EVGA GTX 980 KPE vBIOS modding adventure

[Avacado]

I scored one of 3 EVGA GTX 980 KPE's off of OCN and would like to document my adventure vBIOS modifying the card to greatness for HWBot purposes. Now this is a highly used card on HWBot and most of the top 3 are on LN2/DICE which I can't compete with. I will attempt to test the limits of voltage and wattage within the constraints of a watercooling environment. The likelihood of me destroying this card is very high. That is a risk I am willing to take.  

 

This is the card in question:

 

 

Software needed:

 

NVIDIA Drivers - 497.29

Maxwell BIOS Tweaker - v1.36

DDU - v18.0.4.7

GPUz - v2.43.0

CPUz - v1.99

Precision X1 - v1.3.0.0

 

Test System:

CPU - 12900KF @AI OC tuner settings 1.45v  max. 

MOBO - ASUS z690-A

RAM - 32GB G.Skill DDR5 5600 @XMP 36-36-36-76 2T

PSU - Super Flower 1000w Leadex

GPU WB - EK 

CPU WB - Optimus Sig v2.0

RADs - Acool 2x 480

 

This card is based on the Maxwell 2.0 architecture. It has 2x8 pin + 1x6 pin PCI-e power connectors. This gives the card a theoretical maximum of 450w. The skinny on the rest of the specifications can be found HERE

 

Preliminary benches and clocks:

 

 

Bone stock 100% Power target in X1 we scored 58715 in Cloudgate. That is good enough for #11 in the world on HWBot stock. Maxed clock at 1442.8MHz, VRAM 1752.8MHz. The card only drew 156.2w max @ 1.200v only hitting 52.1% of TDP. These last three stats are what we are going to be focusing on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 5, 2022 by Avacado

[ENTERPRISE]

21 hours ago, Avacado said:

I scored one of 3 EVGA GTX 980 KPE's off of OCN and would like to document my adventure vBIOS modifying the card to greatness for HWBot purposes. Now this is a highly used card on HWBot and most of the top 3 are on LN2/DICE which I can't compete with. I will attempt to test the limits of voltage and wattage within the constraints of a watercooling environment. The likelihood of me destroying this card is very high. That is a risk I am willing to take.  

 

This is the card in question:

 

 

Software needed:

 

NVIDIA Drivers - 497.29

Maxwell BIOS Tweaker - v1.36

DDU - v18.0.4.7

GPUz - v2.43.0

CPUz - v1.99

Precision X1 - v1.3.0.0

 

Test System:

CPU - 12900KF @AI OC tuner settings 1.45v  max. 

MOBO - ASUS z690-A

RAM - 32GB G.Skill DDR5 5600 @XMP 36-36-36-76 2T

PSU - Super Flower 1000w Leadex

GPU WB - EK 

CPU WB - Optimus Sig v2.0

RADs - Acool 2x 480

 

This card is based on the Maxwell 2.0 architecture. It has 2x8 pin + 1x6 pin PCI-e power connectors. This gives the card a theoretical maximum of 450w. The skinny on the rest of the specifications can be found HERE

 

Preliminary benches and clocks:

 

 

Bone stock 100% Power target in X1 we scored 58715 in Cloudgate. That is good enough for #11 in the world on HWBot stock. Maxed clock at 1442.8MHz, VRAM 1752.8MHz. The card only drew 156.2w max @ 1.200v only hitting 52.1% of TDP. These last three stats are what we are going to be focusing on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not bad considering stock. I assume you are going to Mod that BIOS and do some serious pushing with it ? Correct me if I am wrong but the Tesla M40 are close to the 980's in nature ?

[Avacado]

7 minutes ago, ENTERPRISE said:

Not bad considering stock. I assume you are going to Mod that BIOS and do some serious pushing with it ? Correct me if I am wrong but the Tesla M40 are close to the 980's in nature ?

They are. Same architecture (Maxwell). Problem is that these cards are factory voltage locked. I am not entirely sure I will be able to raise the voltage. I haven't posted it yet, but last night after some modding to 1.281mv it only bumped it from 1.2v flat stock to 1.215v. I don't think I will have much headroom with the voltage, but I am hoping I can get more than the 180w max usage I have seen. The theoretical is 450w and i'd love to pull that. I had to run ID mismatch NVflash to get the first test vBIOS loaded. We shall see. 

 

Hit #6 HWbot Cloudgate last night with minor mods. 

 

Edited January 6, 2022 by Avacado

[damric]

Ahh yes same problem I have with the GTX 750 on Michele's ETF rig. It has the 6pin connector but since the driver refuses anything higher than 1.21v, it never really pulls over 50w, no matter what. I think you have to hardware mod these to trick them somehow.

 

 

[tictoc]

Is the power limit set at 450W, and just not pulling that much power, or are you unable to set the max power limit? 

 

My 980 KPE will push quite a bit of power (more than 250W) without issue depending on the work load.  It's been a bit since I messed around with it in Windows, but I am pretty sure I have an xoc bios and the classified voltage tool.  I'll see what I have in my notes for the 980 KPE when I get home this evening.

[Avacado]

3 hours ago, tictoc said:

Is the power limit set at 450W, and just not pulling that much power, or are you unable to set the max power limit? 

 

My 980 KPE will push quite a bit of power (more than 250W) without issue depending on the work load.  It's been a bit since I messed around with it in Windows, but I am pretty sure I have an xoc bios and the classified voltage tool.  I'll see what I have in my notes for the 980 KPE when I get home this evening.

You are a God. Thanks toc.

 

I changed the power limit to 450w and it's not pulling half of it. I assumed it was some weird issue requiring different tools.

Edited January 13, 2022 by Avacado

[tictoc]

2 hours ago, Avacado said:

You are a God. Thanks toc.

 

I changed the power limit to 450w and it's not pulling half of it. I assumed it was some weird issue requiring different tools.

 

If you raise the power limit to max, it should just go there without doing anything special.  On Linux I just used nvidia-smi (command line tool) to set the power limit to 500W.  You should be able to do the same thing on Windows, if you find that you can't bump the power limit up to max.  I think nvidia-smi is now in the default $PATH on Windows 10, so you should just be able to open an elevated command prompt and then set the power limit with the below command.

 

nvidia-smi -pl 500 

 

 

Here are a few BIOS for the 980 KPE, the Classified Voltage  Controller (software voltage control, either version should work, but 2.1.0 might have been for 780ti), and an old version of Precision X.  Precision X will read the actual voltage on KPE cards and you can also use kboost to lock the card to the P0 power state.  You might not get too far without going cold.  Maxwell voltage doesn't really start scaling until you get the temps way down, but you should be able to push it further than where you are at right now. Happy OC'ing.

 

kpe980_1.3v.zip kpe980_xoc.zip classified_v2.1.0.zip classified_v2.1.2.zip evga_precision-x_v5.3.6.zip

Edited January 13, 2022 by tictoc
additional info added

[Avacado]

On 12/01/2022 at 22:36, tictoc said:

 

If you raise the power limit to max, it should just go there without doing anything special.  On Linux I just used nvidia-smi (command line tool) to set the power limit to 500W.  You should be able to do the same thing on Windows, if you find that you can't bump the power limit up to max.  I think nvidia-smi is now in the default $PATH on Windows 10, so you should just be able to open an elevated command prompt and then set the power limit with the below command.

 

nvidia-smi -pl 500 

 

 

Here are a few BIOS for the 980 KPE, the Classified Voltage  Controller (software voltage control, either version should work, but 2.1.0 might have been for 780ti), and an old version of Precision X.  Precision X will read the actual voltage on KPE cards and you can also use kboost to lock the card to the P0 power state.  You might not get too far without going cold.  Maxwell voltage doesn't really start scaling until you get the temps way down, but you should be able to push it further than where you are at right now. Happy OC'ing.

 

kpe980_1.3v.zip 136.89 kB · 0 downloads kpe980_xoc.zip 136.91 kB · 1 download classified_v2.1.0.zip 851.42 kB · 0 downloads classified_v2.1.2.zip 851.74 kB · 1 download evga_precision-x_v5.3.6.zip 32.1 MB · 0 downloads

So far no joy. XOC bios Bricked one of the 3 vBIOS and had to get out the trusty GT710 to save it. I can't find a manual for the 4 PCB switches on the back of the card and it's frustrating. My understanding is that there are 2x.25mv switches and 2x protection switches. I just cant figure out which ones are which. I played with the classified tool, however it was not able to change voltage at all. I can only assume it is because of the voltage protection switches. I'll have to pop it out again and try another configuration. 

 

Access Denied

FORUMS.EVGA.COM

 

Edited January 15, 2022 by Avacado

[tictoc]

On 15/01/2022 at 14:44, Avacado said:

So far no joy. XOC bios Bricked one of the 3 vBIOS and had to get out the trusty GT710 to save it.

 

In the future you shouldn't have to use a secondary GPU to recover a bad BIOS flash.  All you should have to do is switch to a good BIOS, boot, and then once in the OS flip the switch to the BIOS that you want to flash.

 

To make things easier I would just run on the OC BIOS, flip both the voltage switches to on, and see how far you get with Precision X.  I think this is what I ultimately ended up doing on Windows, since I was able to pretty much max the card out that way.

I think you might have to use an old driver to use the xoc BIOS I posted.  I honestly don't really remember for sure.  I wasn't nearly as thorough in taking notes and keeping track of changes back then.  You might try the 347.88 drivers.

 

[Avacado]

1 hour ago, tictoc said:

 

In the future you shouldn't have to use a secondary GPU to recover a bad BIOS flash.  All you should have to do is switch to a good BIOS, boot, and then once in the OS flip the switch to the BIOS that you want to flash.

 

To make things easier I would just run on the OC BIOS, flip both the voltage switches to on, and see how far you get with Precision X.  I think this is what I ultimately ended up doing on Windows, since I was able to pretty much max the card out that way.

I think you might have to use an old driver to use the xoc BIOS I posted.  I honestly don't really remember for sure.  I wasn't nearly as thorough in taking notes and keeping track of changes back then.  You might try the 347.88 drivers.

 

I know your right. TBH I'm almost done with this card. I did flip the 2 .25mv switches and i'm still getting 1.215 max. Card still wont get more than 272w. I have been getting some decent points for the HWbot season so i'm not completely pissed about it. 

 

Managed 6th on Time Spy even at 1.215v and 272w max. Good for 20 points.

 

Edited January 16, 2022 by Avacado

[damric]

Nice they still have you in the Novice league. You're murdering them lol.

[Papusan]

On 15/01/2022 at 15:44, Avacado said:

So far no joy. XOC bios Bricked one of the 3 vBIOS and had to get out the trusty GT710 to save it. I can't find a manual for the 4 PCB switches on the back of the card and it's frustrating. My understanding is that there are 2x.25mv switches and 2x protection switches. I just cant figure out which ones are which. I played with the classified tool, however it was not able to change voltage at all. I can only assume it is because of the voltage protection switches. I'll have to pop it out again and try another configuration. 

 

Access Denied

FORUMS.EVGA.COM

 

Hi. I just got the 980 Classified Kingpin card. Flashed the XOC vbios found here on oc.net in the folder EVGA 980 CLASSIFIED K|NGP|N EDITION TOOLS

 

 

And as you, the flash went wrong.

 

As usual I disabled the driver in device manager. Made a folder as C:/kingpin and put in the XOC bios and put in the nvflash files. Then run CMD as adm.... cd c:\kingpin

 

Next... nvflash -6 kp980x.rom

 

Y for everything and got confirmed Update succsessful then the reboot message. I rebooted and got a nice black screen 

 

 

 I installed a smaller card in second slot. Booted up and looked into GPU-Z and found that the GTX980 still there but with the same old stock vbios. Went into device manager and enabled the Kingpin card. Then shut down the machine. Turned of the on/off switch and the AC plug. Swapped the HDMI cable over to the 980 kingpin and booted up again. There I also got confirmed that the Kingpin card worked but with same old vBios. Hmmmm

 

Is there something wrong with that XOC vbios for 980 Kingpin? And is the nvflash version working as it should (from the folder I mentioned above). I see you bricked the Kingpin card and never was able to boot up in Windows again.

 

Anoter question... 

Maybe I need protect off? But nothing in the guide in the OC.net thread EVGA Classified & K|NGP|N Owner's Club say you need the command nvflash --protectoff. But I mean it's not needed.

 

2n try maybe ore like this...?

 

C:/kingpin with the XOC bios and the nvflash files. Run CMD as adm.... cd c:\kingpin

 

Next... nvflash --protectoff then Enter

 

Next... nvflash -6 kp980x.rom then Enter

 

And is it better to shut down instead for reboot? Shut down and then turn of the on/off switch and AC cable. Then connect power and boot up again?

 

And is the two Kingpin vbios versions from @tictoc post above equal bugged and will it still brick the card? 

 

Last question. What is the prefered nvflash version for this card.

 

I thank you all for all answers  

 

 

 

 

Edited March 16, 2023 by Papusan

[Avacado]

8 minutes ago, Papusan said:

Hi. I just got the 980 Classified Kingpin card. Flashed the XOC vbios found here on oc.net in the folder EVGA 980 CLASSIFIED K|NGP|N EDITION TOOLS

 

And as you, the flash went wrong.

 

As usual I disabled the driver in device manager. Made a folder as C:/kingpin and put in the XOC bios and put in the nvflash files. Then run CMD as adm.... cd c:\kingpin

 

Next... nvflash -6 kp980x.rom

 

Y for everything and got confirmed Update succsessful then the reboot message. I rebooted and got a nice black screen 

 

 

 I installed a smaller card in second slot. Booted up and looked into GPU-Z and found that the GTX980 still there but with the same old stock vbios. Went into device manager and enabled the Kingpin card. Then shut down the machine. Turned of the on/off switch and the AC plug. Swapped the HDMI cable over to the 980 kingpin and booted up again. There I also got confirmed that the Kingpin card worked but with same old vBios. Hmmmm

 

Is there something wrong with that XOC vbios for 980 Kingpin? And is the nvflash version working as it should (from the folder I mentioned above). I see you bricked the Kingpin card and never was able to boot up in Windows again.

 

Anoter question... 

Maybe I need protect off? But nothing in the guide in the OC.net thread EVGA Classified & K|NGP|N Owner's Club say you need the command nvflash --protectoff.

 

More like this...

 C:/kingpin with the XOC bios and the nvflash files. Run CMD as adm.... cd c:\kingpin

 

Next... nvflash --protectoff then Enter

 

Next... nvflash -6 kp980x.rom then Enter

 

And is it better to shut down instead for reboot? Shut down and then turn of the on/off switch and AC cable. Then connect power and boot up again?

 

And is the two Kingpin vbios versions from @tictoc post above equal bugged and will it still brick the card? 

 

Last question. What is the prefered nvflash version for this card.

 

I thank you all for all answers  

 

 

 

 

It's possible. I can't remember which version of NVflash I used, but I am pretty sure I tried all three (NVflash, ID mismatch and Certs bypassed). I did brick one of the three vBIOS''s, but was able to restore it back to stock using a GT710. Using the protect off string can help to flash on cards with protection, but does not always guarantee success. If you are going to brick the card, it can usually be saved regardless of whether you use protect-off or not. 

 

The naming scheme doesn't really matter as long as it's simple and you know the correct one and do not accidentally modify your stock file. My vBIOS folder looks like this:

 

 

Reboot or shut down does not matter as long as the computer restarts following a flash. I was never able to find the correct driver version to run the XOC bios he listed, so I stopped at restoring my one corrupted vBIOS switch and moved on from trying to mod it. I was able to change the frequency tables, but I never could increase voltage or wattage on my 980 or 980Ti.

 

I honestly can't remember which version of NVflash I used to successfully flash the 980. It was one of the 3 below

 

1. 

   NVIDIA NVFlash with Certificate Checks Bypassed v5.287 Download | TechPowerUp

   WWW.TECHPOWERUP.COM

   ---

   This modified version of NVFlash lets you flash a modified BIOS to your NVIDIA graphics card.
2. 

   NVIDIA NVFlash with Board Id Mismatch Disabled v5.590.0 Download | TechPowerUp

   WWW.TECHPOWERUP.COM

   ---

   This is a patched version of NVIDIA's NVFlash. On Turing cards, NVFlash no longer allows overriding of the "board ID mismatch" message through comm
3. 

   NVIDIA NVFlash 5.792.0 Download | TechPowerUp

   WWW.TECHPOWERUP.COM

   ---

   NVIDIA NVFlash is used to flash the graphics card BIOS on Ampere, Turing, Pascal and all older NVIDIA cards. NVFlash supports BIOS flashing on NVID

 

I hope you have better luck than I did. 

[Papusan]

10 minutes ago, Avacado said:

It's possible. I can't remember which version of NVflash I used, but I am pretty sure I tried all three (NVflash, ID mismatch and Certs bypassed). I did brick one of the three vBIOS''s, but was able to restore it back to stock using a GT710. Using the protect off string can help to flash on cards with protection, but does not always guarantee success. If you are going to brick the card, it can usually be saved regardless of whether you use protect-off or not. 

 

The naming scheme doesn't really matter as long as it's simple and you know the correct one and do not accidentally modify your stock file. My vBIOS folder looks like this:

 

 

Reboot or shut down does not matter as long as the computer restarts following a flash. I was never able to find the correct driver version to run the XOC bios he listed, so I stopped at restoring my one corrupted vBIOS switch and moved on from trying to mod it. I was able to change the frequency tables, but I never could increase voltage or wattage on my 980 or 980Ti.

 

I honestly can't remember which version of NVflash I used to successfully flash the 980. It was one of the 3 below

 

1. 

   NVIDIA NVFlash with Certificate Checks Bypassed v5.287 Download | TechPowerUp

   WWW.TECHPOWERUP.COM

   ---

   This modified version of NVFlash lets you flash a modified BIOS to your NVIDIA graphics card.
2. 

   NVIDIA NVFlash with Board Id Mismatch Disabled v5.590.0 Download | TechPowerUp

   WWW.TECHPOWERUP.COM

   ---

   This is a patched version of NVIDIA's NVFlash. On Turing cards, NVFlash no longer allows overriding of the "board ID mismatch" message through comm
3. 

   NVIDIA NVFlash 5.792.0 Download | TechPowerUp

   WWW.TECHPOWERUP.COM

   ---

   NVIDIA NVFlash is used to flash the graphics card BIOS on Ampere, Turing, Pascal and all older NVIDIA cards. NVFlash supports BIOS flashing on NVID

 

I hope you have better luck than I did. 

Thanks for the answer

 Did you try the non XOC vbios from @tictoc? And regarding nvflash version I mean I have one saved in the folder for the Zotac 980Ti I have flashed succsessfully. I just need to see if I find it. I mean its better use a flashtool made around the gen graphics cards release date. Or right afterwards. I have used newer nvflash versions on older card but with no succsess if I remeber correct.. But I'm the scond one with black screen after flash so Maybe there is something wrong with the vbios compared to mb sBios.

Edited March 16, 2023 by Papusan

[Avacado]

No, I don't think I tried the non-xoc bios. 

[Papusan]

4 minutes ago, Avacado said:

No, I don't think I tried the non-xoc bios. 

The weid part... I got succsessful flash but when I run the cards afterwards after the troubleshooting it had same old vbios. (see my comment above)

 

Edit.

Edited March 16, 2023 by Papusan

[Avacado]

Yea, I had a similar thing happen. It would confirm successful flashing but retain the previous vBIOS like it failed to flash. Honestly the 9 series Maxwell cards pissed me off so damn much trying to HWbot them. 

[The Pook]

CH341A all the things 

[Papusan]

25 minutes ago, Avacado said:

Yea, I had a similar thing happen. It would confirm successful flashing but retain the previous vBIOS like it failed to flash. Honestly the 9 series Maxwell cards pissed me off so damn much trying to HWbot them. 

I tried a another nvflash tool meant to be better for Maxwell. And yep, succsessful,reboot and black screen, HaHa I though try flash the 1.3V vBios from above but changed mind (not sure what bios that is) and went for the Kingpin XOC vbios and black screen, LOOL

 

The KPE_1.3v vbios above didn't match message

 

Edit. It seems Maxwell cards is hated by all, HaHa

 

 

Edited March 16, 2023 by Papusan

[The Pook]

are you using the patched version of NVFlash? 

 

BIOS Modding Downloads | TechPowerUp

WWW.TECHPOWERUP.COM

 

you should only need the mismatch bypass one. 

Edited March 16, 2023 by The Pook

[Papusan]

On 16/03/2023 at 03:58, The Pook said:

are you using the patched version of NVFlash? 

 

BIOS Modding Downloads | TechPowerUp

WWW.TECHPOWERUP.COM

 

you should only need the mismatch bypass one. 

Both patched, the one in OC.net thread ment for Kingpin and vanilla. The weird part. Switch to another vbios then try to boot up gain doesn't help. Black screen.

 

Edit. To make it perfect. Can't boot on the second card with the bricked Kingpin in top PCIe slot. Had to take it out to be able to post, HaHa

 

 v5.218.0.1 patched should be the better for Maxwell. I mean I used that one for 980Ti

 

Edit. Progress with the kp980x XOC vbios. Finally it got flashed.

Edited March 17, 2023 by Papusan