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    Will 2020 BIOS updates disable undervolting on the XPS?

    Discussion in 'Dell XPS and Studio XPS' started by pressing, Feb 13, 2020.

  1. pressing

    pressing Notebook Deity

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    I am running a Dell XPS 9550 (6300HQ) on a recent BIOS 1.12.0 dated 3 oct 2019. It still undervolts fine, with ThrottleStop's FIVR screen showing uCode 0xCC.

    Dell has a newer BIOS 1.13.1 dated 6 jan 2020. I have not tried that lol.
    There is more detail on undervolting challenges on 2020 BIOS updates at the ThrottleStop thread.
     
    pressing, Feb 13, 2020
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  2. _sem_

    _sem_ Notebook Deity

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    I think this BIOS doesn't include Plundervolt mitigation yet (INTEL-SA-00289). Haven't applied it yet though.

    Dunno about the future of undervolting. I guess just disabling is over-reaction or maybe acceptable as a temporary measure. Less severe restrictions should probably work for disabling the exploit. I recall Intel did supply patches with less severe performance impact after a while for some of the previous vulnerabilities.
     
    _sem_, Feb 13, 2020
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  3. Techland

    Techland Notebook Consultant

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    I have that latest BIOS, a i5 6300HQ, and undervolt by 115 mV. According to Intel XTU and HW Monitor that still works.
     
    Techland, Feb 16, 2020
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  4. pressing

    pressing Notebook Deity

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    Thanks guys. I just updated to 1.31.1 (dated 6 jan 2020) which is the latest BIOS showing for my system and undervolting still works fine.
     
    pressing, Feb 16, 2020
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  5. Hans Hags

    Hans Hags Newbie

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    Hi All, I just updated to bios 1.11.0 on my XPS 9575 2 in 1 last night, and yes - I did in fact loose option to undervolt, such a shame... I am considering reverting to earlier bios, but then again, there may be other fixes worth keeping, but it was nice to run a bit cooler and more quiet from undervolting - I do notice a bit more fan noise after update ;-o ... but may just need to try out over next week... BR, Hans - Denmark
     
    Hans Hags, Apr 17, 2020
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  6. pressing

    pressing Notebook Deity

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    My 6300HQ undervolts to about 170mv and is stable. That is extreme, so undervolting is a real benefit to this old i5.

    Other CPUs don't undervolt much so losing undervolt is not such a disaster.
     
    pressing, Apr 17, 2020
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  7. Thorne

    Thorne Notebook Evangelist

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    Just updated my XPS 13 9380 to the latest BIOS (according to Dell it's 1.10 for this machine, 4/2020 version). This is the one in which Dell/Intel blocked undervolting.

    I want to confirm that the "Restore BIOS factory settings" tweak re-enabled my undervolting for Throttlestop!

    Immediately after the BIOS update TS or HWInfo wouldn't show any undervolting, but after factory resetting the new BIOS they started to work again.
     
    Thorne, Jul 24, 2020
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