Official Clevo NH55JNNQ / NH5xJNxx 12th gen Socket 1700 LGA laptop thread

[Nico3110]

My vBIOS:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DiuoxUiYtZ-z7hVNoHLCeGkyhXes1N8y/view?usp=sharing

[jaybee83]

@Nico3110 haha so many questions! ill try to answer and comment on them as best i can (cant divulge everything, gotta protect some anonymous sources here it seems haha)

 

- yes Prema is the unicorn master 🤠

- so far weve tried 4 different bios versions, 3 different ME versions, 2 different EC versions

- so far it seems like stock bios flashes go down without a hitch, but once u change ANYthing (custom boot logo, cpu microcodes, etc), bam black screen

- the win11 pro install was shot after the first few bios flashes, was like wtf. ssd still there, data on it still intact, but no dice in using restore points or startup repair. will try some manual repair via live linux later on, lets see how that goes.

- recovered successfuly from bad flash via inbuilt recovery before, but seems like our latest endeavour is more persistent

--> question to @Nico3110@win32asmguy, did you locate the cmos chip yet on the mobo? well try to do a hardware flash next, luckily i still have my programmer flying around somewhere, but not yet sure if my clamp is compatible with the bios chip.

 

as for the ddr4-3800 sticks: in my P751DM i can get them up to 3466 but not fully stable. max memtest stable is 3333. in the NH55 theyre so far just running at SPD (2400), since were lacking functionality to adjust RAM or XMP, but hoping that unicorn magic can change that in the future 😋

 

looking good with the 12900T! weve seen the same peak and equilibrium wattages after maxing out throttlestop as much as possible. max PROCHOT i can set is 98C, at 100C the system shuts off under continuous load *lol*

currently waiting on a delid kit from Rockit Cool including copper IHS, lets see what does does for temps/clocks/wattages...

 

for now though, ill need to revive Alfred first, currently still on black screen mode. my lady will kill me if she finds out.... 😇

[win32asmguy]

20 hours ago, electrosoft said:

I'm glad you were able to identify the diamond in the rough. When you test enough one will rise to the top. For your criteria, it even bests the 12900ks. Definitely the next step would be a delid and copper IHS relid as it has shown consistently with 12th gen to not only lower temps meaningfully (up to 10c) but help tighten core temp differentials. You also get a properly milled, flat IHS with a touch more height since most laptop heatsinks are flat for a better pairing.

 

Even with that being a hard shill/sell video it really did present a better look inside and the approach they're taking. They even made sure to coat the heatsink contact plates with nickel to avoid any soak issues. That looks really nice! Looking forward to seeing your results. You might as well start a thread for it in the Asus forums so we can all follow the magic. Any ETA?

 

And yeah, I just finished up my preliminary analysis and review of the GL66. Overheating everywhere it even overheated playing wow within 30min at 100c on the CPU. GPU isn't too bad. 73c tops and 85c hot spot. I'm going to crack it open soon and take a look since the surface / unboxing portion of the program is finished. 105w GPU rated but it is pulling 140w when gaming and that PSU is toasty.

Delid may be enough to keep it out of thermal throttling for day to day use without an undervolt I would hope. I put my locked 12900 back in just to try and compare the two against each other again. The 12900k is 2% faster without an undervolt, but 10% faster with -100mv. The sad part is the bios still has no way to apply the undervolt, and Throttlestop causes the crash/reboot, so its kind of a moot thing for day to day use. I am also uncertain if Eurocom is willing to make a new bios with undervolting properly enabled, but given they offer the 12900k it is worth a shot.

 

The Strix should arrive soon. This model seems to have the best cooling and VRM setup I have seen out of the BGA HX chips. Technically the Precision 7770 has a much nicer chassis to me, but Dell has always been conservative on power limits in the past so I doubt it would have PL1 above 100W. The 240W power brick in the specs is also a telltale sign.

 

MSI likes to make cooling systems biased towards GPU I have found. The 12700H also needs much more power and cooling than 90% of the laptops it is used in provide, not to mention a perfect paste job which is very rare from a factory stock unit. At least you can do some easy tuning in the bios via the hidden advanced menu unlock, that is something unique to MSI that sets their models apart.

[Nico3110]

2 hours ago, jaybee83 said:

question to @Nico3110@win32asmguy, did you locate the cmos chip yet on the mobo?

No, haven't disassembled it yet. My PROCHOT is set to 98° too (not changed it). Maybe my BIOS version has this as default. And thanks for answering. How did you flash this laptop? For me it doesn't flash nothing. I would try modding it too. And how can you recover it if it bricks?

 

It would be interesting to contact Clevo and ask them if they provide the stock BIOS. There could be a chance that they give us a BIOS with a flash utility for Windows that works out of the box. But I don't have luck contacting the German support. They didn't answer at all!

[Nico3110]

2 hours ago, win32asmguy said:

The sad part is the bios still has no way to apply the undervolt, and Throttlestop causes the crash/reboot

You could try to search for the EFI variables to apply UV at BIOS level. But I'm not sure if you can set them with EFI shell because if it's stored in the Setup varstore you can't set it with setup-var command because nearly every offset is out of range...

 

Edit:

Sorry @win32asmguy, I guess you wrote that you tried it already... Did you managed to undervolt your 12900 non K CPU? I want to test UV with my 12900T...

Edited June 1, 2022 by Nico3110
Added some things...

[win32asmguy]

7 minutes ago, Nico3110 said:

You could try to search for the EFI variables to apply UV at BIOS level. But I'm not sure if you can set them with EFI shell because if it's stored in the Setup varstore you can't set it with setup-var command because nearly every offset is out of range...

Already tried them, sadly nothing has worked so far.

# Eurocom Raptor X15 BIOS 1.07.05 / EC 1.07.04
CpuSetup 0x22f 0x0 # works, disable E-cores
CpuSetup 0x43  0x0 # works, disable Config Lock
CpuSetup 0x10  0x0 # works, disable Overclocking Lock
CpuSetup 0x1d9 0x1 # works, enable Overclocking Feature (XTU can install now, etc)

# Advanced -> Overclocking Performance Menu -> Processor
CpuSetup 0x1e0 0x32 # not working, set 50mv P-core+E-core+P-cache voltage offset
CpuSetup 0x1e2 0x1  # not working, set P-core voltage offset to negative mode

CpuSetup 0x2b2 0x32 # not working, set 50mv E-cache offset
CpuSetup 0x2b4 0x1  # not working, set E-cache voltage offset to negative mode

CpuSetup 0x18d 0x1  # unknown, set selected memory profile to custom

# Advanced -> Cpu Voltage
CpuSetup 0x379 0x1  # unknown, enable Clevo Cpu Voltage feature?
CpuSetup 0x37d 0x32 # unknown, set 50mv P-core+E-core+P-cache voltage offset
CpuSetup 0x37f 0x1  # unknown, set P-core voltage offset to negative mode

There is a bunch of duplicate menu items in the dump so I spent time trying combinations of both.

 

With the first set, you can enable undervolting (so long as you have a K-series processor), but with E-cores enabled Throttlestop or QuickCPU always triggers a crash applying P-cache offset.

 

I would suggest also to ask your reseller to provide you their variant of the 1.07.05 BIOS and 1.07.04 EC, if Eurocom has it (as of 4/16/22) then they should be able to get it from Clevo as well! I wish more resellers were like XMG and just post the updates when they are available instead of making it by request only. Sadly XMG opted not to carry the NH55JNNQ so we can't use their site as a resource.

[Nico3110]

Ok. That's interesting. I will try it with my device soon. But how to know if UV is applied? Clevo-Computer doesn't answer my mails anymore. I guess they have some problems... Shortly after I ordered my laptop they answered every question in a short time but now they don't. And my system was ordered at 29. of March and I got it two or three weeks ago. Another interesting fact: Clevo Computer in Germany has an email support. The same email adress is listed on the official Clevo website as support address for Germany.

[win32asmguy]

13 minutes ago, Nico3110 said:

Ok. That's interesting. I will try it with my device soon. But how to know if UV is applied? Clevo-Computer doesn't answer my mails anymore. I guess they have some problems... Shortly after I ordered my laptop they answered every question in a short time but now they don't. And my system was ordered at 30. of April and I got it two or three weeks ago. Another interesting fact: Clevo Computer in Germany has an email support. The same email adress is listed on the official Clevo website as support address for Germany.

If its Throttlestop, it reads the register value back out after its applied so you will see it in the FIVR window. You can also enable logging to record voltages measured under load. On average they should consistently drop if it is working.

[Nico3110]

2 minutes ago, win32asmguy said:

If its Throttlestop, it reads the register value back out after its applied so you will see it in the FIVR window

OK cool. I will try it. Maybe tomorrow...

[Clamibot]

3 hours ago, win32asmguy said:

Delid may be enough to keep it out of thermal throttling for day to day use without an undervolt I would hope. I put my locked 12900 back in just to try and compare the two against each other again. The 12900k is 2% faster without an undervolt, but 10% faster with -100mv. The sad part is the bios still has no way to apply the undervolt, and Throttlestop causes the crash/reboot, so its kind of a moot thing for day to day use. I am also uncertain if Eurocom is willing to make a new bios with undervolting properly enabled, but given they offer the 12900k it is worth a shot.

 

The Strix should arrive soon. This model seems to have the best cooling and VRM setup I have seen out of the BGA HX chips. Technically the Precision 7770 has a much nicer chassis to me, but Dell has always been conservative on power limits in the past so I doubt it would have PL1 above 100W. The 240W power brick in the specs is also a telltale sign.

 

MSI likes to make cooling systems biased towards GPU I have found. The 12700H also needs much more power and cooling than 90% of the laptops it is used in provide, not to mention a perfect paste job which is very rare from a factory stock unit. At least you can do some easy tuning in the bios via the hidden advanced menu unlock, that is something unique to MSI that sets their models apart.

 

Let us know how the Strix is! I'm actually pretty interested in it after looking at the internals and the specs. Yeah it's BGA, but it still is a DTR and does have a desktop CPU in it, just adapted to a BGA socket. The MUX switch is has makes it attractive as well.

 

I also read that the Strix supports power input through one of the USB-C ports as well. I thought that was pretty interesting. I wonder if it can accept power through its power inlet port and that USB-C port simultaneously. If so, then that gives the laptop a power allowance of 430 watts total, basically making it kind of like a BGA Clevo X170.

[jaybee83]

3 hours ago, Nico3110 said:

No, haven't disassembled it yet. My PROCHOT is set to 98° too (not changed it). Maybe my BIOS version has this as default. And thanks for answering. How did you flash this laptop? For me it doesn't flash nothing. I would try modding it too. And how can you recover it if it bricks?

 

It would be interesting to contact Clevo and ask them if they provide the stock BIOS. There could be a chance that they give us a BIOS with a flash utility for Windows that works out of the box. But I don't have luck contacting the German support. They didn't answer at all!

well thats exactly the issue we are having, the flashing process is super finicky and basically any modification results in a black screen. so we dont really have a straight way forward yet, still early days of testing. as for recovery, can either use the clevo inbuilt recovery via usb stick to flash blindly or use the programmer directly on the cmos chip.

 

speaking of which, heres some hardware pr0n, took of the lower cover in search of the cmos:

 

 

actually quite straight forward, just take out 15 philips screws that have the following relative locations to each other:

 

unfortunately, it looks like the cmos chip is NOT located on the underside of the mobo, ugh....i REALLY dont want to have to take out the whole mobo every time i want to recover from a brick....

[Nico3110]

Is there a detailed guide for flashing it blindly with an USB stick?

[jaybee83]

10 hours ago, Nico3110 said:

Is there a detailed guide for flashing it blindly with an USB stick?

i cant provide too many details at this time, but i can say its the same clevo recovery approach via the Fn+B combo press at boot to force flash the bios image file on the usb stick. google is your friend 😉

 

btw, we located the cmos chip, its indeed on the upper side of the mobo, so super annoying to reach since a complete disassembly and removal of the mobo is required to get to it:

 

see that rectangle chip right below the large green chipset package?

here another close up of it:

 

so yeah, unfortunately the clamp i have for my programmer doesnt fit this type of chip, ugh. so were currently looking around to source one.

 

i guess until then ill cover up all the parts with a towel so that my lady doesnt get a heart attack in the morning 😂

[win32asmguy]

9 hours ago, Clamibot said:

 

Let us know how the Strix is! I'm actually pretty interested in it after looking at the internals and the specs. Yeah it's BGA, but it still is a DTR and does have a desktop CPU in it, just adapted to a BGA socket. The MUX switch is has makes it attractive as well.

 

I also read that the Strix supports power input through one of the USB-C ports as well. I thought that was pretty interesting. I wonder if it can accept power through its power inlet port and that USB-C port simultaneously. If so, then that gives the laptop a power allowance of 430 watts total, basically making it kind of like a BGA Clevo X170.

Yep, it arrived and definitely can outperform the NH55JNNQ just because of the higher power limits. Interestingly enough applying an undervolt to P-cache also crashes the system so that issue isn't related to Clevo.

 

I am not sure if the Strix is designed to use both power sources at the same time, or could take advantage of the Eurocom 780W brick for that matter.

 

I did post a thread for that model in the Asus sub section as well, so we can discuss about it.

[Nico3110]

6 hours ago, jaybee83 said:

i can say its the same clevo recovery approach via the Fn+B combo press at boot to force flash the bios image file on the usb stick

Ok. That's already enough forme. Thank you!

[Nico3110]

27 minutes ago, win32asmguy said:

applying an undervolt to P-cache also crashes the system

Maybe it is a problem of the 12th gen or of this h6970 chipset? Does the Strix have the same chipset? I couldn't find any information about that...

[Nico3110]

Today I've made a modded BIOS again. In theory it should work. But I'm a little bit afraid of trying it out 😅

 

I also noticed that if you change your performance profile in Control Center it does change PROCHOT temperature...

Performance 98°

Entertainment 87°

Power saver/Silent 85°

 

Could be possible that the names aren't exactly correct... I can't remember them 😂

[jaybee83]

56 minutes ago, Nico3110 said:

Today I've made a modded BIOS again. In theory it should work. But I'm a little bit afraid of trying it out 😅

 

I also noticed that if you change your performance profile in Control Center it does change PROCHOT temperature...

Performance 98°

Entertainment 87°

Power saver/Silent 85°

 

Could be possible that the names aren't exactly correct... I can't remember them 😂

cool find, i just leave the performance profile at all times and do the tweaking via windows power profiles / TS / bitsum parkcontrol, etc. control center would just be a black box variable id have to deal with additionally...

 

btw, ure right to be afraid haha. from our testing so far it seems like this machine reacts very sensitively towards any bios mods and more often than not greets you with a bootloop blackscreen...

 

my rockit cool kit has made it from Houston aaaaall the way to....Chicago 😂 gonna be a while longer until i get it haha  in the meantime ill leave Alfred in pieces and will source the new clamp for the bios chip. i think itll be easier to just flash directly to chip, although the disassembly is quite annoying....

unfortunately, cutting a hole into the chassis for easier access would also mean having a hole in the palm rest, so not an option! 😐

[Nico3110]

Ok cool. I don't have the fitting flasher... Therefore I wouldn't risk anything I guess 😂

[electrosoft]

12 hours ago, win32asmguy said:

Yep, it arrived and definitely can outperform the NH55JNNQ just because of the higher power limits. Interestingly enough applying an undervolt to P-cache also crashes the system so that issue isn't related to Clevo.

 

I am not sure if the Strix is designed to use both power sources at the same time, or could take advantage of the Eurocom 780W brick for that matter.

 

I did post a thread for that model in the Asus sub section as well, so we can discuss about it.

 

Awesome! I'll go take a looksy. Looking forward to the results and higher level breakdown from you vs the standard YT affair.

 

 

[Nico3110]

What if I uninstall Control Center? Do the programs to control the fans and the keyboard uninstall too? Because the performance profiles are not very useful and the only reason to keep the Control Center installed is to change fan speeds and control keyboard backlit...

 

Somebody checked out if Afterburn can control the clocks of the dGPU?

[-batab-]

9 hours ago, Nico3110 said:

What if I uninstall Control Center? Do the programs to control the fans and the keyboard uninstall too? Because the performance profiles are not very useful and the only reason to keep the Control Center installed is to change fan speeds and control keyboard backlit...

 

Somebody checked out if Afterburn can control the clocks of the dGPU?

 

It usually does. At least I'm using it on older Clevos and it works perfectly.

[jaybee83]

On 6/7/2022 at 12:15 AM, Nico3110 said:

What if I uninstall Control Center? Do the programs to control the fans and the keyboard uninstall too? Because the performance profiles are not very useful and the only reason to keep the Control Center installed is to change fan speeds and control keyboard backlit...

 

Somebody checked out if Afterburn can control the clocks of the dGPU?

yes and no. vRAM is adjustable on the dGPU via Afterburner, but gpu core clock dont change, no matter what ive tried.

[-batab-]

4 hours ago, jaybee83 said:

yes and no. vRAM is asjustable on the dGPU via Afterburner, but gpu core clock dont change, no matter what ive tried.

 

wait, really? How can it work some dGPUs but not on others? Is it some weird ass bios/firmware block by clevo?

On my old P650HP6 with a GTX1060 the afterburner app works just fine.

[Nico3110]

Ah ok. That's really interesting... And somebody tested uninstalling Controller Center? I don't want to use the profiles... And some intereting stuff: the control center is able to downclock the dGPU! There are predefined profiles in BIOS which have (what a coincidence) the same name like in the Control Center and they all have different GPU clocks...