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14" Dell Latitude E6430 - Performance Upgrades and System Mods


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Maybe I'm being stupid, but why would it brick? Wouldn't resetting cmos restore the default settings?

CMOS does almost nothing on a modern system. It controls the clock and that's about it. Most BIOS settings are flashed into the NVRAM section of the BIOS. You are flashing your NVRAM with the IFR program.

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Hmm. See, here's what has me confused. I rendered my machine unbootable a few times after experimenting with the variables for ram speed and timings. Each time i'd close down the machine, power off, remove power cord, the battery and cmos battery, power drain it, and then power it on without the cmos battery (maybe i'm confusing the name - BIOS battery?) and all variables would reset to default, including cpu multis, igpu overclocking, ram, pcie bus speed etc.

I'd then plug everything back in and boot no problem.

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Hmm. See, here's what has me confused. I rendered my machine unbootable a few times after experimenting with the variables for ram speed and timings. Each time i'd close down the machine, power off, remove power cord, the battery and cmos battery, power drain it, and then power it on without the cmos battery (maybe i'm confusing the name - BIOS battery?) and all variables would reset to default, including cpu multis, igpu overclocking, ram, pcie bus speed etc.

I'd then plug everything back in and boot no problem.

Interesting. Most modern machines don't do that. This is why the unlocked BIOS's for various laptops are so dangerous. People set something bad and there's no way to reset it. Usually people have to remove the respective piece of hardware to get the values for it reset. ex. if you set the memory to something unbootable, pull a memory stick to reset memory settings, put it back in after.

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So this just makes the e6430 even more fun and safe to tweak, basically? @timohour, can you confirm you have the same behavior on your machine?

Damn it, my tweak bone is vibrating, wants to play with those voltage steppings, but i've no idea what values i should write - don't want to use wrong ones and overvolt something till it fries.

Sent from my Neken N6 using Tapatalk

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So this just makes the e6430 even more fun and safe to tweak, basically? @timohour, can you confirm you have the same behavior on your machine?

Damn it, my tweak bone is vibrating, wants to play with those voltage steppings, but i've no idea what values i should write - don't want to use wrong ones and overvolt something till it fries.

Sent from my Neken N6 using Tapatalk

That's the same behavior in my E6430 too. At least in the changes I have made so far... I feel like every time I powerdrain my machine (remove power bla-bla-bla) everything is back to stock settings, even BIOS settings such as boot from UEFI or legacy and I have to set again multis etc...

I wouldn't recommend to play with these voltage steppings though. As far as we know it has nothing to do with CPU voltage. Although powerdraining may reset settings that doesn't guarrantee that you won't brick your machine... We better play with what we know...

@Khenglish

Found any EFI vars? Thanks

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I successfully flashed the Unlocked Descriptor, OC ME Firmware, and the x2.2 link.

My only problem is finding the right XTU version with the Core Clock Slider.

EDIT: Thanks @timohour, reflashing that MEOC FW you sent me did the trick!

Happy it worked...

Seems like we have to edit every MEFW... I am maybe going to try to flash the one I edited for you on my machine to see how it goes...

Yeah, i'm in! Laptop incoming :P

Glad you made it... ;)

Specs?

dGPU/iGPU

mem

CPU

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Seeing all that has been accomplished here makes me wonder if the E6530 shares the same upgrading capability. Would it be too greedy to ask for x2.2 and 1080p? LOL

Regarding mods it's probably going to be exactly the same... but IMO the 15,6 1080p is the only gain...

On the other hand,

It is going to be 20% heavier starting @ 2,449kg vs 2.014kg and bulkier...

Regarding the CPU cooler, I think that although on overall usage it is going to be better, the dGPU model cooler is worse when you use an eGPU, cause the two pipes are dedicated one to the CPU one to the dGPU... So you are basically using a single pipe to cool the CPU while on the E6430 you take advantage of both pipes...

$%28KGrHqN,!lcFHsgiW%29U!BR-wrdTFBw~~60_1.JPG

On specs though E6530 was designed originally for up to i7-37xxQM processors while the E6430 is designed only for up to i7-35xxM processors. My QM though works fine ;)

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It is going to be 20% heavier starting @ 2,449kg vs 2.014kg and bulkier...

That's not really a big issue for me.

..you are basically using a single pipe to cool the CPU while on the E6430 you take advantage of both pipes...

$%28KGrHqN,!lcFHsgiW%29U!BR-wrdTFBw~~60_1.JPG

Can't a couple of Copper shims bridge the two heat pipes?

This deal went by real fast but is essentially an E6430 for $120.

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This one is currently the cheapest (no shipping fee to US). Only problem is non-US keyboard.

This ad is for an HD screen only but the seller says that the 1080p screen will fit the 900p E6430. Does this mean he is selling 1080p compatible LED screens?

UPDATE: The seller claims that he does have a 1080p LED screen for the E6430. I'm asking him right now if it is a 2-channel LVDS 14" 1080p LED variant as discussed in the first page.

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UPDATE: The seller claims that he does have a 1080p LED screen for the E6430. I'm asking him right now if it is a 2-channel LVDS 14" 1080p LED variant as discussed in the first page.

That's very interesting news... Keep us posted pls

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Seller retracted his statement. They do not have any 14" 1080p LED 2-channel LVDS screens for the E6430.

Last I investigated into this for my previous LVDS E6440 weren't any 1080P 14" LVDS LCDs manufacturerd. Only recent eDP had them which cannot be attached without some sort of converter in place. Best LVDS screen to use being the 900P as fitted to a 14" Lenovo Carbon [LP140WD2(TL)(E2)].

Good reading to help you along is this wiki which talks about a eDP->LVDS converter and the Lenovo Carbon 900P LCD: Replacing T430 screen with a better one - ThinkWiki

Though may want to consider upgrading (or downgrading to x2 2.0 E6430 eGPU users) to a eDP equipped one-gen newer Dell E6440 or just get a FHD E6530/E6540.

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Oh well, it has arrived :) ...and with it some problems, of course...

- eGPU dosn't work on Windows 10 EUFI (some tips here? probably the TLOUD)

- This is very strange... the CPU (fully functional on 2570p) keeps the max TID to x16!!! :67: No idea why..

.post-18229-14495000924_thumb.jpg

Update: Fixed, was "SmartStep" in BIOS (must be disabled). The dGpuì's cooler is good. X35 rock solid at 82c without any mod. We will see with a little overclock tomorrow :)

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Hello, someone could give me some tips about the egpu? SO is Win 10 x64 UEFI Throughput, last BIOS. What I tried:

- Plug after POST: Hd4000 ok, NV2000 ok, 660: code 23

- Hotplug egpu: Hd4000 ok, NV2000 ok, 660: code 23

- Disabling NV2000 from device manager: Hd4000 ok, NV2000 disabled, 660: code 23

- Disabling NV2000 PCI bridge (Xeon® processor E3 - 1200 v2/3rd Gen Core processor PCI Express Root Port - 0151) and hotplug: Hd4000 ok, NV2000 disabled, 660: ok, but no external screen output and it keeps "Display driver stopped responding and has recovered"

- - Disabling NV2000 PCI bridge (Xeon® processor E3 - 1200 v2/3rd Gen Core processor PCI Express Root Port - 0151) and reboot: Hd4000 ok, NV2000: none, 660: ok, but no external screen output and it keeps "Display driver stopped responding and has recovered"

- - Disabling NV2000 PCI bridge (Xeon® processor E3 - 1200 v2/3rd Gen Core processor PCI Express Root Port - 0151) and reboot, suspend and restore session: Hd4000 ok, NV2000: none, 660: ok, with external screen output but it keeps "Display driver stopped responding and has recovered" every 10 sec

Any ideas? Do I need a lower TLOUD? I don't know what to do anymore.

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I got my hands on an external screen to experiment with, and the following conclusions have been drawn:

My EXP GDC Beast works ONLY if:

- I boot from the eGPU directly (booting from iGPU will either stall my boot, bsod, or make it to windows only for the driver to start crashing constantly once I connect the external monitor).

- I use Gen1 Expresscard (Gen2 will do all of the above, regardless from which device I boot).

@sangemaru I'm in the same situation, driver start crashing constantly once I connect the external monitor. Win 10 gtx660.

Oh, and not for disappoint you but my P4EL 1.2b full keeps gen2 on hp 2570p so probably the problem is elsewhere.

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For me, I set tolud at 2.5GB, I have iGPU set to always enabled, as well as forced primary. I also force PCIe speed to Gen1. I suggest you try it even if the 2570p can hold a link, who knows.

That's about it.

Just tried:

Win10 x64 UEFI Clean install (both) + windows update + last driver invidia + intel

2570p: everything works plug and play, external screen, no problem at all. Gen 2 ok

e6430: fail, instability

Since SO, drivers and eGpu device are the same, the problem should be somewhere in the motherboard or dGpu or default drivers. @sangemaru Maybe one of us could try Win 8.1 UEFI.

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Just tried:

Win10 x64 UEFI Clean install (both) + windows update + last driver invidia + intel

2570p: everything works plug and play, external screen, no problem at all. Gen 2 ok

e6430: fail, instability

Since SO, drivers and eGpu device are the same, the problem should be somewhere in the motherboard or dGpu or default drivers. @sangemaru Maybe one of us could try Win 8.1 UEFI.

May I give an advise? Try uninstalling nvidia drivers and plug before post. Start up your computer (it may have a blank screen it is normal but it should start up after a while. If you don't see an image on your external screen after a while (it will take a little longer than normal) try connecting a screen on the HDMI port on your laptop (it is wired directly to your NVS5200M)...

I didn't have any problem my EC with my R9-280x @ x1.2 running W 8.1 so I kind of doubt there is a hardware issue (I am not sure though cause haven't tested with an Nvidia card).

Code 23 seems like an unusual error... maybe something going on between the mobile and the desktop nvidia driver?

Try the above and get back

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May I give an advise? Try uninstalling nvidia drivers and plug before post. Start up your computer (it may have a blank screen it is normal but it should start up after a while. If you don't see an image on your external screen after a while (it will take a little longer than normal) try connecting a screen on the HDMI port on your laptop (it is wired directly to your NVS5200M)...

I didn't have any problem my EC with my R9-280x @ x1.2 running W 8.1 so I kind of doubt there is a hardware issue (I am not sure though cause haven't tested with an Nvidia card).

Code 23 seems like an unusual error... maybe something going on between the mobile and the desktop nvidia driver?

Try the above and get back

Thanks for the info @timohour but I already tried all of them. This is probably a driver\hardware problem, not TOLUD because the 660gtx is correctly recognized, but with an external screen the system is very unstable (on Win 10 at least, I'm now trying on Win 8.1).

@Tech Inferno Fan It is normal that setup_var "xxx" shows "GUID does not match expected GUID, taking it nevertheless, expected a different size of the Setup variable, continue con care, bla bla bla"?. The output fon vars seems to me the right one, anyway.

UPDATE: No luck on win 8.1 too :((( all three gpu (i, e, d) are allocated but on external screen the system is very unstable. :\

UPDATE 2: Ok, I managed to isolate the problem: the truth is that everything works (optimus, Gen2, hotplug, plug from boot, disabling NV5200 or not etc...) a perfect system but ONLY with the internal screen. Every time I tried to connect my 24''... the 660 driver crashed, so the problem is the connection with an external screen (I tried both HDMI and DP). @timohour do you use one of these?

post-18229-14495000928765_thumb.jpg

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