[SOLVED] Can GPU vBIOS be flashed to support G-Sync ?

[SagerDanger]

Can GPU vBIOS be flashed to support G-Sync ?

I have a Sager NP9873 with a GTX 1080-G MXM 3.0. The GPU died about 3 weeks ago. I bought another one to tide me over, but the seller accidentally shipped me the wrong GPU, it's the GTX 1080 MXM 3.0, which does not support G-Sync.

The seller is kind of being a jerk, and doesn't want to take it back because I already installed it to test it.

Can't I just flash to the vBIOS from the card that has the G-Sync licensing? It's not like the power limits or anything are different as far as I can tell. Nvidia says that G-Sync is natively supported by all "10 series cards and later." Plus I cannot seem to find any literature stating how the two cards are different from a physical hardware or parts perspective.

This is a last ditch effort before trying to make a claim through VISA. Any advice would be appreciated.

For the big brains...
Current vBIOS: 86.04.56.00.2E
vBIOS on TechPowerUp w/Gsync: 86.04.2A.00.2B

 

[boju]

It's not the graphics card being restricted here, it's the video port from laptop that will determine if Gsync is compatible. The laptop needs a DisplayPort out or a USB-C port that's video capable. Can you link to your specific laptop model please, there are a few same model numbers with differing suffix. If it's only got Hdmi out then Gsync won't work no matter what you do.

Minimum gpu spec for Gsync in a laptop is 965m

G-Sync & G-Sync HDR System Requirements

Find graphics cards, OS, and driver requirements for G-Sync and G-Sync HDR technology from NVIDIA.

www.nvidia.com

 

[SagerDanger]

Everything else is G-Sync compatible. I have 2x MiniDP that are G-Sync, and my 2 HDMI ports are also HDCP VRR/G-Sync. The old card was a GTX 1080-G MXM 3.0 and ran the attached laptop panel with G-Sync no problem. It's just the new card that won't let me run G-Sync.

This is the model so to speak:
https://eurocom.com/ec/upgradepricelist(2,388)CLEVO_P870DM3_SAGER_NP9873
Mine is:
QHD 120hz G-sync laptop display
i7-7700K

 

[SagerDanger]

This is the image that was shared with me by one of the techs at Sager regarding which cards and vBIOS's are G-Sync compatible.

https://postimg.cc/w3NLpQGg

https://i.postimg.cc/9X8pyxPR/image.png

 

[boju]

Possibly vbios tells the system that a mini DP (or Usbc if it had one) is present so gpu can use it directly for Gsync to work. Whether a cable is wired directly or it connects some other way via pcie, not sure. When you removed your old gpu was there anything else connected to it?

 

[SagerDanger]

No, they are IDENTICAL as far as I can tell. Every capacitor, VRM placement, etc,.

The MXM modules slot into a PCIE lane, and then have a power pin, since they are identical they seat and plug in the same. Nothing extra.

I have run a few benchmarks on the new card, and compared to my other card before it died, they are within 1% of each other, which is even strange because from card to card that is unusually close.

 

[boju]

Well i guess all you can do is try flash it and see what happens.

 

[ohio_buckeye]

Did you buy it on eBay? If so file a claim and say item not as described.

 

[Endre]

Can GPU vBIOS be flashed to support G-Sync ?

I have a Sager NP9873 with a GTX 1080-G MXM 3.0. The GPU died about 3 weeks ago. I bought another one to tide me over, but the seller accidentally shipped me the wrong GPU, it's the GTX 1080 MXM 3.0, which does not support G-Sync.

The seller is kind of being a jerk, and doesn't want to take it back because I already installed it to test it.

Can't I just flash to the vBIOS from the card that has the G-Sync licensing? It's not like the power limits or anything are different as far as I can tell. Nvidia says that G-Sync is natively supported by all "10 series cards and later." Plus I cannot seem to find any literature stating how the two cards are different from a physical hardware or parts perspective.

This is a last ditch effort before trying to make a claim through VISA. Any advice would be appreciated.

For the big brains...
Current vBIOS: 86.04.56.00.2E
vBIOS on TechPowerUp w/Gsync: 86.04.2A.00.2B

Hello!

My advice is, do not flash the VBIOS!
Simply, find a way to return the product to the seller!
If the seller "accidentally" sent you another card, that's the seller's fault!

 

[SagerDanger]

I did initially find the new card on Ebay, but the seller wanted $1500 for it, and wasn't accepting offers, so I reached out and gave them my email to haggle, which lead to me buying it directly for $700 and not through Ebay. So disputing through Ebay is out of the question.

They did guarantee that it would be G-Sync compatible as they still sell the Eurocom version of my Sager.

The "bigger" issue in my eyes is that this card is VERY rare, and six years old to boot. I have only managed to find like 8 or so for sale online in the past month. There is a chance that these 8 left over are all the non G-Sync variant, because who would buy a GTX 1080 laptop without G-Sync? These are probably left over for a reason, because almost every one of these cards sold with a laptop, and not as a replacement.

So even if I dispute the charge with Visa, and get to keep the card, it doesn't guarantee that any of the others will be G-Sync compatible unless the sellers honestly share the vBIOS versions of each of them with me.

This is why I am hoping the big brains here might be able to steer me in a direction that involves enabling G-Sync on this card.


P.S. I did initially try to replace the card through Sager, but they said it would be $1200, then told me that Nvidia had no stock left so they couldn't even source it.

 

[SagerDanger]

I still haven't mustered the courage to flash, and the seller still isn't responding, but I did find something loosely related. Nvidia added support for resizable bar, and for the 30 series cards they actually released a program that would flash your vbios in order to enable resizable bar on your 30 series gpu. This is at least slight evidence that flashing/updating a vbios could potentially add support for a feature not too unlike G-Sync (hardware feature).

 

[boju]

Resizable bar is a feature in motherboard bios which 30 series can take advantage of when enabled. Has nothing to do with vbios.

 

[SagerDanger]

So, I am by no means an expert, or even knowledgable on this subject, but Boju that seems incorrect.

https://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5165/~/nvidia-resizable-bar-firmware-update-tool

This is a post from Nvidia about the tool/program that they released that updates your GPU's firmware/vbios in order to enable resizable bar support.

This would imply that without updating the vbios, that some 30 series cards did not support resizable bar out of the box.

Which ties back in to what I was saying, that it is possible that updating a vbios could add support for something.

Edit:
I spent over an hour on livechat with Nvidia support today wherein they basically kept trying to tell me that my laptop display did not support G-Sync, and so I actually had to dig up my OG receipt to prove that it was, so I figured I might as well share that here as well. Prices blacked out because I don't want it to look like a weird flex.

 

[boju]

Wasn't aware there was more to it than that. Thank you. Think the vbios updating is more to do with founder's edition being so new they didn't have proper support. Partners there after looks like had support.

GeForce RTX 30 Series Performance Accelerates With Resizable BAR Support | GeForce News | NVIDIA

Support available now for all GeForce RTX 30 Series Founders Edition graphics cards, and select GeForce RTX 30 Series laptops.<br/>

www.nvidia.com

But back on topic though, how does this help you? I get vbios updates can change things, so i guess added Gsync support is one of those. If you can't return it then you might as well update it.

 

[kerberos_20]

You can't flash G-sync vbios to a non G-Sync card or visa versa as nvflash will stop it before you can even start flashing with an exception caught error.

 

[SagerDanger]

MASSIVE UPDATE AND SOLVED!!!!

All of you except for Boju were wrong/discouraging, so Boju thanks for giving me the courage.

I asked Sager for the vBIOS of my old card: 86.04.2A.00.2D (G-Sync compatible)
They emailed me the vBIOS and NVFlash with a few tips on how to flash my vBIOS, they were lovely.

I followed this YouTube video EXACTLY, including backing up my old vBIOS, and I downloaded a remote service client to open on start up and had another computer dialed in at all times just incase I lost the use of my screen.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xsEvdIrNGc&ab_channel=CoilWhine


Then I ran NVFlash through command prompt, flashed, and restarted my computer.

I NOW have a G-Sync compatible display. It even had the enable G-Sync screen notification in the bottom right hand corner of the screen, and it was IMMEDIATELY working.

I AM SO RELIEVED. I can't believe that this actually worked.

 

[boju]

Well done 👍

 

[Endre]

MASSIVE UPDATE AND SOLVED!!!!

All of you except for Boju were wrong/discouraging, so Boju thanks for giving me the courage.

I asked Sager for the vBIOS of my old card: 86.04.2A.00.2D (G-Sync compatible)
They emailed me the vBIOS and NVFlash with a few tips on how to flash my vBIOS, they were lovely.

I followed this YouTube video EXACTLY, including backing up my old vBIOS, and I downloaded a remote service client to open on start up and had another computer dialed in at all times just incase I lost the use of my screen.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xsEvdIrNGc&ab_channel=CoilWhine


Then I ran NVFlash through command prompt, flashed, and restarted my computer.

I NOW have a G-Sync compatible display. It even had the enable G-Sync screen notification in the bottom right hand corner of the screen, and it was IMMEDIATELY working.

I AM SO RELIEVED. I can't believe that this actually worked.

Hello!

I am glad it worked.