Nvidia Voltmods
Unlike CPU's, graphics cards can be overclocked using the standard heatsink, however, i wholly recommend you read my guide here and clean the dust out and apply some new and more effective thermal paste.
BIOS Voltmodding (Nvidia Only!)
Voltmodding, a practice not so well known by most overclockers. When OC'ing your CPU, you usually raise your Vcore to achieve a higher speed, so why not do the same with your graphics card? You can overclock so far on stock voltage before you reach a roof. You'll need the extra voltage to go further and that's what we'll do now!
Before we start, a few warnings. This process can be risky and if done wrong, can brick your card. So, do not voltmod if your mains power is likely to cut out (I.E. Storms, local electricity maintenance, blind lumberjacks etc...). If the power cuts half way through a flash, it may not be the end of the world, but it could lead to a lot of hassle later on.
Right, now to start, you'll need to download the following programs (hyperlinked):
• HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool
• nvFlash+v5.57
• NiBiTor 4.3
You'll also need the dreaded floppy disk. I know these are dying, but, i could not find a way to do the job without it. Luckily, there is a conversion tool which allows you to create a bootable USB pen, so you do not have to have the floppy at your own computer, you can create it at someone elses machine or house.
Step 1.
NOTE! This step can be skipped if you intend to flash with a floppy disk instead of a USB pen. I have included it because many people do not have their own drive and may need to carry out the procedure away from their own machine. If using a floppy, go directly to stage 2. Where i refer to bootable USB pen, use your bootable floppy.
The first things we need are floppy disk/drive, USB pen and the HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool. Format the floppy disk and at the same time, choose "Create an MS-DOS startup disk".
You can do quick format or full. Once formatted, the disk may contain numerous system files like so:
Step 2
Next, we have to create the bootable USB pen. So, start up the HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool, make sure the pen and floppy are still both plugged in. If you have numerous USB drives, select the correct one from the "Device" drop down box. Leave the "File System" as FAT. Again, whether you do a quick or full format is up to you. I personally do quick, because i'm a lazy person. Click "Create a DOS startup Disk" and underneath, "using DOS system files located at:". Browse to the location of the floppy disk and select. For me, it is Drive B:\. This will copy those system files off the floppy disk. Press "start".
Once completed, you now have a bootable USB pen. You may forget the floppy, we no longer need it.
Step 3
Now we come to the actual nerve-racking stuff. Open nvflash v5.57 and extract the two files into a folder. Then, run "nvFlash.v5.57.exe". This will again extract a folder into the current directory. Inside the folder should be three files: "cwsdpmi.exe", "nvflash.exe" and "nvFlash.info.txt".
Copy "cwsdpmi.exe" and "nvflash.exe" onto your bootable USB pen (or floppy if you skipped stage 1).
Step 4
Note! All relatively modern and good quality motherboards should support USB booting. If it doesn't, flash your motherboard to the latest BIOS (making sure to read the BIOS release notes to check whether it will actually include USB booting).
If a motherboard BIOS upgrade doesn't support USB booting, you either cannot continue with Voltmodding or you must use a floppy disk.
If a motherboard BIOS upgrade doesn't support USB booting, you either cannot continue with Voltmodding or you must use a floppy disk.
Restart your PC and through either the BIOS or boot selection screen, choose your USB stick as the primary boot device. Once selected, the screen should load MS-DOS. The starting location will be "C:\". The drive letter in MS-DOS will not match that of Windows Vista/XP. This is because "C:\" is always the boot location and we selected your USB pen as that.
Note! The photo below shows me using the "Dir" command. This shows the contents of the current directory (the usb stick)
Type in the following command without quotation marks "nvflash --save orig.rom"
Note the double hyphen before "save". This will copy the current graphics card BIOS to the USB stick and call it "orig.rom". Once completed, restart your PC and boot to Windows as normal.
Very Important: The most important thing to do when BIOS flashing is to keep the original in case things go tits up. When in Windows, go to the USB stick and copy the file "orig.rom" (the one you just made) onto your computer and as many places as possible off your PC (I personally put it on another USB stick and another PC in the house. Therefore, if i ever need it again, it's backed up in multiple places)
Step 5
Now, voltage editing.
Note! This area of the guide is specific to 8800GT cards. It is still relevant to other Nvidia cards, but you must research the voltages for your own card since they all differ. So, before continuing, find out what voltage you are going to voltmod to. If unsure, hit the overclocking forums such as www.overclock.net
If you haven't already, read the note above, it is important. Open NiBiTor 4.3 and click "File", "Open BIOS" and select "orig.rom" from either your USB pen or where ever you may have a copy of it. This will open the cards specific details. Ensure they are all correct as new cards are sometimes not recognised properly and this can cause issues when flashing.
Click the "voltages", "Exact Mode" tabs. From the "Extra" drop down box, choose the correct voltage that you want. For my 8800gt, i will use 1.1v.
Once done, click "File", "Save BIOS" and call it "voltmod.rom". Save it to your bootable USB pen.
Step 6
Reboot your PC and select the USB pen as primary boot device. This will open the MS-DOS screen seen earlier. You can use the "dir" command again to check whether the files are on it.
Now, type without quotations, "nvflash voltmod.rom". This is now the step of no return. You will be asked to confirm whether you want to flash, type "Y" for yes. It will now replace the old BIOS with your new voltmodded "voltmod.rom" BIOS. Do not do anything until completed.
Once finished, restart the PC and boot into Windows. If your reading this stage, you're probably okay. If your PC won't boot, you've probably bricked your card. Begin RMA process.
Otherwise, await my upcoming overclocking guide.
Comment