Hero should work without insulation (Ranger does for sure), but you need to do sktocc mod on CPU (I think you can alternatively do it on board, but don’t ask me where). Otherwise Asus will not even react to powerswitch.
Regarding stability: You will be running a CPU from 2018 with a manipulated UEFI knowing nothing about hardware beyond 2016. So expect every problem you can think off. 
Good news, though: Most of the (lacking) optimization done by manufacturers outside voltages are fine tuned latencys and clock skews. So if you were planning to do these yourself anyway…
Tnx @PCGH_Torsten I have to do some more research to sound knowledgeable so sorry for this question: The sktocc mod on CPU is a hardware procedure right? Is that where i use a pencil to short the pins? Or dont i need to touch the cpu at all? Last question and again sorry if i sound unsure: The manipulated UEFI should not be a big factor cause u can fine tune it anyway? So u say dont worry about it and go for it?
Exactly. sktocc is short for “socket occupied” and this condition is sensed by two contacts being shorted. For Skylake, this is done by a connection within the CPU package, for CFL one needs to conect the points manually and some conducting material (pencil will not alway suffice) between the two contact pads is the most common method. However, for some mainbaords there also solder options on the board itself which work just as well (the system cannot detect whether the shorting ocurs in a SKL package, in conductive paint on the bottom of a cfl package or anywhere else between the traces on the board). I do no some for MIXApex and I think there is also one vor MVIIIimpact, but I do not know about MVIIIhero. (There doesn’t seem to be a known one for MVIIIranger)
UEFI is likely to give you a lot of trouble because nothing is more inconvenient than tuning a system without a stable base setting for reference. But I guess (!) that after all the work is done, the results should be fine.
Hi everyone,
I have an ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming, and I have just ordered a QQLS, and I have some questions:
I’m not sure which patch I need to enable in CoffeeTime.
Do I need to enable PCIe 1440 ?
Do I need to enable ASUS 12T Blocker ?
Can I use BIOS 3805, or should i stick with 2003 ?
Currently, I have prepared these two BIOS:
Something weird just happened with my Apex IX coffee lake mod. Started getting audio buzzing at the end of every sound effect that came through
the speak. Didn’t matter if it was the monitor speaker or standard speaker, or onboard sound or video card sound. Things got a lot worse after
I did a cmos reset in that now my nvme SN750 WD Black hard drive is completely missing and can’t even boot windows. Completely MIA.
Not even show in bios!
So I wonder could my motherboard be cooked? I mean its not the result of running a coffelake mod?
Thanks
I dont think so.its just a microcode after all
But running a cpu on unsupported platform may stress the board in the long run.depends on specs here,if it can handle the frequencies.(somewhat higher)
in Modules on the other hand,maybe (again same principal) changes are so small usually, like in ME updates from 33 to 55mhz
Hope it didn’t damage the video card. Two weeks left on its warranty.
i sure hope so aswell
Well its been fun but after two years retired my coffee lake mod. Replaced the motherboard with a Z590 i7 10700K and was able to boot up the old Windows install with no buzzing sounds and smooth animation. So can only assume that something was arcing. Tomorrow going to examine the old 9700k and motherboard socket for signs of damage. After that got to get the cpu properly tested if thats possible. Maybe I could send it to Intel for testing because I’m hoping at least one of the items is still in working order for putting on sale.
Thanks
And how old was the system? Two years…kinda short period,even common overclocked systems outlive that
Can you do a one last run,let the system go idle,no background apps,unplug all peripherals except monitor ofcourse and watch the heat,spikes etc with an app of your choosing (hwmonitor,aida etc)
Signs were buzzing,noises but maybe there were also more (pre-signs) you have not noticed or did not pay attension.just out of curiosity and might light someone’s way up
Also add close up pictures from board,then clean it up with ipa or electronic spray and see you can salvage it like you said
Yeah it was a two year run. Had all cores fixed at 4600 mhz 1.285 volts. Coretemps while priming never past 74 75 degrees max. Actually a year ago had a similar issue although much more mild where the system felt jerky but it went away after a bios reset. Wish I could have done one last run but the bios couldnt find the nvme drive anymore. So couldnt boot into windows. The same hard drive successfuly booted on the new motherboard. Considering the buzzing farting sound the system was making wanted to make sure my gpu was solid before its warranty expires in two weeks from now but it seems smooth. Heaven benchmark now runs smoothly. Anyhow all I need is a spare gpu and ram module and will be able to test the old board further on the workbench but only to make sure it all works so I can sell it off. Have a completely unlocked descriptor bios ready to cut loose if its still working order. Thanks.
@davidm71 Problems with drives and with sound? This may suggest dying PCH(hope not). Since you remembered the CPU temperature, maybe you also remembered what the PCH operating temperatures were before the problems started?
Dont remember or rather never noted the pch temps. Cpu temps were always pretty good. Never passed 75 degrees under prime95. Interesting that this all got worse during stability testing in that the increased temps must have been responsible where as prior not put under those conditions. If the motherboard has died no big deal. Only paid 60 dollars for it after rebates. Also should note it was an Apex IX so would have thought the vrms could have handled it. Just hope the cpu is still good. Thanks.
I wouldn’t worry too much about the CPU. As is well known, CPUs are one of the less frequently failing components. Yours was working at a pretty good temperature, so I guess the probability it got damaged is low. Especially since the symptoms you mentioned do not indicate CPU.
However, I asked about the PCH temperature also because I have 9900k(HT off) on Maximus IX Extreme and the PCH temperature is 50-54 degrees Celsius. I know that temperature is not to high but I think it should be about 10 degrees lower and I wonder if this temperature has nothing to do with the modded BIOS?
I don’t know about that. Never monitored my pch temperatures but fair bet the voltage regulators couldn’t handle the increased power draw and like was said prior the pch started to fail. If I had a spare gpu and ram module would take a second look but my old Apex IX is now collecting dust in my closet. Would love to get my hands on an Evga Z390 Dark and put the 9700K in there and play around with overclocking as I always had trouble overclocking ram for example. I may have some old posts here showing HWinfo data so maybe I can find out what those temps were after all. Got to check. Thanks.
Edit:
Found an old screen shot of the board temps while idling:
Since a week, I run a QQLS (i9-9980HK ES) on my Z170 Pro Gaming.
I use a 2003 BIOS modded with CoffeeTime 0.92:
I have used Conductonaut paste on the die, and the cooler is a Scythe Mugen 4.
I had to add a fan to cool the VRM, as they were getting very hot (more than 100°C) on torture tests.
Currently, the CPU is running at 4.8 Ghz on all cores, with 1.33 Vcore.
With BIOS 2003, the RAM sets automatically at 2400 Mhz.
The BIOS won’t POST with the memory set higher than 2600 Mhz (I have 2x16 GB of DDR4 3200 with Micron chips).
With BIOS 3805, the RAM sets automatically at 2666 Mhz, so it has better RAM compatibility, but sadly it can’t run with HT on.
If svarmod is reading: please, can you make a custom 3805 BIOS with HT enabled for Z-170 Pro Gaming ?
CPU-Z at 5 Ghz:
Some benches and tests at 4.8 Ghz:
Temps and power. About 160W on Cinebench.
Here is some photos of the setup:
Removing the old CPU (6700k) and the original CPU support that won’t be used anymore:
Putting the new BIOS chip in its socket:
Mounting the new CPU & the cooling support, and applying the Conductonaut on the CPU die:
Cleaning and mounting of the Scythe Mugen 4. I have replaced the original fan with an Arctic P12, much more silent. I’va also added a P14 to refresh the VRM, it’s mounted on top of the case.
@mooms similar board here (asus z170 pro gaming/aura) https://valid.x86.fr/ekxy9c
Noticed similar ram clocking issues with the older bioses. Haven’t done extensive testing, but I found that if I leave just about every ram timing on auto, it can actually clock up fine (4x 8gb oem hynix afr 2400). IIRC, the only timings I have set manually are cas/rfc/refi.
https://i.imgur.com/JTdMkqu.png
Setting rc/rp/cr wr/rrd/wtr/rto/faw/cwl et all all seem to result in a no-post. This is true even if I’m setting the exact same value as achieved via auto or worse.
Likewise, when setting any of these timings, I’d be lucky to even hit 2600.
hey everyone,
so I’ve been following this bios mod topic for sometime and finally decided to upgrade my 6700k to a 9900k on my M8HA but even after some reading i still have a few questions:
- I have seen it mentioned a few times that M8H does not need the insulation mod but shorting of SKTOCC pins are necessary which can be done on the MB side near the super I/O chip. does this apply to M8HA aswell?
- M8H uses a novutun NCT6793D super I/O chip does the M8HA use the same chip ( i have found a datasheet for NCT6793D which indicates pin #102 is the SKTOCC pin)
- from the info that I have gathered, on asus z170 boards to get 8c/16t working you will need a bios ver 2xxx , my board is currently running 2202 is this the optimal version?
- i have found on a Chinese forum(chiphell) a modded bios version 3801 for M8HA with 8c/16t support , is this possible? has anyone tested that version here?
- on the latest version of coffeetime (v 0.92 GUI) which of the patches do i need to apply to mod my bios i understand to add cpu support i have to add specific uCode but what do I have to choose under “patches” and “fixes”, also do I have to disable ME( most of the guides use the older versions of coffeetime or AIO tool and they simply apply everything Im not sure what to choose on v0.92 gui version and prefer to use the latest version of the tool hence why Im asking).
sry if some questions are stupid or have obvious answer I`m trying to be as cautions as possible to not screw up.
Your 9900K is using a bit more vcore than my QQLS @ 4800.
Here is the CPU-Z validation of mine: https://valid.x86.fr/wmccqz
I’ve also only set the 3 first value and the frequency of the RAM manually on the BIOS, the other ones are on auto. I know that BIOS 38005 is able to boot at 2666 Mhz, maybe even higher.
You have a 9900K, they have no issue reaching high RAM frequency but the "mutant" (BGA 1440 CPU laptop with an interposer made by the Chinese to be mountable on a LGA 1151) have problems with high RAM frequency, probably because the electrical signal is not exactly the same with the interposer.