MSI 1080TI bios compatibility question

[Bernec]

Hello !

I want to flash my MSI 1080TI Armor OC (https://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/193205/msi-gtx1080ti-11264-170503-2) with the bios from MSI 1080TI LIGHTNING Z (https://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/193343/msi-gtx1080ti-11264-170517).

The number of ports in the back is the same but the LIGHTNING Z has 20W of extra headroom and higher clocks.

Is it going to work ?

Are any other similar BIOS-es I could try ? (temperature is not an issue anymore).

If anything else should do I'm eyeballing this one: https://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/192147/zotac-gtx1080ti-11264-170327

I'm using OC scanner and and I maxed the slider for voltage power and temp.

I hit voltage limit all the time...



I just want to break the 2GHz barrier and I think temps are fine never seen above 50C.

 

[flmatter]

Try tweaking the memory and core clocks up some.
Going to refer to @eidairaman1 for help on the bios, will probably need pictures of white stickers on video card and screenshot of gpu-z to verify what memory is installed on your gpu. You run the risk of bricking it if you flash it without knowing which bios is compatible with your card first.

 

[Bernec]

Try tweaking the memory and core clocks up some.
Going to refer to @eidairaman1 for help on the bios, will probably need pictures of white stickers on video card and screenshot of gpu-z to verify what memory is installed on your gpu. You run the risk of bricking it if you flash it without knowing which bios is compatible with your card first.

I only used OC Scanner on it ... and it offers +88MHz from stock.

Do you think I should try to manually OC the card ? I was hopping for a higher boost clock. If it says its voltage limited most of the time it means I need more volts for it to be stable at higher clocks ?

I've ran 3dmark time spy a few times temps were never above 48-50 degrees C and it was power limited maybe 2-3 times and the rest was voltage limit.

Here is the stickers photo:



I think they are the same on the card (this is from the box).

Regarding the BIOS flash I have 2 PCIE connectors and another PCIE card that I can slide in and reflash another BIOS.

What about the XOC bios ? should help me get over 2GHz for sure but I dont want to fry the card ... I've read something about a .BAT file that sets the power limits and voltage goes towards 1.2V ?

 

[flmatter]

I would try adding +125 to the core clock from stock and +50 or 75 on the memory, while keeping temp and power limits maxed out and see where you are there. You can go conservative and starting bumping things gradually from the +88 the OC scanner gave you, by +2 or +5 until it is unstable and back it off by +2/5. Remember every time you change a number in core or memory to hit enter and apply it before moving to next set of numbers, then save the profile and bench it in heaven or valley and compare differences. You can use the test feature in OC scanner to check your saved profile/OC as well. I set my gpu manually.

If you are really dead set on trying different BIOS's then @eidairaman1 is your man to talk to.

 

[eidairaman1]

What power supply?

 

[Bernec]

What power supply?

Enermax Revolution85+ 950W

 

[eidairaman1]

Find some board teardowns that specify the vrm circuits for both the armor and lightning

 

[Bernec]

This is my card (Armor OC): https://www.gamersnexus.net/hwreviews/2927-msi-1080ti-armor-review-high-temps?showall=1

The one that I would use vbios from (Lightning Z):

MSI GTX 1080 Ti Lightning Z 11 GB Review

Lightning is MSI's flagship card for the GTX 1080 Ti Series. Our review of the Lightning Z, which is the highest-clocked variant, confirms it has the best cooler of all GTX 1080 Tis; delivering lowest temperatures and lowest noise at the same time. The Lightning Z is also the fastest GTX 1080 Ti...

www.techpowerup.com

MSI GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Lightning Z Review

We review the new MSI flagship graphics card, the moghty GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Lightning Z edition. This GTX 1080 Ti comes customized with high-factory clocks, a triple fan and cooler and a very impre... Product Innards

www.guru3d.com

 

[eidairaman1]

Tbh I would replace the cooler due to noise levels and thermals.

See why here

 

[Bernec]

Tbh I would replace the cooler due to noise levels and thermals.

See why here

The cooler has already been replaced to Artic Accelerro Xtreme 4 rev.2 temps are really great. With 100% fan speed I cant hear it and like I said I run a TimeSpy test and temps are great maybe 50-52 somewhere there. Good airflow in case also.

The problem is this voltage limiter ... with MSI afterburner voltage slider maxed out I crash at +125Mhz and at 100Mhz I get 90% confidence only. I know all these bioses don't increase max voltage but maybe somehow they can help or atleast remove the power limiting factor (it was power limited 2-3 times in 3dmark timespy test but only for a fraction of a second). The rest is volt limited 100% of the time.

Is XOC bios such a bad idea ? maybe because if that is what it takes to get me to 2GHz stable I will not do it ... maybe 2.1 GHz then I consider it

 

[eidairaman1]

So does that cooler contact the vrms? What about ram?

Ymmv fyi

 

[Bernec]

The original front plate is still on I only added the back side radiator and the big front gpu radiator from Arctic.

Now vrms and memory are getting "double cooling" direct contact and backplate.

 

[JackCarver]

NVIDIA GTX 1080 Ti Overclocking Guide

According to this article you can't do much if you are voltage limited. NVIDIA has locked voltage to 1.093V and if you need more to get stable you can use this XOC BIOS or you have an EVGA K|NGP|N and use the LN2 BIOS.
But they also don't recommend doing so. The best would be to manual oc your card and see how far you can push your chip to get 100% stable and that's it. That's silicon lottery...

Edit:
According to a german user who tried this XOC BIOS he managed to get rid of the voltage limit with it. The drawbacks were:
- One of his display ports didn't work after flashing
- The power limit slider in afterburner didn't work any more (it was locked to 100% and couldn't be set over 100%)

But he managed to oc the card (Gigabyte AORUS 1080 Ti) to 2050 MHz with 1.131V.

 

[Bernec]

NVIDIA GTX 1080 Ti Overclocking Guide

According to this article you can't do much if you are voltage limited. NVIDIA has locked voltage to 1.093V and if you need more to get stable you can use this XOC BIOS or you have an EVGA K|NGP|N and use the LN2 BIOS.
But they also don't recommend doing so. The best would be to manual oc your card and see how far you can push your chip to get 100% stable and that's it. That's silicon lottery...

Edit:
According to a german user who tried this XOC BIOS he managed to get rid of the voltage limit with it. The drawbacks were:
- One of his display ports didn't work after flashing
- The power limit slider in afterburner didn't work any more (it was locked to 100% and couldn't be set over 100%)

But he managed to oc the card (Gigabyte AORUS 1080 Ti) to 2050 MHz with 1.131V.

start cmd.exe /k "C:\Program Files\NVIDIA Corporation\NVSMI\nvidia-smi.exe" -pl 358

should set Power Limit to 358 for example ... not sure if it works tho

 

[eidairaman1]

Hope you have a backup card and backed up your bios for recovery reasons because I will share the topl needed to flash to a different ssid

 

[JackCarver]

Most Mainboards have HDMI ports, so no need for a backup card to recover the original BIOS. Save your original BIOS and if flashing went wrong then switch to your mainboard HDMI or display port to recover original BIOS.

 

[eidairaman1]

Most Mainboards have HDMI ports, so no need for a backup card to recover the original BIOS.

Erm listen, it is dependent on what cpu/platform is installed.

Unless if it is a core i or a Ryzen APU or older APU, there is no video output.

 

[Bernec]

Hope you have a backup card and backed up your bios for recovery reasons because I will share the topl needed to flash to a different ssid

So what needs to be done ?

nvflash64 --protectoff

nvflash64 --save original.rom

nvflash64 -6 new.rom

Any specific stuff ? I will use the "Lightning Z" bios. Do I have to DDU and reinstalled driver ? (I would say yes).

 

[JackCarver]

I have a core i7 8700K on MSI gaming carbon and there is video output. But sure you are right not every platform has it.

 

[Bernec]

I have a core i7 8700K on MSI gaming carbon and there is video output. But sure you are right not every platform has it.

Did you try XOC when you had the 1080ti ?

 

[JackCarver]

I will use the "Lightning Z" bios.

Why not trying the STRIX OC BIOS if you are voltage limited?

Did you try XOC when you had the 1080ti ?

No, not with my MSI, but now I use the STRIX OC BIOS on my RTX 2080 Asus Dual OC and it works fine. Gave me way more power limit as RTX cards are mostly power limited
One display port is here out of work too ;-)
But power slider works.

Edit:
First I thought that I bricked the card, cause I had no signal after flashing any more. So I switched to my internal graphics and recovered the original BIOS. Then I tried it again and the result was the same.No video signal any more. Then I switched to another display port and I had video signal.

 

[Bernec]

Why not trying the STRIX OC BIOS if you are voltage limited?



No, not with my MSI, but now I use the STRIX OC BIOS on my RTX 2080 Asus Dual OC and it works fine. Gave me way more power limit as RTX cards are mostly power limited
One display port is here out of work too ;-)
But power slider works.

You mean the one with no volt/power limit ? Anything special that I must do with it ? What I will be able to adjust then ? Clocks only or what ?

Edit: are you talking about an 1080TI card ? (maybe MSI) or you are talking about your 2080RTX ?

 

[potato580+]

ive a backup of micron one, not sure if you can used or not, if you need it i will share it

 

[JackCarver]

Yes the one with no voltage/power limit. You should be able to get higher oc with it if you are voltage limited.

I did the following steps to flash my card:
- Save your original BIOS to file, I used GPU-Z for this step
- I deactivated my graphics device in device manager
- Then I flashed new BIOS with nvflash

I think I reinstalled driver as well.

 

[Bernec]

Yes the one with no voltage/power limit. You should be able to get higher oc with it if you are voltage limited.

I did the following steps to flash my card:
- Save your original BIOS to file, I used GPU-Z for this step
- I deactivated my graphics device in device manager
- Then I flashed new BIOS with nvflash

I think I reinstalled driver as well.

Is the no power limit true ? I've read a big thread on overclock.net and some people say its still limited at 100% power ? other said voltage is locked and so on ...

Do you remember any of these things ?

Thanks.