(UEFI) Dell XPS 15z L511z modded BIOS - and HOWTO

[jkbuha]

sure thing kasar - let me know what info you need from me (and also how to extract it) so I'll send it over to you.

but i'd also suggest you make a linux livecd such as ubuntu 14 (which correctly boots uefi mode, unlike mint or ubuntu 13 for example) and clover bootusb, and experiment with booting into linux uefi under clover to run some benchmarks of your own as well - that way you'll get to try out clover for yourself as well.

[kasar]

mmm, I would say you run cct / cctwin commands I ran on previous pages, but since you arent using windows. i dont know how you can get those outputs.

also running alternatives to cpuz on osx may provide also some little information, not sure.

well, I will flash more tests with FITC trying to unlock more stuff

[jkbuha]

I can run windows, but only on normal (ie: FSB=100) speeds. Clover doesn't work in legacy mode for windows 8, at least on our dell laptops.

I have a utility called cpu-x (it's a clone of cpuz) but it says the same things: core speed = 3375MHz, multiplier = 33.5.

On a related note, I'm shortly going to be dismantling the laptop to replace the screen. If anyone can show me where the HDA chip is (or even what it looks like), so I'll try and short pins 1 and 5, it would be greatly appreciated

[kasar]

yeah, booting windows with stock values and non modded me firmware isnt the best I think.

well, your multiplier is 33, where if your stock frecuency should be on 27, I suspect turboboost is giving u a hand in there.

can you try disabling turbo in the modded bios option and check if you can going over 27 multiplier?

check also the bclk/fsb with cpu-x


about hardware modding, I have no idea where the HDA chip could be, so if you can take HD pics of all suspicius chips from your mobo and post them here, I'm sure CR will be able to give us a hand

also, if you decide to going to modding the bios chip like I did, I can help you with the procedure, remember having the whole chip image saved my [censored] several times, cause if you [censored] descriptor or ME sections, no bios recovery cdrom will save your [censored] and you will need motherboard replacement.

thats why I think hardware programer is a must have for this project, it make things easier and also allow us to work way safer than risking the whole machine after each flash, specially if we are messing with another regions than just BIOS.

[jkbuha]

With turbo disabled I can still clock 125MHz. Max speed is 3375MHz, not 4000MHz as was with turbo. So the FSB can still be set to 125MHz, but obviously I get lower max clock speeds because turbo is disabled.

Once I boot to win i'll run some cctwin dumps but they will be run in 100MHz mode.

[kasar]

ok, thanks, I will compare it then.

the question is why your multiplier is 33

it should be 27

27 x 100 = 2700mhz
27 x 125 = 3375 mhz

however if your multiplier would be 33

it would something like

33 x 125 = 4125 mhz (wich it seems with turbo)

so if you can ensure your multi is 27 while you have turbo disabled it would be nice.

also there is no way you can get 125 using bclk (reference clock only), you must have unlinked clocks or something into separate frecuencies.

any chance you can share your clover config?

I think there was a txt or xml file, not sure



oh, as for the electronics, there is something at this topic, they also talk about implementing XTU full support on another laptops
http://forum.techinferno.com/clevo-sager...5-xtu.html
worth to read I think ^^

[radosi]

Also over the last week my 1080p LCD screen has developed an annoying screen bleed which apparently is a known defect on these WLED truelife screens. It seems to be increasing so most likely I'll have to get a screen replacement as well - which brings me to why I've posted it here...if I find a cheapish 2560x1600 or 2880x1800 15.6" screen with a right-side 40" connector, using our new unlocked v2158 bios it may be a good idea to think about a naughty mod upgrade

Can you tell us more about this kind of LCD provider. I also would like to upgrade my 1080 screen with smth. 2880x1800

[Florin9doi]

they have different aspect ratios

[jkbuha]

Yes they both have different aspect ratios - the problem is that there doesn't seem to be a standard above 1080p, especially on 15.6" screens.

Also I have another issue - in theory I could patch in the new resolution into the vbios for the new screen, but I'm worried that the connector may not support the increased bandwidth. Probably best I stick with a new 1080p screen for now until the resolution (and corresponding vbioses) become standardised above 1080p.

On the other topic re: Clover & Bios FSB - if anyone has any additional input over what kasar & I have discussed please let us know. Right now it seems like Clover+UEFI+FSB setting seems to be the best rational bet as we can easily get 25% increase in performance, but we need more testing on different processors for a detailed analysis. Thanks in advance!

[TimeWalker]

Oh you lucky people with dual channel connectors, my Vostro has a single channel connector and the only display I can install is the one I have - 1366x768, mat 14" ...

As for Clover - I will do some testing on FSB. Also, for some reason my laptop always freezes upon shutdown from OSX, not always really, but fairly frequently. UEFI drivers seem to cause this on my main install, but there are virtually no freezes with a clean install. Could you @jkbuha post your set of drivers, please?