[MOVED] Hacking NVidia Cards into their Professional Counterparts

[gordan]

Interesting. I found that SL DVI problem manifests on Gainward cards but not on others, with the same drivers.
If you have a driver and BIOS that work, though, why exactly would you even bother with a newer ones that don't? What exactly do you expect it to gain you?

K5000 has the same GPU as the K2, but it's a single GPU card. K2 is a dual GPU card. Note that to make the K2 BIOS work on a 680 you will also have to modify another part of the BIOS as I seem to recall I documented somewhere on this thread months ago.

There is nothing to be gained from modding to K5000 over K2. I just mod the ID to Tesla K10 on the 680s because that means only 1 resistor has to be changed rather than 2. It comes down to whether the device ID is white-listed in the driver - either it is or it isn't. If it is, it'll work in a VM, of it isn't it won't. There is nothing else to be gained from BIOS modding, unfortunately, so you might as well stick with the simplest option.

Forget SLI if you mod into Quadro/Grid/Tesla.

You CANNOT soft-mod Kepler cards. It won't work. Device ID will change as far as the PCI bus is concerned, but the value the driver checks is set in a register in the GPU which can only be set by hard-modding. Soft-modding only works up to the Fermi 4xx series cards.

[NEOAethyr]

I don't expect to gain much, I just wanna update my drivers lol.
And the sl-dvi prob actually affects all k2's, it's right in the driver readme...
It requires a bios update, which I have, it's just not usable to me without the ability to display an output.

I would of modded it back but I can't find my original resistors.
I'de have to pop off the ones on the new card just to get values from them with my dmm, then order new ones and a new soldering iron and solder both cards...
At that point I might as well figure out what resistors are needed for the k5000 mod and go with that.

I mean I could sli, if I modded my 2nd card.
But I'de essentially be stuck with the same driver for life.
It's more of a prob in linux then it is in windows right now.
In windows at least my current games work ok'ish enough, in linux that driver ver is just a little bit to old to be of use.
And yeah it effects the same exact drivers in linux then it does in windows.

If I do update my drivers, I'll be stuck at 60hz for life and that is an absolute nogo for me, I'll be dropping frames on ntsc captures...

[gordan]

Again - what is the gain of the newer drivers? Is there is a clear and obvious bug you are trying to work around or are you slaving to version numbers?
Interesting re: K2 bug. Good info. My last GTX680 is modified into Tesla K10 because it was easier, so I guess that's why I hadn't noticed the problem. My daily use cards nowdays are 780Ti modded to K6000 so I guess I missed that problem by luck.

You aren't seriously talking about re-using the original resistors are you???

The resistor values are documented on the first few pages of the thread.

Sounds to me like the easiest thing to do is to mod your card(s) to Tesla K10 and avoid both the BIOS modding and driver bug issues.

[NEOAethyr]

I'm checking out all the driver vers to find out when this problem originaly occurred.
I'm currently using 319.92, reason I wanna update it is because it's about a year old now.

Anyways it looks like the latest ver I can get my hand =s on without the prob might be 320.49.
I have not actually checked it though.

320.86 I know is affected, and it looks as if 320.78 is affected as well but I haven't checked.
I'm just going by what the readme's say this sec for those untested drivers.

I don't think it needs the edid forced because it can still read it from the monitor.
I'm gonna try this program called nvidia pixel clock patcher, it might take me a day to get around to trying it.
If that doesn't work, I'm try my hand at hex editing the driver and see if I can't figure out what changed.

I just get ver 320.49 downloaded and I'm gonna try that.

Um and in the driver readme's the issue is laid out as:
Multi-Monitor Support on GRID
Multi-monitor support on GRID boards K1
and K2 requires the following VBIOS
versions:
•
GRID K1:
80.07.AF.00.00
or later
•
GRID K2:
80:04:BA:00.00
or later

I read back when that people were having trouble getting past single link speeds in there virtual machines and this was the fix for it.
So I assume the fix and problem is one in the same.

Tesla k10 might be a solution, I haven't checked in a while which needs which resistor config but whatever is the easiest .
These smd's, I've never seen them so small before, the ones on my card are sooooo tiny.

And thanks for the replies anyways .

[gordan]

Tesla K10 is 0x8F for the last byte of the ID. 680 is 0x80, so all you need to do is remove the resistor for the 4th nibble when modifying from 680 to K10. I have an MSI 680 modified K10 here and it works just fine while driving my IBM T221 in 2xDL-DVI mode.

[NEOAethyr]

Cool, that sounds great , I may try that.
I gotta take this card apart soon anyways to map out the resistors again, I totally lost the info.

Anyways that driver 320.49 didn't work, it had own probs..

But the latest pixel clock patch worked, kinda.
http://www.monitortests.com/forum/Thread-NVIDIA-Pixel-Clock-Patcher?page=1

It allowed me to get up to 96hz with cvt reduced timing.
92hz I think was the limit without reduced blanking.
Much better then before .
But still, not a real fix.

My monitor was actually complaining about the cable lol (after that patch at the higher refresh rates), obviously the 2nd link isn't working.

But yeah, the tesla k10 seems to be the way to go then.
It'll be easy for my 2nd card (unmodded), but my 1st, I'll have figure out the resistor value and buy a new one.
Replacing one resistor is sure a heck of alot easier then doing 2 .

And thanks for the help, I think that's what I'm gonna do.

I just wanna ask this, the tesla k10 supports virtualization/passthrough?
I know it's gotta be in the topic somewhere but it's so big now..
(I got the mobo and cpu for it)


Edit:
In the mean time I should compare my cables to check to see which one clocks the highest in single link mode ^^.

[gordan]

Yes, last I checked Tesla K10 supports both VGA passthrough and ESXi's VSGA virtualization.

[haxvn]

Hi Gordan,


i have modded my gtx 680 telsa k10 by remove 4th resistor: my card isnot working but gpuz card detect telsa k10 (i am using second vga to boot my computer). what should i do?

thanks

[gordan]

First of all verify the device ID with GPU-Z and GPU Caps Viewer. They should both show the device ID is 0x118F.

Second, check the soft strap in the BIOS. This is documented relatively early in the thread. See this post by verybigbadboy:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/projects/hacking-nvidia-cards-into-their-professional-counterparts/msg213332/#msg213332

If that checks out as well, see if you can dump out the BIOS using nvflash. Make sure it looks correct, isn't 0 bytes in size, and check it with KBT to make sure it is complete and the checksum matches (use KBT for checksum verification/repair, NiBiTor is ancient and doesn't support newer BIOSes).

If you cannot read the BIOS, it means the signal from the BIOS is too attenuated with the resistor removed and you'll have to put a 40K resistor into the alternate location for the 4th nibble. I have not seen this happen on any of my cards when modding to Tesla K10, but other people have reported it. I have, however, seen it happen when modifying the 3rd nibble on a Gainward GTX690, so it does happen on some cards.

Another thing worth trying is an older driver, as mentioned by NEOAethyr above - it is plausible Nvidia have done something recently to prevent modified cards from working.

[villalvilla]

Hi guys,

I'm new on this forum. I wanted to hard mod my EVGA 2GB GTX680 into grid K2. I've read on this forum that resistors 1 and 3 should be removed, and that 40k resistors should be soldered into 0 and 2 slots. My problem is this: Which is the correct size and model for the smd resistors? Where can I buy them? It's beeing a little mess for me to identify/buy the correct resistors.

Thanks a lot for your great work!

Regards,
Miguel

[gordan]

The type you need is 402.
They are tiny and you will need very steady hands and either a hot air re-flowing soldering iron, or if you are lucky and very good, you can get away with an electric one with a tiny tip.

Also, depending on what you plan to do with the card, converting to a Tesla K10 might be easier and just as effective. You only need to modify one resistor, and if you are lucky you can potentially get away by only removing the relevant resistor on the back of the card without fitting a 40K to it's alternate location. I have an MSI 680 modified in this way.

[villalvilla]

Hi Gordan!

Thanks so much for your feedback! It is really really helpful!
The problem with the tesla k10 is that I need it for vmware virtualization (horizon view), and the grid k2 optimizes sooo much this kind of computing. If I would need it for other purposes, I had selected tesla k10.
I will try to take photos of the process and upload them here to help other people with the same problem.

I've taken a look at the GTX680 hack that other user uploaded to this forum, and the board is identical, so I think that it will be easy to follow your indications!

Thanks again and I will tell you how it gone!

Regards,
Miguel

[gordan]

I'm pretty sure last time I checked Tesla K10 was fully supported for VSGA/Horizon View. As is Quadro 5000, 6000,  K5000, K6000, most (all?) Teslas and all Grids.

Put it this way - mod 4th Nibble to 0xF, and you have a Tesla K10. If that doesn't work for you, you can then look at pulling off the heatsink and modifying the 3rd nibble to 0xB. Note that you can also mod the 3rd nibble up by using a 1206 size resistor between SCLK and VCC on the EEPROM chip. Much easier to solder.

[haxvn]

First of all verify the device ID with GPU-Z and GPU Caps Viewer. They should both show the device ID is 0x118F.

Second, check the soft strap in the BIOS. This is documented relatively early in the thread. See this post by verybigbadboy:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/projects/hacking-nvidia-cards-into-their-professional-counterparts/msg213332/#msg213332

If that checks out as well, see if you can dump out the BIOS using nvflash. Make sure it looks correct, isn't 0 bytes in size, and check it with KBT to make sure it is complete and the checksum matches (use KBT for checksum verification/repair, NiBiTor is ancient and doesn't support newer BIOSes).

If you cannot read the BIOS, it means the signal from the BIOS is too attenuated with the resistor removed and you'll have to put a 40K resistor into the alternate location for the 4th nibble. I have not seen this happen on any of my cards when modding to Tesla K10, but other people have reported it. I have, however, seen it happen when modifying the 3rd nibble on a Gainward GTX690, so it does happen on some cards.

Another thing worth trying is an older driver, as mentioned by NEOAethyr above - it is plausible Nvidia have done something recently to prevent modified cards from working.

I have followed steps:
1. remove resistor on 3rd resistor - 4 nible (back of board)
2. add 40k resistor on 2nd resistor - 4 nible (in front of board)
3. check soft strap is okie: 02 10 10 82 FF FF FF 7F 00 00 00 80
4. update bios by change device id 80 11 to 8F 11 (check sum okie)

result:
CPUZ can detect 118F
GPU Cap viewer cannot working

the card can display on mb without UEFI bios.

i try to change value in soft trap -> nvflash can detect to other card 780mx.

I think i need change correct soft trap for Tesla K10, hope you can help me correct soft trap for Tesla k10 then i will try

Thanks

[gordan]

Soft-strap modifying is ineffective - the driver WILL NOT initialize a card in the VM if the hard-strapped ID is not in the whitelist. Soft-strapping only works up to Fermi 480 cards, not on Kepler cards. If your soft-strap in the UEFI header is blank (FFFFFF7F 00000080), there is no need to touch it at all under any circumstances.

Have you tried WITHOUT adding the 40K resistor on position 2? On most cards no resistors in positions 2 and 3 will read as 0xF on the 4th nibble. I have a 680 modified to a Tesla K10 that way and it works just fine.

Can you elaborate on what you mean by "GPU Cap viewer not working"? I also don't understand why you are even referring to UEFI motherboards. If the card worked on the motherboard before, it will work after modification. If it didn't work before, it won't work after the modification either. Most 680 cards do not come with UEFI enabled in the BIOS.

Also, you don't need to change the device ID in the BIOS, as per your point 4 - that doesn't actually do anything useful (but it does no harm, either).

[haxvn]

Have you tried WITHOUT adding the 40K resistor on position 2? On most cards no resistors in positions 2 and 3 will read as 0xF on the 4th nibble. I have a 680 modified to a Tesla K10 that way and it works just fine.

-> i tried without adding the 40k -> no working

i have 02 mainboard with and without UEFI bios
Mother board with UEFI bios : the card don't working after hard modded
Mother board without UEFI bios: the card is working after hard modded

[gordan]

Right, so what you are saying is that the modified card doesn't work with UEFI BIOS but does work with a legacy BIOS.
Did the card work with UEFI motherboard BIOS before being modified?

[haxvn]

Right, so what you are saying is that the modified card doesn't work with UEFI BIOS but does work with a legacy BIOS.
Did the card work with UEFI motherboard BIOS before being modified?

-> yes, it worked with UEFI MB Bios before modifed

[gordan]

Can you flash the original BIOS back on and see if that makes it work in UEFI mode? UEFI requires the BIOS to be cryptographically signed, and the moment you modifed the BIOS that signature will no longer be valid.

It is also plausible that UEFI crypto check verified the device ID, which also, obviously, won't match any more. I don't think anyone tried running these on UEFI motherboards.

Is there a particularly strong reason why you have to use UEFI instead of the legacy BIOS?

[haxvn]

Hi Gordan,

My new computer is MSI X-Power II using X79 chipset and UEFI Bios

I found some thing may you liked:

step 1. my nvidia gtx 680 is hard modded with 40k at 4th nibble at front of board

step 2a. mod firmware with device id 118F - Telsa k10 and 0x1C FFFFFF7F 00000080 (as default, you can see on pic01.png: all applications detect telsa k10

step 2b. mod firmware with device id 118F - Telsa k10 and 0x1C FF2FFC7F 00480080 (as default, you can see on pic02.png: all applications detect Geforce K2 USM

Hope you can help 0x1C is Telsa K10, K5000, GTX 680, i will try to find out UEFI MB BIOS read device id based on EFI Vga or not

[villalvilla]

Hi guys!

I'm writing justo to confirm that everything worked as expected with my evga gtx680!!! Nos it is modded to a grid k2!!!


Thanks a lot for your great feedback!!!

[angerthosenear]

Hi guys!

I'm writing justo to confirm that everything worked as expected with my evga gtx680!!! Nos it is modded to a grid k2!!!


Thanks a lot for your great feedback!!!

Which resistors did you change? Did you have to swap out two resistors (which is what I'm thinking) or do something else?

I'm planning to do the same thing, but with a 690 (of which I only see it converted to Quadro or Tesla). I don't mind doing the extra solder work for the Grid card.

Thanks for any input.

[karakarga]

Last time I have tried 670 to Quadro K5000 modding, 

Lately I have also tried 670 to 680 modding!

Again,  it didn't run! This time, it didn't give me any notification sound (with K5000 modding it alerted, 1 long 3 short beeps), the system go into post with black screen, silently...

Unfortunately, I have moved into original design, and now, it works being 670 again! 

Before closing, I have soldered 3 piece of low height 4V 100uF tanatlum capacitors, to Ram power supply area! There were only 2 solid caps present for 16 piece of Ram's. Actually, those 2 are also the same for 2 GB cards, which have only 8 piece of Ram chips.

And added 6 piece of R+ signed Kemet 10V 100uF tanatalum capacitors to the outside area for better power regulation for the GPU!  Originally there were 9 solid caps, now they work in paralell...

I have done this tantalum part soldering to my second SLI unit too!

So, there is nothing left to do more for me else.

Bye folks...   

[villalvilla]

Hi guys!

I'm writing justo to confirm that everything worked as expected with my evga gtx680!!! Nos it is modded to a grid k2!!!


Thanks a lot for your great feedback!!!

Which resistors did you change? Did you have to swap out two resistors (which is what I'm thinking) or do something else?

I'm planning to do the same thing, but with a 690 (of which I only see it converted to Quadro or Tesla). I don't mind doing the extra solder work for the Grid card.

Thanks for any input.

Hi angerthosenear,

I've made this changes:

resistor 0: solder new 40k resistor
resistor 1: removed it
resistor 2: solder new 40k resistor
resistor 3: removed it

I'm experiencing some problems with passthrough mode in vmware view 5.3... I added k2 hardware in passthrough mode and then added that hardware to a virtual machine (as external pci). Windows XP testing machine detected it, but once I halted virtual machin to change network configuration, vmware server took sooo long to shutdown that virtual machine and had many stability problems. Once it reacted, passthrough hardware disappeared, and also the nvidia k2 dissapeared from hardware inventory in the host.

Any ideas guys?

Regards,
villa

[villalvilla]

Hi again Guys,

I'm experiencing many problems with Grid k2 modded card and VMWare passthrough. I've read in some other forums that (maybe) a vbios update should be doen on my hard-modded video card for things to work as espected for this video card. Is this true?

Thanks,
Villa