I'm going to try and bios mod my cheap chinese X79 MB

M76

[H]F Junkie
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Jun 12, 2012
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I didn't know if I should post this here or the MB section but it might fit here better.

So basically the deal is that I got a Chinese made Huananzhi X79-ZD3 board from aliexpress, for no other particular reason
but curiosity.

I've tried it and it works with the I7-3820, but I couldn't get it to boot with a E5-2670.

And since the 3820 is unlocked I've decided to take a gamble on it and try to mod the bios to enable multipler overclocking on it, as from factory it doesn't allow any sort of OC.

I'm curious what will happen, hope I can avoid bricking it.

If I don't come back, continue waiting for longer :D
 
They are hacked H61 chipsets, thrown together with who knows what recycled components but from what I've seen on the reviewer sites. They actually work well, even the M.2 slots
 
So here is what happened.

  1. Dumped the bios
  2. Made necessary modifications (it's actually a lot simpler than I expected, especially considering the instructions were translated to runglish by google)
  3. Re-flashed the bios. It completed successfully.
  4. Reboot
  5. The system boots normally as before
  6. Go to setup Load Defaults Save -> Reboot
  7. Blank screen, LAN port flashes, but nothing else happens -> Reboot
  8. Even the blank screen is gone, display stays off no signal, LAN comm leds still blinking -> Reboot and start panicking
  9. Even the LAN leds remain dark this time, only fanspin remains. -> Power cycling
  10. Still no boot ->Start thinking whether I should order a replacement board or forget it
  11. Last ditch effort -> disconnect power, remove cmos battery -> wait
  12. Try again, after cmos reset
  13. Post screen appears, but system crashes during post
  14. Lots of trying to boot but the system always crashes during post before I'm even able to run setup
  15. Events 7-11 repeat almost exactly
  16. After resetting the cmos again, it almost boots but crashes again goes to blinking cursor in the upper left corner
  17. After a dozen or so power cycles and turning it on and off again, it suddenly boots like normal
  18. Go to setup, quickly set RAM speed and mode, cause that's what I suspected was causing the havoc ->reboot
  19. Second successful boot in a row, that hasn't happened since flashing the bios.
  20. Try to boot into windows - > impossible UEFI boot options do not appear
  21. Rummage around in CSM settings, no way to enable uefi boot
  22. Find a strange option in the bios to launch uefi console, I don't know what that means, but try it anyway
  23. It asks if I want to save settings before rebooting. Strange but well OK, let's save
  24. Boots into windows like the past hour never happened.
  25. Reboot to check if it wasn't a fluke ->it wasn'T
  26. Go to bios to actually check if OC options are available.
  27. There is a set max ratio option but it's set at 0, and can't change it using +/- -> Almost gave up on it
  28. Realize that while I can't change the values, I can type in any value I want.
  29. Let's see the CPU is known to be rock solid at 4500 and used to post at 4750 in an Asrock X79 Extreme4
  30. Try something conservative: Enter 40 for all core multipler.
  31. Boots flawlessly
  32. Cpu actually runs at 3990 according to HWMonitor didn't bother to check it with anything else yet
  33. Runs Cinebench 20, to check if there is actually a performance gain
  34. Performance gain confirmed
  35. Bios mod confirmed working, don't have time to do any more tweaking right now

TLDR: IT WORKS!
 
It is what it is, not an OC board, but at least it's nice to have the option. The VRMs are not great, and of course there is no load line calibration, so no way it goes above 3990. I don't remember what was the vcore when this cpu ran at 4.5, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't stock.
 
some of those processors can be had for what $30-40.. $150 computer ( mobo, cpu, ram ). I don't think it's a bad option at all. OC or not, but an unlocked processors will OC with XTU anyway... The value prospect has to be tight now with Ryzen 3k being so cheap. But I think getting everything under $150 makes it tight enough. Add a decent graphics card
 
Thats awesome! I would also be like "wtf is uefi console?"

Keep us updated if you have any issues/ improvements. Which board did you get? Also which bios did you upgrade to?
 
Thats awesome! I would also be like "wtf is uefi console?"

Keep us updated if you have any issues/ improvements. Which board did you get? Also which bios did you upgrade to?
The board name is there in the opening post: Huananzhi X79-ZD3.

As for which bios, didn't you read my post? I modified the original bios that came with the board using a tool to extract and recompile the bin. The actual editing is done with a hex editor.
There is a guide on how to edit the bios on a russian page.
 
Make CERTAIN you’re cooling those VRMs. I have an x79T motherboard and it’s been perfectly nice for what I do, but I’m also running a 95W Xeon E5-4640 with no designs on overclocking. Those capacitors aren’t generally high spec - keep them cool enough.
 
The board name is there in the opening post: Huananzhi X79-ZD3.

As for which bios, didn't you read my post? I modified the original bios that came with the board using a tool to extract and recompile the bin. The actual editing is done with a hex editor.
There is a guide on how to edit the bios on a russian page.

Ahh cool, I didn't realize you compiled it, I thought it was like a list of bios'

Still cool
 
Thanks for sharing. Will certainly keep this in mind if I want to tinker with a cheap setup.
 
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