• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

Meltdown and Spectre Patched BIOS for X58 Motherboards

portugese pirate

New Member
Joined
Mar 11, 2019
Messages
6 (0.00/day)
thank you.....I currently have a i7 950 in it now, but have an i7 970 laying around that I would like to try out. Is there any instructions on how to flash the new bios?......once again thank you for all your help.
 

Regeneration

NGOHQ.COM
Joined
Oct 26, 2005
Messages
3,131 (0.45/day)
thank you.....I currently have a i7 950 in it now, but have an i7 970 laying around that I would like to try out. Is there any instructions on how to flash the new bios?......once again thank you for all your help.

Download Rufus and create a bootable USB flash drive with MS-DOS. Unzip the BIOS archive to the USB flash drive, boot from it, and type the following in DOS prompt: AWDFLASH JX58D908.BIN /cks/sn/py/cc/cd/cp/ld/qi/WB/ch

You should reduce the uncore ratio to 1.5x before installing the new hexacore CPU (if DDR clock is 1600, set uncore to 2400).
 
Last edited:

portugese pirate

New Member
Joined
Mar 11, 2019
Messages
6 (0.00/day)
well I flashed the bios.....but I cant find uncore ratio in the bios.......I must be missing something......fans just spin with hexacore installed it doesn't boot......it stays at 88 error
 
Last edited:

Regeneration

NGOHQ.COM
Joined
Oct 26, 2005
Messages
3,131 (0.45/day)
well I flashed the bios.....but I cant find uncore ratio in the bios.......I must be missing something......fans just spin with hexacore installed it doesn't boot......it stays at 88 error

"UnCore Frequency" is in the bottom of "Genie BIOS Setting" sub-menu. Needs to be adjusted to DDR frequency x 1.5 BEFORE installing the hexacore.
 
Joined
Aug 20, 2007
Messages
21,469 (3.40/day)
System Name Pioneer
Processor Ryzen R9 9950X
Motherboard GIGABYTE Aorus Elite X670 AX
Cooling Noctua NH-D15 + A whole lotta Sunon and Corsair Maglev blower fans...
Memory 64GB (4x 16GB) G.Skill Flare X5 @ DDR5-6000 CL30
Video Card(s) XFX RX 7900 XTX Speedster Merc 310
Storage Intel 905p Optane 960GB boot, +2x Crucial P5 Plus 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs
Display(s) 55" LG 55" B9 OLED 4K Display
Case Thermaltake Core X31
Audio Device(s) TOSLINK->Schiit Modi MB->Asgard 2 DAC Amp->AKG Pro K712 Headphones or HDMI->B9 OLED
Power Supply FSP Hydro Ti Pro 850W
Mouse Logitech G305 Lightspeed Wireless
Keyboard WASD Code v3 with Cherry Green keyswitches + PBT DS keycaps
Software Gentoo Linux x64 / Windows 11 Enterprise IoT 2024
"UnCore Frequency" is in the bottom of "Genie BIOS Setting" sub-menu. Needs to be adjusted to DDR frequency x 1.5 BEFORE installing the hexacore.

Heh, not just on DFI. I had an intel board (DX58SO2) I did similar with that was not very happy. Fortunately it had a CMOS clear button and autodetected properly on reboot, but really, just setting it at first will make your life easier.
 

Regeneration

NGOHQ.COM
Joined
Oct 26, 2005
Messages
3,131 (0.45/day)
Heh, not just on DFI. I had an intel board (DX58SO2) I did similar with that was not very happy. Fortunately it had a CMOS clear button and autodetected properly on reboot, but really, just setting it at first will make your life easier.

Intel and DFI made the worst X58 motherboards. On Intel, the LLC option is reversed, power saving is in fact high performance. Also, the boards will not POST with Westmere and uncore ratio 1.8x and above. Memory tRFC is very limited. And you can't increase the non-turbo multiplier even for unlocked CPUs. Half of the BIOS options were broken. Better to get a used ASUS or Gigabyte motherboard from eBay.
 
Joined
Aug 20, 2007
Messages
21,469 (3.40/day)
System Name Pioneer
Processor Ryzen R9 9950X
Motherboard GIGABYTE Aorus Elite X670 AX
Cooling Noctua NH-D15 + A whole lotta Sunon and Corsair Maglev blower fans...
Memory 64GB (4x 16GB) G.Skill Flare X5 @ DDR5-6000 CL30
Video Card(s) XFX RX 7900 XTX Speedster Merc 310
Storage Intel 905p Optane 960GB boot, +2x Crucial P5 Plus 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs
Display(s) 55" LG 55" B9 OLED 4K Display
Case Thermaltake Core X31
Audio Device(s) TOSLINK->Schiit Modi MB->Asgard 2 DAC Amp->AKG Pro K712 Headphones or HDMI->B9 OLED
Power Supply FSP Hydro Ti Pro 850W
Mouse Logitech G305 Lightspeed Wireless
Keyboard WASD Code v3 with Cherry Green keyswitches + PBT DS keycaps
Software Gentoo Linux x64 / Windows 11 Enterprise IoT 2024
Intel and DFI made the worst X58 motherboards. On Intel, the LLC option is reversed, power saving is in fact high performance. Also, the boards will not POST with Westmere and uncore ratio 1.8x and above. Memory tRFC is very limited. And you can't increase the non-turbo multiplier even for unlocked CPUs. Half of the BIOS options were broken. Better to get a used ASUS or Gigabyte motherboard from eBay.

I know from experience. About the only saving grace of that board was it was cheap and had UEFI support (barely, but enough to boot from GPT).
 

portugese pirate

New Member
Joined
Mar 11, 2019
Messages
6 (0.00/day)
is it possible this board only supports 980x....ok found uncore frequency......but options are BCLK*02....BCLK*04......up to *14
 

Regeneration

NGOHQ.COM
Joined
Oct 26, 2005
Messages
3,131 (0.45/day)
is it possible this board only supports 980x....ok found uncore frequency......but options are BCLK*02....BCLK*04......up to *14

If it will not POST even with reduced uncore, then yes. This can be a physical design limitiation exclusive to DFI. On eBay, you can find cheap used X58 motherboards from Chinese sellers. GA-X58A-UD3R for example, is cheap and features USB3 and SATA3. There are cheap Samsung DDR3 modules too, capable of running at 2000 MHz and above.
 

portugese pirate

New Member
Joined
Mar 11, 2019
Messages
6 (0.00/day)
ok......but what setting do I try......BCLK*02....BCLK*04 or one of the other ones? not going to buy a board, it runs fine with the i7 950.....just wanted to try the 6 core
 

Regeneration

NGOHQ.COM
Joined
Oct 26, 2005
Messages
3,131 (0.45/day)
ok......but what setting do I try......BCLK*02....BCLK*04 or one of the other ones? not going to buy a board, it runs fine with the i7 950.....just wanted to try the 6 core

Uncore freqeuncy needs to be 1.5x of DDR speed.

DDR3 1066 = Uncore 1600 (BCLK * 12)
DDR3 1333 = Uncore 2000 (BCLK * 15)
DDR3 1600 = Uncore 2400 (BCLK * 18)
 
Joined
Apr 5, 2019
Messages
4 (0.00/day)
Location
Gothenburg, Sweden
System Name Kurnns own Perfect Build Monster PC - Built 2011!
Processor Intel I7
Motherboard ASUS SaberTooth X58
Cooling Air cooling with advanced "draft"
Memory 16GB Corsair
Video Card(s) Geforce GTX 780Ti
Storage 500GB SSD (C), 2 x 2TB SATA storage x 1x 166GB SSD
Display(s) ASUS 26" - 1900 x 1200 in 60Hz
Case Custom designed case for perfect airflow.
Audio Device(s) Realtek on ASUS Motherboard, with driver support for Studio quality
Power Supply Corsair 750 W - High Quality (Cost more then the MB....but it NEVER breaks)
Mouse Regular 2 button mouse with roller in the middle. NO DAMN SPACESHIP GAME MOUSE FFS!
Keyboard Regular Keyboard which was standard 20 years ago.
Software Windows 10, Dragon Browser, Steam games (Civ 6, Master of Orion and Fallout 4 as prime)
Benchmark Scores 8.1, with a 8 years old system. GPU and SSD upgrade 2014. I AM, the master of building systems.
Uncore freqeuncy needs to be 1.5x of DDR speed.

DDR3 1066 = Uncore 1600 (BCLK * 12)
DDR3 1333 = Uncore 2000 (BCLK * 15)
DDR3 1600 = Uncore 2400 (BCLK * 18)

Hey Mr Master BIOS Coder Regeneration.

I only signed up here to tell you THANK YOU, for your awesome BIOS update for ASUS Sabertooth X58 with the Spectre/Meltdown protection.
I dont understand why, but my system got 30% FASTER with your BIOS. I had the normal latest BIOS from ASUS (2012).

When I disabled Meltdown, the CPU increased 10%ish in performance on 3 areas.

I never overclocked my Intel I7 ever since I got then 2011 (!!). But gave it a try now and they going strong at 3.4ghz.
My RAM speed was automaticly set to the correct settings, but I am 99% sure thats ASUS own GOOD BIOS tool.

Thank you Regeneration! I play Civ 6 a lot, on huge maps with millions of civs (Calculations and 26+ features my GPU does NOT support.
I tested on everything on max settings with max features and AI players.

No....Lag. Before the flash of your BIOS, my settings where Medium, and started to leak ram/lag, after 1000 turns or so.

Do you create any other BIOS/drivers for Sabertooth/Intel chipset/I7 CPU, with that magic mind of yours?
The Latest Intel Chipset does NOT do very much, AND the driverbooster, and similar "tools", are becoming an increasing malware magnet.

If you ever do anything more for us with older, GOOD solid systems, please let me know!
I can't pay much, but I got dominion over a hot blond swedish curvy chick, who would love to meet ye!

Cheers!
 
Joined
Feb 19, 2019
Messages
3 (0.00/day)
The VT-d bug on Windows 10 appears on just some X58 motherboards. I couldn't find any specific code in the fixed Sabertooth BIOS.

Asus x58 boards have broken DMAR table. This is the reason why maybe the latest build of Windows 10 doesn't boot with VT-d enabled. Can you patch the DMAR table in the BIOS?
 

AgenttiX

New Member
Joined
May 5, 2019
Messages
1 (0.00/day)
First of all, thank you very much for all the hard work you've done, @Regeneration!

So far I've been using another modified BIOS from here (this file to be precise) for my GA-X58A-UD7 (rev. 1.0) and was wondering whether your patches could be combined with the existing ROM updates included in those modified BIOSes. If so, could we perhaps see a download link or a link to instructions on how to perform such modifications?
 

Bittornado

New Member
Joined
May 14, 2019
Messages
1 (0.00/day)
Hello!

Thank you @Regeneration for being virtually the only one, offering microcode updated BIOSes to all of us poor unlucky individuals, whom both M$ and the motherboard manufacturers chose to leave behind their "microcode-updating-crusade"... I just found my Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD7 (Rev1.0) latest official BIOS version, here, updated with the needed microcodes! Many thanks :)

First of all, thank you very much for all the hard work you've done, @Regeneration!

So far I've been using another modified BIOS from here (this file to be precise) for my GA-X58A-UD7 (rev. 1.0) and was wondering whether your patches could be combined with the existing ROM updates included in those modified BIOSes. If so, could we perhaps see a download link or a link to instructions on how to perform such modifications?
+1 for the above :)

I can happily offer an already pretty much recent updated modded GA-X58A-UD7 (rev. 1.0) BIOS, called "F9D", which has some of the latest firmware updates for both Marvell, JMicron, Realtek and the best modded Intel RST RAID ROM version for allowing TRIM in RAID0, for you to please add the needed microcodes into it ;)

I have also another microcode updated BIOS version which even has microcodes for some of the additional CPUIDs which your microcode updated F9A BIOS is actually lacking (106A2 & 206C0) [using MC Extractor v1.32.1]

Please let me know! It would be greatly appreciated.
 

Regeneration

NGOHQ.COM
Joined
Oct 26, 2005
Messages
3,131 (0.45/day)
Thank you @Regeneration for all your hard work on this! It is truly appreciated!

I have read every page in this thread, but I am still at a loss if my CPU's are covered (Spectre patched) with the latest CPU micro codes in your patched BIOS-s. I have several X58 based boards:
2x Rampage II Extreme
2x Rampage III Extreme

with several differen types of CPUs

Core I7 990X
Xeon W3690
Now these are Gulftown's and have CPUID 206C2 same CPUID as Westmere EP/WS CPUs. .

I also have Core I7-920 which is a Bloomfield CPUID 106A5.

So, the simple question is do the R2E, and R3E patched BIOS-s you posted on page 1 cover (Spectre patched) for these CPUs?

Yes.
 

Regeneration

NGOHQ.COM
Joined
Oct 26, 2005
Messages
3,131 (0.45/day)
Regarding the recent MDS vulnerabilities, Intel said it will not release microcode for anything older than Sandy Bridge (2nd gen).

For now, the solution is to disable HT. You'll lose performance, but gain lower temperatures, lower vcore, lower latency and more room for overclocking.

Of course, you can nag Intel security team (email is: secure-at-intel.com).
 

fullinfusion

Vanguard Beta Tester
Joined
Jan 11, 2008
Messages
9,909 (1.61/day)
Regarding the recent MDS vulnerabilities, Intel said it will not release microcode for anything older than Sandy Bridge (2nd gen).

For now, the solution is to disable HT. You'll lose performance, but gain lower temperatures, lower vcore, lower latency and more room for overclocking.

Of course, you can nag Intel security team (email is: secure-at-intel.com).
PPL and their tinfoil hats hey! God bless America!! But seriously :kookoo:

M$ gives me a microcode update and I just nuke it, problem solved.. One thing I need to add.. I own Intel cpu sadly and I'm an AMD fan Boi and I refuse to disable HT.. Why? Because honestly im not afraid nor do I care, I have no reason to concern myself with this over hyped bull shit.. I have a gaming rig and nothing more, it isn't a server hosting Google, Amazon, ect... so why should us petty users be concerned?

But thanks for the list on page one :toast:
 
Top