Flashing the G51 vBIOS

So.....I've been reading abit regarding flashing the vBIOS and thought that I may end up trying.

Since the main concern with the G51 is how hot it runs, I've toyed with the idea of flashing the GPU to get lower temps. I still want to be able to overclock it so instead of undervolting, I'm thinking of changing the fan settings. Those with the G51 probably knows that the fans apparently don't kick into full gear until around 90C and then the GPU temps just stay around there unless you're doing something crazy like running Furmark.

Now, the idea is to maybe get the fans to go at max speeds at like maybe 80C or even lower (75? 70?). Ideally, the GPU would then just stay at that temp, but I think it'll probably just end up settling at somewhere in between.

Now, I'm busy during the week so I most likely won't have any time to do this till the weekend, but I just got a couple of questions: essentially, all I have to do is to

1)Use GPUZ to get the BIOS
2)Edit it in nibitor for the fan speeds
3)Flash it with nvFlash

Just confirming this.

Also, some questions for those more experienced with vBIOS flashing:

1)Fans kicking in sooner shouldn't do anything right? Regarding the longevity of the device that is.
2)I'd appreciate it if someone can give me more precise instructions as to editing the vBIOS in nibitor since I really would prefer good guidance rather than bumbling through it myself given how a bad flash can make things very very bad.
3)I'd also appreciate it if people could give me the additional commands to use with nvFlash when flashing it as well as a description of what each command does.

Also, I'd appreciate input as to whether people think this is a good idea before I do it. Still not positive on whether I'll have the courage to end up doing this, but if I do, I guess I'll be the guinea pig.

 

Ive already dumped the vbios and tried to edit it. However, when i loaded the bios into nbitor the values are read incorrectly. Im not sure nbitor is capable of editing this bios at this time. But definitely give it a shot and see if you can get it to work.

Unless im mistaken, the fan is going to be controlled by the motherboard not the video card.

 

Well, I've been searching online abit and I've found people on other forums who have apparently edited their fan settings.

 

really? can u link me? or pm

heres what i get when i load bios in nbitor, voltage page is completely blank of any values, and on the temp page the only option is the critical shutdown set at 108

 

Apparently you need to change the extension from .bin to .rom

I found this guide which seems a bit outdated but I guess at least the principle remains the same

Edit: Hmmm.....I see what you mean. Will try to figure it out.

Edit 2: Well, it does seem like the vBIOS we have here is unsupported.....maybe I can get the vBIOS off of the people with the Alienware M17x or the Sager people......but then it would be overclocked (in respect to the G51 stocks).

That, I suppose, can be resolved with me editing it but would there be any issues with using another laptops vBIOS?

Edit 3:
Well, I'm looking into a software method of changing the fan speeds. Don't suggest speedfan since it doesn't detect the fans of the G51, RivaTuner won't detect Dox 185.85 properly (which is what I'm using), and nTools has had broken fan controls for ages.

 

Very good idea, I will try to support when I can.

I can tell you that my fan kicks at maximum speed only when it reaches 100°C which makes it that 102°C has been my highest temp so far, even with 10 mins of furmark and maximum test.

I tried to run some normal game benchmark like the Resident Evil 5 test, and I noticed my GPU only got to 90C, so I guess my 102C reading only goes to the maximum GPU intensive games.

I noticed 3-4 fan settings, which are normal, at 80C, 90C and 100C. Exact temps might be wrong, but I am 100% sure max kicks only at 100C for me. It I can lower that to 90C range, then I will get nice temps!

 

That guide you posted is for desktop cards with thier own heatsink and fan, in this laptop you have one fan that cools everything. The fan is plugged into the mobo which tells me right there the video card isnt going to control any part of that fan except what temp it reads out to the mobo. If you were to use those programs u listed with a desktop card you would be able to use those functions.

I would really hesitate to flash the g51's card with another venders bios. The 260m in the g51 is not your standard mxm card it has a reverse slot and is oddly shaped. You can try and ask the g50vt owners if they have flashed their cards with other venders bios.

 

fans settings are changed either dynamically (idk any windows programs off the top of my head other than those), or in acpi/dsdt (google, a lot of reading if you plan on doing it). mistakes in dsdt shouldn't brick anything, though no guarantees.

the 260m vbios can still be edited in any standard hex editor. just look for 2byte words equal to the clock speeds, and you should be able to find 3 distinct "profile"-like groupings.

i see no reason why flashing a different 260m vbios wouldn't work.

 

Did alot of research and long story short, there is no software way to control your fans except for Speedfan (which doesn't work for alot of laptops including this one) and a very specific program designed for an old line of Dell laptops.

Long story short, if I wanna control the fans, I gotta edit the BIOS like nVidiaguru said 2 posts ago. I, well....... wanna leave that to the experts, ie not me. So thus, the only other option that I can really see is to edit the vBIOS to undervolt the GPU but then yet again, nibitor doesn't support the G51....so I guess I'll probably try to get another vendor's BIOS for now....