[Request] EVGA Z97 Classified (152-HR-E979) Upgrading BIOS w/ latest ME/CPU MicroCode/Dear God Almighty I just want to restart my PC w/o having to cut power. [Bonus Mod Request] Would e
First question: When I eventually build a new PC, do you have any suggestions for AMD motherboard manufacturers with long-term support and a more robust community? EVGA isn’t a name I see often on boards like these nowadays.
I had started dipping my toes into UBU, attempting to eke out the last drops of performance from my 4790k before I move on. Previously heard that this generation of motherboards could support things like ReBAR and bifurcated PCIE slots, but it was up to the manufactures to include it. Wasn’t super clear if it was something that needed to be built out, or the menu was simply hidden and just need to be switched on.
I’d had mixed success with my topic title; I opted to downgrade my microcode to an earlier (and stabler overclock) version. Man, I am still salty about the performance hits to mitigate SPECTRE/MELTDOWN because Intel was cutting corners. The chips are now officially on par with AMD’s equivalents at the time, which is not how things were priced at time of release.
I had also updated the ME firmware, and for the first time since 20H2 Intel(R) Management Engine Interface did not require immediate and permanent disabling in order for Windows to run. And my computer could actually shut down and restart without requiring me to either smother the power button or cut power. Wow!
I flew too close to the sun. I was able to enable 4G Decoding but it was only showing 256MB available.
Without messing with it further, I ended up needing to switch BIOS (Z97 has 3 total BIOS ‘slots’, switchable with a toggle on the mobo.) PC would boot without display and reboot after a few minutes. Required me to test the definition of insanity; after multiple attempts, I was able to flash a factory version of the BIOS back to the corrupted profile, so I’m still treading water.
Both of these iterations result in the same bootloop, no display for me. I do not currently have any NVME drives installed.
I know ME is basically NSA/CIA spyware, but I use Power-On AC to remotely boot my computer, and running BIOS overclocks vs software (EVGA’s E-LEET Tuning interfaces with ME) renders Power-On AC inoperable.
[E979_flashtool_206.zip|attachment](upload://wUf1Ahz7X8R
mod_patched_1E979206.zip (4.4 MB)
z1BLtL91Wll7Z1r0.zip) (5.1 MB)
Edit by Fernando: Thread title shortened (more details are within the first post)