[Tutorial] VBIOS Mod for Plug and Play Drivers (GT60/70 Ivy Bridges)

tomarrow i am going install fresh window i will inform what happen

 

That's fine too. Boot to DOS using USB flash drive, then use AMI's flash utility for DOS to do it.

 

yes i already did here i attech pic but i after update bios i cant enter in windows its blu screen and restart may be need fresh copy of windows

 

Disable RAID in BIOS settings.

 

i just install fresh windows now all is ok but fan is always on with full speed . i remove my gtx 670 because its dead so this reason fan is in full speed?

 

Yes. You launch HWinfo fan still works at full speed? I heard about using this program in other laptops for disabling fan, maybe it will work for you.

 

ok thanks right now i am in office tomarrow gonna check this .
but i have question if i put new video card fan gonna behave normal ?because right now my laptop running in integrated grafics hd4000 their is no delicated gpu.because it’s burnt i already bought 980m 8gb msi gpu its in way i hope i get next week.i am little scared about fan speed .i hope installing of new gpu solve the fan speed.
but really thanks.

 

Yes, 2nd GPU will solve this.

 

i hope next week i get. its gtx 980m msi not clavo .so you think i need flah vbios or no?. its gtx 980m msi version green one its brings out from gt72 msi

 

Hi Ahsan!

Give it a try, in the worst scenario it will install but the 3D will not work on dedicated GPU, in your case the GTX 980M.
When I flashed the MSI vBIOS into my Clevo board I got a black screen right after Windows loading drivers, If this happen to you, you will need to flash other vBIOS into this MSI 980M.

I strongly recommend you to make sure the Device ID which I found out will work for you too, before trying to mod any vBIOS.
It`s very easy to mod the nVidia INF file, after some days working with this modded INF you can mod the vBIOS.
Keep in mind that vBIOS mod is dangerous and can get undesired effects.

 

ok bro thanks so much
i am waiting for my card i hope next week i will get .i informe you what happen first i am going to try install normal without modifying any thing

 

bro can i get your email so i informe you i hope you will help me

 

I uninstalled my upgraded 970m on an MSI GT60 0ND 444US on accident and now it isn't being detected and I was hoping flashing the bios would help.

I created a file with nvflash but when I tried using the NvidiaInspector it comes up blank with no information. Does this mean my dGPU is not being detected? If so, should I try to fix this before continuing with the next steps in this guide?

Thanks for the help!

 

I have a MSI GT70 2PC i want to put a 970 or 980 in.... i am told that a 1060 will work but i am skeptical

seems for the 980m I need another Vbios which is unavailable it seems

may also need to update the RC firmware. maybe.

I hope you can be kind as this is my work machine and the video card died a few days ago and i need a replacement very quickly. thanks you

 

Sorry for the delay in my response.
Did you manage to solve your problem?

 

Man, If I were you, I would go for the 1060.
It will heat less, the power draw is lower and the performance is almost the same or even higher than the 980M.

Is it your first mod in this system?

When choosing a GTX 1060 board pay attention to the board size and if it is G-Sync.
I've read some time ago that G-Sync boards are not compatible with our systems.

I strongly recommend to you to search a lot before start.
Keep in mind that will not be a Plug and Play procedure, you my find out some challenging problems to solve.
I list the main 2, heatsink mod to the new board and software issues to get it working.

Maybe you can find usefull information in the original thread about the GT60/GT70 GPU modification [ Link].

Unfortunately I will not be able to help you with modifications on series 1000 since I don't have it to test myself.
This guide can give you directions, but they can be a little bit different, specially the software mod.

I don't want to put you down or make you give up the mod, I just warning you that it will be hard, but usually the most satisfying things are the hardest ones, don't you agree?

 

Been a silent reader for a while, and it seems i'm kinda late into the game, but better late than never, right?
Firstly, i wanna say thanks a lot to everybody, especially good sir @DMTwo and @omega939 , who contributed a lot to this GT60/70 upgrade project, i can't thank you enough, man, you guys saved me a lot of money with this!!

So i have things to discuss here, but first i list things i've done/upgraded so far (BTW my unit is MSI GT60-0NC):
- Upgraded the CPU to i7-3840QM
- Upgraded the GPU to GTX 980M (Clevo card, using vBIOS from this thread)
- Updated the BIOS to 51X
- Updated the EC to T18
- Upgraded the AC adapter to 330 watts (got shutoffs before, with stock 180 watts adapter while gaming, my guess is lack of power, now it runs fine with 330)

My problem is, while everything runs fine, driver installed correctly, games & benchmark runs normally as intended (low score on firestrike though, 8913 on graphics ), the CPU & GPU clocks fluctuate like crazy, even when using Throttlestop, it helps a little, but power limit throttle still occurs on both. From what i read on the main thread (which seems dead, hence i post here, hope you guys read this), the T18 EC is already unlocked, which means 330 watts adapter should already be supported, right? so what's wrong here?

 

Is your firmware T18EC modded or stock? To prevent from throttling your GT60 you should have a modded EC firmware to avoid throttling. Or ask SVET in MSI forums to mod the ec firmware for you.

 

idk, i got it from the main upgrade thread here along with the BIOS, but i read there that the T18 EC is already unlocked...i read somewhere else that the vBIOS could also be the culprit, is that right??

 

If your bios is unlocked and you still got throttling or stuttering issues, try checking your gpu to the heatsink if the thermal pads is properly touching where it is suppose to dissipate heat.

 

yep, heatsink is fine, system runs fine if only CPU or GPU get load, i tried to stress the CPU and it drew 50 watts constantly, same thing to the GPU, even though i can't check its power draw, the clock ran at its rated boost alright, only when both get heavy enough load, like AAA games, it starts to throttle like crazy, even the CPU doesn't draw its rated 45 watts power, BTW i check it using MSI Afterburner and both CPU and GPU got power limit throttle, not thermal throttle, so i dont think this is thermal problem...

 

Your setup is the same as with DMTwo. He told me that Unlock CPU + 980M= Draws too much power and heat. I don't have that throttling issues because mine is 3940xm and 970m card though still draws too much power too when playing or benchmarking dx12 games. Try to balance the tweaks you did with your cpu and gpu to lessen the heat. less heat can lessen the throttling issue you have with your setup.

 

I tried to decrease the CPU clock for some times before, even turned off its turbo boost completely, still got power limit throttle, the max power it drew was around 30-35 watts, GPU couldn't boost either as far as i remember, just at stock, and framerate drops even further with this settings ...i saw some people got high graphics score at firestrike, like 10k or even better, i wonder how they did that

 

Sorry for the delay to answer you...

This issue started now and it was working fine some time ago, right?
Are the temps Ok, right?

In my case my 980M worked fine for about 6 months, I wanted to replace the 3610QM by 3840QM just to have higher clocks at lower temps, I got exactly was I wanted, but after some time my laptop suffered from a strange issue, I searched a lot and I could not be able to find someone suffering of the same problem.

To make the things short, when I was playing a very demanding games (intensive CPU + GPU usage), I got an issue like if I have unplugged the power cord, the system throttle everything and 1 second after it recognize again the AC and return everything back to normal, but this repeats over and over again, I got really pissed off because was impossible to play.
Some time trying and tracking when and how the issue happened, I could manage to isolate the problem and even cause it on purpose.
I bought a new AC adapter from Dell, a 240W (19,5V@12,3A), manage to connect it to the laptop and get the same issues.

I realized that my combination was drawing too much power, maybe there are some components in my motherboard that are “tired” and should be replaced, but in Brazil I couldn’t find a repair shop able to fix this model since it is like an alien here.
When I was benchmarking the GT60, I could force it at the maximum of each, CPU and GPU, but the issue always happened when both were active:
CPU could draw full power, up to 50W, no issues!
GPU without any mod, could draw 100-120W with no issue!
However when both were active, the issue start immediately.

Since there’s no way to limit the CPU, because even at lower clocks on higher load it gets near the power limit, on the other hand the GPU could be easily modded to draw less power.

So the work around to fix my issue was decrease the maximum power limit of 980M, it also capped the maximum performance, but lower resolution/quality is better than not playing at all.
After this sad history if you have something that sounds like my problem, maybe you have to decrease the maximum limit power of your 980M.

Today my GPU is working at power limit of 50W, it gets pikes of 60W, I don’t have issues anymore.
I also modded the GPU core voltage allowing it get more MHz without using more power.

It was a trial and error job, was hours and hours decreasing values and testing, I believe that there’s still room for improvement, but I satisfied with the performance and stability I got.

To show you numbers about all these changes…
This benchmark was made after installing 3840QM and 980M, both were super stable and not limits at all:
FireStrke 8030pts https://www.3dmark.com/fs/8834385

This benchmark was made after the latest mod in 980M, both stable:
FireStrike 6560pts https://www.3dmark.com/fs/15434896

As you can see I lost a lot of performance, but no pain no gain, right?

 

hey @DMTwo thanks for the reply!!

From what we got here, what i'm wondering though, is if that EC firmware really unlocked and supports more power input, 'cuz what i see here that we still get power limit throttle, which means its seems it still draws less power than it needed. Have you tried using kill a watt?? I'm planning to get one myself, just to make sure. Then if it draws power properly, i can start searching for another culprit, my guess for now is either the EC or the vBIOS, could even be both, are limiting the power draw. @omega939 gave me solution with vBIOS, gonna try it and let you guys know later.

BTW just FYI, i tried to talk to Svet before, and what's shocking was that he told me that our laptop doesn't work with bigger AC adapter, even though there are the T19 and T24 exist...So i'm wondering, what's been unlocked in it??

 

Yeah, probably it’s a limit, I don’t know if it’s hardware or software, because I also have the EC controller unlocked.
I think it’s a hardware limit, just like the limit we have in the DC-Jack, which allow a certain amount of current before start heating and destroying itself and sometimes the board.

Yes, I have a way to measure the power and even more data, I use a GT.POWER 130A Wattmeter [ https://www.ebbm.nl/Files/3/4000/4467/Attachments/Product/3psd5B2J2N9845S17920hf5438O194XB.pdf].
It’s between AC adapter and the laptop.
I can check in real time the power consumption, voltage, current, peak current, average voltage, total Wh and peak Watts.

Whenever I pass 140W I got the issues, below 120W was stable with no issues at all.
Sometimes When over 140W the laptop seems a short-circuit to the Dell AC adapter and shut it down for protection, I didn’t have this protection with the Delta AC adapter that came with my laptop, but it also give a short-circuit and reset the data of the GT.POWER Wattmeter (It only keep data while there’s power supply).

The issue always happen when the DC input was below 18.5V, which could happen on higher loads like 7A…8A being supplied by AC adapter.
I never saw it goes near the AC adapter rated current (Delta = 9,2A / Dell = 12,3A).

Probably the unlock let us install unidentified hardware, and if there’s limits that we can unlock, they are already at maximum possible value.

I only bought a new AC adapter because since the issue sounded like permanent and I didn’t have my wattmeter at that moment, I thought that my Delta AC adapter was damaged and the nearest AC adapter meeting the Voltage and current available to by in Brazil was the Dell Alienware power brick.

 

Tried 2 vBIOSes and here's it :

- DMTwo's modded vBIOS : Power draw limited to 60 W, clocked lower than stock.

Pros : Lower operating temperature.

Cons : Lower stock clock, performs lower than what my card can do (got power limit throttle and clocked around 540 MHz when stressed, while with stock vBIOS, got around 800-900 MHz even when at thermal & power limit throttle).
​

- svl7 modded vBIOS : Unlocked everything in it, i even can measure power draw from GPU-Z!! Slightly overclocked from stock, no boost clock, it runs at static clock around 1200 MHz.

Pros : Performs the best among other vBIOSes, even at Clevo stock clock. Unlocked everything. Can measure power draw. No more power limit & thermal throttle!! (we can set it manually!!).

Cons : Highest operating temperature compared to the other (90++ C!!!). Got driver crash with its default clock, had to underclock to Clevo stock clock to operate normally. Even though all limits (power & thermal) had been lifted, CPU still got power limit throttle (max draw 30-35 W), i think it's a hardware limit, just like @DMTwo said.
​

So after messing with those vBIOSes for a brief time, i decided to revert back to stock Clevo vBIOS, that's the best vBIOS for our system, at every condition, i think, at least for now. The downside IMO is just that power limit throttle, but then again, with the limit lifted, it'll perform hotter than normal (it reached 90's C!!, while with stock still get under 90's), so for the sake of longevity, i think stock is the best, maybe i should just live with it and be happy, at least for now (still have something up my sleeve tho, but maybe later). Thanks again to our brothers in arms @DMTwo and @omega939 !!!