 2560P would be due to removal of LCD latches. There we are taking a very small relative percentage drop.

4. SD card protrudes when inserted.

5. Not sure. Haven't used USB 3.0 for ages. You'd be looking at Intel's website for XP USB 3.0 drivers.

6. Working from memory as I no longer own a 2570P, I do not recall a BIOS option to disable turbo boost. No problem since you can do your OS using Throttlestop software or if using Win7/8, set the maximum CPU % for your power plan to 99%.

[Andrew479]

Thank you very much for your answer!

Now as I see it, I'll let 2570p go, it's just not worth the extra investment, and so little gain.

The thing is, I found one for $800, but brand new with 3 year warranty, if my calculations are correct, then this 'upgrade' to IVY+HD4000+RAID-0 would cost me $300 + $180 new CPU. I'd invest that for new machine, should there were mSata+ASPM fixes+weight difference. Though seeing how things were not much improved, it's really not worth so much money in my case. But thanks again for letting me know!

BTW, do you think 2560p / 2570p could be modded to be fanless (passive cooled)? I've checked some of the thermal improvements in this thread (heatsink copper shim) , and the maintenance lid + aluminium screen casing have great heatsoak and dissipating properties. Should the heat be transferred to the screen casing (dunno how yet), even 15W could be theoretically cooled down passively.

So far I've been able to dissipate 6W (lowest multiplier on i7-2520M) with no mods at 65°C, no fan, with maintenance lid closed, laptop sitting on wooden desk.

With 10W at x12 (quad) performance is slightly above Core2Quad Extreme - would be pretty awesome to achieve that using passive cooling on a 12.5" laptop!

@Everyone - stay tuned for

Retrofitting IBM-style domed Trackpoint with 2560p/2570p

Ultra-light 40W travel-adapter, $25 shipped on eBay (Acer mod)

Power resistor mod for slow 10+ hrs charging - significant improvement of battery shelf life (tested 40 full cycles over 2 years = 2% capacity loss!)

[Tech Inferno Fan]

Thank you very much for your answer!

Now as I see it, I'll let 2570p go, it's just not worth the extra investment, and so little gain.

The thing is, I found one for $800, but brand new with 3 year warranty, if my calculations are correct, then this 'upgrade' to IVY+HD4000+RAID-0 would cost me $300 + $180 new CPU. I'd invest that for new machine, should there were mSata+ASPM fixes+weight difference. Though seeing how things were not much improved, it's really not worth so much money in my case. But thanks again for letting me know!

BTW, do you think 2560p / 2570p could be modded to be fanless (passive cooled)? I've checked some of the thermal improvements in this thread (heatsink copper shim) , and the maintenance lid + aluminium screen casing have great heatsoak and dissipating properties. Should the heat be transferred to the screen casing (dunno how yet), even 15W could be theoretically cooled down passively.

So far I've been able to dissipate 6W (lowest multiplier on i7-2520M) with no mods at 65°C, no fan, with maintenance lid closed, laptop sitting on wooden desk.

With 10W at x12 (quad) performance is slightly above Core2Quad Extreme - would be pretty awesome to achieve that using passive cooling on a 12.5" laptop!

@Everyone - stay tuned for

Retrofitting IBM-style domed Trackpoint with 2560p/2570p

Ultra-light 40W travel-adapter, $25 shipped on eBay (Acer mod)

Power resistor mod for slow 10+ hrs charging - significant improvement of battery shelf life (tested 40 full cycles over 2 years = 2% capacity loss!)

A HP 2570P's other advantage over a 2560P that you haven't listed is USB 3.0. Further, a quad-core IVB CPU like a i7-3740QM can be significantly faster than a SB i7-2820QM. There can see an overall 5% better performance +(700Mhz x 4-cores )] due to being able to encompass ~+800Mhz per core in the same 45W TDP. See http://forum.techinferno.com/throttlestop-realtemp-discussion/6958-haswell-step-backwards-ivy-bridge-i-have-some-shocking-tdp-results.html . That could mean up to 35% higher turbo performance.

That combo of USB 3.0, RAID-0 capability, up to 35% faster quad-core CPU performance, HD4000, no WLAN whitelist, + likely longer warranty for a newer machine needs to be evaluated for it's cost. Obviously if a 2560P and 2570P are near each other in cost, then you'd grab the 2570P. Here you might set the benchmark to aim for a 2560P that costs 65% of a candidate 2570P to make it value-for-money. A 2570P can also host either a IVB or SB CPU, but a 2560P can only host a SB CPU.

I'd personally skip the $800 new 2570P and grab a s/h one with remainder of the 3yr onsite warranty. Then refresh the keyboard under warranty 'a sticking key' and if needed, the palmrest and you're as good as new. Then have the smallest system released to date with greatest performance potential. Getting a 2560P would mean always having that curiousity of having gone that little bit extra to get a 2570P . . .

IVB 2570P is a better candidate for fanless operation. It can run at a lowest x8 multiplier whereas a SB CPU bottoms out at x12.

Looking forward to seeing your mods. You are aware there is a 45W HP AC adapter. It's used in ULV class machines like a 2170P. Not sure how compatible it is with a 2570P. We cover use of a slim travel adapter in the start of this thread under weight saving. Maybe of interest?

[Andrew479]

A HP 2570P's other advantage over a 2560P that you haven't listed is USB 3.0. Further, a quad-core IVB CPU like a i7-3740QM can be significantly faster than a SB i7-2820QM. There can see an overall 5% better performance +(700Mhz x 4-cores )] due to being able to encompass ~+800Mhz per core in the same 45W TDP. See http://forum.techinferno.com/throttlestop-realtemp-discussion/6958-haswell-step-backwards-ivy-bridge-i-have-some-shocking-tdp-results.html . That could mean up to 35% higher turbo performance.

That combo of USB 3.0, RAID-0 capability, up to 35% faster quad-core CPU performance, HD4000, no WLAN whitelist, + likely longer warranty for a newer machine needs to be evaluated for it's cost. Obviously if a 2560P and 2570P are near each other in cost, then you'd grab the 2570P. Here you might set the benchmark to aim for a 2560P that costs 65% of a candidate 2570P to make it value-for-money. A 2570P can also host either a IVB or SB CPU, but a 2560P can only host a IVB CPU.

I see you meant SB CPU for 2560p .

Yes, I haven't listed everything, only what matters to me the most. USB 3.0 likely adds 0.3W-0.7W to idle consumption and it's little problematic with legacy USB 1.1 devices.

My 2560p is still in warranty until Aug-2015, so I'll go with that.

Looking forward to seeing your mods. You are aware there is a 45W HP AC adapter. It's used in ULV class machines like a 2170P. Not sure how compatible it is with a 2570P. We cover use of a slim travel adapter in the start of this thread under weight saving. Maybe of interest?

Yes I am aware of that little brick, though it still cannot overcome the convenience/weight/price of 40W Acer adaptor which doesn't need additional cord (can be plugged in directly). With power resistor mod, there's still 34W usable for the laptop itself, might be possible to run quad-cores at stock multiplier without Turbo.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Genuine-Original-AC-Adapter-Charger-for-Acer-Aspire-One-19V-2-15A-ADP-40TH-40W-/261577351006?pt=Laptop_Adapters_Chargers&var=&hash=item3ce7399f5e

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DC-tip-7-4X5-0mm-power-plug-with-cable-for-HP-or-dell-laptop-adapter-cord-28cm-/141137879913?pt=US_Surveillance_Cables_Adapters_Connectors&hash=item20dc792369

[Tech Inferno Fan]

I see you meant SB CPU for 2560p .

Yes, I haven't listed everything, only what matters to me the most. USB 3.0 likely adds 0.3W-0.7W to idle consumption and it's little problematic with legacy USB 1.1 devices.

My 2560p is still in warranty until Aug-2015, so I'll go with that.

Yes I am aware of that little brick, though it still cannot overcome the convenience/weight/price of 40W Acer adaptor which doesn't need additional cord (can be plugged in directly). With power resistor mod, there's still 34W usable for the laptop itself, might be possible to run quad-cores at stock multiplier without Turbo.

USB 3.0 can be completely disabled via PCIe writes. I didn't find any power savings when I tried it. No 0.3W-0.7W like I had hoped.

The greater power savings would be the 22nm IVB CPU versus 32nm SB one, with the former being able to idle at x8 (lowest) whereas the latter bottoms out at x12. Important for your intended fanless operation. There will be watts difference between both of those running at load at that lowest multiplier.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Genuine-Original-AC-Adapter-Charger-for-Acer-Aspire-One-19V-2-15A-ADP-40TH-40W-/261577351006?pt=Laptop_Adapters_Chargers&var=&hash=item3ce7399f5e

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DC-tip-7-4X5-0mm-power-plug-with-cable-for-HP-or-dell-laptop-adapter-cord-28cm-/141137879913?pt=US_Surveillance_Cables_Adapters_Connectors&hash=item20dc792369

End looks wrong for a 25x0P. Will need some sort of converter. I prefer HP's travel adapter solution. See it linked from http://forum.techinferno.com/hp-business-class-notebooks/2537-12-5-hp-elitebook-2570p-owners-lounge-29.html#post70177

[Andrew479]

USB 3.0 can be completely disabled via PCIe writes. I didn't find any power savings when I tried it. No 0.3W-0.7W like I had hoped.

The greater power savings would be the 22nm IVB CPU versus 32nm SB one, with the former being able to idle at x8 (lowest) whereas the latter bottoms out at x12. Important for your intended fanless operation. There will be watts difference between both of those running at load at that lowest multiplier.

Are you sure?

i5-2520M definitely runs at x8 and vnwhite's i7-2820QM as well:

*HP EliteBook 2560p Owners Lounge* - Page 15

rem disable aero

net stop uxsms

rem set IA32_ENERGY_PERF_BIAS to max power savings

msr -w 0x1B0 0xF

rem set multiplier to 8x

msr -w 0x199 0x0800

I can confirm i7-2640M and i7-2620M running on x8 as well (lenovo x220)

[Tech Inferno Fan]

Are you sure?

i5-2520M definitely runs at x8 and vnwhite's i7-2820QM as well:

*HP EliteBook 2560p Owners Lounge* - Page 15

Haven't had a SB CPU for a while so apologies for the inaccuracy. I recall a point being made about IVB CPUs being able to run at x8 via Throttlestop whereas the native Windows would floor it at x8. vnwhite proves a SB one can run at x8 as well. You'd still be running a SB CPU at higher wattage when both CPUs are loaded at their lowest (now) x8 multiplier.

[Andrew479]

End looks wrong for a 25x0P. Will need some sort of converter. I prefer HP's travel adapter solution. See it linked from http://forum.techinferno.com/hp-business-class-notebooks/2537-12-5-hp-elitebook-2570p-owners-lounge-29.html#post70177

Acer one would obviously need resoldering with 7.4x5.0mm plug (see 2nd link) and adding appropriate resistor between pin3 and pin2. Still lighter/cheaper solution than $58 45W HP travel adapter: Original 45W Slim AC Adapter for HP Split 13 M210DX X2 Touchscreen Laptop PC | eBay

[Tech Inferno Fan]

Acer one would obviously need resoldering with 7.0x5.5mm plug (see 2nd link) and adding appropriate resistor between pin3 and pin2. Still lighter/cheaper solution than $58 45W HP travel adapter: Original 45W Slim AC Adapter for HP Split 13 M210DX X2 Touchscreen Laptop PC | eBay

HP 45W AC adapter can be had for $11.95 buy-it-now. Still no good, since it's a 4.5mmX3.0mm AC adapter connector. A 25x0P uses a 7.4mmx5mm connector.

[Andrew479]

My mistake, I meant 7.4x5.0mm (it's fixed now)

$12 for replacement adaptor, yes, however replacements are not always suitable because:

1) higher RF emissions - equipment noise and possible health hazard

2) no safety mark, no overvoltage protection - DC and AC part is often not reliably separated - dangerous to use in high-moisture areas

3) low efficiency - anywhere between 50-65%, genuine HP and Acer have verified over 85%, Lenovo 78%

4) no overload protection - brick can explode (happened to me).

I was suggesting modding genuine 40W Acer, with OL protection, which in this case is necessary should Turbo accidentally kicks in and consumption goes over 45W (5W should be safe margin). In that case, the adaptor shuts itself down for couple of seconds instead of, you know, exploding

For those interested in Efficiency ratings (I, II, III, IV, V) see here:

http://www.qianqin.de/2010/04/15/notebook-and-other-small-devices-power-supply-efficiency/

http://www.energystar.gov/ia/partners/prod_development/revisions/downloads/International_Efficiency_Marking_Protocol.pdf

Surprisingly Lenovo adapter is marked as "V" yet performs as "III" or "IV" - 1W load rendered about 50% efficiency

[badbadbad]

So I finally got my i7-3840QM QCF1 pasted with a 3-mm dash of AS5 (about a week ago) and without any cooling mods.

I took the benchmarks feeling hopeful, but not expecting any great results (since it's not an OEM). For the cheap price I got it, I'd say it was worth it though.

Results of my 3840QM (QCF1):

x12

0.8656

12.9

x23

0.8906

20.6

x24

0.9056

21.8

x25

0.9207

23.2

x26

0.9407

24.7

x27

0.9557

26.2

x28

0.9707

28.3

x29

0.9957

30.0

x30

1.0107

33.0

x31

1.0358

35.5

x32

1.0558

37.6

x33

1.0608

38.1

x34 (When lid is off, holds x34 for a second)

---

---

I guess the i7-3740QM really is the most efficient power-per-cost CPU for our Extremebook.

Any suggestions to improve my clock speeds? Just ran Throttlestop without any pre-benchmark preparations.

[Tech Inferno Fan]

I guess the i7-3740QM really is the most efficient power-per-cost CPU for our Extremebook.

Any suggestions to improve my clock speeds? Just ran Throttlestop without any pre-benchmark preparations.

Results look pretty good for a non-OEM CPU. Would you mind setting the Intel iGPU control panel power settings to 'maximum battery' and re-do the TDP versus multiplier test? Or at least check critical points like x27, x33, x34.

The idea there is the iGPU is on the CPU die, so less power consumption by the iGPU will leave more total TDP (45W ceiling) for processing, including lower the overall package TDP per multiplier. I no longer have my 2570P to confirm if indeed there is a significant difference in doing so though I recall another 2570P user finding that TDP did decrease doing this.

[badbadbad]

iGPU was set to Max Battery already. That's good to hear about this non-OEM CPU, since my choice was either the i7-3740QM (BGA->PGA), or this. At the same price point, I think this was the better choice.

Tried it again, but couldn't get x34 anymore. Should I get a 2.5 x 2.5 x 0.8mm copper shim sandwiched in between the CPU and Heatsink? Or is 1mm thickness ideal?

[Tech Inferno Fan]

iGPU was set to Max Battery already. That's good to hear about this non-OEM CPU, since my choice was either the i7-3740QM (BGA->PGA), or this. At the same price point, I think this was the better choice.

Tried it again, but couldn't get x34 anymore. Should I get a 2.5 x 2.5 x 0.8mm copper shim sandwiched in between the CPU and Heatsink? Or is 1mm thickness ideal?

Since you hit x34 for a second, you are being TDP throttled first. The copper shim isn't going to help you there. It will help decrease the time to hitting temperature throttling at full load.

I no longer have a 2570P but just discovered that some UEFI variables can be altered on my new E6440 to unlock TDP CPU settings. AFAIK there is no documented attempt to do this on a 2570P or other similar Elitebook to date.

Did you want to have a read and application of the following post and one after it to see if a 2570P can also be TDP unlocked? http://forum.techinferno.com/dell-latitude-vostro-precision/6980-14-dell-latitude-e6440-owners-lounge-4.html#post111089 ? A i7-3840QM can max out at 3.6Ghz (4-cores) or 4.0Ghz (4-cores, unlocked +400Mhz turbo bins) with the higher TDP limits if the cooling system supported it. There's another 4-5% that could be had by applying the modified 2570P modified ME firmware to allow BCLK overclocking as linked from the opening post.

[badbadbad]

I tried the flashing the modified ME Firmware with both a Legacy Windows install and UEFI Windows install (for Clover).

It always results in a bad ME flash (no icon in the system tray). Should I submit my originalbios.bin for inspection?

And to add, I did a -BIOS dump then opened the dump with UEFITool but couldn't search for the SetupPrep module. What am I missing?

[Tech Inferno Fan]

I tried the flashing the modified ME Firmware with both a Legacy Windows install and UEFI Windows install (for Clover).

It always results in a bad ME flash (no icon in the system tray). Should I submit my originalbios.bin for inspection?

And to add, I did a -BIOS dump then opened the dump with UEFITool but couldn't search for the SetupPrep module. What am I missing?

I applied the process to an old F.42 2570P BIOS dump I still have in repository. Though I found and extracted the module containing the 'PlatformSetup' rather than 'SetupPrep' string, which I too didn't find. The resultant files are below:

2570PF42-platformsetup_IFR.txt

2570PF42-platformsetup.bin

Now the IFR file has no 'TDP' strings that could be used to unlock TDP, allowing higher i7-quad multiplier functionality on the 2570P. That then means there's no variables listed to allow modification using the bootable grub UEFI shell with the 'setupvar' command.

However, the bin file used to create the IFR one has several instances of unicode hex of 'TDP' as "5400440050" as seen below. Does this mean the Universal IFR extractor tool is not processing it correctly?

Pretty much stuck at how to access those variables to be able to make some TDP adjustments. Maybe the the author of the Universal IFR extractor can have a look at the above bin file and lend a hand? donovan6000's Blog: Universal IFR Extractor

If that leads to a dead end then the only extra performance available would be the modified ME FW allowing a ~4-5% BCLK overclocking. Previously I found that a machine specific modified ME FW needed to be prepared to work per 2570P. Asking @Khenglish nicely via PM may see him volunteer to create one for you.

[Dewos]

This is vey interesting. Can't we make an issue on Github? https://github.com/donovan6000/Universal-IFR-Extractor

[badbadbad]

@Tech Inferno Fan, I sent my bios dump to Khenglish but it seems like I must've screwed it up prior to dumping the original one. Don't know if it was because I was dumping from Legacy first instead of UEFI. Is there any hope for this? I don't plan on getting a bios chip any time soon because my soldering skills aren't that good.

[Tech Inferno Fan]

@Tech Inferno Fan, I sent my bios dump to Khenglish but it seems like I must've screwed it up prior to dumping the original one. Don't know if it was because I was dumping from Legacy first instead of UEFI. Is there any hope for this? I don't plan on getting a bios chip any time soon because my soldering skills aren't that good.

I am not sure what you are saying here is hopeless. What's is the issue?

Backtracking a bit on presumption. If you followed the modified ME FW instructions at http://forum.techinferno.com/hp-business-class-notebooks/2537-12-5-hp-elitebook-2570p-owners-lounge-12.html#post65904 then the most you could have harmed is the ME FW, not the BIOS. The system can still boot there and recovery steps are provided to flash back your original ME FW.

Now if you've inadvertently flashed the BIOS chip by say using wrong commandline syntax and bricked the machine then either a reflash of the BIOS chip will be needed by removing it and using a eeprom burner (or replacing it with a preflashed one) OR a systemboard replacement containing a good BIOS chip.

If you've just taken the wrong ME FW dump (how?), then suggest re-doing the steps linked above and sending the correct dump to Khenglish requesting a modification.