Alienware 18 BIOS A12 Findings & Fixes

Without HWInfo64 installed in my R2, the second 980M gpu goes up beyond 92C on idle till shutdown because of extreme heating, I dont remember if this occurred before flashing to prema bios. In the case of legacy mode I think the new system BIOS released for the 18 is what enable the legacy mode that works on 980M, not the vBIOS I guess.

 

haha yeh unfortunately I felt the need to prove that.

 

I too was hoping Prema would have answered by now. I haven't flashed yet. Waiting for his response and the modded vbios he mentioned to be ready

 

I have just released the GTX980M & GTX970M vBIOS Mods for the AW18!
(click my signature) >>> Update to system BIOS A12+ first <<<

Though they can be used on other AW systems as an alternative to my Clevo based Mod, it won't remedy the throttle issue that those systems experience (that's for later).
It may help with the second FAN not spinning properly on M18xR2, but I only have a single report confirming it.

As always ENJOY!

 

Thanks for the update Prema. Do you have an ETA for the release of the anti throttling mod?

 

You mean Estimated Throttle of Alienware...no sorry I am not good in keeping ETAs...
I have to re-base my beta to the AW base and unlike the AW 18 version it's a very complex mod...

 

Ok, I'll be looking forward to it!

 

But Prema,is it mandatory to install the BIOS A12 in M18X-R2? There isn't an unlocked A12 BIOS released yet, just the unlocked A10 version that contains some additional settings to overclock the CPU.

 

Its not mandatory, but I am sure the system will throttle just like before if you don't (apart from not supporting legacy boot).
Not sure how bad the throttle was before A12 with my Clevo vBIOS, but expect similar throttle without the new BIOS.

EDIT: This thread is about AW 18 NOT M18xR2. The new BIOS is only for AW 18!!!

 

Updated M18X-R2 to A12 and updated gpu vBIOS but the fans are not spinning yet, tested with the Witcher 3 the second fan reached 94C and the notebook shutdown itself, maybe something is wrong in flashing process? Firmware subsystem ID mismatch?

Metal Gear V The Panthon Pain isn't SLI enabled