TwistedAndy

No. That's the CPU revision. You may find the microcode update (MCU) version in HWiNFO64.

Here are some updated about the current situation with undervolting: https://www.reddit.com/r/intel/comments/10slejm/comment/j73ge9a/ Good news: 1. The undervolting protection can be disabled on some BIOS allowing the runtime undervolting 2. There's an option to undervolt the system through BIOS, but... Bad news: 1. The undervolting protection feature is not working properly on a large number of motherboards (including Dell) and significantly reduced the system stability if even the small undervolting is applied. Some vendors have found a solution, but it may affect the device security 2. Dell won't add this feature to the BIOS anytime soon and, probably, won't intentionally fix the related issues

Do you get the same issue as described here?

Today Intel has officially confirmed the new undervolt protection feature. It allows vendors to block the undervolting. Also, which is more confusing, it is enabled by default, so a vendor needs to make an extra step to disable it, add a setting to the BIOS, and make it work.

Offsets are the same on Dell either. What happens when you try to disable those locks using commands like setup_var CpuSetup 0x43 0x0 setup_var CpuSetup 0x10E 0x0 ? Do you get an error? Or the offsets are simply not saved?

You can try using ThrottleStop, for example.

As for the Undervolt Protection, you can check inf the Undervolt Protection is enabled in the HWiNFO64. You may find more details here: Intel Undervolt Protection

That's a great question. We must wait while Dell adds this setting to the BIOS and assigns an offset.

It might be related to the IA CEP (Current Excursion Protection), but I'm not completely sure.

You are changing EFI variables (configuration). BIOS (firmware) reads them and sets MSRs accordingly.

Another interesting fact. I have found, that Precision 7670 and 7770 have a hidden setting called Undervolt Protection in the decompressed BIOS and it is enabled by default. At the same time due to the older microcode in the latest BIOS (1.8), this setting does not affect the undervolting. Unfortunately, XPS 15 and 17 does not have this feature despite sharing mostly the same EFI structure and offsets. I have checked the 0x381 offset and it was disabled (0x0)

I did deeper research regarding the undervolting lock and found many interesting things. This feature is called "Dynamic OC Undervolt Protection" and blocks the negative voltage offsets. I have described it here: Good news: - This feature can be enabled or disabled by a particular vendor and controlled by 0x195 MSR. Bad news: - We all know which option Dell will choose... - The 0x195 MSR is read-only (R/O), so no easy tweaks - It may affect all the existing and future CPUs using the updated microcode (released in August 2022 and newer).

Dell does not care about performance in third-party apps like Cinebench R23. At least that's exactly was I told by two different Dell representatives while resolving issues with my XPS 17. I think, the updated Precision 7680 and 7780 models will achieve 16-18K out of the box and nearly 25-27K after aggressive tuning and with noise levels like a jet plane. Razer paid more attention to the performance in the new generation and increased the cooling system.

I've found a post from HP confirming that undervolting is blocked in the new Intel's microcode update for Alder Lake and Raptor Lake. I have described everything here. It affects not only mobile HK and HX CPUs, but the unlocked desktop (K and KS) processors as well.

Yes, obviously. The problem is that the negative voltage offsets are not applied at all, even if you specify them directly in EFI. In this case, those offsets should be applied regardless the operating system, VBS, and without XTU/TS. But they are not. It looks like embedded controller or some parts of the main firmware just ignore or block those offsets. Yes, correct. Customers have paid for an additional feature and now it is completely locked. I think, my next device will be from XMG, who not only encourage undervolting even on restricted CPUs (H-series), but cover this type of tuning under a warranty.

Dell does not care about advanced customers and performance. The issue with AC/DC Load Line and poor performance out of the box (~13-15K CB R23) shows it clearly. Ultimately, Dell will lock the Precision 7670 and 7770 as well. It's a matter of time. Big tech companies like Dell, HP, Apple, and others are interested in selling devices and not getting them back. That's all. As for this issue, it may be related to the new Intel microcode affecting Alder and Raptor Lake platforms. Dell does not care if the undervolting will stop working after the security update. Yes, there will be another dozen of people complaining on forums and Reddit, which can be ignored one more time. But if there will be some unpatched vulnerabilities, their business customers may be very confused. Unfortunately, the performance and an option to tune something is not always the main factor why companies and regular customers make a decision which device to purchase. Luckily, there are some other vendors and devices with less compromises in terms of performance. For example, XMG posts really good guides how to undervolt their devices and even cover that under some kind of warranty. Probably, they care about their laptops more than some companies, which do not have enough resources to specify AC/DC Load Line values properly in their $5K devices.

As for the undervolting, recently Intel has released the microcode update, which completely blocks the undervolting and, probably, fixes some security issues. Vendors like Dell started including it to the new BIOS releases last November. You can have the undervolting unlocked in BIOS and even specify offsets there, but the undervolting won't be applied. Now it affects the new XPS 15 and 17 with 12900HK with BIOS 1.12.0 and newer, Lenovo Legion 7i with HX CPUs and BIOS newer than 31, some desktop motherboards with Z690, and other platforms. Ultimately, this update may affect the Precision lineup ad well, including Raptor Lake update. Additionally, the new Intel microcode may reduce the CPU performance. Dell has confirmed that. Probably, we have the same story as we had with Spectre/Meltdown, but Intel and vendors decided to quietly patch it. As for the potential damage, undervolting can't damage the system in any way. Also, there are features like Intel CEP.

The variables and offsets are the same, ThrottleStop shows CPU as unlocked, but the offsets are not applied. Also, they are not applied if you specify them in BIOS in the same way as you unlock undervolting.

Unfortunately, Dell completely locked undervolting on XPS 15 and 17 2022 with recent BIOS updates. Those commands do not work anymore. You can find more details here: Dell False Advertising.

In the recent BIOS updates Dell decided to completely lock the CPU (12900HK) while keep advertising this option as unlocked. Now there's no option to undervolt 12900HK even after applying adjustments to BIOS options. Additionally, Dell reduced the CPU performance. That's called scam. I don't think, I will buy Dell next time. More details here: Dell False Advertising.

Those scores look pretty good. The desktop 13900K is faster in MT, but not that much (25-27K vs 20K). ST scores are nearly the same and slightly faster than ADL.

According to a recent leak, Raptor Lake HX will have 8P + 16E cores. PS. Razer Blade 18 😉

The main idea of the DOO approach is the ability to put a larger fan in a smaller case while keeping it efficient. If you block the one side, the flow through the other one will not increase significantly. There's no enough space in casing for that. Frankly, I don't see any good reason to disable E-cores. They work pretty well and offer nearly the same performance as Skylake cores. In terms of undervolting, from my experience with two 12900HK chips, the main limiting factor is the System Agent. It becomes very unstable with more than 80 mV undervolt. In terms of efficiency, 12900HK and 12950HX shows the best efficiency between 45 and 75W (from ~14500 and ~17500 CB R23 with UV). AMD Ryzen 6900HX/6800H work great on lower wattages (35-45W or ~12500 .. 13500 CB R23). You can push them higher (up to 100W) and get slightly better results (~14500). There are some devices from Asus with separate port for discrete GPU, but they are not so popular for obvious reasons. If customers need ultimate performance and upgradeability, they will go with regular PC instead of an expensive laptop and an eGPU. If customers need portability and performance, they will go with powerful laptop with discrete GPU. Yes, it is slower than some desktop GPUs, but the difference is not that big.

Yes, Dell won't dramatically change the Precision thermal design nor next year, neither 2024. Maybe, we will see some updates in 2025. At the same time, we may see some updates to the XPS 15/17 lineup next year. In term of performance, Raptor Lake H will use mostly the same design as Alder Lake H with the same cache configuration. It will be 2-7% faster. Maybe, there will be some power management improvements allowing it run on slightly lower voltage to compensate higher clocks. As for the Raptor Lake HX, maybe, we will see the full 8 + 16 configuration, but on the mobile devices the performance improvement will be limited due to the case and power restrictions. That's why Intel will use the 6+8 configuration both for Raptor Lake H and Meteor Lake H with 45W base power. I think, the next good time to upgrade will be 2025 with Intel Arrow Lake.

You need to disable VBS in Windows (Virtualization-Based Security), You can keep the virtualization and Hyper-V enabled. The setting is called Memory integrity: