m17 R4/m15 R4, BIOS changelog, undervolting feature

On a BIOS that new, you'll find under-volting is locked out.

Hi @ejn63

Thank you for reply.
It's so sad that Dell started to lock undervolting in new BIOS.

Anyway, could you please confirm, that downgrade is possible from 1.3.1 to 1.2.0 (with unlocked undervolting)

Thanks.

The m17 R4/m15 R4 BIOS 1.3.1 page states =

The way I read that statement, you could not downgrade to BIOS 1.0.0, 1.1.0. But could possibly downgrade to 1.2.0.

Dell isn't the source - Intel is.  And it's becoming a moot point as newer Intel CPUs are released that are hardware locked against underclocking at the chip level.

Never count on being able to downgrade a firmware update successfully - if you now have and want to maintain the ability to underclock (which includes the downside of the plundervolt exploit going unpatched), don't upgrade, period.

Dear @DELL-Chris M 

I've read this statement same way. But there are some suspicions that "earlier than 1.2.0" includes 1.2.0.
If so, downgrade is not possible and we never get back unlocked undervolting feature 

Yes.

I believe anyone post results here.

Thank you guys in advance!

Some m17 R4/m15 R4 owner will need to test this and post the results.

@ejn63 

Hi again. Could you please provide any proves that undervoling is locked in new bios 1.3.1 ?

It's weird contradiction, because the other guy from reddit community reported the following: "I’m on 1.3.1 and Undervolting still works like before"

There is a thread below in which the m17 is listed on the "undervolting blocked" list.  How reliable it is, I do not know - but someone took the time to add the system to the list.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/black-list-adjustable-voltage-control-turbo-ratio-limits-are-locked-out-due-latest-win-update-bios.831450/

Good news!

Finally I can state, that latest BIOS v1.3.1 will not lock undervolting (both for locked and unlocked CPU's) , so it's still possible.

Just for information, I've received:
i9-10980HK (unlocked cpu) - 2 confirmations from owners
i7-10870H (locked cpu) - 1 confirmation from owner

M17 R4 , CPU- I7-10870H here and I can confirm undervolting still available for me after updating BIOS

What about new BIOS 1.4.0 ? Currently I'm on 1.3.1 and undervolting works fine, but I'm seriously afraid to update to 1.4.0

Hi @sipank  thank you for sharing update. 

There has been considerable discussion about the Plundervolt and the many other Intel CPU vulnerabilities. Intel has no solution for their CPU Plundervolt vulnerability. Intel has been forced to make a very public apology.

Instead of peaking at around 87ºC during mixed usage, users are seeing temperatures of around 100ºC. Users are now being told that 100ºC is OK because OEM's have changed the upper temperature threshold that would trigger automatic shutdown, and make it obvious that the Intel CPU has a no solution fault. 

If undervolting works, why do users feel compelled to update the Dell BIOS to fix an Intel CPU vulnerability, that is currently not being exploited? 

Intel & OEMs are disabling undervolting - fix? 

The Alienware series is designed for gaming, and is now switching to the AMD CPU, which has been designed to run cool in slim gaming laptops. 

@crimsom I know the story. Though would be nice to figure out if undervolting still works in 1.4.0 I’m quite happy with 1.3.1, able to undervolt both cores and cache by -0.120, don’t want to loose it, it helps greatly to reduce temperature.

Hi @sipank  thank you for sharing update. 

The ideal would be that OEMs were open and honest with their customers and users. Dell could chose to include plain English clarification in their Dell BIOS update webpages. But they would be the first, and no OEM wants to be the first. Unfortunately for Dell, their customers and users are not happy and have an expectation that the advertised gaming laptop is fit for purpose.